Chapter 05
“Have you talked to Nat?” Michael’s voice said over the telephone line.
“Yes,” Uriel answered, his eyes on the girl crouching in the corner of the flat roof top, a crumpled bag in her arms. She was pouting in her 'I'm ignoring you' way. He couldn't blame her; he had promised her that he would release her and get her home, but instead she had ended up trapped on the roof. “Right now he is still at the Resting Circle's reconstruction site, but he has arranged for a stay at the estate. I have already requested my bike be taken there.” He had reported the incident immediately, so the Aradmas of the Damned in charge of cleaning the London streets of the remains of any fights among the Bloodeaters had probably already removed it from the alley. “It has a little dent, so I hoped that Anael would take a look at it.”
“You know she can't refuse you, but she's not going to be pleased that you crashed one of her babies.”
“If I remember correctly, I was the one who bought that bike.”
“But she perfected it.”
And because of that, Uriel would be the focus of her ugly looks for at least a day. “Anael should go directly to the estate.” It was set among the green hills of Scotland, hidden from prying eyes by the shield of the Primary, the remainder of the technology of the Eon. “But I have a job for you. Could you go and take a look around the girl's apartment?”
“Yes, of course.”
Uriel told him the location.
“I’ll call you from there,” Michael said, then cut the line.
Uriel glanced though the transparent green shield that rose like a dome above the roof. He had activated a shield box as soon as they reached the roof so they were quite safe. It was a shame Haniel still hadn't managed to make a shield that would be insensitive to the vibration of movement, if he had they wouldn't have had to wait until dawn to start their journey toward Scotland. Of course, there could still be danger lurking in the daylight, since the Belini’s master could hire Mamaels to track them, even though Elders found Mamaels beneath them.
He still needed to organize transportation. The thought of using Mamael public transportation crossed his mind; he quite liked trains, but only under certain conditions, like having a private -- and thoroughly sterilized -- compartment. He called Haniel and five minutes later he had a car waiting for them in the underground garage two streets down. “You should try to get some sleep,” he told Jen who, with her knees drawn to her chest, stared at everything except him.
She was still holding a grudge hours later when he led her toward the underground garage. Her eyes darted around and if he hadn't held her close at his side, she would without a doubt have tried to escape. She actually did try, diving from the passenger seat while he got behind the wheel, but she was too slow for him and his space distortion.
“So foolish.” Uriel appeared behind her. He pushed his finger into the dip between her shoulder and neck. When she became pliant in his arms he carried her back to the car, laid her down in the passenger seat of the black Mercedes and buckled her in. He should have incapacitated her on the roof.
He started the car and drove it out of the cement underground. He drove under the speed limits, his eyes shielded from the sun by the thick glasses covering almost half of his face. Unlike the Bloodeaters of the Damned, he and his brothers-- as the Numuns and the members of the Lost clan -- could tolerate sunlight, but they were sensitive to it.
Jen woke up seven hours later, just after Edinburgh, cranky and disoriented.
“I sent somebody to your apartment,” he told her. “He reported that somebody set cameras in it and in the building's hallways. This narrows your options. As I see it, you only have two possibilities: stay with me until I identify the reason for the attack and the man behind it, or go back and risk being caught.”
“I would prefer to try my luck on my own.”
“Yes, I imagine you would.” But that would endanger her life and since he had already gone through so much trouble to preserve it, he wasn't willing to risk it.
“Where are you taking me?” She surveyed the grass and low bushes lining the two-lane road that wound among the hills.
“To a safe place.” Nathanael's estate was alongside the Blackdart's residence in Xian, China, the safest place he knew, but at the same time it was filled with Bloodeaters. If she made one wrong move... He would have to keep a close eye on her.
After an hour’s drive, just after the road narrowed, he turned into the gravel road that led into the forest and brought them to a tall brick wall and an iron gate. Inside they were welcomed by Gillian, Nathanael's petite blonde mate.
She guided them from the parking lot beside the wall through a small house into well-lit underground hallways made out of stone. “I would offer you your old house, but it was bulldozed when we sealed off the estate. I have prepared the one-room flat similar to the one Tina used the last time she was here. It's small, but since there's just the two of you, it should be large enough.”
“She prefers a bed over a Sarniikzi.” Uriel held Jen's arm with one hand to keep her from doing anything stupid, and with the other he carried his katana.
“We will add one, then.”
They descended two staircases and crossed a few hallways, then a large hall, meeting a few people on their way before they arrived at a steel door where Gillian had to approve their entrance. Through it they stepped into a hallway with white walls and floors, lined on both sides by white doors. Beams of red light scanned them twice before they turned left at the second intersection and Gillian stopped to open the first door on the right, setting her thumb against the display by the door.
Uriel gently pushed Jen, who was cooperating for a change, inside and into the living room. A stark change from the apartment in the London house, this one had furniture and walls as white as the hallway outside, and it was without a kitchenette.
The bag Uriel had stored in the compartment of his bike was now on the end table, near the entrance door. “I will need some food for her,” he told Gillian. “And a key to the door, so I can lock it.” Since he doubted that Jen would, like Tina, be afraid to step out of the house without his or his brothers' protection.
Gillian nodded.
“How long am I supposed to stay here?” Jen went past the leather couch set perpendicular to the entrance door; another couch stood opposite it and a glass coffee table sat between them. Low cabinets rested against both walls parallel to the couch, and two doors, barely visible in the whiteness of the wall opposite the entrance, led into the bedroom and the bathroom.
“Not long, I hope.” Uriel put his sword on the cabinet behind the couch. “You probably need some clothes and something to help you pass the time. There's no television here, but I'm sure we can get you one, if you would like one.” He turned to Gillian who stood by the open door, inside the room. “I need a new tablet. Could you bring one for her, too?”
“I can do that.” Gillian nodded and showed him an intercom behind the door similar to the one in the London apartment. “These are new; we installed them in all the apartments. If you need anything, just press the button.”
“Thank you, Gillian.” Uriel gave a smile to the blonde.
“Drop by when you have time, okay?” Gillian moved to the doorway. “I would love to hear how everybody is doing.”
“You know quite well how everybody is doing, probably better than I do.” Uriel went to the door and leaned on the end table. “You are just bored, since Nat is away.”
“You are right,” Gillian admitted. “Since he became the head of the Damned, he has been away from home too often. Hey, Haniel and Tina sent me some films, why don't you two join me in a movie night?”
“That sounds great,” Uriel said even though he had no desire to watch any movies, but it would fill their time. Besides he liked Gillian, he considered her a friend and spending time with friends was never a waste of time.
“At six?”
“At six,” Uriel agreed and after Gillian stepped into the hallway with a wave, he closed the door. He turned and shook his head at the sight that greeted him.
Jen held his katana in her hands, lifted high to attack him.
“Put that down.”
“If you don't release me this instant, I'll...”
Uriel sighed and closed the distance that separated him from the couch facing Jen. He sat down and leaned back.
“Release me.” Jen walked around the couch, the katana’s tip pointed at Uriel.
Another sigh. “You apparently haven’t thought this through. You have seen what I'm capable of, do you really believe that you can best me even if I'm unarmed? And put it down, please, that sword is quite sharp.”
“I... I...”
“Oh, come on, Jen. Put it down already.” Uriel stretched his legs. He’d had a tiring day, the wound on his arm that should have healed in fifteen minutes still itched and his favourite leather jacket had been ruined because of those bozos. -- Where had he picked up that expression? From Haniel, most likely, even though Haniel would have called them something far worse.
“I want you to keep the promise you made.” The katana lowered dangerously close to Uriel's face.
“I said that I would, it will just take a little longer.”
“I want to go home.”
“And you will.”
“I want to go home now.”
“I know. Be patient.”
“I can't.”
“Try.”
“I can't win with you, can I?” Jen lowered the sword.
“No.” Uriel said.
#
Uriel used a microscope in the small lab to examine the cartridge case the Aradmas found at the scene of the attack. The injury that one of them had inflicted was healed, but it had taken two days for it to disappear. There had been something inside the case, but whatever it was, the heat of the deflagration had burned it out.
The Belini of the Damned and the Beliya of the Lost held similar positions, with the difference that Beliya were Mamael turned by the Gelbeliya, the purebreds of the Lost, with the help of a ritual which gave them strength similar to their masters. The Belini were purebreds who had been Elders' servants in the past. Which meant that an Elder was behind it. If they had been after him, he would have focused his suspicion on Inan or Qutb, because he had played a part in establishing Nathanael as the leader of the Damned and helped in preventing them from claiming the position for themselves. But whoever was behind this wanted a girl, a normal Mamael girl, who liked to play with swords and Akilueteers. Why? What was so special about Jen?
From the back pocket of his black jeans he took out the phone and skimmed through the information he had on her. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the girl, not by the Bloodeaters' standards.
He grimaced. He had used ‘Bloodeaters’ instead of ‘Lueeshareteers’ so many times while talking with Jen and Gillian that he had started to think in terms of the contemporary name. And Angelica had worked so hard to get him to use the old language of Hittite. If the Resting Circle hadn’t been destroyed, she would probably be turning in her sarcophagus right now.
He shook his head, smiling. “I should have discarded the old names long time ago.”
His phone rang, he saw Gillian’s name on the display and answered it.
“Is Jen with you?” Gillian asked.
“No.” Uriel took the cartridge from under the microscope and slipped it into his pocket.
“She's not in the flat either.” Her voice sounded worried. “She wouldn't go out on her own, would she?”
“Oh, yes, she would.” Uriel strode toward the door out into the hallway.
“That's not good. We have eight Elders on the premises; if one of them smells her they might mistake her for the Sacrifice.”
“I thought that Nat abolished those banquets.” The Surveillance and Monitoring Control Room was two hallways away. Uriel accelerated.
“He did. But you know how those Elders are, they think they are special snowflakes. Whoever stumbles upon her might believe that she is a gift.”
“Great. Just great.” Uriel pushed his way into the surveillance room. He greeted the three men sitting there with a wave of his hand. He told Gillian where he was and that he would call her as soon as he found Jen.
The man in the middle surrendered his seat to Uriel and Uriel went through the footage. He found Jen coming out of the apartment and then he followed her progress on hallway cameras. She was going toward the common halls. All of Nathanael's subjects knew about the Mamael and to whom she belonged, and had been warned to leave her alone, but they were not the only ones occupying the common halls. He had to get there before she did.
He sprang out of the chair and out of the room to hurry across the hallways. On his way he called Gillian, Michael and Anael, including them in the search. The first hall he walked into was almost empty, as was the second, with the third full of small groups chatting by the armchairs occupied by Belini and one even by an Elder.
She was not there either. There were still four more halls and when he crossed the fifth he thought for a moment that she might be lucky enough that they would catch her before she even entered the hall, but then he saw her. He froze.
An Aradma held Jen by her shoulders, pushing her down before a cloaked figure sitting in a brown armchair, half-hidden by the rest of the hall, with two bulky men in black suits standing before it.
Fear rose up, choking him. The phone rang. It was Michael. Uriel answered it, rage shimmering inside him, but he couldn't decide if he was angry at Jen or the man holding her. “Yes.”
“I found her,” Michael said.
“Me, too.” Uriel cut the connection and pocketed the phone. He took a deep breath to calm down as he strode past the groups of people toward the red-haired girl. He shoved away the Aradma holding Jen and before the men beside the chair could react he gently knocked Jen down and put his boot on Jen's back. He put enough strength into his foot to hold the resisting girl down against the marble floor, but not enough to hurt her. “I apologize for my Aradma's lack of respect.”
“She's not an Aradma,” a hissing, raspy voice came from under the hood.
Jen started to scream and kick out and tried to wiggle her way out from under the pressure of his foot.
“No, not yet, that's why I hope you will be able to forgive her.” Uriel gave a charming smile and pushed Jen harder into the floor. She should at least be smart enough to play dead rather than fight him.
The men stiffened and, without turning, Uriel knew that Michael had appeared behind him. He grabbed Jen's collar, hauled her up and excused himself. He had to get Jen out of there as soon as possible and he counted on Michael to calm any disagreement Jen's behaviour and his sudden departure might cause.
He ignored the gazes and whispers of passers-by as he silently dragged her along with him, reining back the anger that boiled in him. She thrashed in his hold and her cries and screams didn't stop even when they reached the apartment. He tossed her on the couch. “You fool! I told you to stay inside the apartment. And more than once. What were you thinking?”
“Stop yelling at me.” She picked herself up, glaring at him, her arms crossed.
“Yelling?” She was complaining about him yelling? He stalked toward her, his jaw clenched. “I told you who they were. I told you! You could have been eaten, quite literally. Can't you understand what everybody is? Or is your skull too thick to comprehend that?”
“Stop yelling at me!” she cried, stepping back. “And don’t humiliate me like that. You even stepped on me. That hurt, you ass.”
“That saved your life.” He followed. “I should just chain you.”
“You wouldn't.” She took another step back.
“Oh, yes, I would.” And he would, right now. He reached out for her.
She grabbed a pillow and threw it at him.
He sidestepped and the pillow thudded on the thick white carpet.
She ran around the couch toward the bedroom door.
Using space distortion he appeared just before the door.
She screamed in what looked like frustration and raised her right hand to hit him.
He caught her wrist.
She cursed and swung her other hand.
“Stop it,” he ordered her, gripping her left wrist just before her hand could connect with his cheek.
She screamed again, the sound of it piercing his eardrums.
His eyes narrowed. He had just saved her life, again, but she was behaving like he had just tried to murder her. “Could you shut up, already? Please.”
The pitch of her voice rose as if in spite.
There were three ways he could have silenced her and as he brought her closer and leaned over her, his eyes on her pink, bow-like mouth, he knew that he was picking the worst one.
His mouth touched hers.
COMING SOON