"I saw you go to the Mstislav mansion tonight," Odette said. "I saw you go out to Galina's house and then into the Pure Woods. It's very dangerous there at the moment. You shouldn't go there again."
Odette returned to contemplation of her candle as she continued.
"But even though it wasn't wise for you to be there, you were behaving normally in all other respects. You were searching the woods for something, I assume. And then you seemed to go into a trance. You froze and lifted your hand like you were brushing something away. And then you started running. You ran and ran, and I followed you—you are surprisingly fast for an ordinary mortal. And then you reached a point at which I had to stop you. I knew what you were running toward."
"I was running?" I asked.
"Yes."
"So you didn't see him?"
"I didn't see anyone but you," Odette said.
"He was right there—under the snow and the ice," I said. "Maybe you didn't look down to see him."
"Who?" Odette asked impatiently.
"The Werdulac."
Odette looked up at me, startled.
"Did you say the Werdulac?"
"Yes," I replied. "He was there under the ice like I said. I'd felt him calling to me. When I touched the ice, I fell through it. I was falling and falling until I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head."
"That was me," Odette said. "I hit you. I couldn't let you get too close to what was happening out there. They would have killed you."
I felt a chill steal over me. "The Werdulac was luring me there, wasn't he? He wanted to lead me into the middle of—all that."
"How do you know that name?" Odette demanded. "Why do you keep saying you've seen him?"
"The Werdulac?"
"Yes!" There was a note of hysteria in her voice.
"Because I have seen him. And not just here. He appeared to me back in Elspeth's Grove—before I came here—but I didn't know his name then. And then I saw him on an icon in Moscow—that's when I learned what his name was. Who is he?"
"You are foolish to ask such a question," Odette said angrily. "He's too powerful a creature for you to deal with no matter what you think."
"Odette, who is he? What is he?"
Odette's agitation seemed to subside, and she shrugged. "I suppose it can't hurt to tell you. And maybe it will even help to convince you to leave."
Odette gave me a piercing stare, and her eyes glittered in the candlelight. "The Werdulac is a vampire. But he's not just any vampire. Long ago, when the world was young, he crossed the Black Sea and came to Russia, where he founded a great line of vampires. He's the father of all of our kind here. Long ago, too, he was killed by his enemies—turned to ash and encased in ice."
"So he's dead?" I asked.
"Technically, we're all dead," Odette replied. "But I know what you meant. The Werdulac was supposed to be gone—gone for good—consigned to oblivion. But his power was great, and his life force was strong. The rumors are that he continued to exist under the ice with his ashes. They say that over the centuries he has reconstituted himself—knitted his ashes back together. They even say he will soon be strong enough to rise again, and break out of his prison. His strong will is whole already, and he has sent it out in advance of his body, drawing creatures to him, giving them orders. He's building an army. That's what you saw in the woods."
"An army?" Anton had said something about an army once too.
"An army of hybrids—kost and vampire. Evil spirits combined with blood-drinkers—both with superhuman strength. You may be the Little Sun, but you'd better leave. There's nothing you can do here."
"What does the Werdulac want with an army?"
Odette shrugged her slim shoulders. "In ancient days he enjoyed a blood-soaked reign over this region. Perhaps he wants to revive it. I don't know exactly. Whatever it is, I'm sure it isn't good for any of us."
"Where is the Werdulac? Can he be stopped before he's whole again?"
"Well, we aren't going to stop him. So put it out of your mind. All we can do is get away from here. And no one knows where the Werdulac's icy tomb is. His final resting place was purposefully kept a secret. He was supposed to disappear forever."
"If no one knows where the Werdulac is," I said, "then how does anyone know that he is the one who's actually behind everything?"
"You're not the only one who's seen him," Odette said. "And many of those others who have seen him are far older and more knowledgeable than you. They can understand things that you never will."
"Why is the Werdulac after me?" I asked.
"I don't know that he is," Odette replied shortly. "But if he is, you'd better pray that you never find out why. If he truly is calling to you, you should make sure that you are never alone again—someone should always watch over you. His will is stronger than yours. In the end, if he wants you, you'll go where he tells you to go."
Odette's words made my blood run cold, and for a moment, my mind froze in fear. But I knew I had to push on—I had to find out what I could from Odette. She was the only link I had to the forces that were threatening me.
"So the Werdulac has people working for him," I said. "People he has called to him?"
"Yes—he has both ordinary humans and vampires. There might even be other creatures involved, too, for all I know. The woods are full of spirits—and other things I can't see."
I thought back involuntarily to the horror I had witnessed earlier in the Pure Woods.
"And all those people and creatures working for him—tonight I saw some of them creating kost-vampire hybrids? Timofei Mstislav is now a hybrid?"
"Yes."
"What does the Werdulac want with Timofei Mstislav?" An involuntary shudder ran through me. "Why bring him back?"
"I don't think he care particularly which bodies he uses," Odette said with some distaste. "Any bodies will do, so long as they are free. People here will soon find themselves menaced by their own loved ones."
"I know exactly what that's like," I said ruefully. As soon as I'd spoken the words, I regretted them.
"What do you mean?" Odette demanded.
"I—"
I knew I was on dangerous ground.
"It's just that when I first returned to this house back in October," I said slowly, "I was surprised to see how little my room had changed. And I remembered that as a little girl I had accidentally locked myself in my closet here once. I had been trying to see if there were any monsters in the closet when the door was closed. And then I laughed, telling myself that there were no monsters in the house, but I was wrong because there was one—there was you—you were a—"
I stopped.
"So I'm a monster, am I?" Odette said.
I tried to salvage the situation. "I just meant that I thought I was safe in this house."
"You are safe in this house," Odette said shortly. "And I suppose as offensive as it is, I can't entirely blame you for your opinion of me. I did come very close to getting you killed."
I had a feeling that that was as close as Odette would ever come to an apology.
She continued. "But as I said, you are safe in this house. That's why I had to lure you out of it. I could give you poison to weaken you, but I couldn't actually let Gleb in to kill you. And he wanted to kill you himself."
"What do you mean? Why couldn't Gleb enter the house?" I asked.
"Your mother sealed this house in a protective way—Galina told me about it. If you don't believe me just look out the window."
I got out of bed and went to my window, pulling back the curtains. Since my room was not on the side of the house that faced the street and the streetlamps, it was dark. But I could just make out a figure standing in the back yard.
I stumbled back away from the window when I realized who the figure was.
It was Timofei Mstislav.
"Odette," I whispered. "Timofei is out there."
"I know."
"You know?" I said.
"I know," Odette replied impatien
tly. "That's why I told you to look."
"What are we going to do?" I asked.
Odette shrugged. "Nothing. I told you the house is safe. You can go look at him again. He won't come in."
I didn't really want to look at Timofei Mstislav again, but I had to see what was going on.
I crept back to the window and peered out. Timofei was still standing in the back yard—he didn't appear to have moved. I could see his eyes now—two tiny points of green flame in the dark.
He appeared to be staring fixedly at the back door. White smoke twisted and swirled around him—it was very much like the trail given off by the usual kost, but as I watched the smoke move, I could see a difference. The trail of an ordinary kost made sinuous, tortured, almost voluptuous patterns in the air. The trail of the hybrid, while equally tortured, had an impossible linear quality to it—the smoke turned back in on itself at sharp angles, creating geometric shapes. The bizarre way it twisted fascinated me, and I found myself watching it, entranced.
An impatient sound from Odette broke the spell, and I turned back to her.
"What is he doing there?" I asked.
"I believe he's waiting for you to come out. He can't get into the house. He can't even touch it. Creatures of evil like vampires and kosts can't come in. I could come in because I was part of your mother's original enchantment—I was one of the 'safe' people who could always come in. In order to get you out to Gleb I had to get you out voluntarily. You don't need to worry about Timofei right now—like I said, he can't get in."
I touched the charm William had given me. "Why didn't my charm work?"
"What do you mean?" Odette asked.
"It's made of iron," I said. "Iron is supposed to scramble the kost's senses. It's supposed to keep him from following my trail."
"I don't think he had to follow your trail," Odette said. "He saw you. And he knows where you used to live in this town. This house was likely to be the first place he would go to even if he hadn't seen you. The kost is usually born with a strong desire for revenge—it will go after anything its host hated. And Timofei Mstislav certainly hated you."
"Thanks," I said.
"It's just the truth," Odette replied. "Besides, Timofei is a hybrid now—part kost, part vampire. The senses of a kost are typically rather dull, apart from their sense of smell, but the senses of a vampire are terrifyingly sharp. It's possible that iron has no effect on hybrids."
"So are GM and I trapped in this house?" I asked. "You're fast—you might be able to get past him. But the two of us will never get out with him standing guard over the door."
"Your grandmother should be fine," Odette replied. "Timofei's not after her. And in any event, he'll go after you first every time. He won't even glance at her until you're gone."
"But doesn't he need to drink blood?" I asked. "Wouldn't he attack her for that reason alone—even if I'm not around?"
"She's safe on that account, too," Odette said. "They will have supplied him with blood. The Werdulac's people have thought of everything. Besides, Timofei will be gone at daybreak. Like vampires and kosts, the hybrids don't like sunlight. It won't kill them, but they are weak and sluggish during the day—it's the time when they're most vulnerable. Timofei will seek shelter."
"Do you know where he will hide?" I asked.
"No," Odette said. "And I suggest that you don't go looking for him. I'm sure he'll be protected. If you really want to help Annushka—and yourself—you should leave in the morning. And you should convince Annushka to refuse to see her new gentleman caller."
Annushka was the name by which Odette knew GM, and as for her gentleman caller—
"Do you mean Maksim Neverov?"
"Yes."
"Why should GM stay away from him?"
"Because I've seen him in some strange places," Odette said. "And because he's a Mstislav."
"Maksim's a Mstislav?" I asked incredulously. "But he can't be—his last name is Neverov. And he's the grandfather of a girl I know back home. There's no way he's a Mstislav."
"It's entirely possible, because it's a fact," Odette said. "Maksim's father was a Neverov. His mother was a Mstislav."
I was stunned.
"Maybe it doesn't mean anything," I said. "Just because Maksim's related to the Mstislavs doesn't mean he's like Gleb or Timofei."
"Perhaps not," Odette replied. "But I would still advise you both to be careful."
I started to feel like I was sinking. A resurrected dead man was waiting in my back yard, hoping to kill me. A vampire was sitting at the foot of my bed. And now my grandmother's sweetheart turned out to be related to the monster outside.
I sat down on my bed again. I wished there was someone I could talk to.
"Do you know where Galina is?" I asked.
"Galina and Aleksandr both disappeared a few weeks ago. I don't know where they went."
"What about the Leshi?"
"I haven't seen him since that night we were all in the Mstislav crypt," Odette said. "He seems to have disappeared too. I wish he would come back. I know I said I wasn't very interested in him once, but I've found now that I miss him. Or at least I think it's the Leshi that I miss. I'm not entirely sure where Aleksandr ended and the Leshi began."
I was surprised to hear the mournful note in her voice.
"I think I saw him," I said.
Odette stared at me. "The Leshi?"
"Yes—in Red Square. He looked like Aleksandr, but his eyes were overbright like they were when the Leshi was impersonating him. The Leshi told me once that you can always tell one of his disguises by the eyes. I spotted him the crowd, and he ran off, so I followed him. He led me to a back room in a museum, and then he disappeared completely. But it was there in the museum that I stumbled across the icon of the Werdulac. It was because of the Leshi that I found out the Werdulac's name. I think he was trying to warn me."
"So he was trying to help you," Odette said bitterly. "Just as I am here to help you. Everyone is always trying to help you."
"Timofei Mstislav isn't trying to help me," I said. "He's trying to kill me."
"That's true enough." Odette gave me a sidelong glance. "Just out of curiosity, how did you get out of the woods so quickly tonight? Did the Leshi come for you?"
I blinked at her in surprise. "No—it wasn't the Leshi. You didn't see the horse?"
"I saw a white flash, and then you disappeared," Odette said. "It was a good thing, too, because Timofei ran after you as soon as he was free of the ritual. He surely would have caught you if you hadn't just vanished."
"That white flash was a horse," I said. "I climbed onto its back, and it carried me home. I don't know where it came from or where it went. It was almost like I dreamed it."
"It was a nightmare," Odette said.
I looked at her in surprise. She had spoken the last sentence in English. "What did you say?"
Odette looked a little self-conscious.
"Was that not right?" she asked in Russian. "I learned the English word 'nightmare,' and I thought I would make a play on words. It was night, and you met a mare—or a horse, anyway—that seemed like a dream. I thought the word fit."
"A nightmare," I said in English, before switching back to Russian. "I see what you mean. That's clever. Where did you learn those words?"
"I've been studying English on my own. I never had time for studies before," Odette said ruefully. "I have nothing but time now."
"Have you ever heard anything about a horse like the one that helped me?" I asked. "Do you know what it was?"
"It sounds like one of the creatures of the light that inhabit the Pure Woods," Odette said. "After all, it did come to save you. That's all I can tell you. I know more about the creatures of the dark—that's really my area of expertise."
Unbidden, William suddenly came to mind. One of the creatures of the dark—that's what he thought he was. And he'd left me because he believed the curse could be lifted. I hoped for his sake that such a thing was truly possible—I knew
it was what he wanted most in all the world.
Odette also did not seem too happy with her current status, even though, unlike William, she'd actually chosen it. I wondered if there was a way back for her too—if she wanted it.
"Odette, I heard that it was possible for a vampire to—"
I tried to choose my words carefully. "To return to his previous state. Is that possible? Would it be possible for you?"
"There is a legend about the firebird," Odette said wistfully. "It is said that the firebird can heal anything—any kind of malady. I have wondered if the firebird can even heal me—there are old stories that say it can. The Firebird Festival is coming soon—that's the time when the firebird is most likely to make itself seen. It's funny about fire—it's the best way to kill us, but according to the folktales, the right kind of fire can actually purify us."
I watched Odette's face in the candlelight, and her expression grew softer as she spoke. She looked very young—and lost.
"Creatures of the dark have to be careful of themselves, you know," Odette said. "I thought I would be laughing at the night and at everyone else too—I thought I would have everything I ever wanted. No wrinkles, ever! Clothes would always look good on me! And I would have powers, yes! I would be glittering and fearless and above all earthly cares. But all of this means nothing to me now—there are many dangers from my own kind, and there are even worse dangers from even darker creatures. And now I creep around, hiding myself, wishing I was something other than I am."
"Where do you live, Odette?" I asked. "Where do you go when you hide yourself away? You could come back to this house. You could live here again. You could come back to us."
Odette stiffened. "It isn't possible. I can never come back. The firebird is just a myth—a pretty folktale. And I cannot come back as I am. I can never rejoin the human world. I can never feel its warmth and love again." She paused, and her mouth twisted in a bitter smile. "I sought to place myself above you, only to find that once again you end up with everything, and I end up with nothing."
Odette stood up suddenly, and I jumped back in fear.
"I have just enough affection left for you to tell you to leave," she said fiercely. "Get out of this village before you get yourself killed."
Ignis (Book 2, Pure Series) Page 26
