“I tire of the sound of your voice. This conversation is between Vasilisa and me. You stay out of it.” Xavier waved his hand and mumbled a curse as he did so. “I cannot abide high-pitched shrieking.”
Vasilisa sighed. “I will admit, her steady high-pitched shrieks were getting to me, as well. It makes it hard to think when someone is continually screaming in the background.”
“You can’t imagine how many times I warned her I would take away her ability to speak if she kept it up. I warned her several times to just have a clear, concise way of speaking.”
“She alwaysusedto have a clear way of speaking. I never noticed that she screeched like that.”
Afanasiv thought it brilliant the way Vasilisa was subtly playing to the mage’s ego and aligning herself with him.
Olga’s reaction was to fight harder, until Xavier pressed the blade tighter against her skin in warning.
“She’s seventy, you know. That isn’t much in age to someone like you, or even in the Lycan world. We have tremendous longevity, but sadly Aunt Olga’s eyesight began to fade a bit. She was considered an up-and-coming star in the dance world, and that became closed to her.” Vasilisa poured sympathy into her voice. “She was always brilliant onstage. She’d taken the world by storm. Then accidents began to happen. Small ones at first. Then much bigger ones, until finally her ankle and foot were shattered when a beam came down on her left leg during a performance.”
Xavier petted Olga’s head soothingly, as if he cared for her. Olga settled under his continuous stroking, much like a dog might when her master indulged her. “How sad for Olga.”
“It was, really. There was an investigation, but the findings didn’t help Olga recover or ever dance again. Another girl wanted to be the prima ballerina, and her parents had arranged for the accidents. They were punished, but there was an outpouring of sympathy for the girl. She claimed she knew nothing of what her parents had planned. She cried so prettily in front of the cameras and managed to convince the world she was innocent.”
“But she wasn’t, was she?” Xavier coaxed. His voice intoned sympathy, but his facial expression couldn’t hide his glee.
Vasilisa pretended not to see. “No, she was guilty, and was such a good friend of Aunt Olga’s. She visited Olga in the hospital every day. Cried with her. Brought her news of the ballet. Talked over whether she should accept the position of prima ballerina when they offered it to her. Aunt Olga encouraged her because she was certain she was her friend.”
“Ah, yes, friendship. I have no doubt when Olga found out her friend betrayed her, it was a dreadful time for her. And yet, when Barnabas came to her, she still believed in forming strong attachments. She didn’t learn her lesson, did she? Given such a painful one, I have to conclude she has a stubborn streak, or she is so desperate for someone to care about her that she will debase herself for the chance to serve them if they show her a little affection, false though it be.”
Vasilisa’s stomach lurched. Instantly, Afanasiv surrounded her with warmth.I am here with you. We have only a few more minutes to get through. Once we have the entire pattern, we can bind Xavier to the underworld for all time.
Afanasiv felt her reluctance to expose her aunt’s private life any further. He couldn’t blame her, but he worked without emotions. Vasilisa didn’t compartmentalize her emotions in the way that he did. He hadn’t felt anything for centuries. It was easy for him to slip back into hunting mode and become the ancient warrior tracking vampires when he had no emotions.
Vasilisa felt everything. These people were her family. Her friends. People she looked after and loved. No death or betrayal was going to be easy on her. She wouldn’t be able to push her feelings aside.
“Her friend’s name was Inessa,” Xavier said. “Isn’t that so, Olga?” He used her hair to make her nod her head up and down. “She was quite beautiful. Still is, even with that scar on her face. I wonder how it got there? Your nephews investigated further, as I recall, when you told me the story. They weren’t satisfied and believed Inessa lied. You didn’t hear her lies because you were given pain pills at first, and later, you didn’t want to believe she was guilty. You would rather be lied tothan face the truth of betrayal. Do you see how weak and pathetic that makes you?”
Vasilisa nearly took a step forward. By doing so, she would have given away her position. Afanasiv stopped her.You have his entire pattern. He cannot flee to the underworld if he is in possession of his staff. I can shatter both the crystal and the eye with lightning. You will have to reverse his spell in order to send him back and seal him to the underworld for all time. As for Olga, she may get away while we deal with Xavier.
Let her. I can track her. We need to know every portal where the demons are slipping through.
Afanasiv didn’t like how weary she sounded. He needed to hold her, not go chasing after vampires as he had for two thousand years. He hadn’t realized her care would become his top priority rather than the hunt and battle of the undead.
Let’s get this done, my lady.
In the distance, he built a storm. They could hear the roll of thunder as it moved rapidly toward them. Lightning lit up the sky for a moment. Xavier laughed and raised his staff high, as if seeking power.
“I never saw Aunt Olga in that light,” Vasilisa admitted. “I thought of her as powerful to carry on after my brothers exposed Inessa to the world for betraying her.”
“But even then, Inessa turned the tables on her and made her look weak, didn’t she? She refused to bow down. She kept her head high and sneered at how pathetic Olga was. Even then, some of the Lycans agreed with her.”
When the storm was just over the ridge, still a distance from them, Afanasiv directed two forks to streak across the sky, aiming straight for the crystal ball holding the swirling blood and the heart in the center of the staff. Both hit with deadly accuracy, shattering the crystal and incinerating the heart and blood instantly. Blue flames raced up the staff, burning so hot that, howling, Xavier had no choice but to drop the twisted wooden pole into the snow. Still those flames leapt higher, consuming the staff as it lay on the icy ground.
Olga crawled backward on her knees as the knife slid away from her. Both hands went up to her throat as she clawed at it, trying to regain her ability to speak.
Vasilisa stayed in the midst of the swirling snow, columns shooting up to veil what she was doing as she countered the patterns Xavier had used to provide a portal for himself and his demons to come through.
Xavier dropped to his knees and began to throw snow on the blue flames burning the thick knots and spirals that made up his staff. The more he piled on the snow, the higher the flames leapt. The fire crackled and popped and threw a strange light into the sky. Xavier’s beard began to smoke. His long robes smoldered. He paid no attention as he wailed and then abruptly rose and looked around for the pieces of broken crystal.
The chambers had shattered and were lost in the sea of snow now dotted with blackened ash. Xavier held up his hands and began to chant, trying to find a way to bring his staff back to one piece. Afanasiv knew the mage had no hope to restore the heart or blood of the demon that had helped to carry him aboveground. The blue flame was Vasilisa’s, one she used to fight demons from the underground. Technically, Xavier was just that—a demon. He might be a mage, but he was also a demon sent by Lilith to do her work above the underworld.
Vasilisa worked fast, moving backward through the spell that had brought Xavier through the portal as the high mage concentrated on attempting to command the pieces of crystal glass to him. Xavier’s beard and clothes began to pull toward the right, along with the wind. Afanasiv subtly changed the direction of the storm toward the portal, where it had been constructed outside the inn.
The robes flapped around the mage and began to drag him backward. His gray hair pulled him along with his beard. Stunned, finally realizing what was happening, he shook his head and let out a scream of protest. “Lilith, no. Give me more time.”