"I don't know how to thank you," I said to her.
"There's no need. You will pay me in time."
"All the same," I said. "You've given William back to me. I'll be forever grateful for that."
"I've given you nothing," Veronika said. "It's a simple exchange. For now you are both free to go. I will find you when I want you."
"Free to go?" William said. "What's going on here?"
"Do you remember none of it?" Veronika said. "The attack? Your imprisonment in the castle?"
William frowned. "The attack?"
He turned to me suddenly. "Katie, I went to the Black Tomb to find Ignis Sacer, but it wasn't there. Something moved in the tomb. And then—"
William stopped. "And then I don't know. I don't remember."
"You've lost the memories surrounding the event," Veronika said. "That's not surprising given the circumstances."
William winced. "Lost my memories?"
"Will they come back?" I asked.
"I don't know," Veronika said simply. "You may be better off without them."
William looked around the room then, and he seemed to take in his surroundings for the first time.
He looked at Veronika, and his arm tightened around me convulsively.
"You're a vampire."
"Yes," Veronika said.
"And we're in Zamochit. I can tell by the light and the scents in the air."
"Yes."
William got to his feet unsteadily, and I reached out to support him.
He took my hand. "We need to get out of here right away."
We walked into the next room, and Sachiko looked up from the sofa as we entered.
William stopped abruptly when he saw her.
"Another vampire," he said. "All we want to do is leave this place peacefully. I would appreciate it if you don't try to get in our way."
"It's okay," I said. "This is Sachiko. She's a friend of mine. She got both of us out of Rusalka Castle. If not for her, neither one of us would be here."
Sachiko stood up. "It's nice to see you awake finally."
"Thanks for helping us," William said. "I'm sorry I don't remember you."
"It's not your fault," she replied. "You weren't really in any condition to notice what was going on."
A crystal on a nearby shelf seemed to catch William's eye then, and he frowned as he looked at all the crystals scattered around the room. Then he glanced back at Veronika, who was standing in the doorway of her workroom, watching us.
William looked at me next, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he turned back to Veronika.
"Thank you for what you have done here—for restoring me to health. And thank you for reuniting me with Katie."
Veronika smiled. "Like I said, there's no need to thank me."
William's hand gripped mine a little more tightly. "Let's go."
We left the house, and Sachiko followed us, carrying her stake.
Veronika followed, too, stepping lightly out onto her front step in her bare feet.
"Remember our agreement, kitten," she said. "Goodbye for now."
She smiled then and went back into her house, closing the door behind her.
William, Sachiko, and I were left standing on the street in the hazy golden glow of daytime in Zamochit.
"I've been thinking about what we should do next," Sachiko said. "And I—"
"What we need to do," William said, "is get Katie to her mother's house here in Krov. It's the only place where she'll be safe from the Hunter."
"And the last time I saw that house," Sachiko said, "it was on fire. The Hunter himself was burning it down."
"So he's on Katie's trail even now," William said. "All we can do is run, then. We'll have to keep moving. We won't be able to stop in any one place."
"Just hear me out," Sachiko said. "We can't just go running off without thinking things through. We need to plan what we're going to do. But we can't have this conversation out here. The street is no place to talk—not even during the day."
"We can't wait," William said. "The Hunter—"
"Can catch Katie more easily outside Zamochit than he can inside it," Sachiko said. "Outside Zamochit, there's nothing but the empty Wasteland. He could spot us from a mile away, even if we move fast. Inside Zamochit, there are a lot of scents and trails to confuse him. We're safer at the moment in a crowd. And I know where we can find one. We shouldn't attempt to cross the Wasteland until we know exactly where we're going."
"You want to take Katie into a crowd," William said. "I assume you mean a crowd of vampires."
"Yes," Sachiko said.
"You can't take a human into a crowd of vampires in Zamochit," William said. "It's far too dangerous."
"This place I'm thinking of is different," Sachiko said. "Everyone there is an outlaw. They don't ask questions, and nobody wants any trouble. There's sort of a truce there amongst everyone. They've tolerated other—creatures—before."
"Sort of a truce?" William said. "That's what you want us to depend on?"
"Any agreement is only words," Sachiko said. "You have to trust other people in order for it to work. And I trust these people—at least while they're in this particular place."
"I want to go," I said. "Sachiko's led me through a lot so far. If she says we can trust the place, we can trust the place."
William looked from one of us to the other. "Very well," he said at last. "Which way do we go?"
Sachiko began to walk down the street. "Follow me."
She guided us down several narrow, twisting streets until we came to a long, low, dilapidated building with a roof that was badly in need of repair.
Sachiko walked up to a sturdy metal door and knocked. A few moments later, a thin rectangular window in the door slid open to reveal a pair of dark, suspicious eyes.
Sachiko whispered something I couldn't hear to the owner of the eyes, and the window slid closed suddenly.
There was a faint rattling sound then, as of someone fumbling with a lock, and then the door itself swung open noiselessly.
Sachiko waved us forward. "Come on."
We followed Sachiko inside, and I found myself standing in a very dark, dusty room with a long curtain at the end of it. A tall, glowering vampire—clearly the owner of the eyes we had seen—shut the door behind us and locked it.
The vampire looked William and me over, and his expression grew decidedly hostile. But Sachiko laid a hand on his arm.
"It's okay," she said. "They're with me."
The vampire jerked his head toward the curtain in assent, and the three of us passed through it.
The room we entered was even darker than the one we had just left, and I could only just make out a large room, with rickety tables and chairs, where vampires sat whispering and drinking. There was a row of booths along one wall, and along another wall was a bar where a bartender stood talking to a customer. Nobody looked around as we walked in.
"This place is a vampire tavern," Sachiko whispered to me. "I'd tell you its official name, but you'll probably sleep better at night if I don't. The important thing is that everybody in here makes a point of not overhearing conversations."
Sachiko steered William and me to a table.
"I'll be right back," she said. "We'll look out of place if we don't order something."
"I'm not drinking anything in here," William whispered.
"Relax," Sachiko said. "It's like I told Katie. Not all vampire alcohol is made of blood. That's just the expensive stuff. And they definitely don't serve anything expensive in here. Just have a seat."
William and I sat down, and Sachiko soon joined us with three mismatched drinking vessels. I tipped up the metal cup in front of me and found myself staring into an unsavory-looking liquid of a vaguely wine-colored hue.
"I hope you won't be offended if I don't drink this," I whispered to Sachiko.
"Not at all," she replied in a low voice. "In fact, I would very much recommend that you not drink anything in this place. But all the same we s
hould have it. The manager gets restless if he sees non-paying customers hanging around."
"So what did you want to tell us?" William asked.
"Well, there's more than one reason I wanted to come in here," Sachiko replied. "I needed to get some information. It turns out that Terrance did indeed successfully make it out of the castle last night. I was pretty sure he would, considering what a good job he did on the castle guards, but I had to find out for sure. And the word is that not only did he get out, but he also got out with a very valuable item from the Vaults—although no one at the castle will divulge what that item is."
"So if Terrance got out of the castle," I said, "he's probably gone to the Hunter's tomb to wait for his return. Either that, or he's hiding somewhere very close by."
"That's just what I was thinking," Sachiko said.
William was incredulous. "The Hunter's tomb? That's where you're thinking of going? Absolutely not. If we go to the Hunter's tomb, then Katie's as good as dead."
"It's not quite as crazy as it sounds," Sachiko said. "A few things have happened that you don't know about."
William shook his head. "We can't go anywhere near a place that's associated with the Hunter. He's sure to have eyes all over that tomb, and as soon as we show up there, he'll be right on us. We have to run. Or, since Katie's house has burned, we may be able to seek shelter at the castle. They want to stop the Hunter, too."
"We can't go to the castle," I said. "You were being held prisoner there while you were sick. And the queen herself tried to kill me last night."
William looked startled. "She—"
"And don't think we'll get help from the king," Sachiko said. "He was stabbed last night and is still with the healer this morning. They do want to stop the Hunter, but we can't trust them. I have reason to believe someone up at the castle engineered the attack on you at the Black Tomb."
William was silent.
After a few moments, Sachiko went on.
"Now, as I said, there are a few things you don't know about. There's a sword—"
"I tried to get that sword," William said, "and I failed. We have no defense against the Hunter."
"We don't need Ignis Sacer," Sachiko said. "There's another sword—the Star of Morning."
William shook his head. "I know about the Star of Morning. And it's no good to us. No one knows how to use it."
"The one who stole it knows how to use it, I bet," Sachiko said. "Otherwise he wouldn't have stolen it. That's why we have to go to the Hunter's tomb. If we find Terrance there, we'll find the sword."
"Who's Terrance?" William said.
"It's Terrance Scott from my high school," I said. "You saw him briefly on the night of the Black Moon Carnival."
William's eyebrows rose. "Terrance from your high school?"
"He's a member of the Order of the Hawthorne," Sachiko said.
"I see," William replied. "A few things really have happened that I don't know about. You really believe this Terrance knows how to use the Star of Morning?"
"Like I said, there's no point in stealing it otherwise," Sachiko said. "He had to risk his life battling through a castle full of vampires to get it."
"That's a fair point," William said.
"And there's one thing more," Sachiko said. "The Hunter doesn't want Katie for the reason you think he wants her."
William looked at Sachiko sharply. "What do you mean?"
"I imagine you were told that the Hunter was revived by the Werdulac's camp to capture Katie for the Werdulac."
"Yes," William said.
"It's not true," Sachiko replied. "The Hunter revived himself. He's actually the Werdulac's brother, and he hates the Werdulac for killing his wife. But the Hunter had his wife's body preserved, and he knows there's one night of the year on which he can bring his wife's soul back to the earth—if he has another soul to exchange for hers. That night is fast approaching, and the Hunter plans to capture Katie and exchange her soul for his wife's soul—leaving Katie's body unharmed. That way he gets his wife back and deprives the Werdulac of his means for revenge."
William stared at Sachiko. "He wants to steal Katie's soul?"
"Yes."
"And the night he can do that is Walpurgis Night," William said.
"Tomorrow," Sachiko said.
"So then the Hunter will be desperate to catch Katie."
"Yes."
"Then we do need to go to the tomb and find Terrance and the Star of Morning," William said. "But I still don't think Katie should go with us. It's far too dangerous."
"I'm going with you," I said. "This is more my fight than anyone else's. I'm the one he's after, so I'm the one who has to stop him. Besides, I'm the only one here who knows Terrance. Someone needs to talk to him—someone he'll trust."
"He knows me," William said.
"He may also know you're a vampire," I replied. "He definitely knows Sachiko's a vampire. He won't trust either one of you."
"I'm sorry, Katie," Sachiko said. "But I agree with William. You can't go. We have to keep you and the Hunter apart. If you go to the tomb, we'll be taking you exactly where he wants you."
"I think we have to get a plane," William said. "If we can keep Katie up in the air until Walpurgis Night is past, then the Hunter won't be able to get at her in time."
"I was thinking the same thing," Sachiko said. "After that he would have to wait another year."
William nodded. "Katie's soul would be out of danger till then."
"There's an airfield right here in town," Sachiko said.
"No good," William replied. "That airfield is owned by the Mstislavs. Katie has an unfortunate history with them. We can't risk it."
"Well, then—"
"Wait," I said. "The two of you are talking like everything's been decided. I can't just fly off and let the two of you face the Hunter without me."
"And we can't put your soul in jeopardy," Sachiko said. "Believe me, we know exactly what that feels like."
"I can't go," I said. "I won't."
"Katie, it's just until Walpurgis Night passes," William said. "Then we can be together again."
"William—"
"Katie, please. I just got you back. I can't bear to lose you again."
I stared into William's eyes.
"All right," I said at last. "I'll go. I'll take the plane. I'll stay out of the way—but only until Walpurgis Night passes."
William was visibly relieved.
"And I think William should go with you," Sachiko said.
"What was that?" William asked.
"I think someone should go with Katie on the plane," Sachiko replied. "We have no way of knowing what could happen to her. We have no way of knowing who could get on the flight with her and possibly attack her—even drag her off the plane. Someone should go with her, and I think it should be you."
"No," William said. "I have to see that the Hunter is destroyed."
"You have to see that Katie's soul is safe," Sachiko said. "I think that's what really matters most to you. You'll never forgive yourself if something happens to Katie on that plane that you could have prevented. Am I right?"
William was silent.
"You're right," he said at last.
"I'll find Terrance and convince him to let me help him," Sachiko said. "And you'll go with Katie and make sure nothing happens to her. That way, even if Terrance and I fail, we've still got a year to get rid of the Hunter. And Katie will still have her soul."
"Just don't take any unnecessary risks," William said. "If it turns out that you can't use the sword, get out of there. Don't try to take on the Hunter yourself."
Sachiko smiled. "Don't worry about me. I'm just about the fastest vampire in the world. He'll never even see me coming."
"All the same," William said. "Be careful."
"So what airport are we going to?" I asked. "As William said, we can't use the one here in Krov."
"The nearest sizable city is Ischezli," Sachiko said. "They have an airport, and I'm
pretty sure they have international flights."
She stood up. "I'll go and get us a car. You two wait for me over by the nearest watchtower. When you hear me honk the horn, leave the barrier and get in the car. I'll get us to the airport faster than anyone else could."
Sachiko moved toward the exit, and William turned in his chair.
"Where are you getting a car from?" he said.
Sachiko smiled. "I'm going to borrow one. Don't worry, I don't intended to keep it."
She vanished from the room.
William turned back to me. "It looks like we're going to the watchtower."
The two of us left the tavern and walked through Zamochit's golden streets until we reached the imposing bulk of the nearest tower. I knew from my previous visit that each tower was staffed by a guard, and it was the guard's responsibility to watch the borders of Zamochit and to apprehend any intruders who crossed them. I was lucky, in fact, that I hadn't been detected the first time I had come into Zamochit—especially since I hadn't known the village was there and was unaware of the danger. Of course, it was also possible that luck had had nothing to do with it. Since intruders were rare—thanks to the barrier—the border guards didn't have much of anything to watch out for.
I knew for a fact that the tower William and I stood by was staffed by a vampire named Hadrian—and that Hadrian slept most of the time.
William and I had only been standing by the tower for a few minutes when we heard three short honks from a car horn coming from beyond the barrier.
We rushed forward, and I felt a tingle run through my body as we crossed the barrier and came out into the Wasteland. Sachiko was waiting just a few feet away in a sleek, silver car that sat low to the ground—it was clearly a machine that was built for speed.
William and I climbed quickly into the tiny backseat, and Sachiko took off across the vast, empty field.
She glanced into the rearview mirror at us. "I called the airport at Ischezli. They do indeed have international flights. I would have tried to book one for you, but I didn't know where you wanted to go."
"We'll fly to the East Coast of the U.S. first," William said. "That should keep us up in the air for a while. Then, when we land, we'll book a flight to the West Coast. Once we get there, we'll book a flight for Australia. That should keep us up in the air long enough. And the transfers should be safe. Once we reach the U.S., there's no way the Hunter can catch us. Even he can't make a plane fly any faster."
Dangerous Creatures (Book 3, Pure Series) Page 34
