Someone stepped out of a dark archway and beckoned to me. It was Vladim. Apparently, he had found another exit from the basement passages.
If I could run that far without getting shot, perhaps I might end Christmas day with a beating pulse. But what would it matter? If I didn't get a confession from Ms. Melora, it was off to prison for sure. I looked over my shoulder.
The orphanage director stepped around the corner. Her gun was gone. Had she seen a camera man and hidden the weapon or just run out of bullets?
I braced my shoulder against the wall and managed to gain my feet. My thumb brushed against something imbedded in the wall. Another mic? Rhys Adaire's crew had installed another mic on this side of the wall.
“I saw the cameraman in the watchtower, little girl. But we are all alone, you and I, back here behind this wide wall. You want me to confess? I shall do it here, just us, alone in the silence of the garden.”
A howl broke through the frosty morning air and then another and another until the whole pack sang out their savage song. They were no longer in the garden.
I looked back toward the dark alcove where Vladim hid. There were no wolves between us yet. I could run, if my legs would obey me.
But Ms. Melora had promised to confess. The woman wasn't likely to confess to an empty patch of air.
If I moved, she would chase me or shoot at me or see the mic in the wall. If I didn't, well, the wolves were coming. I could feel the warm thudding of blood against my throat. The wolves would smell my fear and the hot rush pumping through my veins. These wolves had been raised in a cage, fed meat through the bars whenever hunger came gnawing. What they saw before them was a table set with icy fish chunks, a fleeing malamute, and a weak, exhausted girl. It was a no-brainer. Eat another solid hunk of frozen fish, or chase down a tender, screaming delicacy. I was nothing but soft, pink flesh and full-blown delicious. I could not stay here. I had to run.
“Do you know that I discovered the change in Kirill's will just before Rhys Adaire asked you to cut off your hair?” She took a step toward me.
The long, lanky shape of a wolf ghosted behind her and stopped by the trunk of a leafless tree. Another wolf joined him, this one dark and grim.
I leaned against the wall, far enough from the stone so that her voice could reach the mic, but not so far away that she might see the small device.
A pale wolf joined the others, scenting the wind and meeting my gaze with intent, golden eyes.
I pulled my gaze away from it and faced the woman who had raised me.
“And what did you do then, Ms. Melora? I know you hid me and didn't tell a soul where I'd come from. When Kirill Volkov's guilt grew so that he could press back the truth no longer, what did you do then?”
Two more wolves joined the pack behind the tree. They slunk out from behind it and crouched low with their hackles raised. With eyes like the flat, golden coins atop a dragon's hoard, the wolves crept ever closer.
20
Now That's Some Quality Entertainment
No, I would not flee beneath the castle and accept my place as a suspected murderess. Neither was I content to run into the forest and freeze to death as an anonymous orphan. Even if I somehow managed to cheat death for a time, these feeble victories were unacceptable. I stood beside the hidden mic, ignored the approaching wolves, and gave Ms. Melora a hard stare. I wanted the truth.
“You know what I did, I don't need to explain it. You know that I was justified.”
“Murder hardly seems like the obvious first step in a conflict resolution situation, Ms. Melora.”
She laughed at me then and leaned her hip against the wall. “You're right. It was not the first step. I had been going back and forth with Kirill for years. We were lovers once, did you know? So, he brought you to me and I took you in. What else was I to do, the love of my life was in danger and needed his deadly secret covered and forgotten. I could do that for him and so I did. But then he began to weaken. The years of lying took Kirill's sleep and he sought out the priest more and more often. In time I did not know him. He despised the accident. He despised himself for his carelessness and he grew to despise me for my part in hiding his shame. Is that fair? I did nothing but show my love, and he grew to hate me for my sacrifice and compassion.”
“No,” I whispered. “It's not fair at all.”
“And so, he pulled me aside and explained his plan of restitution. How he would give everything he owned to the orphan of the Americans he had slain. Stone and iron seized my heart. He had promised it all to me, out of our great love that promise was born, and now it was nothing to him. So yes, I killed him and I let the wolves take his corpse when they grew furious with hunger. But it was not a rash decision, little girl. He wove that trap himself. It took years of rejection and heartache. Betrayal killed Kirill Volkov, and the betrayal was not mine, but his.”
Oh, yeah! I had my confession. In fact, it looked as though Rhys Adaire had his footage as well. I glanced toward the wolves by the tree, the glint of camera equipment caught my eye. The crew had set up in the other watch tower as well. No wonder they had a mic on this wall too. My brief exultation ended as I did a double take toward the bare tree.
The wolves were gone.
I pressed my back against the garden wall.
The wolves had slipped closer during Ms. Melora's villainous monologue. Much closer. All seven of the tall, shaggy creatures were in attendance. They formed a jagged ring around Ms. Melora and me. There was nowhere to run, for every angle of escape was covered by a lean, alert shape with a gleam of intense interest in its eye.
Why had I not noticed how happy predators appeared when they had cornered their prey? The satisfied expression and twitching tail of a cat with a mouse had escaped me. The wagging tail and perky ears of Chobo digging a squirrel out of a decaying log had never given me pause. But now that pleased expression was turned upon me.
I looked into seven pairs of eager, yellow eyes. Saw the wolves prick their ears forward and tremble with anticipation. At least someone was having fun, right?
I scanned the distant wall and the watchtower where Adaire's crew filmed. No one stirred. Apparently, the camera crew had been trained to never interfere with the course of nature. Well, nature wouldn't be pretty today.
A movement against the far wall caught my eye. I squinted over the heads of the wolves as they crept nearer.
Liev and Chobo were moving at an angle toward the walled garden.
My pulse jerked in my throat and my heart thudded out a faster rhythm. He had escaped the castle basements, but would they be in time? I looked back at the wolves. We were quite thoroughly surrounded. Without a gun or a steam roller, there was nothing Liev could do even if he arrived before the feast began.
I closed my eyes in prayer, for there was nothing left to do but die.
Lord, I don't know if You've noticed, but I've beenâ¦umâ¦upset. You allowed my parents to die and Kirill Volkov to get away with murder. I am about to be devoured. Things have not gone well. It is a relief to know that the truth will be told, that I will not be remembered as a killer. But there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of good here. However, since my death appears sure, I do thank You for the chance to rock the babies at the orphanage. Thank You that I am not blind to their plight, but will die having loved and given love. Thank You for the discovery of the truth, for Chobo, and for Lievâ¦
A thought interrupted my adrenaline-fueled conversation with God. I looked up.
The wolves were right in front of us.
Ms. Melora pulled out her gun. Shouldn't she be running out of bullets soon, unless she had a bunch of ammo in her pocket?
But Liev and Chobo were closer as well. They ran toward us, just a few yards from the ring of wolves.
“Chobo,” I yelled. “Snack time!”
She cringed back and faltered. She wouldn't do it.
I opened my mouth to shout for her again.
But then the dog's tail curled up and her ears pricked forward, her shoulders tensed and Chobo the fearful, charged straight into the pack of wolves like a great, fat, freight train of destruction.
My fearful pup was no longer the runt.
Chobo was much thicker than the wolves. They might have been lean hunting machines, but she had been gobbling up snacks and scraps for the past eight years with wild abandon. All those treats gave weight to her charge. For a moment, she was victorious. She barreled toward me, knocking wolves left and right. Like snarling, gray bowling pins, they were flattened by her hurtling advance. The wolves picked themselves up immediately and regrouped, but Chobo had given Liev just enough time.
He slipped through the gap she had opened and zapped the wolves back with a small black device. The taser. The taser from the wolf cage. Why hadn't I picked that up? The familiar electric zing seemed to remind the pack that they had lived their entire lives in a pen eating nothing but frightened bunnies and reindeer carcasses. Volkov must have had to tase them before, for they slunk back, cowed and repentant.
Each wolf slipped away.
Vladim Volkov had rushed through, too and now was busy tying Ms. Melora up with some rope from the castle's basement. He must have been able to grapple her gun away, or she'd been out of bullets. Either way, she was no longer a threat.
Liev slumped against the garden wall, heaving in breaths. He glanced toward me and without thinking, I scooted closer. Liev took a deep breath and closed the distance between us. He stood in front of me for an instant and then tipped my chin up with one mittened hand. There was a question in his eyes and an electric silence crackled between us.
Gravity seemed incredibly strong and I swayed toward him slightly.
Liev pulled off his mittens. Gently, he cupped my jaw in rough, strong hands. He paused, looking long into my eyes.
Part of me wanted to run. What was I thinking?
Liev would just grouch about my hair and leave as soon as the crisis was over.
It was adrenaline. This powerful magnet that tugged me toward him was nothing more than a rush of fearsome chemicals.
Ever so slowly he tipped my chin and leaned closer.
I didn't run.
His lips touched mine, feather soft.
I stepped into his embrace. I allowed my arms to slide up around his neck and pushed all thoughts of flight away. It was incredibly cold, but neither of us noticed. His mittens fell to the ground. My fur hat tumbled off as his hands slid into my hair. Perhaps, he wasn't worried about lice after all.
“Cut!” Rhys Adaire's voice rang through the icy Siberian morning. “It's a wrap, you two. I've got my shot.”
Liev stumbled back, his cheeks bright.
“Um⦔ He stuttered and he stared at the ground, rubbing a circle in the snow with the toe of his boot. “Interestingly enough. I'm glad the wolves didn't eat you, Faina. Andâ¦my folks wanted you to come to our house for the Christmas feast.”
I scowled at the TV crew and retrieved his mittens and my hat. “And did your father, the priest, instruct you to give me this message in such a manner?” I touched my fingers to my lips and took a careful step back, lest I launch myself upon him and renew our kiss.
“Now look, you were about to be eaten and suchlikeâ¦it was my duty to give the message in whatever way seemed right.” His blush grew brighter. “Andâ¦I have missed you, more than you could know. I needed you to see that before you could run away again.” He held out his hand. “I would be honored to escort you to dinner, Miss Faina. It will be just the ticket, what with you starving and freezing and chased by wolves. Will you come?”
He had a point. A Christmas feast did sound like “just the ticket.” And though it pained me to admit it, I did spend a fair amount of time running away. I looked at Liev's hand, and then up into his eyes. Perhaps I had not given him sufficient time to explain himself before I took flight. It had been six years, a lot can change in that amount of time.
I took Liev's hand and stepped closer. “Yes.”
Chobo pranced over and sat on my toes, her curly tail thumping. I wished I'd kept some of the reindeer jerky for her. “Good girl, Chobo. Good dog.” Chobo slurped my arm and woo woooed out an enthusiastic “you're welcome.”
Then, hand in hand, we found the hidden door behind the stone alcove. Liev and I descended the secret stair and walked through the escape tunnel toward town, where my first Siberian Christmas feast awaited.
21
A Christmas Gala After All
One Year Later
The soft lighting from the ballroom glowed and the gentle strains of the orchestra filled every empty space in the castle.
Instead of joining Rasia's wealthy friends, the townspeople, and the orphans on the dance floor, I stood by the window looking out at the dark winter night.
This particular window was the perfect vantage point from which to catch a glimpse of the orphanage. The flat, gray building remained unchanged on the outside, but inside it was a new creation. We were alike that way.
I had arrived in Siberia on the wings of tragedy. Chaos and murder and the best of intentions gone wrong. But I had not stayed there. No longer was I that broken little girl, trapped in a place without love. I had given my heart to those around me. I had rocked babies until my love was spent and learned to keep rocking them, even then. I had left Ms. Melora and her cold, efficient ways behind and forged something new.
The evil in life is so palpable that it could snatch away one's breath and freeze one as surely as the relentless cold of a Russian storm.
But God had not walked away when tragedy took me by the hand.
I had become something else in the moment our plane crashed. And now I was changing again. I had become a Russian, an orphan, a different girl than before. It wasn't for a grand noble reason. It was all an accident.