Rise of the Firebird (36 page)

Anya snorted, “And she had the gall to criticise me for being a farmer.”

“That’s what happens when someone gets too much ambition and she has it in spades.”

“Will you tell me the story?” Anya asked hopefully.

“I can tell you as much as I know,” he admitted. “Yanka was a fisherman’s daughter as I said. One day, Baba Yaga came to her village and saw her trying to use magic to change the colour of her dress. It’s child’s magic really, but the girl had no teaching and being such a glutton for magic, Baba Yaga had been intrigued. She questioned Yanka extensively about her family and if anyone else had magic. Yanka claimed that there wasn’t, so Baba Yaga checked her for amulets or if she had made any deals with any of the Powers but she hadn’t. So Baba Yaga said if the girl could find her cottage, she would take Yanka as an apprentice.”

“But if Yanka was the only one with magic, how did it come to be there?” Anya asked. “I thought it was carried through the blood. I know that families with magic can produce a magical dud like my father, but not whole generations of them surely.”

“Who knows? Magic is a strange force that has its own plans and designs. There could’ve been someone and they chose to keep it a secret or Yanka could’ve eaten a bloody magical fish without realising and absorbed its power. Ambitious little Yanka decides to hell with being a fisherman’s daughter to become a fisherman’s wife. She runs away from home and goes to find Baba Yaga. Now the story details get hazier. Some say that Baba Yaga sent a crow to guide Yanka through the forest to her, others say that it took years to find the cottage and when she finally got there, she was half mad from the trials that Baba Yaga had put in her way.”

“The latter sounds the more believable,” said Aramis. “Baba Yaga wouldn’t want a student who was weak willed.”

“True, but I don’t think she wanted one quite as strong willed as Yanka.”

“What I don’t understand,” Anya cut in, “was that when I first met Baba Yaga, she asked me to stay and be her student. She said that she’d made the same offer to Yanka and she had turned it down.”

“We’ve firmly established that Baba Yaga is a liar. She would’ve told you anything if she thought it could convince you to stay.”

“If she wanted me so badly, why did she let us go?” Anya shook her head.

“She wanted you as an ally and perhaps to see what you could do on your own. Mostly, I believe she was afraid of Yvan and the firebird,” said Eldon looking at Yvan.

“I never would’ve left you with her, although I don’t understand why she would fear me,” Yvan replied.

“She probably didn’t know if you could harness the firebird’s power and that’s the kind of fight that even Baba Yaga would need to prepare for. It’s always wiser to try to win an ally with honey before you make them submit with iron,” Eldon continued. “But Yanka definitely was one of her students, turning up at the cottage half mad would’ve been irrelevant. Baba Yaga has always been as crazy as a one-legged cat, so. To cut out all of the boring bits, Yanka learned magic from Baba Yaga with a healthy splash of blood along the way. Didn’t the blood begin to splash when they worked together? As I said, there were four players, but Baba Yaga with Yanka’s prodigious talents for magic and violence was soon attacking her rivals with a creative ferocity.”

“If it was all so great, then what went wrong?” Anya asked.

“Yanka was captured by Yvan’s great-grandfather…”

“Wait,” Anya interrupted, “Trajan said that when he was researching Yanka, he found something saying she was the daughter of a rival king and that her sister was sent to marry him as part of a peace treaty. He wanted Yanka though and he kidnapped her and forced her to use her power to predict battles.”

“Bollocks!” snorted Eldon. “That’s a fabricated bag of lies. She was no princess although she would’ve probably started that rumour to try to wash the smell of fish from her bloodline. Such is the nature of stories; they all get a different dressing from time to time, but if you look hard enough, the facts are still there.”

“Like the fact she was kidnapped and held captive to be a seer for battles,” Anya shook her head. “It’s hard to keep up with all the lies sometimes.”

“When you get older, Anya, you’ll realise that sometimes it’s the lies that have been built up around and about you that keep you safe from people,” Eldon said solemnly. “But back to Yanka. After she was let go, Yanka didn’t return to Baba Yaga. She decided that she was going to go freelance for a while and so she gained a lot of her own power, far from the guiding hand of her mentor. Then the inevitable happened. Yanka got a place on the board all on her own. Baba Yaga was furious because she never came back and now she couldn’t control her. Yanka wanted Baba Yaga’s power and so the great rivalry began. Yanka started the Darkness and Baba Yaga responded by revamping herself as Vasya Melenko to establish the rival Illumination. No one would have trusted that she was working for good, so the disguise was her best option. But now they’re both sweating bullets because something has happened that they had no way to predict.”

“Anya,” said Aramis.

“Exactly. Baba Yaga thought she could be used as a pawn and Yanka thought her blood would make her an ally.”

“She seemed to be forgetting the part about how she used me to free her, and Vasilli killed Ilya and Trajan, and hunted Yvan and me across the worlds. And she killed Väliä!” Anya exclaimed.

“Yes, well, she probably thought you were ambitious like Vasilli and so extended the offer, but something else has happened to make them concerned. How much did you see in your vision of them playing the game?” Eldon asked curiously. His hawk eyes were looking sideways at her.

“Not a lot. I saw flashes of them playing.”

“Do you feel any different since then?”

“No more than usual. My power has been different since the
Groenn Skaer
.”

“What aren’t you telling us, Eldon?” Yvan asked, his eyes flashing.

“Baba Yaga and Yanka were playing and they were forced to stop because a new player arrived on the game board.”

“Great!” moaned Anya. “Someone
else
I need to worry about starting a fight with me.”

Eldon shook his head at her. “You aren’t too bright when it comes to the blatantly obvious, are you, Anyanka?”

Anya stopped in her tracks, “Please tell me you are joking. You think
I
am a player? But…but I don’t have enough experience with magic to be a player!” She leaned over and grabbed her knees, trying to calm her breathing.

“You might not have the experience as you claim, but you do have the power. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be on the board,” said Eldon.

“How do you know she’s the new player?” asked Yvan as he placed a hand on Anya’s back.

“Because she’s the reason I was so rudely pulled out of retirement. I felt it the moment she was made a player. I saw her. I knew where she was going to be.”

“Yes, but
how
do you know?” Yvan said firmly.

“Oh, very well, you pain of a Russian!” Eldon’s hands danced in the air in exasperation. “I’m linked to the game because I helped make it. Are you happy? I know when there’s a new player. I have always known, but Anya has been the first I have been sent to teach. Probably because as she so astutely pointed out, she doesn’t have the experience but she has the power.”

“But you said Merlin made the game,” Katya pointed out.

“He did make the game, but I was there as I said,” Eldon defended. “If you really must know, I was his
Brentisiaid
, an apprentice. I helped him so I’m linked to it whether I like it or not.”

“So what now?” Anya asked as she straightened up.

“Nothing has changed. I will teach you. We’ll get the sword and go from there. It’s actually a good thing in a way, because it means they can’t use the game in the war anymore. You haven’t played a move and so for now, the game is frozen.”

“Very well, I’ll try not to think about it until I need to. That’s something for future Anya to worry about,” she said resolutely. Yvan’s warm hand curled protectively around hers.

“Good idea, now I suggest we keep walking unless someone else has a question?” Eldon said looking at Aleksandra.

She squirmed before saying, “I want to know what those red jewels are that Anya has. Nobody has said anything about them, but they scared Tuoni, and anything that scares the Lord of Dead Land is worth knowing about.”

“Anya can answer that one,” Eldon said encouragingly.

Anya let go of Yvan’s hand. She had to admit what happened with the
Groenn Skaer
and she wasn’t sure how he was going to take it. “They are seeds. I found them after I was…was with the
Groenn Skaer.
Eldon tells me that they are magical and that each one is a potential forest.”

“They are pure magic,” he said. “Each seed is pure primordial life. Anya could bury one in the Sahara and the place would terraform into Eden.”

“Tuoni was freaked out because you could’ve created a living forest in Tuonela?” Izrayl chuckled, “That’s priceless. No wonder he was so mad.”

“So they are what? Your babies?” Katya asked confused.

“I suppose? I don’t really know how you would classify them. I found them when I was cleaning out the bath of all of Trajan’s stuff.”

“Whoa! Could this day get any more intense?” Katya exclaimed. “First, you kiss Yvan, then there are all of these bombshells about Yanka and Baba Yaga, a player on some magical game and now you are a mother of forests! Seriously, do you ever tire of things being this exciting?”

Anya cringed. “All the time.” She was going inwards and she couldn’t stop herself. It wasn’t Katya’s fault, she was exuberant by nature.

“We need to get moving,” Mychal interrupted. “I’ve an uneasy feeling. You are a good hunter, Katya, so you will see what others will not. Can I get you to back track a little with Izrayl and I will scout further ahead? I need to be sure.”

“Yeah, sure, good idea,” Katya blushed a little at being called a good hunter. “Come on, Izrayl.”

Anya looked at Mychal thankfully and he gave her a small nod before striding on ahead.

Late that afternoon, they stopped by a small stream to make camp. The forest seemed to be without end and there hadn’t been any signs of inhabitants. They were heading north and that was all Anya was really concerned about.

Everyone had gone to get wood and check the surrounding forest leaving Anya alone with Eldon as protection. She had tried not to look at Yvan too much or act out of the ordinary with him. Everyone knew they had kissed, but both she and Yvan weren’t the type to flaunt their affections in public. She was embarrassed about the seeds and the
Groenn Skaer
coming up again.

Despite that, the forest around her called to her. Anya tried not to reach out and touch the forest around her as they walked. It was vast and beautiful and lacked the heavy ominous feeling that hung over Skazki. Perhaps forgotten Finnish genes from her mother’s side were rising up, but Anya liked Karelia. She wished she’d come here in different circumstances. The land felt right to her.

“Did you still want to try discovering what Tuoni said was true?” Eldon asked snapping her back to reality.

“Yes, I need to know about Eikki and Ilya.”

“Then tonight I’ll show you a way,” he said solemnly, “I need to go and prepare a few things away from this main camp.”

“Is there anything I can do?” Anya offered.

“Yes, take your damn boots off and connect with the forest already. Denying yourself that is going to hurt and distract you. I don’t need you distracted. Having Yvan round is bad enough for you.”

“Yvan’s not a distraction,” she said stubbornly.

“Yes he is. You two are constantly checking where the other is and you panic if one is missing too long. You do it automatically and don’t even realise.”

“We’ve been through too many attacks for us not to be protective, Bard.”

“I’m not saying that it’s a negative thing, Anyanka. I’m saying it because when I am teaching I need my
brentisiaid
to be focussed and present, not worrying where the Hero is. Take a moment to go and clear your head, connect with the forest and put your mind at ease. I will come back for you when it is dark.” She watched him head off through the trees.

“Everything okay,
hjarta systir
? Where is Eldon?” Aramis asked as he came back from scouting.

“He’s going to set up a smaller camp so he can teach me some things tonight.”

“You know, Anya, I’ve lived a long time and I know how to read people and their intentions within minutes of meeting them, but that man is something else.”

“Tell me about it. I like him even though he’s rude and abrupt.”

Aramis grinned down at her. “He reminds me of someone.” Anya pinched him and he gave her an affectionate hug.

“How was Søren when you talked to him? Did he look well?” she asked as she let him go.

“He seemed fine. Are you worried about him?” Aramis asked in surprise.

“I like Søren. Of course, I worry about him, especially with Baba Yaga lurking about in Vasya’s guise. He’s my brother too. None of the Álfr seems to be concerned with his wellbeing because he’s the
Dauđi Dómr.
It annoys me.”

“I’ll tell him you asked about his wellbeing. He’ll laugh at you but he’ll be touched in his way. I know it’s none of my business, Anya, but I’m glad you and Yvan are being open with each other finally.”

“I’m surprised to hear you say that.”

“You thought I’d disapprove? I could never disapprove of Yvan. You two have a unique connection and you will never put another man in front of Yvan. Please don’t be upset when I say this, but even Trajan knew he would always come second. That is no fault of yours or Yvan’s. It’s just how it is.”

“Yvan is the best man I’ve ever known and I’d rather cut off my arm than hurt him. What if I blow it, Aramis?” she asked softly.

“You won’t. Don’t be nervous or troubled about it, Anya. Nothing has really changed except your eyes are open. Your relationship with him will be exactly as it always has been but with a little extra. Take it slow and everything else will fall into place when it needs to.”