Luthier's Apprentice, The (18 page)

Sonia smiled. “Stradivarius. Come to Mama. Where have you been? Release my little pet!” she ordered.

The soldiers did so, turned around, and exited the hall. The dog made a point of displaying a set of unnecessarily long vampire fangs before heading to Sonia’s side.

When the dog saw Corey, however, it hesitated.

“Come to me, my pet,” Sonia beckoned coldly.

Corey looked ashen, as if the blood had drained from his face. His eyes were locked with the dog’s. “Noah? Is that you?” he asked.

The dog whimpered.

“Stradivarius!” Sonia thundered.

The dog stopped whimpering and began to growl.

“What’s going on?” Emma asked Corey.

“That’s my dog.” He glared at Sonia. “You did it, didn’t you? It was
you
who stole my dog!” He struggled against the shackles.

Sonia laughed. “Whatever gave you that idea? Really, as much as I would like the compliment, you cannot blame me for all the evils in the world. Golden retrievers all look alike.”

“No, they don’t. I would recognize Noah anywhere.”

“If he is indeed Noah, then why does he not recognize you?” Sonia asked.

“You put a spell on him,” Corey accused. “Noah, come here, come here, boy. Don’t you remember me? It’s me, Corey.” The dog’s response was a fierce snarl. Corey turned to Emma. “It’s him. I know it’s him.”

“I believe you.” Emma clenched her fists, her anger and frustration rising.

“Stay next to me, Stradivarius,” Sonia said, patting the dog’s head. “Look at you—you are dirty. What got into you, going after that black rabbit? Mama will give you a nice, cool bath once all this is over.”

Black rabbit? Emma shot Corey a questioning look. “Do you think?” she whispered. She silently mouthed “Annika.”

Corey nodded.

Sonia glanced at the massive clock. “The time to start the ceremony is approaching.”

Two soldiers walked into the grand hall, bringing with them a long buffet table filled with delicious food: roasted chickens, grilled hams and lamb chops, green peas and potatoes, buns, different sorts of cheeses, exotic fruits, wine and water, cakes, chocolates and bonbons. A banquet fit for royalty.

“Guards, bring the buffet close to the children,” Sonia said. “But not too close,” she added, chuckling.

Emma thought she would faint at the sight and aroma of all that food. When she saw Corey’s face, she realized he felt the same.

The soldiers placed the buffet a few feet away from them.

“Do you mean to tell me you won’t allow them to eat?” Elizabeth asked indignantly.

“Silence!” Sonia said. “I decide who eats or starves, I decide who lives or dies. Do you understand? That will teach them a lesson not to meddle in my affairs.”

“I thought you said there would be candy for everybody,” Niccolò said.

“I lied,” Sonia replied with a shake of her blonde-purple locks. “The food and sweets are for me and Stradivarius only. Go ahead, my pet, eat to your heart’s desire.”

The dog ran to the buffet table, jumped on it, and sniffed the various delicacies. Finally he grabbed a roasted chicken and began devouring it on the floor. Corey couldn’t keep his gaze off the dog.

“Please let me give something to the kids,” Elizabeth pleaded.

The monk with the hawk mask shifted in her seat. Her movement caught Sonia’s attention.

“What is the matter, Lili?” Sonia said. “Too weak to sit for long? You will remain on that chair until your bottom fuses with the seat.” She turned back to Elizabeth. “You can beg as much as you please, but your child will not eat.”

Defiantly, Elizabeth rose from her seat. Sonia’s face became suffused with hate and her eyes sparked with some inner light, glowing red like those of a wolf in the night.

Emma and Corey watched in horror as Sonia recited an incantation in a strange language. Suddenly, Elizabeth was thrown to the floor as if an invisible hand had knocked her down.

“Mom!” Emma screamed. “No! Don’t hurt my mom!” She struggled against the chains and felt her blood grow hotter.

Sonia’s lips twisted in a smirk, the reddish light in her eyes subsiding.

Niccolò looked nervous. For some reason he kept glancing at the door.

“Are you okay, Mom?” Emma asked.

Elizabeth staggered to her feet. “I’m fine, Emma.”

“That will teach you manners,” Sonia said. “Now sit down like a good girl.”

Elizabeth did as she was told, but threw Emma a weird look as she did, as if she were trying to tell Emma something.

“That was Latin,” Corey said.

“What?” Emma asked.

“Sonia’s incantation. It was in Latin.”

“Did you understand what it meant?” Emma asked.

He shook his head.

Emma sighed. “What are we going to do?” she whispered desperately.

Sonia approached the dazed violinists and began talking to them in a low voice.

“Can you hear what she’s saying?” Emma asked Corey.

“No,” he said. His green eyes were fixed on a bowl of chocolates.

Emma frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“I forgot to mention… I’m hypoglycemic.”

“What?”

“Sugar levels in my blood get too low if I don’t eat for a long time.”

“I know what hypoglycemic means. Why didn’t you say anything before?”

He shrugged. “I don’t exactly go around announcing it to girls I’ve just met. It’s not like it’s very manly. I may lose consciousness. Even fall into a coma.”

Emma stared hard at him. “You’re joking, right?”

“Nope.” Corey closed his eyes and leaned against the wall as if everything were spinning around him.

Emma panicked. The hopelessness of their situation sent her blood boiling once again. She had to help him. No sooner had she had that thought than a piece of chocolate, on its own accord, rose from the bowl into the air.

Emma gaped, speechless.

Corey opened his eyes and gawked at the flying chocolate as it came floating all the way to his mouth.

Quickly, he ate the chocolate. Luckily, Sonia’s attention was still on the violinists. Elizabeth and Niccolò, however, had seen what happened.

“I knew it,” Corey said, licking his lips.

“Hey, how can you get better in a second?”

He grinned guiltily.

“You made it up,” she accused.

“I took a chance… and I was right. You, my dear Watson, are a hell of a
witch
.”

Emma was too shaken to contradict him. She knew what had just happened, but she felt both insecure and fearful of her powers. Uneasily, she decided to put her new ability to the test. Besides, she was starving, too.

She concentrated hard.
I want a piece of chocolate.

As if the chocolate were her obedient servant, it levitated and came floating in the air all the way to her mouth. Emma captured the chocolate, but she was so stunned by her abilities, she couldn’t even taste it.

“Can you send some more my way?” Corey asked.

Emma stared at the bowl of chocolates. This time not one, but several pieces of chocolate came floating his way. Corey had a hard time catching them with his mouth without getting Sonia’s attention. But when Emma was over, she felt strangely lightheaded due to the exertion.

Stradivarius, which up to this point had been busy with the roasted chicken, now looked at Corey and whimpered.

Sonia must have sensed something. She spun around and stared suspiciously at them.

Emma threw Corey a sideways glance. He’d stopped chewing, but she could tell most of the chocolate was still inside his mouth.

His eyes were on the floor, his head low, as if he were too exhausted to lift his head.

“How much longer are we to wait, Sonia?” Niccolò asked, sounding bored.

Emma was grateful, as she realized he’d spoken to distract Sonia.

“Stradivarius, come to my side, my pet,” Sonia said.

The dog stared at Corey and didn’t budge.

“Stradivarius!” Sonia ordered. “Come to me this instant!”

“What’s wrong with him?” Emma whispered.

“I don’t know,” Corey whispered back. “Maybe he’s beginning to remember me.”

After a moment, though, the dog turned back to its mistress.

Once again, the monk with the hawk face shifted in her seat. Emma frowned, wondering why Aunt Lili had chosen a mask covering her entire head. Could she even breathe properly? It sure looked uncomfortable....

D
ONATELLI WAS SURPRISED WHEN HE FOUND
Lili’s chamber empty. Since she was ill, he had expected her to be in bed.

A pang of fear stabbed him. Had he come too late? Had Lili died?

The rack of costumes and masks snagged his attention. Costumes? Why?

A silver frame on the night table caught his eye—a framed picture of him and Lili. He put Blackie on the bed, then picked up the photo and gazed at it. It had been taken many years ago, and he wore a somber expression. Lili, on the other hand, smiled at the camera. She had always been positive, in spite of the horrors life had offered them. Beautiful Lili, with her warm chestnut eyes and deep intelligent voice, always kind, always caring.

Donatelli sighed.

Suddenly a middle-aged woman entered the room. She looked familiar, but he didn’t remember where he had seen her before. She was shaking. She looked at him as if she didn’t know whether he was friend or an enemy.

“I won’t harm you,” he told her.

She didn’t answer, but took a few steps forward. She kept twisting her hands and glancing about like a frightened child.

Then it dawned on him. Somehow, just like Blackie, the woman had stepped accidentally through a portal. “Are you all right?” he asked, approaching her slowly so she wouldn’t dart off in panic.

“Where am I?”

“You must have crossed the portal. I can take you back to the real world when I go back, but there are some things I must do first. You mustn’t be seen. You could get into serious trouble.”

“I was… in Monsieur Dupriez’s study,” she whispered. “Then all of a sudden I wasn’t.” A spark of recognition lit her eyes. “You’re the luthier...you own that shop, Adagio.”

“That’s correct.”

“Years ago, you made my son’s violin.”

“Your son?”

“Corey Fletcher.”

“Yes...I remember now. Did you know about the portal or did you go through it by accident?”

“No—I… I didn’t know.”

Donatelli picked up Blackie from the bed. “We must go. I’ll try to help you if I can. What’s your name?”

“Tamara Fletcher Ivanov.”

Donatelli tensed. “You wouldn’t be…”

The woman nodded, hugging herself. “I’m Sonia Ivanov’s daughter.”

“Does Sonia know you’re here?”

The woman shook her head, clearly terrified. “I haven’t seen her in over a decade. But...but why would she be here?”

“Did you come alone?” he asked instead of answering her question.

She nodded.

“Follow me,” he said.

As Donatelli and Tamara headed to the door, two soldiers stepped in and blocked their path. Tamara screamed, while Blackie escaped from Donatelli’s arms.

The soldiers grabbed them and ushered them out of the chamber.

S
ONIA STOOD IN FRONT OF THE
pedestal with Niccolò and Stradivarius at either side. Three soldiers kept guard at key locations. The pedestal, which had been dormant, slowly began to glow and shimmer, giving off a purple light which permeated everything. Violins began to play, though Emma couldn’t see any speakers. The music seemed to be emanating from the walls themselves.

Emma knew something terrible awaited the violinists. But what? Her new psychic power was a card she preferred to keep hidden under her sleeve. When the perfect moment came, she’d use it. So she’d opened a door and levitated some chocolate...But how far could she go? Part of her was terrified to find out.

The atmosphere crackled with tension as Sonia began to recite an incantation in Latin, her arms moving in a swirling motion. Her violet eyes glinted with malevolence. With her blonde-purple locks, shimmering white makeup and magnificent gown, she looked both dazzling and terrifying. Especially because her youth and beauty were all a lie, an illusion created by sorcery.

“Her sin is vanity,” Emma whispered to herself. She watched, mesmerized, as Sonia continued with the ever more sinister incantation.

Emma saw that her mom’s face was filled with expectancy. Her mom kept glancing nervously at the door, as if she expected someone to burst in at any minute.

As Sonia continued chanting, a column of purple light began to form in the center of the pedestal. Like a fledgling tornado, it swirled gently at first, then stronger as it gained more volume and height. It grew bigger and wider, higher and denser, until it reached the ceiling, arching like a giant flame lapping at the roof.