Amaranthine Special Edition Vol II

by Naylor, Joleene

  Despite her late snack, she was hungry when Jorick woke her the next evening. She thought about the restaurant on the sixth floor of the Citadel and suddenly missed it. The company was bizarre, but the meals were good. All she had to look forward to now was gas station food. Not an amazing prospect.

  Dressed and bundled up, she climbed into the backseat of the sports car and prepared for hours of “road trip from hell”. Surprisingly, Jorick seemed to be in a better mood and he and Oren managed to have civilized, though boring, conversations.

  They traveled for most of the night. Even though they made a couple of stops, Katelina was certain she’d lost the use of her legs by the time the small brick house came into view. As they parked, she noticed the shattered living room windows, now taped and wrapped in layers of plastic. She remembered the fight and all the blood, and suddenly the house was a place she didn’t want to be. Not to mention there was the possibility of Senya or Alistair waiting for them.

  Despite her fears, they were unmolested on their way from the car to the utility porch where Loren waited for them. The teen looked unusually anxious. Once he could see they’d all returned, he relaxed a little, though his curiosity was barely contained. “What happened?”

  “Nothing,” Oren spat dangerously. “We lost four days for nothing.” His brows drew together. “Where’s Micah? Did he do as I asked?”

  Loren nodded. “Yeah, he thinks he found a place about four hours away.” He turned his attention to Jorick. “What did they want? They went to a lot of trouble for nothing.”

  “Malick was hoping for a new companion.” Jorick's eyes stole to Katelina for a second. “But he changed his mind.”

  “So it wasn’t over this?” Loren waved his hands around to indicate their new coven.

  Jorick shook his head to the negative. “No, in fact he isn’t interested in it at all.” His face grew serious. “I don’t doubt the others would find it something to look into, if they knew.”

  “What others?”

  “The other four members of the High Council. I doubt they know anything about it. And if what -” a look of distaste wrinkled Jorick's nose. “- that buffoon says is true, which I don’t doubt for once, Malick finds it amusing and probably has no intention of telling them. I suspect he’s looking forward to it.”

  Loren seemed uncertain how to reply. He didn’t have to because Torina and Micah suddenly appeared. Katelina tried not to look at the stump where the bald vampire’s hand had been, yet her eyes were drawn to it against her will. She was surprised to see that instead of a stump, his hand was back where it belonged and looked as normal as ever.

  She wanted to ask if it had grown back, but the vampires were too busy talking amongst themselves to notice her. Oren and Jorick gave an account of what had happened and then started over when Fabian and Luna showed up. They’d nearly reached the end when Traven entered.

  “And so you return. I thought perhaps they had meted out your punishment.”

  “Hello, Traven,” Jorick said coldly. “I’m surprised to see you’re still here.”

  “But of course. We made an oath to assist in the war against Malick, and so we shall.” His smile grew in width but not in warmth. “All the excitement with The Guild had nothing to do with us. I saw no reason to get involved.”

  Micah snorted through his nose. “No, better to run away and hide in the basement.”

  Traven regarded Micah as though he was an insect, then he turned his probing gaze on Katelina. The room suddenly felt too small and had too many vampires in it. She took an unconscious step backwards.

  As if he’d noticed her thoughts, Jorick glanced from her to Loren and back again. “Why don’t you and Loren go ahead? We’ll join you shortly.”

  Though Loren sulked, he took the suitcase from Jorick and led the way through the house. In the dining room the picture window was wrapped and taped but the rest of room was unharmed. The front room wasn’t so lucky. The carpet was stained in a myriad of places with big splatters of brown. The two chairs were gone, and the couch was ripped and similarly spotted. There were holes and marks on the walls, and several of the pictures were missing.

  Even without mind reading, Loren seemed to guess her thoughts. “We cleaned it up, but blood doesn’t come out very well.”

  She didn’t want to think about it. They cut down the hall and into the master bedroom. It looked the same as when she’d left, including the bedding in the corner. Loren flipped the light on, then perched on the lid of one of the coffins with an air of dejection. “Why do I always get stuck doing something stupid? Jorick always left me behind to watch the house and now I’m -”

  “Babysitting?” she asked sarcastically and flung herself at the pile of blanket. “If you have more important things to do, then go do them.”

  “I didn’t say that!” He kicked the side of the coffin ruthlessly. “It’s just a stupid excuse to get rid of me.”

  “I’m sorry I’m such a problem!” It wasn’t as if Loren was her first choice. She’d have rather had Jorick with her.

  Loren looked repentant. “I didn’t mean that. It’s just that I’m missing all the plans.”

  “I wish Jorick was! We have enough problems without Oren!”

  “Oh?”

  The story about Alistair tumbled out, and when she’d finished, Loren was wide-eyed. “There really was someone there? Seriously? I swear, I didn’t see anyone!”

  “That’s because he can hide himself, or whatever.” She rubbed her temples. “If Jorick had been in the room, he’d have killed him and it would be done with.”

  “Where was Jorick?”

  She told him about Senya and her secret mission. At first the teen looked troubled, but then he shrugged it off. “It shouldn’t have anything to do with us. Not if Malick really thinks the war is funny.”

  “Yeah, I guess. But then why would Verchiel leave the note?”

  “So who is Verchiel? Is he that Executioner dude who kidnapped you? What’s the deal with him anyway? He acted like he knew you?” Loren’s eyes suddenly reminded her of Jorick’s: full of nosy curiosity.

  “Of course he doesn’t know me!” Loren’s grin got bigger and she snapped, “Quit being an idiot.”

  He snickered and leaned back on his arms. “When he took you, Jorick was pretty pissed, you know. He was raging, determined the guy was gonna kill you, or molest you, or haul you off to Timbuktu and keep you forever, or some shit. I mean, I’ve seen his weird fits before, but some of the others hadn’t. Micah finally threw the car keys at him and told them to go before his head exploded.” He laughed. “It was great! And, of course, Torina kept saying that it was foolish to go chasing after you. Oren all but agreed with her. Then he and Jorick got in a helluva fight. Dude, seriously, I’ve never seen Jorick go off like that. He had Oren against the wall and threatened to tear his head off, and of course Fabian got pissed. But, he was still in pretty raw shape, so Luna was trying to hold him down and Torina was trying to haul Jorick off of Oren. Then some of Traven’s batch stuck their noses in it and Micah started threatening them, and anyway, in the end Oren said he’d go but only if Jorick promised to help him the next time he asked.”

  She flinched at the agreement. Was that what they were discussing now?

  Impervious to her thoughts, Loren continued. “I hope they didn’t scratch Micah’s car. Man, he’d be so pissed if they did.” Her expression was sour, so he rushed on. “He’s really not so bad, you know. Yeah, he says a lot of stuff, but it’s just stuff. He got left on his own, after he got turned. The guy just abandoned him, so he had to figure it out on his own and make friends and all. When I first joined up with Oren, he was the only one who didn’t want me to go home and send Jorick back instead.”

  She shifted uncomfortably. “Speaking of Micah, his hand grew back?”

  Loren laughed loudly, and then sobered. “Of course it didn’t grow back! When he got in his coffin, we just laid it at the end of his arm and when he woke up it had grown back t
ogether.”

  “What if you hadn’t put it in there with him?”

  “The he’d have a stump, I guess.”

  “Oh.” She was ruminating on the idea of missing vampire parts when Loren interrupted her thoughts.

  “So, what else happened at The Guild, like with Malick and stuff? And I don’t want the rushed version Jorick’s telling, either!”

  She sighed reluctantly, but launched into the long story. Loren sat on his coffin nodding and interjecting comments. As she recounted the recreation room conversation, Loren broke into snickers. “What?”

  “So Jorick got a good punch in?”

  “Yes.” The weird thing was, she wasn’t sure if she was glad or not. Retelling the story, she should have been. She’d wanted to kill the redhead herself more than once. But, at the same time….

  “So you think Malick is planning on a blood bath?”

  Her head snapped up and her surprised eyes landed on Loren. “What?”

  He tilted his head thoughtfully. “You described it as being pretty much impregnable and then Malick finds the war amusing. I’m not stupid, you know.”

  She nodded absently, her brow creased with concern. “I hadn’t really thought about it, but you’re right. I don’t think that you guys have much of a chance. Even if you can get in and actually get past the guards, Malick, and probably the rest of them, are all in the basement, and to get there you have to have a key.”

  “I think we’re just after Malick, since he’s the head of it all.”

  “It won’t do any good if you just kill Malick. One of the others would take his place and it would all be the same.”

  He looked at his feet, his shoulders hunched. “I don’t know. I don’t think Oren is planning on making any changes, just getting revenge.”

  Jorick’s voice cut in on their conversation. “I don’t think he’s planning to live through it.”

  The pair looked up in surprise, but Jorick only nodded crisply. “And anyone who plans to go with him shouldn’t count on it either.”

  Loren stayed silent as Jorick walked past him and dropped to the blankets next to Katelina. He caught her hand and squeezed it tightly. “He won’t be persuaded. I can do no more.”

  Katelina looked from him to the teen vampire. Loren only shrugged in reply and stood up. “I’ll go uh... yeah,” and without specifying further he disappeared through the door.

  “He’ll lead them all to their deaths,” Jorick muttered. “They’re idiots.”

  She nodded vaguely, terrified that Oren was calling in his favor. “Maybe he’ll change his mind?”

  Jorick drew in a deep breath and released it slowly. “No, I don’t think so. He’s seeking death to end the pain of his loss.” He stared straight ahead at nothing. “Not that I haven’t felt that myself.” He swallowed hard and then continued. “If he wants to die, then so be it. I can’t make him want to live. I can’t keep him alive by my sheer will power, but to take others with him is wrong, and he knows it. To lead them blindly to their deaths,” he paused and shook his head sorrowfully. “That is an unforgivable sin.”

  Though she had no words, she nodded her agreement. She laid her other hand on top of his, offering silent commiseration while he fought with the remnant of his inner demons.

  The battle apparently over, he turned his face to her and gave her a very tight smile. “Enough of this. The others will be here soon.”

  Her eyes dropped and she asked hesitantly, “Are we going home tomorrow?”

  “I don’t want to leave until I understand what Traven is up to.”

  Her sigh was sulky and melodramatic. “I knew that’s what you’d say.” She let go of his hand and flopped onto her back. “Just wait, we’ll end up in this damned thing yet.”

  Jorick made no answer, only closed his eyes and leaned against the wall in silence.

  **********

  Chapter Twenty

  Katelina woke to the howl of the winter wind. To her inner child, the sound meant snow, hot cocoa and Christmas trees. To her adult side, it was just an inconvenience; she’d be forced to troop through a blizzard when Jorick went to feed. Yay.

  A dream clung to her subconscious; a dream full of blood and fighting vampires. It was one she’d had before, but the point of view was wrong. It was like looking through Alistair’s eyes again. She’d seen herself with the heart, she’d felt the overwhelming heartache and then - then she’d woken up.

  She pushed the dream away and stared at the celling, willing herself to think happy thoughts. The vampires woke slowly. Jorick was first and within half an hour they were all awake and talking among themselves about Traven and his coven. Uninterested, Katelina slipped away to the master bath to take a shower. It wasn’t as if they’d ask her opinion.

  She was drying off when someone strolled in. Her initial reaction was one of tense horror, but then she recognized Jorick. Though she relaxed, she didn't lower the towel. It was too hard to sound “in command” when she was naked. “Well?”

  Jorick raised an inquiring brow at her tone, but declined to comment. He caught her by her bare hips and pulled her to him. He nuzzled her neck. Slowly, she relaxed against him and the animosity drained out of her. When she spoke again, her voice was softer. “Well?”

  “It’s storming outside, and I see no need for you to be in it. Oren and Loren will remain with you until I return. I don’t trust Traven, nor his coven.”

  “All right, but when are we leaving?”

  He smiled softly and ran his thumb over her cheek. “Patience, little one. We’ll leave soon.”

  “When, exactly? You do realize that we have a different idea of ‘soon’, right? To you it means - what? A hundred years?”

  He chuckled and tightened his arms around her. “No, that would be a little while.” She didn’t laugh at his joke and he sighed. “Katelina, I know how you feel. I promise we will go home soon.” He released her and caught her chin, tilting her face to his. “You do trust me?”

  The fight went out of her as she gazed in his dark eyes. It was no mental trick of his, just her own sense of guilt. “Yes, I trust you, but I - I know how you end up in things when you say you won’t. We weren’t going to get involved in the last war either.”

  “Katelina.” His voice was weary but serious. “I will not fight against The Guild. It’s futile, and I won’t throw away my life, or yours, for nothing. If he wants help to kill Senya or those who murdered his family, then I’ll help him, but that’s all.”

  “All right.” His answer did nothing to comfort her. Jorick had originally said he wouldn’t fight at all. Apparently he’d changed his mind and was willing to go after Senya. How long would it be before he changed it further, or Oren demanded he pay back that favor? How long before they were charging an assault on the heavily fortified citadel?

  Jorick left and she dressed. She found Oren, Micah and Loren lurking in the master bedroom. Oren stood near the door, his arms over his chest and his face unreadable, while Micah lounged against one of the coffins. Loren was perched on the lid of another coffin. His head bobbed in time to whatever was on his MP3 player. The music must not have been too loud, because he glanced up as she walked in and gave her a crooked grin.

  She nodded and, uncertain what to do, she dropped back to the bedding. She didn’t know what to say, so she drew her knees to her chest and stayed silent. Micah, on the other hand, didn’t have that problem. His chatter was gruff and offhanded, if not annoying. Loren talked with him while Oren stared silently at something no one else could see.

  Jorick returned. Large flakes of snow melted against his raven hair. He shook out of his long coat and dismissed her guardians with a nod. Oren waited until the other two vampires left, and then met Jorick’s eyes. Their silent conversation was brief and, with a crisp look of understanding, Oren slipped away to follow the others.

  “I take it no one bothered you?” Jorick asked as he brushed the snow from his hair.

  “No. They basically pretended I
wasn’t here, as usual.”

  Torina’s voice suddenly floated to them from the bedroom doorway. “Traven’s coven have gone out to feed.”

  “All of them?” Jorick asked and half turned to look at her.

  “Yes, they do everything in a pack. They’re like hunting dogs.” A smirk played across her full lips. “Cowardly dogs, of course.”

  “Traven is many things, but for once, he’s right. Their agreement didn’t include the situation we were in.”

  Torina scoffed. “An ally remains an ally, no matter the enemy.”

  “Do they?”

  “Yes.” Her green eyes bored into Jorick, challenging him to disagree. “Would Oren not help you, no matter the cause? Has he not assisted with your human, despite his misgivings and kept her safe? Did he not go to The Guild for you, even though he thought he went to meet his death? And yet, will you help him when he has most need of it? No! You refuse! You walk away and you offer him nothing!”

  “It’s because of me he’s still alive! That you’re alive! If I hadn’t claimed him that night, the Executioners would have killed him because of the children!”

  Torina’s tone was cold, though her eyes snapped flames. “And does he thank you for it?”

  “You do. You can’t survive without your brother, and you know it. You made him turn you first, before his wife.”

  “So? Do you expect me to fall at your feet in gratitude for saving him?”

  “No! I saved him because I don’t want to see him die, any more than you do! If you value his life, you should try to dissuade him from the path he’s chosen!”

  Something shifted in Torina’s eyes and her voice took on a thick, sorrowful quality. “He will not be dissuaded. If you valued his life so highly, you would help him.”

  “The end would be the same.” Jorick turned his back on her, as if to keep from being affected by the look on her face. “I’ll stay until I’ve discovered what Traven is up to. I promised Oren that I would.” Jorick took a deep breath and when he spoke again his voice was detached. “You should try harder to talk him out of this madness. We both know he goes to die.”