“Militza thought I could help you?” I was shocked. The grand duchess was greatly overestimating my abilities.
“She told me you were the only one with powers close to those of our mother’s. Or Princess Cantacuzene’s. She did not realize I’d already found Ankh-al-Sekhem in the Graylands.”
Of course Danilo knew the ancient Egyptian was far more powerful than I. But we had defeated him, hadn’t we? Danilo and I together. It made me feel strange to realize we had been on the same side. We were definitely not on the same side now.
Mala and the elder Grigori approached our table, and Danilo invited them to join us. Mala leaned close to whisper something in Danilo’s ear. It was not happy news for him. With a scowl he told her, “Take care of it.”
The elder Grigori bowed and followed Mala toward the hotel lobby.
“What has happened?” I asked the crown prince.
“It is nothing. Another band of Grigori has arrived in Cairo. Along with a few of the French wizards. Mala is going to see to it that they are distracted.”
“Do you trust her?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Her loyalties lie with Konstantin because of Princess Cantacuzene, who was your mother’s half sister and mortal enemy. How does Mala feel about your mother?”
“We do not discuss my mother.” Danilo frowned. “Mala has sworn on her life to protect me. I will not doubt her.”
“Of course,” I said. But I remained wary of her. And it was not because I worried about the crown prince. I worried about the stability of Russia.
Danilo sipped his coffee silently while I finished eating. As the waiter cleared our plates away, I asked the crown prince when we would be returning to St. Petersburg.
“Patience, my dear Katerina. We still have business here in Cairo.”
“What sort of business?”
His hand came down on the table suddenly and violently. “We still have not found the sword!”
I jumped, once again startled by the sudden change in his personality. “Is there anyone else who can tell us where it is?” I asked calmly. We would receive no more help from Ankh-al-Sekhem. And the sphinx’s advice had been too cryptic.
A commotion in the hallway drew our attention. Danilo stood up and reached for my arm. “We must go quickly.”
I stared at him, hesitating. As cruel as Papus had been in the carriage, I could not believe he was working with George and the Koldun. Still, I couldn’t help praying for a rescue.
“Quickly!” Danilo repeated as he herded me out of the dining room and into the courtyard. There was a spiral staircase leading to the second-floor balcony. He dragged me up the stairs and into the music room. It was not even midmorning yet, but a trio of Egyptian musicians already sat playing haunting folk songs. The air was smoky from pipes and incense, making it hard to see.
Mala was here as well, dressed in a shockingly low-cut bloodred gown, her long black hair hanging in wild curls. Silver hoops dangled from her ears, and a belt of delicate silver bells hugged her hips. She wore silver on both wrists and one ankle as well. I gasped as I noticed her bare feet turning prettily in time with the music. Her arms were graceful and thin as she wove them upward in circles. She was swaying her hips to the exotic music, moving in a hypnotic rhythm like a cobra.
She had a captive audience. A group of travelers stood just inside the doorway, staring in silent admiration. Several other men sat at tables around the room, all eyes on Mala, the wicked faerie dancer.
Danilo pulled me back behind a large potted palm tree before the travelers could spot us. He stood very close behind me, his lips inches from my ear as he whispered, “Do not make a sound, Duchess.”
I began to feel the old hypnotic pull of the Vladiki prince as his lips barely touched my skin. I could not give in to him. I reminded myself that what I felt for him was not real. I tried to pull away, but he merely laughed.
Finally he let me go. “I think it is safe for us to go back downstairs and find a carriage. We have business in the city this morning.”
“What is Mala doing?” I asked as he dragged me away. I’d seen no signs of the Grigori, and no mages that I recognized. “Won’t she be cold in such a scandalous dress?”
Danilo laughed softly. “Do not worry about her, my dear. But I live for the day I see you dressed like that for me.”
“That will never happen,” I said, blushing fiercely. I hated to admit it to myself, but her dancing did look far more fun than any polonaise.
Danilo laughed again. I blushed even more as I realized he was listening to my thoughts.
He found us a carriage and seemed to relax as we left the hotel. I stared out the window, taking an interest in the loud and colorful streets of Cairo. “Where are we going?” I asked.
“To the museum. They have several artifacts on display that have been recovered from the pyramids over the years.”
“Would the sword be in a museum?” I asked, hoping it would not be that simple.
“No. But the emerald scroll attributed to Ankh-al-Sekhem is in a display case there.”
“And you read hieroglyphics?”
Danilo nodded. “It is one of the many languages I have learned over the years.”
“How extraordinary. Will you be needing my services in the museum?” I asked sarcastically. I was wearing the Talisman of Isis beneath my gown, just in case.
He shook his head. “No, Katerina. Please do not resurrect any mummies while we are at the museum. However, I do not intend to let you out of my sight as long as there is danger in Cairo. And we will not leave before I find the sword.”
The Egyptian Museum was located on a street near the river, past the marketplace and several European hotels and bars. Past places that admitted only men and where girls danced wearing almost nothing at all. Mala had not looked ashamed to have all those men staring at her. She seemed to thrive on the attention. Perhaps it fed her fae powers somehow.
Danilo held out his hand for me as we pulled up in front of the museum. “Stay close, Duchess.”
The museum was flanked by two small sphinx statues. I shuddered as we walked between them, but neither one seemed to notice us. Perhaps not all sphinxes spoke; I’d never heard the ones in St. Petersburg utter a word. They’d been brought to the Academy of Arts years ago, bought by Tsar Nicholas from the French to decorate the Neva riverfront.
Danilo took my arm in his as we strolled through the front doors of the museum. “I think the exhibit we want is on the second floor,” he said. We walked up the enormous white staircase, and at the first landing, I glanced back down at the marble lobby, onto a very large column covered in hieroglyphics. Large statues of cats and ibises stood guard around the stone column.
When we reached the top landing, Danilo swore under his breath. I spotted two of his Grigori rushing over to us. “They’ve already been here, Your Majesty,” the elder one said.
“Did they find the tablet?”
“They looked at it, but they did not take it.”
“Hurry!” Danilo said, his grip on my arm tightening. We rushed toward the Writings Room. The tablet that Danilo sought was in a glass case in the center of the room. He let go of me and put both of his hands on the case, peering down at the tablet.
“Perhaps they didn’t know how to read the hieroglyphics,” I said. I truly wished that Danilo were not so talented in languages either. A sword as dangerous as the Morning Star needed to stay lost. It did not belong in anyone’s hands.
“It does not matter,” Danilo said. “The tablet mentions nothing. Only the same seven gates of heaven spoken of by the sphinx. More meaningless text about the star that rises in the morning sky.”