Pure (Book 1, Pure Series) Page 17

  "I would like that," I said.

  The table was laden with ingredients for making muffins, and Odette quickly put them away. Then she waved me toward a seat and got a cardboard box out of a cupboard. She set the box down in front of me.

  "There you are," she said. "Alosa – just like your mother used to drink."

  I picked up the box and examined it. The lid proclaimed the contents to be alosa tea just as Odette had said. I lifted the lid and inhaled. The scent was very spicy and exotic. I wasn't entirely sure that I liked it.

  Odette put some water on to boil, and soon she poured out two cups of tea. It was a violent purple color.

  I took a few tentative sips of the tea. The flavor wasn't bad, but it was strange. I set my cup down.

  Odette smiled at me over the rim of her cup. "Drink up. Alosa is good for you."

  I picked up my cup again.

  "So, my story," Odette began. "There's really not much to tell, but it's important – at least to me. My parents were very rich once."

  I took another sip of the tea.

  She continued and her voice grew dreamy. "We lived in a very big house – it wasn't the biggest house in town – that was the Mstislav mansion – but it was the second biggest. You were there a few times, but you were far too small to remember it. We even had some land and horses. And I had the most beautiful clothes."

  Odette paused and sighed.

  "But as it turned out, my parents had not come by their wealth through entirely honest means. The government was after them for years, and eventually they caught up with them. My parents were arrested and thrown in prison. And all their assets were confiscated. Well, not all their assets. There was enough that was hidden to allow me to live comfortably."

  Odette stopped to sip at her tea.

  I was horrified. "Your parents are in prison?"

  "Yes. They've still got a few decades to go."

  "Odette, that's terrible. How difficult it must have been for you, spending all these years alone."

  Odette shrugged. "I wasn't entirely alone. For a year I lived with you and your family. And then when your parents died, and Annushka fled with you, I went to live with Galina and Aleksandr."

  "Why didn't you come with us?" I asked. "Galina and Aleksandr are not your family."

  "Well, neither is Annushka for that matter. As your maternal grandmother, she's no relation to me. And my parents were not gone – they were still alive and still in Russia – they just weren't at liberty. They wanted me to stay in this country, and Galina volunteered to be my guardian. My parents agreed, and it was made official. Before Annushka left, she made this house over to Galina, and when I came of age, Galina made the house over to me – after all, she hardly needed two houses. I had been very happy here, though I only lived here a little while. So, that's how I came to live in this house, and that's my story."

  "Oh, Odette," I said. "I don't even know what to say. That's a lot for a child to go through. Do you, do you—"

  I hesitated.

  "Do I see my parents?"

  "Yes."

  "I see them from time to time. But prison is not a pleasant place to visit."

  "No, I can understand that," I said. "I really wish we had been able to keep in touch all these years. I think our being friends would have been good for both of us."

  "Maybe so."

  Odette drank the rest of her tea and stood up.

  "I have an idea," she said impulsively. "Are you finished your tea? Why don't we go out for a walk? I'll show you the town when it's quiet. We can spend time together just the two of us before Galina and Aleksandr show up and demand all your attention."

  I glanced toward the dark windows. "Now? Are you sure it's safe?"

  Odette laughed. "Of course. You've been listening to the silly things that Aleksandr says. I know this town well. I will look out for you."

  I stood up. "Okay. I'll go change my clothes."

  "Dress warmly," she said. "It's chilly at night."

  I hurried upstairs, changed, and hurried back down. I was looking forward to spending some time with my cousin. I'd been really excited to see her, but so far we hadn't quite become the fast friends I'd hoped we would be. Maybe that was about to change.

  Odette led me outside, and I zipped up my coat. The night was indeed cold, and the stars and the moon were bright overhead. There were only two streetlights lit on the block, so the celestial illumination was a welcome addition.

  "Krov is loveliest when it's quiet," Odette said, smiling softly. "I often go on moonlit walks. Sometimes I even leave the town and go out into the countryside."

  "I am certainly grateful for your nocturnal habits," I said. "And I know GM is too. We were really glad to see you and Aleksandr tonight. Spending the night in a car is not a lot of fun."

  Odette laughed. "Yes, it was lucky that we happened by. Aleksandr had asked me to go with him for a drive in the country to see the stars, and we happened to see your stranded car. Aleksandr wanted to stop to see if we could offer any assistance."

  Odette pointed. "We should turn here."

  We continued to walk in companionable silence until we reached a row of shops.

  "Do you see the one all the way at the end?" Odette asked. "That's the one where your mother used to buy her alosa tea, and where I buy the very same tea now."

  I looked over at the little shop. I felt a rush of warmth come over me as I thought of my mother walking over and buying her tea there regularly. It made me feel like I had another connection to the town.

  As we continued to walk, Odette pointed out the sights, and I drank in my surroundings. The town was pretty. Could it really harbor the horrors I'd heard about?

  After another lapse of time, during which we simply walked, and I let my thoughts wander, I broke the silence.

  "So, are you and Aleksandr a couple?"

  Odette looked at me, startled, a smile quirking at the corners of her mouth. "A couple? Why? Because he asked me to go for a drive? No, Aleksandr is far too provincial for me. My tastes are much more sophisticated."

  Something suddenly struck me as being odd. "It was Aleksandr's idea to go for a drive at night?"

  Odette looked at me, puzzled. "Yes. You seem to find that strange."

  "It's just that he appeared to be nervous – at least at one point. He seemed to think there were supernatural creatures prowling around. Why would he go out in the night when he thought it was dangerous?"

  Odette threw back her head and laughed, her laughter echoing loudly on the night air. "Oh, that. The vampires and the evil spirits and all that other nonsense? Aleksandr doesn't really believe all of that stuff – not wholeheartedly anyway. Galina is the one who really believes in it. And he goes along with it to please her and all the other superstitious locals – I told you he was provincial."

  We had just reached a large square that was dominated by a towering obelisk, and Odette gave me a sly look.

  "As I recall, Annushka said that she, and I assume you, had seen Gleb Mstislav at your house – the same Gleb who has been dead for the last eleven years."

  I nodded uncomfortably.

  "Would you like to see his mansion?"

  I thought back to the horrible white face I had seen back in Elspeth's Grove, and I couldn't repress a shudder. "I-I don't think so."

  "Come on," Odette urged. She took me by the arm. "It's just on the other side of this square. I think seeing it will help you to feel more normal. It's not a haunted house at all."

  Odette pulled me across the square, and from a distance I could see a long, tree-lined drive ahead of us. There were lights winking at us from between the trees.

  I hesitated, and Odette pulled me forward again.

  "Come on," she said in exasperation. "I thought you Americans had conquered superstition a long time ago."

  We walked up the drive, and we soon came in sight of a beautiful, sprawling white mansion that was lit up by spotlights. There were long red banners hanging from every availa
ble horizontal surface – the effect was very elegant.

  We stopped at the mansion's wide marble steps.

  "This is the Mstislav mansion," Odette said breathily. "How do you like it?"

  "That's an impressive house," I said. "What are the red banners for?"

  Odette turned shining eyes on me. "The banners are in honor of a ball that is to be held here very soon. It will be a surprise – the inspiration is Haydn's Symphony No. 94 – the Surprise Symphony. No one knows the exact date yet. Isn't that clever?"

  "A ball?" I asked. "Like in Cinderella?"

  "Exactly," Odette said. "Would you like to go if you are still here when it happens? I have an invitation, and you could come with me as my guest."

  Once again, Gleb's pallid visage rose in my mind. "No. I couldn't. It would be too weird for me."

  "Oh, Katie, Gleb is not going to be there – he's long dead. But his son, Timofei, will be there, and I have seen him before, and he is quite handsome. He's only a few years older than I am. Are you going to be provincial, too?"

  "Yes, I am," I said firmly.

  "Oh, very well," Odette sighed. "But if you change your mind, let me know. I have a dress you can borrow. It's red – it would look lovely on you. I'm planning to wear white."

  Odette turned and led me back to the square.

  "Well," she said, "there isn't too much beyond the Mstislav mansion. There are fields just behind it, and the fields stretch all the way to the abandoned monastery. Do you want to hear something fantastic? There are rumors that there are underground tunnels that lead from the monastery into the mansion. And of course the monastery itself is on the edge of the Pure Woods – it's a petrified forest where the locals claim all the monsters live."

  Odette giggled. "Galina and Aleksandr will probably take you there once the sun comes up – you know when it's 'safe.' It's not my kind of place, though. Shall we go home now? I can get back to my blueberry muffins and you can get some sleep."

  I agreed, and we started back. I had enjoyed my moonlit walk with Odette, but the memory of Gleb's face had turned my blood into slow-moving ice and chilled me from the inside out. I wanted very badly to crawl into my bed and pull my covers over my head.

  Chapter 14.

  I slept better than I thought I would. I expected to be haunted by Gleb's bloated white face, but my sleep was heavy and dreamless. I awoke when I felt sunlight on my eyes.

  I got up and got dressed for the second time that morning and went downstairs.

  I found GM in the kitchen. She was washing up some dishes in the sink.

  "Good morning, Solnyshko. Your cousin has made some muffins for you." She waved a soapy hand at a big square container on the kitchen table.

  I knew GM disapproved of sweets, but I could tell from her expression that she wanted me to be gracious to our hostess and accept her gift.

  I smiled and went to get a plate. Somehow, I knew that the plates would be in the same cupboard that my mother had kept them in, and I wasn't disappointed. Odette even had the same china pattern that I remembered from my childhood. The kitchen was just the same as it had been when I was small – the only difference was now I could reach everything.

  "There is alosa tea, too," GM said. "Your mother's favorite."

  I sat down at the table and got a muffin out of the container.

  "Odette already gave me some of the tea. I woke up in the middle of the night, and I found her down here in the kitchen mixing up the muffins. We went for a walk, and Odette showed me the town."

  I paused. "She also told me about her parents."

  GM looked up at me sharply. "Did she? Well, now you know why you don't remember them."

  "Odette was really upset. She thought nobody had told me because nobody cared about her."

  GM dried her hands and went to the refrigerator. "You should have a glass of milk with your muffin."

  GM poured a glass out for me and sighed heavily. "I never told you about your aunt and uncle for a reason, and it wasn't because I didn't care. I loved Odette even though she was not my own blood, and I knew you loved her, too. You talked about her constantly as a child – you remembered her as a happy girl that you looked up to. You thought she was a real-life princess. I wanted you to continue to think of her that way. I didn't want tragedy to taint those memories."

  GM put the milk away and sat down.

  I frowned. "She was happy, wasn't she? But Odette told me her parents were already in prison when she came to live with us."

  "They were."

  "So why was she happy? I remember her always laughing."

  "I don't think Odette entirely understood what was going on – at least not at first. She was nine, older than you and in some ways more mature. But she had always received her own way in everything – so I think she believed her parents would be back soon – even though we tried to explain to her that they wouldn't be. She saw staying with us as a grand adventure – which I'm sure it was at first."

  I thought this over. I could understand how a young girl might believe that everything would turn out right – and how she could become angry when it didn't.

  "Where is Odette now?" I asked.

  "She went up to bed just as I was coming down early this morning," GM replied. "I think it was a long night for her."

  I had stopped eating while GM was speaking. I was glad she had given me the milk – the muffin was good, but there was something a little peculiar in the flavor. I wondered if maybe Odette had used canned blueberries – I didn't know how readily available fresh ones might be in Krov.

  "GM," I said as I was struck by a thought. "I know now why I don't remember my aunt and uncle, but why don't I remember Galina and Aleksandr? Galina, at least, seems to have been very important in my mother's life, and Aleksandr is her son. Surely I would have seen them?"

  GM waved a dismissive hand. "Aleksandr was just a child then – he's the same age as Odette. He would hardly have come to visit us on his own."

  "And Galina?" I prompted.

  "I forbid her the house," GM said firmly. "I didn't like the nonsense she was filling your mother's head with. Your mother saw her behind my back. I still don't trust Galina completely. I think she means well, but she lives in a dream world. But coming here was the only thing I could think of to do."

  GM got up and started to dry the dishes she had washed earlier.

  "Our car was returned to us at some point during the night," she said in an attempt at changing the topic. "And it has a new tire on it. So, we can drive anywhere we need to go now."

  I was just on the verge of asking GM if we should go to see Galina and Aleksandr, when there was a knock on the front door.

  GM and I both went to answer it.

  "Hush, boy, don't be such a fool!" Galina said sharply as the door was opened.

  Aleksandr looked up at us and smiled. Galina looked embarrassed.

  Galina's expression changed to one of wonder as she looked at me. She held out both of her hands and rushed toward me. "Ekaterina, is it really you? You look so much like your dear mother. It's as if she lives again."

  She placed her hands on my cheeks, and her eyes ranged over my face as if she feared that I would disappear.

  Aleksandr stepped in after her. "I hope you ladies don't mind if we come in."

  Galina shot an angry glance at him, but she quickly turned her attention back to me. "Ekaterina, you cannot know how my heart rejoices to see you here in Krov. I only pray that we are not too late."

  GM made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a derisive snort. "Galina, I admit that we have come here to consult you, but I must ask you to keep the theatrics to a minimum."

  Galina's expression went carefully blank as she turned her gaze to GM and dropped her hands from my face. "Of course, Annushka. I am sure that you know best."

  "Well, Galina," GM said in a tone of resignation, "I suppose Aleksandr has told you that our house was attacked."

  Galina nodded. "And you believe it was attacked b
y Gleb Mstislav."

  "I dislike saying this," GM said. "but, yes. It was him. I recognized him."

  I looked at GM, startled. It had never occurred to me that she would recognize him, but of course she had known who he was. Somehow I was not surprised that she hadn't admitted this to me.

  GM continued. "When I saw him, I thought for a moment that maybe he hadn't died – maybe he'd gone into hiding. But his face – it was bloated and horrible and an unnatural light shone in his eyes."

  "Like green flame," Galina added quietly.

  "Yes, that's what it was," GM said. "How did you know?"

  "I have seen it before," Galina replied.

  I hadn't seen the green fire myself, but I didn't doubt that GM had seen it. She was not the fanciful type. If she said she'd seen it, then it was a fact.

  "There was screaming, also," GM said. "Terrible, inhuman cries."

  "Annushka, I believe you will have to accept that you have seen a kost," Galina said firmly. "An evil spirit animating the body of a dead man – in this case Gleb Mstislav."

  "Oh, Galina," GM said. "I don't believe in these things, yet I cannot deny what I have seen. What are we to do?"

  "Ekaterina must come with me," Galina replied firmly. "She's the only one of us who has the power to fight this evil."

  Anger flashed in GM's eyes. "No. This is not about Katie. You and I will take care of this. Katie's not to be involved at all."

  Galina threw up her hands. "Then why did you bring her here?"

  "To get her far away from that creature. This is for us to solve. It's not a job for a child."

  "Katie really is the only one who can do this," Aleksandr said.

  "Hush, Aleksandr," Galina snapped.

  Silence reigned.

  "GM," I said at last, "I want to go with Galina. I want to hear what she has to say. Gleb has taken people from my school, and even killed one of my teachers." Not to mention I last saw him heading for William, I thought to myself. "If I can help, I want to."