Sarah stood there staring at Kathrine. Was she that shocked that Kathrine had called her mom? It wasn’t that shocking. Sarah had referred to her as daughter. Then Kathrine realized it wasn’t just the mom thing. Kathrine was so frantic to save this woman that her fangs had come out. She could taste the blood on her lips where her fangs had cut into them. When Kathrine raised her hands she realized that she had claws coming out instead of finger nails.
Hailey sat up, the convulsions had stopped for the moment. She brushed her once beautiful hair out of her eyes and looked at Sarah. The woman looked a mess. Her hair had the consistency of straw and was nearly the color of it. Her face was pale and stuck to her bones like plastic wrap and she was drenched in sweat.
“Ceralin please, you are the only one who can help me,” Hailey said as she winced and gritted her teeth. Another convulsion started and she was thrown on her back.
“I think it’s withdrawals,” Agnus said, finally arriving. “I’ve read about it. Kathrine!?” Agnus also had no words when she saw Kathrine.
“It is withdrawals,” Sarah announced. She bent down and put her hand behind Hailey’s head. “You’re lucky Kathrine found you first!” Then she stood up and let Hailey’s head hit the ground hard. “She isn’t even very far along yet, she can still speak.”
Kathrine had never seen this side of Sarah, Sarah would have killed this woman. Whatever this woman did was very bad.
“She doesn’t smell evil,” Kathrine added, hoping to convince Sarah to help.
“You might not be able to smell it, but she’s evil.” Sarah started walking off. She wanted nothing to do with this and she wasn’t helping this woman.
“What do I do with her?” Agnus asked.
“Put her in one of the cages and let her suffer it out,” Sarah snapped and continued walking.
“She’ll die! She has information!” Kathrine pleaded.
“Fine, I’ll come by in an hour or two when I cool off. She’ll live til then.” Sarah loathed this woman but she would help her if it made Kathrine happy.
“You need to talk to Sarah about this,” Agnus said waving her hand at Kathrine’s hands and face. “Grab her and follow me.”
Chapter 25
It was almost three hours before Sarah finally arrived. Hailey was in and out of consciousness for most of the time. She spoke only a few words here and there but none of them made any sense.
The cell Hailey was in was made for Asuune. It had six inch thick bars, the floor and ceiling also looked like they were made of thick steel. The metal of the ceiling was topped with a large slab of cement that went down around the back side. It also looked like the bars in back were half way inside the cement wall. This was a formidable prison, Kathrine doubted anyone could get out of there, maybe Sarah, but then again maybe not even her.
“First step,” Sarah announced as she brought a glass of a sick smelling liquid to the woman.
“What is that?!” Kathrine exclaimed. To her surprise no one had even winced at the smell but her.
“It’s human blood mixed with cow’s blood,” Agnus replied.
“Human blood? Man, it smells like sewage.” Kathrine held her nose.
“Only to you sweetie,” Sarah said kindly. Her face turned cruel again as she looked at Hailey and thrust the glass at her. “Drink this, you can’t go cold turkey, it will kill you. Kathrine doesn’t want you dead yet.” Sarah looked scary, her fangs weren’t visible this time but she still looked like she would rather kill this woman than help her.
Hailey drank it quickly and her muscles seemed to relax.
“Elyon is in America. He is looking for me and he is helping Azazel.” Hailey fell backward on the floor after delivering her message.
Sarah paced angrily and threw the cup over toward the sink. The cup shattered against the wall and glass flew everywhere.
“Sorry Agnus, I’m not sure what I’m doing,” Sarah apologized.
“It’s ok, I’ll clean it up. You need to talk to Kathrine.” Agnus quickly walked over to the sink and started picking up the shards of blood covered glass.
“Talk about what?” Kathrine asked.
“Castriana will be out for hours. I will need to slowly ween her off the blood and start substituting it for animal blood until she can eventually quit. This will take weeks, the first of which she will barely be awake. You aren’t going to get any answers from her for a while but I think I know what her message was.” Sarah was calming down.
“Tell me, please,” Kathrine begged.
“Tell her Sarah,” Agnus pushed.
“Fine,” Sarah said annoyed. “Elyon is another old Asuune, Abaddon’s son. Twice as smart as Sariel, and one hundred times more cruel. He had no interest in this war. He kept to his tiny world where he could torture humans without anyone bothering him. If he is in America, and with Azazel, then something has changed.”
“But if he is with Azazel…” Kathrine didn’t want to finish the sentence.
“Don’t worry about Paul. Paul can handle Elyon.” Sarah laughed.
Was her Paul really that strong? Was he really that dangerous? And now she was doing it ‘Her Paul’! Damn him! That man was nothing but a giant frustration! She wanted to be angry at him but her body betrayed her again. Even the mention of his name made her body warm. It made her spine tingle, as well as other places. She wished that her body would stop wanting him so much but it really wanted Paul.
“Worry about us. If Elyon is here then Azazel is ramping things up.” Sarah sounded worried but all Kathrine could feel was relief. If Azazel was ramping things up then Paul would soon be free.
“Tell her the rest,” Agnus urged.
“Fine!” Sarah was even more annoyed now. “Elyon slaughtered our family. The ones that didn’t follow their plans for the subjugation of humans, he killed them. And that bitch, helped him do it!” Sarah’s anger was returning, then as if a switch was flipped in her head she turned back into Sarah. “Sorry Agnus, I didn’t mean to.”
“I understand, Sarah. Keep going.” Agnus prodded.
“Elyon and Castriana, killed Agnus’s husband and child. They would have killed her too but I showed up just in time.” Sarah clenched her fists.
“Then why aren’t you as angry as Sarah?” Kathrine asked, looking at Agnus.
“What good would it do? And it was just Elyon, Castriana wasn’t there,” Agnus replied calmly. Kathrine was shocked at how well Agnus was taking this. For sisters, Sarah and Agnus were nothing alike.
“She helped him plan it, helped him find you. How can you just forgive her like that?!” Sarah was now a little annoyed at Agnus.
“Don’t you go telling me who I can and can’t be angry with! SHE WASN’T THERE!” Agnus snapped back as she stood to face her sister.
There was the resemblance, Kathrine thought to herself. Apparently Agnus just didn’t blame Hailey, not that she liked Hailey, she just didn’t see it as Hailey’s fault. Also, yelling was the only way to get through to Sarah sometimes.
“So, what can I do?” Kathrine asked. She felt that Hailey was now her responsibility.
“I can handle it.” Agnus glared at Sarah. “I found a book on how to slowly remove the human blood.”
“I don’t think you know what you’re doing with this. I don’t mean to be rude but a book can’t prepare…” Sarah started
“I can handle it!” Agnus growled.
Sarah stomped off toward the door. Agnus snuck a smile at Kathrine to let her know she wasn’t really mad at anyone.
“Fine, if you need my help, let me know,” Sarah said defeated, then walked out. Sarah wasn’t scared of Agnus, not in the least. She was scared of hurting Agnus, it was her last sister. The last sister she actually cared about. The last sister that wasn’t dead or a vampire. Sarah would never be able to live with herself if she ever hurt Agnus.
“So, what can I do?” Kathrine asked again.
“You can go talk with Sarah about what you are,” Agnus smirked.
&
nbsp; “But…” Kathrine started but as soon as Agnus glared at her she knew she was defeated as well. “Fine.” Kathrine mimicked Sarah and stormed out, only Kathrine’s was for show and Sarah’s had not been.
Chapter 26
Kathrine followed Sarah to her house and got there just as Sarah was venting to Mark. Sarah couldn’t take out her frustrations on Agnus so Mark was a good verbal punching bag. Kathrine wasn’t worried because as much as Sarah would not hurt Agnus, she could not hurt Mark. Sarah loved Mark above everyone else, Kathrine doubted she was able to hurt Mark. Although physically she probably could, her love for him was so strong that Sarah’s own body might just fight against her if she tried. Kind of like the way Kathrine’s body refused to hate Paul.
“Your dad said you had big fangs, I should have figured this out a while ago. I did have my suspicions though and your dad isn’t a Versi so I wasn’t sure,” Sarah explained as she noticed Kathrine walking in the door. Mark looked relieved, Sarah may not have been hurting him but verbally he was getting the beating of his life.
“What’s a Versi?” Kathrine asked.
“Versipellis, its Latin for skin turner, it means you’re an animal type of Asuune,” Sarah replied.
“I’m a werewolf? What the hell?!” Kathrine exclaimed.
“You’re not a werewolf. A werewolf is a Versi that drinks human blood. Kinda like a vampire but more vicious. And you’re not even canine, you’re feline,” Sarah explained.
“I’m a cat?!” Kathrine was shocked. How was she a cat and her dad was, well, whatever he was, he was not a cat.
“You are even more special,” Sarah mused. “There are very few feline Versi. I’ve met two in my entire life other than you. Let’s put it this way. One in a hundred Asuune are Versi and out of those one in a hundred are a feline Versi.”
“Paul?” Kathrine hoped.
“No, he’s not Versi,” Sarah said. She could see the disappointment on Kathrine’s face.
“It’s ok, normals and Versi can still be together,” Sarah assured her but Kathrine wasn’t quite sure she wanted to be with Paul. As she thought this her body disagreed, her body really wanted Paul. The mere mention of his name and her body was full of desire.
“How is dad not Versi then?” Kathrine asked, not quite sure she was used to that word.
“Your dad is umm different,” Sarah explained. “His fangs are really small and he really doesn’t fit in with any type of Asuune I’ve ever known. Probably because of who his dad is. He’s very unique.” Sarah popped her fangs out for effect and Kathrine could see the difference. Her dad’s fangs were a lot smaller than Sarah’s.
Mark looked self-conscious with them talking about his small fangs. Sarah noticed and turned to him.
“Don’t worry, you more than make up for it in other places,” Sarah smiled and Mark blushed.
“Ewww!” Kathrine yelled at once. “I’m seriously gonna need therapy guys.” Kathrine wasn’t actually upset with them, she thought it was cute how good they were together. She just didn’t want mental pictures of them having sex, nor how big her dad’s manhood was.
“I’ll stop,” Sarah relented.
“Before I go I want to talk to you about the daughter incident,” Kathrine smirked. She loved to tease Sarah about anything. She’d never met anyone who could take it so well, it was sort of their thing.
Sarah looked nervously at Mark and Kathrine wasn’t sure if she realized that it was a joke. Then Kathrine had a devious idea. With a little finesse she might be able to turn this to her advantage as well as Sarah’s.
“I was upset, I didn’t mean to say it. It just kinda came out.” Sarah looked like she was asking Mark for forgiveness but he had no idea what they were talking about.
“You see Sarah was yelling at this girl. What exactly did you say Sarah?” Kathrine was enjoying her payback and Sarah would understand the reason behind it shortly.
“I said get your hands off my daughter or something like that,” Sarah mumbled.
“I’m not quite sure he heard you,” Kathrine teased. Teasing Sarah was just too much fun, she wanted to drag this out.
“I heard her,” Mark said, coming to her rescue. “Did that bother you?” Mark asked. He clearly didn’t understand that Kathrine was just teasing Sarah.
“No, it didn’t bother me. You’re missing the point, dad.” Now Sarah looked just as lost as Mark. Kathrine had hoped for some backup but she was on her own.
“Then what was the point?” Mark asked. He was always so calm when he talked to Kathrine. How was she supposed to get upset with him? She loved him dearly but he never seemed to get upset about anything.
“The point is, mom is dead. She’s been dead for seven years.” Tears formed in the corners of Kathrine’s eyes. She still couldn’t help crying a little when she talked about her mom. “You and Sarah, well Sarah is like mom. I’m not saying this well am I?”
“Keep going, honey,” Sarah encouraged, she now completely understood where Kathrine was going with this and she liked it!
Kathrine noticed that Sarah was wearing the necklace that she had given her and still her dad had not asked Sarah to marry him. At least not that Kathrine knew of. She was sure Sarah would have been jumping for joy and told her the second he proposed.
“Well you know how I said you always had two wives?” Kathrine asked.
“Yes, you told me that,” Mark replied.
“Well…I’ve always had two moms.” Kathrine gave a caring smile to Sarah. Sarah’s response was shock but she appreciated what Kathrine was saying. “So…” Kathrine hinted.
“So?” Mark asked.
“Oh geez, dad. Sometimes you’re so dense. But only when it comes to one of your wives. I’m not calling you dumb, you’re not dumb. You are just clueless when it comes to mom and Sarah.” Kathrine was frustrated.
“So what are you saying?” Mark asked.
“I sorta want to call Sarah mom too,” Kathrine said shyly.
“That is a choice for you, honey,” Mark said sincerely. He had no idea what Kathrine was getting at and she was getting more frustrated by the second. Why were men so infuriating?
“Fuck, Dad! Just ask her to marry you already! I want a real family again!” Kathrine yelled exasperated at the utter cluelessness of her father.
Mark was dumbfounded. He turned and looked at Sarah as if he was asking permission. Sarah clasped her hands in front of her and extended her arms. She looked like a child but this expression Mark understood. This was her please expression. Mark reached into his pocket and fumbled around until he pulled out a small black box.
“I was waiting for the right moment…” Mark started
“YES!” Sarah yelled and snatched the ring out of his hand before jumping into his arms. Mark was surprised but caught her. “I’m sorry, did you want to ask me something?” Sarah grinned sitting in Mark’s arms.
“I think you got it,” Mark smiled as he set her back on her feet and gave her a huge hug.
“Finally!” Kathrine exclaimed. “And I’m good with you referring to me as your daughter. I’ll probably call you mom once in a while.”
“Ok, daughter,” Sarah smiled. An airplane could fall from the sky, crushing their house and Sarah would still be grinning ear to ear. It made Kathrine sad and happy at the same time. Her mom was dead but she still had Sarah. Kathrine still had one mom left, she would make damn sure nothing happened to this one!
“I should have known what you were when you were ten.” Sarah looked like she was remembering something very embarrassing and Kathrine knew exactly what it was. Sarah was going to get her back now.
“The time you cooked the goldfish?” Mark chimed in. How could her father be so clueless one second then have a memory like a steel trap the next? It had to be something about Sarah.
“Yes,” Kathrine said looking at the ground. “I wanted to see if they tasted like fish sticks,” Kathrine whined.
“Well, did they?” Sarah asked, she knew the answer but
Kathrine needed some teasing.
“No,” Kathrine pouted.
Sarah and Mark both laughed and Kathrine pretended to be embarrassed. Truthfully, Kathrine also thought this story was amusing. She was a cat Versi and wanted to eat her goldfish, how stereotypical. If she’d only known back then.
“So would you stay for supper?” Sarah asked.
“I suppose,” Kathrine replied, still pouting. “As long as it’s not fish.”
Sarah and Mark both laughed.
Kathrine had been over for supper nearly every night since she had moved in next door. Not that she minded, she just felt like she was intruding. Sarah and her dad needed alone time. Now that they were officially engaged though, maybe she wouldn’t feel so guilty. They were going to have each other forever, they could spare her an hour or two each night.
Chapter 27
Kathrine slumped in her seat beside Hailey at the gas station. Hailey was preoccupied reading a book. Sarah had wanted to kick Hailey out of the settlement the moment she was no longer in danger of dying but Kathrine insisted that she be allowed to stay. Kathrine wanted to find out anything that Hailey knew about Paul and about Elyon. This woman, however dangerous or ill intentioned, had information.
“What?” Hailey asked annoyed.
“I was just wondering what Paul said to you,” Kathrine smirked. “Also, I noticed you look very pretty. Now that you’re not a vampire, I mean.”
Hailey’s face turned red and she looked out the window as she spoke. Had Kathrine embarrassed her? Was she angry? It was hard to tell, Hailey acted very strange. She hadn’t known this woman long but there was something strange about the way Hailey acted around her.
“I think his exact words were. ‘Find my Kathrine and tell her to help you. She will convince Ceralin. Also, tell her that I could use her help when she has time,” Hailey snarled.
“Hmm,” Kathrine replied. ‘His Kathrine’, jeez, why did those words tie her stomach in knots? They were just words. He had made no effort to contact her yet the mention of his name still sent tingles up her spine every time. Paul was becoming an even bigger frustration each day and each day it leaned more toward sexual frustration.
Curse of the Asuune Page 18