Ignis (Book 2, Pure Series) (25 page)

           
Silently, I told myself to relax.

           
But I was nervous all the same.

           
I glanced over at GM as she drove us swiftly over to the Old Grove.
 
Despite my best efforts, William kept breaking into my thoughts, and I realized that I hadn't told her that Charisse had changed her mind about seeing him with Joshua.
 
In fact, GM and I had not spoken about William since she had forbidden me to see him.
 
I wondered if she thought she had put an end to our relationship for good.
 
It was always hard to tell with her.

           
"GM," I said carefully.
 
"There's something you should know.
 
Charisse didn't report William to the police.
 
She said she couldn't be sure she'd seen him with Joshua Martin."

           
GM's hands tightened on the steering wheel, and she glanced at me sharply.
 
"Is that your way of telling me that he is going to be at the party?"

           
"No.
 
William wasn't invited."
 
I realized suddenly that I was actually on pretty shaky ground.
 
If GM got upset, there was a very good chance that she would turn the car around and take us straight home.

           
"I am relieved to hear he wasn't invited," GM said.
 
"We'll discuss his status in our household later."

           
I looked out the window and watched the scenery flying past us.
 
I decided once again just to focus on Bryony and the party.

           
Before long we reached the Old Grove, and GM insisted on walking with me until we found the party site.
 
Once we spotted a large gazebo full of people, GM allowed me to go on alone.

           
The day was cold, but I could see several bright fires up ahead, and some of the party guests had removed their coats already.
 
The grove itself was a pretty place, and laughter from the party drifted over to me.

           
It was hard to believe that anything terrible had happened here, but I thought suddenly of Anton and Innokenti and the two girls who had been attacked in the Old Grove.
 
I felt a momentary panic that the two of them might put in an unwelcome appearance.
 
But I looked toward the crowd ahead of me, and I told myself not to worry about them—surely Anton and Innokenti would not risk attacking such a large group.

           
And there appeared to be plenty of fire around.

           
As I reached the party, Bryony spotted me and waved, and I walked up to her.

           
"Thanks for coming," Bryony said smiling.

           
"Happy birthday," I said, holding out my plastic container.
 
"I've brought you some brownies.
 
My grandmother made them."

           
Bryony accepted the container from me.
 
"Thank you.
 
My grandmother couldn't come today—she said it was too cold for her.
 
She did ask me to tell her how you were doing.
 
She's been concerned about you ever since the ghost in her house gave her the warning for you."

           
I drew in my breath sharply.
 
Don't let him sing to her
.
 
Was that what had happened to me last night when I had sat by the window in a trance-like state?
 
Had someone been singing to me?

           
Bryony was staring at me in concern.
 
"Are you okay?
 
You went awfully pale all of a sudden."

           
I shook off my fears.
 
Whatever had happened last night, I was in no danger at the moment.

           
I would just have to be careful from now on to keep the warning from Bryony's grandmother in mind.

           
"I'm fine," I said, in what I hoped was a reassuring tone.
 
"And please tell your grandmother that I'm doing well."
 
I looked around.
 
"It looks like you've got a good crowd here."

           
Bryony smiled.
 
"I've been really lucky.
 
A lot of people were able to come even with the short notice."

           
I glanced around again, and I happened to catch Irina's dark eye.
 
She quickly looked away.

           
"I've asked Irina to be nice," Bryony said quietly.
 
"She said she would."

           
I resisted the impulse to smile.
 
I was sure that that request had not gone over well with Irina.

           
"Come and meet my parents," Bryony said.

           
I met Mr. and Mrs. Carson and Bryony's older sister, Eva, a tall, slender senior was with same long, light brown hair that Bryony had.
 
I had seen Eva in the halls at school before—she looked like the cover of a magazine.

           
Bryony's father was busy manning a barbeque, and there were several tables laden with food nearby.
 
Bryony deposited my brownies with a number of other desserts, and then we went to talk to the other guests.
 
I said hello to Annamaria, who was just taking off her coat and scarf because of the heat.
 
As she did so, she revealed a series of angry white scars on her neck.

           
Between the heaters and the fires, it was actually quite hot in the gazebo, and I found myself peeling off my own winter things.

           
As I was folding my coat over my arm, Simon came up to me.

           
"Thanks for inviting me to this," he said with a smile.

           
I smiled back.
 
"I can't take credit for that.
 
Technically, Bryony invited you.
 
I just passed the message on."

           
"Well, thanks for doing that.
 
My brother thanks you too."

           
Simon nodded his head, and I followed his gaze.
 
Simon's brother, James, was now talking with Eva.

           
Simon continued.
 
"James insisted on crashing when he heard where I was going today.
 
He's been scheming for ages to get a chance to talk to Eva.
 
This was a perfect opportunity for him."

           
I watched the two of them talking.
 
James's expression—typically harsh and closed—was open and friendly.
 
Eva smiled at something he said, and James smiled in return.
 
His smile was shy and uncertain, but it was a smile nonetheless.

           
"He's doing really well, isn't he?" I said, turning back to Simon.
 
"You can see the difference in him."

           
"Yeah.
 
His grades are way up this quarter, and in January he's going to begin applying to colleges.
 
He'll probably have to go to community college for the first year or two, but he may be able to transfer to one of the state schools after that."

           
"I'm really happy for him," I said.
 
"It's amazing how he's turned his life around."

           
"Yeah.
 
I'm proud of him."
 
Simon paused, and then gave me a serious look.
 
"One thing that really helped him was getting rid of bad influences—people he thought were his friends but really weren't.
 
It was hard watching him back when he was younger and he first started going down the wrong path.
 
Those bad influences were working on him then, dragging him down.
 
I don't want to see you go downhill too."

           
"You're talking about William," I said wearily.

           
"I'm talking about—him, yes.
 
This is a good first step—not having him here.
 
Isn't this much better?
 
Just you and me like old times."

           
Simon looked at me steadily, and there was something pleading in his eyes.

           
I didn't know what to say, and I was spared from having to come up with a reply by the arrival of Charisse and Branden.

           
I found a paper plate with grilled chicken and a can of soda suddenly pushed into my hands.

           
"I noticed you two didn't have any food," Branden said by way of greeting.

           
Simon's hands were soon similarly laden.

           
"It's good to see you two together," Charisse said.

           
It was clear to me that she was hinting at the same subject that Simon had just been pursuing—she was also happy that William wasn't here.

           
Before I could respond, Branden swept us all of us away.

           
"Come on.
 
There are some seats over here."

           
I sat and talked and ate and mingled, and as the afternoon wore on, I spied an opportunity.
 
Simon had been collared by Irina, Charisse and Branden were completely absorbed by one another, and I was between groups.
 
I walked around slowly but purposefully until I was on the edge of the party.
 
Then, when no one seemed to be watching, I slipped off into the woods.

           
I was going to look for my own personal bad influence.

Chapter 9.

I walked until the lights and sound from the party had disappeared.
 
I soon felt the cold, and I pulled my coat back on.

           
I didn't really have a plan.
 
I'd intended to ask around at the party to see if anyone knew where William lived, but somehow I had been unable to bring the topic up.

           
Simon's near-constant presence had probably contributed to my difficulty.

           
So I wandered through the trees, hoping that something would stand out—something that would point the way to William.

           
I knew the woods of the Old Grove well, and I knew there were houses around its perimeter, as well as houses dotted all throughout it.
 
I had a feeling that William's house would be in the woods, rather than around the outer edge—the houses inside the woods themselves seemed to be more secluded.
 
That seemed like something William would prefer.

           
I'd never paid a lot of attention to the houses within the woods, so I didn't know which way to turn exactly to start searching.
 
So I simply continued to walk.

           
Even without a plan, the motion made me feel as if I were accomplishing something.

           
As I walked, a sense of calmness and well-being stole over me.
 
The nervousness I'd felt before about the possibility of seeing William again melted away completely.

           
I breathed in the cold air deeply.
 
There was something soft about the atmosphere—something strangely warm and inviting.

           
I continued to walk.

           
Eventually, I found myself standing in front of a cave.
 
It was actually the same cave I had gone into back in October while I was searching for Gleb Mstislav.
 
And I had actually found him inside the cave—though at the time I hadn't realized who he was.

           
I stared into the cave mouth for a long moment, entranced by the soft quality of the dark within.
 
It seemed to me that the soothing, inviting feelings that I'd detected were emanating from the cave.
 
I was just beginning to wonder if perhaps I should head into it, when I saw a white light moving toward me out of the darkness of the cave.

           
The light came closer and grew larger—it lit up the interior of the cave.
 
Soon I could see a man walking toward me.
 
When he was close enough that I could reach out and touch him, he stopped.

           
I stared up at him—not in any way alarmed—just curious.

           
The man was entirely covered in a thick layer of ice, which seemed to be giving off the white light that illuminated the cave.
 
Though he had walked toward me purposefully, I could see that his eyes were tightly closed, and I had the impression that he had not opened them in a very long time.