Chapter Seven

The car waiting outside for them was large and blue:
a relic of an era when people were more interested in size than gas
mileage.
Katelina found herself quickly bundled into the
backseat. Jorick slipped back into the motel room to return with
the ugly orange bedspread. He wrapped it tightly around her, and
her soaked clothes, murmuring encouraging phrases to wipe away the
horror that shone in her eyes. Her head bobbed in time to his words
and she agreed to the nonsense he was saying. She wanted to believe
that it was all okay. And then a strange calm feeling descended on
her. She let herself go with it, floating away on the tide of
safety it offered.
She relaxed back into the seat and Jorick said
softly, “I’ll be right back,” before he disappeared into the motel
room again.
With Jorick gone, she suddenly became aware of the
driver’s presence. He had broad shoulders and long tawny hair that
hung in a ponytail down his back. He didn’t bother to turn his
head, only adjusted the rear view mirror so he could see her. She
stared into it and saw a pair of strange golden colored eyes
looking back. The amber orbs reminded her of a cat, but she didn’t
have long to contemplate them before he flipped the mirror back to
the normal position, his curiosity satisfied.
Katelina wondered if she should say something, but
she couldn’t think of any suitable words. She wasn’t sure what had
just happened or why, and she didn’t know who the driver was or how
Jorick knew him, let alone if they could trust him. But hell, could
she even trust Jorick? She barely knew him. Just because he’d saved
her didn’t mean they were any closer, and yet she had a sense of
uneasy safety just being near him. She couldn’t explain it, even to
herself, but there was something comforting about him.
The calm feeling began to fade. Her eyes turned
towards the gaping motel room door, and she wondered what was
taking Jorick so long. Images flashed through her mind of the dead
or dying vampires leaping to their feet and striking him down.
Despite her fears, he emerged only a moment later,
bearing a bloody blanket. Its lumpy appearance and scarlet stains
declared its grim contents.
“The keys?” Jorick asked, as he paused by the
driver’s side window and shifted the gory parcel in his arms. His
eyes shifted around the dark parking lot in search of onlookers,
not nervous, only aware.
With a disbelieving shake of his head, the driver
climbed out and unlocked the trunk. Katelina cringed as she heard
them stuff the bundle inside. She didn’t want to think about the
cargo that was separated from her by only a blanket and a seat. She
shuddered as she imagined the hideous things reaching up and
touching her.
The men returned and Jorick slid into the front
passenger seat. He glanced over his shoulder to offer Katelina a
tight but reassuring smile.
She wanted to ask him what was going on, but figured
it was pointless. If she still cared she could ask later, when they
were away from the horrible place; away from the pink motel and the
ugly carpet and hideous orange drapes and bloody footprints.
The driver asked Jorick, “Are we ready?”
Jorick nodded and dropped back into the seat. He
closed his eyes wearily as the car shuddered into gear and they
pulled out of the parking lot.
“I take it they found you?” The driver glanced
sideways for a moment and Katelina could see his perfect profile.
His strange eyes and golden brown hair made him look like a lion.
It wasn’t just his appearance, though. There was something very
feline about him, the feeling of controlled power lurking beneath a
peaceful exterior, like a cat coiled and ready to spring on its
prey.
“Yes.” The street lights flashed past them and
splashed dark, twisted shadows across Jorick’s weary face. “They
found us.”
The car fell silent except for the sound of the
motor and the wheels on the pavement. They soon left the small town
of Dunwick behind them. As it shrunk in the darkness, Katelina
began to relax. Her fingers twitched and she wished she’d at least
grabbed the cigarettes. She knew smoking wouldn’t really make
things better. How many times had Sarah lectured her about that?
But at least things would seem saner. She wanted a cigarette and
her own bed and her telephone. She wanted to curl up under the
covers and call Sarah and tell her about this horrible nightmare
she’d had, and then she wanted to call her mother and make
arrangements for Grave Day like usual. She just wanted reality.
But, her reality wasn’t pretty. She’d just been
attacked by two vampires and the two packs of cigarettes she’d
bought had been abandoned in the motel room with the food; her last
twenty dollars gone for nothing, after all.
She leaned her face against the cool glass and
stared out into the night flying past them. The trees were
illuminated and ghostly in the harsh brightness of the headlights.
The rhythm of the tires on the pavement droned in her ears. She
closed her eyes and tried to relax to the vibrations of the car.
She hadn’t been awake for very long, but she was already as
exhausted as Jorick looked. Her muscles were taut, and her left
shoulder ached again.
The driver’s voice interrupted her thoughts, his
tones low enough that he probably thought she couldn’t hear
him.
“So this is the... erm... her?”
“Yes, this is Katelina,” Jorick answered.
“What are you planning to do with her?”
The question hung in the air and Katelina felt
herself wanting to know what he’d say, her ears tensing for the
sound of his answer. Finally, after what felt like uncountable
minutes, Jorick cleared his throat. “I don’t know,” his voice was
sad. “I admit I didn’t expect things to happen this way.”
“I told you it was a bad idea, Jorick.” His tone was
flat, as though they’d discussed it too many times already.
“I know, I know.” Jorick seemed resigned to that
fact. “I just hated to leave her never knowing what really happened
to him. Besides, who’s to say that Claudius wouldn’t have gone
after her sooner or later? She is a reasonable suspect, you know.
Would it be better for it to come as a complete shock?”
“And I suppose you broke it to her gently?”
The driver snorted. “I understand your reasoning, Jorick, your
true reasoning, but I still stand by my original
opinion.”
“I’m sure you do, Oren. I’m sure it wouldn’t have
haunted your dreams, but we’re different.”
“We didn’t used to be, not before....” Oren trailed
off.
“Yes, I know. I’ll bet you don’t even dream anymore,
do you?”
There was silence and then very quietly he said,
“No, Jorick. I don’t.”
 
With the danger past, a strange sense of safety
settled over her. Boredom and the rhythm of the highway eventually
lulled Katelina into the uneasy sleep of a passenger. She woke in
the backseat, a scream trapped in her throat, her head swimming
with dreams of blood and fanged vampires ripping her to shreds. She
rubbed her head and then checked her watch to find that it was
one-thirty in the morning.
She blinked the sleep from her eyes and glanced into
the front seat. The pair of men were wrapped in silence, both
staring through the windshield. The blonde’s hands gripped the
steering wheel tightly, his knuckles white with the effort. A
palpable disagreement hung in the air, but she couldn’t identify
the cause.
Jorick seemed to sense her gaze and turned to look
at her. His warm, rich voice rolled back to her through the
darkness, “How are you feeling?”
“I’m... okay,” she lied. Truthfully she didn’t know
how she felt. She didn’t think she was okay – how could she be? But
for the moment she didn’t seem to be hysterical. Mostly she was
numb.
“Good.” He nodded sharply and then jerked his head
towards his companion. “I’m sorry I haven’t introduced you. This is
Oren. We’re going to be staying with him and his wife for a little
while.” He acted as if it were the most normal thing in the
world.
“Okay,” she murmured. She couldn’t think of anything
else to say. She had a few questions, such as where exactly did
Oren live, but she supposed she’d find the answers soon enough.
Right now she just wanted to relax and forget.
Jorick gave her another tight smile before he asked,
“Did they say anything to you before I got there?”
She realized that he’d never asked her what was
going on, almost like he’d already known and maybe even expected
it. “They wanted to know where you were.”
His voice grew serious and his eyes bored into her.
“Did they call you by name?”
She raced over the scene in her head; it was jumbled
and confused and tasted like fear in her mouth. “I – I don’t think
so....” How the hell was she supposed to remember that after
everything else that had happened?
“Good.” He gave another quick, satisfied nod. “They
aren’t aware who you are yet – which is an advantage.” He paused
and rubbed his chin. “Perhaps Michael didn’t make it after
all.”
“I can find out, if you want me to,” Oren offered
unenthusiastically.
“Yes. I’d like to find out how much Claudius knows.
I’m sure that someone made it out alive last night, at least one of
them.” Jorick seemed to be musing aloud rather than actually
conversing.
The talk ceased and the night flew by. Katelina had
finally decided she was really being kidnapped, and hauled to a
shadowy pier to be sacrificed, when they came to a wrought iron
fence that stood open and waiting. They followed the curving
driveway and came to a stop before a huge, red brick mansion.
Electric light blazed from more than half the windows and Katelina
suddenly wondered about who else lived with him. It seemed too big
for just Oren and his wife – from the look of the car they
obviously weren’t rich.
As the men climbed out, Katelina sat froze clutching
the bedspread, her mind churning. The mansion was like a scene from
a horror movie; the scene right before the girl died. There was
room enough inside it for a whole “coven”, as Jorick had called it.
What if the only reason Jorick had saved her was so he could bring
her to Oren’s house and sacrifice her in some cult ritual? Maybe
the dead things in the trunk weren’t really vampires, just warring
cult members. The image of the lonely pier was now replaced with a
picture of a shadowy basement and lots of candles.
When she didn’t get out, Jorick opened the door and
stuck his head inside. “Are you all right?”
She shook her head repeatedly and tried to keep the
fear from her voice. “I want to go home. I want to go home
now.”
“Shhhhhh.... it’s all right.” He smiled tightly but
reassuringly and laid his hand on her shoulder. “Let’s go inside
and you can get a bath and some fresh clothes.”
“I can take a bath at home. Where it’s safe.”
Jorick looked at her, seemingly confused. Then he
seemed to understand the effect the scene at the motel room had had
on her. “Don’t worry,” he said gently as he crouched down, his eyes
at the same level as hers. “You are safe. No one is going to come
for us here.”
“I’m not particularly worried about that.” Her eyes
went over Jorick’s shoulder to the impatient blonde man.
“Oren will not harm you, either. He is no mass
murderer or psychotic killer. Trust me, I won’t let anything happen
to you, I promise.” His gaze held hers, his black eyes shining
luminescent in the brightness from the yard light.
Something in his voice and his gaze made her believe
him. It was almost like a soft, comforting blanket wrapped around
her, though she couldn’t have said why. He helped her out of the
car and they followed Oren across the lawn. “All right.”
The lion-like vampire opened the large front door
and led them into a stone tiled foyer. Under the bright lights
Katelina noticed that Jorick was covered in spots of blood. Her wet
clothes had dried, but she realized now how stained and dirty they
looked. Suddenly she felt stupid and filthy.
They left the foyer for a broad hallway with deep
green walls. Polished tables stood beneath large painted portraits
and a large staircase of gleaming wood rose to the second
story.
Oren opened a nearby door and Jorick stepped into
the room. Katelina followed to find a woman with long black hair
and sad brown eyes sitting on a couch, rocking a baby. Beside her,
a man with the same dark hair and eyes gazed inquiringly at them.
On his other side lounged a redheaded woman. The slinky green dress
barely covered her body, and her lips seemed to be in a permanent
sexy pout. Though beautiful, all three were pale and there was
something pinched and unhealthy about them.
Despite the fact it was nearly three in the morning,
a small boy of about five sat in front of the fireplace, playing
with a pile of colored wooden blocks. Next to him crouched a blonde
girl whose tongue darted out to lick her lips. She wore a pale
lavender dress and could have been anywhere from twelve to twenty,
her features ageless but beautiful, like Katelina had always
imagined a wood sprite.
Another man, his hair a mixture of black and grey,
sat in the corner holding a worn book. He didn’t bother to look up
from the pages, but absently stroked his long gray beard, lost to
the story.
Oren’s eyes went to the black-haired beauty on the
couch. “Jesslynn, they’re here. I’m going to see them to their
rooms.”
Jesslynn looked up, dark eyes flicking from her
husband to the other two, but she made no comment. The redhead
moved ever so slightly, oozing sensuality from every pore. She
started to open her mouth but Oren cut her off.
“We’ll do the introductions tomorrow, it’s very
late. Besides, not everyone is here.” He gave the redhead a stern
look, his lips still tight. Now that Katelina could see him in the
light, he seemed unnaturally pale, too, like the others.
The redhead stuck out her bottom lip in an
exaggerated pout and crossed her arms over her ample chest like a
spoiled child. Oren ignored her and led them back to the hallway.
Even as the door swung closed, she could feel the eyes of the
strangers trying to stare through her, picking her bones like
vultures. As if sensing her worries, Jorick squeezed her hand.
They followed their host up the carved wooden
staircase, then down a long hallway, past ornately carved doors.
Oren stopped in front of one near the end of the corridor and
opened it to reveal a lilac scented room.
“This will be your room, Katelina.” Oren paused and
cleared his throat. He gave Jorick a sharp look. “I assume you know
the way to yours?”
“Yes, I do. Thank you, Oren.”
“You’re welcome,” he replied stiffly. “We may have
our differences, but I can never forget our... relationship,” and
with that Oren turned and strode off down the hall.
Katelina pondered what their “relationship” could
possibly be, and suddenly wondered if maybe he and Jorick were....
lovers?
“No, nothing like that.” Amusement twinkled in the
depths of Jorick’s dark eyes.
She stared up at him, unguarded surprise on her
face. How had he known her thoughts?
“Come.” He smiled slightly, almost as if enjoying a
secret.
Inside, the walls were painted pale soothing
lavender. In the center stood a massive bed of carved wood. Its
white bedspread and lace canopy looked sweet and old fashioned. A
wardrobe sat against the farthest wall, and next it was a stand
with a pitcher and basin on it. Tiny violets decorated the
porcelain in a delicate pattern that gave the room a quaint,
charming look and made Katelina feel like she’d stumbled into
another time, despite the polished chrome of the bathroom that
peeked from the opened door to her right. The only other
furnishings were a heavily carved nightstand next to the bed, that
bore a table lamp, and a trash can. Draped over the foot of the
bed, as if waiting for her, lay a filmy, lacey nightgown.
Jorick caught Katelina’s other hand and pulled her
closer. “Take a bath, change your clothes, get some sleep. But – ”
he stared into her eyes, “No matter what time you wake, do
not wander the house. Do not leave this room until I
come for you – no matter what. It is important that you listen to
me. If you don’t... well...” He let it trail off as a vague threat
of something evil.
He gripped her arms just below her shoulders and she
half expected him to shake her for emphasis, but he didn’t. She
opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong with the people living
in the house, but stopped. Beneath the soothing lights she saw for
the first time that there was something not quite right about him,
either. It was as if he had the same mysterious malady. Her mind
whispered something to her, but she couldn’t catch the words and
half phrases it said; the truths it already knew but she refused to
accept.
“You must promise me that you will remain in here,
no matter what happens,” Jorick pressed, obviously taking her
silence for disagreement. He stared at her harder, and she could
almost feel him willing her to agree.
She nodded. She didn’t want to go meandering through
any part of the house. Something was very wrong and she didn’t want
to find out what it was. “I promise.” She looked away from his
intense gaze, her heart pounding in her chest at his nearness.
Jorick’s smile was small but warm. “All right, then
get some rest and I’ll see you tomorrow.” He gazed into her face as
if he might kiss her, but to her disappointment he only released
her arms and moved away.
He left quickly and she berated herself as she ran a
hot bath. She’d just decided that something was wrong with all of
them, so how could she want him to kiss her? He might have a
contagious disease!
She scrubbed herself clean and then ran a second
bath to soak in until she felt sane again. Her mind tried to replay
the day’s events but she refused to let it. She needed a few
moments of quiet peace where she thought of nothing.
When her eyelids grew heavy, she climbed from the
bath and dried herself off with large soft towels. The nightgown
provided for her was the color of cream and she slid it over her
head. The feel of the material against her skin was almost exciting
as it settled into place. The neckline dipped low, with just a swag
of lace covering her breasts.
She examined herself in the full–length mirror on
the bathroom wall. She moved her hips, admiring the way the silky
material clung to her curves. It seemed to shimmer, almost
see-through yet opaque. If it wasn’t for the wound on her shoulder
she’d look hot. Damn, she needed to buy a nightgown like this!
She rolled back the blankets on the bed, then yawned
as she settled down into the soft mattress. She’d slept much of the
trip, yet strangely she was still so tired. She supposed it was
probably shock.
Outside the wide windows, the sun hadn’t come up
yet. The predawn left the world in a moment where anything in the
universe was possible; the strange stillness when nightmares and
reality mix to form something new and twice as frightening, where
everything is wrapped in shades of gray and purple, frozen
expectantly in the dimension of dreams.
Without another thought she rolled over and closed
her eyes, too tired to wait breathlessly with the rest of Mother
Nature for the sun’s cleansing appearance.