"My darling, you know I would move heaven and earth for you," Alec said a bit later. He kissed my hands when he said that, making me more than a little uncomfortable about his unabashed affection for me.
I had to break it to him that things had changed. It was unthinkable to let him believe I returned his feelings when just a few hours before I was engaged in carnal acts with his friend. I blushed just thinking about the manner in which I'd fed Kristoff.
"About that, Alec... I think we need to have a talk." I remembered that I was supposed to be coming up with an excuse to slip away from him so I could use the car that Magda was even now bringing to me, and amended my statement. "We need to talk about a couple of things."
"And so we shall, my precious one, but later. Kristoff is on his way back - he and Andreas have located the reaper who got away - and Kristoff ran into a couple more on their way to the ruins. He is bringing them back here. Christian called to say that he believes the Zenith has slipped past them. Sebastian was nearly run over by someone in a rental car."
"Couldn't that have been merely a tourist with bad driving skills?" I asked, distracted by the idea of a homicidal tourist.
Alec's lips quirked. "Not when the driver picks Sebastian out of the crowd and deliberately tries to run him down."
"Ouch. The Brotherhood guys can recognize vampires that easily?"
"Not generally, no, but all the members of the council are well known to the reapers, as are those of us who are tasked with hunting them. That is how I was recognized in the restaurant earlier. But all is well - Sebastian got the number of the car, and they are in pursuit. Kristoff has the three who attacked us earlier. You may rest assured that if the Zenith comes here, I will protect you, but I suspect that he will head straight for the ruins."
"So everyone is going to converge there?" Damn. How was I going to slip away and get to the ruins myself if all the vamps were descending there?
"Not if we can take them elsewhere. Do not worry, my love, I won't let anyone hurt you." His cell phone rang. He glanced at it. "Ah. That is Andreas checking in. You will excuse me for a moment..."
He wandered off to the hallway. I glanced around the room, saying softly, "Ulfur?"
"He's in the kitchen," Dagrun said from where she reclined on the couch.
I thought hard for a minute. "Do me a favor and round up everyone. I'm going to have to get moving, and I don't feel good about leaving you all behind."
Dagrun sighed heavily, but got up and stomped out of the room. I sidled past the door of the hall and through a small parlor to the kitchen.
A cluster of male ghosts stood marveling at the modern appliances. "What exactly does a Cuisinart do?" Ulfur asked, pointing at the item in question.
"Chops things up. I've sent Dagrun to gather up everyone - we have to get out of here. Now."
Ulfur and the men looked interested. "Where are we going?"
"To Ostri. I'm afraid we can't get your horse in the car, though."
Ulfur blinked for a moment. "We are going to the ruins you mentioned earlier?"
"Yes."
"I will ride there."
"It's almost ten miles," I pointed out. "If the opening to Ostri doesn't last long, I'm not sure if you can get there in time."
"I will not leave Ragnar," Ulfur repeated, a stubborn set to his ghostly jaw.
I gave up, recognizing defeat when I saw it. "Get going now, then. I'll try to delay leaving as long as I can, but I can't let the vampires get to everyone before they complete the ceremony."
Ulfur ran out after getting directions, calling for Ragnar, who appeared out of nothing with his ears twitching excitedly.
I peeked out the door to where Alec stood, still talking on the phone. The ghosts ran down the front stairs, rippling through Alec without him so much as lifting an eyebrow. I wondered again why Kristoff had been able to see them, but Alec didn't.
"The child says we're leaving?" Old Agda asked as she hobbled into the kitchen double time.
"Just as soon as the car gets here. Ulfur went on ahead to meet us. Is that everyone? Where's Karl and Marta?"
"Coming," Marta said, her face alight with happiness as she and her husband hurried into the kitchen. "You've changed your mind? We're really going to Ostri?"
"I'm going to do my best," I said with grim determination. "I'm going to need everyone to get into the car when Magda comes with it. Then we'll drive to the ruins, and we're going to do everything possible to stop the vampires from coming down on the Brotherhood people until they complete the ritual. So save your energy, OK?"
"You want us to help stop Dark Ones?" Hallur asked, looking worried. "We can't do that."
"Of course you can. You stopped the Ilargi."
The ghosts all looked at one another. "That was different," Hallur finally said.
"I don't see how. If anything, the Ilargi was more dangerous because he could suck your soul, and yet you stopped him from taking Karl. Surely if you can all cooperate to stop someone as powerful as that, you can slow down a couple of vampires."
"Dark Ones can disburse us," Ingveldur pointed out. "You saw this yourself when your man was annoyed by Ulfur's horse."
"Which man - " Hallur started to say.
"Ragnar wasn't in solid form then. If you all save your energy for stopping the vamps, and go solid on them, you should be able to slow them down."
"I don't like it," Hallur said, but his buddy, the one with the two-roomed house, socked him in the shoulder.
"Don't be such an old woman!"
"Oh!" Agda said, taking a swing at the other ghost.
He ducked. "We stopped an Ilargi! What's a few Dark Ones?"
"That's the spirit," I told him. "Er... no pun intended. All right, does everyone know what to do?"
"I suppose so," Hallur said slowly. Marta giggled. Ingveldur ordered her daughter to vanish.
"We'll be here, but unseen, so as to save as much energy as we can," Ingveldur told me before disappearing.
I glanced out of the window. "Excellent. Magda has just arrived, so if you would all go outside and get into the car, I'll be out in a jiffy."
I tiptoed across the kitchen. Alec stood with his back to me. I felt bad about slipping away without him knowing, but there was no way I could take him with me. I did scribble out a quick note, however, and used a magnet on the refrigerator to leave it clearly visible. I didn't want anyone to worry that one of the Brotherhood people had nabbed me.
"I would be happy to come with you - " Magda said a few minutes later.
I held up a hand to stop her. She sighed and gave me the keys to the compact rental car.
"It's safer this way. Safer for everyone," I said as I got into the car, accepting the map she shoved through the open window.
"Sometimes being safe sucks."
"Yeah, I know. Everyone in?"
Magda looked around in surprise. We were at a tiny garage connected to the house, apparently alone. "Your ghosts?"
"Yes." I glanced in the rearview mirror. There was nothing to be seen, but I could feel the presence of my ghostly friends. They must have been packed in as one solid mass.
"You're standing on my foot!" Dagrun complained. "Mother, Old Agda is on my foot!"
"Hush, child," Ingveldur scolded her daughter.
Agda cackled.
"You can stay behind if you like," I told the unseen teen.
"And miss seeing the vampires kill you? I don't think so."
"No one is going to kill anyone," I said grimly, starting the car.
"So you hope," Magda said, calling after me as I pulled out, "I'll be waiting to hear what happens!"
I waved a hand at her, and drove out of town.
The map that Magda had given me was not very helpful, and I took wrong turns three times before I stopped asking my ghostly friends for directions since it was sadly apparent that they didn't get out of the village much. It seemed like hours had passed before I finally pulled off to the side of the road and considered a sign that bore a ruins symbol, and an arrow pointing to the left.
"I think that's it. Ulfur certainly should have had time to get here. Everyone still all right?"
"No," Dagrun answered.
"We're fine, child," Ingveldur said at the same time. "The ride has been very interesting."
I glanced at my watch. "And a lot longer than I thought. All right, let's hope we made it here in time."
We pulled off the road and bumped our way down a graveled track that had some serious potholes. Ahead of us loomed an inky black expanse of forest, one of the few ancient woods left standing in Iceland. I remembered reading a note in the guidebook that said this spot had long been avoided by locals as being enchanted, thus the trees were preserved when pretty much all the other forests had been decimated.
No sign of the ruins was visible through the trees, but that didn't surprise me. The sun was sinking fast on the horizon now, the sky taking on that strange twilight appearance that was vaguely unsettling.
We arrived at last at a small shaded clearing. "I hope those belong to Frederic and his Brotherhood buddies rather than the vamps," I said, noting the three other cars in the tiny dirt parking area. Two bore Icelandic plates, another had a small rental tag on the bumper.
"Can we get out now?" a distressed voice asked.
"Sure, Hallur. Everyone out, but stay in low-watt mode until we see if the vamps are here."
I shivered as we followed a path that led into the woods. Immediately, we were enveloped in a heavy gloom that seemed more than just visual - it was as if the trees themselves were warning us to turn back, despair dripping heavily from their branches.
"OK, this is creepy," I said, rubbing my arms. "Is anyone else feeling this?"
"Yes," Ingveldur answered. Her voice was subdued. "This is a haunted place, Pia."
"Haunted with other ghosts, you mean?" I looked around as we picked our way down the path. The trees were pretty solid here, not allowing much light to penetrate their stiff branches. The scent of pine mingled with the slightly acidic odor of damp earth. "I don't see anyone else."
"She means haunted by the spirit of place," Agda said in her dry, somewhat wheezy voice. "There are spirits here, ancient spirits, going back many generations."
I could believe it. I'm not normally someone who gets creeped out easily, but this wood, with its tall, black trees and somber atmosphere, was having an effect on my nerves. Silence hung heavily, like a dark cloud overhead, muffling the noise I made walking on dead pine needles. No other noise reached me, no rustling in the undergrowth of small animals, no night-bird sounds, not even so much as the whine of a gnat. "Maybe we should go back and look for another way to the ruins..."
"There," Ingveldur said. I stopped and looked around, finally seeing what she must have seen. A patch of the path ahead of us was lit with an amber glow that was the filtered midnight sun. I hurried forward, relieved to be out of the dark woods. The path turned and wound around a small mound, the top of which was crowned with a few crumbling bits of stone.
"The ruins at last. All right, everyone stay on your toes and watch for vampires. And for heaven's sake, if you see anything that looks like an opening to Ostri, let me know."
I left the path and was just moving to a tree with the intention of using it to shield me until I saw if there were any guards posted, when a hand clamped down on my face, causing me to simultaneously shriek into the hand and jump, twisting as I tried to free myself.
"Hush, love, it's just me," a man's voice spoke in my ear as another arm wrapped around me like steel.
"Alec?" I whispered when the hand had been removed from my mouth.
"It's a Dark One!" one of the ghosts said. "Should we stop him, Pia?"
"No, it's fine," I said quickly, turning in his arms.
Alec frowned down at me in question.
"Sorry. My ghosts are acting as bodyguards tonight. What are you doing here?"
"Finding you," he answered. "Why did you leave me? And what are you doing here?"
Suspicion tinted his words.
"I'm not here to destroy you or any of your friends, if that's what you think," I said quickly, speaking softly so as to avoid further detection. "Are all of you here?"
"No. Kristoff discovered you were gone. He thinks you've gone to join the reapers, and went off to stop you."
"Alec..." I hesitated, unsure of what I could say to convince him of my motives. "I have gone to join them, at least in the sense that I want them to complete the ceremony. No, listen to me for a minute - I know you guys don't want me to have power. But I just don't believe that if the ceremony is completed, I'll become some uncontrollable vampire-killing machine. There has to be a certain amount of me involved in the whole thing, if you know what I mean. And I don't accept the Brotherhood's story that all vampires are evil and should be destroyed. I am confident that no matter what, I will be able to control myself and not be some brainless tool."
He was silent for a moment, his arms like steel bands around me.
"You've seen other Zoryas," I pointed out, pleading with him to understand. "Were they uncontrollable? Or did they consciously use the power granted them?"
His arms relaxed somewhat. "They seemed very much in control."
"Exactly. Mattias was just trying to convince everyone that they were doomed. I think he's pissed at me because I wouldn't take him seriously as a husband, and he probably wants a wife who doesn't see both sides of the picture."
"The council will not understand, even if I do," he warned, loosening his hold more. I stepped out of it. "They will not hesitate to destroy you should they see that you bear the true power of a Zorya."
"Then we just won't let them see," I said softly. "Where are they?"
"No idea. They were following the Zenith last I heard, then Kristoff and I discovered your note, and he ran off to find you. I had to stay at the house in case the Zenith showed up, but when it was clear he wasn't headed there, I left to find you."
We moved silently from tree to tree, keeping our eyes peeled for any sentries Frederic might have set.
We were just about to emerge from the forest and take up a position behind one of the fallen walls when a noise behind us had me spinning around.
"Dark Ones!" Karl shouted, and my heart dropped at the sight. Emerging from the woods were the other vampires... all but Kristoff. They paused at the sight of Alec and me.
"I thought it would be too much for you," Christian told me with obvious disappointment.
The wind lifted and blew our way, bringing with it the reedy sound of voices chanting. Goose bumps rippled along my arms as I realized what was happening - the Brotherhood people were conducting the ceremony to bless me with the power of the moon. I glanced into the sky. The moon wasn't very visible, if at all, during the months when the sun never completely set, but there was a faint, almost invisible sliver showing over the tops of the trees.
"Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream," I said, the image of Anniki as she pressed the stone into my hand flashing through my mind with unusual clarity.
She died for her belief in justice, and I had promised her I wouldn't fail in pursuit of the same. And so help me, I wouldn't.
"The ritual!" Sebastian shouted, and started forward.
"Stop them!" I yelled, whirling around to race toward the ruins. The ghosts materialized as a solid group and immediately flung themselves on the four vampires, their cries piercing the night. The vamps were taken totally unawares, and went down in a massive tangle of arms and legs.
Alec stood between me and the ruins. His eyes glittered in the twilight. "Go fulfill your destiny," he said after a moment, stepping aside.
"Oh, thank you." I ran forward.
The ruins loomed before us. It was pretty much like any other relic of centuries long past - large tumbled boulders that had been shaped by the weather into unrecognizable blobs of stone, two walls still standing, most of which had crumbled away, leaving only sharp little fingers of rock pointing to the sky.
The bulk of the building had been pulled back into the earth over time, wildflowers and tall grass claiming the remainder of visible stone. Someone had cut the grass in the very center, however, where part of one of the walls had collapsed, leaving three long blocks laid out like pews.
I stumbled to a halt as I realize that on one of the stones, a figure had been stretched out. Around it, spread out in a triangle, three people stood.
A sudden chill spread over me as I thought for a moment they were some sort of inhuman specters floating above the ground, but I realized with a start that they were simply wearing an odd sort of outfit that reminded me of a Renaissance fair I'd visited sometime back. Their long black robes blended into the shadows in a way that made it seem as if they had no legs or heads, their upper halves swathed with silver tabards, the sort Crusaders used to wear, but where the Crusaders bore a bloodred cross, the Brotherhood sported a crimson crescent moon.
I took a hesitant step forward, but at that moment a strange thing happened. The sun, which was moving slowly ever lower on the horizon, dipped to a point where a shaft of light penetrated the obstacles of trees and ruins, unerringly finding me with an impact that I felt to my toes. I stared down at myself, and my mouth opened in surprise when the light bathing me changed from the rich golden amber of the sun to a silvery blue light that seemed to glow along my skin.
The chanting swelled, ending on a high, triumphant note.
"It is done," Alec said in an odd, choked voice.
I glanced up at him, still stunned by the fact that I now glowed like the moonstone lantern. I raised a hand toward him. He flinched and backed up a step.
"I won't hurt you," I said, gazing with amazement at my glowing hand.
A cry from behind Alec had me gasping in horror. The vamps had worked faster than I thought to disperse the ghosts, running toward me only to stop a few feet away.
"So," Christian said, his voice filled with regret. "It is done."
"Yes," I said, suddenly possessed with a strange calm. I eyed him carefully, wondering if my new power would suddenly reveal to me an evil in him that I had not detected, but there was nothing there but what I had first seen. "And as I said before, you have nothing to fear from me."
"Am I late?" a panting voice called out, and Ulfur emerged from the woods, hauling a reluctant Ragnar with him. "Dark Ones! But... Pia, you're glowing."
"The ritual is completed," I told him. "It was as we guessed - the marriage to Kristoff was null. I can take you all to Ostri, assuming the others can gather up their energy."
"We cannot let you proceed," Christian said, and I felt a sense of profound sadness from him. "You are a true Zorya now. You mean death to my people."
He started toward me on the last words, and I threw up my hands, yelling, "No, you don't understand - "
The words trailed off when, to my amazement, a ring of brilliant bluish white light sprang up around the vamps, encircling them.
"Er... did I do that?" I asked Alec, staring in disbelief.
Christian started to step through the light, but yelped and jumped back the second it touched him. "What is this you have done?"
"I don't know," I said, wanting at the same time to yell at him and apologize. "I'm sorry, but I have to go stop Frederic. I have a feeling I know who it is they have, and I will not let them hurt him any more than I'll let them hurt you guys. So just... stay there."
"Pia," Alec started to say, reaching out a hand to touch the ring of light. He jerked his hand back with an oath. "I am not sure - "
"It's all right. None of you will get hurt if you just stay here," I told all of the vampires. "Ulfur, let's go see about saving husband number one."
"Husband... Oh, the Dark One? Is he here, too?"
"I will come with you," Alec said as I turned around and ran toward the ruins.
The vampires confined by the light circle yelled after us, but I didn't listen. I could reason with them later - right now I had a horrible suspicion that Frederic was waiting for me to show up and destroy Kristoff.
"It might be dangerous for you here just now," I said to Alec as we wove our way through the tumbled boulders.
He shot me an odd look. "I trust you."
"Thank you. Ulfur, I think I want you in commando mode."
"Commando?"
"Invisible and quiet until I call for you. Can you do that?"
He smiled and faded into nothing. "I'll be here when you need me."
"I'm counting on it. Holy Mary and all the saints!" I came to a halt as we cleared the last tumbled stone.
The figures in black and silver turned to face us.
Kristoff lay spread-eagle on the nearest stone, his arms and legs tied down to metal hooks that had been driven into the rock. He was covered in blood, and I thought for one horrible moment that they had killed him, but his head turned slowly to me as I stood staring in horror.
"Come to finish me off?" he asked, his lovely voice broken and hoarse. "May your god damn you for all eternity."