"Right,' Abe said dryly. "He's depressed, but you're the picture of happiness and joy.'
I sighed. "Sometimes talking to you is like talking to myself: pretty damned annoying. Is there any other reason you're here? Other than to deliver the terrible news? I would have been happier living in ignorance.'
I'm not supposed to die this way. I'm not supposed to see it coming. My death is not some appointment penciled in on a calendar.
He shrugged. "I just wanted to see you. And your arrangements.'
Yes, he had indeed, I realized. Abe's eyes had always come back to me as we spoke; there'd been no question I held his attention. There was nothing in our banter to concern my guards. But every so often, I'd see Abe's gaze flick around, taking in the hall, my cell, and whatever other details he found interesting. Abe had not earned his reputation as zmey--the serpent--for nothing. He was always calculating, always looking for an advantage. It seemed my tendency toward crazy plots ran in the family.
"I also wanted to help you pass the time.' He smiled and from under his arm, he handed me a couple of magazines and a book through the bars. "Maybe this will improve things.'
I doubted any entertainment was going to make my two-week death countdown more manageable. The magazines were fashion and hair oriented. The book was The Count of Monte Cristo. I held it up, needing to make a joke, needing to do anything to make this less real.
"I saw the movie. Your subtle symbolism isn't really all that subtle. Unless you've hidden a file inside it.'
"The book's always better than the movie.' He started to turn away. "Maybe we'll have a literary discussion next time.' "Wait.' I tossed the reading material onto the bed. "Before you go ... in this whole mess, no one's ever brought up who actually did kill her.' When Abe didn't answer right away, I gave him a sharp look. "You do believe I didn't do it, right?' For all I knew, he did think I was guilty and was just trying to help anyway. It wouldn't have been out of character.
"I believe my sweet daughter is capable of murder,' he said at last. "But not this one.'
"Then who did it?'
"That,' he said before walking away, "is something I'm working on.'
"But you just said we're running out of time! Abe!' I didn't want him to leave. I didn't want to be alone with my fear. "There's no way to fix this!'
"Just remember what I said in the courtroom,' he called back.
He left my sight, and I sat back on the bed, thinking back to that day in court. At the end of the hearing, he'd told me--quite adamantly--that I wouldn't be executed. Or even go to trial. Abe Mazur wasn't one to make idle promises, but I was starting to think that even he had limits, especially since our timetable had just been adjusted.
I again took out the crumpled piece of paper and opened it. It too had come from the courtroom, covertly handed to me by Ambrose--Tatiana's servant and boy-toy.
Rose,
If you're reading this, then something terrible has happened. You probably hate me, and I don't blame you. I can only ask that you trust that what I did with the age decree was better for your people than what others had planned. There are some Moroi who want to force all dhampirs into service, whether they want it or not, by using compulsion. The age decree has slowed that faction down.
However, I write to you with a secret you must put right, and it is a secret you must share with as few as possible. Vasilisa needs her spot on the Council, and it can be done. She is not the last Dragomir. Another lives, the illegitimate child of Eric Dragomir. I know nothing else, but if you can find this son or daughter, you will give Vasilisa the power she deserves. No matter your faults and dangerous temperament, you are the only one I feel can take on this task. Waste no time in fulfilling it.
--Tatiana Ivashkov
The words hadn't changed since the other hundred times I'd read them, nor had the questions they always triggered. Was the note true? Had Tatiana really written it? Had she--in spite of her outwardly hostile attitude--trusted me with this dangerous knowledge? There were twelve royal families who made decisions for the Moroi, but for all intents and purposes, there might as well have only been eleven. Lissa was the last of her line, and without another member of the Dragomir family, Moroi law said she had no power to sit on and vote with the Council that made our decisions. Some pretty bad laws had already been made, and if the note was true, more would come. Lissa could fight those laws--and some people wouldn't like that, people who had already demonstrated their willingness to kill.
Another Dragomir. Another Dragomir meant Lissa could vote. One more Council vote could change so much. It could change the Moroi world. It could change my world--say, like, whether I was found guilty or not. And certainly, it could change Lissa's world. All this time she'd believed she was alone. Yet ... I uneasily wondered if she'd welcome a half-sibling. I accepted that my father was a scoundrel, but Lissa had always held hers up on a pedestal, believing the best of him. This news would come as a shock, and although I'd trained my entire life to keep her safe from physical threats, I was starting to think there were other things she needed to be protected from as well.
But first, I needed the truth. I had to know if this note had really come from Tatiana. I was pretty sure I could find out, but it involved something I hated doing.
Well, why not? It wasn't like I had anything else to do right now.
Rising from the bed, I turned my back to the bars and stared at the blank wall, using it as a focus point. Bracing myself, remembering that I was strong enough to keep control, I released the mental barriers I always subconsciously kept around my mind. A great pressure lifted from me, like air escaping a balloon.
And suddenly, I was surrounded by ghosts.
Chapter Two
AS ALWAYS, IT WAS DISORIENTING. Faces and skulls, translucent and luminescent, all hovered around me. They were drawn to me, swarming in a cloud as though they all desperately needed to say something. And really, they probably did. The ghosts that lingered in this world were restless, souls who had reasons that kept them from moving on. When Lissa had brought me back from the dead, I'd kept a connection to their world. It had taken a lot of work and self-control to learn to block out the phantoms that followed me. The magical wards that protected the Moroi Court actually kept most ghosts away from me, but this time, I wanted them here. Giving them that access, drawing them in ... well, it was a dangerous thing.
Something told me that if ever there was a restless spirit, it would be a queen who had been murdered in her own bed. I saw no familiar faces among this group but didn't give up hope.
"Tatiana,' I murmured, focusing my thoughts on the dead queen's face. "Tatiana, come to me.'