The towers of the castle were outlined by the barest hint of moonlight, and pale, silvery light emanated from the castle's many windows. The entire effect of the castle was graceful and somehow hypnotic, and I suddenly realized just how tired I was.
I wanted nothing more at that moment than to lie down and go to sleep.
There was a sudden, sharp tug on my hand, and a voice hissed in my ear.
"Keep moving!"
I looked up to see several pairs of eyes watching me. A number of shadowy figures were now standing on the street with us, and I was sure they hadn't been there a moment before. They had glided up so noiselessly that I'd never heard them coming—if they'd come from the houses, I hadn't heard so much as a door opening or closing.
But no matter where they'd come from, I certainly had their attention now, and all those glittering eyes made me extremely uncomfortable.
I hurried along after Sachiko and gripped her hand just a little more tightly.
More eyes peered out at us as we moved through Zamochit's tortuous streets, but no one made a move to stop us, and eventually, Sachiko led me to a junk-filled alley where she came to a stop. In front of us was a stairwell that led down to the basement of a dingy house.
She nodded her head toward the stairwell. "In there."
I hurried down the stairwell to the door of the basement while Sachiko remained up above and kept watch. I tried the door, and finding it unlocked, I went inside.
Sachiko hurried down the stairs after me and shut the door behind us.
I found myself standing in total darkness. As I moved forward into the room, I banged my shin sharply against a solid object and cried out.
"Careful," said a male voice.
I froze. "Sachiko, is someone else in here with us?"
"Yes," she said. "Sorry about the darkness. It's not actually dark in here for us." The tone of her voice changed as she addressed the room's other occupant. "Do we have a candle—or something—in here somewhere?"
"We?" I said. "Who are we?"
"I think so," the other voice said, answering Sachiko. "We have so many odds and ends in this place that I'd be surprised if we didn't have a candle stub or a flashlight in one of these boxes."
I turned toward the sound of the male voice. The voice seemed familiar, but somehow I couldn't quite place it.
I heard the sound of someone rummaging through a pile of objects, and then there was a sharp intake of breath.
"I found it!" Sachiko cried. "I knew we had a candle around here somewhere."
"The question is," the other voice said, "do we have any matches to light it with?"
"We do have matches," Sachiko replied. "And I know exactly where they are. I wouldn't leave something dangerous like that just lying around. I'll be right back."
There was a rushing sound then that sounded suspiciously like Sachiko leaving the room, and I turned once again in the direction of the male voice I had heard—I strained to hear if the owner of the voice was moving in the dark.
"You don't have to be afraid," the voice said. "Believe it or not, we've met before."
After a moment, Sachiko rushed back into the room, and I watched as a match flared to life in the darkness. The lit match hovered for a moment in one spot and then jumped up in the air and waved itself until it went out. But another light remained, and I could see a jar with a fat candle in it, sitting on a low table.
"I'm sorry it's not much light," Sachiko said. "But it's the best we have at the moment. I didn't really think about it ahead of time."
Sachiko sat down near the candle, and I was relieved to be able to see her once again.
"Come on over and have a seat," she said.
I waited a moment to give my eyes a chance to adjust to the gloom, and before long, I could just make out a cluttered room full of boxes and a haphazard assortment of tables and chairs—the room was shabby but comfortable. Sachiko was seated on a battered sofa, and on a rickety chair across the table from her sat a boy I recognized.
I went closer and sat down next to Sachiko, and I continued to stare at the boy.
"I told you I had a friend who could help us," Sachiko said.
"David?" I said. "Is that really you?"
I could see him smile in the candlelight.
"It is I, David Hutchins," he said with mock solemnity.
I peered at him closely. The horrible gray lines that had run across his face and neck seemed to have disappeared, and there was no sign of the spasms that had once racked his body—even his ashen pallor seemed to have improved. David now looked much as he had when he had gone to school with me. He, like Sachiko, looked like a normal, healthy high school student.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"Why do you sound so shocked?" David said. "You knew I was a vampire."
"Yes," I said. "But you're new to all of this. Sebastian is the one who created you. You were living in Elspeth's Grove until a few weeks ago. How did you find out about Zamochit so quickly?"
"Correction," David said. "I am not new to all of this. And Sebastian didn't create me. I just let him think that."
"How is that possible?" I asked. "You went to school with me. You couldn't possibly have been a vampire then."
"And yet I was," David said. "Surely you know that vampires can walk in the day—we're just weaker then. Sort of like when you guys stay up all night. I will admit it was an adjustment for me. It was like if you suddenly had to work the night shift at a new job."
"So you were a vampire the whole time I knew you?" I asked.
"Yes."
"How long have you been one?" I asked.
"A very long time," David replied. "I thought if anyone was going to guess it would be you—with your special knowledge and such. Didn't you wonder why there was no outcry when my body was found in the fountain? Why no grieving family members came forward to demand to know how I could have been so callously treated? That's because there was no family to be offended—there wasn't even any family at my funeral."
I stared at him. "But you were going to high school."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I was an undercover agent." David smiled. "I always wanted to say that."
"You?" I said. "Anton said there was an agent working in Elspeth's Grove, but he didn't know who it was. That was you?"
"Yes," David said. "With emphasis on the word 'was.'"
"What happened?" I asked.
"Well, things were pretty good at first," David said. "After years of traveling, I'd decided to settle in Elspeth's Grove—I'd actually grown up there a long time ago—and after I'd been there for a few years, I got contacted by some representatives from the group up there at Rusalka Castle. I'd spent some time in Zamochit, too, so I knew about the setup here. They told me that there was something funny going on in the cave at the Old Grove, and they asked me if I could keep an eye on it for them—send them reports from time to time. Stuff like that. I said okay, and they gave me this."
David reached into the collar of his shirt and pulled out a cloudy green stone on a black metal chain. "They said it would make me invisible to other vampires."
"So that's why William couldn't sense you," I said. "I know about these necklaces. William found one in Elspeth's Grove, and he said he saw another one in the Vaults at Rusalka Castle. That's William Sursur," I said by way of explanation. "He's a—friend of mine."
"I know who William is," David replied. "Everyone does. And this is the same necklace that he saw in the Vaults—I was summoned to the castle to receive it. They made a big deal about how important it was. There was even a sort of swearing-in ceremony in which I was made an official agent of the Russian court."
David tucked the necklace back inside his shirt.
"That was about a year ago," he said. "Since then I've been keeping an eye on Elspeth's Grove in general and on the cave in particular. I was already enrolled in the high school because I liked to study science, and I just continued going—I thought I
might learn something from the gossip and the rumors in the halls. I kept my eyes and ears open, but I didn't really find out much. I was pretty sure something was going on at the cave, but whoever was running things was very, very careful. And then I had some luck."
"Sebastian?" I said.
"Sebastian," David replied. "Not too long ago, I began seeing him slipping into the cave and coming out with things—trinkets—objects that clearly didn't belong in a cave. I didn't know who he was at first—or that he was a vampire. And then one night I caught sight of the emerald necklace he was wearing, and I knew then what he was. So I started hanging around the cave, and I kept my own necklace in my pocket so he wouldn't know I was a vampire. And then I let him catch me—I let him think he'd turned me. And then I figured that he would let me in on what was going on at the cave. But it turned out that Sebastian didn't actually know anything—he was just a scavenger who'd been lucky enough to stumble on some treasure. What he was really hoping for was to catch you and turn you in for a really big reward from the Werdulac. He tried to send me after you, and as I told you back at the school, I refused. I couldn't go after you. You were my friend. Besides, I'm not that keen on human blood—I'm kind of a vegetarian."
"And that's when Sebastian stabbed you with that silver stake," I said. "And then pushed you in the fountain."
"Exactly," David said.
"Why didn't you tell me the whole story back in Elspeth's Grove?" I asked. "Why didn't you tell me about Sebastian and the necklace?"
"I kind of couldn't," David said. "I was in really bad shape. There's some kind of poison in the silver stake, and it ran through my whole body. I was pretty sure it was going to finish me off. But I wanted to warn you before that happened. I didn't want Sebastian to get to you."
"You did look pretty bad," I said. "I was afraid the whole time that you were going to collapse right in front of me. How did you survive it?"
"Well, I contacted my superiors at Rusalka Castle," David said. "And they ignored me. As far as they were concerned, the poison that raged through my body was my own problem. I could perish or not, as I chose. That's when my old friend Sachiko found me. She brought me here to Zamochit to a healer she knew, and the healer managed to stop the poison. Sachiko saved my life."
"It was no big deal," Sachiko said. "You don't owe me anything."
"It was a big deal to me," David said. "And I owe you a lot."
"Where did Sebastian get the poisoned stake from?" I asked.
David shook his head. "I don't know. And I wasn't going to stick around to find out."
"I wish I'd been able to get a look at that stake myself," Sachiko said. "The people who made it designed it very specifically to kill vampires. What it did to David was horrible."
David waved a dismissive hand. "I'm just glad it's all over now. So that's how I got here. And that's why I no longer work for the Russian court. They gave me up for lost."
"Do they know you survived?" I asked.
"I don't know," David said. "Maybe they're looking for me. Maybe they aren't. But they won't find me in any event. I've still got the necklace, and that makes me pretty much invisible to them. And that leaves me free to help you."
"To help me?" I said.
"David can slip in and out of the castle without anyone sensing him," Sachiko said. "All he has to do is move quietly and keep out of sight. He can get into even the most protected areas. He's done it a couple of times already."
"I guess that's good," I said. "But what does that have to do with me?"
David and Sachiko exchanged a significant look, and then Sachiko turned to me.
"Remember when I told you to ask Anton what he wasn't telling you?"
"Yes," I said.
"Well, he wasn't telling you a lot," Sachiko replied. "He didn't tell you the truth about William or the Hunter. Which do you want to hear first?"
"Tell me about William," I said. "Where is he? Is he okay?"
David and Sachiko exchanged another look.
"William is up at Rusalka Castle," Sachiko said. "Whether or not he's okay, that's hard to say."
I jumped up. "What are we doing here? Let's go get him."
Sachiko pulled me back down. "It's not as easy as all that. William's being held there. He's sort of a prisoner."
"A prisoner?" I said. "Why?"
"William was attacked," Sachiko said. "By a vampire. Apparently he breached an ancient tomb while looking for a legendary sword."
"Ignis Sacer?" I said. "He's mentioned it before."
"That's the one," Sachiko said. "He thought he'd found it, and so he broke into this old tomb. But unfortunately, he hadn't found it—mostly because it doesn't exist. But what he did find was a very ancient and very angry vampire. The vampire attacked him and tried to turn him. And that's where the complication comes in."
"What do you mean?" I said. "What complication?"
"William's vampire status is, as you know, a little tricky," Sachiko said. "He started as one of the Sìdh and then got turned by a vampire. But the transformation wasn't complete—William was so strong that he was able to fight it off partially. So he's not really all Sìdh or all vampire—he's not truly one thing or the other. If a true vampire, like David, has another vampire try to turn him again, nothing much will happen. You can't make him into more of a vampire. But William's body treats vampire blood as an infection. This second attack may finally turn William into a full-fledged vampire. Or, it may actually kill him."
Sachiko paused.
"I'm afraid the second outcome is more likely."
"No!" I jumped to my feet again. "No! That's not possible. There has to be something I can do. I won't let him die."
Sachiko grabbed my arm. "Try not to panic. We're going to do what we can to help him. But you can't rush into anything blindly. It'll be hard enough to get into the castle—and it'll be harder still to get to William. He's heavily guarded."
"Are they trying to heal him?" I asked.
"No."
"No?" I said.
"No," Sachiko said firmly. "They don't want him to get better. That is, they don't want his body to fight off this second attack. They want the transformation to complete itself. They want him to become a full-blood vampire. Then one of their own will be as strong as one of the Sìdh. They aren't treating him at all."
"So they're willing to risk his life?" I said.
"Yes."
"We think he may actually have been set up," David said.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"William's interest in Ignis Sacer is well known," David said. "It's sort of the sword to end all swords. He thinks if he finds it he can defeat the Hunter and the Werdulac—and any other ancient vampires that come along. William believes he can use it to save you. It's too bad the sword isn't real. It really would be useful."
"A rumor started to float around not too long ago," Sachiko said, "that Ignis Sacer could be found in an old vampire tomb. I can't prove it, but I think the rumor was started by the Russian court. They wanted William to go to that tomb, get attacked, and then finally come over to their side completely. Even before he met you, he'd always kind of kept them at a distance."
"They set him up," I murmured. I sat back down. "What tomb was it? Was it the tomb of the Hunter?"
"No, it wasn't the Hunter's tomb," Sachiko said. "Tombs like his are actually prisons, created by the Sìdh to trap the vampire that's interred there. This place William went to is known as the Black Tomb. It's one of the few true vampire tombs—that is to say, it was constructed by vampires for a vampire. And this one is said to be haunted by a vengeful vampire spirit. No one goes there—no one. I suppose that's why William was able to believe that Ignis Sacer could be hidden there. Certainly no one's explored the place."
"It's haunted?" I said.
"Supposedly," Sachiko replied. "That's the rumor, anyway. I don't believe it myself. But there is something there. I think there's just a really old, really insane vampire living in the tomb who at
tacks anyone who goes there. The few vampires who've been foolish enough to go to the Black Tomb do get attacked—always. But the attacks are real enough, so I figure a real vampire must be behind them. Spirits don't have teeth to sink into their victims. Vampires can be a strangely superstitious group at times."
"The Russian court is practical enough," David said. "They would never have tricked William into going there if there hadn't been a real vampire in the place. They needed a real bite to try to turn him. A ghost bite wouldn't have done it."
"That's true enough," Sachiko said. "The attack on William was terrifyingly real."
"He's bad?" I said.
"Very bad," Sachiko replied.
"Then what can we do?" I said.
"We'll take him to the healer," Sachiko said. "The same one who saved David. We think she might be able to save William, too. But to do that, we've got to get into the castle, get past the guards, get William, and get out again—without being pursued. We don't want to lead them right to the healer. And there's one other thing we need while we're at the castle, so this is going to take all of us. I figure you and I can get William, and David can get the other thing. Since David's got the necklace, the part of the job that needs the most stealth will go to him."
"What's the other thing we need?" I asked.
You know how I said that Anton wasn't telling you the truth about the Hunter, either?" Sachiko said.
"Yes."
"Well, the thing we need has to do with him—"
David interrupted. "We need to get a disguise for Katie. And we need to get moving. You can explain to Katie what you guys need to do once we're out of here."
Dangerous Creatures (Book 3, Pure Series) Page 26
