Dance of Fire (22 page)

Enzo strode towards the mirror and, turning his back on it, stood in a stiff first position. ‘The easiest way to learn is without looking at yourself in the mirror,' he said. ‘Now empty your mind of everything, and when you are ready . . . dance.'

Vanessa pressed her heels together and tried to release all the thoughts that had been distracting her – Margaret, Zep, Justin, Svetya, the Fratelli twins – until her mind was bare, like a deserted dance studio.

As if beginning a normal routine, she lifted a foot and stepped forward. The moment her toe touched the floor, she
recoiled. As Enzo had done, she let herself fall into a twirl, one side of her body moving forward while the other tried to wind her back.

She could hear the others gasping and thudding on either side of her, but she willed herself to shut them out, as, slowly, the movements of the dance began to sink in. Instead of trying to control herself, Vanessa let go of her body, closing her eyes. Her arms held at her sides, she rose
en pointe
and slowly extended her right leg into the air.

Then she saw her:
Margaret
.

Her brown hair was pulled into a tight bun, her slender body swathed in a leotard. She wove around the other ­dancers as if they were props on a stage, her gaze glued to Vanessa.

Was she real? Vanessa reached out to touch her, but the vision only flitted away.

She followed Margaret's lead, listening to her whisper the next step.
Bend left. Arch forward. Now spin, one half-turn. Stop. Left leg up. Higher. Higher.

A rush of heat filled Vanessa's limbs. Margaret's face rippled like a reflection in a pool. Her hair began to curl and unravel into blackness, her eyes withering in their sockets. Her skin cracked and wrinkled until it was nothing but a swirl of black, two embers burning through it.

You will lose her if you don't let me in.

Vanessa remembered Zep's warning:
It will find out the thing you care about most in the world and will use it to seduce you.
She had to resist. She searched her mind, trying to bring
back Margaret, but it was no use. ‘Get out!' Vanessa shouted. ‘Get out!'

Her voice broke the spell. With one final heave, she thrust the last vestiges of the demon from her head, then staggered and fell to the floor.

When she came to, the room was silent. The others had stopped dancing.

Svetya was gaping at her, and Geo looked worried. Enzo's face had completely drained of colour. Justin was looking away.

‘Did I –' she stammered. ‘Did it work?'

Enzo's lips parted, though no words escaped, and for a moment he didn't look like a dancer, but like a boy. But he quickly regained his composure. ‘No.'

‘But she went invisible,' Geo said.

‘Only for a moment,' said Enzo. ‘It was a good first try, but you have a long way to go.' He crouched down at her side. ‘Who were you telling to get out?' When she didn't answer, he helped her to her feet. ‘We need to talk, Vanessa.'

He turned to the other dancers. ‘Everyone, practice is adjourned. Use the rest of your day to rehearse your contempor­ary solos for tomorrow.'

Justin caught Vanessa's eye. She could tell he'd guessed what had happened, and he clearly wasn't happy about it. He and Svetya left the room together, their heads down, with Geo following a moment later. She wondered idly which other dancers had made the final round – and realised she'd never found out.

When everyone was gone, Enzo turned to Vanessa. He flipped his ponytail over his shoulder and crossed his arms. ‘What happened back there? And no lying this time.'

‘It was the demon,' she said. ‘It got into my head. It helped me with the steps –'

‘Has this happened before?'

‘This was the first time,' Vanessa lied.

‘I don't believe you,' Enzo said. He studied her. ‘This is very complicated.'

‘Should we tell the Lyric Elite?' Vanessa asked. ‘I mean, the rest of them?'

Enzo studied her curiously. ‘No, not until we know what it wants.'

‘What do you mean?' Vanessa asked.

‘This demon could destroy you in a second if it wanted to,' Enzo said. ‘But it hasn't. Which means –' he bit his bottom lip – ‘that it wants you for something.'

Vanessa knew what it wanted, and she suspected Enzo did as well. ‘What do you suggest I do?'

‘Wait,' Enzo said. ‘Be careful, as I told you before. Don't leave the lodge without protection. If anything strange happens, call me. And . . .'

‘And what?'

Enzo grinned. His teeth were a brilliant white and perfectly straight. Vanessa had always thought of him as her coach, but for a moment she could see how handsome he was, how another girl might fall for him – and fall hard.

‘Practise,' he said.

‘
Practise?
' Vanessa asked. That was his best advice?

‘Your final solo.' He tilted his head, staring at her as if he knew something she didn't. ‘This is a competition, after all.'

Beyond the double doors, Justin and Svetya lingered in the corridor.

‘Why are we waiting?' Svetya was asking, but fell silent when she saw Vanessa.

‘Hey, Vanessa,' Justin said. ‘Can we talk?'

Svetya pointed at Vanessa. ‘
She's
why we're waiting? You pick me only when you can't have
her
?'

Vanessa turned to him, realising that she also wanted to hear his answer.

Justin glanced between the two of them, looking anxious. ‘No, that's not what this is about,' he said. ‘I like you, Svetya, I do –'

At his admission, Vanessa felt her face grew stony. ‘Oh?' she said.

‘If you would just let me finish my sentence –' Justin began to say, but Vanessa cut him off.

‘What makes you think that I should wait around to hear it?' she said, suddenly furious.

Justin faltered, his eyes growing cold. ‘Maybe I don't want you to hear it any more.'

‘Then I'll leave you two together,' Vanessa said, and spun around.

Justin called out to her, but Vanessa closed her eyes and blurred. For a moment it almost felt as if her body were being
crushed in a vice – then there was a
woosh
of air and she was upstairs, outside the door to her room.

She was getting better at these strange dance moves, she thought, just as her phone buzzed. She slipped it out of her pocket, intending to tell Justin to leave her alone. But a different name flashed across the screen.
Zep.
He'd texted two words:
Meet me.

And much to her surprise, Vanessa decided she would.

Two And A Half Years Earlier

From the Diary of Margaret Adler

May 19

I thought we were through talking about the necrodancers. All I wanted to do was to perfect my contemporary solo – from ­Balanchine's
Concerto Barocco
– before tomorrow's competition. Erik guided me as he always has, with a quick eye for where I waver and endless patience. When I fell out of step just before a break, he caught me and stretched me into a low dip, as though we were dancing together in a sloppy dive bar. He smiled as he swept me to my feet, holding me close for an instant.

‘See, I knew there was something off about that step,' I said, and he laughed.

‘OK,' he said, trying to regain his gravity. ‘Again from the beginning.'

I can't explain how great it makes me feel to make him happy. It happens so infrequently these days, with all the ­pressure from the competition. I have to savour the small moments. And even at that instant, I could tell he was ­preoccupied. When we broke for lunch, he said suddenly, ‘It's a bit alarming, isn't it? The way these evil dancers have ­infiltrated the ballet world?'

‘I really don't want to talk about it,' I said.

‘I understand that, Margaret – really I do. But if these people have wormed their way so deeply into the companies of Europe, then we're going to keep coming across them no matter where we go.'

I stared at the wooden floor in our practice room.

‘The only alternative I can see for you is to leave the world of dance entirely.'

At that I looked up. ‘No,' I told him.

‘Then you have to
be prepared
.' He ran his fingers through my hair. ‘You can never be surprised by the dark dancers ever again. Your life depends on it. It's not going to be like it was with Josef, I promise you.'

‘OK,' I murmur.

‘After you win the competition –' he continued.

I snorted.

‘You
are
going to win the competition,' he said. ‘Trust me. You have a mix of coiled strength and . . . and self-assured grace. There are
famous ballerinas twice your age who haven't half the poise you show onstage. It's amazing really.'

‘Stop,' I said, exasperated.

‘After you win, we will work until you've mastered
La Danse du Feu,
' he went on.

‘No,' I protested.

‘The necrodancers within the Royal Court will not be able to resist trying to recruit you,' he said. ‘They'll be like your Josef – looking for that one dancer who can raise a demon for them to control.'

‘Please stop,' I said again.

His face softened. ‘Of course,' he said, and inched his hand towards mine. Leaning towards me, he ran his fingers down the strap of my leotard, straightening it. His touch distracted me, made me forget where we were or why I was angry. ‘I'm sorry,' he whispered. And before I knew what was happening, I was in his arms as he warmed me with a kiss.

‘OK,' he whispered, his nose touching mine. ‘Let's finish lunch and get back to work.'

Which we did, but I found it hard to focus. I worry that behind his smile, behind the loving looks, Erik is ­becoming more and more interested in the dark arts, just like the person I fear most.

Josef.

Tonight, after dinner, it came up again.

‘We can do this,' Erik said. ‘We can defeat the necrodancers at their own game.'

Hal didn't say anything, just blushed fiercely.

‘That's easy for you to say, Erik,' I said angrily. ‘You're not the one who has to have your soul devoured by a demon if something goes wrong.'

He waved my objection away. ‘It doesn't have to be like that. I've read up on ritualistic dance and demon raising, and –'

‘WHAT?' I said, and sat down hard on the edge of my bed.

‘Calm down,' Erik said, holding up a hand. ‘I wanted to know what you'd been mixed up in. Not because I thought we should do what Josef was doing, but because I figured it was better to understand what I was up against.'

‘Don't tell me to calm down,' I snapped.

‘Josef was on to something,' he said at last. ‘And if we want to make sure you are protected against him and his kind, then the thing to do is take control.'

‘No,' I said.

At his desk across the room, Hal nodded vigorously. ‘Margaret is totally right,' he said. ‘We don't want to get mixed up in black magic. Raising a demon is
hard
, Erik. Dancers typically die while trying to do this. You don't know what you're getting into.'

Erik blinked and said, ‘You haven't read what I've read, Hal, so stop butting in on what doesn't concern you.'

Hal snapped his mouth closed.

‘There is an ancient guidebook of sorts called the
Ars Demonica
, which Josef didn't have. If I could get my hands on a copy, then we could iron out the kinks in Josef's methods and not only raise a demon but ­control it.'

‘The kinks?' I repeated. Could Erik hear himself ? Just the mention of Josef's name frightened me, even without the thrill in Erik's voice. It was as if he had forgotten what he had been trying to save me from in the first place.

Erik must have sensed my unease for he softened his tone. ‘I just think we shouldn't dismiss an idea because it came from Josef. If we work together, Margaret, we can be more powerful than anyone on earth.' He touched my hand, as I tried not to cringe.

Hal eyed Erik suspiciously. ‘You,' he said.

‘You what?' Erik said.

‘You said, “We can be more powerful,” but you were talking about Margaret, so you should have said, “
You
can be more powerful.”'

Erik blinked, then said, ‘Right, that's what I meant.'

I couldn't listen any more. I grabbed my facecloth and toothbrush and headed for the bathroom. But as I closed the door to our room, I thought that Erik had said
exactly
what he meant.

The next morning, while Erik showered, Hal said, ‘I'm sorry about last night. I don't know what's got into Erik.'

‘Thanks,' I said. ‘The way he was talking, it's kind of . . . crazy.'

Hal nodded vigorously. ‘It's just that he blames them for taking his family away.'

‘What do you mean?' I asked. ‘
They
took his family? Who?'

‘I shouldn't be telling you this.' Hal exhaled sharply. ‘Margot Adams was Erik's sister. That's why we were able to put together your new identity so easily. Did you think it was just coincidence that you both have the last name
Adams
?'