A wisp of a smile rounded Gretel’s mouth. For a Necromancer, that was a positive avalanche of emotion. I wished I could share her faith in the Vicomte. I didn’t believe for an instant that he’d given up on taking in Necromancer magick. Or that he would waste time calling the Tsar just to protect his people.
“Your mages are mine,” said the Tsar. “They bear my bone crawlers, and I’ll talk to them when I wish it. And don’t pretend you aren’t using them to help you gather Necromancer power into a totem ring.”
“But I told you already—”
“Enough! For years, I’ve known about the little laboratories that are run by your so-called children. One made watches to hold my totem rings inside. Those devices could even transfer Necromancer power into a non-mage, if the totem ring had enough energy within.”
The Vicomte rolled his eyes. “Where do you get such dribble? Those watches never worked, I assure you. It was a misplaced experiment by a rogue machinist. All prototypes of that sad idea were destroyed.”
My brows rose. Destroyed? I patted the witness watch in my pocket. Good thing the Vicomte wasn’t too thorough.
Gretel straightened her shoulders. “You’re avoiding the Vicomte’s demand. I have your bone crawler in me, that’s true. But I don’t want to endure your nightly visits anymore.”
The Vicomte rested his hand on her shoulder. “Gretel’s right. Leave her and the others alone.” He turned to her, his face gentle. “There are others, aren’t there?”
Gretel’s eyes widened. For a Necromancer, that was a good as a rousing cry of yes. “I don’t know, my master.”
“No matter,” said the Vicomte.
I was sure it mattered a great deal to the other Fantomes.
“Now.” The Vicomte pointed right at the Tsar’s nose. “I demand that you make the girl’s nightmares go away.”
A long silence followed. A flicker of a smile appeared on the Tsar’s mouth. It was gone too quickly to be certain, though. “In that case, I will do as you ask.”
“You will?” asked Gretel and the Vicomte. There was no mistaking the shock in their voices. I agreed with them.
The Tsar gestured to the gateway. “It’s a reasonable request, after all. Gretel was kind enough to open this gateway. And since she stands so close, I have all sorts of options open to me.” The Tsar waved his hand.
Gretel began to die.
The bone crawler beneath her skin glowed bright purple. The thing whipped under her flesh and wrapped itself tightly around her throat. On reflex, I grabbed Rowan’s hand.
No, no, no.
The Vicomte stared at Gretel. His mouth curled into a look of disgust. The scene was something was beyond belief. At last, he spoke. “Release Gretel this instant.” There was no heat behind the Vicomte’s words, though. I doubted he cared if Gretel lived. Bastard.
The Tsar watched Gretel gasp for air. While the Vicomte seemed repulsed, the Tsar appeared empty of all feeling. The sight sent chills down my spine. “Let’s finish our real discussion, shall we?” asked the Tsar. “For months now, you’ve known that I’ve been visiting my old mages in their dreams. Now, this fact suddenly concerns you.”
“No, it doesn’t. My people are loyal to me.” This time, the Vicomte seemed less confident in his declaration, though. I couldn’t help noticing how he’d quickly dropped the charade of asking the Tsar to release Gretel.
The poor girl still clawed at the bone crawler under her skin. It made me ill.
“You have a vortex watch,” began the Tsar.
“Now, see here. How can you possibly—”
“And I said enough!” The Tsar raised his hand. “You must have the watch, or you wouldn’t be here. And the thing must also be nearly fully charged, or you wouldn’t have brought her.” He nodded to Gretel. “Once that device reaches midnight, you can become the most powerful Necromancer in the land. Yet so can the Fantomes, can’t they? I cast spells to stop them from draining one other, but not you. So suddenly, you’re wondering what we’ve been discussing in their dreams.” His voice lowered. “Once you have enough power, you wonder if you should kill them all.”
Gretel collapsed onto her knees, her hands clasping at the bone crawler around her throat. On reflex, I started to move toward her.
Rowan gripped my upper arm, holding me back. I could have fought him. I didn’t. It was better to stay hidden in the shadows. If I sided with Gretel, I could end up dead.
“Kill them,” said the Tsar. “That’s what I’d do. Doesn’t matter what they’ve said to me. Power is the ultimate lure.” He lifted his chin. “This conversation is over.” The Tsar snapped his fingers. A sickening crunch sounded as Gretel’s neck snapped. Bile crept up my throat. Once Gretel was dead, her spell would die with her.
The gateway was about to close.
A second later, the Tsar disappeared. The gateway became brick and mortar once more. Gretel lay unmoving on the stone floor.