Children of Shadows

by Naylor, Joleene

  He pressed her against the wall, kissing her passionately. She opened her mouth to let his tongue slide inside. Hot and moist, it jousted with hers, and she made a soft sound of desire. He traced a finger down her side, and goose bumps followed. She was aware of each water drop as it hit her skin, warm and somehow erotic as it ran in tiny rivulets down her body.

  He slipped his hand down her wet slippery stomach to the soft center between her thighs. She moaned in surprise and delight as he delved into her moist heat, and opened her legs wider, encouraging him to do more.

  He stroked her and she bit back her cries of ecstasy, afraid the others would hear. Her hand dropped away from him. In her selfish passion she didn’t even notice.

  His tongue teased her neck, tracing his mark. She heard the catch in his breath as if he was holding back for her sake.

  She arched against him, moaning for more, aching for the exhilaration it would bring. She clutched his back and her fingers dug into the well sculpted muscles, trying to bodily press him into her. She lost track of the world amid the sensations; too many details to see the whole. The sound of the water, the heat of his body, the swelling, screaming need pumping through her, the desire to wrap his skin around her and disappear.

  “Jorick,” she sobbed softly. “Please. Please.”

  She wasn’t sure what she was asking for, but he understood and swiftly bit her. She gasped and stiffened, but the pain disappeared, replaced by pleasure. It radiated from the bite outwards, lapping through her body in waves of tingling warmth. Everything vanished and there was only the rapture, the swirling colors, the whispering voices. She arched her neck, as though to encourage him to bite deeper, but still she ached for something more. Needed something more. The feel of him, the taste of him. His body, his blood.

  She tilted her head, desperate lips reaching for his hunched shoulder. He shifted, moved closer, and her mouth found his skin. Her tongue swept over the smooth, perfect texture and then she bit. The hot spicy flavor flooded her mouth and her last connections with reality snapped. She was lost on crimson colored waves of passion and pleasure that built and built until they exploded in a final shimmering shower of ecstasy.

  Jorick released her and pulled away from her reluctant mouth. He nuzzled her face with his, dropping soft kisses over her cheeks, her nose, her chin, her ears. Her eyelids fluttered open to see him gazing at her with dark, satisfied eyes. He slid his arms around her and pulled her naked body to his, pressing until her breasts flattened against his hard chest and his face was buried against her neck.

  Reality settled around her. She licked her lips and tasted him there. She’d bitten him again. For a moment she started to get upset, but as quickly she dismissed it. Hell, Jorick didn’t seem to care, so why should she?

  “I love you, Katelina.”

  She sighed and held him tighter. Not only did he not care, but maybe he even liked it. “And I love you, Jorick.”

  Though she was reluctant to let him go and step back into the real world; a place full of worry and impending horror, she finally shut the water off and climbed out. She hunted the bathroom for a towel but couldn’t find anything. Jorick suggested she air dry, but she used one of her least dirty shirts and then dressed in clean clothes. She felt like she’d climbed into a new skin, and she cheerfully enjoyed the smooth creamy nakedness of his body while he debated what to do about his clothes. His shirt and pants were smattered in old blood but he’d only brought one extra set.

  “I told you to bring more,” she said smugly.

  He surrendered and soon they emerged, both with fresh clothes and wet hair. The rest of their group hung out in what served as a kitchen and they joined them. Etsuko sipped from a delicate tea cup and Hector poured some for the Russians. He spotted the newcomers and smiled. “Some tea?”

  “Thank you,” Katelina said as she took a seat and the offered cup.

  Torina lifted a glass of blood in a toast and after a good drink said, “Though I was planning a bath, I think the bald twins should go next. They smell worse than you did.”

  Katelina glared at the vampiress and turned to the worried pair of humans. She had no idea what the Russian word for bath was. As she took a deep breath to try, Hector spieled off a string of cheerful Russian. He motioned with his hands, as if giving them directions to the bathroom, and then he held up a finger and disappeared. He reappeared a moment later with a stack of clothing topped with two towels. He thrust the pile at the Russians and gave them some final directions before they nodded and hurried off toward the shower.

  “How did you get them to cooperate?” Katelina asked. “Usually they’re too scared to listen to anything.”

  “Tea, of course. Everyone feels more agreeable after a cup. I do miss it,” he added wistfully. “I sometimes brew a pot just for the smell.” He leaned over Katelina’s cup, breathed in the steam and gave a dreamy sigh. “I’ll hazard a guess that Gleb and Anfisa are with you?”

  “Who?” Loren asked.

  Hector adjusted his round glasses. “Good grief! You don’t know their names?” He nodded in the direction of the bathroom. “How ever did you come into possession of them?”

  Oren told the story with as much disdain as he could manage. When he finished, Hector nodded several times. “I see, I see. What a most unusual story! It does explain their meek behavior. Have you bothered to explain why you purchased them?”

  “I think Fethillen did,” Katelina said uncomfortably. “None of us speak Russian and they don’t speak English.”

  “Tut-tut. Language can be a barrier sometimes. Never mind. I’ll have a chat with them before you leave, shall I?”

  The Russians returned wearing baggy pants and button up shirts. Katelina noticed they had a thin coating of dark peach fuzz on their heads and, now that the dirt was removed, the male had the beginning of a beard.

  Hector pulled a pan out of the oven and laid it on the table. The contents looked a bit like a fallen loaf of bread with fat sausages stuck in it, but it was hot. Katelina was halfway through her plate when a pair of humans wandered in – introduced as Sorino’s pilots. They took the seats that the other vampires had vacated and had their share of food and copious amounts of tea. Hector chattered cheerfully with them as he served seconds and poured cup after cup of brew. Katelina thought it odd that he wanted to stay with them; most vampires preferred the company of their own kind, especially if the humans were eating, and took the first opportunity to run, as Micah, Torina, and Loren had.

  Hector had just gotten the Russians to speak, when a series of beeps went off in the next room. “You’ll have to excuse me,” he said. “Seems I’m wanted. Goodness but it’s busy today!”

  Katelina peered around the door as he took a seat in front of a radio, and, like Fethillen, tapped something out.

  “Why don’t any of them use modern communication?” she asked.

  “He hasn’t been human in a while,” Jorick said. “Perhaps he hasn’t moved on to newer technology.”

  She chortled. “You’re one to talk. You don’t even know what a search engine is.”

  Verchiel raised his hand and waved it furiously. “Oh, me, me! I know.”

  “Would you quit being stupid?” Oren asked testily. “I realize it’s difficult for you, but you could make an effort.”

  Hector came through the doorway holding a slip of paper. “You’re Jorick, aren’t you? A message came through on the wireless.”

  Jorick hesitated and then nodded.

  “Good show! Here you are then.” Hector handed it over and then turned back to the nearly empty tea pot. “I found it a bit obtuse, but I’m sure you’ll know the meaning.”

  Katelina leaned over and ran her eyes across the penciled words:

  Jorick: The hunted wolf is in china. Your father is not troubled with trading for him. Come for the child yourself. Ask and receive.

  Katelina bit back a gasp. If the message was for Jorick then “your father” could only be one person: Malick. Could the m
essage really be from him? And if so, what did it mean? She reread it slowly. The hunted wolf was obviously Wolfe, who Cyprus was after, which meant Jorick was right about China. The child was hopefully Ume, and no trade meant he didn’t want to ransom her for Wolfe, he only wanted Jorick to come and fetch her.

  Of course he does. One more chance to sink his claws into his favorite fledgling.

  Jorick tossed the paper to Oren. He and Verchiel read it over and then handed it back. “Will you tell Fethillen?”

  “She’s been honest with us so far. I’ll be back.” Jorick disappeared through the door and Katelina met Etsuko’s eyes. They were calm and warm, like the tea in her cup, impossible to ripple with worry.

  It must be nice, Katelina thought unhappily. Worry was all she could ever do.

  And usually with good reason.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Katelina woke the next evening on a cot. It was lumpy and stiff, but it was the most comfortable sleep she’d had in days. She stretched and enjoyed being under a blanket. It was Jorick who lured her out of bed with the promise of breakfast, and she grudgingly trooped to the bathroom.

  Hector had let them do laundry the night before and she inhaled the fluffy clean scent of her clothes before she changed into them. Compared to the winter headquarters, this was heaven, so unless the summer headquarters were better, she’d rather stay where she was.

  The Russians were still dressed in their borrowed clothes. They kept their eyes on their feet, but their shoulders didn’t seem as slumped. Katelina wondered if Hector had chatted with them, and if so what he’d said.

  Despite Malick’s message, Fethillen stubbornly stuck to the plan. Katelina wanted to shout that a day of travel was a day Malick could change his mind and kill Ume. At Jorick’s warning she fumed silently.

  When they were ready to leave, Katelina tried to take a picture of the distant mountains, but in the dark she doubted it was effective.

  “You’re still at that?” Verchiel asked.

  “Yes. I’m trying to show Mom the great places we’re going so she’ll quit saying Jorick is a penniless hippie in a van.” There, she’d admitted it.

  Verchiel laughed. “You’re taking pictures of the places we go to impress your mom? Wow, either she has low expectations or you haven’t thought that through.”

  “Of course I don’t take pictures of everything. Just stuff that looks impressive. Like that.” She pointed to the view.

  He snatched the camera and pointed it toward the mountains then, at the last second he spun and snapped a photo of her. “There. That’ll probably come out better.”

  She jerked the camera out of his hands. “Thanks for wasting one.”

  “You’re welcome. If you don’t want it you can give it to me. I can put it up on ebay. People are always looking for ways to scare off the mice.”

  Jorick joined them and scowled at the redhead. “We’re ready.”

  With a sigh Katelina stashed the camera in her pocket and followed him toward the airstrip. Hector hurried up to them and pressed a foil wrapped package into Etsuko’s hand. “Something for the trip.”

  He called something to the Russians and held up a second foil packet. The pair looked at one another, and then moved to take it.

  “It’s going to be quiet here,” Hector said with a touch of regret. “After Sorino’s pilots leave it will be just me. Of course I’m sure things will be hopping in no time.” He rubbed his hands together. “All right, I think everything is ready. Off you go.”

  Etsuko bowed and thanked him, then she followed Oren to the waiting helicopters. The rotors had already started, and Katelina forced her feet forward. She glanced over her shoulder to see the Russians still standing near Hector. He motioned them toward the helicopter, but they hesitated.

  Verchiel popped up next to Katelina. “You know, dragging those two around is a pain.”

  She jolted at his sudden nearness. “Excuse me?”

  Jorick glared and Verchiel stepped back. “They can’t understand a word we say, and we can’t understand them. Plus, it means extra food and water. It’d be better to be rid of them, don’t you think?”

  “If you think I’m going to let one of you kill them—”

  “While that does seem like a tasty idea, it also sounds messy and time consuming. Why don’t we leave them here? Hector seems fond of them, and he speaks Russian. They even seem not-that-scared of him.”

  Katelina looked to Jorick who shrugged.

  Verchiel grinned. “See? No objections. I’ll arrange it, shall I?”

  Before she could answer he disappeared and reappeared next to Hector. The British vampire listened intently and then looked surprised. There was a quick exchange she couldn’t hear, and then the two vampires shook hands and Verchiel headed back toward Katelina and Jorick.

  “All done. I told him he’d have to mark them, but they’re officially his.” He clapped Katelina on the back. “How does it feel to be a slave trader?”

  She choked and pulled away. “I’m not!”

  “Of course you are. You bought those slaves, and have now given them to Hector. So you didn’t make a profit this time, but you’re just starting out. Next time you’ll do better.”

  She swung to hit him, but he was gone before the blow could land.

  The trip went smoothly until the end. Katelina was leaning back in her seat in a state of half dozing, watching Micah and Loren play poker with a partial set of playing cards, when the helicopter took a sudden dive. She jerked awake and clutched Jorick’s leg. Visions of a fiery crash flashed through her mind. “What is it?”

  They pulled up, and she saw Sushel stand and make his way to the cockpit. The copter swung to the right, and Katelina clutched Jorick tighter. Sushel reappeared and said something to his companions that she couldn’t catch.

  “We’re getting shot at,” Micah called.

  “Oh my God! By who?” Her head swiveled from window to window, but she couldn’t see anything except blackness.

  “Some kind of rebels or something.” He studied his cards calmly, even as the helicopter swung to the left and then dropped again.

  Katelina squeezed her eyes shut and screamed silently. They were going to die. They were really going to die.

  “Not now.”

  A thick, soothing calm washed over her, like water flooding the desert, and her terror disappeared. Jorick gave her an odd look, but before he could comment Oren drew his attention away.

  Despite the rebels' efforts, they landed safe and alive. Katelina scooped up her bag and followed the others outside into the warm night. Tattered remnants of the calm remained and she embraced them like a drug addict enjoying the last of a buzz.

  The summer headquarters looked like the winter hideout: a low, tin roofed structure sat in the center of a clearing, surrounded by various outbuildings. However, the trees that ringed the area were thick and green.

  A cloud of bugs buzzed around Katelina as she followed the others toward what she thought of as the house. A pair of vampires approached, and Fethillen spoke to them quickly. Katelina caught the word “meeting”, but the rest was lost to her. The vampires nodded, and then walked on toward the helicopter, either to unload it or do maintenance.

  The inside of the house was different than Finland. There were no windows, and no basement. It was set up like a shotgun house, with the rooms in a long row. The light fixtures were naked light bulbs, and if the Finnish house had been bare, this one was worse. Though the folding chairs and tables had been set up, and some of the trunks were scattered around, there was nothing else. Katelina was nervous about a bathroom.

  It was too warm for her coat, so she took it off and stashed it with their luggage. Quenby gave them a quick tour. The sleeping room was in the back, again with no bedding. The shower was outside and consisted of little more than two stalls and shower heads. “They run from the well, and when that dries up it can use rain water.” Quenby pointed to a half full collection container.

 
; The other buildings housed the helicopters, a plane that was partially taken apart, various equipment and tools, fuel for the generator, and the prisoner they’d taken.

  “We’re not used to humans,” Quenby reminded them. “There’s no food, so you’ll have to hunt for something. No doubt you can drink water from the shower.”

  When Quenby went inside, Katelina told Jorick, “There are parasites in foreign water.” She pointed to a reddish colored mud puddle. “Especially in places like this. I have a couple bottles left in my bag, but that won’t last long.”

  “It might not need to,” Jorick said quietly.

  Though she pushed she couldn’t get anything more from him, and let it go with an air of dissatisfaction. Hopefully he was right.

  They went to bed before the rest of the Black Vigil, but Katelina had a hard time sleeping. The others had dropped off around her when she heard voices in the next room. She strained her ears and caught Fethillen’s voice, quiet but angry, “Did you do this, Sushel?”

  “Yes.” The word was hard and uncompromising, as if he felt no shame, and Katelina could guess what they were talking about: Uzbekistan.

  “Then you failed. Jorick’s coven was not as weak as you supposed and you risked the lives of your brothers. For what? Because you mourn Ken? Did Ume not lose Sibila? Have we not all lost someone over the slow centuries? You know my feelings, and you know our rules. When you did this, you betrayed not only our allies, but your fellows. You call for Ume’s blood and by the letter of the law you’re no better and should suffer the same fate.”

  “Kill me then,” Sushel said.

  “I should, but I won’t. Just as Ume’s trespass brought us good fortune, so yours might. We have a message from none other than Malick, inviting us to come and take Ume, and when we do we will make such a show of force that the Children are no more.”