“With that in mind”—my voice was a little strangled, and probably half an octave higher in pitch than usual, but I plowed on, talking over the top of everyone else—“does anybody have any technology or magic that could track me through demonic magics?” I looked from Igor to Thorsen, then at Bruno and Creede. “Just in case they manage to capture me?”
“I can probably come up with something.” Creede met my gaze, his eyes dark holding more emotions than I could count. “How much time do we have?”
“I don’t know.”
Bruno was speechless; he looked shocked and sick. He came up to me and pulled me into his arms in a silent embrace that was comforting for both of us.
“Get me a mirror or my bowl and I can find out.” Adriana pulled away from her mother. Her demeanor had changed totally—she looked strong, confident in her abilities.
I was glad somebody felt that way. I didn’t feel confident at all. I was pretty much scared shitless. I needed to know more, but I sure didn’t want to. “Bruno, why don’t we give Adriana her wedding gift now?”
A lot of quizzical looks greeted that comment, so I explained. “Our gift is a hand mirror, specially spelled for clairvoyant use by Princess Adriana.”
“I’ll get it,” Bruno answered. He gave me a quick squeeze, then let me go and raced back to our rooms. The embrace, I knew, was a gesture meant to encourage me. It would’ve worked better if I hadn’t seen the raw fear in his eyes.
Adriana and Dahlmar ordered the room cleared until only the three of us remained. Bruno came back and handed Adriana our gift, which was carefully wrapped in shiny paper in the colors of the royal houses. He would have stayed, but John called his name from the door and he left, probably to help work on Creede’s ideas for tracking me.
We sat on the couch, Dahlmar and I waiting impatiently as Adriana unwrapped the package and brought out the mirror with a soft gasp of pleasure.
“Oh, Celia … it’s perfect. The handle nearly melts into my hand with warmth.” She beamed at me for a moment. “Thank you. And thank Mage DeLuca. He must have worked so hard on this.”
Collecting herself, she said soberly, “If anything will help me cut through their shielding, this should.”
Taking a deep breath, she started muttering the ritual phrases that would clear her mind and activate her talent.
I saw images start to flicker in the glass, only to be covered by thick, black smoke. Adriana conjured a wind, but the glass refused to clear. I watched her struggle, bringing all her formidable will to bear. The fingers gripping the mirror were white knuckled, her face flushed and her body shook from the effort.
Useless effort.
I had to put an end to it. “Stop. Don’t hurt yourself.”
She looked up and I was shocked to see tears pouring down her cheeks. A stray drop fell onto the reflective glass. The clouds cleared. The scene revealed wasn’t the one she’d been seeking. Instead, the mirror revealed Adriana herself, kneeling beside Dahlmar, both in their wedding attire. They faced a huge, carved marble cross the exact shape of the Eldritch Cross Adriana was wearing at her neck, except for a single additional stone protrusion at the bottom. In the mirror, Adriana pressed her hand against the giant cross, and with the grinding of stone against stone, a secret door appeared in the wall directly in front of them.
In the room, Adriana gave a gasp of pain. With a deliberate jerk she broke off the vision. I didn’t understand why until I caught a glimpse of her hands. The skin that had gripped the mirror was burned and blistered, a result of a curse that had been used to prevent her from seeing what she had wanted to see.
32
It would have been a busy morning without the arrival of Okalani’s arm. As it was, it was insane. We vacated Adriana’s apartments, leaving the investigators to do their thing.
Bruno and Creede had hustled off somewhere with Dahlmar’s best mages to work on the tracking device that could be implanted in my body in case the worst came to pass. My hand was throbbing, and I glanced down at the curse mark on my palm to see it red and angry. Thanks to the late, unlamented Queen Stefania and her death curse, I’d had a lot of experience with worst-case scenarios.
My thoughts were dark, my mood darker. I had to do something to distract myself, so I went with Thorsen and Igor to look in on the people doing one last check of the various security measures. I had a vested interest in them. Still, if there were any weaknesses, I wasn’t finding them. Then again, neither was anybody else.
Noon came. We broke for lunch. I asked a servant to have food brought to my rooms and went there to eat and clean up. I’d gone to Adriana’s rooms in such a rush that I hadn’t even had a chance to brush my teeth, so I felt pretty damned scruffy.
There was a final check of the wedding regalia scheduled in one of the downstairs conference rooms at 2:00. So I ate, took a shower, and generally made myself presentable. By the time I was done, it was 1:30. I stepped out of the bedroom and into the living area to find Bruno, Creede, and an elderly man in a plain brown suit waiting for me, their expressions serious. They rose when I entered the room.
“Well?” I looked from one to the other.
“We did it.” Creede and Bruno both smiled. They looked tired but pleased. And well they should be. Breaking new magical territory on short notice and under pressure was something to be proud of.
“This”—Bruno gestured to the older man, who bowed—“is Dr. Ilia Bogdonavich. He’s going to implant the device.”
I started to roll up the sleeve of my blouse, but Creede shook his head. “Under the circumstances—” I had a sickening flash of memory of Okalani’s arm laying on Adriana’s bed.
“Right. Where do you suggest, Doctor?”
“The muscles of the abdomen or the gluteus maximus would be best.”
Stomach or ass. Hmnnn, not much of a choice. I reached for my belt. “Leave the room, boys.”
“Aw,” Bruno teased, “you’re no fun.” Creede just smiled and led him out into the hall, giving the doctor and me some privacy.
“This is going to pinch,” he said. Why do all doctors say that? And why are they always lying?
It didn’t pinch, it hurt. I had to remind myself that I’d asked for this. People had gone to a lot of trouble to arrange it for me, and it was for my own good. But I was still pretty grumpy as I followed Baker through the maze of corridors to the conference room for the fitting. It’s surprising how much you use your tail muscles to walk. I should have thought of that.
We arrived at more or less the same time as Adriana and her guards. My cousin looked much better than she had this morning. Her “wake-up call” had been shocking and sickening, but she’s a tough cookie. It had frightened her, no doubt about it. But she was channeling that fear into anger and determination. I admired her for it.
She’d dressed in simple jeans and a white cotton tee. I was wearing my usual black jeans with a blouse and a black suit jacket. Technically I was the better dressed, but she somehow managed to look elegant, chic, and oh so much more attractive. It was a trick she and Dawna both had mastered and I just hadn’t. I kept trying to figure out how they did it. Dawna said it was the fit—but Isaac had tailored this jacket. It fit perfectly. Whatever it was, I couldn’t do it.
“Are you okay?” Adriana asked.
“As much I can be,” I assured her. “You?”
“The same. Is it wrong to say I just want this over with?”
“No. I think that’s pretty typical of most brides at this stage of the game, and they don’t have to deal with terrorists. But hey, remember, this time tomorrow, you’ll be Mrs. Dahlmar, Queen of Rusland, and off on your honeymoon.”