Bloodforged (27 page)

Stefan’s face went cold and stiff. ‘It withered only her arm?’

‘Aye,’ said Ulrika with a shiver. ‘But had it struck her heart–’

‘She is lucky it didn’t,’ said Stefan. ‘It is one of the Blood Shards. They belonged to my master until Konstantin Kiraly killed him and stole them.’ He turned away from her, staring off into the night. ‘My nemesis has arrived, and has begun his revenge against the Lahmians.’

CHAPTER TWENTY

THE FENCING LESSON

‘What is a Blood Shard?’ Ulrika asked.

‘A terrible weapon,’ said Stefan. ‘There are six. My master was a collector of arcane objects, and the Blood Shards were some of his favourites. They are prisons. They suck out the soul of anyone they kill, and trap it, fully conscious, within their crystalline structure, where it can be subjected to whatever magical tortures the owner of the shard wishes to inflict upon it, for eternity.’

Ulrika shivered. What an awful fate.

‘Even vampires are not immune,’ continued Stefan. ‘Some may debate if a vampire has a soul, but he certainly has a consciousness, and it too can be trapped within a Blood Shard. That… that is what happened to my master. Kiraly killed him with a shard and imprisoned him within it.’ His hand dropped to the hilt of his sword. ‘When I have killed Kiraly, I will seek to find some way to free him, though I have been told it is impossible.’

‘That is a terrible thing,’ said Ulrika. ‘I hope you find some way.’

Stefan waved that away. ‘Never mind. What of Kiraly? Did you fight him?’

‘You think the cultist… you think it was him?’ Ulrika stammered.

‘It can have been no one else.’

Ulrika blinked. No wonder she had sensed no heart-fire. He had none. ‘I… I lost him,’ she said. ‘He was too fast. I’m sorry.’

‘Did you see which way he went?’ said Stefan through his teeth.

‘He was running east into the Novygrad when he vanished,’ she said. ‘But he could be anywhere now.’

Stefan turned immediately east. ‘I must find him,’ he said, and strode off down the empty street.

Ulrika hurried after him. If what he said was true, then this Kiraly was Boyarina Evgena’s enemy too. ‘Wait,’ she called. ‘I’ll help you.’

‘If you wish,’ said Stefan, not looking back. ‘But he is mine alone when we find him. You will not interfere.’

‘Of course,’ said Ulrika.

They jogged on towards the Karlsbridge and the east side.

Stefan searched the deserted ruins of the Novygrad like a man possessed, practically sprinting from shattered building to shattered building, and roaring Kiraly’s name in the streets. He tore down doors and kicked through broken floors to explore collapsed basements. He scattered sleeping squatters and mutants, and questioned cowering refugees about seeing suspicious strangers or finding corpses drained of blood. None had heard anything.

Ulrika followed Stefan with some trepidation, afraid that, in his madness, he would bring the watch or chekist agents down upon them, or worse, the roof of some precarious tenement. His fervour was terrifying, and somewhat frustrating, to see. If he could have put as much effort into finding the cultists, they might have defeated them by now.

And what if he found Kiraly? Stefan’s only interest in stopping the cult was to be certain Praag still stood when the vampire arrived. If Stefan killed him, he would cease to care. He would take the Blood Shards and return to Sylvania. Of course, now that she had joined the Lahmians, perhaps his help was unnecessary. But despite sharing blood with Evgena, she didn’t trust her strange sisters. Their fear of betrayal seemed stronger than their fear of the cult, and she worried the slightest misstep or stray thought on her part would have them coming for her head again.

A cold hand clutched her heart as a thought came to her. Was she making that misstep now? Should she be helping Stefan search for Kiraly, or should she be running back to warn Evgena he was coming to kill her? What if he had already attacked the Lahmians’ house? It would be Ulrika’s fault if Evgena wasn’t prepared. She already felt to a certain extent complicit in the attack on Raiza. Kiraly had obviously been watching Evgena’s house. If Ulrika hadn’t asked the Lahmians for help against the cultists, Raiza would not have left the house to investigate and put herself in danger. Ulrika had unwittingly drawn her out so Kiraly could attack her.

‘Stefan,’ she said as she followed him down the stairs of a tenement they had just searched. ‘I must go back to the Lahmians immediately.’

‘Go, then,’ said Stefan, distracted, and kicked through the front door into the street.

Ulrika strode out after him, then stopped as she saw a bright pink glow in the sky over the eastern walls of the city. It had become dawn while they were inside. There was no way she could make it back to Evgena’s mansion before the sun rose. Now she wouldn’t be able to warn the boyarina until nightfall. Unless…

Could she take the sewers? Aye, but she would have to come up to the streets to approach the house, and it would be full daylight by then. She would burn to a crisp on Evgena’s front steps. She cursed. There seemed no way. Of course, the sun would stop Kiraly as well – unless he had already attacked. Ulrika sighed. There was nothing for it. She would have to wait out the day, then race to the mansion as soon as the sun went down again, and pray she wasn’t too late.

She looked around. Stefan hadn’t seemed to notice the dawn. He was kicking in the boarded up-windows of the burned-out shop next door.

‘Stefan,’ said Ulrika.

He didn’t seem to hear her.

‘Stefan!’

He turned, his eyes mad and bright. ‘What? What is it? Have you found him?’

‘Dawn is coming,’ she said. ‘We must take shelter.’

‘Damn the dawn!’ he snapped. ‘I must find Kiraly!’

Ulrika raised an eyebrow. ‘The dawn will damn you,’ she said. ‘But go on if you wish. I’m going to retire.’

Stefan snarled. ‘I don’t care what you do! I–’ He caught himself and ran a hand through his lank hair. ‘No, no. You are right. We must stop. We must.’

‘I have a place nearby,’ said Ulrika. ‘It isn’t anything, but it is secure. You could–’ She stuttered as she realised what she was saying, but it was too late to draw it back. ‘You could stay if you like.’

Stefan bowed politely. ‘If it isn’t too much trouble.’

‘Of course not,’ said Ulrika, thinking it might well be. ‘This way.’

She led him through the ruins towards the bakery, wondering if she had made a mistake revealing her hiding place to a man who was almost a complete stranger. Well, she could always find a new place, couldn’t she?

Ulrika shrugged, embarrassed, as she led Stefan down into the cellar of the bakery. It had none of the comforts of home. There was no furniture except for piles of rubble, dusty bakery tables and the oven in which she slept, and no place to wash. Nor had she collected any blankets or pillows. She had been sleeping with her head resting on her pack.

Stefan seemed unperturbed. ‘It is better than where I have been staying,’ he said, and promptly began to dust off one of the bakery tables to make a bed for himself. ‘I have been too preoccupied to think much about lodging.’

Ulrika hesitated, then indicated the oven. ‘You can join me, if you like. No light gets in.’

He looked at her with a half-smile, then bowed. ‘You are kind to offer, but I will not intrude. Thank you.’

Ulrika nodded, not certain if she was disappointed or relieved. She sat down in the rubble and began taking off her boots. ‘I must go back to the Lahmians tonight. I must tell them I failed to follow the cultists. And Evgena must be warned that Kiraly is after her. Perhaps they will help us hunt him.’

Stefan laughed. ‘Help
us
? Ha! You they may help, but if they learn I am with you, they will hunt
me
.’

‘But, surely,’ said Ulrika, ‘when they learn the true threat–’

‘You are young,’ he said. ‘You have much to learn. The Lahmians think of anyone who is not Lahmian as a true threat. My intentions matter not. My actions matter not. Only my blood matters, and they despise it.’ He shrugged. ‘It would be in all our interests if we who face these common enemies fought them together, but it will not happen. They will not accept me.’

‘But why not?’ Ulrika growled. ‘Our enemies are strong. The cultists nearly burned us alive, and this Kiraly nearly killed Raiza. We would all be safer allied. We would be able to share what we know of these villains and present them a united front.’

‘You think logically,’ said Stefan. ‘It is not a Lahmian trait.’

‘Then I will make it one,’ said Ulrika, standing, one boot off. ‘I will go to them and – No,
we
will go to them. We will tell them of Kiraly and the Blood Shards, and–’

‘You’re mad, girl,’ laughed Stefan, cutting her off. ‘I won’t go anywhere near them. They’ll kill me.’

‘But you just said it was the right thing to do!’ Ulrika protested.

‘It may be right,’ said Stefan, ‘but it is also fatal.’ He sighed and shook his head. ‘I apologise. It is honourable of you to want to be above-board with your mistress, but she is too closed-minded to listen to reason. If I went into her lair, I would not come out again.’

Ulrika cursed and turned away, but then an idea came to her and she spun back. ‘What if I brought them to you?’

Stefan frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

Ulrika smiled. ‘We shall do it in stages, so they get used to the idea. I will go to them alone, and tell them of you – that you have knowledge of Kiraly which will help them defend against him. If they accept that, I will bring them to speak to you, on neutral ground, where you may withdraw if they attempt to attack. Once they hear you out, I’m certain they will welcome you.’

Stefan shook his head. ‘You are naïve if you think that,’ he said. ‘But…’

Ulrika looked at him hopefully. ‘But?’

‘But it might still be worth a try,’ he continued at last. ‘If they refuse, we have lost nothing. If they try treachery, I can escape, and we will know their disposition.’ He looked at Ulrika. ‘My only fear is for you. Evgena may be angry at you for speaking with me, and may seek to punish you or banish you.’

‘I’ll take the risk,’ said Ulrika. ‘If she can truly see into my heart, then she will know it was done with good intent. We cannot continue to fight two threats separately. Will… will you do it?’

Stefan hesitated, then nodded. ‘I will do it. Let us meet… let us meet at the kvas distillery. We all know the place, and–’ he smirked. ‘And there are many escape routes if all goes wrong.’

‘Yes. Excellent,’ said Ulrika. ‘This is good. We will be stronger for it.’

She sat down again and started pulling off her other boot, feeling greatly relieved. Not only would joining forces make them all safer, it would end her need to keep Stefan a secret from Evgena. All would be right tonight, and they could turn their attention to fighting their enemies, instead of each other.

‘Ulrika,’ said Stefan.

She looked up.

He smiled at her – the first true smile of their acquaintance. ‘I… I want to thank you. This is not a step I would have made on my own. You have courage. I will try to emulate it.’

‘Th-thank you,’ she stammered, smiling in return. She struggled for something else to say, then found she had been holding his gaze too long. She broke it suddenly, and there was an awkward silence. Neither of them seemed to know where to look.

At last Stefan turned and lay down on the bakery table. ‘Sleep well,’ he said, then rolled on his side to face the wall.

She looked at his back for a moment, then finished pulling off her other boot. ‘Goodnight.’

She climbed into the bakery oven and curled up inside it. The stone surface seemed more uncomfortable than it had on other nights.

Ulrika smiled wryly to herself as she reached for the knocker on Evgena’s front door. Once again she was coming to the boyarina with a proposal that was sure to anger her, and might indeed spur her to cast Ulrika out, but she felt less nervous about it this time. Joining forces with Stefan was the right thing to do. Ulrika knew it in her heart, and if Evgena disowned her for suggesting it, then Ulrika could part company with the old shrew and her sisters with a clean conscience.