“Then we better find our own,” Micah said. He nodded to Loren. “Come on peewee.”
The two vampires stalked out the door, and Katelina watched as they wandered the parking lot, looking for the perfect vehicle. It didn’t take them long to settle on a silvery SUV, and once the doors were open Loren leaned around the vehicle and motioned to them.
“Could they be any more obvious?” Torina asked.
Jorick didn’t say anything, only plunged out the door into the wintery night, and the rest of them followed. Katelina clutched her coat closed and tried to think warm thoughts. It had to be at least ten degrees.
“The screen inside said negative eighteen,” Verchiel corrected cheerfully. “Of course, that was Celsius. I’d have to do math to figure out Fahrenheit.”
She decided she was better off not knowing.
They piled into the SUV, crammed one on top of the other. Ume and Quenby shared the front passenger seat and Micah drove. At the vampiress’ directions they left the parking lot and wound down a dark highway. The windshield wipers could barely keep up with the wintery onslaught, and it was only the tall pine trees on either side of them that showed where a road was supposed to be. Katelina buried her face against Jorick and prayed they didn’t get into a car crash.
Micah drove like a demon, and when Ume told him to turn he sent the SUV into a swerving skid. Katelina screamed and even when the vehicle finally slid to a stop she refused to open her eyes, in case they were dead.
“Was that necessary?” Jorick demanded.
Micah laughed heartily. “Don’t be such a pussy.”
“We don’t have time to waste,” Oren snapped. “The sun may come late here, but it will eventually rise, and if you keep at your ridiculous antics, we’ll end up exposed in the wilderness.”
“Yeah, yeah. Button your shirt.” Micah dropped the vehicle into gear and, after cutting a snow spraying donut, took off.
The new road was no better than the last. In fact Katelina wasn’t even sure it was a road. The headlights cut through the deep black night, and snowflakes splattered against the windshield like angry insects. Ume directed them over several more dubious roads, many of which had the texture of snow covered fields, and finally told them to stop in front of a pine forest.
“This is your headquarters?” Micah asked. “Glad we raced all the way out here.”
“Our winter headquarters are in the forest,” Quenby said coldly. “You can follow us or stay here.” She jerked the door open and hopped out into the snow. Ume glanced back at them, and then followed.
Jorick threw the back door open and helped Katelina down. He climbed out behind her and once the others were out, led her toward the trees. Etsuko pulled a flashlight from her bag and snapped it on. The crisp yellow beam revealed a forest thick with snow. Dark shadows danced under the branches of ancient pines and, with no tracks, no trash, and no sign of modern man, it was like stepping into a frozen winter from the beginning of time.
Katelina noticed that Etsuko, dressed in a black and red kimono and bundled up except for a strip where her eyes were, had a harder time plowing through the snow than she did. Oren gave an exasperated sigh, took the flashlight from her, and scooped her up. Jorick gave Katelina a wink, as if to say “See? He’s not as bad as you think.”
“He’s only worried about speed,” she muttered.
They walked with only the sound of crunching snow and the occasional snapping branch. Oren kept the flashlight pointed forward, even though he didn’t need it, and the light picked out more of the same wintery forest. Katelina’s breath hung in heavy white clouds and her fingers went from pink to red, then to white. Her socks were soaked with snow and her toes throbbed. If she never lived to see another winter she’d be too happy.
She nudged Jorick and started to ask through chattering teeth how much farther it would be, when he grabbed her and pulled to a stop. She looked up to see the others do the same. Verchiel reached silently inside his coat to remove his sword, and Torina dropped her heavy bag into the snow with a plop.
At the sound, the thick shadows came to life and swarmed toward them. Oren dropped Etsuko and the flashlight and spun toward a wave of darkness. Jorick moved in front of Katelina and, as if by unspoken command, Torina and Verchiel backed toward them, her hands like ready claws and his blade unsheathed, so that Katelina and Etsuko were ringed around by the four back to back vampires.
Micah, Loren, Ume, and Quenby did the same. Loren had his ridiculous pocket knife again, and the other three had nothing. This was the second fight they were unprepared for and Katelina thought they should start carrying a miniature arsenal with them.
The dark swept toward them and then separated into individuals; pale faces peered from black ninja style outfits, identical to what Ume and Quenby wore. Unlike the girls, they still had their masks and their ornate hand held sickles.
Apparently they’d found the Black Vigil.
In a choreographed move, the attackers encircled them, sickles at the ready. Ume held up her hands. “It’s us!” The group continued to circle, closing in with each circuit, and Ume tried again in a different language.
A lithe male with dark hair drew to a stop and glared at her. “The traitors return. And they bring an army with them.”
“Fuck yeah,” Micah called. “And we’ll kick your asses.”
“We’re not traitors!” Ume cried, waving Micah to silence.
Quenby dropped into a fighting stance. “Dammit! I told you we shouldn’t bring them.”
The male snapped his fingers and Katelina cringed back as the tide came. Her eyes met Etsuko’s. The woman half lay in the snow, holding the flashlight. Tendrils of hair had slipped down from her usual updo and her kimono was rumpled, but her eyes were calm and her expression was neutral, as if fear couldn’t touch her. Katelina wanted to shout, “How can you be so relaxed?” but she didn’t get the chance.
The ninja-like warriors crashed into the two clusters. Both Oren and Jorick held their ground, swinging their upper bodies to dodge the blows. Jorick’s dark hair fanned out as he moved, like a war flag unfurling.
Torina ducked, then spun back and grabbed the sickle with both hands. She and the vampire wrestled over the weapon, but a well-timed kick forced her to let go and stumble back.
“You’ll be sorry for that,” she spat.
Verchiel met the sickles with his sword. They clashed, and then his attacker drew back to strike again. As he did, Verchiel rammed his blade through his chest. His opponent stared down at the protruding weapon with bulging eyes. Verchiel whipped it out, and his enemy crumpled to the snow.
Micah threw one of the ninja-like vampires into his friends, knocking several into a struggling heap. Quenby spun away from their back to back formation, kicking and swinging. Ume did the same, with a cry of, “Please don’t kill them!” Katelina looked to the flash of Verchiel’s blood stained sword and thought to herself, It’s a little late for that.
Loren dodged a swinging sickle and stabbed with his pocket knife. He got one good jab before it was knocked from his hand. Katelina had a two second view of it arching through the air, stray moonlight glittering on the bloody blade, before it dropped out of sight.
A pocket knife had been a stupid idea, but Katelina wished she had one. It would be better than nothing. Etsuko pulled up her kimono and the layers beneath it. Strapped to her upper thigh was a long, thin silver blade, which she pulled loose. “Oren-sama!” When the amber eyed vampire glanced back to her, she tossed it to him. He caught it by the handle and, without so much as a thank you, turned back to the fight and rammed it into his attacker’s throat.
“You should have kept that!” Katelina cried. “Now we don’t have any weapons!”
Jorick wrested a sickle from his enemy and cast it back. Katelina dodged as it landed near her in a spray of snow. She hefted it with a grunt of surprise. It was heavier than it looked, and she wasn’t sure she’d be able to get more than one swing out of it.
&nbs
p; One was better than none.
Jorick snapped his opponent’s neck and then slammed his fist through her chest. He pulled the heart out in a bloody lump and tossed it aside. The vampiress had barely fallen when another took her place, swinging a pair of sickles.
Torina had gotten a weapon as well. She did better with it than Katelina, it was obvious she wasn’t used to it. She managed to wound a couple, but they quickly overcame her. Oren abandoned his opponent to try and help her, but the ninja-like vampires only ganged up and soon had them both pinned down in the snow.
Katelina looked to see that Loren was held prisoner, his good arm twisted behind his back, and a bloody cut across his stomach. Micah fought to free him, but two of the attackers jumped on his back. One of Loren’s captors brought their sickle to the boy’s throat and with an outraged growl, Micah surrendered.
Ume had swung up into a tree, and kicked at the vampires that attempted to reach her. Her wild eyes showed that she knew it wasn’t a permanent solution. “Stop!” she cried. “We’re not your enemy!”
Quenby didn’t bother trying to reason with her once-allies. She’d gotten a sickle, and fought with one of them. They ranged back and forth over the lumpy forest ground, meeting blow for blow.
With their ring broken, vampires lunged at Katelina and Etsuko. Oren gave a roar and struggled as his captors secured his hands behind him. Jorick threw himself in front of their foes, which gave Katelina a moment to pull Etsuko to her feet.
Vampires came from the other side, and Katelina spun and swung the heavy sickle. The blade sliced into her enemy, but didn’t kill him. She pulled the weapon away for another strike when Verchiel materialized in front of her and slashed at the vampire’s head. He dodged the blow and grabbed Etsuko. The Japanese woman dropped the flashlight, pulled a short knife from the depths of her puffy coat, and expertly stabbed it into his face. Dark blood sprayed out and splattered over her.
Jorick had taken two more, but while he did Quenby was overwhelmed and captured, and Ume was pulled out of her tree. Verchiel got a couple of sickles away from their attackers, then one of them managed to hook his sword and pull it out of his hands. He dived after it, but a pair of black clad vampires tackled him before he could reach it.
Etsuko stabbed at another vampire, but a second came behind her and grabbed her arms. Though she wrestled, she was no match for their strength. Katelina was left alone in a tightening ring. She swung the sickle wildly, but the weapon was unwieldy in her hands. A vampire grabbed her arm and squeezed her wrist until she cried out and dropped the weapon to the snow. It took five vampires to rein Jorick in as they forced Katelina’s hands behind her back and tied her wrists.
She looked around, hopeful that someone had escaped, but her optimism fizzled. All of them had been captured and were held, hands behind their backs.
The lithe young man who’d first confronted them took charge. “We will take them before Fethillen for judgment and death sentence. Erase the scene.”
Several of the vampires rushed to obey, gathering everything from the snow, including Verchiel’s sword, the flashlight, and the cast-off luggage. The four dead vampires were hefted onto the backs of those still living, and the two most heavily wounded leaned on assistants. The bloody spots in the snow were churned and reburied, and, except for the mass of footprints, there was soon no evidence a fight had taken place.
The black clad vampires marched their prisoners through the dark trees. Katelina searched the shadows for an escape but there was nothing but snow and fallen needles. As they walked, she thought the shadows were growing lighter, and then, through a gap in the trees she saw a flash of gray colored sky.
The sun was rising and there were no headquarters in sight.
Horror surged through her. Would the thick trees be enough to shield the vampires? She’d seen vampires burn to death in the sunt and she didn’t want to see it again.
The sky continued to lighten. Ahead, the trees thinned and early sunlight dappled the path. By its slant, Katelina thought the sun must be above the horizon. She twisted and looked back to Jorick, trying to communicate their peril. He gave a sharp nod, as if to say he understood. Though his expression remained neutral, concern flashed in his dark eyes.
Their captors marched straight through the sunny patch. Surprisingly, they didn’t wince, even when the light shone full on them. Neither did Ume, but when the sunlight danced over Loren, he cried out and tried to turn. There was nowhere for him to go, and by the time they reached the shade, thin tendrils of smoke curled up from his exposed skin.
Katelina dragged her feet and twisted back to see Jorick. His mouth turned into a tight line, but he seemed otherwise unaffected. She heaved a sigh of relief. He’d told her before that with his age came more sunlight tolerance. She was glad he was right.
There was a small section of heavy shadows and then a longer stretch of sunlight. Again Ume and the other masked vampires waltzed through it as though everything was fine, though their step quickened toward the end. Loren, on the other hand, started out brave, but near the end he cried out and tried to raise his arm to shield his smoking face. Katelina could see blisters rising on his cheeks, and she pulled at her bonds and cried out, “Are you trying to burn everyone up?”
Stray words flickered through her head unbidden, “They’re sun walkers, little one. They can endure more sunlight than the average vampire.”
It was Jorick, sending her thoughts.
The trees grew thinner, and soon the sunlight was almost constant. She heard the drone of the generator before the cabin came into view. Made of wood, it sat in the middle of a clearing surrounded by outbuildings. Their captors sped up, hurrying them toward what must be their final destination, but it wasn’t fast enough for their prisoners. Loren’s blisters grew, and he screamed. He fought and got loose. He dashed back toward the shadowy forest, but his guard grabbed him. The teen wrestled, shrieking as the blisters on his face and hands burst and ran blood. With an impatient snarl, another vampire joined and between them they subdued him. He continued to scream and writhe, and they carried him between them, dragging his knees in the snow.
“You’re gonna pay for that, you sons of bitches!” Micah cried from his position further back in the line. “I’m gonna personally kill every fucking one of you!”
Oren’s smoking sunburn started to blister, but he pressed his lips together, as if refusing to give their enemies the satisfaction of his cries. Katelina looked back desperately to Jorick and saw wisps of smoke curl up from him, barely visible in the bright light.
They reached the cabin and the door flew open. Katelina squinted to see another black clad vampire standing inside. The others picked up the pace, and were nearly jogging as they hit the door. She wondered sarcastically if they’d reached their limit. If so, she hoped it hurt them.
The room inside was made of heavy wooden logs. A fieldstone fireplace was against one wall, the hearth cold, and a long table and chairs were in the center. A cellar door stood open, and it was through it that the prisoners were led.
Katelina stumbled down the stairs to a stone basement. Doors yawned in both the back wall and to the left. Several card tables were set up with folding chairs, and trunks were stacked to the right. A table in the far corner was heaped with what looked like radio equipment, and white Christmas lights were strung everywhere. In fact, they were the only light source and gave the place a strange muted atmosphere.
Loren lay on the ground in a heap. Etsuko knelt over him, her hands still tied, and when they let Oren go he strode to stand over the pair of them. His lips were blistered, bloody, and raw like something from a horror movie. His face was a mass of huge, wrinkling blisters. In places they’d popped, running blood and revealing what looked like raw meat underneath.
Katelina’s captor shoved her toward the others. With no arms to catch herself she knocked into Oren. For a second she could feel the heat of his skin through her clothes, and she saw him wince at the contact. She quickly pull
ed away and turned to the whimpering teen. It took her a moment to drop down next to Etsuko, and right herself.
Loren lay clenched in the fetal position, his head turned so his curly hair hid his face. The smell of burnt flesh wafted from his body, and Katelina could see small, burned holes in his flannel and t-shirt.
Jorick knelt next to her. His face was bright red, and small brownish blisters had formed on his forehead and cheeks. Like Oren, his lips were the worst. They were dry and cracked, with large whitish blisters that looked ready to pop.
She wanted to touch him, but couldn’t. “My god, Jorick, are you all right?”
He gave a short, sharp nod.
Micah shouted a mesh of obscenities and threats, and the vampires practically threw him at them. He stumbled over Oren and landed on the cement floor with a thud. He gave a long, loud groan and rolled over. His red skin was raw and blistered, and in places there were dark, shiny patches, as if they’d been burned by flames. Like Loren’s clothes, his tank top had small burn holes in it, and the tattoos on his bare arms were disfigured. Blood ran from his lips, where his shouting had cracked the brittle skin.
Torina arrived, in much the same shape as her brother, and Verchiel was worse than Jorick; his flaming sunburn almost matched his hair. The blisters on his face had a pink and yellow cast and were clustered like painful grapes. Like Oren and Micah, his lips bled and leaked trails down his chin. He met Katelina’s eyes but didn’t even try to smile.
Quenby was last. She was unaffected. Her captors dragged her past the others and through the door at the back of the room.
Katelina was aware of a soft noise, like singing, and she realized Etsuko was gently crooning a lullaby to Loren. Katelina didn’t know if the teen was shivering from pain, or if he’d gone into convulsions. Did vampires suffer shock?
“Then where were you?” a male shouted in the next room.
Katelina looked toward the doorway and strained to hear Ume’s answer. She couldn’t catch all the words, only, “Captured… Germany… Prisoner.”
Children of Shadows Page 14
