Sucre and Danilo did not have the tsar’s best interests at heart, I was sure. And neither did Papus, it seemed. Had the Koldun been aware of the true goal of tonight’s ritual? Had he plotted against the tsar as well?
“Where is your ribbon?” I asked. “If you can distract the Koldun, I think I know a spell that can stop him.”
Alix put a hand on my wrist and squeezed it painfully. “No. You cannot use evil to fight evil, Katerina Alexandrovna,” she said.
“Both of you are insane,” Elena said, exasperated. She shook her head and ran off.
“Elena, wait!”
Alix glared after our roommate. “She will not help us.”
“But what if she goes to warn her brother?”
“I think the grand duke can take care of him,” Alix said, nodding behind me.
I ran to the doorway where Alix was looking. We could hear lots of shouting and crashing of furniture coming from beyond the Great Hall. George and Danilo were fighting. “No!” I gasped, feeling sick and dizzy at the same time.
It was a magical duel. The crown prince and the grand duke circled each other warily. Danilo held up his left hand and muttered something in Serbian. The room began to fill with smoke.
George waved his hand and the smoke cleared just as rapidly.
Alix was behind me, tugging on my sleeve. “Come on,” she whispered. “The Koldun has to be stopped.”
But I couldn’t move. I was frozen with fear for George.
“There’s nothing you can do to help him,” Alix said. “They’ve sealed the room.”
There was a magical barrier similar to the empress’s Smolny spell preventing me from entering the chamber. I wasn’t sure who had put the barrier up, but I had a feeling it had been George.
The tsar’s son was holding his own against Danilo. He deftly countered everything the crown prince threw at him. It was beautiful watching him. Both wizards had shed their robes and were wearing only black uniforms that allowed them to move more gracefully.
A ball of blue fire shot across the room from Danilo. George ducked and the fire slammed into the wall behind him, scattering chunks of plaster with its blast.
“Katerina!” Alix was still behind me, trying to pull me away. The Koldun was still attacking the tsar’s men in the Great Hall behind us.
I turned reluctantly to follow her as George went on the offensive and blasted Danilo with a bolt of lightning.
Most of the tsar’s men were already incapacitated and writhing on the floor. I could not do what Alix wished. I could not stand by and not use my powers, when there were innocent people being hurt. I closed my eyes and gathered up every ounce of power I ever believed I possessed. The cold light stung as it uncoiled from deep inside me. I did not want to kill the Koldun, but I would not let him hurt another member of the imperial guard. I had to save my brother.
My cold light reached out, seeking the Koldun. The cold light was attracted by the wizard’s shadowy aura. He was wounded, already dying.
Alix took her ribbon from a hidden pocket in her skirt and drew it around her neck. The transformation from girl to wolf happened so fast I could not believe my eyes. A blur of white fur blew past me and leapt at the Koldun. The two went tumbling back and slid into the wall on the far side of the room.
When the Koldun ceased casting his spell, the last of the protective wards fell apart.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
There had been more than two times as many imperial guards as there were wizards, and yet the wizards seemed to be holding their own. Until the Koldun lost his concentration. The last of the magic protections ended and the Great Hall was flooded with everything the wizards had been keeping out. Their ceremony had attracted all sorts of spectral attention, and not all of it had been beneficent. Which made perfect sense. A Dark Court ritual would of course attract the darkest of spirits.
I saw and felt the bone-chilling cold light sweeping past me as it rushed toward the Koldun. Alix tumbled out of the way. I caught a glimpse of the damage she had done to the Koldun before the angry spirits surrounded him. They attacked him much like a swarm of angry bees. It was a horrible death. Even if he had been a horrible man.
I repressed a shudder as I hurried over to Alix. I reached for the ribbon around her neck, to help her change back, but she growled at me. Her fur was matted with blood. “Let me help you, Alix.”
With her fangs still bared, she pushed past me and ran for the door. It occurred to me that perhaps she did not want to transform in front of everyone. I hoped she could return to Smolny safely.
There was only one thing left for me to concentrate on: George and Danilo’s duel. They were still at it in the room outside the Great Hall, throwing balls of energy at each other as well as trading sword blows. I ran to the doorway, but felt someone approaching behind me.
“Katiya, what the devil are you doing here?” It was Petya. Behind him was Nicholas Alexandrovich.
“Trying to save the grand duke. Let go of me. I have to help him.”
The tsarevitch shook his head and chuckled. “Georgi’s doing just fine on his own, Duchess.”
A fireball exploded behind the Montenegrin crown prince. He ducked and almost lost his right ear to George’s sword.
“Enough of this,” Danilo snarled. From his breast pocket he pulled out a revolver.
I gasped. “Danilo, no!” I pushed out of my brother’s arms into the hall, flinging myself in front of George. I felt sharp pains in my head as I hurtled through the magic barrier.
“Katiya, wait!” George shouted. He mumbled something in Greek as I heard a shot.
The room filled with gun smoke. Danilo’s revolver had misfired. He dropped the weapon to the ground as he searched for a way to escape in the haze.
George’s arm was around my waist, pulling me closer to him, and I felt his warm lips pressed against my ear. “Go back to your brother, Katiya. I can’t worry about you right now.”
Mon Dieu. There were so many things I wanted to say to the arrogant grand duke, but there wasn’t time. He let go of me as several men rushed into the room from all directions. I could not find Petya or the tsarevitch in the confusion.
My arms were grabbed from behind by two very strong hands. “Oh no, Duchess. You are coming with us.” Sucre had found me.
“How did you get away from the guards?” I asked. I looked around, hoping Petya was unharmed and would realize that I needed his help.
Sucre just laughed. “Do not worry your little head about such things. We have business to finish.”
“You are insane. Let me go.”
I struggled, but his fingers dug more deeply into my arms. “Without the Koldun, we are not obligated to protect the tsar any longer,” he said. “Konstantin will be raised with your help, little necromancer. And not so we may put an end to him.”
The Koldun hadn’t been part of the true plot, then. He’d really believed he was helping to destroy the lich tsar. I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to tell Alix the truth.
Sucre pulled me into a smaller chamber off of the Great Hall. Here sat the golden throne I had seen in the Crimea. The sight of the throne filled me with dread. “No …” I tried to pull back from the wizard but he wouldn’t let go.
“Oh yes, Duchess,” Sucre said. His grin was wicked. “You are going to help us find the lich tsar. And then you’re going to help him return to us.”
“I won’t help you.” I looked all around the room, looking for doors, weapons, anything. I needed to get back to help George. Even if he didn’t need, or want, my help.
I heard the door behind us close and the bolt slide into place. Danilo appeared. He was in on the plot as well. He smiled as he walked around me. “I will finish dealing with your grand duke later. After you have helped us raise the lich tsar.”