Children of Shadows

by Naylor, Joleene

  “Restless. The Höher Rat lifted the lockdown after the revolt, but there is still fear. Many have left, even those that have made their homes there. It is mostly officials and the foolhardy who remain.”

  “You said restless?” Sorino asked.

  “Yes. The Kugsankal are restless, and their thoughts permeate the stone itself.” She turned to Wolfe. “You will no doubt need to speak to them when you return.”

  “No doubt,” Wolfe said. He was tenser than usual, as if their restless energy could reach across the globe and infect him there.

  “Are they still after us?” Katelina asked.

  Sadihra frowned. “No, they didn’t seem to notice your escape. Of course, with the revolt and such there was a lot of chaos.”

  Jorick raised his eyebrows incredulously, but didn’t say anything.

  Sadihra motioned to approaching figures. “It seems your fledgling has arrived.”

  Oren, Torina, and Verchiel strode across the lawn and stopped next to them. “You found Fethillen?” Oren asked.

  Jorick nodded. “Yes. They plan to attack in their own time.”

  “I’m not surprised.” The lion-maned vampire gave Ume a dark look.

  Loren puffed up visibly. “It’s not her fault. She’s not one of them anymore. She quit.”

  Something flashed in Verchiel’s eyes, but it faded quickly, and Torina said, “Just what we need.”

  “Is everyone here?” Sadihra looked from one to the other. “If so we should go inside and meet with the Algojo.”

  Algojo. Probably more Executioners. Katelina cleared her throat. “Wouldn’t it be smarter to stay outside since they use bombs?”

  Sadihra shook her head. “You’re more likely to be blown up out here than in there. It seems in their other attacks they planted the bombs beforehand. We are watching everyone and everything. They cannot do it this time, so inside will be safer than outside.”

  “The safest place would be in another city,” Verchiel suggested jovially. “But since we don’t have time to get to one, we might as well go in. Come on, Kately, you’ll be fine.” He clapped an arm around her shoulders but at a look from Jorick he let go. “Only being friendly.”

  “Don’t.” Jorick took her hand. “Come, little one, it will be fine.”

  With a sigh, she relented.

  They walked through a pair of double arches across a porch. Sadihra and Wolfe flashed the golden emblems around their necks and two guards in red and white uniforms opened a set of wood and iron doors and motioned them inside.

  They walked down an open hallway to a round visitor’s desk. Two smiling women stood behind it, and when they saw the golden emblems, they cheerfully pressed a buzzer and motioned them toward an elevator on the right.

  “That’s to let the guards at the next station know we’re coming,” Sadihra said.

  Katelina cast a final look over her shoulder. The building was beautiful and airy, with arched doorways, tiled floors, and intricately detailed ceilings. It was a shame that at any moment the Children of Shadows would arrive and destroy what had probably stood for hundreds of years. She supposed it was probably the same with the other places. What was left of the Birlik had been astounding, and she could only imagine what the building had looked like before. They made America’s guild, hidden under a grain elevator in no-where Iowa, seem crude.

  The group fit inside the elevator with effort. There was only one button that went down, and Sadihra pressed it. Katelina squeezed back in the corner, and when the doors opened she was the last one out. The hallway was done in beige and green, and the patterned floor in shades of brown. It started as a large, open room, with another circular desk in the middle, and then narrowed down. Guards in red and white uniforms sat behind the desk, watching monitors, typing on keyboards and flipping through papers.

  Sadihra motioned her entourage toward the desk and began the lengthy check-in process. Jorick and Verchiel had to show their Executioner emblems, and the others were forced to give names and declare luggage. One of the guards even made a show of searching the vampires’ bags, but ignored Kai and Katelina completely, as if they and their luggage didn’t exist.

  When the guards were satisfied, Sadihra led them down the hallway to a set of gracefully curving stairs. They ended in a large octagonal room whose ceiling soared up into the building above. A central fountain was flanked with benches, and though Katelina guessed it was a popular gathering place, there were only guards moving among the pillars, carrying long curved swords. Their edges gleamed sharp and silver, and Katelina decided they were as functional as they were pretty.

  A figure dressed in a black robe approached. He wore a short cape fastened at his throat, and a black hood that covered everything but his eyes. Around his neck hung a silver and gold medallion that was no doubt a symbol of his office. What had Sadihra called them? Algojo?

  He bowed and Sadihra introduced Jorick and Verchiel as “Executioners from the United States who have come to help.”

  The robed man bowed again. “Your help is most welcome.”

  “These are their companions,” Wolfe said stiffly.

  “You are also welcome. When the moment comes a single sword may make the difference. If you would come with me we are meeting in the office.” He noticed Kai and Katelina. “I will make arrangements for your humans to be cared for.”

  “I prefer to keep Katelina with me,” Jorick said.

  “I’m afraid humans are not allowed in many parts of the fortress. They must remain in the secure place on the third floor for the duration of your visit. You may, of course, have them sent to your private room for feeding or personal activities, but they must return to the secure place when you have finished with them.”

  Katelina gaped. Secure place? If he thought she was going to go there and sit quietly he had another think coming.

  Sorino glanced at Kai. They seemed to have a silent conversation, and then the vampire nodded. “That will be fine.”

  Kai stepped off to the side and Katelina shook her head. She wasn’t going to be sloughed off so easily.

  “This is the usual arrangement in this area of the world,” Sadihra said, as if that made it okay. “Most of the citadels keep them separated.”

  “I prefer to keep her with me,” Jorick repeated.

  “In that case I am afraid you and your human will have to leave and seek accommodations elsewhere.” Though the Algojo didn’t say it, the implication was that they didn’t need help badly enough to break their own rules.

  Then they can do without us. Their loss.

  Jorick growled low and looked calculatingly at Katelina. The smugness slipped from her face. He couldn’t be thinking—?

  “If anything happens to her, and I mean anything, I will hold you responsible.”

  “Jorick!” she cried.

  The male bowed again. “Of course. The humans will be safe. No vampire is allowed in the secure place except for guards.” He called to a pair of the red and white clad vampires and spoke rapidly in a foreign language. They saluted and the Algojo turned back. “They will escort the humans to the secure place. If you will come with me?”

  The vampires followed him toward an arched doorway and Katelina latched onto Jorick furiously. “What in the hell happened to ‘Until this is over stay close’?”

  “You are staying close, and in retrospect this may be better. You’ll be removed from the attack, and should anything else happen I could be to you in moments. Meanwhile, the guards will do what they can.”

  “By anything else you mean the owner of the mysterious voice?”

  “Obviously. Once this is settled with the Children of Shadows we’ll find him.”

  “Find him? I thought he was coming here, remember? ‘I’ll be there soon’?”

  “Soon is a relative term.” Jorick looked impatiently to the retreating figures. “If there’s time after the meeting I’ll send for you, all right?” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and then went after the others.
r />   “Send for me? I’m not a harem woman! Jorick! Jorick!”

  But he disappeared through the door with a final wave.

  “Of all the—when I get my hands on him I’m going to throttle him to death!”

  The guards looked at one another with raised eyebrows, and then motioned her and Kai to accompany them. Though she’d have rather gone back to the hotel than stay in a place that demanded she be cordoned off like a leper, she hefted her bag and followed.

  The guards led her through the fountain room and down another set of curving stairs. A broad hallway went straight, and to the right was what looked like a pair of golden gates with two more guards. After a brief exchange, the gates opened, and Katelina and Kai were taken down a beige and turquoise hallway, past a narrow staircase, to a second pair of gates and another set of guards. They let them through with barely a glance and after another short spurt of corridor they were presented with a large red door decorated in swirling iron embellishments, but missing the all-important door knob. The guards knocked on it, and it opened to reveal another guard. They had a quick conversation and then Katelina and Kai were ushered inside.

  The door shut with an echoing sound of finality and Katelina turned from it to look around the new room. Harem was a good word for it. The room was large, with pillars and alcoves. There were couches, chairs, and tables scattered like a waiting room. Bookcases were tucked into nooks, and a pair of televisions were noticeable only because of their bright screens and the knot of people seated in front of them.

  A set of arched doorways were set in the back wall and Katelina moved through the expansive room to investigate. Each led to another large room with rows of neatly made beds, like a summer camp cabin on steroids. Red curtains hung between each one, and Katelina imagined they could be pulled closed for privacy.

  Curtains or no curtains, she was too old for boarding school sleeping arrangements, and she turned back to the main room with a feeling of gloom.

  A red haired woman abandoned her magazine and crossed to Katelina, her hand extended. She looked to be in her early to mid-twenties. Large hoop earrings glittered in her ears and a worn leather coat looked lived in. Her words were lightly accented, though Katelina couldn’t guess the country. “You look as thrilled as me. I’m Xandria.”

  “Katelina.” She shook the offered hand. “This is stupid.”

  “You’re telling me.” Xandria motioned to the room. “You might as well pick a bed. There are drawers under it to put your stuff in, but I left mine packed. Hopefully I won’t be here long.”

  “Same here,” Katelina muttered.

  She followed the other woman inside. “I took this one.” Xandria pointed to the bed at the far end. “I know it’s anti-social, but who wants to sleep next to strangers?”

  “It’s bad enough with the vampires.” Katelina picked a bed in the middle of the unoccupied gulf. “What’s with them and communal sleeping?”

  Xandria snorted her agreement. “I guess it’s because they’re so old they don’t know any better. People used to huddle together for warmth. Thank God for central air.”

  Katelina stopped herself from shouting “Amen!” and stuffed her bag in the drawer under the bed. “I guess we’re supposed to entertain ourselves?”

  “Until mealtime or your master calls for you.” There was a sarcastic tone to her words that Katelina agreed with.

  “I don’t know about you, but I plan on kicking my so-called master’s ass when I get out of here,” Katelina said vehemently.

  Xandria laughed and shook her hand again. “Man, am I glad to meet you!”

  Kai was obviously settled in by the time Katelina and Xandria returned to the main room. He was seated on a couch, his laptop out and his earphones around his neck. He motioned to Katelina, as if asking if she wanted to watch a movie.

  “Is that your brother?” Xandria asked.

  “No, he belongs to another vampire.” Belongs. “I mean he travels with him. But we’re all sort of hanging out together.” There was no reason to explain the strange alliance.

  “I got you.” Xandria squinted at him. “He’s going to be a hotty when he grows up a little bit.”

  The idea jolted Katelina, both physically and mentally. “I never thought about it.”

  “You must have a hot vampire if you didn’t notice this one. Shall we see what he’s up to?”

  Kai only had one set of headphones, but he was amiable enough to pull them out and turn the sound up. They watched a movie about a killer tornado that barely followed the laws of physics, let alone logic. It had just ended when a loud knock sounded on the door. The nearest guard hurried to open it.

  “Think they’re getting ready to feed the monkeys?” Xandria asked with a glance at her watch. “I know I’m starving.”

  “I had breakfast for a change,” Katelina said. “Actually that’s not true. I usually get breakfast, it’s everything else they forget about.”

  “Yeah, they think all they need to do is throw some scraps at the human once a day. Weren’t they human once? How can they forget so fast?”

  “I think they do it on purpose,” Katelina said. “Otherwise how could they feed off of us without feeling guilty?”

  “Hmmm. Intentional distancing. Interesting theory.”

  The guard turned to the room and announced loudly, “Katelina, your master has called for you!”

  “Master,” she snorted as she stood and straightened her shirt. “I’ll be back, though I can’t say the same for him.”

  Xandria laughed and sent a “You go,” after her.

  The guard opened the door wider and she went out into the hallway where another guard waited. He said something she couldn’t understand, and then led her through one gate, and then down the narrow stairs. The lack of ornament made Katelina think of a back staircase for servants. The idea made her even angrier.

  They exited through a heavy door and the guard led her down a cramped corridor. Short numbered doors flanked the sides, and she had a feeling that they really were in a behind the scenes area, meant for those who were lesser.

  They wound their way through a few turns. The guard consulted a slip of paper, and then stopped at door number 722 and knocked. A muffled voice answered, and the guard opened the door and motioned Katelina inside.

  She was barely through when the door snapped shut. She moved away from it and into the center of the room. It looked much like a hotel with two double beds and the usual assortment of furniture, including a small table and chairs. Green floor length drapes hung against one wall, as if hiding a window, but when she pulled them back there was only blank wall behind them.

  The bathroom door stood partially open, and she marched toward it angrily. “Look here, Jorick, if you think I’m going to sleep in that place like some kind of five year old on summer vacation then you—” She froze as she swung the door open to reveal, not Jorick, but Verchiel wearing nothing but a towel and applying goo to his hair.

  “Well that was faster than I thought it would be. I was sure they’d make me sign something, or point out your mark. Half a minute, I’m almost done. Unless you want to help?”

  She slammed the door. “Where the hell is Jorick?”

  “He’s in a meeting, and he’ll be there all night from the looks of it. No one can agree on who’s in charge. The Scharfrichter think they should run the show. The Algojo feel it’s their fortress, so they should be in control, and of course Jorick and Micah refuse to follow either of them. I got tired of the circles so I nipped out early.”

  “That doesn’t explain what I’m doing here. They said Jorick sent for me.”

  “Really?” He poked his head out of the door, his hair finished. “I used my name.”

  “Then why in the fuck would they say my ‘master’ called for me?”

  He broke into a grin and disappeared again. She could hear the sound of clothes being put on. “I might’ve said that was me.”

  “You? How did you expect to get away with that
?”

  “Well, on a technicality, you did drink from me that one time, if you’ll remember, and you do have a scar.” He leaned out again, wearing nothing but his pants, and poked the spot on her neck where he’d bitten her. “So it’s not a proper mark, but it’s close enough.”

  She pulled away and he pulled his shirt over his head as she shouted, “Are you insane? Jorick will kill you!”

  “Maybe. But what’s life without risk?” He leaned against the counter and pulled on his socks. “I’ve been informed you’re not allowed to leave this room. Talk about segregation. Still, it has to be better than being stuck in the secure place.”

  “I don’t know about that,” she said coldly.

  He walked past her and flopped on one of the beds. “Not too bad. You should try it.”

  “No thanks.”

  He grabbed the remote from the nightstand and flipped the TV on. “Oh come on, I won’t bite, unless you ask me to.” He batted his eyes innocently.

  “Right, and I asked last time?”

  He scrunched his face up comically, as if straining to think. “I don’t remember, exactly, but you did go into a prison cell with a starving vampire. That’s pretty much the same thing.”

  “It wasn’t my fault!” It was the same thing she’d said to Jorick over and over, and she looked away in a huff.

  Verchiel snickered. “I didn’t know you guys were still arguing about that. He’s touchy, huh?”

  “Yes, he is.”

  “Well you can stand over there if you want, or you can flop on the other bed. I don’t care.”

  He flipped through the TV channels. Katelina stood stubbornly next to the bathroom, her arms crossed in defiance, but as the minutes passed it got boring. Plus it was hard to see the TV. She slowly moved across the room, a step at a time, and finally sat in one of the chairs by the table.

  They were in the middle of a DIY show about how to lay tiles—something she thought would look nice in Jorick’s outdated kitchen in Maine—when someone knocked on the door. Verchiel hopped off the bed and started toward it. He reached for the nob when a horrific idea seized her. What if it was Jorick? If he found out that Verchiel had called himself her master, he’d kill the redhead on the spot.