The Pyramid of Souls by Erica Kirov Read Free Book Online Page B

of person who would have a sworn enemy.
       "What are you talking about?" he asked.
       Isabella shook her head. In the weakest of voices, she said, "Oh, Nick, I have to break my promise to you. This is very bad. Worse than I feared. So we have to tell the family."

    CHAPTER
6

    LEGACY

    Isabella sat down with Nick in the scratchy hay of the barn. Maslow lowered his head and nuzzled Nick's hair as if to make sure he was all right. The horse whinnied softly and twitched his tail.
       "This all happened before you came to live with us, Nick. Before you were born. Before I was born. You know how Damian always says we have a destiny?"
       "Yeah." In fact, ever since Nick had arrived to live with his newfound family, at least once a day, Damian or Theo reminded him of his destiny: magic, caviar, and borscht.
       "We also have a legacy."
       They set the little mice down on the hay. The tiny family now huddled together and looked up at Isabella. Occasionally, Pasha patted her with his delicate paw, as if offering her comfort.
    "A legacy? What? Like an inheritance or something?"
    "Sort of. Nick, you know how you can Gaze?"
       He thought of how his crystal ball was cold earlier, but he nodded. "Yeah."
       "In some families, you inherit being a good athlete. Or being a talented singer. In ours, you inherit your magic gifts. When a baby is born in the clan, everyone watches for a sign of what gifts the baby has inherited. When I was born, everyone hoped that I would inherit the gifts of animal magic like my older sister, but no one knew for sure. Some only inherit minor magic."
       Nick nodded. The Winter Palace Casino and Hotel had one of the world's most famous orchestras. The players were flawless musicians—critics said that they were equal to the New York Philharmonic and other famous symphony orchestras, but in some ways, they were more amazing, because all of the players were family. There were no auditions. None of them had ever been to music school or conservatory. While brilliant musicians, to the clan, the gift of music, as they called it, was a "minor" magical skill. Animal magic, Gazing, swordplay, spells, levitation—these were parts of the major arts.
       Isabella gathered her knees close against her body, tucking her chin down. "The family watched me, but for a while, I showed no signs of my gift. My father even brought a spider monkey to live with us—one he acquired from Sergei—to see if that might help me. Apparently, the monkey used to make me laugh when I was in my high chair, but I never seemed to communicate with it. And then one day, I was playing with my doll near the tigers—and I heard Sascha speak to me. She was a cub, and I heard her ask me if I wanted to play. I had the gift." She looked at Nick and beamed. "I was so excited."
       Nick wished he had Isabella's gift. When he'd first met Isabella, he'd been jealous of her pet tiger. Since then, he had seen Irina and Isabella control lions, polar bears, tigers, an elephant, jaguars—the fiercest animals in the world were like gentle pets. But only girls inherited the animal arts.
       "After that, Sascha and I slept in the same room. I played with her, ate with her. We did everything together. We grew up together! Then one day, Sascha and I were playing hide and seek. We were out by the animals when a woman appeared—just like today. She was dressed like ava, a babushka."
       "A what?"
       "An old woman. A peasant woman. A grandmother. But when I looked at her face, I could see she that was not that old. Then she revealed her true self, and it was Maria, the woman here today with the Shadowkeeper."
       "Who is she?"
       "She is Rasputin's daughter."
       Nick's throat went dry. "What?" he managed to squeak.
       Isabella nodded. "Yes. She is a leader of the Shadowkeepers in her own right. She was once a tiger tamer. She has the animal gift, Nick, but she uses it for evil ends. You saw that