Part 37 (2/2)

I tried to salvage the situation. ”I just meant that I thought I was safe in this house.”

”You are safe in this house,” Odette said shortly. ”And I suppose as offensive as it is, I can't entirely blame you for your opinion of me. I did come very close to getting you killed.”

I had a feeling that that was as close as Odette would ever come to an apology.

She continued. ”But as I said, you are safe in this house. That's why I had to lure you out of it. I could give you poison to weaken you, but I couldn't actually let Gleb in to kill you. And he wanted to kill you himself.”

”What do you mean? Why couldn't Gleb enter the house?” I asked.

”Your mother sealed this house in a protective way-Galina told me about it. If you don't believe me just look out the window.”

I got out of bed and went to my window, pulling back the curtains. Since my room was not on the side of the house that faced the street and the streetlamps, it was dark. But I could just make out a figure standing in the back yard.

I stumbled back away from the window when I realized who the figure was.

It was Timofei Mstislav.

”Odette,” I whispered. ”Timofei is out there.”

”I know.”

”You know?” I said.

”I know,” Odette replied impatiently. ”That's why I told you to look.”

”What are we going to do?” I asked.

Odette shrugged. ”Nothing. I told you the house is safe. You can go look at him again. He won't come in.”

I didn't really want to look at Timofei Mstislav again, but I had to see what was going on.

I crept back to the window and peered out. Timofei was still standing in the back yard-he didn't appear to have moved. I could see his eyes now-two tiny points of green flame in the dark.

He appeared to be staring fixedly at the back door. White smoke twisted and swirled around him-it was very much like the trail given off by the usual kost, but as I watched the smoke move, I could see a difference. The trail of an ordinary kost made sinuous, tortured, almost voluptuous patterns in the air. The trail of the hybrid, while equally tortured, had an impossible linear quality to it-the smoke turned back in on itself at sharp angles, creating geometric shapes. The bizarre way it twisted fascinated me, and I found myself watching it, entranced.

An impatient sound from Odette broke the spell, and I turned back to her.

”What is he doing there?” I asked.

”I believe he's waiting for you to come out. He can't get into the house. He can't even touch it. Creatures of evil like vampires and kosts can't come in. I could come in because I was part of your mother's original enchantment-I was one of the 'safe' people who could always come in. In order to get you out to Gleb I had to get you out voluntarily. You don't need to worry about Timofei right now-like I said, he can't get in.”

I touched the charm William had given me. ”Why didn't my charm work?”

”What do you mean?” Odette asked.

”It's made of iron,” I said. ”Iron is supposed to scramble the kost's senses. It's supposed to keep him from following my trail.”

”I don't think he had to follow your trail,” Odette said. ”He saw you. And he knows where you used to live in this town. This house was likely to be the first place he would go to even if he hadn't seen you. The kost is usually born with a strong desire for revenge-it will go after anything its host hated. And Timofei Mstislav certainly hated you.”

”Thanks,” I said.

”It's just the truth,” Odette replied. ”Besides, Timofei is a hybrid now-part kost, part vampire. The senses of a kost are typically rather dull, apart from their sense of smell, but the senses of a vampire are terrifyingly sharp. It's possible that iron has no effect on hybrids.”

”So are GM and I trapped in this house?” I asked. ”You're fast-you might be able to get past him. But the two of us will never get out with him standing guard over the door.”

”Your grandmother should be fine,” Odette replied. ”Timofei's not after her. And in any event, he'll go after you first every time. He won't even glance at her until you're gone.”

”But doesn't he need to drink blood?” I asked. ”Wouldn't he attack her for that reason alone-even if I'm not around?”

”She's safe on that account, too,” Odette said. ”They will have supplied him with blood. The Werdulac's people have thought of everything. Besides, Timofei will be gone at daybreak. Like vampires and kosts, the hybrids don't like sunlight. It won't kill them, but they are weak and sluggish during the day-it's the time when they're most vulnerable. Timofei will seek shelter.”

”Do you know where he will hide?” I asked.

”No,” Odette said. ”And I suggest that you don't go looking for him. I'm sure he'll be protected. If you really want to help Annushka-and yourself-you should leave in the morning. And you should convince Annushka to refuse to see her new gentleman caller.”

Annushka was the name by which Odette knew GM, and as for her gentleman caller- ”Do you mean Maksim Neverov?”

”Yes.”

”Why should GM stay away from him?”

”Because I've seen him in some strange places,” Odette said. ”And because he's a Mstislav.”

”Maksim's a Mstislav?” I asked incredulously. ”But he can't be-his last name is Neverov. And he's the grandfather of a girl I know back home. There's no way he's a Mstislav.”

”It's entirely possible, because it's a fact,” Odette said. ”Maksim's father was a Neverov. His mother was a Mstislav.”

I was stunned.

”Maybe it doesn't mean anything,” I said. ”Just because Maksim's related to the Mstislavs doesn't mean he's like Gleb or Timofei.”

”Perhaps not,” Odette replied. ”But I would still advise you both to be careful.”

I started to feel like I was sinking. A resurrected dead man was waiting in my back yard, hoping to kill me. A vampire was sitting at the foot of my bed. And now my grandmother's sweetheart turned out to be related to the monster outside.

I sat down on my bed again. I wished there was someone I could talk to.

”Do you know where Galina is?” I asked.

”Galina and Aleksandr both disappeared a few weeks ago. I don't know where they went.”

”What about the Les.h.i.+?”

”I haven't seen him since that night we were all in the Mstislav crypt,” Odette said. ”He seems to have disappeared too. I wish he would come back. I know I said I wasn't very interested in him once, but I've found now that I miss him. Or at least I think it's the Les.h.i.+ that I miss. I'm not entirely sure where Aleksandr ended and the Les.h.i.+ began.”

I was surprised to hear the mournful note in her voice.

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