Something moved in the back of the van. The doors opened and shut quickly and a large, dark head appeared at the passenger window. Katelina stiffened automatically, then recognized Saeed.
“May I sit?” His voice was deep and dark like a forgotten jungle. He motioned to the passenger seat.
“I suppose.”
Saeed opened the door and climbed inside. He sat stiffly in the seat, too large to look comfortable. He gazed out the window and squinted his eyes against the dying sun. Though he lifted his hand to shade his face, he didn’t look away.
She remembered what Kale had said. “So you really can take more sun than the rest of them?”
He nodded slowly. “Yes, though they can take some, too.”
She stabbed the cigarette out in the overflowing ashtray. “I thought it burned vampires to a crisp.”
“Too much will. Though as it dies, it burns less. This much would not hurt older ones.”
She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel and mumbled her catch all word, “Oh.”
“The others will wake soon. Your lover wakes early, too.”
“Jorick?” She snapped and then bit her lip hard to keep from going on. She wanted to say, “You mean the one you held down so Kateesha could kill him? Is that the one you mean?” but the words were pointless.
The last rim of the sun disappeared and the back door opened and closed again. Jorick appeared at the passenger door. He looked from Saeed to Katelina with a mix of concern and interest.
“This seat belongs to you.” The large vampire pushed the door open and climbed out, his movements surprisingly graceful.
Jorick nodded and swung inside. He kissed Katelina before he settled back. “I assume this is the planned stop?”
“Yes.” She lit her last cigarette.
He arched a single eyebrow, then snatched the cigarette from between her fingers and took a puff.
She yanked it back. “I didn’t think you smoked?”
“I don’t, particularly. I’ve gone through phases where I did, but then I can’t suffer from any of the side effects.” He cast a meaningful glance at her. “Is this going to become a new thing?”
“No. I just needed something to keep me awake. It’s not like I do it very often. Since when did you join the anti-smoking campaign?”
“I wouldn’t call it a campaign. The blood has made you more resilient, but I’m not sure what its effect is on cancer.”
“You’re worried I’m going to die from cancer?” She choked on the word. At the moment, death by vampire seemed more likely.
He didn’t meet her eyes. “It’s one of many possibilities. Mortals are so fragile. You don’t live very long, and what time you’re alive is spent dodging one disease or accident after another. It’s a miracle anyone survives.” He grabbed the cigarette from her and clamped it between his unhappy lips.
“Everything dies. Nothing lasts forever.”
“Maybe, and maybe not.” He chose his words carefully. “I want you to be alive as long as possible, so you need to take care of yourself. I can do a lot of things, but I can’t keep you both living and mortal by myself.”
It was an unusual discussion for anyone, and even more so for Jorick. He seemed so confident that everything was going to go his way, if for no other reason than he willed it to. “Where’s this coming from?”
He frowned. “I worry about you. I occasionally think about how mortal you are, and how quickly you’re going to die. It isn’t a cheerful prospect. I’ve already suffered through too many deaths.”
She opened her mouth but no words came out. She assumed he’d eventually turn her into a vampire. Didn’t that go without saying? That idea gave her both a measure of comfort and a jolt of terror. Vampirism wasn’t something she’d considered as a goal. “I will be rich,” - sure. “I will be famous,” - okay. “I will be a vampire,”...
“And will you? Would you really accept that?” He took an angry puff and bit off sarcastically, “Would you give up your immortal soul?”
A sad sigh slipped from her lips. This was a discussion that had been brewing from the very beginning, one that no human and vampire couple could avoid, but it was one she wasn’t ready for. “I don’t believe you lose your soul, but even if you do you’re worth giving it up for.”
He stared at the dashboard. “No, I’m not. No one is.”
“Really? If you believe that, then why did you give yours up?”
His eyes flamed and then cooled. “You know why.”
“To avenge your sister. Isn’t love worth more than revenge?”
He didn’t answer and she knew that she’d won. They sat in silence for a moment and finally he motioned her to lean on him. She moved to sit on the disturbing cooler and laid her head on his chest. He settled his arm around her shoulders and absently played with her hair. “It’s going to be all right, you know?”
“The battle?”
“Yes. At the worst we’re evenly matched. They can’t have more than thirteen, and I doubt they have that many. They’ll be surprised, and I’m not sure they’ll all fight for Thomas. Anya will, of course, and Des will fight for her.”
Des. An ally who’d parted company because he believed that Jorick, not Thomas, had spied for Kateesha and that Katelina had killed Kateesha on Jorick’s orders, purposely breaking their agreement. Personally, Katelina thought he’d just sided with Anya and Thomas because he and Anya had something between them.
Jorick went on. “I’m not sure who else she has. There was the redhead, Lennon I think his name is, and the brunette who came to Oren’s den when they thought we were dead.” A smile played over his lips at the memory. “They’re both from Claudius and Kateesha’s covens, so I don’t know how loyal they’ll be to her. We’re not warring against the coven, only Thomas.”
“I suppose.” Katelina sighed heavily. “You know that lecture you just gave me about dying? It goes both ways.”
“I know.” He kissed her head and squeezed her shoulders in a half hug. “Don’t worry, everything is going to be fine.”
She closed her eyes, inhaling his musky scent. Even wrapped in his warmth, a deep, unsettled fear throbbed through her and she wished she could believe his words as easily as he did.
He flicked ashes into the floorboard and suddenly let out an unintelligible groan. “What is that?”
He pointed to the red ceramic cat at his feet, a look of horror on his face, and Katelina said, “That’s my Christmas present. There’s also a bread maker.”
“A what?” He let her snag the cigarette back. “Christmas presents from whom? You went shopping?”
She inhaled and choked. Her throat was raw from too many cigarettes. “No. They’re from Mom. I stopped to see her since we’re so close and I had time to kill.” A strangled noise escaped Jorick’s throat. “Brad was there. Again. From the looks of it, he’d been there over night. They think they’re getting away with it, but I’m not stupid.”
“You visited your mother while we were in the back?” She nodded, and the horror in his eyes doubled. “Katelina! Do you have any idea what could have happened?”
“I locked the van, and I kept an eye on it through the window. What was I supposed to do? Sit here for six or seven hours? I’ve been stuck here for damn near three as it is!”
Someone moved in the back and Jorick held up a hand. “We’ll discuss this later, but I want you to consider how irresponsible that was!”
She snorted. “You’re not my Father. Don’t try to be.”
Oren appeared next to the van, his face grim. “The others are waking. Hand out the cooler and let’s go. We can feed on the way.” His eyes flicked to Katelina. “I’ll drive.”
The blood inside the cooler was haphazardly stored in various bottles. Katelina wondered where they’d gotten it from, but she didn’t really want to know. Jorick took out two bottles for himself and Oren, then lugged the cooler to the back of the van and hoisted it inside for the others.
Happy to relinquish the keys, Katel
ina slipped between the seats and settled herself in the space where the cooler had been. Jorick was barely back in the passenger seat before Oren fired the van up and turned towards the interstate.
Jorick downed his meal and dropped the bottle to the floorboard with the cat, an expression of distaste on his face.
Oren misinterpreted his unhappiness. “It never tastes as good cold.”
It took five minutes to reach Anya’s den. She lived on the outskirts of what looked like a suburb. They stopped a block away, next to a “no parking” sign. Jorick popped open the glove box and pulled out a lumpy bundle of cloth. Katelina knew the contents before he opened it and handed her a hunting knife.
Oren asked, “You’re sure you want her to go? She could stay in the van.”
“It’s her decision.”
Oren muttered something under his breath and shut the van off, his eyes on the row of houses. Katelina followed his gaze and suddenly wondered if he might be right for once.
The back door of the van banged open. Though she couldn’t hear them, she knew that eleven vampires were climbing out into the winter night. Oren followed. As soon as he’d shut the door Jorick turned to her. “Are you sure you want to go?”
No. But she lied. “Yes. Maybe I’ll find a chance to kill Micah.”
Jorick smiled appreciatively and hopped out. She followed, her insides a knot of terror. The cold wind slapped her and threw the world into sharp focus. The reality of it crashed down on her and for a moment she couldn’t breathe. It was another fight. Another battle. More blood and screams.
What in the hell am I doing?
There was no time to come up with an answer. The vampires clustered into an informal circle, Kale at the center. He looked at each in turn and said, “If anyone wants out, now’s the time to say so.” When no one spoke, he went on. “Anya’s den is the small blue house with the evergreens. We’ll split into two groups. I’ll lead the assault on the front and Oren will attack from the back. It’s a populated area, so our scent may go undetected.” The group nodded as one, and Joseff moved to go. Kale grabbed his arm. “No one is to strike until I give the signal. I’ll give them the chance to hand Thomas over. Should they comply, we’ll take him and leave, though I doubt they will. Chances are they’ll attack first. If they do, come out of hiding ready to fight. Any questions?”
“The human?” Joseff asked snidely. “Surely she isn’t coming?”
There was an unspoken threat behind Jorick’s words, “She is.”
“All right, then let’s go.” Kale stepped out of the circle. “Yaul, Alex, Saeed, Joseff, and Rachel with me.”
The covens split and started in their respective directions. Jorick tugged Katelina after Kale’s group.
“I want to be there when he confronts them,” he whispered.
She gave a wordless nod and looked to their goal. As Kale said, it was painted a light blue and several evergreens dotted the side yard. It was sandwiched between two houses, one with a high privacy fence and one without.
“This is too public.” Jorick’s eyes strayed to a swing set, just visible over the fence. “I don’t like it.”
Katelina squeezed Jorick’s hand nervously. “What about the people? What if they call the cops?”
His tone was flat and emotionless. “Do you remember what happened when we rescued Kale?” She nodded. “That’s probably what will happen.”
They fell into silence, Katelina trapped inside her head with memories of the bleeding police officers.
They stopped in the shadows of the neighboring house. Rachel pulled Kale into a long kiss, then reluctantly released him. Her apprehensive gaze followed him as he cut across the naked, brown lawn towards the porch. The others stood around her, muscles tense, waiting for the moment they were needed.
The first knock sounded. Then the second. They all stiffened when the door opened to reveal Anya. Her mouth moved, but the words were too quiet for Katelina to hear. She tugged Jorick’s sleeve. “What are they saying?”
He brought his finger to his lips, then whispered, “She’s greeted him and asked the nature of his business. He told her that he’s here to see Thomas and she wants to know why.” He paused as the conversation continued. “He told her that he believes Thomas is making deals with humans.”
Anya’s laughter echoed, and then died. “She thinks Kale is crazy, and she refuses to turn Thomas over. Now he’s telling her that she’d better give him up or else.” Jorick’s face turned to stone. “She’s just insulted him and said he’d have to kill her before she’d hand over her brother, especially over something so stupid - wait.” He narrowed his eyes. “She has something. She’s waving it at him. It might be a weapon.”
“Now!” Joseff snarled and plunged towards the house.
The others followed enthusiastically and Jorick swore under his breath. His eyes darted to the neighboring houses. There was nothing else to do, so he tugged Katelina along with the directions, “Stay behind me!”
Kale knocked Anya through the door and dodged inside. The rest of his coven followed. On the porch, Jorick released Katelina’s hand. “Stay out here by the door, do you understand?”
Then he was gone. She gripped the knife and stared through the doorway. The house opened up into a large living room/dining room combo. Anya had tackled Kale just past the table and shouted to her coven mates, many of whom were already there. Rachel lunged for Anya, but another vampire grabbed Rachel and slammed her into the wall. She grabbed a lamp and smashed it noisily over his head; enough to stun him.
Meanwhile, Saeed shook off a thin male. He grabbed a flat panel TV and used it to bludgeon his attacker. On the third hit, the television split. Saeed threw it towards Anya, but it missed and crashed into the wall.
As Jorick predicted, Des appeared from deeper in the house. He and Joseff clashed; snarling fangs and pounding fists. Joseff’s dark ponytail became a momentary handle before he kicked his way loose from the dark vampire. While Des recovered, Yaul smashed a chair over his back. Des spun to face him, but Yaul darted away and Alex took his place, brandishing a piece of the broken television. Katelina expected Jorick to interrupt them, but he was busy with Lennon, the red-haired male.
The sound of battle poured out into the night and a dog barked. The noise echoed off the neighboring houses. As if it was a signal, glass shattered from deeper in the house and someone shouted; Oren’s assault had started.
His group of vampires charged into the living room, leaping over Anya and Kale. Lennon was distracted by the newcomers, and Jorick used the opening to grab him and throw him into a wall. A female leapt on Jorick’s back, mouth open and fangs gleaming. With a cry of rage, she bit savagely into his shoulder.
Katelina raised the knife, ready to disregard her instructions and dash into the fray, but Jorick threw the female off easily. He swiped the blood from his shoulder, then turned in time to knock her back onto Oren. The lion-maned vampire spun her around, slamming her into the wall. Then he smashed his fist into her chest in a spray of blood and gore. She gave a final scream as he ripped her heart out and mashed it to pulp in his hand.
Kale wrestled loose from Anya, and Micah pounced on her. His eyes gleamed with too much enjoyment as he pinned her to the floor and head-butted her. Instead of knocking her out, it made her even more furious. She wriggled a leg free and jammed it up into his crotch. Micah gave a grunt of pain and surprise. She shoved him off and dodged towards Kale, but Alex and Yaul suddenly blocked her path.
Anya knocked Alex away from her and glared through the fight to Jorick. “I know you’re behind this. You won’t take my brother, no matter what bullshit story you concoct!”
Yaul helped Alex up and snarled at her. “Jorick has nothing to do with this. It’s between us and that sniveling coward, Thomas.”
She backhanded Yaul and swung at Alex. Her fist slammed into his gut and knocked him back into Fabian. They fell to the floor in a tangle. Fabian’s opponent took the opportunity to jam a sharp knife int
o his side. Fabian gave a cry and kicked his opponent’s legs out from under him. He crashed to the floor, and Alex grabbed him in a head lock.
“He’s mine,” Fabian snarled. Something in his eyes made Katelina think of a rabid dog. Alex backed away as Fabian wrested the enemy from his grip and clamped his mouth around a pulsing vein in his neck. The vampire shrieked. He threw the knife away and used his hands to pry Fabian loose.
Anya slammed Yaul into the wall. She snapped at his neck, but he jerked away and her fangs tore into his cheek instead. Kale lunged at Anya, but Des tackled him to the floor. They struggled and Kale landed a blow that knocked the dark vampire’s head back. Kale made it to his feet and Des was right after him. Katelina’s eyes snapped to Jorick in time to see him discard a broken armed vampire. He met her eyes briefly, as if to say everything was all right.
Then the guest of honor appeared.
Rachel was locked in combat with a wounded vampiress, but looked up at the same time Katelina did. Their eyes moved in unison to the back of the room where Thomas stood, a smarmy expression on his face. Rachel let out a low growl and Thomas yelped. His eyes wild, he dashed into the fray, knocking friend and foe aside as he raced for the front door. Katelina didn’t have time to react before he slammed past her, nearly knocking her off the porch, Rachel pounding after him.
“Thomas!” Anya screamed, struggling with Yaul and Alex. “God damn it, get back here!”
Katelina grabbed the door frame to regain her balance. She looked up to see Kale and Jorick barreling towards her, and hopped out of the way just in time.
Oren and Torina raced after them. Once they hit the yard, they split up to pincer the runaway vampire.
Thomas looked over his shoulder and gave a startled cry. He changed directions, then swerved to avoid Rachel. Pinned against the neighbor’s house, he had nowhere to go. Kale was suddenly there and took a swing at him. More agile than he appeared, the panicked Thomas dodged and leapt over Kale. He tried to run for the privacy fence. Jorick and Oren cut him off. He pulled to a stop and looked around wildly, while Rachel and Kale closed in.
Amaranthine Special Edition Vol II Page 41
