Part 36 (1/2)

Soon I could hear the heavy sound of pursuit-it sounded like approaching thunder.

There was a rush of wind, and the white figure shot past me. It wheeled around sharply and came to a stop right in front of me on the road.

I cried out as I ran into the huge, solid body in front of me.

I fell to the ground. My lantern landed beside me and went out.

I lay on the road for a long time before I dared to look up. I waited, bracing my body for an attack. But an attack did not come. I listened, but once again, all I heard was my own breathing.

I didn't want to look up. I had the strange idea that if I didn't look at the creature in front of me that it couldn't hurt me-I would just have to stay as I was forever. But as time pa.s.sed, and silence continued to reign, my eyes lifted involuntarily.

I found that I was looking up at a horse.

I shuffled backward and got to my feet, rubbing at my eyes. When I opened them again, I was still looking at a horse.

It just didn't seem possible.

For its part, the horse stared back at me placidly. It might have been my imagination, but I thought I saw amus.e.m.e.nt in its mild, dark eyes. The animal was beautiful-silver pale, finely molded and delicate in its lines, and its smooth, well-muscled body gave off a faint sheen.

It was not what I had expected. It was not Timofei Mstislav returned from the grave to destroy me. But a feeling was growing on me that the animal was not what it appeared to be.

Clearly, it looked like a horse.

But something told me that it wasn't a horse at all.

The beautiful creature lifted its head, and I had the strangest feeling that it wanted to me to climb on its back.

I quickly retrieved my lantern from the road-it was lying on its side with one of its gla.s.s panes broken. And though I had never ridden a horse in my life, I managed to climb onto its back and twine my free hand into its thick, glossy mane.

For one disorienting moment, I'd actually imagined that the horse had shrunk in size while I'd climbed onto its back, making it easier for me. And then I'd imagined that it had grown larger again once I was safely seated.

That, of course, was impossible.

The horse started forward, and though I could no longer see where we were headed now that my lantern was extinguished, I knew that we were headed in the direction I wanted to go.

I sensed that we moved swiftly, but I barely felt the motion at all.

It was almost as if we were flying rather than galloping.

I hugged the broken lantern to me and closed my eyes, resting my head against the horse's neck.

I felt myself relax. I knew that if Timofei or any of the other figures from the clearing were pursuing us, that they would have no chance of catching us. I had a strange feeling that someone had just told me this, though I couldn't remember actually having heard a voice of any kind.

I let myself float along, and when I opened my eyes again, we had stopped. The horse and I were standing in front of my house. Still clutching my lantern, I slipped down easily off the horse's back.

I stood for a moment, looking up at the creature before me in the feeble light from our street's two streetlamps. The horse truly was a magnificent animal, and something like sympathy showed in its dark eyes.

I had the impression that it had just rendered me a great service.

I lifted a hand to stroke its s.h.i.+ning neck.

”Thank you,” I said.

The horse gazed at me for a moment longer, and then turned and trotted off into the night. I went into the house, and after making sure that the door was locked securely behind me, I went up to my room.

I knew I should be afraid. I had just seen Timofei Mstislav out in the Pure Woods-and he was supposed to be dead. And dead he actually had been. I knew that for a fact.

But I had witnessed his restoration to a cursed, unnatural life.

He had been reborn as a kost. An evil spirit was now animating his lifeless body-a spirit that existed only for revenge and destruction.

Timofei would come after me-in fact, he was no doubt after me this very moment. I should have been afraid. I should have feared for GM and for myself. But once I reached my room I just set down my lantern, changed my clothes, and climbed into bed.

I felt peaceful. I felt serene. I felt secure. I also felt very, very tired.

So I turned out the light.

And within moments, I was fast asleep.

I found myself in a dream then-or was it a dream? I felt as if I had slipped through sleep and had landed on solid ground. I suddenly felt very aware of being conscious. I walked through a room that was heavily shrouded in shadow, and though I couldn't see well, I was sure that the walls around me were made of stone.

Through the darkness, I saw a light glimmering up ahead of me.

I ran toward it.

I didn't know where the light was coming from, but I felt no fear in connection with it-instead I was eager, expectant. I was excited to see what was waiting for me.

Without really seeing it, I knew I was running down a narrow hall. At the end of the hall, I felt, rather than saw, that the s.p.a.ce around me had widened, and I had entered a stone-walled chamber.

The source of the light was right in front of me.

Before me was a long mirror that covered the length of an entire wall. s.h.i.+ning out from the surface of the mirror was a single golden point of light.

I walked closer to it.

I stared into the mirror, but couldn't see what was causing the light-it was as if a star had been trapped inside the mirror itself.

I continued to stare into the mirror, but apart from the light, I could see only my own face.

And then there was a flicker-from the light-as if something had pa.s.sed in front of it.

I saw a shadow move in the corner of the mirror, and I turned to look at it.

The shadow disappeared.

Another shadow moved at the opposite end of the mirror, and I turned toward it.