Ignis (Book 2, Pure Series) (56 page)

           
"Are those crossbows?" I asked, squinting.

           
"Yes.
 
They know we've been heading toward the castle, and vampires are a suspicious group.
 
I told you this would be the hard part."

           
"Are they going to kill us?" I asked.

           
"They're certainly going to try," Odette replied.

           
"But they don't know why we're here," I protested.
 
"Isn't there someone we could talk to?
 
Some sort of gate official, or something like that?"

           
"Vampires do not look for diplomatic solutions," Odette said.
 
"And they're under more strain than usual at the castle these days—they're under imminent threat of invasion.
 
No doubt we look like spies."

           
"What do you mean by 'imminent threat of invasion'?" I asked, startled.

           
"I'm sure William will explain it to you," Odette said.
 
"And I'm sure he'll keep the others from killing you once we find him."

           
Odette stood up.
 
"I want you to give him a message from me.
 
Tell him that they're planning to attack the human village during the Firebird Festival."

           
"Who are 'they'?"

           
"The hybrid army.
 
This information comes from a very good source."

           
"Why don't you tell him yourself?" I asked.

           
"Because as soon as we locate your William, I'm going to disappear."

           
Before I could ask any further questions, Odette had pulled me back into the air.
 
We landed on three more rooftops, and then Odette stopped and turned to me.

           
"We're going over the castle wall now," she said.
 
" Do
not
panic.
 
Do
not
twist and flail around.
 
This is going to be hard enough without your acting like an idiot.
 
I need to pay attention to what the guards are doing.
 
I can't do that if I have to focus on hanging on to you."

           
Odette seized my hand.
 
And then, impossibly, we were soaring up into the sky, higher and higher.
 
I felt terror rising in me, but I fought it down.
 
I saw from high up that we were sailing over the castle's parapet.
 
The guards had turned their crossbows on us, and a barrage of flat discs hurtled toward us.
 
The discs split into three razor-sharp arcs, and then burst into balls of flame.

           
Despite Odette's warning, I couldn't help crying out and trying to twist out of the way.
 
I was sure we were going to be killed.

           
I could feel that we were sinking.
 
And then, somehow we were on the ground.

           
We were standing in a courtyard, and there were vampires rushing toward us from all sides.
 
Odette, however, seemed to know exactly where to go.
 
Pulling me with her, she ran at blinding speed toward a door at the far end of the courtyard.
 
As we reached the door, a man stepped into her path.

           
Something flashed in Odette's hand, and one of the discs that had been fired at us, shot out and buried itself in the man's chest.
 
Then it burst into a bright ball of flame.

           
The man fell to the ground, howling.

           
Odette smashed in the door in front of us, and then she dragged me through the castle's gloomy halls, which were lit only by an odd silver light.

           
Vampires came out to stop us, but Odette had another disc in her grasp—this one she held on to.
 
I watched as her slender white hand lashed out again and again, leaving bloody gashes in faces, necks, torsos, arms.

           
We reached another door that Odette smashed in.

           
The door fell heavily to the ground.

           
Two men stood in the room before us, and they spun around.

           
I was now looking at Innokenti.

           
And William.

           
Odette turned to me, her eyes bright, her face and arms spattered with blood.

           
"Don't forget that I did this for you," she hissed.

           
Then, in a streak of black and red, she disappeared.

Chapter 21.

William started toward me immediately.

           
"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

           
He was suddenly beside me, pulling me further into the room.

           
William's eyes flashed fire.
 
"What do you think you're doing?"

           
I found I couldn't answer him.

           
I was stunned to see William standing right in front of me.
 
I had believed he was lost to me forever.
 
I had believed he had left me for the Sìdh.

           
And yet here he was with the vampires.

           
William was clearly very angry.
 
As I looked at him, I felt tears stinging my eyes.

           
Vampires swarmed into the room, and William turned to face them.

           
He moved to stand in front of me.

           
"Get out of here!" he shouted.
 
"Get out of here all of you!"

           
The intruders stopped, staring at William uncertainly.

           
Innokenti looked on in mild amusement.

           
"Thank you, all," he said evenly.
 
"You have acted quickly and decisively to come to our aid.
 
The flame-haired vampire woman was the truly dangerous one, and she has now departed.
 
I do not believe that she will return.
 
The one that remains is human—she's as harmless as a kitten.
 
You may all depart.
 
I thank you for your concern and your quick action."

           
The vampires eyed me as if they longed to tear me to pieces, but one by one they melted away.

           
Then I was alone with Innokenti and William.
 
Innokenti continued to look amused.

           
William continued to look furious.

           
"Your entrance was somewhat unorthodox, little one," Innokenti said.
 
"But it in no measure lessens our delight in seeing you.
 
Welcome to Rusalka Castle.
 
I must apologize for the overzealousness of our guards.
 
I trust you are unharmed?"

           
Once again, I found that I couldn't answer—the situation was just too surreal.
 
I found myself looking around the room—looking at anything so that I didn't have to look at William's angry face.

           
The room we were standing in was well lit, especially in comparison with the rest of the castle.
 
Tables and racks laden with weapons lined the walls.
 
The room itself was vast, and at the far end were several stands supporting bulls-eye targets.
 
A crossbow similar to the ones wielded by the castle's guards was lying in the floor a few feet away.

           
My eyes moved involuntarily to William.
 
He was wearing leather armor like the guards.

           
"What's going on here?" I asked.

           
"Target practice," Innokenti said conversationally.

           
"Target practice?" I said.

           
"This is our weapons development room," Innokenti replied.
 
"We work in here where the walls are specially reinforced to prevent any accidents from harming the innocent."

           
His eyes flicked across the room.
 
"Of course the door has unexpectedly turned out to be a weak point."

           
Innokenti went on, and his tone became reassuring.
 
"But under ordinary circumstances, this room serves its purpose admirably well.
 
We test weapons here to make sure that they meet our high safety standards.
 
Then we take them outside to uninhabited areas to do further testing.
 
The locals have seen the flames from our ammunition tests, and in the most amusing fashion, have taken to calling it 'witch-fire.'
 
There's no witchcraft about it, however."

           
"Why are you telling her all of this?" William asked sharply.

           
"Why not?"
 
Innokenti's tone was mild.
 
"Do you think she'll use the information against us?"

           
"Katie, you don't need to know about all this," William said angrily.
 
"What are you doing here?
 
I have half a mind to—"

           
He stopped and looked away.

           
I had known that William didn't want me—he'd disappeared, left me completely alone, and hadn't thought enough of me even to say goodbye.
 
Even so, I was stunned by the coldness of his reaction—I knew he had loved me once.

           
How could his love have vanished so completely?

           
I was suddenly seized by anger.

           
"What am I doing here?" I cried.
 
"What are you doing here?"

           
The tears that had threatened before began to fall.
 
"Why did you leave me alone?
 
Why did you disappear?
 
You left me without saying a word when I needed you the most."

           
William looked stricken.
 
"What are you talking about?
 
What do you mean I left you?
 
I told you where I was going."

           
"You didn't," I said.
 
Why would William say something so obviously untrue?
 
"You never told me anything."

           
"I left you a letter," William said haltingly.
 
"On your dresser, in your room.
 
I thought if I left it there that there was no way you would miss it."

           
"I never received a letter," I said angrily.

           
"Even if you never received the letter, Katie," William said, agitated, "all you had to do was use the call.
 
You know that.
 
I gave you the words.
 
I would have come to you from anywhere in the world."

           
"I
did
call for you," I cried.
 
"When Anton attacked me.
 
I called and you didn't come."

           
"Anton attacked you?" William asked in horror.
 
He turned on Innokenti.
 
"Was this your doing?
 
Did you send him after her?"

           
"I can assure you I did no such thing," Innokenti replied.
 
"Anton and I were under strict orders not to harm the human girl."

           
William didn't seem to have heard Innokenti.
 
He turned back to me.
 
I could see pain and fear in his eyes.

           
"I'm sorry, Katie," William said.
 
"I never heard your call.
 
I would never ignore it.
 
I will always come for you—you know that."

           
"Just out of curiosity," Innokenti interjected, "if Anton did indeed attack you, how did you get away?
 
I hope you'll forgive me for being indelicate, but you are no match for him, or for any other vampire for that matter."

           
"Someone else came when I called for William," I replied.
 
"He said his name was Cormac.
 
I think he was one of the Sìdh."