Ignis (Book 2, Pure Series) (60 page)

           
I interrupted.
 
"Odette said she'd been watching me since I arrived.
 
That's how she happened to be there."

           
"No doubt she claimed she was worried about you," Innokenti said.
 
"But I would counsel you, little one, to consider your cousin's past behavior when you're evaluating her motives.
 
Isn't it possible that Odette is watching you so that she can report back to someone else?"

           
I wanted to protest, but I had to admit to myself that I couldn't be sure Innokenti was wrong.

           
William, however, was not concerned with Odette at the moment.

           
"So Timofei Mstislav is something else you didn't think I needed to know about?" he asked Innokenti angrily.

           
Innokenti gave an elegant shrug.
 
"There was no point in telling you.
 
We aren't entirely sure we can kill the hybrids yet.
 
Letting you know about him would only make you anxious and distract you from your work."

           
"Why has Timofei Mstislav been revived?" I asked, though I had a terrible feeling that I already knew the answer.
 
"Has he been brought back because of me?"

           
"I believe the reasons he was chosen are twofold," Innokenti replied.
 
"The first is practical.
 
It is easier to raise a kost when you have a body that is in good condition.
 
Since Timofei's death was relatively recent, he was a good candidate for resurrection.
 
Bodies that are in an advanced state of decomposition are harder to raise.
 
However, I know that the Werdulac's camp is working on raising older and older bodies.
 
If they can marry a kost spirit to a desiccated corpse, then the infusion of vampire blood on top of that will repair the body and give it new strength.
 
Vampires, as you may know, have marvelous abilities to heal their own bodies.
 
The Werdulac's force is a small one right now.
 
Once the Werdulac's people can raise old bodies, they will have an army ready to go."

           
"What do you mean?" I asked.

           
"Did you never wonder about the Wasteland?" Innokenti asked.
 
There was an odd gleam in his eye.

           
"I heard it was the site of a human village centuries ago," I said.
 
"And now this castle and the rest of Zamochit stand on its surface."

           
"Yes, but what happened to the people of that original village?" Innokenti asked.
 
"More specifically, what happened to their bodies?
 
I know you have seen the tunnels that run under the Wasteland.
 
Do you know what's in them?"

           
I suddenly felt cold.
 
"Are you saying that the bodies of those villagers are in the tunnels?"

           
Innokenti smiled.
 
"Exactly so.
 
The tunnels were built for other reasons, but after the village was destroyed, they became vast catacombs.
 
There are thousands of mummified bodies below us, just waiting to become the Werdulac's army."

           
"Stop it."
 
William started forward.
 
"Stop trying to scare her.
 
You're trying to distract us from the real question—was Timofei Mstislav raised from the dead so he can hunt Katie?"

           
"William, I can assure you that the development of the hybrid army is not something I bring up to 'distract' you.
 
The danger is very real.
 
And I believe that I said there were
two
reasons why Timofei Mstislav was revived—I was getting to the second one.
 
In addition to Timofei's relative 'freshness,' he was also revived because he will seek Katie out.
 
He will be an excellent tracker."

           
A sense of dread settled over me.
 
I had confirmation of what I had feared—Timofei had indeed been brought back to hunt me down.
 
The nightmare I had lived through back in October was about to begin again.

           
Through the haze of horror that enveloped me, there came another fear.

           
"What about the people of Krov?" I asked.
 
"Is Odette right that the Firebird Festival will be attacked?"

           
"Yes," Innokenti said.
 
"However, we already knew about that, so her information isn't actually very helpful."

           
"Why?" I asked, feeling panic rising within me.
 
"Why are they doing it?
 
If the Werdulac's force is still small, as you say, why is the army going to attack the Firebird Festival?"

           
"To draw us out—to test our strength.
 
They know that we protect this village, and that we will be drawn out by a supernatural threat.
 
They want to see what we have in our arsenal.
 
They also hope to draw you out, little one.
 
The fact that you can no longer command the clear fire is hardly common knowledge.
 
Since the hybrids are part kost, you certainly might be expected to try your power against them—if so, you might then be captured—and you have proved elusive so far.
 
The stronger the Werdulac grows, the more frantic he will be to have you kidnapped."

           
The air was suddenly torn by a horrible, high-pitched wail.
 
The wail rose and fell in a steady pattern, and I realized after a moment that what I was hearing was a siren.

           
"If I'm not very much mistaken," Innokenti said calmly in the interval between wails, "that sound means someone is here for the little one now."
 
Innokenti gave me a wintry smile.
 
"That's the alarm we set for the hybrids."

           
The king rose from his throne.

           
"Come, my love," he said to the queen.
 
"We must get you to safety right away."

           
The queen had been staring around her wildly, her eyes bright.
 
At the king's words she rose and rushed to him.

           
The king placed a protective arm around the queen, and the two of them disappeared behind the tapestry.

           
"Does this mean that Timofei Mstislav has tracked me here?" I asked Innokenti.

           
"That is possible," Innokenti replied.
 
He appeared to be completely unperturbed by the siren.
 
"Of course, it's also possible that Timofei's powers weren't needed.
 
Odette may simply have told the Werdulac's people that she brought you here.
 
There are definitely hybrids attacking us at the moment, but Timofei may not be amongst them."

           
"Watch Katie," William said to Innokenti sternly.
 
"Do not let her out of your sight—even for a moment.
 
I'm going to take care of the intruders.
 
Katie had better be here when I get back."

           
William vanished from the throne room.

           
I didn't even have time to attempt to stop him.

           
"William is a man of decision," Innokenti said with a distant hint of amusement in his tone.
 
"I like that about him."

           
Innokenti was not someone who inspired confidence in me, but I couldn't help turning to him.

           
"William will be all right, won't he?"

           
I thought back to the look in Timofei Mstislav's eyes when he had spotted me in the Pure Woods.
 
I thought too, of the great physical power that his father had possessed.
 
Timofei would surely have that power and more.
 
Innokenti had said that Timofei wasn't necessarily here, but I had a strong feeling that he was.
 
And who knew how many others were with him?

           
Could William handle the hybrids?

           
"I have every confidence in William," Innokenti said calmly.
 
"I believe in him in a way that I have never believed in anyone or anything in my life."

           
He gestured with one elegant hand.
 
"Would you like to have a seat, little one?"

           
I was startled.
 
"On the thrones?"

           
"Yes, of course, on the thrones."

           
I glanced nervously at the tapestry behind which the king and the queen had disappeared.

           
"Won't they—the king and queen—won't they mind?"

           
"I imagine that they will never find out," Innokenti replied.
 
"They are on their way to a secret, safe location as we speak.
 
Please, do be seated.
 
The thrones are very comfortable, I can assure you."

           
"You've sat on the thrones before?" I asked.

           
Mischief gleamed in Innokenti's eyes for just a moment.
 
"Every chance I get."

           
With one last glance toward the tapestry, I climbed the steps to the platform and sat on the queen's throne.
 
Innokenti sat on the king's.

           
Innokenti and I sat side by side in the strange, silver light of the throne room while the wail of the siren rose and fell with unsettling regularity.

           
My nerves were frayed, and I cast about for something to do that would distract me from worrying about William.
 
I didn't know exactly what he was facing outside this room, and it was terrible knowing that there was nothing I could do to help him.

           
I thought then of the charm William had given me.
 
I had a sudden longing to see it—I knew it would make me feel calmer.
 
I peeled off my gloves and unbuttoned my coat.

           
It was only as I did so that I realized that the throne room was actually comfortably warm.
 
I wondered—did vampires have need of warmth?
 
I glanced at Innokenti and very nearly asked him if vampires felt the cold.
 
But Innokenti looked back at me, and his cool gaze was, as usual, disturbing.

           
The question died on my lips.

           
As Innokenti continued to stare at me, I was strongly tempted to run from the room—I felt like a rabbit sitting next to a hungry wolf.

           
But William seemed to trust him, and I could trust William, again—couldn't I?

           
I looked away from Innokenti and pulled out my necklace.
 
I gazed steadily at the charm as I turned it over in my fingers.
 
Despite my surroundings, I began to feel calmer.

           
"What is it that you have there, little one?" Innokenti asked.

           
"It's a charm," I replied.
 
"A gift from William.
 
He said it would protect me from the kost."

           
Innokenti gave me his unnerving smile.
 
"It will indeed.
 
And someday you may find that it has properties that even William doesn't know about."

           
He did not elaborate, and I hesitated to engage him in further conversation on the topic.

           
As I looked back down at the charm, my mind drifted.
 
I thought of all the people who were going to go to the Firebird Festival tomorrow night—even GM wanted to go.
 
And I thought, too, of how little they suspected the danger they were in.

           
They had no idea they were going to be attacked.

           
I realized that William and the vampires probably had some sort of a plan to deal with the hybrids, since they'd apparently known about the attack all along.

           
But in all likelihood there would still be an attack—the vampires would fight the hybrids, but they wouldn't be able to stop the attack from happening entirely.

           
People would die.