Ignis (Book 2, Pure Series) (6 page)

           
In the kitchen, GM waved me to a seat, and she put the kettle on.
 
Then she sat down across from me and gave me a level gaze.
 
We sat like that for several moments, and I began to shift uncomfortably under her steady stare.

           
"GM, let's—"

           
"Not just yet, Solnyshko.
 
Wait for the tea."

           
"Would you mind looking in another direction for a few moments, then?" I asked.
 
"You're making me nervous."

           
GM gave me a wry smile.
 
"My apologies, Solnyshko."
 
She rose.
 
"I need to get the tea things out anyway."

           
GM got out her blue-and-white china teacups—the same ones she had used on the night that Galina Golovnin and her son, Aleksandr, had shown up on our doorstep to warn us that Gleb Mstislav would soon be after me.
 
GM had not believed them and had thrown them out.

           
But they had been right.

           
Soon the kettle was whistling, and GM poured out for us.
 
I gazed into the golden depths of the tea reluctantly.
 
I knew it was chamomile, and I knew it was untainted, but I couldn't help thinking again of the poisoned tea my cousin Odette had given me.

           
I shivered.

           
GM glanced up at me.
 
"Are you cold, Solnyshko?"

           
I gave her a reassuring smile.
 
"No.
 
I was just thinking.
 
You know how sometimes a memory steals over you and catches you in a funny way?"

           
"I do indeed," GM replied.

           
She sipped at her tea and gave me a look over the rim of her cup.
 
Then she set it down with decision.

           
"Katie, I know we both have things to say, and I hope you don't mind if I go first."

           
"Go ahead," I said.

           
"Thank you."
 
GM paused for a moment.
 
"Do you remember what I said to you in Tblisi?
 
I promised you that when that whole terrible business was over, that we would do some proper traveling?"

           
"I remember," I said.

           
GM took a deep breath, as if she were gathering courage.
 
"What do you think about spending Christmas in Russia?"

           
I didn't know what I had been expecting, but that was not it.

           
Several memories flashed through my mind—all of them terrifying.

           
"Christmas in Russia?" I said.

           
"Yes."
 
GM nodded her head in an encouraging fashion.

           
"In Krov?" I asked.

           
"Yes."

           
My head began to spin a little.
 
I loved Russia—I really did.
 
It was the country of my birth, and I thought it was beautiful.
 
But going back to Krov seemed dangerous at this point—especially since I had just met two vampires who wanted me to do exactly that.

           
"Why do you want to go to Krov for Christmas?" I asked.
 
"Does it have something to do with all the letters?"

           
"Letters?" GM asked innocently.

           
"Yes, GM," I said.
 
"Letters like the one you were reading in your office just now.
 
I've seen you with them before—and the envelopes always have a lot of foreign stamps on them."

           
"Ah, yes.
 
It appears you have sharp eyes, Solnyshko.
 
You don't have anything to be concerned about.
 
The letters are not from anyone you know."

           
"Who are they from?"

           
GM shook her head.
 
"Sometimes a grandmother needs to keep some things to herself.
 
Do not distress yourself over the letters, Katie."

           
I decided to give up.
 
Once GM decided she wasn't going to talk about something, she very seldom changed her mind.
 
I stared back down at my tea.

           
"Solnyshko, forgive me," GM said, "but you do not seem very excited about going to Krov.
 
I thought you would be happy.
 
I thought we might go to Moscow, too.
 
You would love all of the beautiful buildings in the great square.
 
St. Basil's Basilica is a wonder in person."

           
I tried to think of how to put my thoughts into words, but what I wanted to say seemed to need more diplomacy than I was able to summon at the moment.
 
I wanted to tell GM that I wished she would tell me what was going on and who had written the letters.
 
I wanted to tell her that I had nearly died in Krov, and it was full of bad memories.
 
I wanted to tell her that we couldn't go back to Krov because the village was crawling with vampires—and some of those vampires were eager for my return.
 
But the right words just wouldn't come—especially for the last part.
 
How could I hint at a danger that I wasn't allowed to name?

           
GM leaned forward.
 
"What is it that is troubling you, Solnyshko?
 
Are you worried about not having a visa?
 
If that is the case, then you need worry no longer.
 
I have already obtained visas for both of us.
 
We can fly directly into Russia."

           
I was startled.
 
When we had gone to Russia in October, we had actually had to fly into Georgia and sneak across the border because Russia required a visa for U.S. visitors while Georgia did not.
 
If GM had visas for us already, then she had been planning the trip for some time now and had never mentioned it to me.

           
"GM," I said, "why won't you tell me what's going on?"

           
"It's Christmas, Katie.
 
I haven't spent a Christmas in Russia in many years.
 
I miss my homeland."

           
I felt a twinge of frustration.
 
I knew GM was sincere when she said that, and to be fair, the reason she gave was a perfectly good one.
 
But I couldn't shrug off a suspicion that that wasn't all there was to it.
 
Then again, I wondered—what exactly was it that I suspected GM of?
 
I really didn't know.

           
"Where are you thinking of staying in Krov?" I asked.
 
"Odette's house?"

           
GM gave me a sharp look.
 
"So is that what is troubling you?
 
Your poor cousin?
 
I can understand that it must be hard for you.
 
It is hard for me, too, Solnyshko.
 
You loved Odette and so did I.
 
And hope is not lost entirely.
 
People have been restored to their families after going missing for years, and Odette has only been gone a few months.
 
We may yet see her again."

           
Seeing Odette again was one of the things I was worried about—as William had told Innokenti, it was entirely possible that Odette would return.
 
She
had
gone missing.
 
But she was not lost in the way that GM thought she was—in the way that an ordinary human girl would be lost.
 
Odette had become a vampire, and in October she had tried to kill me.
 
She had disappeared after that, and her house in Krov had been left vacant.
 
If we settled ourselves into her house at Christmas, who was to say that she wouldn't return and resent our presence?
 
I had seen Odette when she was angry—it was a truly terrifying sight.

           
So, Odette might come for me, and so might Innokenti and Anton—in fact, I had a pretty definite feeling that the last two would.
 
If I went to Krov for Christmas, would I ever be allowed to leave again?
 
Would I even survive whatever Innokenti and his fellow vampires had planned?

           
"GM, do we have to go to Russia for Christmas?" I asked uncomfortably.

           
GM's face fell.
 
"I am forgetting how hard that trip was for you, aren't I?
 
Not only did you lose your cousin, but you were kidnapped by that madman who used to be your teacher.
 
And then you were in the hospital.
 
I am sorry, Solnyshko.
 
We do not have to go to Russia for Christmas."

           
I was sorry to see how disappointed GM looked.
 
I could tell that she'd really had her heart set on going to Russia—but such a trip would be dangerous, and there was no way I could explain that to her.

           
"I'm sorry, GM," I said.
 
"I just don't think I can do it."

           
GM reached across the table and patted my hand.
 
"It is all right, Solnyshko.
 
I hadn't quite realized how difficult this would be for you.
 
We will not go."

           
"Now," GM said briskly, as if she'd completely banished the topic from her mind, "I believe you said you had something to tell me, too?"

           
Suddenly, I felt even worse.
 
First, I'd ruined GM's Christmas plans.
 
Now I was about to give her more bad news.

           
I had developed no clever plan of attack, so I decided just to plunge ahead.

           
"GM, please get too worked up over what I'm going to say."

           
GM raised one silver eyebrow.
 
"Your tone does not inspire confidence, Solnyshko."

           
"Do you remember William Sursur?" I asked.
 
"He got us out of the house that night when we were forced to flee to the airport.
 
And he got me out of the Mstislav crypt in Krov.
 
He also came to see us at the house in Krov right before we left."

           
GM's expression grew carefully blank.
 
I knew that look—it was one she wore whenever I brought up a topic she didn't want to discuss.
 
It was as I had feared—GM did not approve of William.

           
"I remember that he was very handsome," GM said.

           
"He meant a lot to me, GM."

           
"I also remember that he said the two of you could not be together.
 
After all, he lives in Russia, and you live here."

           
"That's just it," I said.
 
"William doesn't live in Russia anymore.
 
He lives here."

           
GM was clearly startled.
 
"He lives here in the United States?"

           
"He lives here in Elspeth's Grove."

           
GM's eyebrows rose.
 
"What is this that you are telling me?"

           
"GM, are you angry?"

           
"That boy lives here now?
 
He has followed you?"

           
"Why don't you like him?" I asked.

           
GM's voice rose.
 
"You cannot see him.
 
I don't want him in this house!"

           
"GM, please!" I cried.
 
"He saved both our lives!"

           
GM fell silent.

           
"Why don't you like him?" I asked again.
 
"What has he done?"

           
GM looked away.
 
"I don't know anything about him.
 
And he appears to be mixed up in some pretty dangerous things."

           
"Things he was trying to stop," I said.

           
GM looked at me.
 
"What exactly is it that you want me to say?"