The Morning Star kt-3

by Robin Bridges

  “I am to be the next Koldun, Katiya. I walk many of the same paths you walk. But it is a much greater price that I pay. Come, we must hurry to the seven gates. Before Konstantin finds us.”

  Not letting go of my hand, he led me through the swirls of fog for what seemed like forever. How could anyone tell where they were going in this strange place? How could you hope to find anyone in such fog?

  George began to hum a tune that sounded similar to the chanting of the monks at Abydos. I struggled to keep up with him, and finally we arrived at a wide river. “Is this the Nile?” I asked.

  “No, it’s the river of the dead.” He took two coins from his pocket and set them down on the dock.

  It wasn’t long before a boat arrived, directed by a jackal-headed man. I stood closer to George as the man retrieved the coins from the dock. He held a hand up and beckoned to both of us. George supported my arm as I took a step into the small barge.

  No sooner had we both arranged ourselves in the boat than the man pushed off from the dock and the boat floated down the dark river. “Where are we going?” I whispered.

  “Into the heart of the underworld,” George replied. “Beyond the seven gates.” His face was grim. “Don’t worry. We’ll make it to the sword soon, love.”

  I reached over and threaded my fingers in his. “How did you learn so much about the Morning Star?” I asked. “From the Order of the Black Lily?”

  He nodded. “We also found an old manuscript in Moscow that described it. It took Papus and me several months to find the ritual that would reveal its hiding place.”

  I shivered as we floated through the mist. The motion of the boat was making me sleepy, and I leaned my head against George’s shoulder.

  “Don’t fall asleep, Katiya.” He shook me gently. “That is one of the worst things you can do in the Graylands. Focus on your cold light.”

  It was like sleepwalking on a boat. I started to see visions of girls in white ball gowns dancing the mazurka with dashing young Cossacks dressed in red. I saw crocodile shapes swimming in the water. I saw skinny wolves trotting warily alongside the riverbank, tracking us. I did not know if I was dreaming or if these visions were real. I tried to focus on my cold light and hoped that George knew where we were headed.

  We came at last to a stone landing, and the boat pulled up close enough to let us out. George went first, then held my hand and helped me. He led me up the stone steps to a great hallway lined with enormous golden doors. We hurried through the hall, not stopping at any of the doors.

  “Katerina, you realize that once you hold the sword, we will have to destroy Konstantin and Johanna once and for all. It’s the only way to end the threat against my father.”

  “How, though? Death did not stop them before.”

  “Only a necromancer can grant the second death that the pharaohs were so terrified of in ancient Egypt. Only you can prevent them from ever returning to the land of the living. The words you’ll have to recite should be in your Necromancer’s Companion.”

  He had insisted I bring the ancient book with me. I opened it and began flipping through the pages. I knew I’d seen a spell that mentioned the second death.

  “And what of Danilo and Mala?” I asked. For certainly their souls were still here in the Graylands. “What if we could bring them back instead of Konstantin and Johanna?”

  He picked up my hand tenderly. “Katiya, you know that for us to be absolutely safe, the crown prince and the ballerina must not return. I’m sorry.”

  “But Mala did not ask to be sacrificed for Princess Cantacuzene,” I said. “She did not deserve to die like that. And if Konstantin and his princess are gone, there’s nothing to cause Danilo to act against the tsar.”

  George shook his head. “There will always be that wound on Danilo’s soul. The cold lights of Konstantin and Danilo are so tightly woven together now that I don’t believe you can ever separate them. Johanna has not been in Mala’s body long, and Mala’s soul is here somewhere in the Graylands, but we can’t risk any ties between the two women either.”

  “I must defeat Konstantin here in the Graylands, then?” I asked. I’d found the ritual of the second death in A Necromancer’s Companion. I had a feeling it would not be a pleasant task. Nor would it be easy.

  George looked over my shoulder at the open spell book in my hands. “The second death is also mentioned in the Ani Papyrus, the Book of the Dead. You will need to use the sword.”

  A hooded figure stepped out of the dark mist.

  “There is no one else, my Queen of Swords.” It was Grand Duchess Militza, the vampire sovereign of St. Petersburg.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked as George moved to stand protectively between us.

  Militza smiled. “It is easy to travel the ways of the Graylands when one is the daughter of a necromancer, Duchess. My mother sent me to look for you. You are the only one who can help my brother.”

  I’d almost forgotten that Queen Milena, Johanna’s sister, was also a necromancer. One more person who must never hold the Morning Star. I clutched George’s hand in alarm.

  George shook his head. “Absolutely not. Katerina is not putting herself in danger to save that bastard.”

  Militza’s eyes flashed bloodred. “Katerina is not the cold-hearted killer you want her to be, George Alexandrovich. She knows it would be wrong to take the lives of two people who have no control over the dark forces inside them. I do not think Katerina is willing to live with the consequences of such actions.” Militza smiled. “The Koldun wishes that Mala be spared as well. Even if Miechen does not.”

  “Does the Dark Court know all that has happened in Egypt?” I asked, astonished.

  Militza nodded. “The Grigori have been excellent messengers. And now Nicholas and the French mage have returned and given their detailed report.” She looked from one of us to the other. “Both the Light and Dark Courts have been watching the situation. We have decided to work together to defeat the threat of Konstantin.”

  “Then surely both courts realize Danilo is too dangerous to be allowed to live,” George said.

  Militza’s face was white as stone. “Both courts agree it would be easiest to allow his soul to share the second death with the lich tsar. But there is another way. I will not give up on my brother until every option has been examined.”

  “You believe there is a way to separate his soul from Konstantin’s?” I asked. “Is it safe?”

  The blood-drinking grand duchess laughed. “Why should you expect anything in the land of the dead to be easy, Katerina?” she asked. “Or safe?” She looked at me with piercing eyes. “Doing the right thing is sometimes very difficult. And very painful.”

  “Are you saying that saving the blood-drinking crown prince is the right thing?” George asked. I knew he did not share Militza’s opinion.

  “The Dark and Light Courts have agreed to work together to save Russia from the lich tsar and his soldiers. This includes the faerie courts, the blood drinkers, the Order of St. Lazarus, and the Order of St. John and all of its sorcerers. The wolf-folk have also pledged to help. As long as you carry the sword, Katerina, we will have the Grigori on our side too.”

  I glanced at George nervously. We had no reason to trust Militza. “Do you have proof of the Dark and Light Courts’ cooperation?” I asked.

  She nodded and waved her hand across the grayish mist. The clouds parted to reveal a scene in a large looking glass hanging at the end of the hall. There, in the mirror, I saw the tsar and the empress kissing the cheeks of the dark faerie Miechen and her husband, Grand Duke Vladimir, the Koldun. At Miechen’s side, my mother knelt before the tsar.

  Militza nodded grimly. “You have your proof. Everyone is committed to see this through, Duchess. We’re all in danger if Konstantin defeats our tsar.”

  I looked closer at the edges of the picture and saw a silver-white wolf and a much larger black one standing at attention beside Grand Duchess Ella. Ella was gently scratching behind the ea
rs of the black wolf.

  My brother and father stood at attention, both in smart dress uniform, in the tightly disciplined formation of members of the Order. They would be joining the battlefield as well.

  I turned to Militza. “Isn’t there a way I can prevent the battle?” I asked her. “If I kill Konstantin with the sword and give him the second death, then no one would have to go to war.”

  “I doubt you’ll be able to just walk up to the lich tsar and expect him to allow you to kill him,” George said.

  Militza’s tiny, razor-sharp fangs showed when she smiled this time. “It is too late to avoid battle now, Duchess. We are going to war, whether we want to or not.”

  “I know why you do not wish to go to war, Militza,” a sickeningly familiar voice said as two figures approached us out of the mist. George took a step closer to me. It was Mala’s body, but it was Princess Cantacuzene’s voice that dripped venom. “You will lose the support of the St. Petersburg vampires once I return.”

  Militza hissed. But she did not attack either the princess or the lich tsar. “Konstantin Pavlovich, you will pay for what you have done to my brother,” she threatened.

  The lich tsar laughed. “It was your mother’s ambition, as well as your own, that destroyed your brother. You should have known that stealing the Talisman of Isis would demand a heavy price.”

  I still wore the talisman around my neck, hidden by a high-collared jacket. I did not know what good it would be to me, unless I needed to command an army of corpses. Unfortunately there was no such army around.

  George gave my hand a comforting squeeze. Murmuring a few words, he raised a small protective circle around Militza and the two of us. The invisible walls went up before Princess Cantacuzene could reach out for the grand duchess.

  The vampire princess scowled and countered George’s spell with one of her own. Immediately the cold light glowing around George grew bright and tightened around him. He faltered, and I could feel the protection of the circle shrinking.

  “George!” I cried, feeling helpless. I did not know how to counteract the princess’s spell. Then, with one uttered word, Konstantin added his power to Johanna’s and George’s cold light exploded in a burst of shimmering dust. George looked at me before he fell to the floor.

  “No!” I whispered, sliding to my knees beside him. His eyes were closed. His cold light was completely gone. “George? Don’t leave me. Please, don’t leave me,” I begged. I touched his cheek gently and sent up a prayer of thanks when I felt him draw a ragged breath.

  With the circle of protection collapsed, Militza and Johanna were now attacking each other, claws out and fangs bared. Konstantin was trying to help distract Militza.

  “George?” I whispered. “Don’t try to speak. I’m going to get you out of here.”

  He finally opened his eyes. He reached up and cupped my face with his hand, wiping the tears off my cheek with his thumb. “Don’t waste your strength on me. You must find the sword. I love you, Duchess.”

  I heard an enormous rushing sound in my ears. My cold light was spiraling out of control. I tried using it to hold on to George, but there was nothing for my tendrils of light to latch on to.

  “No! I won’t let you go,” I said, squeezing his hand. The air was being sucked out of my lungs. He was breaking my heart. And I was on the edge of hysterics.

  His grip on my hand was slipping. “One more thing, Katiya. Tell Papus he must become the Koldun when Nicholas is tsar.”

  “Are you certain?” I still did not trust the Frenchman.

  He nodded. “I’m certain. Promise me, Katiya.”

  I couldn’t do anything to save him. I was not a doctor, and I was definitely not a strong enough necromancer to counter whatever Konstantin and Johanna had done to George. I finally gave in to the tears that were boiling inside. “Je te promets,” I whispered.

  He smiled weakly, mumbling something that might have been a last endearment or a Koldun spell. All of a sudden, George Alexandrovich disappeared from in front of me.

  I screamed from both shock and fright. In a heartbeat I was back on my feet, searching the area. George had simply vanished. What had just happened?

  The two vampires shoved me as they fought as two wildcats. I was astounded. I’d seen Militza transform into a moth before, but never had I seen either woman shift into such large and dangerous creatures. There were torn patches of fur and blood on the floor around me. I stumbled around them in a daze, trying to find my husband. “George?” I pleaded, choking on my tears. “Where are you?”

  Konstantin laughed and raised his hand to cast a similar spell on Militza.

  She stopped fighting almost immediately and transformed back into her human form. “Dani?” she shouted imploringly. “Dani, I know you’re still inside that body. You wouldn’t hurt your own sister, would you?”

  Her cries gave me enough time to cast a shadow around the two of us. I heard Princess Cantacuzene howl in frustration.

  The grand duchess had tears mixed with the blood on her cheek. “Come quickly,” she told me. “As long as they do not have the sword, we still have a chance.”

  In the back of my head, a dull thought slithered up to the surface. What does it matter? George is dead. I should be dead as well. But the tsar and the empress were still in danger. I had to keep going even if only to return to St. Petersburg and tell them of their son’s death.

  33

  Militza led me all the way down to the end of the large stone hallway. One corridor veered to the left. A massive door blocked off the right hall. The grand duchess said, “This way,” and headed down the left corridor without stopping to see if I was close behind.

  I wanted to glance over my shoulder and look for Konstantin and Johanna, but I was afraid of what I would see.

  I hurried to catch up with Militza. Her tears had dried and there was a hard bitterness to her face. She was worried for her brother, but now was clearly not the time to mourn him. Or to mourn George. We had to save the tsar. For all of our sakes.

  “We cannot pass the seven gates without an initiated mage,” I said, following her down another corridor. “How can we reach the sword now?”

  “You will have to enter on your own. We can only pray your heart is pure enough, Katerina. Although I suspect you will have little trouble.”

  “But I am not a mage!” I said.

  Militza sighed, exasperated. “Listen very carefully, because we are running out of time. Papus told us there was a chance that a necromancer who was sinless could withstand the trial of the seven gates on her own and retrieve the Morning Star. He did not want Konstantin to discover this. Obviously, Johanna cannot claim any sort of innocence.” Militza took my hands and squeezed them tightly. Her fingers were cold as ice. “You are the only one, Katerina. You must believe in yourself.”

  My mouth dry and my heart pounding, I nodded slowly.

  “Here,” Militza said as we came to the end of the hallway. She waved a hand across a golden door on our right. The door opened and we slipped inside quietly. “Can you ward the door so they cannot get in?”

  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, Duchess!” 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 passed 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 passed 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!”