Ignis (Book 2, Pure Series) (58 page)

           
"Are you afraid, Katie Wickliff?" the queen asked.
 
She smiled even more broadly.
 
"You need not be."

           
The queen shifted her gaze to Innokenti.
 
"She's a pretty, isn't she, Innokenti?
 
She's absolutely perfect."

           
Innokenti bowed his head in agreement.
 
"Your majesty is quite right.
 
One shade the more, one ray the less, as the poet said."

           
Mercifully, the king, at least, ceased staring at me and turned his attention to William.
 
His voice rang out with wintry approval.

           
"William, we have heard excellent reports of your progress on the new projectile for the crossbows.
 
We have heard also that you are searching for a new item that will aid us in our fight."

           
"William was actually out looking for that item this very evening, your majesty," Innokenti said with an edge of malice in his voice.
 
"He did not locate it, but we continue to be hopeful."

           
Innokenti seemed to be hinting at something, but whatever it was, was lost on me.

           
"I didn't come here to talk about the crossbows," William said shortly.

           
Amusement flickered in the king's eyes.
 
"We are aware of the fact that you have a question, William."
 
The king's tone was tolerant and condescending.
 
"We were going to get to that in due course.
 
But if your question is urgent, you may ask it now."

           
"Who has blocked my ability to hear Katie call for me," William said without preamble.
 
"Was it you?"

           
The queen leaned forward eagerly.
 
"What is it that you say, William?
 
Your question is puzzling.
 
Is it a call for a victim?"

           
"William began life as a member of the Sìdh, my love," the king said, his voice still tolerant.
 
"After his conversion to the noble life of the vampire, I understand that he retained many of the powers that were granted to him by his heritage—one of those is his ability to grant a summoning power known as a 'call' to those he loves.
 
Apparently, he has granted this power to Katie Wickliff, and it is no longer working.
 
Is that the case, William?"

           
"Yes," William said.

           
The king glanced at Innokenti.
 
"You could not answer this question of William's?"

           
Innokenti bowed his head.
 
"I am capable of answering the question, your majesty.
 
However, I was forbidden by your majesty from discussing any matter pertaining to this topic.
 
Your majesty's reasons for imposing a moratorium, were as always, very wise.
 
Most in our community know about the looming threat of the hybrids.
 
Only your majesties and I have knowledge of the situation behind that threat.
 
Your majesty, I believe, wanted to prevent panic."

           
"I believe in this case that I will make an exception," the king said.
 
"William is a skilled engineer and warrior, and his work is important to us.
 
We may take him into our confidence.
 
Innokenti, answer William's question and any others he may have."

           
Something like anger flickered in Innokenti's eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

           
Innokenti bowed his head.
 
"As your majesty wishes."

           
"Who has been blocking me?" William said curtly.

           
"The Sìdh are blocking you," Innokenti replied.

           
"The Sìdh?" William said, his brow furrowing.
 
"And why didn't Katie get my letter?"

           
"I imagine that the Sìdh destroyed it," Innokenti said.
 
"According to you, it was placed near a mirror.
 
And according to Katie, she found a small pile of ash.
 
I would guess that they set the letter alight—they probably couldn't bring into their world.
 
The ability of the Sìdh to act in this world is limited, but they can reach into it through mirrors."

           
"Who is Cormac?" I asked.
 
"Why did he appear to help me?"

           
All eyes in the room turned to me.

           
I hadn't intended to speak, and I was as surprised as anyone that I had—the words had just slipped out.

           
Innokenti politely ignored the question.

           
"You may answer the human girl's questions also," the king said.
 
"We know she is important to William."

           
A flash of dissatisfaction crossed Innokenti's face, but his voice when he answered was composed.

           
"Yes, your majesty."

           
Innokenti addressed me.
 
"Cormac is a prince of the Sìdh people.
 
He came to your aid because you are the Little Sun.
 
As you no doubt know, it is an infusion of the Sìdh bloodline that gives you your unique abilities.
 
The Sìdh wish to protect you."

           
"Are they blocking me, too?" I asked.

           
"In what way, little one?" Innokenti asked.

           
"I used to have visions," I said.
 
"I didn't have many of them, and I couldn't really control them, but I did have them.
 
And except for one brief vision I had about Anton, they're gone now.
 
And I can no longer summon the clear fire."

           
Innokenti nodded.
 
"I'm not surprised to hear that.
 
Yes, I would imagine the Sìdh are blocking your abilities too."

           
"Why would they do that?" William demanded.

           
"William, I did warn you—both of you.
 
The Sìdh believe it is best if you are separated, but their ability to oppose you in this world is limited.
 
So they have brought what pressure they can to bear on you and the young lady.
 
They have taken away powers that derive from them—and it appears that their efforts to keep you apart worked—for a time."

           
"And their efforts put Katie in danger," William said angrily.
 
"I wasn't able to get to her when she was in trouble."

           
"And yet here she stands," Innokenti said mildly.

           
"How do you know all of this?" William demanded.
 
"How much do you know about the Sìdh and what they want?"

           
"I have had no communication with the Sìdh directly," Innokenti said.
 
"I am not working with them against you, if that is what concerns you.
 
But I am the first minister of this community, and as such, it falls to me to watch, to observe—to discern patterns and anticipate developments.
 
And there have been whispers out in the Pure Woods.
 
I hear a little here and there, and I extrapolate.
 
I knew of your relationship with Katie, and I knew the Sìdh would work to separate you from the girl.
 
The Sìdh will not allow their Little Sun to fall in love with a vampire."

           
"And what does this have to do with the hybrids?" William asked.
 
"Are the Sìdh behind that, too?"

           
"No, the Sìdh are not behind the hybrids," Innokenti said.
 
"In fact, the hybrids are a threat to them as well as to us.
 
The problem the Sìdh have with you is connected to a larger issue."

           
Innokenti's tone became discouraging.
 
"It's all very complex.
 
You are out of your depth here, William."

           
"Explain it to me," William said.
 
"I think I can handle it."

           
"William—"

           
"Answer him," the king commanded.

           
Innokenti bowed his head.
 
"As you wish, your majesty."

           
Innokenti began, and I had an uneasy feeling that I knew where his story was headed.

           
"Long ago, when the world was young," Innokenti said,
 
"a young man who lived in Russia crossed the Black Sea, looking for great power.
 
He found it, but it changed him fundamentally, and a great darkness was born in his heart—the young man had become a vampire.
 
He sailed back across the Black Sea and returned to Russia.
 
He converted his entire family, and then he and his family converted others.
 
He became the father of all vampires in Russia.
 
That young man is known as the Werdulac."

           
I felt a chill spread through my body.
 
Suddenly, I didn't want to know what was going on.
 
I didn't want to know that Odette had been right.
 
I didn't want to be stalked by ancient vampires, or the Sìdh, or anyone else.

           
The desire to run was strong in me.
 
But I stayed where I was.

           
And I listened.

           
Innokenti went on.
 
"The Werdulac became the ruler of his own kingdom of the night, and for a time it was sufficient.
 
But then the great lust for power that had led him to cross the sea seized his heart once again.
 
He wanted to conquer the world of the light also.
 
He looked then to the Sìdh, who at the time still walked the earth.
 
The Sìdh were—are—ancient spirits of great beauty—some even believed them to be gods.
 
They existed both in this world and the next, and had physical bodies in this world.
 
The Werdulac knew that made them vulnerable."

           
Innokenti's eyes flicked to me.
 
"After all, anything with a body can die."

           
Innokenti watched me for a moment.
 
If he was disappointed in my reaction, he didn't show it.
 
Instead he simply continued.

           
"The Sìdh were immortal, unless they suffered an injury great enough to cause the death of the body.
 
They could not be touched by age or disease, but a sword through the heart or through the throat would end their earthly existence.
 
The Werdulac raised an army of vampires to attack the Sìdh—he knew the Sìdh were already threatened by the rising tide of upstart humans, and he wanted to strike at them while he believed them to be vulnerable.
 
The Werdulac recruited vampires from all over the earth.
 
The host he mustered was terrible."

           
William released his grip on my hand and slipped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into an embrace.
 
I leaned against him gratefully.
 
I knew that the end of Innokenti's story had to lead back to us—to William and to me.
 
And I knew that once we knew, there would be no going back.
 
We would be a part of this ancient conflict whether we wanted to be or not.

           
We were going to be trapped.

           
"The Werdulac and his vampire army marched on the Sìdh, but the Werdulac had overestimated his own strength.
 
After much bloodshed on both sides, the vampires were defeated decisively—entirely crushed.
 
The Werdulac himself was beheaded and burned to ash, and the ashes were then entombed in ice—buried so deep, the Sìdh said, that he would never be found again.

           
"The Sìdh did allow some of the vampires to live and forced them swear fealty to the Sìdh.
 
That's why vampires dislike mirrors so much—the Sìdh defeated us once, and we don't want to glimpse our enemies.
 
That's also why the Little Sun has no particular supernatural power over vampires—because the local ones, at least, have already ceded it to her.
 
Though they do not like to discuss it, the vampires of Krov are honor-bound not to harm the Little Sun."