Pure: Ignis Part 19

"I'm talking about-him, yes. This is a good first step-not having him here. Isn't this much better? Just you and me like old times."

Simon looked at me steadily, and there was something pleading in his eyes.

I didn't know what to say, and I was spared from having to come up with a reply by the arrival of Charisse and Branden.

I found a paper plate with grilled chicken and a can of soda suddenly pushed into my hands.

"I noticed you two didn't have any food," Branden said by way of greeting.

Simon's hands were soon similarly laden.

"It's good to see you two together," Charisse said.

It was clear to me that she was hinting at the same subject that Simon had just been pursuing-she was also happy that William wasn't here.

Before I could respond, Branden swept us all of us away.

"Come on. There are some seats over here."

I sat and talked and ate and mingled, and as the afternoon wore on, I spied an opportunity. Simon had been collared by Irina, Charisse and Branden were completely absorbed by one another, and I was between groups. I walked around slowly but purposefully until I was on the edge of the party. Then, when no one seemed to be watching, I slipped off into the woods.

I was going to look for my own personal bad influence.

Chapter 9.

I walked until the lights and sound from the party had disappeared. I soon felt the cold, and I pulled my coat back on.

I didn't really have a plan. I'd intended to ask around at the party to see if anyone knew where William lived, but somehow I had been unable to bring the topic up.

Simon's near-constant presence had probably contributed to my difficulty.

So I wandered through the trees, hoping that something would stand out-something that would point the way to William.

I knew the woods of the Old Grove well, and I knew there were houses around its perimeter, as well as houses dotted all throughout it. I had a feeling that William's house would be in the woods, rather than around the outer edge-the houses inside the woods themselves seemed to be more secluded. That seemed like something William would prefer.

I'd never paid a lot of attention to the houses within the woods, so I didn't know which way to turn exactly to start searching. So I simply continued to walk.

Even without a plan, the motion made me feel as if I were accomplis.h.i.+ng something.

As I walked, a sense of calmness and well-being stole over me. The nervousness I'd felt before about the possibility of seeing William again melted away completely.

I breathed in the cold air deeply. There was something soft about the atmosphere-something strangely warm and inviting.

I continued to walk.

Eventually, I found myself standing in front of a cave. It was actually the same cave I had gone into back in October while I was searching for Gleb Mstislav. And I had actually found him inside the cave-though at the time I hadn't realized who he was.

I stared into the cave mouth for a long moment, entranced by the soft quality of the dark within. It seemed to me that the soothing, inviting feelings that I'd detected were emanating from the cave. I was just beginning to wonder if perhaps I should head into it, when I saw a white light moving toward me out of the darkness of the cave.

The light came closer and grew larger-it lit up the interior of the cave. Soon I could see a man walking toward me. When he was close enough that I could reach out and touch him, he stopped.

I stared up at him-not in any way alarmed-just curious.

The man was entirely covered in a thick layer of ice, which seemed to be giving off the white light that illuminated the cave. Though he had walked toward me purposefully, I could see that his eyes were tightly closed, and I had the impression that he had not opened them in a very long time.

His face was a ghostly, blurry white, and through the thick ice, I could see that his matted hair was black. His clothes, from what I could see, had once been ornate, but were now in an advanced state of decomposition, hanging in tatters in some spots. Despite his ragged appearance, a sense of warmth and well-being rolled off of him in waves. I felt safe in his presence-secure and happy to be near him.

I closed my eyes, imitating the man before me, and I could hear a faint sound-a melody that called to me, asked me to follow. I opened my eyes and stared at the man in front of me. I wanted to know more about him.

Still with his eyes closed, the main raised his ice-covered hand and held it out to me.

I raised my hand to take his.

I was wondering vaguely how he could bear the cold, when I heard a sharp snap behind me, and I turned quickly.

The vampire Anton was standing just a few feet from me, two halves of a broken stick held in his hands.

"h.e.l.lo, Suns.h.i.+ne," he said.

I looked back toward the cave. The man covered in ice had disappeared and along with him had gone the sense of warmth and well-being that had enveloped me. I stared for a moment, wondering if I had imagined the strange, ragged white figure.

Slowly, I turned back to face Anton. I was hoping that I'd imagined him too.

But Anton was still standing a few feet away-still holding the broken sticks just as he had been a moment before. I felt my breath coming quickly, and a sharp stab of fear lanced through me.

I tried to think of what to do. But it was hard for me to form coherent thoughts, and the smug, self-a.s.sured look on his face didn't help matters. I forced my eyes away from his face. I glanced at the sticks in his hands.

"What are you doing?" Even to my ears my voice sounded high and shaky.

"What are you doing?" Anton countered. "You seemed to be in a trance. I had to make some noise to wake you up. Just out of curiosity what did you think you were reaching for?"

I tried to force my voice to be steady. "There was a man-here-in front of the cave. He was deathly pale and covered in ice. He held out his hand to me."

I glanced quickly over my shoulder again, but the mouth of the cave remained empty. "Didn't you see him?"

"No."

Suddenly, I realized just how far I had wandered from the party. I was uncomfortably aware of the fact that Anton and I were in an isolated spot. I looked around again, this time to see if we were truly alone.

Unfortunately, we were.

Anton continued to look at me steadily.

"I have a party to get back to," I said. "People are expecting me."

I turned and started to walk away.

Anton stepped into my path.

I was forced to stop.

I could feel my breathing becoming more labored, and my heart began to beat painfully. I fought the impulse to run. I knew I couldn't outrun him. I'd have to stay calm to have any chance of getting away.

"How's William?" Anton asked.

"He's doing well," I said.

Anton took a step toward me. "When did you last see him?"

I thought of lying, but I had a feeling that would be a mistake. "It's been a few days."

Anton smiled. "Would you like to know where he is?"

"I'll see him soon," I said.

"Are you sure about that?" Anton's tone was mocking.

"Yes," I said. "Actually, I came out here to meet him at his house. I've just gotten turned around a bit."

Anton's smile deepened. The expression on his face was not a pleasant one.

"I see where I am now," I said firmly. "I've got to be going-William is expecting me."

My heart was now beating wildly, but I tried to appear confident as I walked away from both Anton and the cave.

I felt a little flutter of hope as I continued to walk and heard no following footsteps.

I resisted the temptation to turn around and look back at Anton to see if he were truly not following me. I resisted a further temptation to break into a run. I was headed back toward the party, and I told myself that I would make it there safely if I remained calm and just kept moving.

I had not gone very far when I felt a breeze rush past me, and suddenly Anton was standing before me, blocking my path once again. He was so close that I had to stop short to avoid running into him.

I quickly took a step back.

"It might interest you to know," Anton said, "that you're going the wrong way."

"I know where I'm going," I said defiantly.

"William's house is that way." Anton pointed.

I glanced swiftly in the direction he indicated, and then looked back at him. His eyes were still mocking, and I wished I knew if I could believe him.

It was entirely possible he was showing me the correct way. But it was also possible that he knew I didn't know, and he just wanted to run me around in circles for his amus.e.m.e.nt.

I shut my mind firmly against what the end of that amus.e.m.e.nt might be.

Stay calm, I told myself. Continue to think. You can get out of this.

"I know where I'm going," I repeated.

With a boldness I didn't really feel, I stepped around Anton and started to walk toward the party again.

Anton followed me, and we walked along side by side for a little while in silence-almost as if we were friends.

After a few moments, Anton reached over and lifted a lock of my hair.

"Just like suns.h.i.+ne," he murmured.

My breathing grew even more ragged.

"You still haven't answered my question," Anton said, releasing the lock of hair.

I forced my voice to come out evenly. "What question was that?"

"Would you like to know where William is?"

"I know where he is," I said.

Anton draped an arm over my shoulder casually, and I felt fear wash flood through me. His arm was heavy, and I imagined that I could feel the wintry coldness of his skin through the cloth we both wore. My heart began to hammer painfully.

Keep thinking, I told myself. Keep thinking.

"The thing is," he said, giving my shoulder a little squeeze, "that William's house is back that way, like I told you, so I don't really believe that you're heading there to meet him. However, it's possible that you were so dazzled by my good looks when you saw me that you completely lost your head, and in your confusion, you started off the wrong way. As I told you once, I have a devastating effect on women. In fact I can hear your heart pounding right now, you know."

Anton tilted his head and peered into my face, and my eyes lifted involuntarily to meet his. He smiled then.

I looked away.

Anton continued. "So, that is a possibility-I concede it. But I confess that I don't actually think that's what's happening here. I don't think you and William arranged to meet at all. I think you wandered away from that party up there at the gazebo-keep in mind that I can hear them-and you were hoping that you would run into William by chance out here. And right now you are hoping desperately to make it back to the party before I kill you. Am I right?"

I was feeling dizzy and light-headed, and I found that I was completely incapable of making any reply.

Anton tilted his head and stared into my face again, and this time I studiously avoided looking into his eyes.

"That's what I thought," Anton said.

He gave my shoulder another squeeze-a gesture that was almost affectionate. "Like I said, I can hear them up at the party. Several of them are starting to wonder where you are. But though I can hear them, they wouldn't be able to hear you if you were to cry out now. We're still too far away."

I looked at him, then, even though I didn't want to, and I saw that his eyes were alight with malice.

"Let go of me," I said, wincing at how reedy and thin my voice sounded. I shrugged off his arm and kept walking-with the blood pounding in my ears.

Anton stepped out in front of me and turned to walk backwards so he could continue to look at me. Though there were trees all around us, he never came close to hitting one-something I noticed with bitterness.