A voice sounded in her head, “How interesting.”
She wanted to ask what was interesting, but her tongue wouldn’t work. Jorick drew himself up next to her and glared at the Kugsankal, pushing with a wave of will that would have left Katelina breathless under different circumstances. “Your judgment should be made.”
“Yes,” the voice said inside Katelina’s head, and no doubt in Jorick’s. “You will remain with us for the time being, for your own protection.”
But I don’t need protected! Katelina wanted to cry.
It was Inanna who answered. “How little you understand, child. You may go.”
And then the spell was broken and Katelina sagged. She let Jorick lead her away on shaking legs, too exhausted to even bemoan their situation. Jorick was more vocal.
“It’s an excuse,” he said angrily. “They can’t force us to stay here as prisoners.”
“Yes they can.” Wolfe’s attitude was detached. “However, if you cooperate you won’t be imprisoned.”
Jorick grunted. “Let them try.”
They exited the barred door on what seemed like the bottom floor when a Scharfrichter nearly bowled them over. His long white hair fell around his shoulders and his icy blue eyes were alive with dismay.
Wolfe stepped back. “What is it, Hethin?”
“The Turkish stronghold has been destroyed.”
“What?” Wolfe’s gray eyes went wide. “By whom?”
Katelina clutched Jorick, and tried to digest the vampire’s panicked words. A stronghold destroyed? Did he mean one like this?
“We received a call from a survivor only moments ago. The Turkish Dernek was attacked. The stronghold was utterly destroyed by a group calling themselves the Children of Shadows. They said the army moved like a wave, crushing everything in their path. There’s barely anything left, and most of the survivors fled. Only a few remained behind.”
Katelina caught her breath but Wolfe’s face stayed impassive. “So they are back. Who is leading them?”
“The Höher Rat fears it’s Samael,” Hethin answered. “They worry we’ll be next.”
“Samael?” Katelina whispered with horror.
Wolfe was reminded of their presence. “You can find your way back to your room?” Though Jorick didn’t answer, Wolfe acted like he had. “You must excuse me.” He caught Hethin’s arm and practically dragged him down the corridor.
“Come little one,” Jorick said quickly and did the same to her. The elevator was empty, but it stopped more than once to pick up passengers. Though Katelina expected them to be panicked, they were as calm as usual. A pair of women even discussed shoes.
Katelina and Jorick exited on their floor and she whispered, “How can everyone be so calm?”
“They don’t know,” Jorick said. “Don’t say anything. Let the Höher Rat cause the panic when they announce it.”
They reached the room and she practically fell onto the bed. It was too much in too short a time. The Kugsankal, their forced stay, and now the threat of an attack by a mysterious group. “Are they really coming here?”
Jorick leaned against the door and ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know.”
“I thought Samael was supposed to start an apocalypse, not the Children of Shadows!”
Jorick closed his eyes. “Samael’s legendary apocalypse is against mankind—humans. But, for all we know Samael is behind it.”
“Why start with Turkey of all places? I didn’t even know they had a guild!”
“Yes,” Jorick said absently. “Though they call it the Dernek, apparently. Most countries have one. Munich’s is the guild for Germany. It is also the head guild of Europe, and then, of course, the Kugsankal is over everyone.” She looked confused and he explained, “Like Canada. They have a Canadian guild, and we have one in the United States, but it’s not only for the United States. It’s also over North America, so it’s over Canada and Mexico.” She blinked. “Never mind. It’s a complicated hierarchy, and it doesn’t matter.”
A knock sounded on the door. Jorick opened it to find Oren and Etsuko. Oren took one look at Jorick’s face and demanded, “What’s wrong now?”
Jorick motioned them inside, and shut the door. Only after Oren took a seat did Etsuko sit.
“We spoke to the True Council,” Jorick began, but another knock sounded. He made an agitated noise and jerked the door open to reveal Ume and her companion, Quenby. “Yes?”
“The stronghold is on lockdown!” Ume cried and hurried inside, Quenby on her heels. “They said we can’t leave!”
“What?” Oren jumped to his feet. “What’s happened?”
“The Children of Shadows attacked Turkey, and they think we’ll be next,” Katelina said and dropped into the last chair.
Oren looked to Jorick for confirmation. “We’re stuck here?”
“That’s what they told us at the desk just now,” Ume said. “We were trying to find a way home because we can’t afford rooms.” She broke off and looked to Katelina. “You said that perhaps you could arrange something?”
Had she? It seemed like a lifetime ago, but a vague memory resurfaced. “Oh. I thought you could share with Torina since she has a room to herself.”
Oren was suddenly aware of the strangers. “Who are you?”
“It’s the girls we dragged here as prisoners. The Höher Rat found them innocent and let them go,” Katelina said. “Since it’s our fault they’re here—”
Oren cut her off. “It hardly matters. Let them share her room, I don’t care. There are more important things to worry about.”
A third knock sounded on the door, and Jorick jerked it open with a growl. Verchiel was on the other side, his hands up. “Whoa! Chill out. It’s only me.”
He sauntered inside. “It’s a little crowded in here.” His eyes landed on Ume and as quickly moved on. “I guess you’ve heard.”
“About the lockdown?” Katelina asked. “If the damage was as severe as they said, I don’t understand what good locking us in will do.”
Jorick said, “They have to look as though they’re doing something. Everyone will expect The Sodalitas to keep them safe.”
“How is keeping someone a virtual prisoner safe? It’s just an excuse to take away their freedom.”
“When you ask someone else to protect you, you’ve already given up your freedom. I’m going to go speak to Wolfe.” Jorick met Katelina’s eyes. “Stay here. You.” He pointed to Verchiel. “Come with me.”
Verchiel didn’t argue, only cast a sort of horrified look at Ume before he hurried out the door.
Oren left shortly afterwards, taking the three women with him. Katelina paced the room in nervous circles. The initial fear of attack faded, and was replaced by the terror of being The Sodalitas’ prisoner. Despite the words “for your own protection”, that was what they were: prisoners.
She dropped into a chair and wrung her hands. What were they going to do?
The door swung open and Micah waltzed inside. “What the hell is going on?” He gave the room a quick once over. “Where the hell is Jorick? He left you by yourself?”
“Yeah, I am capable of sitting in the room alone,” she snapped. “I’ll tell him you were here.”
“Fuck that, I’ll wait on him.” He threw himself into one of the other chairs. “So what’s all this freak shit I hear about? Like you’re some kind of mind reading ninja or some shit?”
“Fuck off, Micah.” Katelina crossed her arms and glared. “It’s nothing like that.”
“Then what is it? And don’t give me any bullshit. Your Executioner on the side was seriously fucking worried about it. If it’s bad enough to shake his ass up, then it must be something pretty fucking big.”
“You mean Verchiel?”
“Duh, Blondie, who else? Unless you got a bunch of them going on. I know you like to share with the team but—”
“You’re such a fucking jackass. Why don’t you go away?”
“Coz I’m waiting fo
r the other jackass. So, anyway, what’s the deal?”
“There is no deal, all right?” she shouted as she jumped to her feet. “It’s…it’s just stupid!” All the fight seeped out of her. Her knees folded and she dropped back into the chair.
Someone pounded on the door and she groaned. It was starting to get ridiculous! Their room had turned into the Grand Central Station.
The pounding repeated and Micah asked, “You gonna get that?”
With a snarl she stormed to the door and jerked it open on a pair of crimson clad guards.
“Yes?” She stepped back, unsure of herself.
“Is Jorick here?” one asked in a thickly accented voice.
“No, he’s supposed to be with Wolfe. Why?” Though the guards looked and acted perfectly friendly, the hair stood up on the back of her neck and she felt a warning in the air. She took another step back and her nervous eyes automatically searched the room for an escape route. She noticed that Micah stood with his arms loose and ready at his sides. It was as if they both sensed danger.
“You are the human of Jorick, yes?”
“What’s it to ya?” Micah demanded as he pushed his way in front of her.
“We have orders to take her to a safer location,” the guard explained. “If she will come with us?”
Safer location. What he really meant was the dungeon, and she wasn’t going.
“I don’t think so,” Micah said. “You can wait ‘til Jorick gets back and deal with him.” He tried to shut the door, but the guard stuck his foot in it, and then wedged himself through.
“I apologize, but our orders say she must go now. You are?”
Micah pulled the door open, then slammed it again as the guard was half through it. He jumped back in time, except for his hand. His fingers were crushed between the door and the jamb. He cried out and Micah snarled, “I told you to fucking get lost!”
There was the sound of static, like a radio, and the other guard called something in German. Meanwhile, the first guard pulled his fingers out and forced the door open, knocking both Katelina and Micah onto the floor in a heap.
Katelina struggled to untangle herself, and Micah snapped, “Sit still, will ya?” He pulled loose and jerked to his feet as the guard stormed into the room. Micah’s lips were pulled back from his snarling teeth and his fangs gleamed. For a moment he looked truly terrifying, and even Katelina drew back from him.
“You will get down on the floor!” The guard commanded. His right hand hung at his side, the fingers bloody and bent at odd angles. He still looked capable of causing plenty of damage.
“And you will go to hell,” Micah tossed back. With a loud snarl he threw himself at the guard and swung. His fist slammed into the guard’s face with a loud crack and a spray of blood splattered both the vampires and the plaster wall.
Katelina pulled herself up and shuffled backwards like a crab. She could see the second guard in the corridor. He shouted into his radio, the words so fast she couldn’t tell where one ended and another began.
Micah landed a second punch to his opponent’s gut, but when he tried for a third, the guard deflected the blow and sent him flying. Micah tumbled backwards and landed on top of a stand. The spindly legs gave way and with a crash he fell to the floor, bits of broken lamp scattered around him.
The second guard shouted something and bolted into the room. Micah recovered in time to knock his legs out from under him, but the first guard was able to get ahold of one of his arms and pin it behind his back.
Micah roared and swung his free fist. It took both the guards to try to restrain him, and he laughed as he struggled. “You better get the hell outta here, Lunch, before their buddies show up.”
She climbed quickly to her feet and ran to the door. She hesitated and looked back to see that they had Micah pinned down, his legs and one arm waving wildly. He caught one of the guards in the chin with his boot, so hard that she heard his teeth clack.
“Get outta here, you idiot!” he bellowed. She tore down the hallway, dodging past the few onlookers, until she came to the elevator bank. She skipped the shiny cages and ran up the stairs, with no idea where she was going or what she was going to do. She remembered the holding cells at The Guild; cement walled rooms with only a toilet, if the prisoner was lucky. She knew what they did to them, how they kept them trapped without food. She thought of those experiments Sadihra had mentioned and pictured stone walls, pools of blood, and a symphony of screams.
Terror prodded her on. The stairs were empty and she raced upwards, too preoccupied with fear to notice the floors flying past her, or to realize that she should be lying on a landing gasping for breath.
She burst out at the top into the marble entrance hall. A mob of vampires was gathered before the information desk, shouting in many languages. Katelina caught a few words in the noise, “What’s going on? Why can’t we leave?” News of the lockdown was spreading and no one was happy.
She took advantage of the chaos to catch her breath, and try to formulate a plan. Where could she hide? She needed to find Jorick. He would make everything okay. He’d find a way to get out of the stronghold. But she had no idea where to look for him.
Her two options were to hide and hope he wandered past, or to stumble around blindly and hope luck brought them together. If only they were still linked! When they had been, she could sense him and he her, but the link had been undone with Kateesha’s blood and he’d never redone it.
She decided that no matter which option she chose, standing in the writhing crowd of the entrance hall was useless. There were too many vampires, and she’d never see Jorick, even if he walked in. She took a deep breath for courage and plunged into the back of the crowd. She wormed her way past unhappy vampires, angling for the arches on the other side of the room. She told herself not to think of the crowd’s true nature and pretend it was the mosh pit at a rock concert, like the one she’d been to back in high school.
The thoughts did little to comfort her as she passed the stairs that led up to the secret entrance. Two guards stood on each step, with a pair of Scharfrichter at the top. Weapons gleamed in their hands and their expressions were cold and unbending. She could feel an aura of power emanating from them, saying, “don’t even think about messing with us.”
With a gasp, she ducked behind a pair of women arguing in French. They gave her an odd look, then went back to their discussion. She was only a human, after all, and not worth notice.
Katelina made it to the archways and hurried inside. There was a long, sharply curving hall, lined in a handful of doors. That she’d made it this far without a map was amazing, but she was out of semi-familiar ground and into completely new territory.
Footsteps echoed ahead and she ducked into the nearest doorway and flattened herself against the wall. A pair of Scharfrichter walked past, talking in low voices, their words foreign. As their footsteps faded, Katelina relaxed and only then looked to see where she was.
The room was paneled in dark wood and the floor was covered in emerald carpeting. Two heavy wooden desks faced each other, and plush green chairs were situated in strategic places. A marble topped counter, littered with computer monitors and other equipment, formed an L on top of a platform. Behind it, phone pressed to his ear and mouth open in surprise, stood the white haired Scharfrichter Hethin.
Her eyes went wide in panic. Where the hell was she? God, please not the Scharfrichter Office!
“Um, sorry,” she muttered. “Wrong, room.”
As she dashed out the door she heard him call to her to stop, but she had no intention of it. She imagined him shouting into the phone that he’d found the escaped human. Shit, shit, shit!
The hall ended in a set of elevators and a pair of gracefully curving stairs. She stopped to catch her breath, and glanced back as footsteps sounded. She had a momentary glimpse of the guards before she uttered a cry and dashed down the stairs. She took them two and three at a time, but it wasn’t fast enough. She could hear the feet of he
r pursuers pounding after her.
The suffocating heaviness that she associated with the stronghold pressed down on her, strangling the air from her burning lungs. Her legs started to ache, and her heart pounded in her ears, louder than the approaching footsteps. She knew she couldn’t keep it up much longer.
As she rounded a corner she came face to face with four guards. She skidded to a stop and spun around, only to meet the other group. She looked back and forth frantically, but there was nowhere to go.
She was aware of words, “State your name and master!”
With a gasp, she fell against the wall and tried to grab coherent thoughts. They’d asked her name. They didn’t know. They—
“That’s her.”
She looked up to see a guard holding a handkerchief to his bleeding nose. His hand was wrapped in bloody cloth and his eye and lip were swollen. It was the guard Micah had attacked.
“Take her below!” he bellowed furiously.
“No, no.” She held up her arms, as though to fight them off. “Leave me alone.”
A guard grabbed her and she managed to get loose, but a second and third followed. She tried to slide down the wall, as if she might crawl between their feet. It was a useless defense that left her curled in a tiny ball, her back against the wall, with nowhere to go.
They hauled her up by her arms. She fought, but there were too many of them, and they were too strong. “Let me go!” she shouted as she twisted in their grip. “Let me go!”
“This would be easier if you would cooperate!” one of the guards snapped impatiently.
She was aware of footfalls, and the guards parted for Hethin, the white haired Scharfrichter. He drew to a stop, and met Katelina’s eyes. His own were pale blue, like ice, and she couldn’t move. Not in a pleasant way, like when she was with Jorick, but in a terrifying, paralyzed sort of way.
She noticed one of the guards snap open a case and remove a syringe. She wanted to scream, but she couldn’t, even as he stabbed the needle into a bottle and drew up clear liquid.
Children of Shadows Page 8
