least as far as the Fontanka, and so was able to make his own way there, reaching the river bank before Dmitry emerged and managing even to cross ahead of him. The streets were virtually deserted now and the gaslight mingling with the half-moon cast strange shadows across the frozen water.
Once across, Mihail ducked troll-like back beneath the bridge, waiting for Dmitry to pass over. Looking up he could see one of the towering obelisks that gave the bridge its Egyptian flavour, and a sphinx sitting patiently on its plinth at the end of the balustrade. As Dmitry crossed, the bridge began – as tradition suggested – to sing. His footsteps caused the walkway to vibrate, which in turn ground the chains that suspended it against their brackets and a strange ululation filled the air, each stretch of the chain, with a slightly differing length and tension, contributing its own pitch to the cacophony.
The singing continued for a minute after Dmitry had left the bridge, but Mihail did not stay to listen. As soon as his quarry had disappeared down Izmailovsky Prospekt Mihail set off for the junction. There he could see that Dmitry had turned left and then right. He was now on the long, straight Zabalkansky Prospekt, stretching south to the outskirts of the city. There was no chance now for Mihail to lurk in the side streets, and so he had simply to follow at a distance, hiding in the shadows whenever he feared Dmitry was about to turn and look back towards him. But whatever was on Dmitry’s mind, it was not the possibility of pursuit and Mihail found his task remarkably easy. After ten minutes they crossed the Obvodny Canal, officially marking the edge of the city. Ten minutes later still Dmitry disappeared. He could only have turned off the road, to the left. Mihail made a note of the point, and soon reached it, looking at what lay to the side of the road.
Ahead of him stretched a vast, flat expanse, punctuated only by the jagged silhouettes of gravestones, tombs and sepulchres. This was the great Novodyevichye Cemetery, resting place of so many of the city’s wealthiest dead. A plot here could cost hundreds of roubles; many bought their own grave before they died, for fear that their relatives would find a better use for their inheritance.
The tall figure of Dmitry was still visible in the moonlight, making his way between the graves. Mihail stayed by the road. If this was merely another leg of Dmitry’s journey, then there was the risk of losing him, but Mihail doubted it. One of those graves – or more likely a larger tomb – would be where Dmitry settled for the night, either alone or with Zmyeevich. Mihail moved a little to one side until Dmitry’s path aligned with two unmistakable statues of angels or saints that marked points where the dead rotted below. Now he would be able to follow the path Dmitry had taken. It was after about a minute that Dmitry came to a halt and looked around him. Mihail ran – on tiptoe so he would not be heard and ducking down so he would not be seen – until Dmitry’s position aligned with another pair of reference points; this time a tall cross and a tree. Now he had two lines for his triangulation. They had taught him the technique at the technical school and he had used it often in the army, but never heard of its use in hunting a vampire.
Dmitry was gone. Mihail waited a few moments in case he had simply stepped behind some monument, but there was no more movement. Dmitry had gone to ground – gone into the ground. Mihail drew and loaded his crossbow, then checked again to make sure he could identify all four of his markers. He stepped forward into the graveyard, following the path laid out by the second pair, the cross and the tree. He kept an eye on the first two statues, initially far apart in his field of view, but converging with each step he took. He had not run far between his two triangulation points, fearing that Dmitry would be lost from sight, and so he knew that the process would not be hugely accurate. While there was still quite a gap between the two statues, he slowed his pace and began to look for more direct signs that he had reached the correct spot.
The evidence came to