Vasilisa's POV
There were a few problems with my plan.
#1: It was freaking nighttime.
#2: I didn't know where the hell they were.
#3: If I was caught sneaking around in the forest, at night, alone, with a spell book that had the exact spell used to kill Kendra...there's a good chance that wolves without better knowledge of my relationship with their alpha wouldn't wait to ask questions, and would attack me in hopes of revenging their fallen comrade.
So, in theory, at any given moment, I could be killed.
As I gave myself this little pep-talk, I made sure to light the candle in my hand. I was already in the forest, and there was no turning back now.
I figured the most obvious place to check would be the sight of the crime. I had an idea as to where that was at, but not an exact location.
I was stumbling through the woods in my long heavy skirt and I knew I was just making a racket. I cursed, sticking the candle between my teeth before quickly grasping the ends of my skirt and pulling them up to tie them in a knot. It exposed a lot of my legs and would possibly give yet another reason to the growing list I was accumulating this evening of things Scar could scold me for.
Tying up my skirt helped me to be quieter and less clumsy, but that only left more silence to be filled with strange noises.
The woods weren't this loud during the day. I told myself that if a bush rattled, it was just a bunny. Or if a branch cracked, it was just a doe and her fawn, settling down for the night. You'd think if I could string along the majority of a village into thinking I was a man for at least a month that I would be a better liar, but no. I couldn't fool myself into thinking the odd and end sounds were so harmless.
I knew I had to be getting closer to the border when the trees began dispersing.
The founders of our village perfectly planted trees along our border. Though some have still produced children just outside the border, expanding it, it was still relatively round. Beyond was a large expanse of tall grass that went on for miles and miles.
I'd looked at a map once and saw that our town kind of looked like a bubble of forest. There were many trees running from around our village and to Valkaria, and also along the way to Dentrow.
I saw many lights in the distance and that assured me I was going in the right direction. I followed the light and stopped when I felt like I was intruding. I blew out my candle instead of snapping, not wanting to disturb the gathering.
Beasts, both in wolf form and human form were lined around Scar, listening to him as he spoke. His voice rang out, powerful and calm as he talked about life after death.
"Lives are lost in tough times like these. Sometimes we knew the person they once were, but other times they are just a face in the line of many. Though we might not of known Kendra personally, she was part of our pack, part of our family." He said.
I gave a little smile. He was so confident and comfortable. He was a leader.
He was also naked. That helped.
Part of me wanted to cover him from everyone else, because he was mine and mine alone, but then again, they were all naked too.
"A young woman once told me, that no matter who you are or what you've done, at the end of the day, you are someone's child. You are someone's parent or sibling. You are someone's friend. We gather here today not to mourn Kendra's death, but to celebrate her life. In her honor we will commence the hunt." Many calls were let loose as well as many howls.
I flinched at the piercing tones, but grinned none the less.
Scar seemed to have seen me because as many wolves took off in the other direction, he slowly walked towards my spot in the woods "Vas? What the hell are you doing here? You should be in bed." He said. He was a lot calmer than I expected him to be.
I stepped into the small clearing that had just housed many more Lycanthropes than I thought possible.
I gave him a grin "So, who's this young woman you've been talking to lately? She seems to be pretty smart."
He smirked at me before laughing and coming forward, hugging me. "She's just some weirdo who happens to know what she's talking about. What are you holding?"
I held it up for him to see and got into business mode "I found the spell."
He straightened "And?"
I sighed, turning the pages "It doesn't give us much more than we already knew from the body. The part that helped the most though were the cuts. They appear to be just part of the torture, but upon finding the spell..."
I read it to him and watched as he frowned "Blood of the beast revive one's soul? What the hell does that mean?"
I looked him in the eye to explain this "Julie and I brainstormed and then we made the sudden realization that Vampyres are thought to be undead."
He cursed "You're right. It's the Vampyres, I knew it..."
I cut him off "Scar, it doesn't necessarily mean it was all the Vampyres. First of all, the Vampyre had to have been a witch when they were alive. Secondly, only females can be witches. Therefore..."
He finished my sentence "We're looking for a female Vampyre, or a female that was a Vampyre, or someone who was a Vampyre and is now keeping a witch around?"
I huffed dejectedly "That's the problem. We don't know if she did it for herself or for someone else. The good thing though is that even if it wasn't for herself, if we find her, we find who she completed the spell for."
He nodded slowly, giving me a small smile "You are pretty smart, you know?"
I scoffed "Of course, I know."
He chuckled and kissed my forehead "You didn't have to come out here for that. I'm glad you did because I was missing you, but you could've gotten hurt wandering around in the woods in the dark."
I held up my candle "It wasn't completely dark."
That reminded me "Oh, and I didn't come out here just for that..."
Several howls lit up the night.
Scar wrapped his arm around my shoulder "Let's start heading back into town. I'll tuck you in and then get back to the pack. They're going to be wild tonight."
I rolled my eyes "I didn't expect that at all."
He asked playfully "Is that sarcasm I detect in your tone, Ms. Grigori?"
I smiled, lighting the candle again "It might be."
We were silently walking for a ways before i remembered what I needed to ask him. He had a way of distracting me.
"Scar, I saw this name in the front of the book." I started.
I saw him glance at me and nod, motioning me to keep going "The Vampyres are Reizian, aren't they?"
He pursed his lips "Generally speaking, they originate from there. That doesn't mean all of them are. The ones you met, though, definitely did come from there. Why do you ask?"
I bit my lip and ducked under a low-hanging branch "So, if one were to take a consort, is there a chance that their name would be altered?"
Scar nodded "More than a chance. When Vampyres take consorts, much like wolves take mates, they bond. Since we've bonded recently, soon your body will start to change. You'll be stronger, less vulnerable to diseases, your life force will begin binding to mine. When we make it to that point, you'll live as long as I do, which unless outside forces interfere, is much, much longer than human life. Several hundred years, in fact. Our history isn't documented well enough though to know exactly how long we live. There actually haven't been any Lycanthropes known to die of a natural cause..." He trailed off, pondering his race's majestic mystery.
"Scar, consorts..." I reminded him gently.
He flashed me a grin "Sorry. So, Vampyres know when their consort is near. They find them and usually turn them with their consort's consent."
I frowned "What happens if they change them without consent?"
He grimaced "Like us, there are the odd cases where the mate or consort doesn't give consent to be bonded to their other half. If this happens, chances are that eventually they will work it out. Their relationship may never be fully repaired, but at least they'd be together, which is the better circumstance than if they're not."
I asked "What happens if they're not together?"
He took a deep breath "They slowly wither and die."
I stopped, turning to him "You were just going to let that happen to us?!"
He gave a pained look "No, Vas, I wouldn't have. It might have taken me a while to warm up to you, if you had really been a man, but I would've done something about it eventually."
We started walking again and I walked close to him, curling my arm in his "Sorry. I get moody when I don't sleep much."
He gave a little laugh and I elbowed him in the ribs.
"So, what was your point about Vampyres being Reizian, again?" He asked.
We were closing in on the town. As we stepped into the street I shrugged "Well, when I saw the name, I figured that maybe the book had belonged to the woman that used the spell. If she were actually the one who used it, then she would've been the consort to a Vampyre and her name would have been changed. I was going to ask what Katherine was in Reizian."
He inhaled sharply "Are you sure that's the name in the book?"
I nodded, opening the cover and showing him "Katherin Markson, right there."
He glanced at it and then swallowed "Katarina." He said.
I felt my eyes widening "But...she was...sort of nice. I thought..."
He grasped my hand in his, rubbing his thumb over my knuckles "I need to find Talon. We'll need to leave tomorrow to get another meeting with the Vampyres..."
I opened my mouth to object, but he captured my lips, stealing my breath away. By the time he pulled away, shifted, and ran, I was too shocked to stop him.
I knew he didn't want me to go with him, but there was no way in hell I was staying home for this one.
I was going, one way or another.