Masque of the Vampire (Amaranthine Book 8) by Joleene Naylor

Author:Joleene Naylor [Naylor, Joleene]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-03-31T22:00:00+00:00

Katelina drifted to sleep in Jorick’s arms, but woke suddenly. There was the memory of a voice, though she didn’t know what it had said, or who it belonged to. Her eyes jerked to the door. Silence. As she started to relax, a soft sound came, like a shuffle. She threw back the blankets and catapulted over Jorick. She jerked the door open, but there was only Sarah, staring down the corridor. Their eyes met and they nodded, then Katelina returned to her bed and Jorick’s curious questions.

“I thought she was crazy, too,” Katelina whispered. “But this is the second time I’ve heard someone. Maybe she’s right. Maybe the stalker is real.”

Jorick asked the same question she had: Why would anyone stalk Sarah?

“Maybe if we find out who, we can find out why.”

Jorick scoffed.

That evening, she followed him down to breakfast. They passed Roger and Jamie in the corridor. Katelina needed to talk to them without Jorick, but she couldn’t think of a way get free until they reached the dining room. Sarah was noticeably absent, so she murmured an excuse to look for her and hurried away before Jorick could comment.

Back in the hall, Jamie nodded as the blurry eyed guard reeled off his report. Katelina studied Roger, making a mental list of his symptoms. His skin was paler than usual and his eyes were sunk in. A blister on his hand showed he’d wandered into sunlight. Since he did the day rounds, maybe he’d seen or heard something.

He saluted Jamie and started away before she pounced. “Roger, isn’t it?”

He turned bloodshot eyes on her. “Wow. You know my name. Should I be flattered?”

She looked to where Jamie stopped to talk to someone else. She didn’t have time for Roger’s sarcasm. “You’re awake all afternoon. Is anyone up with you?”

“Are you implying I’m not doing my stupid job? Because I am, even though it’s useless. It isn’t like this place is remotely sun proof, and the only way I can safely get from floor to floor are the stairs in the walls, but I’m doing it. Up and down and—”

“Stairs in the walls?”

He looked at her like she was stupid. “You know, the passages hidden in the—” He broke off and snickered. “You don’t know and you’re accusing me of not doing my job.”

Katelina bit back a growl. “I’m not accusing you. I just want to know if anyone else was awake today.”

“Besides the servants? Cornelius has the morning shift, but otherwise no, no there wasn’t. If that’s all you wanted then I’m going to bed.”

Katelina let him stomp off and looked back to Jamie, her mind churning with the implications of a hidden staircase. The Executioner gave a polite laugh, then broke free of his cornered conversation. She hurried after him, and caught him before he reached the dining room.

“I have a question. You checked the guests in, right? How many wind walkers are there?”

Jamie studied her carefully. “I don’t know. Why?”

“You could look it up, couldn’t you?”

His suspicion appeared to double.

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