The Morning Star Part 11

Konstantin stared into his winegla.s.s, his eyes glowing green, his face bitter. "The French mage betrayed me. He turned to the Pretender's side when the ritual at Vorontsov Palace went wrong and he escaped like a coward. He will pay for his betrayal. But I must complete tomorrow's ritual first. Then we shall be able to deal with Papus."

Mala nodded obediently. "The Grigori will speak with their brothers in Armana, then. They will prepare everything for the ritual." She waited until the waiters served our plates before telling me, "The Grigori are able to talk to one another mentally across thousands of miles. Not deep, meaningful conversations, of course, but they are able to relay simple messages. Short commands and such."

If only I could convince the Grigori with us to betray Konstantin and send a message to those working with Papus. And George. But I had no idea how to gain their loyalty. And I still was not sure about Papus.

I was about to remark on the fact that my plate consisted entirely of rice and vegetables, without a main course of meat, but the mention of the Grigori's special abilities reminded me of something that had puzzled me earlier. "If we can enter the Graylands in one location and leave them in another, why can we not just travel through the Graylands to get home to Russia? Or to wherever it is we need to go for this ritual?"

Danilo laughed. "It is much more dangerous to travel through the Graylands than it is to travel through our world, Katerina. It can take years off one's life or drive one insane. Mortals cannot spend long stretches of time in the Graylands."

I sank back in my chair. "I see." Even as a necromancer, I was still mortal. Unlike Danilo. Or Mala, the wild fae. And yet Danilo had still dragged me to that place in order to escape Papus.

I barely tasted dinner. Danilo was preoccupied with his dark thoughts and Mala did not seem eager to engage in conversation either. The elder Grigori appeared and spoke into Danilo's ear.

Danilo sat straight up. "We're leaving," he announced. "Immediately."

I stood up. "Fine. I wasn't very hungry anyway."

"We're leaving the hotel, Katerina. You have five minutes to gather your belongings from your room."

"Five minutes!" I exclaimed.

Mala grabbed my arm. "Hurry, d.u.c.h.ess."

But they weren't even my belongings. Danilo had bought everything that was in my trunk. I didn't care whether I ever saw that wardrobe again. "I'm ready now," I said.

Danilo and Mala were not, however. Reluctantly, I followed Mala back to her room, where she threw her things into a small suitcase. She was cursing in Polish in a low voice.

"Why did our plans change so quickly?" I asked.

She muttered something under her breath, and I caught a whisper of the Romanov name.

"Are they here?" I asked. Had George come for me after all? My heart began to pound.

"Who? You are being silly for not taking your things, d.u.c.h.ess. It will be a long time before you will see fancy dresses again."

"First tell me why we must leave so quickly." I would stall as long as possible if it meant helping George and Papus stop Konstantin.

"The Grigori who sided with the French mages were seen traveling south. They know where we are headed, it seems. But Konstantin Pavlovich does not wish to face them before he's completed his ritual. We are in danger here. Now you must go get your things."

"Why do you remain loyal to Danilo?" I asked her. "Because of your loyalty to Princess Cantacuzene? The Montenegrins killed Johanna. Konstantin may mourn her death, but the crown prince does not."

Anger flashed in her eyes. She looked as if she wanted to strike me, but her hands remained clenched at her sides. "I will remain loyal to Konstantin, for one day he'll be able to bring the princess back to me."

I looked at her in shock. George had cut off the blood drinker's head after Militza had poisoned her. There was no way Princess Cantacuzene could return. Not even the lich tsar was that powerful, was he?

"Now," Mala said, pushing me down the hallway to my room, "no more stalling. The crown prince's Grigori will not allow you to interfere with his plans. You have five minutes to gather your things."

Reluctantly, I hurried next door and hastily packed as much as I could from the wardrobe Danilo had provided. Once I was safe in St. Petersburg, I would burn every last one of these dresses.

My five minutes were up before I could finish. One of the Grigori came to carry our baggage. Danilo entered my room behind him. "Are you ready? Very good. We must go quickly."

"Why?" I demanded. "If the grand duke is coming, you cannot stop him. He will find me, Danilo."

I received a slap to my face before I knew what was happening. It was Konstantin's harsh laugh I heard. "Forget about your precious grand duke. He already knows we've been together for the past week and he a.s.sumes we have eloped. He will never marry you now, Katerina."

Tears leaked from the corners of my eyes, as much from the pain of being struck as from utter despair. He was right. There was no way George would ever believe I had not been compromised. Mala was not a sufficient chaperone. I would not have trusted Petya's dog with the faerie dancer.

"Please hurry, Your Majesty," Mala hissed. She was standing in the hallway, dressed once again in her black habit and head covering. No one would recognize her as the tempting belly dancer from yesterday.

"Come along, Katerina," Danilo said, clutching my arm so tightly that he bruised my skin.

We descended the staircase flanked by several Grigori. They did not appear to be armed, but I could tell they were prepared to defend Danilo to the death.

We made it through the hotel's lobby and into the waiting carriage outside without incident. Mala sat across from Danilo and me, glancing out the window repeatedly as we raced to the dock at the river, where a chartered steamer was waiting. But surely traveling by rail would be faster? How far south did Danilo plan to take us?

The moonlight glimmered across the dark waves on the wide river. I was a little sad to be leaving such a beautiful city.

"Step quickly, Katerina," Danilo said as he rushed me up the gangplank. I stumbled, but two ship porters standing at the entry were quick to offer their a.s.sistance. Danilo brushed them aside and gently pushed me onto the steamer. "Your room is this way, Katerina."

He took me directly to a small cabin on the upper level and promptly locked me in.

I awoke in a tiny room, not remembering at first where I was. And then it all came back to me. I'd given in to the tears and cried myself to sleep. Now my head ached and my eyes were puffy. The ship rolled gently, and glancing at the window, I could see the lights from the waterfront pa.s.sing by slowly. The sky was just beginning to lighten. We'd left Cairo. I had no idea where we were.

I washed my face in the tiny basin in my cabin and tried to make my hair presentable. I finally gave up and twisted it into a topknot. I was shocked to find my door unlocked.

In the early-morning sun, I could see that the steamer we were on was just a small cruiser, with only a few cabins and one large common room on the main deck. In the common room, I found Danilo and Mala. They were arguing over a piece of papyrus in Mala's hand.

"They won't know what they're looking for," Mala was saying. "I'm sure it will be safe."

Danilo tore the papyrus out of her hand. "It won't matter if the tomb has already been desecrated."

"What tomb?" I asked. "Where are we headed?"

Mala turned away and went to stare out the window and sulk.

Danilo pulled a chair out for me, gesturing for me to sit. "Abydos."

"Isn't that south of Cairo?"

"Quite a distance south, actually." Danilo sat in the chair opposite me and stirred his coffee. "I had a private steamer chartered to get us there as fast as possible. I'm afraid we have no time for sightseeing at Sakkara or Armana. And I've had to persuade the captain to travel through the night as well to get us there in record time."

"I don't understand. What is in Abydos? I thought we were returning to St. Petersburg."

Mala laughed and turned to face me. "We must go to the temple in Abydos for Konstantin's ritual. Once it is completed, Papus will have no choice but to help us."

"The ritual you spoke of in the bazaar?" I had an uneasy feeling about ancient Egyptian rituals, and I hated that Mala knew more about the crown prince's plans than I did.

Danilo smiled. "I don't believe it will be anything you have not done before."

A chill slid down the back of my neck. I did not want to take part in anything Danilo was planning. Konstantin was a powerful necromancer in his own right. "You have no need of me, Danilo. You know perfectly well you are capable of handling this on your own."

He leaned forward and tucked a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. His voice was soft but deadly. "Oh no, d.u.c.h.ess. The necromancer who recites this ritual must be pure. Something, alas, that is too late for me."

Revulsion washed over me. I felt cold and clammy. And slightly nauseated. I had no desire to think about Danilo's ... impurity. What if he and Mala had ...? No, I did not want to think about it.

"I still have a part to play," he continued. "This ritual will require every ounce of power the two of us possess. It requires a small sacrifice."

"You would never kill me." But I did not believe my own words.

His smile showed his sharp, tiny fangs. "I wouldn't say never, Katerina. But no, not at this time." He glanced from me to Mala enigmatically, his eyes flashing from black to green and back to the strange hazel color that told me the two men were fighting for control of Danilo's body again. I feared it was only a matter of time before Danilo would surrender completely to the lich tsar.

Then the crown prince's mood changed as he sat back and dumped three heaping spoonfuls of sugar into his coffee. With a much more pleasant smile, he said, "Have you never heard of the Temple of Osiris at Abydos?"

I shook my head. "Is it near Luxor and the Valley of the Kings?" A few years ago, I'd read about a Russian explorer who had traveled all the way down the Nile to Luxor. His discoveries had been the talk of all the Dark Court b.a.l.l.s that season.

"Close, but on the opposite side of the Nile. Abydos was the site where the pharaoh Seti built his pyramids. He also built a beautiful temple to the G.o.d Osiris."

"The G.o.d who was brought back from the dead by Isis," I said, remembering my Egyptian mythology. A Necromancer's Companion would have come in handy if I'd had it with me.

Danilo nodded. "The temple at Abydos is allegedly where Osiris was brought back to life. And where his greatest treasures were interred. This site is one of the most recently discovered, so it has not been completely excavated. Nor has it been plundered by grave robbers."

"Isn't that what you intend to do if you find the sword?" I asked. I wondered if we could be arrested for disturbing a historical site. I wondered if it would be foolish to alert the authorities to Danilo's plans.

"The Morning Star is not an Egyptian artifact, Katerina. It is not of this world."

"Which means it does not belong to you any more than it does to anyone else."

His hazel eyes narrowed as he glared at me. "And what would you have us do with it?"

"Find some way to destroy it," I said. "Or give it back to the Grigori. Such a dangerous weapon should not be placed in anyone's hands."

"Impossible." He laughed, but it was a cruel and cold laugh. "You are so naive." He took my hand and smoothed over my skin with his fingertips. "I wish sometimes that I were as innocent as you, Katerina."

I'd never felt less innocent than at that moment. His touch made my stomach squirm. I was revolted. I jerked my hand back from him. "How long will it take us to reach Abydos?"

"By pressing forward without stops along the way, we should reach Abydos by tomorrow afternoon," the crown prince said.

One of the Grigori brought us breakfast, a few pieces of flatbread and dates. Danilo did not even allow me a cup of coffee or tea. "You are fasting in preparation for the ritual. Only light foods and water for now. And after tonight, only water until the ritual is complete."

The flatbread and dates were delicious, but I feared that I would be weak by the time the ritual occurred. Somehow, I would have to keep my wits about me.

Danilo and Mala, I noticed, were eating light meals as well. Mala nibbled on her fruit and Danilo only picked at his bread. I wondered if he was actually nervous about the ritual. As much as I hated and feared the lich tsar, I had come to feel sorry for the crown prince. I didn't think he'd ever planned on any of this to happen when we conducted his ascension ritual in Cetinje. Being possessed had in fact been one of his greatest fears.

I wondered if there was a way of defeating Konstantin without harming Danilo. I had no wish to marry him, but it did not mean I hoped this would all end badly for him. If I had to kill the crown prince in order to kill Konstantin, could I do it?

A chill crept over my skin. Danilo glanced over at me and frowned. I put my napkin on the table. My appet.i.te was gone.

"Before we reach Abydos, I must tell you a little about Egyptian magic," the crown prince said. "You've used it each time you call upon the shadows to hide you."

"The Sheult spell was in A Necromancer's Companion."

"That book was taken from some of the writings of Ankh-al-Sekhem, as well as those of ancient Arabic and Greek necromancers. A French sorcerer compiled the book in the late sixteen hundreds."

It was strange to think I had the bitter old Egyptian mummy to thank for the Sheult spell. It had protected me many times.

"The Egyptians knew about one's cold light. They called it the ka," Danilo continued. "Or the body double."

"I thought the ka was the soul they built their pyramids for." I'd not read much about Egyptology, but I'd overheard a few conversations between tourists and tour guides while we were in the museum in Cairo.

"According to the Ani Papyrus, the soul contains several parts, and the cold light, or the ka, is merely one part. Most of the rituals in the papyrus aid the deceased in restoring all the parts of the soul together so it may rise again."

I frowned. "Danilo, everyone did not return from the dead in ancient Egypt. One does not see streets populated with walking corpses."

He shook his head. "That is because they remain in the necropolis. In the cities of the dead. And only royalty was given the rites of resurrection, Katerina. Not everyone could be brought back."

The slaves and the merchants and the soldiers and the rest of the pharaoh's people had to be content with their short, hard lives, while the pharaoh cheated death and lived on in his beautiful, gilded pyramid. It did not seem fair. "When did you have time to read so much?" I asked. "Surely you did not glean all of that information from that fragment of the papyrus."

"Of course not. I read Johanna's Companion many, many years before it fell into your hands, my dear." He nodded to the younger Grigori, who came forth with something wrapped in an old black cloth. The Grigori presented his bundle to me.

With a bewildered "Thank you," I took the bundle and unwrapped the black silk. The fabric was fragile, and I was afraid it would crumble in my hands. "Where did you get this?" I asked, astounded. It was A Necromancer's Companion. But it was not my copy. This one was written in French.

"It is a pity you did not bring your own book, Katerina," Danilo said lazily. "Fortunately, the Grigori were able to find a replacement."

"You are most gracious," I said to the Grigori, whose face betrayed no emotion. I carefully wrapped the silk around the book again and placed the seemingly innocent bundle in my lap. It had been responsible for the fate of possibly thousands of Egyptians. "Has it ever occurred to you how much our tsar is like the ancient pharaohs?"

"They rule by divine right," Danilo said with a shrug. "It is the will of the G.o.ds."

"But the people had no voice," I said. "They lived and died at the whim of the pharaoh."

"Who is the voice of G.o.d." Danilo's eyes narrowed.

Mala's voice broke in on our conversation. "Your education has been filling your head with revolutionary ideas, hasn't it?"

"Of course not! But it does pain me to see people who believe the tsar does not care about them."

"Why should he care about them?" Danilo said, leaning forward. "They pay their taxes and fight in the tsar's armies, and in return, the tsar protects them from foreign attacks."

"Do you think that's all a tsar is responsible for?" I asked. "Tsar Pavel never prepared you for ruling Russia. Your father never wanted you to be tsar." I knew I was risking Konstantin's anger again. But I had to get Danilo to see how dangerous the lich tsar was. He would not be a good tsar. He would not listen to the people.

Danilo's hands pounded the table in anger. "It was not his choice! Grandmother wanted me to rule Byzantium! Nicholas tried to recapture Constantinople and failed. But now that my brother is dead, I will rule both Byzantium and all of the Russias! The two kingdoms will be united under my power."

Mala stood up from the table and went to kneel at Danilo's side. "You will make a wise and powerful tsar, Your Imperial Majesty," she told him. Her faerie eyes shimmered and it seemed to calm him.

The Grigori standing nearby said nothing. The two men revealed no emotion, nor did they seem fazed by the lich tsar's anger. They believed he would carry the Morning Star. And they would follow whoever carried the sword.

"The Ottomans are too powerful for Russia to wage war against right now," I said. "Even Empress Katerina realized this before she died. Capturing Byzantium was nothing but an old woman's dream."

Danilo glared at me. "You do not deserve to carry her name, d.u.c.h.ess." He stood, pushing Mala to the side as he reached out and grabbed my arm. "It is time for you to retire to your cabin and meditate for the coming ritual."