Cursed (27 page)

There were a thousand things to talk about in this moment. How did the leveling spell work? What were the Sire and Lady really up to? Would any of this change our friendship? Only one topic really mattered, though.

Whatever stops me from burning alive.

“We need to try and cast some spells now,” I said. “Test out our magick against Viktor's.”

“Right.” Rowan shook his head, like he was waking up from a dream. I suppose we both were, a little. “Which one do you want to start with?”

“I'd like to destroy that snake ring Sophia created when I walked into the Cloister. That's the one that tracks my magick.”

“I'll do it. That way, you won't risk alerting them.” Raising his arm, he quickly cast the incantation to destroy the snake ring. His veins glowed red and faded as the spell ran its course. “You're free. Go ahead and cast.”

Rowan didn't need to say that twice. Although it had only been a week, I felt like years had passed since I last drew on my magick. I reached out with my senses to the Necromancer power all around me. This desert had once been a mighty ocean, and all the echoes of those sea creatures surrounded my soul. I pulled that energy into my body, concentrated it into my left hand, and spoke the words for an invisibility spell. Meanwhile, Rowan cast a counter-spell to void Viktor's wards on the Cloister.

When we finished, Rowan and I looked ghostly to each other, but we couldn't be seen at all by anyone else. The invisibility also extended to our magick—no other mages could feel our castings.
Perfect.

“How are you feeling?” asked Rowan.

“Strong enough for a transport spell. You?”

“The same.” He raised his right hand. “See you on the Basilica roof.”

We began our incantations. Soon, a swirling cloud of red and blue mist surrounded us. I finished my incantation, and the transport magick began. Darkness instantly enveloped me.

This transport spell was for a short distance, but it still hurt like blazes. I fell through the darkness while magickal energy tore at my limbs. All the air was squeezed out of my lungs. Seconds later, I reappeared on the roof of the Basilica, which was a large and flat space. I set my hands at my waist, leaned forward, and gasped in huge lungfuls of air.

Rowan appeared beside me. Sunbeams reflected through his ghostly body.

We were both still invisible. Good.

I stood up and scanned the roof. Giant skeleton statues were everywhere, each one of them at least three times my height. I paused, wondering what would happen next. What if Rowan's spell hadn't really broken Sophia's snake ring? If it didn't work, Marlene would know that I had just cast a spell and someone would appear on this roof within seconds. Every muscle in my body tensed, ready to cast or fight. I counted down the time.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

It was still only Rowan and me. I exhaled a relieved breath, turned to Rowan, and smiled.

“It worked.”

He returned my grin. “That it did.”

I meant far more than the invisibility spell, though. The leveling spell from the Sire and Lady had come through for us in general. Enduring all their tests and conditions had been worth it.
We were in
. Part of me wanted to wrap my arms around Rowan's neck and cheer, but I needed to control my feelings. Emotion was a danger to the Necromancer.

Raised voices carried through the air. A man and a woman were talking somewhere nearby, and it wasn't going well.

“That noise came from behind us,” whispered Rowan. I was glad that Rowan kept his voice low instead of casting spells for privacy or silence. We both needed to save our energy. My limbs were already rubbery from my last casting, and all I'd done was transport here.

Rowan and I strode over to the opposite edge of the Basilica's roof, leaned against one of the skeleton statues, and looked down. A small courtyard stretched out below us. Veronique was there in her black robes, tugging on the sleeve of a lean man who was dressed in a yellow long-coat. Round timepieces dangled from his pockets and his mustache and beard were tinged with gray.

And so I see the infamous Vicomte Gaspard.
Veronique had cornered him at last. I should have guessed that's what was happening
.

“I'll scream unless you promise me right now,” said Veronique. “Say you'll free me from this thing and send me home.” She hissed in a breath and clutched at her left shoulder. To approach Gaspard like this, Veronique must be breaking about a dozen rules.

Gaspard stared at her, his gray eyes as calculating as the watches he wore. “Never. You go where Viktor puts you. And that won't be back in Royal society.”

“But I'm your ward.”

“You're nothing to me.” He sneered. “No, you're less than nothing. I only adopted you into my family because I thought you could help with my work. Turns out, you're one of
them
. Necromancer filth. You disgust me.”

Veronique stared at him for a long moment. “I should have known. Amelia warned me about you. Why didn't I listen?”

Gaspard pointed to one of access corridors. “Speak to me again and I'll see you peeled like a pear. Don't think I won't do it.”

Veronique shuddered and ran off.

Watching that interaction made my blood boil. In truth, I never thought Gaspard would do anything to help Veronique, but the way he treated her was chilling. I turned to Rowan, who was leaning against one of the statues, his arms crossed and jaw tight.

“I underestimated him,” said Rowan.

“What do you mean?”

“I thought he was a sniveling toady, but that man's scheming to be a power.” A door to the courtyard opened and the Tsar stepped through. In the classic Necromancer style, he was tall and broad-shouldered with long black hair, pale skin, and high cheekbones. The hood of his black robes was pulled away to reveal a circlet of gold around his head. His hands were loaded with totem rings.

I watched him with morbid fascination. Here was a mass murderer and torturer. Yet nothing about him looked particularly extraordinary. I could easily see a younger version of Petra approaching him at a Sanctuary Fair. He seemed like the kind of typical mage who prayed over the dead and joined in on feast days, not someone who destroyed whole Cloisters full of people.

The Tsar stalked toward Gaspard. Instantly, the Vicomte's shoulders slouched forward. “Greetings, my Tsar.” The look on Gaspard's face took on a look that could only be called sniveling.

Viktor eyed Gaspard with the same calculating glance that had just been used on Veronique. “I saw you eyeing the merchandise.”

Merchandise.
That's how the Tsar saw the Brothers and Sisters that he led? I turned to Rowan and mouthed one question. “Now?” I pointed right at Viktor's nose. I didn't want to wait to take this bastard down.

Rowan shook his head. “My instincts tell me they're going to talk about what they've been working on.”

“I don't think we should wait.”

“Look, Elea. We can't take down Viktor just to leave Gaspard alone to become a bigger problem. I've been watching them both for years and have never gotten this close to the truth of their plans. I don't know when we'll get another chance.”

It took all my control to tamp down my rage. Rowan had a point. The way Gaspard was acting, he was more than a mindless follower. The man had plots of his own, and we needed to know what they were. “Fine, but soon, right?”

“Right.”

I turned my attention back to the courtyard below just as Viktor stepped closer to Gaspard. “Who was the girl? The one you were talking to before I arrived?”

“She approached
me
, my Tsar.”

Viktor twisted the totem rings on his fingers. The mindless rhythm of motion made me think that this was something Viktor did when he was thinking or scheming. “And is she strong?”

“No, my Tsar.” Gaspard forced on a fake smile. “She's quite weak, as a matter of fact. You were inspecting the other new sisters, though. What did you think of them?”

“Weaklings, every last one.” Viktor's upper lip curled with disgust. “Well, there is one girl who goes by the name of Nan. She may be suitable to drain.”

His words shook me to the core.
Nan.
He'd seen my dear friend and wanted to drain her power and life away. We needed to stop him. I glanced over to Rowan. “Now?”

“Not yet, Elea.”

I gritted my teeth and waited.

“So,” Gaspard said slowly. “You want only want the one girl.” He leaned in closer. “And the rest?”

“All the others you may have for your machine.”

My gaze snapped over to Rowan. His eyes were as wide as mine felt.
Machine?
What was that man up to?

“To be clear,” said Gaspard. “I can have any girl I want from this Cloister?”

“As I said. Take whatever you wish.” Viktor sniffed. “Marlene has clearly outlived her usefulness.” He scanned the courtyard with a disgusted look. “Time to close this place down. I have other Cloisters who are producing far better stock. It's past time I drained Marlene, anyway.”

Gaspard bowed rapidly. “Thank you, my Tsar. You're so generous, my Tsar.”

How disgusting
. I knew that Viktor had connected all the Necromancers together and was gathering power to him. But to hear him speak of my Brothers and Sisters as if they were no more than cattle? No, it was far worse than that. I treated all the animals on my farm with much more respect. This man was brutal.

Viktor raised his fist, showing off his totem rings to Gaspard. “I'm giving you what you ask for, but mark my words. My patience isn't endless.” Viktor's amber eyes gleamed with rage. “I need more Necromancer power. I've drained every decent body I can find and I still have nowhere near enough energy to control the Changed Ones. You promised me a machine that would turn someone with barely any Necromancer energy into a fountain of power. You need to deliver.”

I shook my head in disbelief. Gaspard was taking Necromancers and putting them into some kind of machine. Is that what happened to some of the Sisters from the Midnight Cloister? If so, wouldn't we have heard about it? I looked at Gaspard's fancy yellow jacket. If you have enough money and resources, you can hide just about anything.

No question about it. Some of my lost Sisters and Brothers were out there. If Gaspard had them, then they might still be freed. It was something to consider tomorrow… If I lived to see that day.

“Patience, my Tsar.” Gaspard grabbed one of the watches from his pocket. “My work is just like one of these watches. All the little gears and pendulums add up to something greater. I'll get you the power you need. I swear it.”

Viktor bared his teeth. “You and your useless inventions. I'll give you one more month. That's all. After that, I drain every last soul in your silly machine. And once I've done that, I'll throw your sorry soul into eternal fire.” Viktor smiled in a way that was both sickly-sweet and evil. “Like the idea of my curse, Gaspard?”

My curse. He'll throw Gaspard into the fire, same as he's doing to me.

Focus, Elea.

“No, my Tsar.” Gaspard was visibly shaking. “I'll deliver what you need.”

“Good.” Viktor steepled his long fingers under his chin. “Tell me. What have you found out about the Caster delegation?”

“The King awaits us in the courtyard arrived.” Gaspard kept bobbing in miniature bows as he spoke. “He genuinely wishes to parlay with you.”

“And you believe this is really Rex, not one of their silly body doubles?”

“Absolutely.”

Viktor chuckled. “Are there any new mages in his party?”

“None that I saw.”

Viktor paced across the courtyard. “You're not looking closely enough. Genesis Rex has someone aiding him. At least one powerful mage.”

Rowan and I shared a long look. There was no question who was helping us
. The Sire and Lady.

Viktor threw up his arms. “The man's tried for years to track me down without any success, and suddenly he's able to find me? I doubt it. Find out who is supporting that fool and what they want. That's your mission for today.”

“But, my Tsar, there isn't time.”

“I'll stall things for a bit before we process into the Basilica.”

Did he say stall?
The idea of waiting made my insides squirm. I only had hours remaining.

“With all due respect, I—”

“Get them to talk, Gaspard. All Casters are weak. They'll reveal themselves, you'll see.”

I looked over to Rowan, who was chuckling soundlessly. I was learning his reactions, and this one meant that he didn't think Gaspard had much chance of finding anything out from the Casters.

Gaspard began bowing again. “Yes, my Tsar.”

Viktor waved his hand. “Dismissed.” Gaspard headed for an access doors at the very fastest you can walk and not call it a run.

I glanced at Rowan. “Now?”

“Now.”

Excitement prickled across my skin. This was it. I raised my left hand and felt around for the Necromancer power in the air. Before I'd pulled any to me, Viktor raised his fist.

“Transport.”

One of the dozen rings on his fingers flashed blue and he disappeared. I couldn't believe it. I'd worked for years on my totem rings, and none of them were carrying a spell as powerful as a transport. An uneasy feeling crept into my chest. How powerful was the Tsar, anyway? What chance did we really have?

Rowan stepped up to my side. “We have a solid plan, Elea. We'll get him.”

I scanned the placement of the sun. It was still early morning. There was still time left to end my curse. Whatever Viktor could or couldn't do, there was still no other option than to attack. “Let's get in position.”

Rowan and I moved to the other side of the roof. Viktor and his men would come out before the ceremony and process into the Basilica. That would be the time to strike.