Page 19 of Of Fate and Phantoms
"I am your queen! I command you."
"There's no need for a list," I said before Lincoln got himself into more trouble. "I can summon your husband for you. Indeed, I think it's an excellent idea to ask him if he has any knowledge of Leisl's vision since she named him. It seems like the next logical step."
The queen and prince both stared at me, mouths ajar in a most un-regal manner. "But you're such a little thing," the queen said. "And so young."
I simply shrugged. "Age has nothing to do with one's supernatural ability. It's something I was born with."
Beside me, Lincoln's fingers curled into a fist on the chair arm, but he didn't try to silence me.
"You can talk to the dead?" the queen asked.
"I can, and I see them too."
"What do they look like?"
"Mist shaped like their living self."
"Remarkable," she said on a breath.
"What other supernatural abilities is your so-called ministry aware of?" the prince asked.
The queen flapped a black lace handkerchief, produced from the depths of her silk skirts. "You must summon the Prince Consort, Miss Holloway. Immediately. What do you need to begin? A drum? Cymbals? Bertie, close the curtains."
The prince didn't rise. "We ought to learn more about this ministry first. I'm not prepared to accept Mr. Fitzroy's claims yet. Not without proof."
"Miss Holloway is my proof," Lincoln shot back.
"You believe Leisl," I said gently. "And Lincoln is her son. He wishes you no disrespect, nor does he want anything from you in return. We're not asking for money or a royal seal of approval. We simply want to know what Leisl meant, too. There's no harm in doing this, I promise." To the queen, I said, "I don't require darkness or any paraphernalia. I can summon him anywhere at any time."
"What if he won't come?"
"He will come for me." As a necromancer, spirits had no choice but to appear when summoned, even those that had crossed to their afterlife. For a medium, the spirit could only come if they hadn't yet crossed. The difference made my power so much more frightening. That, and the fact necromancers could force the spirit to occupy a dead body. "Are you prepared for this, ma'am?"
"Yes. Oh, yes, I have waited a long time." She seemed taller all of a sudden, younger, and a gleam lit up her eyes. "Do not disappoint me, Miss Holloway."
"We will expect proof that you speak to my father," the prince said. "If you're lying to us…"
I swallowed. "What is his full name?"
"Francis Albert Augustus Charles Emmanuel of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha," the queen rattled off.
I had to call him twice because I missed one of his names the first time. The second time, however, I breathed a sigh of relief as the mist coalesced in the corner of the room then floated toward me, slowly forming the shape of a distinguished looking man with a high forehead and impressive side whiskers. He looked around, first at me, then at the others in the room. He settled on the sofa near his widow and laid a hand over hers. She didn't respond.
"Are you Albert, the Prince Consort?" I asked.
The queen pressed her handkerchief to her chest and her gaze flicked around the room. "He's here? Where? Where?"
"Sitting next to you." I nodded at the ghost.
The queen tentatively put out a hand. It went right through him. "I can't feel him."
The Prince of Wales rose. Hands behind his back, he bent toward the spirit, a deep frown on his brow. "Proof, Miss Holloway."
Sir?" I prompted. "Are you the Prince Consort?"
"I am he." The ghost had a faint German accent but a clear voice. He waved a hand in front of his widow's face. "Who are you?"
"My name is Miss Holloway and this is Mr. Fitzroy. I'm a…I can summon spirits."
