I grabbed her. “You must swear not to tell another soul about this.”
She tried to back away from me, pale and shaking her head. “You are a wicked person! I would expect something like this from Elena, but not you.”
“I have not done this on purpose. Please, Alix. Please believe me.”
“Mistressss …” Madame Metcherskey stumbled toward us, but was kept out by the magic barrier. “You must release me.” Her face and lips were completely colorless. My heart hurt to look at her. And I feared that the noise she was making would wake the headmistress. There was a malice in her eyes that I’d never seen when she was alive. I knew she had never liked me when she lived, and now she’d never forgive me for doing this to her.
Alix shook her head. “No, not even Elena could do something so evil. You must fix it, Katerina.”
“I can’t. But I have to get her somewhere safe.” I took a step forward. “Madame Metcherskey, you need to go see someone who may be able to help you. He has helped me before.”
Alix’s eyes grew even larger. “You’ve done this before? Katerina Alexandrovna, your soul must belong with the damned!”
“Mistresss, release me from your bidding. I have unfinished work to complete.”
Madame Metcherskey did not behave the same way Count Chermenensky had. I wasn’t sure if what had happened to her was the same thing that had happened to him. How could I raise the dead without realizing how I was doing it? I still did not know much about revenants and ghouls, but I was too afraid to let her roam the streets of St. Petersburg on her own. I took a deep breath. “No, Madame. You must do as I tell you. Go to the office of the Tibetan doctor, Pyotr Badmaev, on Nevski Prospekt. He will be able to keep you safe.”
Madame Metcherskey’s dark eyes narrowed and she growled. It did not sound human. Alix shrank back behind me and started to cry. But I was almost certain Madame could not harm me. I took my cloak and tossed it to her. I wished I could help her cover up, but I could not touch her through the empress’s barrier. The image of the frozen shawl in the garden flashed before me. It must have been hers, I thought with a shudder. How long had it been since she’d risen from her grave?
I spoke as firmly as I could, even though I was shaking with fear and shivering with cold. “Go and speak with Dr. Badmaev. Use the servant entrance. Tell him I sent you.”
I hoped he would not be too angry. I hoped the doctor would be able to calm her down. Count Chermenensky had usually been docile as long as he did not feel threatened.
Madame closed her eyes, as if she were fighting with herself. “As you wish, Mistressss,” she hissed, and slowly shuffled toward the front gates.
Alix and I both held our breaths as we watched her disappear into the darkness, and then we hurried back inside. We closed the front door and leaned against the inside, sighing with relief.
Princess Alix turned to me, a chilling look in her eye. “I promise you, Katerina Alexandrovna, you will be punished for your wicked deeds. And if you are consorting with the devil, I swear on my mother’s grave, I will kill you myself.”
Stunned, I only stared at her as she walked quickly and silently back up the staircase to our room. I did not know what I could say to explain or defend myself to her. Necromancy was a wicked art. And I abhorred the thought of what I’d done to Madame Metcherskey. Even if it hadn’t been on purpose. I had never been quite sure how I had brought Count Chermenensky back from the grave either. Did I simply have to wish them back to life? I did not know. And I couldn’t let it happen again.
I rubbed my temples. I was cold and tired, but I was not sure if I could trust Alix anymore. Our room was dark when I returned. Both Elena and Aurora appeared to be sleeping in their cots. I did not think Alix was asleep, though. I sat down and huddled under my blanket, thankful at last for the warmth, but too worried to rest myself. After a long time, Alix’s breathing slowed as she fell into a deep sleep. Elena was restless, tossing and turning, and even whimpering at times while she dreamt. It was a long, black night as I watched all of them and wondered if Madame Metcherskey had made it to Dr. Badmaev’s safely.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
“Katerina! Katerina Alexandrovna!” Elena was shaking me awake.
I had fallen asleep sitting up in my cot, leaning up against the wall. I tried to rub the soreness out of my neck.
“You will be late for breakfast.” Elena dug through my trunk and threw my white school apron at me. “What happened with you and Alix last night?”
I glanced over at Alix’s empty cot. She must have been in a hurry to leave our room that morning. I sighed, trying to lose the tightness in my chest. There had been no hint of a joke or teasing in her threat the previous night. I would have to be wary of her from now on.
“Katerina?” Elena still stood at my bed, looking at me questioningly.
“Alix heard a noise outside, but we saw nothing. It must have been an animal.” Elena did not need to know about Madame Metcherskey. How would I be able to keep Alix from telling anyone? How could I convince her that she didn’t see what she thought she saw?
I took a deep breath. “I think she must have had a nightmare. Alix kept tossing and turning, muttering about unholy things. That is why I was sitting up. I was afraid she would harm herself with her thrashing about.”
“Really?” Elena looked extremely interested.
“Maybe the ghost was stirring up trouble again. Did you have strange dreams last night as well?”
Elena shook her head. “I slept peacefully.” She finished putting her hair up and tied on her apron.
“Then I don’t know what caused her distress.” I shrugged, and hurried to finish getting dressed. Lying to Elena came so easily, it barely pricked my conscience anymore. What kind of person was I becoming?
I dashed downstairs with Elena to the dining room. Sucre was placing baskets of hot biscuits on the table. He seemed oblivious of the several students gazing up at him with starry looks in their eyes.
With the most polite nod, he handed me a biscuit. “Duchess, you seem to find yourself in more and more trouble every time I see you.”
“Merci, Monsieur.” I placed the biscuit on my plate as I sat down at the end of the table.
“First it was a ghost, and now you are plagued with the undead as well?” He shook his head, smiling viciously.
I glanced around in alarm and realized that no one else would hear the faerie speak unless he wished them to. Everyone was enjoying the enchanted breakfast in ignorant bliss. I pushed the biscuit to the side of my plate, and reached for my tea. “How did you know?”
“Duchess, your creature made enough noise to wake the true dead last night. All of the Dark Court knows there is a newly risen ghoul walking the streets of St. Petersburg.”
“What about the empress and the Light Court?”
He nodded. “It is only a matter of time. Yes, your empress will know soon enough.”
“It’s not my fault,” I said, cringing even as I said the words. “I don’t know how it happened.” The empress was not fond of me already. And now this? She would tell the tsar, and I would be sent to Siberia for certain this time. I looked up at the fae cook, who smelled of cinnamon and honey. “Monsieur Sucre, tell me the truth. To which court do you belong?”
The cook’s eyes flashed from light blue to cobalt. “I serve whichever court serves me best,” he said softly. “And at this time, it serves me best to belong to Her Imperial Majesty.”
“You are not only here to protect us from the ghost, are you?” My eyes narrowed. “You were sent here for another purpose.”
“Be careful, Duchess. It would be safer for you if you were not so inquisitive.”