Dangerous Creatures (Book 3, Pure Series)

by Catherine Mesick

  There was another loud knock, and I realized it was coming from the door.

  I sighed in relief. William was finally here.

  I ran down the hall to the door and threw it open.

  "William," I breathed. "I'm so glad you're here. You won't believe what happened last night. I—"

  I stopped.

  "Hello, Sunshine," said a familiar voice.

  There was a man standing in the doorway, but it wasn't William.

  It was Anton.

  Chapter 12.

  I tried to slam the door, but Anton caught it and held it.

  "May I come in?" he asked. "Who am I kidding? We both know I'm going to come in anyway."

  Anton stepped in, and I was forced to take a step back. Anton was tall with dark hair and very dark eyes—and he was also a vampire. I had encountered him on a number of occasions—some of them dangerous, some of them more innocuous, but all of them unnerving. So, I supposed he could be considered friendly. But he certainly couldn't be considered safe.

  "What are you doing here?" I asked.

  "I'm hurt. Is that any way to greet an old friend?"

  "Where's William?" I asked.

  "He's indisposed."

  "What does that mean?"

  "It's a polite way of saying that he's unavailable to meet with you at this time."

  "I know what the word means," I said. "Why isn't he here?"

  Anton walked past me into the living room. "I believe I already addressed that."

  I followed him. "It certainly looks like you don't mind making yourself at home. Why did you bother knocking at the door since you were just going to come in anyway?"

  Anton pulled back the curtains and looked outside. I could see that the sky was rapidly darkening.

  "I'm not entirely without manners," he said. "Mostly. But not entirely."

  "Let me try phrasing this a different way," I said. "What do you want?"

  Anton moved sharply as if something outside had caught his attention. "Did you see that? No, I don't suppose you did. It was moving too fast for you to see it. It was nearly moving too fast for me to see it—I only caught a glimpse. Luckily, I have sharp eyes."

  "What do you want?" I repeated louder.

  Anton turned back to me. "Now, now, I heard you the first time. There's no need to get irritable."

  "Then what's the answer to my question?" I said.

  "What I want," Anton said, coming to stand beside me, "is for you to come with me."

  "What?" I said.

  "I want you to come with me," Anton said. "It's simple enough."

  "Where's William?" I said.

  "You seem a little obsessed with this guy," Anton replied. "Have you considered branching out a little—maybe seeing other people?"

  "William was supposed to meet me here," I said. "I'm pretty sure you know that. That's why you're here. You've come here to get ahead of him—to get to me before he arrives. Either that, or something's happened to him."

  "Those are both interesting possibilities," Anton said. "I'm glad you have your thinking cap on today. I always said you were pretty sharp for a mortal girl."

  "Anton, where's William?"

  "As I said, William will not be joining us this evening."

  "So, you're not going to tell me."

  "No, I'm not," Anton replied. "Not unless you can think of a way to make me tell you."

  He tilted his head and smiled. "Can you think of a way? No? Neither can I. I'm glad we settled that."

  From the kitchen, I could hear my phone ring.

  "I think I'll get that," Anton said.

  He began to walk toward the kitchen.

  "Anton, stop," I said. "That's probably my friend Simon. I've been gone a long time now, and he's probably wondering why I haven't returned yet."

  "Oh, well then, I'll set his mind at ease," Anton said.

  He reached the kitchen and picked up my phone.

  "Anton, stop!" I ordered.

  He answered the phone. "Hello? Who? No, I don't know any Katie. I'm afraid you have the wrong number. You should really stop calling it."

  "Simon, I'm fine!" I shouted. "I'm here! I'm okay—"

  Anton disconnected the call.

  "Anton, you've upset Simon," I said. "Now he's going to think something's happened to me."

  "I upset Simon?" Anton said. "You're the one who upset him with all your shouting. If not for you, he would've just thought he had the wrong number."

  "I really doubt that," I said.

  "Besides, something has happened to you," Anton said. "You're coming with me."

  My phone rang again, and Anton shut it off.

  He sighed. "I suppose your friend's going to call the police or something like that pretty soon. If you want to grab a book or a magazine for our trip, I suggest you do it now."

  "I'm not going anywhere," I said, "especially not with you."

  "Yeah, about that. I'm afraid that's going to be a problem. I really need you to come with me."

  "I can't help you with that," I said. "I'm staying here."

  "I suppose it wouldn't help if I told you that it's in your best interests to come with me?"

  "No," I said. "It wouldn't help at all."

  Anton nodded. "That's unfortunate. It really is."

  He looked up at me. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to insist."

  Panic surged through me as Anton reached out and grabbed my arm. I could feel the cold of his fingers through the thin cloth of my shirt, and his grip was like iron.

  "Anton, stop!"

  But he pulled me along with him, and though I struggled, I could neither break his grasp nor slow him down.

  "I'm not going!" I screamed. "I'm not going anywhere without her!"

  I began to kick at him. "I won't leave her! I can't leave her!"

  Anton released me then, and I was thrown off balance. I stumbled and fell.

  Anton reached for me, and I lashed out at him. "I'm not going with you!"

  "Relax," he said, kneeling beside me. "I was just trying to help you up. Who are you talking about? Who's this person you can't leave without?"

  "It's GM," I said. "My grandmother. She's gone missing, and I don't know what's happened to her. I can't go anywhere till I know she's safe."

  "Your grandmother," Anton said. There was a touch of disbelief in his voice.

  "Yes, my grandmother."

  "You really care that much about her?"

  "Of course I do. She's the only family I have."

  "Well, if it really means that much to you—" Anton began.

  I looked up at him. "What are you saying? Do you know something?"

  "I know quite a few things," Anton said. "Many of which I hope you never find out. How about this—I find your grandmother for you, and in exchange, you agree to come with me."

  "Do you know where my grandmother is?" I said.

  "I'm pretty sure she's in one of two places," Anton replied. "Do we have a deal?"

  "If you find her," I said. "If. And if I'm sure she's safe from harm, I will come with you."

  "I can work with that," Anton said. He rose and extended a hand. "If you will accompany me, I believe we can conclude our business here in fairly short order."

  "No tricks?" I said.

  "No tricks. I promise. Cross what's left of my heart."

  I looked into Anton's dark eyes for a long moment, trying to read their depths. Then I took his hand—it was cold and smooth like marble.

  "You should probably hold on tight," he said.

  Before I knew it, we were out the door and flying through the dusk. Houses and streets turned into a shapeless blur, and soon we entered a dark, seemingly solid mass of trees. We came to a stop that was as abrupt as our start, and it took me a moment to catch my breath.

  Then I looked around. We were standing in front of the cave near the Old Grove.

  "You all right?" Anton asked. "You look a little stunned."

  "Yes," I said. I glanced over at the cave. "You th
ink my grandmother could be in there?"

  "Like I said, she's probably at one of two places. There are two spots around here where I've noticed some funny things going on."

  "But William already searched the cave," I said. "He didn't find anything."

  "Yeah, well, William's an idiot. And I have exceptionally sharp eyes. I don't miss much."

  "William's not an—"

  "Save your breath. There's no point in defending him. He's not even here."

  "I came out here to search the cave, too," I said. "I—"

  "You did?" Anton said. "Did you do that before or after William searched it?"

  "After," I said.

  "See? You thought William missed something, too."

  I started to answer, but I had to stop. I supposed Anton was right.

  Anton smiled. "That's what I thought."

  He turned toward the cave.

  "Wait," I said. "Before you go in there, there's something you need to know."

  "Oh, really? What's that?"

  "I came out here last night to search the cave, but I never actually made it. Someone stopped me."

  "Someone stopped you? Who was it?"

  "I don't know," I said. "He seemed to appear out of nowhere. I hit him with my car, and then he got right back up. I think he was a vampire."

  Anton frowned. "That does sound like something a vampire would do. What did he look like?"

  "I didn't get a good look at him," I said. "But he had red eyes—really red eyes. They actually glowed, and I could see them from a distance. I thought at first that they were taillights from a car."

  "That's not good," Anton said. "That's not good at all."

  "Do you know who it was?"

  "Yes."

  "Is he a vampire?"

  "Yes."

  "Then who is he?" I asked. "What does he want?"

  "I'll tell you a little later," Anton said. "Right now, I believe we're in the process of searching for your grandmother. I was under the impression that you wanted that to take priority."

  "Yes," I said.

  Anton nodded toward the cave. "Then let's go. We won't find out what's going on in there by standing out here."

  I hesitated. "You mean I can go with you?"

  "Of course," Anton replied. "I brought you out here, didn't I?"

  "But William never lets me go with him."

  "As I may have mentioned, William's an idiot."

  "He's not—"

  "It's not necessary to protest," Anton said. "Facts are facts."

  I started to reply, but Anton held up a hand and looked around sharply.

  "What is it?" I asked.

  Anton relaxed. "Nothing we need to worry about at the moment." He smiled. "Come on. You might want to take my hand. Just in case you get scared."

  I did indeed take his hand as we entered the cave—Anton could see in the dark and I couldn't.

  I had a little bit of light to see by at first, but very soon we were plunged into complete darkness. As we moved deeper into the cave, I found myself clinging to Anton's hard, icy hand. We were moving very fast, and I was completely deprived of my sight—and it occurred to me that I had placed myself entirely in Anton's power. I wasn't sure now that that was a wise thing to have done.

  I stumbled then—though whether that was from the unevenness of the cave floor or my own nerves, I didn't know.

  Anton steadied me. "Careful now. You don't want to get all banged up. It might upset your grandmother when she sees you." He paused. "Wait just a minute. Maybe this will help in case of emergency."

  Anton let go of my hand, and a moment later, he pressed a small, cool cylinder into my palm and wrapped my fingers around it.

  "What is it?" I asked.

  "It's a lighter. If you feel like you really need to see something, just flick it on."

  I fumbled with the lighter for a second and then switched it on. A tiny flame sprang to life, and I could just see Anton's pale face hovering in the darkness before me. Everything else was black—but it was a relief to be able to see something.

  "Why do you carry a lighter?" I asked.

  "Why not?" Anton replied.

  He took my hand once again, and we continued on into the cave. I held the lighter up like a tiny torch, and from time to time, I glimpsed pieces of the cave—a wall, a low, sloping ceiling, an outcropping of rock.

  "What are we looking for exactly?" I asked.

  "Anything that doesn't look quite right," Anton replied. "And by 'we' I mean me. No offense, but I really doubt you're going to spot anything. By the way, you may want to put that lighter away somewhere secure. In the event—however unlikely—that we get separated, that lighter might be the only thing that would allow you to get out of here. You don't want to drop it or let it burn out."

  "Oh, right," I said. I extinguished the lighter and slipped it into my pocket. I was plunged into darkness once more as Anton and I continued on.

  "Do you see anything that looks out of place?" I asked, dropping my voice to a whisper.

  "Not yet," Anton said. "But I can hear something a little odd up ahead. There's a column of wind rushing up from somewhere below. I think there must be an open chamber nearby."

  "I know there's quite a big open chamber in here," I said. "It's large and round and there are flat rocks in it. I saw Gleb Mstislav and his son Timofei in there once."

  "I know the chamber you mean," Anton said. "We passed through it a little while ago. That's not what we're looking for. And isn't it funny how people start whispering when they go into a dark place?"

  "Was I whispering?" I asked.

  "Yes," Anton said, and I thought I could hear a smile in his voice. "I think it's an unconscious reaction. You automatically want to be quieter in the darkness, because as an ordinary human, you can't see predators, but they can still see you."

  I turned my head toward Anton's voice. I was sure he was smiling now.

  "Come along now," Anton said.

  We hurried on through the darkness, and soon, I sensed the space around me growing tighter.

  "Let's stop here," Anton said.

  He released my hand, and when he spoke again, it was from below me, as if he were kneeling down to look at something.

  "This is more like it," he said.

  "Can I ask you question?" I said.

  "Certainly."

  "You said earlier that you'd noticed some funny things going on around here. I assume by 'here' you mean Elspeth's Grove."

  "Yes."

  "How long have you been here?" I asked.

  "Not long. Not long at all, in fact. Only a few hours."

  "Then how did you—"

  "When I said I noticed funny things," Anton said, "I noticed them in the reports we've been receiving."

  "Reports?" I said. "About Elspeth's Grove?"

  "Yes. We have an agent here who's been keeping us updated on what's going on. Your town has been of interest to the community in Russia for some time. And before you get all puffed up with pride, we're not primarily interested in you—although we do have to keep something of an eye on you due to your special status. But circumstances being what they are—we're in the midst of a crisis—we're less interested in you at the moment."

  "That's good," I said. "I'm happy you aren't so interested in me."

  "Please don't interrupt," Anton said. "As I was saying, we aren't primarily interested in you. We're really more interested in this cave—and some of your citizens who also seem to be interested in this cave. Our agent has been keeping us apprised of developments."

  "Your agent?" I said. "Like a vampire FBI agent?"

  "Perhaps 'agent' is the wrong word," Anton said. I could hear that he was standing again. "'Agent' sounds a little too official, and our arrangements tend to be a little more ad hoc, shall we say? To make a long story short, we needed information on what was going on in this town, and a vampire happened to be here already. So we worked something out."

  "This agent," I said. "Is it William?"<
br />
  "No. That bonehead doesn't know anything," Anton replied. "Now you should probably take my hand again. We're getting close to what we're looking for."

  Anton led me on.

  "Are you sure William isn't the agent?" I said. "He said he was in contact with you."

  "He was," Anton said. "But he wanted to get information, not give it. And seriously, enough with William already. I'm the one who's here. We should be talking about me."

  He stopped suddenly. "You know, I think I've found it."

  "You've found the open chamber?" I asked.

  "Not exactly," Anton said. "But I've found something even better. This settles it. I am officially amazing."

  I could hear that Anton was kneeling again. "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

  "You should switch on that lighter," he said. "You'll want to see this."

  I flicked on the lighter. I found myself standing just a few feet from a solid wall of stone. Anton was crouching down on the cave floor in front of it.

  "Your discovery is a wall of rock?" I said. "Isn't this place full of them?"

  Anton rose. He smiled at me, and then he put his hand out. It disappeared into the rock without any resistance.

  "My discovery," Anton said, "is an illusion."

  He pulled his hand back. "You should try it yourself. But don't get too close just yet."

  I put my hand up to the wall, not quite believing what I had just seen, and instead of encountering rock, my hand found only empty air. As I watched, my hand vanished just as Anton's had.

  I quickly pulled it back.

  "You're impressed, aren't you?" Anton said. "I can tell you're impressed."

  I glanced around the cave. The wall in front of me looked just as solid as the rest of the cave walls.

  "I guess I am impressed," I said. "How did you know?"

  "I already mentioned the air currents," Anton said. "And I knew that quite a few people had been in and out of this cave, and no one seemed to have found anything out of the ordinary, even though some of them—such as yourself—sensed that something was going on here. So that said to me that there must be an element of disguise here. All I had to do was follow the air currents."

  Anton kneeled again. "If you put your hand here, you can feel the air."