The Morning Star Part 15

I shook my head, terrified. I felt useless.

"It makes no difference," Militza said. She beckoned me deeper into the room, which was a long, narrow chamber not unlike those in the pyramids. But there were no hieroglyphics on these stone walls. Only seven pairs of torches that gave off a strange light. A cold light. It baffled me.

"Those lights are actually guardians of the sword, Katerina," Militza explained as she saw my confusion. "Some Grigori gave up their physical forms in exchange for a spirit and eternal service to the Morning Star. When the sword is placed in the right person's hands, they will be allowed to join their brothers in the land of the living."

"What if it's placed in the wrong person's hands?" I asked.

Militza's smile was cold as she gazed at the lights. "Then they will execute that person. Are you ready?" I stared at the inner sanctuary at the end of the narrow chamber. A statue of a man stood in the tiny room, holding a sword horizontally in his outstretched hands. The sword did not glow, but I could feel my own cold light drawn toward it.

"Do I need to say something? Something to unlock the sword?" I asked.

Militza shook her head. "If we had a mage here, he would know the words to recite at each of the gates. But you are the necromancer who walks among both worlds and can bend cold light to your will. Hopefully that will be enough."

Shaking, I entered the narrow chamber and approached the first pair of torches. Closing my eyes, I took a step so I was standing between them. The cold light flickered, but nothing else happened. Cold sweat dripped down my back as I took another step forward. Still, there was nothing.

"You're wasting time, d.u.c.h.ess!" Militza hissed.

My heart pounding in my ears, I continued. Perhaps I was hallucinating, but I could have sworn I heard voices whispering as I pa.s.sed each pair of lights. The voices were too low to understand. Whether the guardians of the gates were blessing me or cursing me, I could not tell.

Finally, as I reached the last pair of torches and pa.s.sed between them, I felt cold, invisible hands pulling me back. I shrieked, both from fear and from frustration. I could see the statue holding the sword, just out of my reach.

"Don't give up," Militza called from behind me.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, willing my fear away. The invisible hands let go of me and I was able to step forward again. I was finally in the inner chamber, standing in front of the statue.

With a trembling hand, I reached out to take the sword. The hilt was beautiful, a heavy silver piece with winged creatures engraved along the sides. Two large stones were embedded in the hilt, both a brilliant dark black. It reminded me of the onyx in the Talisman of Isis. I bore the talisman and lived. I hoped I would fare the same with the sword.

As I took the sword, the tiny room flooded with cold light. "Those are your guardians!" Militza shouted. "Command them to do your bidding!"

"I command the guardians of the Morning Star to follow me," I said shakily. The sword was not as heavy as I'd expected it to be. The lights flew about the room in a spiral; then in a burst, they entered the sword. I felt a strong vibration and almost dropped the weapon. Behind me I heard Militza cry as she was knocked down by the force of the lights whirling around the room.

Militza slowly stood up. "Now, Katerina. We must hurry back to St. Petersburg."

As I rushed back down the narrow chamber toward her, the outer door crashed open. The guardian lights rushed to converge upon the invaders. I heard Princess Cantacuzene's cry as Konstantin tried to cast a spell. Militza grabbed my arm. "Use the sword. It is what you were born to do."

I nodded, my mouth dry and my heart pounding. A roar of cold wind had risen up inside the chamber. There was a small tempest whirling around us that kept Konstantin and the princess from reaching us.

I could end everything here and now if I killed Konstantin in the land of the dead. I hated that Militza would have to watch me attack her brother's body, but deep down she knew it had to be done. I would have to cut the lich tsar's head off and say the ritual of the second death. This would d.a.m.n the lich tsar to oblivion. And probably Danilo as well.

Princess Cantacuzene was trying to fight the sword's guardians with her shadows. Her cold light had begun to grow strong again and she was drawing on its power. I closed my eyes and uttered the words of the second death as I lunged toward her.

Militza was standing behind me, fangs out to aid if she could. "Take her head!" she shouted, and the guardian lights seemed to wrap around her in my defense as well.

Princess Cantacuzene screamed when she realized she was trapped. There was no other spell that could help her now. I begged G.o.d in heaven to forgive me for what I was about to do and swung the sword at her neck, praying that the blade was sharp and my aim true.

My prayers were answered. Johanna's head fell from her shoulders onto the floor. I was amazed to see there was no blood. I remembered the first time I'd seen her die, in a different body, in a pool of blood at a St. Petersburg hospital where she'd killed Dr. Kruglevski. As Konstantin roared in fury, I hoped that the doctor's soul was at peace. I hoped Mala's soul would now be at peace as well.

"No sun shall rise over your grave. No birds will sing for you," I said wearily. "Nothing but eternal rest awaits you, Johanna Cantacuzene." The sword suddenly seemed much heavier.

Konstantin's face was contorted in cold rage. "I will kill you, necromancer, and there will be nothing peaceful about it."

I leveled the Morning Star at him. I was too numb to be afraid of my own death anymore. "Come and join your bride, Konstantin Pavlovich," I shouted.

The guardian lights swirled around him as if to hold him for me as they had the princess.

"No," Konstantin said softly, with a demonic, half-crazed smile. "Not this time."

I rushed toward him then, but before I could lift the sword, the lich tsar disappeared.

Suddenly the wind died down and the lights returned to their posts along the side walls. Only Militza and I were left in the room.

She stood next to me like a statue, not showing any signs of fatigue. In fact, she looked very regal. "Katerina, are you ready to return to St. Petersburg? We must use your magic to get there quickly. There is no other way."

I nodded, ignoring the hollow feeling inside. In St. Petersburg I knew I would have to face George's death all over again. And I would have to face his parents.

Militza turned toward me. "I am truly sorry, Katerina, that you did not marry my brother last summer. Perhaps you would have been able to help him hold on to his humanity."

"But would I have been able to hold on to my own?" I asked.

Militza said nothing at first. Her black eyes were moist but I saw no tears. "I am about to show you the secret to journeying through the Graylands. It is extremely draining, but we must hurry if we are to find Konstantin."

I nodded but secretly I felt defeated. I was already drained. I did not know how much energy I had left. Yet as long as Konstantin remained a danger to Russia, I had to keep going. I followed the grand d.u.c.h.ess back out into the great hall, where she approached the enormous mirror we'd seen earlier. With a wave of her hand, the scene at the Gatchina Palace appeared again.

It was the most easily defended of the imperial palaces. The safest place for the tsar to be at this moment. Unfortunately, Konstantin knew the defenses of Gatchina well.

"You must take my hand, d.u.c.h.ess." Militza did not wait for me to respond but instead clasped her cold fingers around mine. "This might hurt a bit."

She took a step toward the mirror and pushed me through. My cold light did not like this method of traveling through s.p.a.ce and time. Tendrils of light seemed to catch in the Graylands, dragging me back slowly while Militza prodded me forward. "Don't slow down," she said. "You must keep going."

I kept trying to forge ahead, toward the palace. Toward my family. But the weight of my cold light was heavy. Militza was firm. "It wants to remain in the land of the dead, Katerina. This is where the cold light naturally belongs. But you must convince it otherwise. Keep moving!"

My cold light wanted to stay in the Graylands because that was where George was. I was sure he was still there somewhere. If only I'd been faster. If only I'd not been rude to Dr. Badmaev and had accepted his generous offer to teach me sooner. How much time had I wasted remaining at Smolni when I could have been studying with the Tibetan?

Mentally, I tried to pull my cold light as close to me as possible, and I willed myself to move forward. Now even Militza was surprised at how I was pulling her the rest of the way through the pa.s.sage.

We landed on the ground in the snow-covered gardens of Gatchina. I wanted to cry. There had not been snow before I left St. Petersburg. How long had I been gone? Members of the Order of St. Lazarus and the Order of St. John met us before we could stand up. The Grigori arrived as well, followed by Papus. "She bears the Morning Star!" one of them said. A hundred waxen-faced Grigori went down on bended knee before me. Papus nodded his head in respect as well.

Murmurs pa.s.sed through the other soldiers, and I saw them part as one of the officers pushed his way to the front.

"Katiya! Thank G.o.d!" It was Petya. He swept me up in a suffocating embrace. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you, brat!"

I closed my eyes and clung to him tightly. He smelled like tobacco and horses. Over his shoulder I could see Prince Kotchoubey, Dariya's friend, standing behind him. He wore the same smart uniform as my brother and clicked his heels with a gallant bow to me. Another brave soldier who would fight for the tsar.

"Katerina Alexandrovna," a familiar and uncertain voice addressed me. It was the tsarevitch. "Where is George?"

"We need to get her inside to see the tsar," Militza said, pulling me away from my brother and the tsarevitch.

"Of course," Petya said, clearing the way for us among the crowd of soldiers. The Grigori were still down on bended knees.

"Please, get up," I told them.

"Tell them to stand down," Petya whispered.

"Stand down," I said, hoping I did not sound ridiculous.

My brother smiled. "You command an army just as well as our great-great-great-grandmother Katerina did."

I blushed. I hoped I would make my ancestors proud today.

Nicholas hurried to catch up with us as we made our way to the palace. "Where is Georgi?" he asked again. "Did he stay behind in Cairo? Father will be furious!"

"Katerina will tell the entire imperial family when we get inside," Militza said crisply.

For once, I was grateful for the veshtiza's bossiness. I did not want to tell my sad story more than once.

The grand doors at the front entrance opened and I entered the palace, followed by Petya, Nicholas, and Militza. Members of the Order of St. Lazarus stood guard at the door. I smiled shyly at them, even though I knew the undead soldiers would not smile back.

Nicholas led us up the grand staircase to the Gathering Hall, which was lined with guards from the Preobrajensky Regiment. The tsar and the empress waited for us in the hall, along with Grand d.u.c.h.ess Miechen and her husband, the Koldun, Grand Duke Vladimir, and the rest of the Inner Circle of the Order of St. John.

"It would be an a.s.set if we had the striga here as well today," Militza whispered in my ear. "Unfortunately, the effect she has on even her allies makes it too dangerous. I have a feeling she is nearby, though, in case she decides she is needed."

I nodded and was grateful my mother wasn't here. The thought of her fighting in the battle to come and drinking the blood of Konstantin and Johanna's minions made me ill.

Everyone was dressed for the a.s.sault, except me. I was still in the wrinkled blue travel dress I'd been wearing when we left Cairo. Even the empress and Grand d.u.c.h.ess Miechen wore the full dress uniforms of their patron guard regiments. The empress's white gown was trimmed in the silver and white braid of the Chevalier Guards regiment, of which she was colonel-in-chief.

The dark faerie was wearing the dress uniform of her Life Guard Dragoons, navy blue with gold-fringed epaulettes. The two women looked just as formidable as the men surrounding them. Like everyone else, they carried the sabers of their regiments, decorated with the imperial double-headed eagle and the Cyrillic cipher of Alexander the Third.

"Come forward, necromancer," the tsar said, his booming voice echoing across the enormous hall. I broke apart from Militza and the others, my boots clicking against the marble floor as I approached the imperial family.

Using the sword for balance, I went down on one knee. "Your Imperial Majesty."

"I see you have succeeded in finding the Morning Star and have kept it safe from Konstantin Pavlovich."

"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty," I said, "I have."

"Is Konstantin dead?" he asked.

"No, Your Imperial Majesty. But his wife, Princess Johanna Cantacuzene, is."

A murmur rippled through the court. Grand d.u.c.h.ess Miechen spoke up. "I believed the princess to have been dead for almost two years, Katerina Alexandrovna."

I nodded. "She was, but Konstantin performed a ritual whereby he killed a young girl and used her body to bring back the vampire princess. With the Morning Star and the help of an ancient Egyptian spell, I killed her once more in the Graylands. She will not be able to return."

There was utter silence across the Grand Hall. If few here knew my secret before, now all knew I was a necromancer. A monster.

"Konstantin must have been wild with grief," the tsar said. "He will seek vengeance, I am sure."

I took a deep breath as my tears threatened to return. "He attacked George Alexandrovich in the Graylands, Your Imperial Majesty." I could feel my voice wavering. I could not, must not, cry in front of the tsar. I was strong even though my heart hurt. "Grief consumes me as well."

The tsarevitch came up behind me, touching me gently on the sleeve. "Georgi?"

I shook my head, too overwhelmed to say the words out loud. If I did not say that George was dead, then it hadn't really happened. Had it?

A silvery-white wolf nosed her way through the group of people cl.u.s.tered around the tsar. She nudged Nicholas's hand gently.

The empress turned pale and placed her hand in the tsar's own enormous one. I could not comfort them. My heart broke for them as much as it did for my own loss.

The doors opened and a messenger from the Order of St. John hurried in, bowing to the tsar as he approached. "Your Imperial Majesty, there is an army approaching from the north of the city. They will be here within the next half hour."

The tsar nodded. "Necromancer, you must prepare yourself."

I squeezed Nicholas's hand before stepping forward.

There was no time to lose. Miechen and Militza whisked me into the small parlor down the hall where they had a uniform waiting for me. Quickly, I changed into a military jacket and matching skirt in the same green and gold colors worn by the Order of St. Lazarus. Pinned to the jacket was the oval medal my soldiers wore, a green hand holding a sword. I was honored to wear the uniform of my creatures.

There was even a belt with a leather scabbard for the Morning Star. I slid the sword into its sheath, grateful I'd have both hands free for the bogatyr's ritual. Both Miechen and Militza nodded in satisfaction when I emerged in the uniform and hurried me back to the Grand Hall.

The tsar's face was sad, but he did not have time to grieve for his son. The Koldun stood beside him holding a golden box with the Maltese cross of the Order of St. John, and the priests were nearby with their incense and crosses.

Tsar Alexander stood in front of me. "Katerina Alexandrovna, you who bear the sword called the Morning Star are being called upon again to summon the bogatyr."

"Brother, you do not have to do this," the Koldun murmured. "She commands the Grigori. We will be able to defeat the lich tsar without putting you through this ritual."

"It is my duty to protect the people of Russia," the tsar replied, not bothering to look at the Koldun. Instead, his eyes bored into mine. "The bogatyr must be summoned. Are you ready, d.u.c.h.ess?"

I nodded, trying to ignore the lump in my throat. "I will do as you command, Your Imperial Majesty."

The prayers had already been said by the metropolitan of St. Petersburg. The Koldun chanted the words of the ritual. I placed one hand upon the Maltese cross and felt my cold light powers rising up. My cold light called to the ancient spirit of the bogatyr, the supernatural warrior bound to protect Russia in her darkest hour. I held out my right hand to grasp the tsar and help transfer the spirit into him. The bearlike tsar would be strong enough to crush me if he wanted. I loved our tsar, almost as much as I loved my own father, but I was very frightened of him as well.

The priest chanted more prayers as the Koldun finished reciting his part of the ceremony. The tsar had grown taller in front of us all. His eyes burned with cold light. I wished he could bear the Morning Star for me. I was sure he could wield a sword far better than I. But the cursed sword would kill even him if he held it.

A cloud of smoke poured forth from the golden candle held by the Koldun, and out of the smoke rose a large bird with long feathers the color of flames. It looked like the firebird of the fairy tales of old.

Everyone but the bogatyr and I stepped back and stared at the firebird as it flew toward the ceiling and swooped around in a graceful arch. We were all too stunned by the creature's beauty to move. It glided straight for me and I still did not step back. At the last minute, the bird dove and in a brilliant burst of flames transformed into the borrowed body of the crown prince. He grabbed the scabbard that held the Morning Star and shouted in triumph.

"Now the Grigori will follow me!" Konstantin Pavlovich exclaimed. He raised the sword in the air and used it to smash a window. "To arms!" he shouted to the crowds gathering outside. "Defend your true tsar!" With a wicked grin and a polite bow to me, he slipped out of the window and onto the palace grounds below.

"Katerina, wasn't that the Montenegrin crown prince?" the empress asked amid the confusion of the shouting and scuffling as everyone hurried down the stairs. The sounds of swords clas.h.i.+ng rang from the field outside. The battle had begun.

"The lich tsar has taken possession of the crown prince's body, Your Imperial Majesty," I said. And I had just let him steal the Morning Star from me. With the Grigori fighting on his side, he would be able to defeat the bogatyr, and it would be my fault. I had to steal the sword back from him. I pushed my way through the crowd and raced down the stairs and outside, searching for the lich tsar without another word to the empress.

Militza's vampires had joined the battle, but there were equal numbers of vampires still loyal to Konstantin. The latter wanted revenge against the vampire who had killed Princess Cantacuzene, and the field was quickly turning into a bloodbath.

The wolf pack I'd seen waiting near Grand d.u.c.h.ess Ella had formed a front on the far side of the lawn and were attacking the Grigori now under Konstantin's control. I hadn't seen the Grigori in battle before, and it was frightening to behold. Fiery wings stretched out from their shoulder blades and they attacked the wolves with flaming swords. I held my breath as one of the silvery-white wolves leapt out of a Grigori's reach just in time.

Members of the Order of St. John, led by my brother and his Preobrajensky Regiment, charged into the fray. I could not see Prince Kotchoubey, but I said a prayer for him, hoping he would return to Dariya safely. My undead soldiers, the members of the Order of St. Lazarus, did not seem to know what to do. They stood silently at attention, the normal blank stare on their faces. "Katerina!" my brother shouted. "They are waiting for your command!"

How stupid of me. Fumbling, I pulled the Talisman of Isis from around my neck and held it up. I p.r.i.c.ked my thumb and let a drop touch the stone held by the G.o.ddess. "The blood of Isis, the soul of Isis, the power of Isis is mine," I said firmly.