The Morning Star

Exhausted, I returned home from classes the next afternoon, desiring nothing more than a cup of hot tea and my bed. The lecture on kidney diseases had been dull and long-winded. I'd already read the professor's article on nephritis in one of my father's medical journals years ago. He hadn't made any new discoveries since the article had been published, so the lecture consisted of nothing but old material. Anya took my books from me at the front door and curtsied. "A letter came for you today, Your Imperial Highness. It's on your desk."



"Thank you," I said. It still felt strange being addressed as a grand duchess. But I imagined it would seem even stranger when I would one day be addressed as a doctor. I smiled to myself, hoping that day would not be too far away. And I knew it would not take me as long to get used to such a title.



Our study was empty. George must have been napping, I thought distractedly as I saw the envelope on my desk. The letter was postmarked from Cetinje.



Anya poured fresh water in the samovar and it soon started its comforting sounds of brewing. I sat down to read the letter. It was from Elena. I had not seen nor heard from her in over a year. Not since she'd been expelled from Smolni.



Katerina Alexandrovna,



How could you be so heartless? Militza told me everything that happened to our brother. She says you left him in the Graylands and will not bring him back. Did you truly believe your blood bond would be broken by Danilo's death? Could you really be that stupid? Mother has been patient, waiting for a sign of his return, but we have heard nothing, and it has been almost a year. You have read the Polish princess's spell book. You know what must be done!



I threw the letter down, too agitated to read on, even though her angry words went on for another page. I knew that Elena missed her brother terribly, but there was nothing more I could have done for him. Her handwriting was sharp and rushed; she had been in a great passion when she wrote the letter. I made a cup of tea and went searching for George. Studying could wait.



He was not sleeping. In the bedroom, I found the furniture pushed aside and a ritual circle drawn on the floor. Sigils were scrawled within the circle in what looked like chalk. The room smelled of burnt incense. A sliver of dragon's blood resin smoldered in a brass dish on the bedside table. What had he done?



"George?" I shouted, fear churning in my stomach. What if he'd overheard the Koldun last night? Would he try to invoke the Angel of the Sword on his own? I searched the trunk, which had been pushed against the wall. The Morning Star was missing.



I shouted for Anya and she came immediately. "Where is the grand duke?" I asked.



She looked surprised. "He was out on the terrace with his visitors. I was going to bring them tea and cakes but he refused and said they were not staying long. In fact, the men left the villa a few minutes later."



"Who were his visitors?" I asked, my fear for George growing.



"I'm not sure. They were strange-looking men, Your Imperial Highness. They frightened me with their stony faces."



The Grigori. He had asked them to come to our villa to create a portal. Just that part of the ritual alone would sap his strength. I would have to follow them and pray I wasn't too late to stop him. "Anya, please cancel our dinner plans tonight with my aunt Zina. I don't care what you tell her-just make my apologies, please."



Anya's eyes grew wide. "Yes, Your Imperial Highness." With a curtsy and a bewildered look, she left.



I returned to the bedroom alone and stared at the magic circle on the floor. I'd have to use my cold light to open my own doorway to the Graylands. I prayed I'd be able to find the seven gates on my own.



I used the same word Militza had taught me, the Coptic word for "open," and suddenly found myself back in the Graylands. I focused on drawing my cold light as close to me as possible. The mist made it difficult to see, and I remembered dismally that George had carried coins for the ferryman the last time we'd journeyed here together. I had nothing on me save the Talisman of Isis.



Taking a deep breath, I pricked my finger and let a single drop of blood fall upon the black stone, the scarab in the middle of the talisman. I needed all the magic I could summon. "The blood of Isis, the strength of Isis, and the power of Isis is mine," I whispered. The mist swirled around me and I felt a tingling sensation up my spine. "Please help me find the seven gates." The talisman grew white-hot and I dropped it to the ground with a cry. The scarab fell out and shattered into tiny pieces. I'd broken the talisman.



Out of the mists stepped a figure. The crown prince.



"Danilo?" My heart froze. What if it was the lich tsar?



He picked up the pieces of the talisman and handed them back to me. "Yes, Katerina."



"Your soul was in the scarab." No wonder Elena and Militza thought me stupid. Why hadn't they told me?



"Of course." He brushed a remaining sliver of the stone from his jacket.



"And you are safe from Konstantin now."



Danilo smiled. "You were magnificent. He can torment me no longer."



I felt an enormous sense of relief. At least I'd saved one soul in all of my blunders. But now I had to save George. "Can you lead me to the seven gates?" I asked. "I have to rescue George." I watched as his face showed no emotion. "My husband," I added.



"I see. I am bound by honor to assist you, if not bound by my affection."



"You never loved me, Danilo," I protested. "You needed a necromancer. You loved my powers."



"Perhaps. We are wasting time, Duchess. Or should I say, Your Imperial Highness?" He took off into the mists and would have left me behind if I had not hurried to follow him.



We did not come across the jackal-headed ferryman again. Instead, the route Danilo used took us through a cavern, lit by softly glowing lights. They looked like mushrooms. I expected the cave to be damp and smell of mold, but there was no scent. And no mist. The cavern descended into darkness, as the mushrooms grew more and more sparse. The path was smooth stone, but I still managed to trip a few times, much to Danilo's amusement.



After reaching the lowest point, we finally began to climb up the other side and at last emerged in a great hall. The floor and walls here were a brilliant gold. It hurt my eyes so badly that I had to close them and let Danilo lead me across the chamber. He took my arm in his and asked, "Do you know the ritual your grand duke is attempting? What are we in such a hurry to stop?"



"He is going to hand over the Morning Star to an angel. I wanted to free the Grigori, but not if it costs George his life."



"Ah, the angel Auriel," Danilo said. "You may open your eyes now. We have passed through the Golden Hall."



"Thank you," I said, pulling my arm out of his. "Is it much farther to the seven gates?"



But instead of answering, he waved his hand to indicate a door. "We are here, Your Imperial Highness. Go and save your grand duke."



"Thank you, Danilo." I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek gently. His skin was cool. "Will you be able to leave the Graylands on your own?"



His expression was unreadable. "I will be fine, Katerina."



I turned away from him quickly and pushed open the door. Would my heart still be considered pure enough to pass through the seven gates? Obviously, Danilo did not think his would. I did not look back as I approached the first gate. The guardian lights still lined the hallway, but I could not see the chamber at the end.



My pulse quickened as I passed through the first gate. Nothing happened and I breathed a sigh of relief. As I took another step, however, there was an explosion of bright white light from the chamber beyond the seventh gate. Gasping, I began to run toward the chamber, not heeding the gates as I passed through.



In the Chamber of the Sword stood what looked like an enormous Grigori, with wings of blazing white flames. "Necromancer, you tread on holy ground." The voice was female.



I dropped to my knees immediately. George was kneeling to my right, holding a bundle of linen marked with protective sigils. That was how he'd managed to carry the Morning Star without harm. "Have you lost your mind?" I whispered. "What made you think you had to do this on your own?"



George had the sense to look sheepish. "I didn't want you to see this. I wanted it to be quick and painless."



"It is honorable that you wish to return the Morning Star to heaven," the angel Auriel said. "But there must be consequences. Whoever is chosen to carry the sword cannot return."



The angel's words sank in slowly. The Koldun had been right. One of us would not be going back to the land of the living. I stared at George, my heart numb. "You wanted to leave me?" I asked. "You knew you weren't coming back and you didn't even want to say goodbye?" I glared at him. "I'll take the sword," I said, rising to stand before the angel.



"Don't be ridiculous," George said, getting up as well. "I won't let you throw your life away, Katiya."



"And I can't live without you," I said. I could not believe we were arguing in front of an angel. I blinked back tears. Perhaps she would take both of us. Was my soul pure enough to earn eternity with George?



The white flames surrounding the angel grew into a raging inferno. And yet I felt no heat. The altar behind the angel where I'd originally found the Morning Star now looked like a pagan funeral pyre.



"Please go back," George said. "Finish your degree, Katiya. Do it for me."



I shook my head, furious at the tears running down my cheeks. "You can't make that decision for me!"



"Oh, for the love of the saints!" Danilo shouted as he pushed past me and snatched the sword from George. He took a step toward the pyre and turned around, looking at both of us. There was a flash of the old arrogance in his dark eyes. "You will name your firstborn son after me, of course." The holy fire burned around him like a halo.



I was too stunned to speak. George was silent as well but put an arm around me. Danilo looked sad, but only for a moment. Then the flames consumed him and the Morning Star. The angel Auriel vanished as well. George and I were left alone in the dark, silent chamber.



I could do nothing but stare at the space where Danilo had been standing only seconds before. Why would he perform such an unselfish act? That was not the crown prince I knew.



George's hand slid up and down my back. I sank to the floor in relief. The Morning Star was gone, safe from the world forever. And the Talisman of Isis had been destroyed. There would be no more Grigori armies. And no more undead soldiers. The members of the Order of St. Lazarus would have their rest at last.



George kissed the top of my head. "It's over, Katiya," he whispered into my hair. "We can go home."



I could not believe we'd just survived our first argument as a married couple. In front of an angel. But I was not ready to let go of all the emotions that had been stirred up. The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. Not just at George, but at myself as well. "You were willing to sacrifice yourself. You would have left me." I looked up at him. "Are you suffering that much? Am I being cruel to want to keep you alive with me? Do you think me selfish?"



He held out his hand to me, but when I ignored it, he sighed and sat down next to me. "You make my life worth living, Katiya. You give me the energy to keep going. To keep hoping. If you had left with the Morning Star, I wouldn't have been able to continue. Truthfully, I think I was being the selfish one."



Gently, he picked up my hand and laced his fingers with mine. "Not only did Danilo save you, but he saved me as well. And if you ask me, he did what he did out of love for you."



I sighed. "We'll never know, will we?"



This time, I took both of his hands when he offered and stood up, blinking back tears for the crown prince before George could see. Summoning all my cold light, I forced open a doorway right there in the Chamber of the Sword that would take us back to our villa. I did not want to spend one second longer in the Graylands. I was eager for the two of us to get started living the rest of our lives.