At their last meeting Irina tells Alexei that I have something to share with him. When I see him again, I am still under the influence of the spell Kallisto has cast on the palace, barely sleeping and when I do plagued with nightmares. Worn down by its influence, worried about his reaction, I share with him the news that Nikita Steel and I have brought back the body of Rasputin for safe-keeping and that it is enscorcled, showing no sign of decay from the time he was buried.
Alexei asks to be taken to the body and and to my relief is grateful that we have taken it there and deprived the witches of the power it still contains to this day. He then tells me of the history he shared with Rasputin, of being healed when no other could save him, of their bond that still lives for him to this day. He asks for a time alone with the man he used to call Father Grigory and I depart for our chambers, understanding his need.
Feeling overcome by all the new responsibilities and attentions and even the benefits of her new status, Katia finds a way to escape them, even if she knows it's brief. I meet her in a palace corridor, looking flustered and tense. I offer he a chance to keep working on learning self-defense and take her to her first weapon, a bow-staff. After showing her a few stances with it, I want her to understand the full power one can have when striking with a weapon that increases ones' reach and puts physics in the favor of a more skilled hand.
My first full force blow knock her on her backside and we laugh but she asks for some ice. I go ot ask the guards for it and when I leave her alone in the gym, she bolts for the secret garage and her car and flees the restrictions and safety of Alexander Palace.
The search begins and it is intense but in the midst of it, when all is being done that can be, Irina and Alexei take a few moments to reacquaint back in familiar territory. They reminisce and reconnect, Alexei reminding her that home and alone they can be as they once were, at ease with each other and simply friends. Still damp from an accompanying snowball fight, they return to the palace in good spirits relative to all that is going on around them.
Alexei's relief is short-lived. His next reacquaitance is not so pleasant. His maker, @AppiusOcellaSVM has returned from a task settling disputes in a distant province. He is aware of me already and thinks me unworthy, that Alexei should be involved with someone who can advance him if not politically, at least financially. Alexei defends our involvement, explaining that I am not like other humans and that he believes I am best for him. Ocella moves on and sets about on his primary goal, forcing Alexei to renew their bond that has been weakened and faded considerably. Given no choice, Alexei finds himself once again bound to a maker who used him cruelly and allowed others to do so as well.
Not done with us... Kallisto and a weaker witch she is using for back up attack the palace. Her goal is to take back Rasputin's body. She levitates many of the guards into the air, killing and injuring many of them as they hurtle back to the grounds. She blasts open the gates and the main doors, protected by a magical shield that protects her from the dozens - hundred- of bullets fired in her direction. Seeing her progress, I send most of the sqaudron of guards under my command to join the forces already around Alexei and my chambers, with two sent to secure the entrance to the nearest escape route. I then speak to the captain of the guard and work with him to draw Kallisto into a trap, baiting her to finally open the doors to the secured morgue with magic.
The instant she does, she is blasted backwards and thrown across the hallway by the powerful wards that Miranda has cast over the room. To recover she begins taking the power of the other witch, enabling me to land several blows that bring her down. However, to enable her escape, Kallisto binds the weaker witch, disabling her completely and allowing me to arrest her and turn her over to the guards.
Natasha, continuing the search for Katia, finds tire-tracks on a dirt road that match Katia's car and sends her forces to follow them on horseback.
Walking through the infirmary, speaking with and offering what comfort I can to the troops who were injured in the witch attack, I decide that it's time to recall Mirancda. Going over her instructions one more time in my head, I prick myself with it, over my heart, and then drip the blood on Bon Temps on a map. The blood forms a thread back to the knife and I stretch it back toward me, back into the wound... and wait.
Miranda arrives while I'm tied up with several things and helps us more than I imagined. She uses her power to reinforce the drained wards surrounding the morgue that holds Rasputin's body and the family that we now know was not only Katia's but Alexei's. She also undoes the spell that has been giving humans nightmares and depriving them of sleep and then uses the egg containing Romanov blood, that we now know to also be Katia's, to scry for Katia.
Katia, having headed all the way to Moscow to access the huge library there, has meanwhile been hacking it to find property records. She locates a record of of ownership for Morgana far back in the records, the witch whose symbols appear on the outside of the Romanov-design egg that had held the blood. The property is located in an area called Dubna. She feels happy and vindicated in her escape, in that it has proven that she can contribute to the safety of the Alexei and the monarchy but trouble soon follows. Another riot occurs, this one outside the library that causes its shut down while Katia is in the bathroom and no one is aware. She attempts to kick her way out the door but ends up injuring her ankle.
With the spell to locate her successful, Natasha reports to Irina that they now have the ability to retrieve her. Irina arranges for a small caravan to retrieve her from the library. Finding her injured, Irina even allows her to drink from her to repair the injury. Traveling back in the limo, Katia expresses her regret at the trouble but share with Irina that she has located a possible stronghold Morgana might still be using. Irian receives the information with great interest and a solid appreciation for Katia's skills. Katia also reveals that she has left a chip in the Moscow computers so that they can access it at anytime without being traced.
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