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It was getting close to dark, andto attend a dinner party at Miechen&039;s that evening I was supposed to go with theed to stay home Maman told Anya and Lyudmila to have a sandwich and tea sent up to ht undisturbed so

As soon as everyone left, I dressed quickly in one of my plainest brown dresses I wrapped rabbed my warmest, fur-lined black cloak, and quietly slipped out of the house It was a short walk to Vorontsov Palace I wanted to knoas happening at the Order I spoke the Egyptian ain, I felt the darkness closing in around me, but I knew to expect it this time I took a few deep breaths and hurried down the street

I was freezing by the time I reached the palace, but I tried not to let my teeth chatter too loudly In shadow, I easily slipped past the guards, ere very much awake and heavily arathered in the Great Hall before the portrait of Tsar Pavel I could hear anxiety and fear in their voices There hisperings about an old curse on the Order The youngest pages were not present They had been sent to bed

General Tcherevine led the asseed their lives to serve the tsar as well as Mother Russia That they had e before God He did not discuss what had proh the crowd cloaked in shadow, trying to pick up some conversation from the nervous soldiers

"Did you see hiht He looked a little pale, but he kneas him"

"And he attacked him?"

"Yes Said he tried to bite him"

I felt a little weak but leaned up against a wall to breathe Prince Demidov had returned from the dead now too? Was that what had happened to all the stolen bodies? They had all beenrevenants out of them? It would have taken a powerful necroic The only other necromancer I kneas the vampire princess from the House of Bessaraba What in the holy na?

It was several hours before host of the tsar would speak to theafter

There was a stir of h the crowd and reached the front of the rooe Alexandrovich," sori the crowd but stood off to the side of the general, listening to what the older, wiry-haired rand duke&039;s faerie eyes to see me under my sheult spell

General Tcherevine nodded and then spoke to his regiments:

"Unfortunately, I have just received confiran "The doctors are working on him as quickly as possible but say he has lost an enormous amount of blood It does not look well for hi notified as we speak"