Pure (Book 1, Pure Series) (26 page)

           
I couldn't help giggling a little.
 
We probably did look a bit of a fright.

           
"You should try to get some sleep, Solnyshko.
 
It's been a long night for you.
 
I will keep watch, and you will be safe."

           
"You're the one who's been doing all the driving," I said.
 
"You should sleep."

           
"Solnyshko, you know I don't sleep much," GM said firmly.
 
"And I will not sleep at all knowing that you are awake.
 
Go to sleep.
 
Now."

           
"You're a tough one to argue with," I said.

           
GM shrugged.
 
"I like to win.
 
Now close your eyes."

           
I did as she asked, and GM started
Pictures at an Exhibition
again from the beginning.
 
The car was warm, and I was really tired.
 
Despite the bright lights in the parking lot, I found myself drifting off to sleep.
 
Though the movement hadn't started yet, my mind lingered on
The Great Gate of Kiev
.
 
Behind it, my mother had said I would find anything.
 
I wondered – if I looked behind it, would I find her there?

           
I woke up some time later, and for a moment, I wasn't quite sure where I was.
 
I took in GM and the car, and the events of the night came flooding back to me.
 
My first thought was of William.
 
Whatever was going to happen to him back at the house was over by now.
 
I hoped with all my heart that he was safe.

           
"How did you sleep, Solnyshko?"

           
I looked over at GM.
 
Despite the relatively cramped conditions, I felt well rested and refreshed.
 
The fact that I had had no dreams this time around had helped, too.
 
"I slept very well, thanks."

           
"I am glad to hear it.
 
Do you think that you would like some breakfast?"

           
"Yes, that sounds good," I said.

           
"Excellent," GM said.
 
"The food court in the mall opens at 8 a.m., and it's a little past that now.
 
We can go in, and maybe find something healthy.
 
I hope our appearance won't cause too much comment."

           
The two of us got out of the car, and I could see that the parking lot lights were off, and the sky was sunny and cloudless.
 
The morning was pretty chilly, and my bare feet were cold in my shoes.
 
The two of us did look a little strange in our nightclothes and coats – GM was wearing light blue silk pajamas.

           
We hurried into the mall through the nearest entrance.
 
We had to wander around a bit before we found the food court.
 
We passed a few people in sweats who had come to the mall to walk.

           
Soon I could smell coffee and eggs, and GM and I walked into an open area with tables and plastic chairs that was ringed by narrow restaurant stalls.
 
Most of the stalls were dark, but a handful were open, and small groups of people were scattered around the tables, having breakfast.

           
"What are you in the mood for, Solnyshko?"

           
"I think eggs and orange juice sounds just about perfect," I said.
 
I realized I was really hungry.

           
GM smiled.
 
"Eggs and orange juice it is."

           
Before long, GM and I were seated in plastic chairs of our own, with scrambled eggs and juice.
 
GM had also insisted on oatmeal.

           
Even though it was food-court food, I found everything to be delicious, and eating made me feel more optimistic than I had felt in many hours.

           
As we were eating, I though about the trip ahead of us.

           
"When we get to Russia, will I get to see my cousin again?"
 
Over the years, I had wondered what had become of my laughing, red-haired cousin.
 
She had been a few years older than I was, and I had admired her in that innocent, worshipful way that a small child admires an older one.

           
"Odette?" GM said.
 
"Yes, I believe we will see her."

           
"I thought she was really wonderful – beautiful like a princess."

           
GM smiled. "I remember."

           
"I don't have very clear memories of my aunt and uncle, though.
 
Odette did have parents, right?
 
My father's brother and his wife?"

           
"You are being facetious, Solnyshko.
 
Yes, Odette did have parents.
 
But there's a reason you don't remember them well – a good reason."

           
I waited for GM to continue, but she simply sipped at her juice.
 
She seemed to think the subject was closed.

           
"So, there's a good reason why I don't remember them," I said, "but you aren't going to tell me what it is?"

           
"No.
 
It doesn't affect our situation.
 
It has nothing to do with visions, superstitions, or mysterious dead men."

           
"More secrets," I said quietly.

           
"Sometimes secrets are good, Solnyshko."

           
After breakfast, we walked around the mall until the shops opened at 10.
 
We went to buy clothes first, and I was happy to have some socks again.
 
GM bought more things than I thought were really necessary, and I wondered how long she thought we would be gone.

           
"We have to be prepared for everything," she said.

           
We bought toiletries, and in the mall bathroom, I brushed my hair and brushed my teeth.
 
Then I changed my clothes.
 
Though our situation was unusual to say the least – we were on the run from an undead monster – doing simple things like brushing my teeth made me feel more normal.

           
Finally, GM and I went to buy luggage.
 
GM went straight for a set of designer luggage for me, but all I really wanted was a backpack.
 
I figured I could fit everything into it, even if I had to squish things a little – and then I could just have a carry-on.

           
GM allowed me to have the backpack, but insisted that I have a rolling suitcase with a handle as well.
 
GM purchased two larger suitcases for herself, and she also bought flashlights, batteries, blankets, travel pillows, a thermos, and a first-aid kit.

           
"Just in case, Solnyshko."

           
At last we were done shopping, and we took all our stuff out to the car.

           
"Let us do our packing now, Solnyshko.
 
That way we can walk into the airport like normal people."

           
I had to laugh at that.
 
We placed all our things on the hood of the car.

           
I stopped suddenly.
 
"You're not worried about our scratching the paint on your car, are you?
 
I know who much it means you."

           
GM waved a hand airily.
 
"No, no, Solnyshko.
 
Looking normal is more important than a few scratches at this point."

           
We got to work packing. It took us about twenty minutes, but we got everything in.
 
We put our bags in the trunk.

           
"It looks like we're normal now, GM," I said.

           
We got into the car and drove to the airport.
 
GM had purchased our tickets over the phone, so we went in and checked in.
 
We still had several hours to wait till our flight, so we had a leisurely lunch in a restaurant at the airport.

           
Our table was right next to a window, and we could see planes arriving and taking off.
 
As I started on my ravioli, I began to feel a bit nervous.
 
I hadn't been on a plane since I was five – and that was when I was coming to the U.S. from Russia with GM.
 
We had no relatives in the U.S. to visit, and GM certainly never wanted to go back to Russia.
 
GM also seldom went on vacation or took breaks from her work.

           
"What's being on a plane like?" I asked.
 
I watched as a huge passenger jet taxied down a runway and took off.

           
"It is not such a big deal," GM said.
 
She gave me a sharp look.
 
"Are you worried about the flight, Solnyshko?"

           
"A little."

           
"Do not fear.
 
You will be fine.
 
I know that you are brave."

           
"What about your work?" I asked.
 
"Didn't you just start a new project?"

           
"The project will be fine, too," GM said.
 
"That's the last thing you need to worry about.
 
What's most important is finding out what's going on."

           
I watched a few more planes take off.
 
Soon GM and I would be on one of them.
 
We were really flying into the unknown.

           
Before I knew it, it was time for us to board our flight.
 
We walked down a long tunnel into the plane where a cheerful blond woman greeted us.
 
As we passed her, I looked around sharply.
 
I had just had that strange feeling again that I was being watched.
 
But behind me all I saw were restless passengers waiting to get down the narrow aisle to their seats.
 
Surely, none of them was interested in me.

           
GM and I found our seats, and I stashed my backpack under the seat in front of me.
 
The cabin seemed kind of small and cramped to me.
 
I felt a fluttering in my stomach.
 
Now that the flight was becoming real, my nerves were on me in a rush.

           
All too soon it was time for takeoff, and the force of the plane's acceleration was startling.
 
My fingers dug deeply into my armrests.
 
Mercifully, it was over quickly.
 
We were climbing steadily, impossibly in the air, and it was not long before we had leveled off and were flying smoothly.

           
I had a feeling that the worst was behind me.
 
I breathed out in relief.
 
We had a long flight ahead of us, and I regretted not bringing something to read.
 
For the most part, I dozed, but I had plenty of time to think, too, and in a rambling, haphazard way, I sifted through my memories, trying to come up with something that might help GM and me in our current predicament.
 
What did you do when you were being chased by a man who was already dead?
 
And if he had killed my mother as Galina believed, what did he want with me?
 
Surely, when he had taken her life, he had taken everything she'd had.

           
I thought back over the strange things I'd heard over the last week.
 
Aleksandr had said there were darker things than vampires in Krov.
 
And it seemed that Gleb was one of those darker things.
 
In some ways that was a shame – as horrifying as the thought of a real-life vampire was, at least I had some idea of how to stop one – that is if popular folklore was to be believed.
 
But how did you stop an evil spirit in a dead man's body?
 
And what about William himself?
 
He'd said I would not believe him if he told me what he was.
 
Was he one of Aleksandr's darker things, too?

           
I frowned as an indistinct memory tugged at the back of my mind.
 
Mr. Hightower had said something strange, too – something about a legend from the town of Krov – the legend of the Little Sun.
 
I didn't know what that was, and I thought I might ask GM about it – it didn't sound like anything too inflammatory, so maybe she wouldn't mind discussing it.
 
And who knew?
 
Maybe there would be a clue in the tale somewhere.

           
I looked over at GM.
 
She seemed to be sleeping peacefully, and I hesitated to wake her up.
 
I glanced around at the cabin.
 
The lights were off, and most people appeared to be asleep.
 
The only sound was the steady hum of the plane's engines.
 
Now did not seem to be the ideal time to talk to GM anyway.
 
For some reason, I wanted to talk to her when we wouldn't be overheard, and in the quiet cabin our voices would attract attention.