The Gathering Storm

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Maman had taken to her bed upon returning from the hospital, and refused to leave her room the next day. Dariya and her stepmother, Countess Zina, paid a call and asked if I'd like to visit the Vladimirichi Palace with them. Maman had no objections. "Do give your aunt my love," she said. "I simply cannot get rid of this headache." I remembered the sleeping drops Dr. Kruglevski had given me. He had told me to take a dropperful, so I knew it was perfectly safe for Maman as well. I left Maman sleeping comfortably and rode with my aunt and cousin in their carriage to see the grand duchess.
Dariya was furious with me when I told her the wedding was back on.
"Are you mad?" she asked as we rode down the muddy streets of St.
Petersburg. The snow was almost completely gone, and spring was just around the corner. "What did George Alexandrovich have to say about this?"
I felt a stab of pain in my chest as I thought of the tsar's son. "He thinks I'm foolish, just as you do. But please believe me, Dariya. I have to uncover the Montenegrins' secrets in order to protect the tsar."
"There must be another way," she said. "Perhaps Miechen will be able to help."
Grand Duchess Miechen took my aunt's hands in hers, kissing her on each cheek. "Welcome, Zina. Have you told Katerina already?"
"No, Your Imperial Highness. I wanted to wait until we were here." They both turned to face me and my cousin.
I suddenly felt like a rabbit looking at two very hungry wolves. I started to back away toward the door. "Aunt Zina?" I asked. Dariya grabbed my hand. She looked as surprised as I was.
The countess smiled. "Do not worry, my dear. The grand duchess has planned an amusing diversion for this afternoon." Grand Duchess Miechen gestured to the table, which held numerous candles and a heavy, ancient book. "We want to speak with someone with vast knowledge of the occult. An Egyptian necromancer, Ankh-al-Sekhem."
"A necromancer?" I repeated softly. "He would know how to defeat the undead soldiers?" I said.
Miechen nodded. "I believe so." She clasped my hand and added in a low voice, "Katerina, my husband is a member of the Order. I fear for his life too."
Of course. And the grand duchess's sons would be expected to serve when they grew up as well. She had very dear reasons for stopping the revenants.
"Does the tsar know of this necromancer?" I asked. "Why hasn't he sent for him in Egypt?"
My aunt laughed. "My dear, Ankh-al-Sekhem lived over three thousand years ago. We must hold a seance to channel his spirit. Isn't that delightful?"
This was what I had feared. This was why Miechen needed me. To make sure the seance was successful.
A three-thousand-year-old necromancer would not be a pleasant person to speak with. I sighed. "Are you certain this is the only way?"
"It may not be the only way, but it is the most expedient, Katerina," Miechen said as she drew the curtains shut. My aunt began to light the candles.
I glanced at my cousin. Dariya nodded, her eyes gleaming with excitement. She was actually looking forward to this. I took a deep breath and glanced at the pages in the book. They were not in hieroglyphics, as I'd half expected, but had been translated into Latin. Wonderful.
There was a knock on the door before we could begin. The maid announced the arrival of the princess Cantacuzene.
With a swift move, Miechen pinched out the candle and threw open the curtains. If she was afraid, she did not show it. She stood regally, waiting for the Romanian princess to enter.
"Your Imperial Highness," the elderly woman announced, entering the parlor on the arm of a young man. A nephew, I believed.
The grand duchess nodded graciously. "Your Highness. It is a pleasure to see you again. We have missed you."
Princess Cantacuzene looked around at Aunt Zina and me with her shrewd eyes. She leaned in and whispered something to her nephew. He smiled at us pleasantly and, with a bow, left the room. The princess did not wait for an invitation but sat down on one of the velvet cushioned chairs.
"Strange things are happening in the city at night," she said.
"Indeed," Miechen answered.
Aunt Zina nervously sat down in a chair next to the princess. She folded her hands in her lap but played with her handkerchief.
Dariya looked from her stepmother to me. She and I both could feel the frosty tension in the room between the princess and the grand duchess.
"Katerina, sit down, my dear," Miechen said, retiring to her own chaise by the window.
I obeyed, noticing the smell of burnt candle in the air and hoping the princess would not comment. I settled in the chair next to my cousin.
Miechen rang the maid for tea. "Have you been ill, Ruxandra?" Her violet eyes gazed serenely upon the Romanian.
"I have been indisposed," the princess answered vaguely. "The tsar's men have made hunting difficult for my family." She looked directly at me with a gaze that chilled me down to my toes. She knew that I knew what she was. I could not hold her stare. I looked away out the window.
"You missed a beautiful ball et last month," Aunt Zina said nervously. "The young ball erina Cornalba was superb."
"I am sorry to have missed it," Princess Cantacuzene said. "And what news do you have, Katerina? Are your wedding plans going well?" I tried to swallow the piece of strawberry tart in my mouth, even though I had no appetite at the moment. "Yes, Your Highness." I wondered if she still hoped I would murder the crown prince.
"Indeed," Miechen said. She stirred her tea. If she was eager to get rid of Princess Cantacuzene and continue with the seance, she did not show it.
She was so perfectly serene it was eerie. I had heard stories of the grand duchess in passionate yelling matches with the grand duke Vladimir during
dinner parties but had never witnessed one. I hoped I never would.
Aunt Zina finally succumbed to her nerves. She stood up and announced it was time for us to return home. There would be no seance that afternoon.
I glanced at the grand duchess, but her face gave no hint of what she was thinking. Dariya and I rose from our seats as well. We said our goodbyes to both her and the princess.
"Do come and visit me sometime, Katerina," the princess said, her bony fingers cradling my chin. "We should have much to chat about." I tried not to shudder. "Of course," I said.
As we were climbing into our carriage, Aunt Zina cried out, "Oh! My gloves!"
"I can retrieve them for you," I said, hurrying back inside the palace. As I approached the parlor, I could hear the grand duchess and Princess Cantacuzene arguing.
"Ruxandra, you'll do no such thing. They are not welcome here."
"You cannot stop me. It is already in motion."
"This is treason."
Whatever Princess Cantacuzene said next was too low for me to hear in the hallway. But I heard the grand duchess's reaction loud and clear.
Miechen's voice was cold as steel. "Blood drinker, get out of my house.
Do not ever threaten me or my family again."
I heard Princess Cantacuzene's laugh as she came closer to the door. I hurried back down the hallway so it would look as if I were just coming inside.
The princess's face was inscrutable as I passed her. "Always remember, Katerina Alexandrovna. No one has all ies in this city. There is no one to trust but yourself."
I found Miechen sitting in her chair, looking a little paler than usual. "Are you all right, Your Imperial Highness? Can I do anything for you?" She shook her head. "I'm fine. I thought you had left."
"My aunt forgot her gloves." I spotted them on the chair where Zina had been sitting. I hoped the grand duchess did not want to continue with the seance now that Cantacuzene was gone. "Are you quite sure you are well?"
The grand duchess's smile was frosty. "You are very kind, Katerina Alexandrovna. But the princess was right. There are no all ies in this city. It's every creature for him- or herself. And you will stay alive much longer if you remember that."