Amaranthine

Chapter 5

"Love?"

Katelina's brain stuttered as she repeated Jorick's word. He'd just said that Patrick loved her. But-

Jorick's expression seemed to ask if she was all right. It was an answer she wasn't sure about, so she looked away and jammed her phone in her pocket for something to do. "And?"

He seemed uncertain how to continue. "I'm sorry. I assumed, since you were lovers, that such attachment would be obvious, that some amount of- feeling was indicated-"

She opened her mouth to correct him and then decided to leave it alone.

With a final look of concern, Jorick continued. "Once Claudius knew you existed, he started using you to threaten Michael. Patrick didn't know that his brother had spoken of you, and believed your existence to be a secret from the coven. That was Claudius' new weapon, his way to control Michael. I'm sure you can imagine the consequences if Claudius hurt you, then told Patrick he'd discovered you through Michael's indiscretion." When she only blinked, he sighed and specified, "I'm certain Patrick would have wanted blood, brother or not, and Michael knew it. Because of that, it worked for a while, but Michael finally told his brother about his mistake and the threats Claudius had made. Patrick," Jorick paused again. "Patrick didn't take it well. He and Michael worked together to steal something that Claudius considers very precious, something he would kill for. They hoped to use it as a bargaining chip, but, as you know, it didn't work."

Katelina wasn't sure what to feel. She tried to reason out the crazy story in her mind. If what Jorick said was true, then Patrick had been in love with her and had stolen something trying to- what? Protect her from Claudius and his cult?

She cast her thoughts backwards, searching for a hint of what sounded like insanity. She went as far back as the night she'd met Patrick in the bar. She could see it clearly: his black leather pants looked uncomfortably hot in the humidity and his tank top barely covered him. He'd been all blonde hair and smeared eyeliner, smelling of stale cigarettes and Captain Morgan, an easy smile on his lips and a twinkle in blue eyes that spoke of mischief.

The image was a punch in the stomach. She'd spent the last six weeks trying not to think about him, not to picture him. Now, there he was before her eyes, laughing, inviting her for a drink, and promising not to take advantage of her.

Defeated, she dropped onto the stairs and let her elbows rest on her knees. "So I suppose Claudius killed him over this- 'thing'?"

Jorick seemed surprised at her assumption. "Claudius? No, it was Michael."

"His brother?" Michael was gone - had been gone, or so Patrick and the police said. He'd left months ago and never came back. If Jorick's story was true, then that was probably when they'd stolen the "thing", and no doubt Michael had taken it somewhere and hidden it. But if he was guarding it, why had he come back? Why would he-

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Why would he do that?"

"Because Patrick wanted to give 'the thing' back to Claudius in exchange for a promise that you wouldn't be harmed, but Michael wanted to be released from Claudius' service - only it doesn't work that way. Once you belong to Claudius, you belong to him forever. Patrick knew that; he knew there would be no deal unless they were willing to suffer for their misdeeds." Jorick sighed almost sadly. "And so - as has happened since the dawn of humanity - brother killed brother; Cain killing Abel all over again."

Katelina struggled for words. "He couldn't have-" She thought of Patrick's mangled body, lying pale and mutilated in a pool of sticky congealed blood, his spinal column showing through where his throat should have been. "How did he do it? I saw the body. His throat was ripped out! No human could have done that."

"I didn't say his brother was human, did I?"

"What?" As if there was something else to be! "If he wasn't human then what was he?"

Jorick seemed to hesitate and then a smile flickered at the edges of his mouth. "Would you like to see?"

Katelina leapt to her feet and looked around wildly. "What? He's here?"

"Yes." Jorick retrieved the candle. "I have him locked up right now. It's perfectly safe. Come." Though spoken softly, the last word held the essence of a command.

Though part of her struggled with the idea, she followed Jorick, almost against her will. Even as her feet moved, she didn't know why she wasn't running away. It was as if some outside force stopped her escape and propelled her forward through the darkness.

They crossed the room and stopped before a door set into the farthest wall. As Jorick carefully unlocked it with yet another key, she noticed other doors along the walls, leading to who knew how many secret passages and storerooms.

"Through here." He ducked inside and she followed into a narrow corridor. Dark damp walls seemed to close in around her. The spark of fear pushed away the last of the overwhelming desire to comply, and she stepped back towards the doorway. Her hand snaked to her pocket and her phone; a lifeline to safety.

All she wanted to do was run out of the God forsaken house, climb in her car and drive back to a gas station where she'd be surrounded by electric lights and Twinkies and motor oil and all of the mundane things that proved the difference between reality and fantasy; between waking and nightmares. Either Jorick was insane and there was no one there, or else he had Patrick's murderous brother held prisoner in a dark basement. Neither option was good, and she knew it was time to run.

"It's all right," Jorick assured her. "He's restrained."

If he even exists, she thought. For all she knew, Jorick was high and hallucinating. High. She imagined turning and running, tripping up the wooden stairs while a junkie, high on god-knew-what, chased her down. He looked strong, and fast. Could she really escape? So far she'd cooperated with him and he hadn't tried to hurt her; hadn't even touched her. If he planned to kill her or rape her, he'd have probably gotten it over with already. Maybe, if she just played along she'd live to get through this.

She'd hoped to sound brave and in control, but her stutter betrayed her, "R-right."

Jorick led Katelina maybe twenty feet down the corridor, to another locked door. Something moved inside and terror sliced through her. What if Jorick was only slightly delusional and Michael was really there? What if they were partners? What if he was the one who was going to kill her? Visions of her dismembered body wrapped in garbage bags flashed through her mind as Jorick unlocked the door and pushed it open.

"Let me out of here!" a voice roared.