“Troubetsky,” he whispered back. “He and I have served together since we first started at the Corps.”
“Do you think Demidov killed him?” I whispered, not wanting to disturb the general. He was covering the dead soldier with a clean white sheet. His grandfather’s body was one of those that had disappeared from its tomb several weeks earlier.
Petya shrugged with an uneasy frown. “Why is this happening? Some of the men are saying the Order is cursed.”
I wished I could tell him. But it would be safer if he did not know.
The general glanced at my brother, who quickly snapped to attention.
“Commander Oldenburg, I want you to place your troops here in the hospital to guard this man’s body.”
“Yes, sir.” He efficiently dispatched two men to guard the front door of the hospital and two to patrol the grounds. Once everything was settled, he returned to Maman’s bedside. “Are you feeling better? Ready to go home?” he asked her.
“Of course, dear.” She enjoyed having everyone making a fuss over her, and it was during times like this that I suspected he was her favorite child. He always did what she expected of him. Unlike me.
Petya helped me and Maman into the carriage and refused to let the driver take us home alone. I was about to tell him everything I knew, but as soon as the carriage took off, my brother scowled at me.
“What on earth do you think you were doing back there?”
“What do you mean?” I asked innocently, glancing at Maman, who was quietly sniffling in her handkerchief.
My brother’s eyes narrowed. “You were meddling.”
“I was only trying to help. Does anyone really know what is going on?” I leaned closer to him and lowered my voice. “Someone, or something, is raising an army of undead soldiers to attack the other members of the Order. Your knights are destroying each other. Does your general have a plan to stop this?”
Petya frowned and stared out the carriage window. “No. We do not know how to stop them.”
I sat back, brooding. Who would know how to stop them? I knew there was nothing in A Necromancer’s Companion that could help. After I’d discovered the sheult spell with Dariya, curiosity had gotten the better of me. I had read the book with the strange Egyptian markings several times, looking for a way to help the count or a way to protect the remaining members of the Order. I had found nothing useful.
I reached over and covered my brother’s hand with my own. “Please be careful, Petya.”
He said nothing, but nodded. Maman sobbed softly.
That night the nightmares returned, more vivid and more horrible than before. Fires and women screaming. Young men dying. And so much blood.
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 séance to channel his spirit. Isn’t that delightful?”
This was what I had feared. This was why Miechen needed me. To make sure the séance 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.