"There, you see?" Galina said. "Ekaterina can feel it in her blood. She knows that she can do this."
"Please, GM, let's go with Galina and hear what she has to say," I said. "What harm can it do to listen?"
"I suppose it can't hurt for Katie to simply listen," GM said, "but I don't see why you can't talk here. There's no reason to go to your house."
Galina took a deep breath. "Annushka, I regret the necessity, but I am going to have to be blunt. Your negative energy will have an adverse effect on Ekaterina's abilities. Despite the fact that you have come to seek my help, you have done so reluctantly. Ekaterina needs to tap into the natural energy around us. That requires a nurturing, accepting environment – my house has that. She can't do that here with you disapproving. She will have to come with me – without you."
GM snorted again.
"Please, Annushka," Galina said. "Let me take Ekaterina with me. I will talk to her and tell her what to do. And I certainly won't take her to confront any monsters. Besides, it's daylight – Ekaterina is safe enough while the sun shines. When we are done talking, Ekaterina can come home and tell you everything. There will be no secrets."
GM glanced at me. "Well, since Katie doesn't seem to mind, I suppose it is all right if she listens to you and then gives me the details – it will probably be better for my temper than if I heard it straight from you myself. But I want it understood clearly that Katie is not to do anything. I am her grandmother. I will do any necessary saving."
Galina smiled despite herself. "You always were a mama bear, Annushka. As I said, I will not take Ekaterina to battle any monsters today. I promise you that."
"Very well. I expect to see my granddaughter back here in one piece."
Galina gave GM an exasperated look, and then she shepherded me out of the house. Aleksandr followed us.
The car that Aleksandr had rescued GM and me in last night was parked in front of the house. I climbed into the back seat, and soon we were off.
Our route took us through town and past the Mstislav mansion. The big white house looked even more impressive in the day, and its red banners fluttered gaily in a gentle breeze.
We continued on past broad, featureless fields.
"Once upon a time there were houses where these fields are," Aleksandr said, pointing out the window.
His remarks were clearly addressed to me. I glanced at Galina, expecting her to snap at him. But for once she did not rebuke him.
He continued. "In fact, this area was once a little village. Centuries ago, the village nestled between the Mstislav mansion on this side and the monastery on the other. The noble family of the great house looked after the physical needs of the villagers, and the monastery looked after their spiritual needs – in theory anyway."
I looked out at the vast, empty fields. "What happened to the village?"
"The monastery and the mansion failed to protect their people," Galina said quietly. "Now the people are gone."
"Was the mansion still the Mstislav mansion back then?" I asked.
"Yes," Galina said. "The Mstislavs fell into decline after the village was destroyed. And the family lost the house, their position, and their wealth. It was Gleb who clawed his way back from obscurity – buying up the mansion and many other things besides in this town."
We drove on past more empty fields. Eventually, I spied a large stone building, clearly ecclesiastical in nature, and beyond it was a strange white forest that looked like bleached bone.
"As you can probably guess, that's the old monastery there," Aleksandr said. "It's been abandoned for many years now. And just behind it is the Pure Woods – it's a petrified forest."
"Why is it called the 'Pure Woods'?" I asked.
"Simply because of the color – the stark whiteness," Aleksandr replied. "It is also said to be the area of greatest supernatural power in this region – both good and evil."
"Forests are some of Russia's most ancient holy sites," Galina said. "The Pure Woods is one of those sites. Your mother knew these woods well. Soon you will know them, too."
As we drove past the white forest, we came across a small house sandwiched between the side of the road and the edge of the forest.
Aleksandr pulled the car onto the small drive that ran behind the house.
"Welcome to our little forest abode," he said as he cut the engine.
"Aleksandr! No foolishness. Our work here is serious," Galina snapped.
It was clear that her irritation with her son had returned.
We went into the house.
Galina paused just inside the door. "Aleksandr, your presence will not be necessary. Leave."
Aleksandr gave her a formal bow, and to my surprise, he turned and left the house.
Galina turned on her heel and marched down the hall. I hesitated, and I was surprised to hear Aleksandr's car start outside. He really was leaving.
"Please come with me, Ekaterina," Galina called.
I followed her with reluctance – I was beginning to regret my decision to go with Galina. Now that we were at her house, the vibe was definitely very weird.
Galina led me to a room that was full of books – so much so that there was barely room for a desk, two chairs, and a lamp.
Galina took off her coat and sat down at the chair behind the desk. She waved me to the other one.
I took off my coat, draped it over my arms and sat on the edge of the chair. I was suddenly nervous about what Galina was going to say and do. I half expected her to pull out a crystal ball and wave her fingers over it. Something about the cramped room didn't inspire confidence. Maybe GM was right. Maybe Galina was just a well-intentioned, superstitious woman who didn't really know anything.
Galina ran her hands over her face. Then she gave me a long, earnest look.
"This is difficult," she said at last. "I don't know how much like your grandmother you are. I know you expressed a desire to help when you were back at your house, but I can see skepticism in your eyes now. If your mind is closed, this will not work. If you find in your heart that you do not wish to go on, simply tell me, and I will take you home again. There will be no further pressure from me. Take all the time you need to decide."
For reasons I couldn't entirely understand, I felt tears stinging my eyes. "This is all so strange," I said. "I'm feeling really overwhelmed, and I don't know what to think anymore."
Galina smiled at me sympathetically. "Yes, I can imagine that this is hard for you. I know your grandmother does not approve of sweets, but would you like some hot cocoa? I find that that always makes me feel better."
Oddly enough, hot cocoa sounded really good to me. "Yes, thanks."
Galina led me into the kitchen, which was small and overstuffed, but scrupulously clean. As I sat at the table, she got to work with a saucepan, and soon we both had mugs of hot cocoa. Even though the day wasn't terribly cold, I still found the cocoa comforting.
Galina looked at me over the top of her mug. "Tell me about what brought you here. How did all the trouble begin?"
I started with the visit she and her son had made to our house in the middle of the night, admitting that I'd overheard them. Then I told her about the disappearances and about the night that Gleb had attacked the house. I omitted the parts of the story that had to do with William – I was afraid he might be incriminated somehow. Even with the omissions, it felt good to be able to talk to someone freely about what had happened – someone whom I knew would believe me.
Galina took a deep breath when I had finished my tale. "So, you have been through a lot, my child."
Talking through it all had brought back to me just how unnatural the events of the last week had been – it also helped me to make up my mind.
"Galina – Mrs. Golovnin—"
She smiled. "Please call me Galina."
"Galina, I have decided," I said. "I want to know what's going on – even if it's hard to believe."
Galina put her hand to her heart. "My child, I am glad you have come
to this decision."
She picked up the now empty mugs and put them in the sink. Then she sat down again.
"From what I gather you know very little about your mother. So, I will begin with her. It is from her that you get your unique power. Your mother and I were good friends. She was a special person – very few would recognize her for what she was. But I am sensitive – through study, reflection, and mental exercises, I have taught myself to be more sensitive, and I knew even when we were young that your mother was someone I could learn a lot from."
She paused and gave me a serious look. "Nadya had an unusual genetic background. She was half-human and half-immortal, but unfortunately, anything with a body can die. Your grandfather – Annushka's husband wasn't human."
I blinked. "You aren't serious."
"I can assure you that I am," Galina replied.
"My grandfather wasn't a vampire, was he?" I asked.
"No."
"Does my grandmother know that her husband wasn't human?"
Galina gave me an odd smile. "Do you know, I believe she does know deep down, but that is hardly something she would admit to."
"So, if my grandfather wasn't human, what was he?"
"He was one of the Sídh."
"Sídh," I repeated. "I don't know what that is."
Galina spelled the word for me in English. "Aleksandr calls them the Ancient Beautiful Ones. They were banished to the hills of Ireland after a battle with a race known as the Milesians – a battle which the Sídh lost. But though they were banished, they are not gone. The Sídh are older than human civilization and immensely powerful."
"By powerful, you mean that they have magic?" I hazarded.
"You could call it that," Galina replied. "But power is a better word for it. Some even believe the Sídh to be ancient gods."
I felt a chill steal over me. I was beginning to wish my grandfather had been a vampire. "So, what are the Sídh of Ireland doing in Russia?"
"As part of the ancient treaty that sent the Sídh to the hills – I won't tire you with the complexities of otherwordly politics – the Sídh are required to send one of their number here to Krov every few hundred years to imbue the local population with the strength to fight the darkness that lives here. In this way was created the Little Sun, and that's what your mother was. The child that is born of the human-Sídh union and his or her descendants can control what is known as the 'clear fire.'"
I repeated the phrase. "Clear fire."
"Yes," Galina said. "It was a gift from the sun's elder sister, and it can only be used by someone who is both mortal and immortal – someone who stands on the boundary between the two worlds. It is a sphere of pure energy that can defeat the dark creatures who inhabit this area."
"Dark creatures?" I asked. "Vampires?"
Galina smiled. "You seem to have them on your mind a lot."
"It's just that Aleksandr mentioned them, and they're the only supernatural creatures I'm familiar with."
"I see. No, it doesn't work on them. They are a danger. They do take human life. But they are not the greatest danger in the broader scheme of things. Just as there are ancient beautiful spirits, there are also ancient ugly ones. The dark ones are just as eternal and necessary as the bright ones. But though the dark ones are necessary, they are nonetheless malevolent. They seek the destruction of humanity."
"These dark ones," I said, "are they the Milesians you mentioned?"
"No, the Milesians were mortal humans," Galina said.
I was puzzled. "How did mortals force magical beings into exile?" I asked.
"An interesting story," Galina replied. "But not necessary to know now. What the clear fire will do is help you defeat creatures like the kosts. You heard me mention them to your grandmother."
"Kosts?" I asked. "You mean there are more of them aside from Gleb?"
"Yes," Galina said. "Basically, as I said, the kost is a dead man walking. The kost is not a problem because of its form – what it is a hybrid. It is a corpse inhabited by one of those ancient evil spirits I mentioned. It takes the human body so that it can manipulate material objects, and it has unnatural strength. The kost has a grudge against the living, and it feeds itself through human blood and fear. Death gives it strength."
My stomach began to tie itself into knots, and the chill I had felt before had settled deeply into my bones. "So what can we do?"
"The evil spirit that inhabits the kost cannot be killed, but the spirit can be separated from the body, and the body can be sent to its rest again permanently. This can be done with the clear fire. The clear fire can also be used to seal the kost, or wall it up, within a strong chamber. That is what Nadya did – she sealed the Gleb kost within the Mstislav family crypt. The only problem with that method is that the kost remains intact and can be released. And released he was.
"I need you to find the clear fire – your mother has hidden it, and only you have the power to call it forth again. Now that your mother is gone, you are the Little Sun."
"And then once I find the clear fire, you want me to use it to stop Gleb."
"Yes, and if possible to separate the spirit from the body once and for all. It is important to finally stop him. I do not think sealing him up again will be good enough – he will only escape again."
"Do you really think I can do this?" I asked.
"You must," Galina said. "If Gleb succeeds in killing you, which he is surely trying to do, he will kill others. There is no one to stop him but you."
I was feeling worse by the minute. "So, if I find the clear fire, how do I find him – it – Gleb? The last time I saw him he was in Elspeth's Grove."
"There will be no need for you to search for him," Galina said grimly. "He will scour the earth until he finds you."
Chapter 15.
I think Galina could sense that I was rattled. She suggested that we go for a walk, and I agreed readily.
She led us into the woods behind the house.
"The Pure Woods are safe enough during the day," Galina said to me. "Most of the Wood's dark creatures are dormant during the day, and those that are not are still sluggish and shy. The sun has great power over the denizens of the darkness."
The woods were strangely beautiful. Sunshine filtered through the bare white branches and reflected off the smooth trunks, creating the impression that the trees were glowing softly.
The atmosphere was quiet and still, and no birds sang. Galina and I walked in silence for some time.
My mind skipped over all of the things Galina had told me, alighting in different places randomly. Everything seemed so unreal. Could my mother really be what she said? Could I really be what she said?
I was suddenly struck by a thought. "What about my grandfather? GM – I mean my grandmother said he was dead. Is that true?"
Galina gave me a sympathetic look. "No, it isn't. He's still alive. But he is gone all the same."
"Does my grandmother know that he's still alive?"
Galina shook her head. "I don't know what Annushka knows. We were closer once than we are now – I was her daughter's friend from childhood, after all, but she has certainly never confided in me."
We walked on in silence again for a little while.
"Things were very different in those early days," Galina said, as if she'd been reminiscing to herself as we walked. "Your mother had visions from an early age, and though I was only a few years older than she was, I was sure she was the Little Sun. The legend was well known here, but not everyone had my sensitivity. In fact, the last Little Sun had died before I was born, so of course, people had already begun to believe that such a thing could not be possible."
"What did you do when you worked with my mother?" I asked. "How did you help her to develop her abilities?"
"As I said, I studied extensively – I helped Nadya to focus her visions – to make them stronger and clearer through concentration and meditation. I helped her to interpret her visions also. And I helped her to harness her power to use th
e energies of the earth."
I was puzzled. "What do you mean 'harness her power'? Do you mean you were teaching her something like telekinesis?"
Galina smiled. "No. The major duty of the Little Sun is to use the clear fire. We found it here in the Pure Woods – or rather Nadya did. One day she called it forth – it was a bright, red-and-gold sphere of light. I worked with her as she infused it with greater power and light. It was difficult for her to summon at first, but soon she could call it to her wherever she was. This forest is really its home, though."
"So, what exactly happened with Gleb and my mother? Not just with the crypt, but the whole thing?"
Galina patted my arm. "It is a sad story, my child, but Nadya was proud of who she was and what she could do. I think the only thing she would regret about it all was not having more time with you – and your dear father – although having more time with him wouldn't have been possible in any case.
"As she grew older, Nadya began to have visions of Gleb, who was just an ordinary man at the time, although he was a well-known criminal – a mobster – and a very rich one. Eventually, his power on earth was not enough for him – he sought immortality. He came to this forest and sought out the darkness. The darkness came to him and gave him what he wanted – immortality for his body. The price was the death of his soul. Your mother saw it all in her visions.
"Luckily, we had been practicing on the dark creatures of Krov with the clear fire. We started with the vampires – though it can't destroy them, they are none too fond of the clear fire, which so resembles the sun. Nadya would use it to drive them before her. When she grew more confident, she progressed to spirits – things I couldn't see. There were lesser spirits as well as the greater ones, and she started with the lesser ones. The clear fire would glow brighter and brighter as she worked. She told me she was getting stronger and soon would be able to face Gleb. As she worked, though, people began to disappear…
"And then Nadya became ill. She continued to work, but her strength was not what it was, and it was during this time that she lost your father, which further sapped her strength.
"Despite her weakness, she went out one night without me to confront Gleb."
Pure (Book 1, Pure Series) Page 18
