Chapter 14
Bits of conversation seeped through the door hallway into the living room where Tina sat on the couch pretending to be occupied with the magazine in her hand. She tried to ignore the quarrel, but it was hard with Haniel’s voice getting louder and louder with each passing minute. She sighed and tossed the magazine on the table before she looked at Muriel, who sat opposite to her reading a notebook of bound sheet music. “Aren’t you going to go in there and calm them down?”
“No.” Muriel turned the page. “I’m listening to the music.”
She still couldn’t comprehend how he could hear the music by reading it, but since he said that he could, she didn’t dwell on it too much. “I know that this is your much needed break and that you need to relax, but they are your brothers. And they are fighting because of me.” Actually because Uriel had scolded them for allowing her up in the tree, where she could have hurt herself. Like she was a child.
Muriel put the notebook down. “If you listen carefully you will notice that Haniel is the only one yelling. And he isn’t upset because of Uriel’s lecture. He’s having a tantrum. He’s been holding back and hasn’t had one of his nights on the town since you came into our life, and it seems that he can’t handle that too well. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Just don’t worry about it; he will make noise, storm out and be back after four, six hours, meek as a lamb.”
Muriel was right. Not long after, Haniel rushed across the hallway, burst out of the house, slammed the door behind him and, a few seconds later, Tina heard the sound of the bike speeding away.
“Why did you let him go? Isn’t it dangerous with that Deadeater still on the loose?” Tina asked Uriel, who came into the living room.
“Haniel is a big boy, he can take care of himself, and I can’t demand that he stays when he’s worked so hard to restore the shield.”
“Not that that would make you worry any less,” Muriel added.
“No, that doesn’t make me worry less, but he needs to vent or otherwise he will become intolerable.” Uriel put the coffee mug he held on the table and pushed it toward Tina before he descended to the couch beside Muriel. He leaned on his side and stretched his arm over the back of the couch. “But I hope he comes back soon, Anael can’t make a reliable backup shield without him.”
“Did Haniel find out what caused the security system to fail?” Tina asked.
“He and Anael insist that it was an external source, but they can’t trace it,” Uriel said.
“What does that mean?”
“That it wasn’t a malfunction, but sabotage, and that they couldn’t find the culprit.” Muriel picked up the music sheet and stood up. “Not yet anyway.”
“Are you going back already?” Tina asked Muriel.
“Yes, I have to, the gathering has probably already started. But I will be back soon.” Muriel gave her a smile before he went out of the living room.
“Gathering?” Tina repeated as she glanced at Uriel. As she understood, Bloodeater and Deadeater blood vibrated at different frequencies, and since Muriel could sense the vibration, he could distinguish between them. So why did Muriel have to go to a gathering?
“It’s more like a meeting,” Uriel said. “Because Muriel can only focus on small groups, Nat, under the pretence that he wants to give everybody a chance to talk with him and to confide their troubles, organised a series of meetings with a limited number of participants.”
“Oh, I see.” Tina pulled her knees against her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “But why is Muriel still going through with that? He hates crowds and he told me that you already have your suspicions about who the spy is and that you are monitoring it.”
“Because we might be wrong, and there’s still a possibility that there is more than one of them.”
“I hope not.” Tina leaned her chin on her knees.
“Your coffee is going to get cold.”
“Yeah.” She peeked at Uriel and when she encountered his gaze she quickly averted her eyes, and her body stiffened. They were alone in the room, which had never been a problem before, but now... What if Uriel really had feelings for her? She bit her lip. She hoped not. She would hate to disappoint him or hurt him, but if he was in love with her, it was inevitable.
“Is there something wrong?”
“Errm... no.” She brought a finger into her mouth and nibbled on a hangnail. But maybe she was worried for nothing.
“Did you have a dream again?”
She shook her head.
He stood up, went around table and sat beside her.
She shifted away and grabbed the mug from the table. She brought it to her lips and took large gulps; the liquid went down the wrong pipe and she started to cough.
Uriel frowned before he pulled her closer and slapped her on her back a couple of times.
“I’m okay. I’m okay.” She pushed him away.
“What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “You are acting weird. You look like you are uncomfortable. Are you afraid of me?”
“Don’t be silly.” She put the mug back on the table, leaned back and crossed her legs.
“Is it because of what happened on your visit to the lab?”
“No, of course not. It’s just...” She rubbed her forehead. “A lot of things have happened and are still going on, but we are not any closer to locating either Petsha or Damon and...” She sighed. “It’s frustrating me.”
When Uriel raised his brows like he didn’t completely believe her, Tina braced herself for questioning, but she was saved when his phone started to ring.
He answered it and Tina listened to Uriel’s monosyllabic words, while she played with the mug, wondering if announcing that she was going to bed would make Uriel feel like she was trying to avoid him, because it was still three hours before her usual bedtime. She glanced at Uriel, noticing a deep crease between his brows.
Uriel ended the conversation with “I’ll be there in a minute,” and slid the phone into the pocket of his washed-out jeans.
“Something happened?”
“Yes.” Uriel combed his hair away from his face. “The Deadeaters attacked Irene.”
“Irene? Our Irene? But how? She’s much stronger than Deadeaters.”
“They took some of her blood. That is a problem.”
“I don’t understand. What are you talking about? They took her blood? Is she okay?” Tina crawled closer to him until her hands touched his knees. “Is she?”
“She’s fine, probably a little anaemic and thirsty, but fine.” Uriel looked at her, his fingers still buried in his black bangs. “I’m not worried about her.”
“Then what? What’s the problem? That she was attacked on the estate?”
“No, that Deadeaters knew exactly how to ambush her to take her by surprise. Where did they learn that?”
“Isn’t it more surprising that they were sane enough?”
“They probably fed beforehand. They are as sensible as an average Bloodeater when they are not bothered by their thirst, but they usually spend that time in their hive doing who knows what. ” Uriel slid his fingers to his nape and rubbed it before he stood up. “I have to go; Irene's body has problems with absorbing Damned’s and Mamaels’ blood, but Michael believes that she won’t have any problems with mine.”
Tina nodded and watched him get up and leave the room. The estate might provide a safe haven from the Shadows, but it looked like it was getting overrun with Deadeaters.
#
A glowing spot of purple pulsed light and dark by turns, jarring the edge of Tina’s mind, demanding the attention that Tina refused to give.
She shook her head before she turned on her side with a huff and pulled the thin blanket over her head. But the light was still there, an annoyance that seeped under her eyelids.
She groaned, opened her eyes and glared at the small dot on the inside of the Sarniikzi’s lid until her mind cleared and it dawned on her that a pulsing light never meant anything good. What now? She frowned, opened the Sarniikzi and sat up.
She should probably contact somebody. The last she had heard from Uriel, he had gone to the lab, and since he spent nights and days there, coming home only for an hour at most, she couldn’t count on him, but Muriel or Haniel might be back by now.
She rubbed her eyes and took a deep breath. She focused on Muriel’s image, which came to her after a minute of concentration. Muriel! Muriel!
Aren’t you sleeping?
I was, but then this light started to blink and it woke me up. Is there something wrong with the Sarniikzi? She tossed her legs over the edge of the steel box and slipped her feet into slippers.
What colour is the light?
Purple. What does it mean?
Somebody’s broken into the house. Stay there, don’t move. I’ll be right there.
But wouldn’t she be able to hear the alarm? She raised her gaze to the basement door. She should lock it. She jumped down from the Sarniikzi, rushed up the stairs and shoved her fingers into the crack at the door. The mechanism -- Haniel’s latest addition -- should recognize her fingertips and lock the door by pushing the rods installed in the door into the doorjamb, creating a soft buzz. But she couldn’t hear a buzzing sound. A line on her forehead deepened. Haniel’s gadgets never failed.
Despite Muriel’s request and her fear, she pulled on the door -- it didn’t budge. She was locked in. How could she be locked in? Muriel! I’m locked in.
Yeah, I know. I just talked to Uriel. He‘s the one who locked you in and turned off the sound on the alarm. He wants to know what they are looking for, that’s why he let them into the house.
And he just left me sleeping?
Yes, since you are safe down there and he didn’t see any reason to wake you up and worry you for nothing.
He didn’t want to worry me for nothing? She rubbed her temples. How Uriel-like. So who is the intruder? The Deadeater?
Yes. Two of them.
What are they doing?
Uriel said that they searched the house and are now trying to get into the basement.
She leaned her ear to the door like that would help her hear what was happening on the other side, not that even the slightest sound could penetrate the thick surface. I don’t want to stay here.
You could go back to Sarniikzi if you are scared, Uriel joined the conversation. You should feel safe there.
Couldn’t I leave through the underground tunnels like we did the last time? Tina stepped down the stairs.
Yes, and you will, as soon as Muriel comes for you, Uriel said.
I’m almost there.
She went toward the tall, four-drawer trunk that held half of her clothes. She quickly dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved cotton shirt. She also found some boots, among the cold-weather clothes, which she slipped on before she crossed the basement and stepped toward the secret passage.
She squatted down beside it, leaned her back against the wall and rested her elbows on her knees. Deadeaters always attacked creatures weaker that themselves, and even now when they targeted the Damned, they only assaulted Aradmas, and even then always from behind. Deadeaters weren't brave, just thirsty, so why attack Irene, who was ten times stronger, and why break into the house of the Dumes, who were known as some of the strongest Bloodeaters?
She wanted to ask Uriel about that; she already focused on his image, when she heard a noise coming from the other side. She dropped down on her knees, half-turned and pressed her ear to the wall. A crackling sounded like a pack of rats shoving their claws into the brick, determined to dig to the other side. But it couldn’t be rats. Rodents avoided Bloodeaters; Muriel had told her that they were afraid of them, but he couldn’t explain why since no rodent ever answered his call.
So what was this scratching? Muriel! There’s somebody in the tunnel.
Yes, I see them.
The Deadeaters?
I think so.
Can they get in? Tina stood up, examining the boxes and bags against the walls. Since Uriel kept her sword with their other weapons under lock in the iron closet hidden behind the bookshelf in his study, she didn’t have the familiar weight of her blade to ease her fear, but if those things managed to force their way in, she wouldn’t go down without a fight. Her gaze stopped on the long steel rod with which Haniel liked to -- as Uriel loved to comment -- goof around with. Haniel’s technique with a cane was better than his fencing, but he refused to use it outside of the training area.
I don’t think so.
She rushed to it and picked it up, then swung it around, testing it. She wasn’t afraid of Deadeaters; she had been surrounded by them on more than one occasion and she knew that she could beat them. She slammed the edge of the rod against the ground, planted her feet a step apart and waited.
Her breathing became slightly rushed; she had never faced the Deadeaters without a backup, the Dumes, who she knew would jump to her rescue at the first sign of trouble, but she was sure she could take one or two of them.
The scratching sound stopped and silence pressed down on her. Here and there she thought she caught some noise, but it was probably her mind playing tricks on her. Muriel, where are you?
Here.
Here?
I can see the wall. And we seem to have a problem. There’s more than ten Deadeaters there and they are setting something in front the passage. And I probably only have a few seconds before they smell my presence. You should move back.
What?
If you are in front the passage, move back. Something is going to blow up.
Tina tightened her grip on the rod as she stepped backwards until her heel bumped against one of the boxes against the wall. She moved alongside it and crouched down behind the Sarniikzi.
Suddenly an explosion cut the silence and forced her to clap her hands over her ears, while debris flew across the air and over her; a few of small pieces fell on her.
She peeked over the steel crate.
Red-eyed creatures jumped over the remains of the wall that had separated the basement from the tunnel, a large beast -- Muriel -- right behind them, slashing with his talons at them, turning them into dust.
Two Deadeaters that had managed to evade Muriel’s claws moved around the basement with upturned faces. They sniffed the air before the red eyes zoomed in her direction, like they could see her.
Tina took a deep breath, stretched her fingers slightly before she gripped the rod again, ready to smash anybody who dared come near her.
They leaped upon her.
She brandished the rod, hit one against its side, while the other one’s talons touched her arm, tore the fabric and made angry lines on her skin.
Tina slowed down time, arched backwards to evade the hand that reached for her neck and at the same time she swung her cane at the creature’s legs.
She could hear breaking of bones, but she knew that the injury she inflicted was only temporary. She stepped sideways, her rod aimed at the heart of a Deadeater, when furry fingers one by one, wrapped around the Deadeater’s neck and bent it.
Time accelerated and Tina heard a cracking sound before the body fell down and turned into dust. She looked up at the ruby-red eyes and at the muzzle with long fangs. The thing looked scary, like something from a nightmare, but when she saw it, she felt safe, protected. She smiled at Muriel and with all her strength shoved her rod sideways, into a Deadeater, who just picked itself up and was probably about to attack her.
It cried out, but even before its cry died away a strong paw-like hand snapped its neck.
She watched as the flesh hardened then crumbled into a dust that rained down on the ground.
Muriel grabbed her wrist and pulled her across the room, through the hole into the tunnel. Come, we have to get you to a safe place.
“Why did they attack the house? What did they want?” Tina stumbled behind him. “And what about those Deadeaters in the house?”
I don’t know. Muriel shook his head as he led her through the darkness, his beast features changing back into human. “Uriel is planning to scare them off the property and then follow them, hoping to learn something that way. There seems to be something big going on and whatever it is I doubt we are going to like it.”