Dangerous Creatures (Book 3, Pure Series) (35 page)

              Sachiko started up the spiraling stairs, and I followed her, stepping as carefully as I could. I gripped my torch tightly with one hand and trailed the other along the iron column that rose up the center of the staircase. I could feel the staircase swaying as we ascended it, and I couldn't help glancing up into the darkness above us.

              "How high do you think this goes?" I asked.

              "I don't know exactly," Sachiko replied. "But I have a bad feeling that it leads all the way up to the top of the castle."

              "To the top?" I said. "Then you think this staircase runs alongside one of the towers?"

              "Yes, I do. And guess which one it is?"

              "It's the royal tower, isn't it?" I said.

              "I'm afraid so. The queen must have made her way down this staircase and out through the empty tomb. She may even have been hiding in there for a little while."

              "So we're going into the most heavily guarded part of the castle to get William out?" I said.

              "You can still go back," Sachiko said. "I don't mind going on alone."

              "No," I said quickly. "William needs me. I'm not going back."

              "I just hope you know what you're doing," Sachiko murmured.

              We continued on our way up the spiral staircase, and the staircase itself continued to sway dizzyingly as we climbed it. Before long, I lost sight of the ground below, and as we rose higher and higher, there was nothing but darkness above and below me. The spiral we followed wound tightly, and I feared at any moment that I would slip and fall to my death.

              Soon I began to shake, and the hand that held the torch grew damp with perspiration. I wanted to stop and switch hands, but I dared not remove my other hand from the iron column in the center.

              The staircase wound up and up, and somehow I forced myself to keep going.

              "You can breathe a little easier now," Sachiko said at long last. "We've reached the top. Just hang on for a few more minutes, and I'll help you through."

              I heard a pair of rusty hinges protest overhead, as if Sachiko had just opened a door, and then her small white hand appeared in front of my face.

              "Hand me the torch first," she said. "It'll be easier for you to climb through if both of your hands are free."

              With an unsteady hand, I handed over the torch, and I watched it disappear into a silvery square of light above me. The staircase began to sway again, and I quickly gripped the central column of the staircase with my free hand.

              "Now climb just a few more steps until you can see in through the hatch," Sachiko said. "Then I can pull you through."

              My legs were shaking as I climbed the last few steps, but soon I could see Sachiko's face framed in a small, square doorway.

              She held out her hands. "Take my hands and step off the staircase. You'll fall, but I'll catch you."

              "I think my hand are damp," I said.

              "That's okay. I can still pull you through."

              I reached out for Sachiko and stepped off the staircase. Her cool, smooth hands gripped mine, but my feet found only empty air, and suddenly I was falling.

              "Sachiko!" I cried, and my voice echoed all around me in the tall stone tower.

              "It's okay," she said. "I've got you."

              Her strong hands tightened on mine, and I felt myself being pulled upward. Before long, I was standing on a stone floor in a small, dark room that was just barely lit with silvery light. We were surrounded by boxes and barrels and other shadowy shapes. Many of the boxes and barrels had been overturned, as if someone had come through the room in a great hurry.

              "I think this is a storage room," Sachiko whispered. "I imagine most vampires in the castle don't even know this passage is here."

              She moved silently over to an open door on the other side of the room and peered out. Then she motioned for me to join her.

              "There's some kind of altercation going on down that way," Sachiko said, pointing. "You probably can't hear it, but I can."

              I stood still listening. "I don't hear a thing."

              Suddenly, there was a loud, inhuman wail from the direction she had indicated, and Sachiko stepped noiselessly out into the hall. "I think we should go the other way."

              "But what if William's involved in that?" I said. "What if the guards are fighting him?"

              "I don't think that's what it is," Sachiko said. "There are a few fine drops of blood trailing this way. I think that's William. Come on."

              Sachiko moved quickly but quietly down the hall, following a trail I couldn't see. Then she led me through several richly appointed rooms that also seemed to be in disarray like the storage room. Eventually, we came to a room that was the richest of all—there was a massive gilt bed with draperies that trailed on the ground, and everything from floor to ceiling was painted with flowers and birds all intertwined with gold.

              "I think this is the queen's room," Sachiko said as we stepped into it. She walked into the center of the room and looked around. "She really does have elaborate taste."

              Sachiko stopped suddenly, her attention arrested by something on the other side of the bed, and a cry escaped her lips. I hurried over to see what it was.

              Lying on the floor was a long, lean figure with a length of metal chain on both wrists and a face that was battered and bruised and stained with blood. His eyes were closed, his skin was ashen, and those lips that I so loved to see smile were frozen in a grimace of pain.

              I was looking at William.

Chapter 25.

"William!"

              I ran to him and fell on the floor beside him, dropping the silver stake. I took his face in my hands and was shocked by how cold his skin was. His eyes remained closed, and the bruises were even worse up close.

              There was something terrible about how still he was.

              "William!" I said. "I'm here now, William. We're going to get you out of here. We're going to get you help."

              I shook him gently, but he didn't stir.

              "Help me, Sachiko," I said. "Help me to lift him."

              I looked up at her, and she was staring down at William with a curiously detached look on her face.

              She didn't move.

              "What is it?" I said. "What's wrong?"

              "I expected him to be bad. But this is—"

              Sachiko stopped.

              "What?" I said. "This is what?"

              "Let's just say that we don't need to worry about his attacking anyone."

              "That's a good thing, right?" I said.

              Sachiko did not reply.

              "Help me, Sachiko, please," I said. "There's no way I can lift him on my own."

              Sachiko came closer, and in one swift motion, she had William's body draped across her shoulders.

              "You'd better wait here right now," Sachiko said as she wrapped William's chains around her hand. "I don't think I can carry both of you at the same time. It's not that I'm not strong enough—it's just that you're too cumbersome together. I'll take William to the healer first, and then I'll come back for you."

              She swung around and gave me a piercing stare. "Whatever you do, do
not
attempt to leave the castle on your own. You'll never make it—and I mean that. Stay in this room and hide under the bed and douse yourself with more perfume. I'm sure the queen's got plenty of it around here. And speaking of the queen, I'll check on her on my way out. Maybe I can lock her up in the chapel with William's chains."

              She turned to go.

              "Wait, Sachiko!" I said. "The queen mentioned a healer in the castle. That's not the same one you're taking William to, is it?"

              Sachiko turned back. "No. That's the official royal healer who's with the king. The one I'm taking William to is sort of an underground healer. She's not exactly reputable, but she gets results."

              There was a crash and a cry from the hallway outside the queen's bedroom, and Sachiko turned swiftly toward the noise.

              "Get under the bed now," she said. "With any luck they'll be too preoccupied to notice you. You should—"

              There was another crash, and Sachiko's words were drowned out by a piercing scream.

              "On second thought," Sachiko said, "I don't think I can risk taking William all the way to the healer. You'd never last that long. I'll stash him somewhere outside the castle and then come right back for you."

              There was yet another crash from outside the room.

              "Get under the bed," Sachiko said. "Now!"

              I hurried to the bed and pushed the heavy draperies that surrounded it out of the way. As I did so, my hand brushed over the silver stake—it had rolled under the bed when I'd dropped it. I pushed it out of the way and slipped in beside it.

              There was plenty of room under the massive bed, and as I turned to pull the draperies back into place, I caught a glimpse of Sachiko leaving the room with William by a small door on the other side of the bedroom.

              Moments later, I heard the door through which Sachiko and I had originally entered the room open and then close softly. Stealthy footsteps crept into the room and stopped at the foot of the bed.

              I reached out and tipped the edge of the draperies up just enough so that I could see out. There was a pair of boots standing by the bed, and the toes were pointed away from me—I figured it was probably one of the castle's vampire guards.

              As I watched, the toes turned toward me.

              Realizing I'd been spotted, I reached for the silver stake and then pushed my way out from under the side of the bed, holding my stake high.

              I had no intention of being captured, and I was prepared to fight any vampire I came across in order to get back to William.

              But as I rushed toward the vampire guard at the foot of the bed, I was forced to stop short. The person before me wasn't a castle guard at all—I was looking at someone I knew.

              "Terrance?" I said.

              Terrance stared back at me, shocked. "Katie?"

              "Is that really you?" I asked. "Terrance from Elspeth's Grove? Terrance who's dating Irina?"

              "Yes, of course," Terrance said. "What are you doing here, Katie? I hate to point out the obvious, but this place is dangerous. You
really
shouldn't be here."

              His eyes drifted upward. "And you don't need that. Not on my account, anyway."

              I lowered my stake, and then I saw that Terrance was holding one just like it.

              "Where did you get that?" I asked. "And what are you doing here?" I froze suddenly. "You're not a vampire, are you?"

              "No, I'm not a vampire. And I'm going to take it that you aren't one either."

              "No."

              "I didn't think so," Terrance replied. "As far as the stake goes, it's mine. I've got a collection of them—in fact, I'm pretty sure the one you're holding is mine, too. Where did you get it?"

              "From the vampire queen," I said. "She tried to attack me with it. She thought I was the—"

              I looked at Terrance sharply. "Are you the ghost girl?"

              "No." Terrance gave me a wry smile. "I don't think the ghost girl is a real thing. I think it's just propaganda."

              "But you are a vampire hunter—of some kind?" I asked.

              "'Hunter' is kind of a strong term," Terrance said. "I'm not out to hurt anyone."

              I glanced at the stake in his hand. "That thing doesn't hurt?"

              "I imagine it does a bit," Terrance said, "even for a creature as hardy as a vampire. But that's not the point of it. It's a cure."

              "A cure?" I said.

              "Yes. We've been developing it for years now. The active element is found right here in Krov—in the Pure Woods. It goes into a vampire's bloodstream and works to counteract the vampire venom. With this stake, I can turn a vampire back into a human being. It's really just like a giant hypodermic needle."

              "But it doesn't always work," I said. "A stake like that was used on David Hutchins from our high school. It didn't heal him. In fact, it very nearly killed him."

              Terrance blinked. "David was a vampire?"

              "Was and is," I said.

              "That's a good thing to know," Terrance said. "And you're sure it didn't work?"

              "I'm positive. He was horribly sick. I was afraid he would die right before my eyes. But he was healed in time, and now he's back to his original vampiric state."

              Terrance shook his head. "I can't believe the antivenom doesn't work. It's been tested for years. We would never have been given permission to use it in the field if it wasn't effective."

              "Who's 'we'?" I asked.

              The other door to the queen's bedroom opened then, and Sachiko rushed into the room.

              "It's okay, Katie, I've—"

              She stopped when she saw Terrance, and her eyes shifted to take in the silver stake in his hand.

              Sachiko's eyes blazed. "You're one of them."

              She moved toward Terrance, and I ran to stand in front of him.

              "He's my friend, Sachiko," I said. "Please don't hurt him."

              "Get out of the way, Katie," Terrance said. "Let me take care of this vampire and return her to her mortal state."

              "He's not your friend," Sachiko said. "He's not anybody's friend. He's just a killer."

              Sachiko and Terrance both moved toward each other, and I stepped between them again.

              "Stop! Both of you!" I said. "Let's call a truce. If for no other reason than for my sake."

              Sachiko and Terrance stared at each other for a long moment.

              "I'll let her go this time," Terrance said. "For you. But I can't promise the same thing next time."

              "I don't have time for this anyway," Sachiko said. "Come on, Katie. We've got to get out of here."

              I glanced back at Terrance, who was slowly lowering his stake.

              "I've got to go," I said. "But whatever you do, be careful with those things. They aren't as harmless as you think."

              Sachiko grabbed my hand, and suddenly we were flying through the castle. I could feel that we were headed downward, but we were moving so fast that my surroundings became nothing more than a silvery blur.

              Sachiko's voice sounded in my ear. "We can't risk using the secret passage again. I've moved the queen to the chapel, and I've barricaded both entrances to the Queens' Chamber. I don't want to disturb anything by going through there—the longer she stays frozen in there, the better off we are."

              We continued to descend at great speed, and then suddenly, with barely a shift in direction, we began to soar upward.

              I could tell that we were outside now, and I figured that Sachiko was taking me over the wall that surrounded the castle. But instead of coming to rest on the ground, we stopped rather abruptly on the roof of a tall structure.

              "Are you doing okay?" Sachiko asked.

              "Yes," I said breathlessly. "What is this place?"

              "We're still inside the castle walls," Sachiko said. "This is the carriage house. I've stashed William in the queen's own carriage—it's something she only uses on ceremonial occasions. You'll join him in it, and then I can push the two of you out of here together. It's far easier than my trying to carry both of you through the streets, and the royal crest will scare off anybody who gets too curious."

              Sachiko ran across the roof of the carriage house and opened a skylight window.

              "Come on," she said.

              I hurried over and took her hand, and the two of us jumped through the skylight together. We landed on a large pile of cushions that lay directly under the window, and we both got to our feet quickly.

              "That was lucky," I said.

              "That was me," Sachiko replied. "I took the cushions out of a bunch of the carriages and set them up here. We don't have any time to lose, and I wanted to land near William's carriage. Now go and get in, and I'll open the doors."

              I glanced around. I was in a large, dim room that was divided into stalls—it looked a little like a stable, only the stalls contained large, ornate carriages rather than horses.

              "Which one is it?" I asked.

              "The big silver one right there," Sachiko said impatiently. Then she moved off in a blur to the other end of the carriage house.

              I hurried over to the large silver carriage and climbed in. William was lying inside, propped up on a big pile of silver cushions. His head was tilted back, and his eyes were still closed.

              I climbed up on the seat next to William, and I pressed a kiss to his forehead.

              "Please wake up, William," I whispered. But his eyes remained firmly shut.

              A moment later, something jolted the carriage, and I put out an arm to prevent William from falling. There was another jolt, and then the carriage took off at great speed.

              I pulled back the curtain on the window and risked a look outside. We were moving swiftly toward the castle wall, and a moment later, we had passed through one of its open gates.

              Soon we were traveling along Zamochit's meandering streets.

              I let the curtain fall back into place, and then I reached out to brush William's hair away from his face. It was hard for me to see him looking so hurt, and I took his hands in mine, trying to warm them. But the contact with my skin did nothing to warm him, and neither did wrapping him in blankets I found under the seats.

              William's chill persisted, and I began to feel cold fear spreading through me. I quickly opened the window and leaned out.