Pure: Ignis Part 47

"Tears, little one?"

I took another step back.

"I-I thought you weren't coming," I stammered.

Amus.e.m.e.nt glimmered distantly in his eyes. "The tears are for me, then? It has been a long time since anyone has shed tears for me. Of course, over the years, many have shed them because of me."

I had an uneasy feeling that Innokenti had chosen the manner of his appearance purposefully.

"You're trying to scare me," I said angrily.

Innokenti smiled and spread out his hands as if in confirmation.

"Why?" I asked.

"It's what I do," he said simply. "Perhaps it would be better for you to be scared."

His eyes drifted to my wounded arm.

I took another step back.

"Innokenti, I summoned you for a reason," I said, trying to sound confident. "I need to talk to you."

The vampire looked up at me with eyes that burned with a dark intensity. Innokenti's usual courtly manner had disappeared-he seemed now like the dangerous, blood-drinking creature he was.

He took a step toward me. He kept going.

The urge to run welled up within me, and I stumbled backward. But I had come to the Wasteland with a purpose, so I forced myself to stop and stand still.

"I need to talk to you," I said again. I could hear a tremor in my voice.

Innokenti stopped then too, and the intensity in his eyes faded. It was replaced by another faint glimmer of amus.e.m.e.nt. He seemed pleased by the effect he had produced, and his manner became business-like.

"After you requested a meeting last night," he said, "I have eagerly awaited your summons. How may I be of service to you, little one?"

I took a deep breath and tried to calm my racing heart. Innokenti had a bizarre sense of humor.

"We have to stop the hybrids from attacking the Firebird Festival tonight," I said.

"Nothing would make me happier. But, alas, what can we do? I fear we will have to wait for them to make their move. We don't know where they are at present. The Werdulac's people are good at hiding the hybrids. We believe they may even be hidden in a different location every night."

"But you do know a few things about them," I said. "You knew Timofei Mstislav had been resurrected. And you said he'd been put on a leash-or something like that. You said they had him under control."

"That is true," Innokenti replied.

"Was he there last night?" I asked. "Was Timofei Mstislav one of the hybrids who attacked the castle yesterday?"

"Yes," Innokenti said. "William, I imagine, would prefer that you not know, but yes, he was there."

"So, he came to find me."

"I believe that he had been released to track you-as a test for the Firebird Festival."

"Then we can use me as a target," I said.

"I beg your pardon?" Innokenti said.

"If the hybrids are attacking the Firebird Festival because they hope, at least in part, to draw me out, then I'll show myself, somewhere, in a very obvious way. I'll draw the hybrids to me, get them to attack me, rather than waiting for them to attack the Festival."

Innokenti's eyebrows rose a fraction. "You intend to offer yourself up as bait?"

"Yes."

"An intriguing idea."

"Do you think it will work?" I asked.

Innokenti stared at me steadily for a long moment. It was impossible for me to read his expression.

"I do believe it will work," he said after a time. He tilted his head on the side. "I wonder, do you truly understand what you are suggesting, little one?"

"Yes, I do," I said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," I said. "I'm sure."

Innokenti shook his head. "It's dangerous, little one-very dangerous. What exists of the Werdulac's army will be a.s.sembled in its entirety tonight. If you show yourself, Timofei will lead them all to you. We will attempt to stop them-to destroy them, actually. But there is no guarantee that we will succeed. The hybrids are ferocious. And they want you. If they capture you, your life will effectively be over. You will live, of course, until the Werdulac is completely free of his prison, but your final days will not be happy ones."

"I understand," I said.

"Do you really? Reflect for a moment on what it might be like to be the prisoner of Timofei Mstislav, little one. Think on it very seriously."

I thought, as I had before, of the way Timofei had looked that night in the Pure Woods when he was revived-I remembered the burning hatred in his eyes, and I felt a wave of horror wash over me.

"If you are captured," Innokenti said softly, "your life will become pure suffering."

I had no doubt that Innokenti was right, and a strong desire to turn and run for home rose up within me. I quelled it.

"You're trying to scare me," I said.

"As I said, that's what I do. There are times when you should be afraid."

I was suddenly aware, once again, of how eerily quiet our surroundings were.

"The hybrids are going to the Firebird Festival to kill people, aren't they?" I said.

"As many as they can. They want to make a strong impression."

I looked over the desolate white plain that stretched behind Innokenti. I knew that that clean, white surface concealed tunnels full of dead villagers. If we didn't draw the hybrids away from the festival, more villagers would go to join their neighbors under the ground.

"But you do believe my plan could work?" I said. "If I show myself, the hybrids will come?"

"I believe Timofei will be drawn to you, and the others will follow him-especially since there is a charm on your house, and the hybrids cannot get to you there. You will succeed in provoking an attack. They will lose their focus on the festival, at least while they hunt you."

"I want to do it then," I said. "I want to draw them away from the festival."

"Even if it may cost you your own life?" Innokenti asked.

"Yes," I said.

Innokenti made no reply, and I was left to listen to the silence.

As I waited for his response, it seemed to me that I could feel the cold more keenly than I could before.

"I'll need you to help me," I said after some time had pa.s.sed. "I don't know how to go about setting myself up to be found."

"If I agree to this," Innokenti said, breaking his silence, "it occurs to me that William will not approve. How does he figure into your calculations?"

"I actually hadn't done much in the way of calculations," I said. "Does he have to know?"

"Not at first. But when the alarm is raised and all of our men go out, William, of course, will be amongst those called. And he will naturally see you once he arrives on the scene."

Innokenti tilted his head on one side. "However, it occurs to me that it could actually be a good thing for William to see you there-it could provide him with a little extra incentive. There's nothing like having to protect someone you love to give you strength you never knew you had. It is an interesting idea, little one. And, of course, by the time he sees you, it will be far too late for him to stop you from carrying out your plan-you will already be in the middle of things."

Innokenti paused. "Seeing you in danger will be very hard on him. Does that not matter to you?"

I couldn't help wincing at his words. "Of course it matters to me. But I can't let innocent people be killed. I have to do this."

"I just want you to be sure that you count the cost of what you are doing," Innokenti said. "The total cost."

"I know what I'm doing," I replied. "I know it's dangerous."

"I will give you one last chance," Innokenti said. "You could lose your life. You could end your days as the tortured, tormented prisoner of a reanimated corpse with a thirst for revenge. Is that a risk you accept?"

"Yes. I accept it."

Innokenti stared at me for a long moment. Something in my tone seemed to get through to him.

"Very well. I agree to your plan and accept your sacrifice. We will need to work out what to do."

"How many hybrids are there?" I asked.

"We believe that there are about a hundred of them," Innokenti replied.

"And how many are on our side?" I asked.

"Alas, we number only fifty," Innokenti said. "Oddly enough, vampires are not natural fighters, and they are difficult to train and discipline-vampires in their natural state are lone hunters like tigers."

"So recruitment is not easy?" I said.

"Indeed it is not," Innokenti replied. "That's another one of the advantages that accrue to the hybrids-I imagine the kost part of the hybrids helps make them more amenable to commands and organization. But our troubles do not end there. In addition to our smaller numbers, we have a limited number of the weapons we need. Very few things are effective against the hybrids.

"What kind of weapons do you use?" I asked.

"I believe you saw something of them the other night when you paid us a visit at the castle," Innokenti replied. "William has been instrumental in developing them."

"I did see guards with crossbows," I said. "Is that what you mean?"

"Exactly so. There are some challenges involved in killing a hybrid-he has the strengths of both the vampire and the kost. Though a wooden stake can often be damaging, to kill a vampire properly, you must cut the head off and then burn the body. To kill a kost, you must wrestle it back into its grave. To kill the hybrid, you must do both. So, that's where the crossbow comes in. It shoots an iron disc that opens out into three curved blades when it is fired. The disc is also coated with a substance that ignites. Under ideal circ.u.mstances, the disc beheads the hybrid, and then cauterizes the wound. The purpose of cauterization is to avoid losing as much tissue and blood as possible. Vampires can have marvelous regenerative powers, and combined with the spiritual power of the kost-who knows where that could lead? Spare flesh could turn out to be dangerous, so we seal up the wound just in case. Once the head and body are separated, the body will continue to fight with terrifying strength-even by vampire standards. But the body and head must then be placed back into the proper grave and then burned to ashes."

"That doesn't sound easy," I said.

"It isn't," Innokenti replied.

"How do you know which grave to take the hybrid back to?" I asked.

"We have paid close attention to all of the grave robberies in the area-in fact, we have detailed lists with photos of the grave sites and of the deceased when they were still living. We like to call it our scouting report."

"So you will use your scouting report to match the bodies with the right graves," I said.

"Yes."

"That doesn't sound easy, either," I said.

"I must confess that the odds of our overall success are not good in this battle. We are outnumbered, and in many ways outmatched. The whole thing is quite a challenge."

Innokenti paused. "Are you certain you still wish to do this? There is no dishonor in backing out. You did not truly know what you were up against until my explanation just now. And I hope you will forgive me for pointing this out, but you are ill-equipped to defend yourself against such a threat."

"I was chosen once to protect this town," I said. "Even though I no longer have the ability I was originally granted, I still have to do what I can to help."

"I cannot dissuade you?" Innokenti asked.

"No," I said.

"It is my lot to defend this village also," Innokenti said. "You many not think so, but I do understand."

Something flickered in Innokenti's eyes that might have been sympathy, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

"What I suggest is this," Innokenti said. "We should set up a situation that will attract attention, but that doesn't seem staged. The Werdulac has placed a price on your head that is very attractive to vampires. Most of the vampires who live in communities know better than to go after you-they know the offer is a trap. I doubt very much that the Werdulac will make good on his promises.

"But there are plenty of rogue vampires-lone hunters, as I said-who are still out to collect you. I propose that we set up a chase. We will have a vampire we can trust pursue you. Once we have attracted the attention of the hybrids, you and your pursuer will lead them to a prearranged ambush spot in which we will hide some of our vampire warriors. And then once our ambush is sprung, we will alert the rest of the warriors, including William. Unfortunately, we will have to wait until nightfall to put our plan into action-the hybrids are unlikely to be sufficiently active to take the bait until darkness is upon us."

I couldn't help s.h.i.+vering.

"You want to have a vampire chase me?" I asked.

"Yes. I think you should be chased into the Pure Woods. There is a large clearing with a castle keep that we know about, and I think we can create a bottleneck there and pick the hybrids off one by one. We know the woods well, and I actually think the trees will be a help rather than a hindrance. If we were to choose an entirely clear area, the way would be clearer for our crossbows, but I also think that out in the open we would be more likely to be overwhelmed. What do you think?"