Ignis (Book 2, Pure Series) (67 page)

           
A quick glance to the side showed me that there was a sheer drop behind the keep—one much steeper than Mara's Drop in the town.
 
It was certainly a good spot for a fortification.
 
No one would be able to approach the keep from the back—it was far too dangerous.

           
I plunged into the keep after the will-o'-the-wisp and was startled to hear the heavy door through which I had just passed slam closed behind me.
 
I felt another surge of panic then, and I scrambled after the will-o'-the-wisp.

           
The golden sphere bounced ahead of me down a hall, and then it began to surge upward.
 
I realized that it was mounting a staircase.
 
I ran after the will-o'-the-wisp, stumbling and slipping on stone steps that spiraled up into the darkness.
 
The glowing sphere that led me on was the only source of light I had now—the luminescent trees of the Pure Woods were blocked now by the solid walls of the keep.
 
I was terrified to lose sight of the will-o'-the-wisp, and in my haste to keep up, I fell, badly skinning the palms of both my hands.

           
I got up and kept going.

           
The will-o'-the-wisp led me all the way up to the top of the stairs, and then out through a trapdoor in the roof, where I broke out into open air once again.
 
We were at the very top of the keep, and I could see the ghostly trees of the Pure Woods in a pale ring far below us.
 
The will-o'-the-wisp darted up to the crenellated wall of the keep and leaped over it, disappearing from view.

           
I rushed after it and prepared to leap off the parapet wall.

           
Something like an iron band wrapped around my arm and pulled me backward with terrific force.
 
I stumbled into a solid body and looked up into the glittering dark eyes of Anton.

           
"I wouldn't recommend going that way, Sunshine," he said.
 
"You're likely to find that first step a little steep."

           
I looked back toward the parapet and realized with horror that I had been about to leap to my death.

           
"I—I don't know what I was thinking," I said to Anton.
 
"Thanks.
 
I'm glad you were here.
 
Really glad."

           
Anton shrugged.
 
"It wasn't your fault.
 
Will-o'-the-wisps can be like that, even when they help you.
 
You had to be entranced or else the speed enhancement spell wouldn't have worked.
 
And our little friend had fulfilled his part of the task and couldn't help throwing in a little mischief at the end.
 
He knew I was following right behind you and would stop you.
 
At least I think he knew that."

           
I tried to step away from Anton, but I found that he held me solidly against him.

           
"It's okay, Anton," I said.
 
"I won't jump now.
 
You can let go."

           
Anton smiled.
 
"Are you sure?"

           
"Yes," I said.

           
Anton's smile deepened, but I felt his grip relax.

           
I walked toward the parapet wall and looked over it.
 
There were flashes of fire in amongst the trees.

           
I could hear screaming.

           
"What's going on?" I asked.

           
"Our people have been hiding in the woods around the keep, waiting for our arrival.
 
Now that we're here, and we have successfully induced the hybrids to follow us, our people have launched their attack with the new weapons.
 
Soon they will fall back to the keep.
 
And then, with any luck, we'll pick off the hybrids one by one.
 
They should keep coming, even if they're being destroyed.
 
Past experience says they're a pretty tenacious group."

           
There were more bursts of flame and more screams.

           
"Is William out there?" I asked.

           
"No," Anton said.
 
"He's back at the castle with a small group of our newer recruits.
 
He's getting them ready to defend the villagers at the festival.
 
Innokenti thought it would be better if William didn't know about what was going on here till he saw it for himself—he was afraid William would put a stop to it.
 
He'll be here, though, as soon as the alarm goes up, which should be happening right about now.
 
As much as I hate to say it, William's one of our best fighters.
 
We need him for this."

           
Anton continued to watch the flashes of fire in the trees, and I was surprised to see he wasn't moving.

           
"You're staying?" I asked.

           
"Yes, of course."
 
Anton tilted his head on the side.
 
"Did you think I'd leave you?"

           
"So you're one of them?" I asked.
 
"You're one of these vampire warriors?"

           
"Yes—did you ever doubt it?
 
I said William was
one
of the best.
 
Well, I am
the
best.
 
I'm the best protection there is."

           
"Where's your armor?" I asked.

           
"Under my coat," Anton replied.
 
"I thought I'd surprise you."

           
There was a flurry of motion below us, and I turned back to look over the parapet wall.

           
The vampires with their leather armor and their crossbows were backing into the clearing on all sides.
 
They turned swiftly toward the keep and sprang onto its walls.

           
The vampires began to climb.

           
I couldn't help recoiling in horror as dozens of pale-faced vampires surged toward me.
 
I backed away from the edge.

           
The last thing I saw before the ground below was lost to my sight was a headless body with a charred neck, staggering out of the trees, waving its arms as if it sought to grapple with its beheader.
 
In the darkness, I could see the white, angular smoke of the hybrid swirling in awkward, violent shapes around the headless body.

           
I shut my eyes against it.

           
"Stay in the center," Anton shouted to me.
 
"We'll cover the circumference of the roof.
 
They won't be able to get up here."

           
I shuffled back a few feet, still keeping my eyes closed.
 
When I dared to open them again, I saw that I was surrounded by vampires.
 
They were leaning over the parapet, aiming their crossbows and firing.

           
I could hear horrible, inhuman screeches from the ground below, mingled with a wild gibbering.
 
I knew that gibbering only too well—it was the sound a kost made when it attacked.
 
Apparently the hybrids had retained this part of their kost heritage.

           
I moved back a few more feet, and then huddled down beside the trapdoor in the floor.
 
Standing made me feel dangerously exposed.

           
The trapdoor flew open with sudden force, and I stumbled backward, terrified.

           
I thought for one horrifying moment that the hybrids had broken through.

           
Then a familiar, well-loved face showed itself above the space in the floor.

           
"William!" I cried.

           
William turned and looked at me.
 
Shock spread over his face.

           
"Katie!"

           
William quickly climbed onto the roof.
 
He dropped his crossbow and grabbed me by the arms.

           
"What are you doing here?" he demanded, pulling me to my feet.
 
"Are you okay?"
 
His face darkened.
 
"I wondered why the hybrids were gathering here.
 
Did Innokenti do this?"

           
"No," I said breathlessly.
 
"It was my idea."

           
William's expression grew even darker.
 
"I'm sure that's what he led you to believe."

           
Five other vampires had come out of the trapdoor after William, and he began to pull me back toward them.

           
"I'm getting you out of here," William said grimly.

           
"Wait, William.
 
Wait," I said, twisting in his grasp.
 
"I can't leave."

           
"You can't stay here," he said.
 
"It's too dangerous."

           
A hand landed on William's chest.

           
"What's dangerous is leaving the keep.
 
The woods are crawling with hybrids."

           
I looked up.
 
Anton had suddenly appeared beside us.

           
William released me and seized Anton.

           
"I should have known you were part of this," William said furiously.
 
"She's an innocent girl.
 
She doesn't understand what she's gotten herself into.
 
I'm getting her out of here now.
 
And if you try to stop me, I'll tear you apart."

           
"Anton is right," shouted a new voice.

           
I turned to see a pale, fair-haired vampire standing just behind us—he was one of the small group who had followed William through the trapdoor.
 
He appeared to be young—probably about the same age I was.
 
Of course, with vampires age was hard to tell.
 
For all I knew, he could be hundreds of years old.

           
"Anton is right," the fair-haired vampire said again.
 
"If you try to take the human girl through the woods, the hybrids will capture her and kill you.
 
If you truly value her life, you will allow her to remain."

           
William turned a face full of fury on the fair-haired vampire, but he loosened his grip on Anton and pushed him away.

           
"She will stay for now," William said.

           
Then he stepped toward Anton.
 
"But if anything happens to Katie, I will hold you accountable."

           
"Just do what you're supposed to do," Anton said contemptuously, "and everything will be fine."

           
Anton walked back toward the parapet, and the fair-haired vampire went to his own post.

           
William seemed reluctant to leave me.
 
"Stay here and keep your head down.
 
Nothing will harm you while I stand."

           
"This is where I want to be," I said.

           
Strange as it was, those words were true.

           
William gave me one last despairing look, and then retrieved his crossbow and rushed off to the parapet wall.

           
I huddled next to the trapdoor and listened to the sounds of the fight all around me.
 
The crossbows sang with deadly regularity, and I could hear the shrieks of the hybrids as they were struck by the razor-sharp projectiles.
 
I couldn't see what was going on, but I couldn't help but picture the scene below—hybrids swarming out of the trees, projectiles bursting into flame and hacking off limbs, lodging in chests, severing heads.

           
But beheading the hybrids, I knew, was only part of destroying them.
 
They still had to be wrestled back into their graves and burned to ash.
 
Otherwise, as I had already seen, they would continue to fight—even without their heads.

           
As far as I could tell, the entire vampire force was in the keep—there was no one left on the ground to do the wrestling or the burning.