Dangerous Creatures (Book 3, Pure Series) (33 page)

              "It's hard for me to tell," Sachiko whispered back. "In a castle full of vampires, it's hard to pick them out anywhere in here. And they have the ability to remain completely motionless—just like all good predators."

              Sachiko took my hand, and the two of us began to negotiate a flight of steps.

              "Be very careful," she whispered. "Marble steps can be slippery for human feet."

              I followed Sachiko down the steps, and then she released my hand.

              "Stay here," Sachiko whispered, and she took a step forward into the shadows. A moment later, she melted into the darkness and disappeared completely.

              I waited, peering into the darkness and straining my eyes for a glimpse of Sachiko's slim figure. But no matter how I searched, I couldn't find any sign of motion at all. I listened, too, but my ears caught nothing but silence.

              As time stretched on, and the silence continued, my heart began to pound, and my breathing became shallower. Fear of the darkness that stretched in front of me began to steal over me, and in the bowels of a vampire castle, that fear wasn't entirely unwarranted.

              "Sachiko?" I whispered into the darkness. "Sachiko, where are you?"

              Suddenly, what looked like firelight flashed before my eyes, and I jumped away from it, startled. Dozens of lights sprang to life all around me, and after a moment I could see small hanging braziers overhead and shoulder-height columns that were placed at intervals around the chamber. Both the braziers and the columns were now supporting bright tongues of flame.

              Before I could figure out what was going on, a blur spun around me, and Sachiko appeared at my side.

              "Sorry," she said. "Didn't mean to startle you. I figured it was safe now to turn on the lights—your heart was hammering so loudly that any vampires hiding in here would have heard it and rushed out by now. I think it's safe to say that there are no guards in here, either."

              Sachiko glanced over at the nearest flickering column. "And don't worry about the flames. This stuff isn't really fire. It's actually the same silver light that's in the rest of the castle. It's just been concentrated and fed through a gold filter. The light is supposed to look like fire, but it's just for effect. Vampires don't trust fire too much, and strictly speaking, we don't need it—but it does add to the atmosphere in here."

              I looked around the room. Now that it was lit up, I could see that I was standing in a vast, high-ceilinged chamber on a marble floor that was set with an intricate pattern in gold. Behind the columns of flickering light on both sides were tall marble tombs with female effigies lying in stately repose on the top. The two rows of tombs stretched all the way down the length of the room until they disappeared into shadow.

              I shivered. "So the Queens' Chamber—"

              "Is full of deceased vampire queens," Sachiko finished. "Each one of these tombs contains the body of a female vampire of so-called royal blood."

              "Are they gone for good?" I asked.

              "You can never be entirely sure with a vampire," Sachiko replied. "But the practical answer is yes. Only the oldest, most powerful vampires have powers of regeneration like the Werdulac and the Hunter do. The vampire strain in their blood is the strongest, and it gets diluted as time goes by. The vast majority of vampires will eventually wear out or get injured and can be killed for good. In fact, even the Werdulac and the Hunter can be killed for good. Anything with a body will eventually die—it's just that vampires have a few extra tricks. But I wouldn't worry about the ladies in here. I don't think any of them will trouble us tonight."

              I looked down the chamber into the shadows. "Where's William? Do you still think they're keeping him in here?"

              "I haven't sensed him yet," Sachiko said. "But I have a strong feeling he's still in here. They all seemed worried about the king and queen—I don't think anyone thought to worry about William. He's badly hurt, after all, and isn't likely to be able to run away."

              I drew in my breath sharply at her words.

              "Sorry," Sachiko said. "I just meant that I do think he's in here somewhere. Like I said, it's hard for me to pick out one vampire in a castle full of them. Let's have a look around. As I recall, there's a small marble chamber in the back with a special tomb—it's sort of a chapel. He could be in there. It has a door they could bar."

              The words had scarcely left Sachiko's lips, when there was a leaden crash from one of the tombs. Then the two wooden doors behind us slammed heavily shut, and the iron bolt that locked them slid home with a clang that echoed in the vast marble chamber.

              "There's still one vampire of royal blood left alive in this place," cried a ringing voice. "And you will have to answer to her for your crimes."

              I turned quickly and was just in time to see a blurry figure fly away from the door. The figure came to rest on one of the tombs and then blurred again and moved toward me with startling swiftness.

              Suddenly, standing before me was a woman with long black hair and dark eyes, and those dark eyes stared into mine with unnatural brightness. The woman's full, scarlet lips curled back in a feral smile, revealing gleaming, sharp teeth. Despite the ferocity of her expression, the woman's face was startling in its beauty—and it was also a face that I recognized.

              I was looking at Sabine, the reigning vampire queen.

              "You thought to deprive me of my love," she said. "But it is I who will deprive you of yours."

Chapter 24

The queen's expression softened, and her full mouth curved into a gentle smile. But the dangerous glint in her eyes remained.

              "Did I scare you, little lamb?" she said softly. "But you're not such a lamb, are you?"

              The queen moved toward me, and I was forced to step back.

              "Leave her alone, Sabine!" Sachiko cried, rushing toward the queen.

              "How dare you address me so!" the queen screamed, and she struck Sachiko so hard that she flew across the vast stone chamber into the shadows.

              I heard Sachiko's body fall. And then there was silence.

              "Sachiko!" I ran for the dark end of the room.

              But the queen's figure blurred, and in an instant, she was standing right in front of me, blocking my path.

              I was forced to stop short.

              "I knew you would come back here," the queen said. "I knew you would come for him. And I was right wasn't I? All I had to do was wait."

              The queen moved toward me purposefully, and I found myself backing away from her once again. I turned suddenly and ran for the bolted door with a half-formed idea of running to the Vaults to find a weapon. But Sabine appeared in front of me so quickly that I stumbled and fell to the hard marble floor.

              "You'll never leave Zamochit, you wicked girl," the queen said softly. "You'll die here. I'll see to that. And your body will be thrown onto the heaps and eaten by vermin."

              "What do you want with me?" I asked as I scrambled to get to my feet and move away from the queen. "Why do you care that I'm here? What could I mean to you?"

              The queen's eyes glittered. "The ghost girl is here, isn't she?"

              "I'm not the ghost girl," I said.

              "I sensed a human in the castle," the queen said. "You—you are the only human here. And the ghost girl is a human. A human with unnatural powers."

              "There's no such thing as the ghost girl," I said. "She isn't human—she isn't anything. She isn't real."

              The queen's eyes suddenly blazed with fury and her face contorted. "How you lie! She isn't real? When my husband lies with the healer at this very moment, stabbed through the heart? When loyal castle guards have been cut down as they fought to defend us? When vampires have deserted this castle for fear of their lives? You dare to tell me the ghost girl isn't real?"

              "I haven't hurt anyone," I said.

              The queen surged toward me, and I stumbled backward, hitting my back painfully against one of the marble tombs.

              The queen stopped, inches away from me, and pulled out something she had been concealing behind her back.

              "Do you recognize this?" she asked, and her voice was deceptively calm.

              I looked down, and I could see that the queen held a long, silver stake in her hand—it looked a lot like the one that had been used to stab David back in Elspeth's Grove. And I could also see that there was a dark, rust-colored stain on the stake's wickedly pointed end.

              "Do you recognize this?" the queen asked softly.

              "Yes," I said—and the moment the word left my lips, I realized that it was the wrong thing to say.

              Anger blazed in the queen's eyes. "So you admit it? You admit that you know this weapon—this vile thing—that was used to stab my husband. This thing that someone used in an attempt to end his life—an attempt that may still turn out to be successful."

              The queen's voice rose dangerously. "You tell me first that the ghost girl isn't real, and then you tell me that you recognize her weapon. Which is it? You're a very poor liar."

              "I have seen that weapon before," I said. "But it isn't mine. When I saw it, a vampire used it to attack another vampire."

              "How dare you?" the queen sputtered in fury. "How dare you besmirch the good name of 'vampire'? No vampire would use such a vile weapon against another, let alone against the king! That lie will be the last you ever tell. And I will have my revenge for what you have done to my husband."

              The queen raised the stake and lunged for me, but somehow I managed to drop to the cold stone floor just in time, and the stake struck the marble tomb with so much force that it drew sparks. I quickly rolled around the side of the tomb and then ran to hide behind its vast bulk. I knew I couldn't hope to be so lucky again—the queen was far too fast.

              The queen laughed. "I have your weapon now, ghost girl. And your friend is dead. You are powerless now without your tools and your spies. You should have known better than to attack the king. The queen of the vampires will now run your own stake through your miserable heart."

              The queen appeared suddenly by my side, and I ran for the front of the tomb again. The queen met me there, also, and I reached for the fire-lit column that stood next to the tomb. I heaved at it as hard as I could, and it came crashing down toward the queen.

              She stepped nimbly out of the way, and the column clattered heavily on the floor. The imitation firelight that sprung up from the column's top went out harmlessly, and the queen laughed.

              "What did I tell you? You're nothing without your tricks."

              "I never hurt the king," I said. "I never hurt anyone."

              "Say what you like," the queen said. "There is no one to save you from me."

              In desperation, I ran toward the doors again, but once more the queen blocked my way. I ran for the other side of the aisle then—toward the other row of tombs—searching for something, anything I could use against the queen. As I eyed the flickering firelight in the braziers and atop the columns, I wished fervently that the firelight was real instead of a pale imitation of it—fire was something I could genuinely have used against the queen.

              I reached the safety of a tomb only to find the queen standing right beside me. She was so close that I could see the flickering light from a nearby column reflected in her dark eyes. The flickering stirred a memory—

              "Enough playing," the queen said, and all amusement faded from her expression. "I've let you have a few more fleeting moments of life. But now it's time to meet your fate."

              Sabine raised the wickedly pointed stake in her hand and lunged toward me. I stumbled backward and quickly drew my small dragonfly mirror from the pocket of my jeans and held it out, facing the queen.

              "Look, Sabine! Look!" I cried. "You're beautiful!"

              The queen stopped suddenly and lowered the stake, her attention caught by the glint of the little gold mirror.

              She tilted her head to the side. "What do you have there?"

              "It's you, Sabine," I said. "You're beautiful. Don't you see that?"

              "I see how that little thing shines," Sabine said. "What is that strange light?"

              "Your beauty is what shines, Sabine," I said. "Look for yourself."

              "I will see it," she said, and her hard, cold hand latched onto my wrist.

              A flash of panic ran through me. I was very genuinely trapped now.

              The queen suddenly pulled me closer, and I tried to wrench free of her grasp—but she was no longer interested in me. Her attention was now riveted on the small gold mirror.

              The queen raised a hand to her cheek, and the silver stake clattered heavily on the floor. But the queen paid no attention to the sound. Instead, she simply smiled.

              "I am beautiful," she said. "And what pretty lights I see. Every moment there are more of them."

              "Look at the lights, Sabine," I said. "Those lights are for you."

              I waited breathlessly. The queen still held my wrist in her icy grip, and there was no way I could break it.

              The queen moved suddenly and wrested the mirror out of my grasp.

              "It's mine!" she snarled. "I will have it!"

              Sabine held the mirror with both hands and stared into its depths.

              "Look at the lights, Sabine," I said. "Look at the lights."

              "So many lights," the queen murmured in delight. "Thousands of lights! And all for me. Some of them are arranged over my head like a crown. I must be—I am! I am queen of the stars. I am the most beautiful thing in the heavens."

              Sabine continued to stare at the mirror, and her expression began to grow dreamy.

              "How strange," she murmured. "I feel myself sinking. It's just like falling asleep."

              As I watched, Sabine's face relaxed into immobility, and after a moment, she no longer moved at all.

              I stared at her for a moment. She was as motionless as a statue.

              "Sabine?" I said. The queen didn't answer.

              I crept toward her then and cautiously extended a finger to touch her arm. The queen did not react.

              "Sabine!" I screamed. And though the stone chamber echoed with the sound of my voice, Sabine appeared to be entirely unaware of my presence.

              She was as still as any of the marble queens who surrounded us in effigy.

              I didn't know how long the queen's trance would last, so I quickly picked up the silver stake and ran toward the shadows.

              Unfortunately, the dark end of the chamber was just as dark when I drew close to it—the only source of light in the vast marble room came from the columns and the braziers, and both of those only surrounded the queens' tombs. Beyond the tombs, where Sachiko had been thrown, there was only darkness.

              I stepped into the heavy shadow.

              "Sachiko?" I said. "Sachiko, can you hear me?"

              I glanced over my shoulder toward the light and then ventured further into the black expanse before me.

              "Sachiko?"

              There was no answer, and a sense of dread settled over me.

              "Sachiko!" I cried. "Please answer me! You can't be dead! Just tell me where you are! Please! Answer me!"

              I heard a faint, soft sound in the dark, and I hurried toward it.

              I soon stumbled up against a massive stone object—a pillar by the feel of it—and I heard another soft sound from somewhere below me. It was little more than a sigh.

              I dropped to the floor and ran my hand over the cold marble until I felt another cool, smooth shape. I wrapped my fingers around it quickly—it was Sachiko's hand.

              "Sachiko," I whispered.

              "You can't see," she said faintly. "Get the light."

              "The light?" I said.

              "The light from the columns," she replied. "It's not actually hot. You can just tip it into the palm of your hand and carry it. But do it carefully or it will go out."

              "Will the light help you?" I asked.

              "No," Sachiko said. "But you can't see. Just go and get it."

              I got up quickly and ran through the darkness to the nearest lit column. I eyed the bright, dancing flame for just a moment, and then I reached out and carefully gathered it into the palm of my hand. Sachiko was right—the flame was actually cool to the touch, and now that I held it, I could see that the flame itself was actually issuing from a small gold disc that floated at its base.

              I glanced then at the stake I still carried. The handle was fairly wide, and the end of it curved inward just a bit, creating a shallow depression. I tipped the flame and the gold disc into the depression, and the flame settled in without going out. Then I took a few experimental steps forward, and the flame stayed in place on the handle.

              I hurried back toward the dark end of the chamber, holding my new torch aloft.

              Now that I could see, I found Sachiko lying behind a huge stone pillar, and her eyes fluttered open as I approached. I could see a bright red trickle of blood running from her forehead all the way down her cheek.

              Sachiko struggled to sit up, and I kneeled down beside her.

              "Let me help you," I said.

              Soon Sachiko was propped up against the pillar, and she smiled wanly at me.

              "Vampires are supposed to heal quickly," she said. "But the strongest among us can deliver injuries that are hard for the more average vampire to recover from. We can take getting hit by a car. But this was a lot more like getting hit by a whole fleet of tanks."

              Sachiko looked small and hurt, and I felt fear rising in me once again. "Will you be all right?"