Rise of the Firebird (56 page)

“Good evening,” Anya said. “My name is Anya. Antru said I would find you here.”

“Prove it,” came the reply from one with a shaved head. They were all pointing guns at her so she melted them, the metal dripped through their fingers without burning and pooled at their feet.

Shaved head looked at the mess that was now his gun and back at her. “Which one of you is Aramis?”

“I am.” Aramis dropped his glamour ever so slightly so that they could see he was definitely not human.

“Antru said you were Álfr. I told him he was a lying little fucker.”

“I suppose you owe him an apology.”

“He said that the smartest thing I could do is hand leadership over to you.”

“He’s wise that Antru,” Izrayl said sizing Shaved Head up. He was almost as big as Izrayl. Almost. “And who are you?”

“I am Misha,” he said, backing down.

“How many people do you have camping here?” Aramis asked to distract the two alphas.

“At the moment, we have seventy and more keep turning up. We’ve waited a long time to have a chance to give back some of the hurts that the Illumination and the Darkness have caused.”

“You can all fight?” Søren asked looking over the camp.

“Yes, most of them are either hunters or supes. Many have had family members killed, turned, or snatched. There are many here who’ve been hunted like beasts for years.”

“Good, so everyone is ready for the fight,” Søren smiled viciously.

“I like you,” Misha nodded approvingly before looking back at Anya. “You, I am not so sure about. I liked that gun.” Anya clapped her hands once and their guns were back to their original form. Misha picked his up and inspected it.

“It’s fine, see? Except now it will fire magic bullets,” she said.

“Really?” he asked hopefully.

“No, not really.”

Misha scowled, “And this is why I don’t like Shamanitsas.”

“Perhaps you shouldn’t point your gun at them so much and they’d be nicer to you.”

“Oh, make his teeth fall out and be done with it, Anya. He clearly enjoys flapping his gums,” suggested Kullervo.

“I don’t mean you any harm, Misha. I’m actually grateful you have come here, but I am cold and tired, so please get out of my way.”

Misha moved. “I had to be sure of who you were. There are too many enemies around and you look very much like her.”

“Have you seen Yanka?” Anya asked as they walked through the camp’s fence lines.

“Only at a distance. They’ve constructed a large base on your farm and I have seen Vasilli patrolling about. There haven’t been any definitive signs of the Illumination as yet but they won’t be far behind. We’ve seen their scouts.”

Anya walked carefully, cautious of all the eyes that rested on them. She needed privacy so she could touch the gate. Yvan took her hand and their power flared together, easing her nerves. They set up their camp next to a clump of birch trees out of everyone’s way. Mychal and Izrayl went to find wood and Anya suspected to go for a run. Izrayl knew what to do and if there were any enemies nearby, he would find them.

Eldon touched her arm. “How close are we to the farm?”

“It’s about a kilometre from here. This forest is my forest though. My parents were killed not far from here.”

“I am sorry.”

“Don’t be. It was Baba Yaga, not you.”

“What will you do with her? She’s a Power. Bars won’t hold her.”

“I am going to do as I promised,” Anya said firmly, “I’m going to give her to Tuoni.”

“If anyone can control her, he can,” Eldon nodded approvingly. “That is, if destroying the game doesn’t kill her.”

Anya tensed and looked to where Yvan stood talking to a group of Russian hunters. Eldon followed her gaze, “You still haven’t told him.”

“I’m not going to worry him about something that may not happen. Mychal knows and he agrees that we need to keep it quiet. I don’t want to spend what could be our last few days together fighting with each other, not when we could be fighting a real enemy.”

“Fine, I won’t make you. This forest is strange,” he said changing the subject. He studied the dark leaves above them. “Maybe being on a crossroads is why magic is pulsating from it. No wonder your family has always had power. Did you hunt animals in here? Have you eaten its fruits?”

“Yes, of course, we’ve always hunted and harvested berries and mushrooms. Eikki used to get his herbs and cuttings from in here. What didn’t grow naturally he would plant. He told me it was good for them because the pine needles kept them warm.”

“He would’ve known about the magic in the soil. His natural remedies would have been astoundingly effective.”

Anya smiled, the memory warming her. “They were. He helped many people. It didn’t stop them from shunning us though.”

“They were afraid as people generally are. Can you link with the gates from here?”

“I haven’t tried yet.”

“Do it, Anya. This is your land. Your hands have worked and tended to it. It’ll remember you.”

Anya looked down at her hands. The months of no hard labour had made them soft, even her callouses were gone. The scar, left from Konstantin’s exuberance for an apple, stood white against pink flesh. She missed him.

“The memory of this place gets to me,” she admitted. “Things I have haven’t thought about in a long time are rising up and making me angry.”

“Use it on the battlefield. That’s when you let it go. Not now. The gates are yours and Yanka is tampering with them. Do something about it,” Eldon said. They walked out of sight and Anya sat down on the ground.

“Be careful. You haven’t done this since your encounter with the Stag or Tapio,” Eldon said as he sat down on a fallen log, his walking stick across his knees. “I’ll watch over you.”

Anya cleared away the leaf litter until she found earth and dug her hand into it. Instantly, she was flooded with images and memories. The pure burning life of the land and every creature that resided in it swelled up in her. Then she felt it, the rotting darkness that was seeping through it.

Anya could see her land and the forest in her mind. There was a black sludge on the forest floor and she followed it, trying to find its source. She wasn’t surprised to find herself on the borders of the farm. Yanka was standing proudly in a white dress. Its hem was trailing the toxic poison wherever she went.

“Anyanka, I see you have made your way back home at last,” she said warmly. Anya hated that people thought they looked alike. Yanka had something distorted and damaged inside of her and her face, even when she was trying to be kind, had a twist of cruelty in it.

“I’ve come to protect what’s mine,” Anya said in a voice that wasn’t as firm as she hoped.

“You are doing a terrible job of it so far. Run away, little child, this does not concern you.”

A cackle sounded as Baba Yaga stamped her way through the trees. The Bony Legged Witch was back in her true form and was snapping with power from her bird’s nest hair to her crooked feet.

“The tide is bringing in all kinds of trash today,” Yanka sniffed. “I was wondering if you were going to turn up.”

“Stop this now, you silly spoiled girl,” Baba Yaga said to Yanka. “What you are doing here could break the worlds apart.”

“And why the hell would you care?” Anya interrupted. “You are as bad as she is. You have your own crimes that you
will
pay for.”

“There goes your hope of getting her to be your ally,” laughed Yanka. “She betrayed you too didn’t she, Anya?”

“She killed Eikki and was going to give me to Tuoni. She killed my parents.”

“Looks like her crimes are out weighing mine.”

“Hardly,” Anya felt her anger flare. “You killed Trajan after I set you free, you sent Vasilli to slay innocent Álfr and you let Veruschka try to kill Yvan. You’re both as petty and cruel as the other.”

“And what about me?” Vasilli’s arms wrapped around her from behind, his face nestling against her hair.

“Get off me,” she growled.

Vasilli chuckled in her ear, causing the hair on her neck to rise. He released her, his fingers brushing along her breasts as he did so. He went to stand by Yanka, a smug smile on his face. He was as intimidating as Anya remembered, his long black hair spreading over his shoulders. She could feel his newly acquired power rolling off him.

“I see you’re still Yanka’s lap dog,” she commented. “You have a place as one of the greatest Powers in all the worlds and yet you still follow her blindly. It’s taking mummy’s boy syndrome a little too far, don’t you think?”

“At least I have a family,” he stung.

“Luckily for me there is more to family than blood.”

“But doesn’t it worry you that what’s inside of me is what’s inside of you, no matter how diluted? Well…after tomorrow what is mine will definitely be inside of you.” He looked her up slowly and obviously.

“You are a sick bastard, Vasilli.”

“Yes, I am, and I’m still going to fuck you until you scream.”

“Not in the way your brother does,” Anya taunted. “You’ll always be a lesser man to Yvan, no matter how much power you acquire.”

“Little brother finally got to fuck you? You must’ve saved him for last. From what I hear, you’re fucking that entire group you travel with. I can assure you that when I fuck you, you will not enjoy it half as much.”

“Charming incestuous child you have raised, Yanka. You must be proud,” Baba Yaga snorted.

“Vasilli, stop trying to scare the girl and make the offer,” Yanka insisted.

“Give us the firebird and you will be allowed to live,” he grunted.

“Anya, side with me and we can be equals. Together, we’ll have enough power to destroy the both of them and the Darkness,” Baba Yaga talked over him.

Anya looked at the three of them so full of hate and pettiness, locked in a story that wouldn’t end. She started to laugh.

“You are all so pathetic! I’ve no offer to make any of you because your fates are sealed. I wanted to try to end this peacefully, but there is no reasoning with children.”

“You’re the child if you think you’ve enough power to seal your own fate, let alone any of ours,” Yanka hissed. “Tomorrow, I’ll bring the gates down and if you try to stop me…”

“My army will ensure that you don’t,” Baba Yaga shouted.

“Give up this scramble for power, you old bitch. You have lost! I’ll rule for a thousand years and you will be reduced to a character in a children’s fairy tale.”

Anya watched something flicker over Vasilli’s face as he looked at Yanka. He was going to betray her. He saw Anya’s gaze and grinned. He knew that even if she tried to out his intentions, Yanka wouldn’t believe her. What Vasilli didn’t know was that Anya didn’t care. Only one outcome would satisfy her and that was if they were all dead. Seeing them filled her with a burning rage that strengthened her resolve.

They were still fighting as Anya walked back into the forest, Vasilli’s black eyes burning into her back. She found her way back to her body and came to with a start. She was still sitting in the same place but a blanket had been thrown around her. Eldon was sitting on the log singing quietly to himself. It was beautiful and old and Anya didn’t understand a word of it.

“How long have I been out?” she asked once she had convinced her tongue to start working again.

“About an hour. Yvan came with the blanket and scowled at me a few times. What did you see?”

“I had a meeting with Vasilli, Yanka, and Baba Yaga. The battle is going to start at dawn.”

“You had no luck trying to convince them of a peaceful option then.”

“I didn’t even try, but you already knew that I wouldn’t.”

“Sometimes there is no peaceful option no matter how much you hope for it. What else did you see?”

“Yanka is trailing this black…I don’t know what… it’s like shadowy goo. I don’t even think she is aware of it. I followed it through the forest and it led me to her.”

“That’s not a good sign,” Eldon frowned. “I remember only one other time I have seen something like that, but it was a long time ago.”

Before Anya could question him further, Aramis came hurrying through the trees towards them. “Izrayl is back. He says the Illumination camp has appeared out of nowhere. There are at least a thousand of them. Why don’t you look surprised?”

“I saw Baba Yaga. I knew the army couldn’t be very far behind.” Anya held out her hand to him and he helped her up.

“You saw her?”

“I saw all of them. We need to get these people together before dawn.”

“Søren and Mychal have already gone to scout the Illumination camp.”

“Good, those two are the last ones that would get caught.”

“God help who even thinks to try to stop them.”

Half a kilometre through the forest, Mychal and Søren stood hidden in the trees watching the flurry of activity. They had slipped easily past the perimeter guards who Søren could only assume were human and possibly deaf and blind.

He was happy to be out doing something useful, not sitting about watching Anya to make sure nothing tried to attack her. They were all watching Anya. She remained blissfully clueless, her mind too preoccupied.

Against his better judgement, Søren had messaged Ruthann to let him know of the enemy’s movements and about what they had planned. He was still furiously angry with Ruthann but if the battle changed for the worst, the Álfr needed to have preparations in place. His
Sjau
would ensure that.

“That must be Baba Yaga’s tent,” Mychal whispered.

“It’s certainly the biggest.”

“Not only that, I saw them carrying deconstructed pieces of a loom.”

“And yet they still think she is Vasya Melenko. Idiots.”

“They might not care. Even with her false pretences, she’s preferable to Yanka.”

They watched a Jeep pull up and men hurrying to lift a crate from it. Even from two hundred metres away, Søren felt its aura.

“I do believe that’s the game I keep hearing so much about.”

“So she did bring it. Good, let’s move about the other side. I want to see how far we are from the Darkness camp.”

Mychal moved but made no sound as he did so. It was eerie even for one as sure-footed as a Álfr. If they survived the battle, Søren was going to sit down, have a long conversation with Mychal, and do his best not to beg the demon hunter to teach him everything he knew.