Pure (Book 1, Pure Series) (34 page)

           
"Luckily, we had been practicing on the dark creatures of Krov with the clear fire.
 
We started with the vampires – though it can't destroy them, they are none too fond of the clear fire, which so resembles the sun.
 
Nadya would use it to drive them before her.
 
When she grew more confident, she progressed to spirits – things I couldn't see.
 
There were lesser spirits as well as the greater ones, and she started with the lesser ones.
 
The clear fire would glow brighter and brighter as she worked.
 
She told me she was getting stronger and soon would be able to face Gleb.
 
As she worked, though, people began to disappear…

           
"And then Nadya became ill.
 
She continued to work, but her strength was not what it was, and it was during this time that she lost your father, which further sapped her strength.

           
"Despite her weakness, she went out one night without me to confront Gleb."

           
"How did she find him?" I asked.

           
"The kost has the power to create a field of supernatural 'static.'
 
It befuddles the senses of most supernatural creatures who would fight him, or that he himself would wish to feed upon.
 
Nadya had the ability to see this static and not be affected by it – she described it as twisting smoke.
 
She could follow the trail of smoke to wherever he was, and he knew that, so he took great care to conceal himself during the day when he was weakest.
 
The smoke also dissipates after a few days."

           
"I have seen the smoke myself," I said.

           
Galina looked pleased.
 
"That is an encouraging sign."

           
"So, my mother went out to confront Gleb?"

           
"Yes.
 
Though I did not witness it, I knew what her plan was – she would drive him into his family's crypt using the clear fire.
 
Then she would shut the door and seal it – wedging the lesser dark spirits into all the tiny cracks and crevices with the clear fire, binding the crypt closed with the power of their own evil.
 
When she recovered from her illness, she planned to unseal the crypt and drive the spirit out of the kost completely.

           
"I found her here in the Woods the next morning.
 
Her illness was far worse – she was delirious.
 
I took her home.
 
She only lasted a few more days."

           
"Then my mother died of a fever," I said.

           
"No," Galina said sharply.
 
"Gleb killed her.
 
He poisoned her.
 
Nadya's illness was not a natural one.
 
It didn't look like poisoning because of her unusual strength – her Sídh lineage gave her a powerful constitution, but not immortality.
 
I think it was arsenic that he used – the symptoms were similar though much protracted.
 
I do not know how Gleb administered it, but he had labs amongst his holdings and access to all kinds of chemicals.
 
I'm sure he could have gotten a hold of any poison he wished to use.

           
"So, Nadya locked Gleb up and never got the chance to come back and drive the spirit out completely."
 
Galina shook her head.
 
"And he would have remained locked up if someone hadn't interfered.
 
The seal on the crypt was powerful – I examined it myself.
 
Whoever broke it used supernatural means.
 
I suspect Gleb's son must have made a dark deal to gain the release of his father.
 
And now he is after you – in revenge for Gleb's imprisonment, and his own loss of position.
 
Once Gleb disappeared, the government confiscated the mansion and all Gleb's assets.
 
Somehow the son has been buying everything back.
 
I wouldn't be surprised to discover that he had used the occult to do it."

           
"Is Gleb rational then?
 
If he can plot against people?"

           
"Not in the ordinary way.
 
And he can be controlled by someone who knows how.
 
The kost loses the spirit of the host – but his strong emotions will remain.
 
And the desire to seek revenge would please the kost.
 
Such a creature lives only to kill.
 
It was Gleb's mistake to think he could contain an ancient evil within himself."

           
And this was the creature I had to stop – on my own, using a mysterious ball of light.
 
"Where is the clear fire hidden?"

           
"I believe it is here in the Pure Woods, but I do not know that for certain.
 
Come this way.
 
I will show you where I found your poor dear mother."

           
Galina led me to a small, round clearing that was ringed by jagged gray stones.
 
"Your mother came here when she knew her strength was failing.
 
It is a significant spot.
 
Your mother was standing within that stone ring when she was first able to summon the clear fire.
 
It is possible she has hidden it here."

           
I stepped into the ring and looked around.
 
"Where would it be hidden exactly?"

           
Galina shook her head.
 
"That I cannot tell you.
 
It is beyond my knowledge.
 
Only you have the power to sense the clear fire."

           
I stood very still and tried to sense something powerful in my vicinity.
 
I didn't feel anything.

           
I stepped out of the ring.
 
"Is there any other place it could be hidden?"

           
"Unfortunately, yes.
 
It could be anywhere in these woods.
 
And then there is the monastery you saw from the road.
 
There are tunnels that run underground from the Mstislav mansion all the way to the monastery.
 
It is my belief that when Nadya left Gleb in the crypt that she took those tunnels and then came into the Woods.
 
I doubt she would have hidden the clear fire in the mansion, but she could have hidden it in the monastery or the tunnels.
 
But I do believe that this ring is the most likely place."

           
"So, how do we start?" I asked.

           
Galina gave me an earnest look.
 
"Are you sure you want to do this?"

           
"I thought you wanted me to.
 
After all, you came all the way to the United States to get me."

           
"Yes," Galina said.
 
"But it was all theoretical then.
 
Now that I have seen you and spoken to you, I wish you did not have to do this.
 
You remind me so much of poor dear Nadya.
 
I don't want to lose her all over again."

           
"I want to do this," I said.

           
"Then I will do my best to help and protect you, my child."

           
"I don't have any special powers, though."

           
"No visions?" Galina asked.

           
"I have had visions," I said.
 
"But they began only about a week ago.
 
Before that I had a strange calling – a tug out into the night.
 
But that stopped shortly after the visions began."

           
Galina was thoughtful.
 
"You have more human stock in you than your mother did.
 
It is possible that you are not as strong as she was.
 
Something must have triggered your visions and called out your latent abilities.
 
What have you seen in your visions?"

           
I hesitated.
 
I hadn't told her about William earlier for a reason.
 
I was worried about him – I was fearful that Gleb had hurt or killed him and fearful of what Galina might think of him.
 
I had heard so much talk of dark creatures lately, and he himself had refused to tell me what he truly was.
 
What if Galina thought he was evil?
 
What if she said I had to destroy him if he had survived?
 
I knew I could never do that.

           
I decided it was better to know what Galina thought.
 
And then I would protect him from her if I had to.

           
"In my visions, I have seen only one person.
 
At first it was only his face."

           
Galina's eyes lit up.
 
"Ah.
 
A face."

           
"And then he became real.
 
The person I saw in my visions came to me in the flesh.
 
His name is William.
 
He first told me what a kost was.
 
I think he was tracking it."

           
Galina nodded.
 
"He must have been near you before you knew it.
 
His presence must have triggered the visions."

           
I reached around my neck and pulled out the cross.
 
"He gave me this."

           
Galina touched the charm.
 
"Cool iron.
 
Your William knows what he is doing.
 
Iron scrambles a kost's senses – it makes it difficult for him to track you.
 
It is the same for many ancient creatures of evil -- iron can affect them profoundly."

           
Galina sighed.
 
"But despite this, Gleb will still find you.
 
He can use his eyes as well as any ordinary man, and he knows you are likely to come here."

           
"I'm worried about William," I blurted out.
 
"When we saw Gleb – William was the one who saved us.
 
He held the creature off so we could get out."

           
Galina gave me a reassuring smile.
 
"If he knew to bring you the iron, and if he was tracking the kost, then he knows what he is doing.
 
He will be all right."

           
"Could William be evil himself?"
 
I had to know what she thought of him.
 
I had a sudden fear that she might work against him without telling me.
 
"He told me I wouldn't believe what he was.
 
And GM told me my mother had visions of Gleb.
 
I know William isn't Gleb, but what if he is something like him?"

           
Galina laid a hand on my arm.
 
"Your mother did have visions of Gleb, but her very first visions were different – she herself did not understand their significance until later.
 
Her first visions were of your father."

           
I felt an odd tingle run down my spine when she said the words.
 
But the most important thing was that Galina thought William would be okay.
 
I hoped she was right.

           
"I think you have given us a good starting point," Galina said.
 
" Please, step back into the ring."

           
I did so.

           
"Now concentrate.
 
Think of your William.
 
Try to bring a vision of him to you."

           
I thought of William's face, and I tried to see him clearly before me just as I had in the last vision, when I'd seen him standing beside me.

           
I stood for a long time, concentrating and willing his image to appear.
 
Eventually, I had to shake my head.
 
Nothing was coming to me.

           
"Perhaps this is too much pressure on you all at once," Galina said.
 
She thought for a moment.
 
"Do you know your way back to my house from here?"

           
"Yes," I said.
 
"I have a good sense of direction."

           
"Good," Galina replied.
 
"What I propose is this:
 
I will go back to the house, leaving you here to meditate and let your thoughts flow.
 
You may, of course, walk around as you wish and explore."

           
Galina pointed.
 
"The monastery is that way.
 
So, that is a place you may wish to look at.
 
The tunnels to the Mstislav mansion are behind the altar in the chapel.
 
You may wish to explore those, too.
 
You should go anywhere your intuition leads you.
 
If you haven't returned to the house in two hours, I will come to find you.
 
How does that sound to you?"

           
"I think I
would
like to be alone for a little while," I said.
 
It was true – I did want to be alone with my thoughts.