Chapter Nineteen

Katelina wasn’t sure how long she’d been asleep when
the light and noise woke her. With a trembling hand she wiped away
the crust of the previous night’s tears and then tried to focus on
her surroundings. The room, which had been dark and empty the last
time she’d looked, was now filled with light and vampires running
around in a mad dash of activity.
She covered herself as best she could and stared
through the bars. Her vision was blurry, but she made out Claudius
seated in his large chair, his sulky face contorted with rage. He
waved his arms furiously as he gave instructions to Troy and a
group of vampires. She pressed her face against the cold metal cage
and strained her ears to catch his voice over the sounds of the
others, but she failed to discern much of what he was saying.
Around them, other vampires scurried. Some hurried
through the room and up the stairs, while others disappeared
through the door on the far wall, only to reemerge and then head up
the stairs as well. Claudius was emptying the place and, as the
population of vampires dwindled, Claudius’ voice became clearer.
One phrase in particular struck her ears, “Go to Sorem, I will meet
you there later.”
She gripped the bars tightly, uncertain what her
fate would be. The last group of vampires made a sign of allegiance
to Claudius and then turned and hurried to the stairs, leaving him
and Troy alone. His attention no longer diverted, Claudius turned
his face towards Katelina. His green eyes glittered with cold
malice and his features were twisted in a black fury that made her
heart pound. In a single, graceful motion he stood and moved
purposely towards the cage like a cat stalking prey. Troy shadowed
his steps, wearing a cruel and expectant smile.
A whimpering noise escaped Katelina’s lips as she
backed against the far end of the cage. Moving made the world tip
dangerously and gave a surreal quality to it, like a nightmare.
Even as Claudius reached into his pocket and produced a key, she
tried to tell herself this wasn’t happening. But as Troy took the
key and jammed it into the padlock, the echo of the click forced
her to face the facts before her.
The metal door groaned in protest as Claudius forced
it open. He stepped inside and grabbed her arm. His lips curled
back in a snarl to reveal dangerous white fangs; a warning against
any resistance. Though she drug her feet in fear, he tugged her out
of the cage with seemingly no effort.
Troy looked her up and down as crude laughter slid
past his sneering lips. Katelina felt her cheeks turn red under his
prying gaze and tried to cover her naked body with her free arm,
but Claudius jerked her to him and snarled in her face, “Evidently
we weren’t thorough enough in our search!”
She swayed, too dizzy to stand on her own. Terror
and confusion shone in her eyes and her voice was lost to fear.
He shook her violently so that her teeth clacked
together. “What do you have to say to that? Do you still want to
insist your innocence? Where is that device?” He clawed at her body
with his free hand.
“I don’t have any ... device!” she cried. Tears
stabbed her swollen eyes and the room swam. She didn’t understand
why he was doing this again.
“Liar!” He threw her to the floor. Her elbows locked
painfully, but she saved her face from slamming into the concrete.
She tried to roll away, but he knelt down quickly and grabbed a
handful of her hair in his fist. He used it to pull her head back
and force her to look at him. “Where is it?”
“There isn’t one! I don’t know what you’re talking
about!”
Troy stood behind them, his arms crossed over his
chest and a sneer on his face. “Then how did he find us?”
He? Could they mean…? A white hot spark of hope
flamed inside her. “He’s here?” she asked, unable to stop herself.
“Jorick’s here?”
“Not yet, but almost,” Troy replied. “Too bad he’ll
be too late.”
Claudius’ face contorted with rage, until he looked
more like a beast than anything that had been human. He shook her
like a ragdoll and bellowed, “This was his plan, wasn’t it? To use
you to find us? To play me as a fool? I am no fool!”
She tried to get away from him and her hair pulled
until she thought her scalp would rip loose from her head. He
forced her head back and leaned over her, his fangs bared, ready to
strike her exposed throat.
She screamed and struck out, pummeling his face and
chest. In surprise, he released her and she fell back against the
cold cement floor. Crab like, she tried to crawl away on her back,
but he grabbed her wrists and pinned her down.
He loomed above her, a terrifying figure with savage
teeth. His breath was hot on her face, scented like blood and death
as he hissed coldly, “Guild or no Guild, there will be nothing left
of you when he gets here.”
“He’ll kill you,” she threatened weakly, her voice
hoarse.
“He won’t make it this far before my coven beats him
back and leaves him with no option but to run! I’m not afraid of
him, and it’s time he understood that!”
She struggled and thrashed her head from side to
side as she searched for an escape. All she saw was the deserted
basement and Troy. The bald vampire stood some paces off from them,
a sick smile on his lips.
Her heart roared in her ears. Sweat beaded on her
skin. It made her wrists slick in Claudius’ hands, but still she
couldn’t get away from the weight of his cold body pressing her
into the floor.
She tried to fight him off, but her efforts were
futile. She was no match for his strength, still she refused to
surrender without a fight. Horrified thoughts flashed through her
mind; terrible images of different things he could do to her.
Troy looked amused. “How like a human to fear that
more than anything.”
Claudius’ head snapped up. Intelligence returned to
his eyes as he stared at his underling. “You can hear her thoughts?
What is it? What does she fear?” He turned back and sneered into
her face “All her fears will be realized before I am finished with
her!”
Troy’s face went white and he shifted uncomfortably.
“Yes,” he answered hesitantly. “It comes and goes. I can’t always –
”
“I don’t care right now!” Claudius shouted. “What
does she fear most?”
He hesitated again before answering. “She fears what
all women fear, my lord.”
“Does she?” His voice was low and snake like. “How
pathetic and primitive! Does she not realize the things I can do to
her?” He leaned his face close to hers. “Do you?”
She whimpered in reply and looked over his shoulder
at Troy’s leering face. She could almost feel him inside her head,
scraping against her mind and violating her most secret
thoughts.
“I will take that as a no. When I have finished I
will peel the skin from your bones and drink from your entrails
while you beg for death!”
He released her wrists and raised himself up to
unfasten his pants. Panic consumed her and she swung her fist. The
blow connected with his jaw but she cried out as pain erupted in
her knuckles. He jerked back and then snarled, “You will pay for
that!” Before she could make another attempt to fight back he
slammed her against the floor by her shoulders.
Her head bounced with the impact and dark spots
erupted behind her eyes. Her limbs went limp and she thought she
might pass out. He took the opportunity to force her thighs apart
and wedge his body between them. The pressure of his hips pulled
her away from the brink of unconsciousness, and she stiffened
fearfully. Her hands balled into fists that pounded uselessly
against his back and shoulders.
“Taste your fear,” he whispered to her and then drew
a deep breath. “Taste it! The way Arowenia did before he murdered
her!” He thrust himself inside her. Her screams echoed through the
room as her delicate flesh gave way. Troy stood behind them,
watching. His sick, evil laughter was an accompaniment to the
symphony of her shame.
She choked on her sobs. The tearing pain radiated
through her from between her thighs as he thrust into her again and
again. Her mind went blank; there was nothing but the pain and the
need to make it stop. Her hands continued to claw and beat at him,
though her efforts were unheeded. He hung above her, his face
suspended inches from her own. What little humanity had been left
in his eyes was gone, leaving them empty. There was nothing but an
animal staring down at her. His mouth opened wide and he sunk his
gleaming fangs into her shoulder. She screamed as the wound from
the cellar was ripped open. Pain raced down her arm and into her
hand, crippling it, so that the fingers curled uselessly.
He tore at her like a dog, growling low in his
throat. She felt the gush of blood; wet against her skin as it
trickled over her shoulder. He pressed his face to the wound and
sickening lapping sounds reached her ears. Her stomach clenched and
visions of the boy from last night filled her head; the ruined
child discarded so casually. His lips sealed around her shoulder as
he continued to draw blood from her.
His presence suddenly filled her mind and made her
shudder. He was inside her thoughts, ripping and shredding her.
Liquid fire coursed through her veins, and her arms and legs
spasmed, no longer under her control. Screams tore from her bruised
and aching throat. Her eyelids fluttered uncontrollably and the
spasms grew worse until she was almost in a seizure state, both
inside and out. Pain, and colors, and images flashed behind her
eyes too fast to comprehend. Old voices and older agony tore at her
as he drank her blood and continued to thrust into her.
Somewhere there was a crashing sound and a scream,
but whether it was in the fog filled hell into which she’d fallen
or outside of it she couldn’t tell. Everything was pain and screams
and horror. There was nothing but heartache and betrayal and death.
The smell of something burning assailed her senses. The thick fumes
filled her lungs and nose. She choked and gagged, strangled by the
heavy smell, suffocated by fear and pain – and then it stopped.
Claudius’ head jerked up from his meal. The lower
half of his face dripped with her blood so that tiny drops fell and
splattered on her skin. He sniffed the air and growled low in his
throat. Troy met his eyes and he barked, “Go see what it is!”
Troy made a sign of obedience, and hurried up the
stairs. More screams floated down into the basement from above and
the smell of burnt flesh grew stronger.
Katelina choked and it drew Claudius’ attention back
to her. “So he made it past them. No matter. He won’t save you but
he will see you die.” He reared back his head and struck below the
mess he’d already made, ripping open a new wound.
She felt his lips lock and the searing pain began
again. Her body shook, too weak from shock and loss of blood to
fight anymore. She felt herself sinking into the realm of nightmare
and darkness again, slipping beneath the pounding surface and into
the black depths of inevitable death.
The air reverberated with a strangled cry and the
burning world of hell evaporated as Claudius released her. His
attention was drawn to a figure that came crashing down the stairs
and landed in a heap at the foot. It lay dead, the limbs at
impossible angles and a slow puddle of blood spreading out from
it.
Footsteps pounded down the stairs, skipping most of
them in their haste. A deep voice roared a single word,
“Claudius!”
A smile spread across the blonde vampire’s lips and
he raised a hand to wipe his face. His assailant appeared and raced
towards them. He was only a blurry swath of colored motion to
Katelina’s burning, tear filled eyes.
“You will die!” he bellowed as he grabbed Claudius
and ripped him from Katelina. She screamed in pain and rolled into
a ball. She tried to use her trembling hand to stem the flow of
blood gushing from her shoulder. There was so much blood – too
much. As she writhed in agony, her face came to rest in a crimson
puddle of it. The liquid was already cooled from its contact with
the cold cement.
She blinked back burning tears and tried to make
sense of the images flashing in front of her. Claudius was on his
feet, an arrogant smile on his face, his pale hands held before him
like claws. This new vampire drew close and she forced her eyes to
focus on his black, disheveled hair and torn clothing. His pale
face was a mask of fury, his black eyes snapping....
“Jorick,” she whispered in a hoarse voice as she
came to realize who it was. “Jorick.”
He had come.
Claudius was tackled to the floor. His hands
scrabbled for Jorick’s throat and cold laughter hissed through his
pale lips. He threw Jorick off of him and climbed to his feet. “You
fought your way through to retrieve your pet, how touching. What a
shame the effort was wasted.”
Jorick stood quickly and slammed Claudius back into
the cold stone wall. “Hardly.”
“If your goal was to fight a losing battle, then
you’re right, you were a success, but if it was to kill me, and
rescue her, you’ll fail at both. She’s mine now, and unless someone
stops the blood she’ll soon be dead, like Arowenia. A just fate,
don’t you think?”
Jorick hesitated for a moment as his eyes skipped to
her bleeding figure. Claudius took advantage of the distraction to
grab Jorick by the shoulders and throw him away. He crashed into
the empty metal cage, and both vampire and cage sprawled loudly
across the floor.
Jorick rose into a crouch, growling. “Then I’ll have
to kill you quickly.” He sprang, catching the side of Claudius and
taking them both down into a heap on the floor.
Claudius looked surprised as his struggles came to
nothing, then he called for his underlings. “Fools! He’s down here!
Down Here!”
Jorick snorted sarcastically. “I’m afraid they’ve
been detained – permanently.”
Claudius faltered. His mouth worked, but no sound
came out. “You killed them all?” he asked in disbelief And then, as
realization hit him, his fury swelled and crashed through the room
like a dark wave. He fought back with renewed vigor so that they
rolled across the cement, hands flailing, and blood splattering.
They ripped and tore at one another like two male lions fighting to
the death.
Katelina struggled to follow the fight, but her eyes
were so heavy and they both moved so fast that part of the time she
couldn’t even see them. They’d be locked together in combat and
then suddenly one of them would be across the room, picking himself
up and charging while she’d missed the part in between.
She fought a wave of blackness and her eyes
fluttered closed. Her breathing was shallow, and she had a hard
time concentrating. She forced her eyes open again and saw Jorick
circling Claudius, both of them bloody and furious. Her hand shook
and fell away from her bleeding wound to drop numbly to the cold
cement.
Her eyes closed again. “Jorick,” she whispered,
softly, willing him to save her from the sucking blackness.
“Jorick….” But the darkness was faster than he was, and she was
lost in it.
 
“Katelina? Katelina?”
She heard a voice calling her, and yet she didn’t
want to open her eyes; didn’t want to see where she was or who the
voice belonged to. Better to stay here where it was safe, where
there was no pain and no fear.
“Katelina? Wake up.”
The words were a command; an order she didn’t want
to obey. She fought against it, but she weakened under the crushing
pressure to do as she was ordered. Her eyes opened against her
will, and she winced immediately at the light. Slowly, the world
came into focus. Above her loomed a pale face framed in flowing
black hair. Dark liquid eyes stared down at her, filled with
worry.
“Jorick,” she whispered and reached a trembling hand
up to touch his cheek. His smooth skin was warm beneath her
fingers.
He caught her hand in his and brought it gently to
his lips where he brushed a kiss across the back of it. “Shhhhhh,
it’s all right. I’m here.”
“Yes.” She murmured and leaned her head back into
his other hand. “You came.”
His voice was husky and tight with anger, “Of
course. I came, as soon as I could.” He released her hand and
gently stroked her bruised face. His eyes snapped with a dark fury
as he took in the details of her injuries.
She licked her lips and tasted blood; somehow spicy
and enticing. She swallowed it and sought for more, but there was
nothing.
I’m just thirsty, she thought, and she was
thirsty, and tired, and in too much pain. But Jorick was there now,
and it would be okay. That is, if he could forgive her. He’d warned
her, but she hadn’t listened – hadn’t taken it seriously.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know anyone could do that. I
didn’t know she could use mind tricks that way.”
Confusion creased his brow, but he shook his head to
dismiss the statement. “It doesn’t matter now.”
She nodded, though the motion caused her pain. “Is
Claudius dead?” She hoped Jorick had ripped him into bloody,
unrecognizable shreds.
“No,” Jorick replied sadly. “I had to let him go to
save you in time.” The ghost of a smile played on his lips. “We
killed many of his followers, though.”
Disappointment filled her. “What about the big bald
one?” If anyone was dead then let it be him. This was his fault -
his and Kateesha’s.
“Troy?” Jorick asked in surprise. “Yes, he’s dead. I
ripped his heart out myself.”
“Good.” She tried to smile but it hurt too much.
Jorick mirrored her attempt and managed it better
than she had. He wrapped his arm around her and brought her against
him, holding her tightly. She clutched at him as she closed her
eyes and fought off the sobs that threatened to tear through
her.
A familiar voice sounded from behind Jorick, “We
need to get going.” Katelina’s eyes flew open in surprise to find
Oren standing a few feet away. His clothes were torn and coated in
blood and his face was grim and empty.
As Katelina fought off a scream, Kateesha appeared
behind Oren and laid a hand on his shoulder. Her red lips curved
into a smile and her dark eyes gleamed. “Yes. We do.”