Ignis (Book 2, Pure Series)

by Mesick, Catherine

  I looked down at my hands, which were bright red and starting to sting. My throat was sore too, and the warm, damp air was soothing. Like GM, I wondered what I had been doing.

  I undressed and got into the shower, and the water seemed to wash the remaining cloudiness from my mind. I figured I had just let all my worries overwhelm me.

  I stayed in the warm water until felt myself thaw completely, and then I dressed for bed. I went back to my room.

  My room was still a bit chilly, but I could see that GM had put the heat on. I was about to climb into bed, when I realized that I wasn't wearing the cross William had given me.

  I found it and held it in my hands for a moment. Looking at it always made me feel calm—perhaps because it made me think of William. The iron charm was cold to the touch, but I knew that it would warm up after I had worn it against my skin for a little while.

  I put it on and went to the window, but I wasn't going to open it again—I just had a sudden idea that I might glimpse William.

  I supposed it was unlikely, but he had said that he would watch the house and make sure that it was safe. Once again I realized that although William would no longer see me, I did indeed feel safe—I did believe that he was watching over me.

  I had a feeling that William still kept his lonely vigil.

  I peered into the night, but I didn't see any sign of William.

  As I turned away from the window, I thought I saw a figure out of the corner of my eye—a figure of a man—tall and starkly white.

  I turned back quickly, but there was no one outside.

  I shook my head to clear it. I seemed to be catching things at the edge of my vision all the time now—I figured I must have imagined it.

  I climbed into bed and turned out the light. I curled my fingers around my cross and thought of William until I fell asleep.

  I woke up early, dressed quickly, and hurried downstairs. Every nerve in body was tingling at the thought of seeing William again. The days I'd spent without him had felt like an eternity. I didn't care at the moment why he'd disappeared—I just wanted to see him.

  GM was in the kitchen when I came down, and she was just pulling something out of the oven.

  "Brownies?" I asked in surprise. GM was always very vocal in her disapproval of sweets, and I hadn't actually realized that we had all the ingredients necessary for brownies in the house.

  GM set the pan of brownies on the stove and shut the oven door. She looked at me searchingly. "How are you feeling this morning, Solnyshko?"

  "I'm fine. I slept really well—after I warmed up."

  "You really are well? Really and truly?"

  "Yes, really and truly," I said.

  "Well, then." GM waved a hand clad in an oven mitt toward the brownies. "I know parties are not the same as they were when you were very young, but I still thought it would be nice for you to have something to take to the party this afternoon."

  I gave GM a hug. "Thank you. I'm sorry about last night. I don't know what came over me."

  GM pulled off her oven mitt and brushed the hair off my forehead.

  "Don't think about it, Solnyshko. You have had a very trying week. I am very grateful that you got away from that horrible man unscathed. You have actually taken everything that happened very well. I suppose something like this was bound to happen—it must have been a reaction to the trauma."

  I wondered if GM was right—had my odd frozen trance of the night before been a delayed response to the attack by Joshua? I supposed it was possible.

  But something tugged at the back of my mind—something I was forgetting. I tried to force the thought forward, but it was elusive. I figured it would come to me if it were important.

  After breakfast, I worked on homework until it was time to leave for the party. As I went out to the car with GM, cradling a container full of brownies in my arms, I felt a pang of nervousness. I was going to be able to search for William soon.

  I scolded myself then and told myself to think of Bryony first—she was the real reason I was going out to the Old Grove. Seeing William would have to come second—after all, a few more hours would not change whatever reason he had for avoiding me.

  Silently, I told myself to relax.

  But I was nervous all the same.

  I glanced over at GM as she drove us swiftly over to the Old Grove. Despite my best efforts, William kept breaking into my thoughts, and I realized that I hadn't told her that Charisse had changed her mind about seeing him with Joshua. In fact, GM and I had not spoken about William since she had forbidden me to see him. I wondered if she thought she had put an end to our relationship for good. It was always hard to tell with her.

  "GM," I said carefully. "There's something you should know. Charisse didn't report William to the police. She said she couldn't be sure she'd seen him with Joshua Martin."

  GM's hands tightened on the steering wheel, and she glanced at me sharply. "Is that your way of telling me that he is going to be at the party?"

  "No. William wasn't invited." I realized suddenly that I was actually on pretty shaky ground. If GM got upset, there was a very good chance that she would turn the car around and take us straight home.

  "I am relieved to hear he wasn't invited," GM said. "We'll discuss his status in our household later."

  I looked out the window and watched the scenery flying past us. I decided once again just to focus on Bryony and the party.

  Before long we reached the Old Grove, and GM insisted on walking with me until we found the party site. Once we spotted a large gazebo full of people, GM allowed me to go on alone.

  The day was cold, but I could see several bright fires up ahead, and some of the party guests had removed their coats already. The grove itself was a pretty place, and laughter from the party drifted over to me.

  It was hard to believe that anything terrible had happened here, but I thought suddenly of Anton and Innokenti and the two girls who had been attacked in the Old Grove. I felt a momentary panic that the two of them might put in an unwelcome appearance. But I looked toward the crowd ahead of me, and I told myself not to worry about them—surely Anton and Innokenti would not risk attacking such a large group.

  And there appeared to be plenty of fire around.

  As I reached the party, Bryony spotted me and waved, and I walked up to her.

  "Thanks for coming," Bryony said smiling.

  "Happy birthday," I said, holding out my plastic container. "I've brought you some brownies. My grandmother made them."

  Bryony accepted the container from me. "Thank you. My grandmother couldn't come today—she said it was too cold for her. She did ask me to tell her how you were doing. She's been concerned about you ever since the ghost in her house gave her the warning for you."

  I drew in my breath sharply. Don't let him sing to her. Was that what had happened to me last night when I had sat by the window in a trance-like state? Had someone been singing to me?

  Bryony was staring at me in concern. "Are you okay? You went awfully pale all of a sudden."

  I shook off my fears. Whatever had happened last night, I was in no danger at the moment.

  I would just have to be careful from now on to keep the warning from Bryony's grandmother in mind.

  "I'm fine," I said, in what I hoped was a reassuring tone. "And please tell your grandmother that I'm doing well." I looked around. "It looks like you've got a good crowd here."

  Bryony smiled. "I've been really lucky. A lot of people were able to come even with the short notice."

  I glanced around again, and I happened to catch Irina's dark eye. She quickly looked away.

  "I've asked Irina to be nice," Bryony said quietly. "She said she would."

  I resisted the impulse to smile. I was sure that that request had not gone over well with Irina.

  "Come and meet my parents," Bryony said.

  I met Mr. and Mrs. Carson and Bryony's older sister, Eva, a tall, slender senior was with same long, light brown hair that Bryon
y had. I had seen Eva in the halls at school before—she looked like the cover of a magazine.

  Bryony's father was busy manning a barbeque, and there were several tables laden with food nearby. Bryony deposited my brownies with a number of other desserts, and then we went to talk to the other guests. I said hello to Annamaria, who was just taking off her coat and scarf because of the heat. As she did so, she revealed a series of angry white scars on her neck.

  Between the heaters and the fires, it was actually quite hot in the gazebo, and I found myself peeling off my own winter things.

  As I was folding my coat over my arm, Simon came up to me.

  "Thanks for inviting me to this," he said with a smile.

  I smiled back. "I can't take credit for that. Technically, Bryony invited you. I just passed the message on."

  "Well, thanks for doing that. My brother thanks you too."

  Simon nodded his head, and I followed his gaze. Simon's brother, James, was now talking with Eva.

  Simon continued. "James insisted on crashing when he heard where I was going today. He's been scheming for ages to get a chance to talk to Eva. This was a perfect opportunity for him."

  I watched the two of them talking. James's expression—typically harsh and closed—was open and friendly. Eva smiled at something he said, and James smiled in return. His smile was shy and uncertain, but it was a smile nonetheless.

  "He's doing really well, isn't he?" I said, turning back to Simon. "You can see the difference in him."

  "Yeah. His grades are way up this quarter, and in January he's going to begin applying to colleges. He'll probably have to go to community college for the first year or two, but he may be able to transfer to one of the state schools after that."

  "I'm really happy for him," I said. "It's amazing how he's turned his life around."

  "Yeah. I'm proud of him." Simon paused, and then gave me a serious look. "One thing that really helped him was getting rid of bad influences—people he thought were his friends but really weren't. It was hard watching him back when he was younger and he first started going down the wrong path. Those bad influences were working on him then, dragging him down. I don't want to see you go downhill too."

  "You're talking about William," I said wearily.

  "I'm talking about—him, yes. This is a good first step—not having him here. Isn't this much better? Just you and me like old times."

  Simon looked at me steadily, and there was something pleading in his eyes.

  I didn't know what to say, and I was spared from having to come up with a reply by the arrival of Charisse and Branden.

  I found a paper plate with grilled chicken and a can of soda suddenly pushed into my hands.

  "I noticed you two didn't have any food," Branden said by way of greeting.

  Simon's hands were soon similarly laden.

  "It's good to see you two together," Charisse said.

  It was clear to me that she was hinting at the same subject that Simon had just been pursuing—she was also happy that William wasn't here.

  Before I could respond, Branden swept us all of us away.

  "Come on. There are some seats over here."

  I sat and talked and ate and mingled, and as the afternoon wore on, I spied an opportunity. Simon had been collared by Irina, Charisse and Branden were completely absorbed by one another, and I was between groups. I walked around slowly but purposefully until I was on the edge of the party. Then, when no one seemed to be watching, I slipped off into the woods.

  I was going to look for my own personal bad influence.

  Chapter 9.

  I walked until the lights and sound from the party had disappeared. I soon felt the cold, and I pulled my coat back on.

  I didn't really have a plan. I'd intended to ask around at the party to see if anyone knew where William lived, but somehow I had been unable to bring the topic up.

  Simon's near-constant presence had probably contributed to my difficulty.

  So I wandered through the trees, hoping that something would stand out—something that would point the way to William.

  I knew the woods of the Old Grove well, and I knew there were houses around its perimeter, as well as houses dotted all throughout it. I had a feeling that William's house would be in the woods, rather than around the outer edge—the houses inside the woods themselves seemed to be more secluded. That seemed like something William would prefer.

  I'd never paid a lot of attention to the houses within the woods, so I didn't know which way to turn exactly to start searching. So I simply continued to walk.

  Even without a plan, the motion made me feel as if I were accomplishing something.

  As I walked, a sense of calmness and well-being stole over me. The nervousness I'd felt before about the possibility of seeing William again melted away completely.

  I breathed in the cold air deeply. There was something soft about the atmosphere—something strangely warm and inviting.

  I continued to walk.

  Eventually, I found myself standing in front of a cave. It was actually the same cave I had gone into back in October while I was searching for Gleb Mstislav. And I had actually found him inside the cave—though at the time I hadn't realized who he was.

  I stared into the cave mouth for a long moment, entranced by the soft quality of the dark within. It seemed to me that the soothing, inviting feelings that I'd detected were emanating from the cave. I was just beginning to wonder if perhaps I should head into it, when I saw a white light moving toward me out of the darkness of the cave.

  The light came closer and grew larger—it lit up the interior of the cave. Soon I could see a man walking toward me. When he was close enough that I could reach out and touch him, he stopped.

  I stared up at him—not in any way alarmed—just curious.

  The man was entirely covered in a thick layer of ice, which seemed to be giving off the white light that illuminated the cave. Though he had walked toward me purposefully, I could see that his eyes were tightly closed, and I had the impression that he had not opened them in a very long time.

  His face was a ghostly, blurry white, and through the thick ice, I could see that his matted hair was black. His clothes, from what I could see, had once been ornate, but were now in an advanced state of decomposition, hanging in tatters in some spots. Despite his ragged appearance, a sense of warmth and well-being rolled off of him in waves. I felt safe in his presence—secure and happy to be near him.

  I closed my eyes, imitating the man before me, and I could hear a faint sound—a melody that called to me, asked me to follow. I opened my eyes and stared at the man in front of me. I wanted to know more about him.

  Still with his eyes closed, the main raised his ice-covered hand and held it out to me.

  I raised my hand to take his.

  I was wondering vaguely how he could bear the cold, when I heard a sharp snap behind me, and I turned quickly.

  The vampire Anton was standing just a few feet from me, two halves of a broken stick held in his hands.

  "Hello, Sunshine," he said.

  I looked back toward the cave. The man covered in ice had disappeared and along with him had gone the sense of warmth and well-being that had enveloped me. I stared for a moment, wondering if I had imagined the strange, ragged white figure.

  Slowly, I turned back to face Anton. I was hoping that I'd imagined him too.

  But Anton was still standing a few feet away—still holding the broken sticks just as he had been a moment before. I felt my breath coming quickly, and a sharp stab of fear lanced through me.

  I tried to think of what to do. But it was hard for me to form coherent thoughts, and the smug, self-assured look on his face didn't help matters. I forced my eyes away from his face. I glanced at the sticks in his hands.

  "What are you doing?" Even to my ears my voice sounded high and shaky.

  "What are you doing?" Anton countered. "You seemed to be in a trance. I had to make some noise to wake you u
p. Just out of curiosity what did you think you were reaching for?"

  I tried to force my voice to be steady. "There was a man—here—in front of the cave. He was deathly pale and covered in ice. He held out his hand to me."

  I glanced quickly over my shoulder again, but the mouth of the cave remained empty. "Didn't you see him?"

  "No."

  Suddenly, I realized just how far I had wandered from the party. I was uncomfortably aware of the fact that Anton and I were in an isolated spot. I looked around again, this time to see if we were truly alone.

  Unfortunately, we were.

  Anton continued to look at me steadily.

  "I have a party to get back to," I said. "People are expecting me."

  I turned and started to walk away.

  Anton stepped into my path.

  I was forced to stop.

  I could feel my breathing becoming more labored, and my heart began to beat painfully. I fought the impulse to run. I knew I couldn't outrun him. I'd have to stay calm to have any chance of getting away.

  "How's William?" Anton asked.

  "He's doing well," I said.

  Anton took a step toward me. "When did you last see him?"

  I thought of lying, but I had a feeling that would be a mistake. "It's been a few days."

  Anton smiled. "Would you like to know where he is?"

  "I'll see him soon," I said.

  "Are you sure about that?" Anton's tone was mocking.

  "Yes," I said. "Actually, I came out here to meet him at his house. I've just gotten turned around a bit."

  Anton's smile deepened. The expression on his face was not a pleasant one.

  "I see where I am now," I said firmly. "I've got to be going—William is expecting me."

  My heart was now beating wildly, but I tried to appear confident as I walked away from both Anton and the cave.

  I felt a little flutter of hope as I continued to walk and heard no following footsteps.

  I resisted the temptation to turn around and look back at Anton to see if he were truly not following me. I resisted a further temptation to break into a run. I was headed back toward the party, and I told myself that I would make it there safely if I remained calm and just kept moving.