Page 30 of Rise of the Witch
Dread, unlike anything I’d felt before, turned my blood to ice. No one moved; our collective breathing amplified in the inky dark as the temperature in the room abruptly plummeted. Then came the sound of splintering glass, starting at the far end of the long table and creeping closer. I heard Anthia whimper as an eerie blue glow began to fill the room, illuminating her fearful expression across from me. In this dim light, I saw the table itself had cracked in two, creating a gaping chasm that didn’t reveal the floor below but instead a darkness that felt solid and full of malice.
And from the fissure rose a figure as familiar to me as my own reflection.
Baba Yaga.
The men responded instantly to my mentor’s appearance; Tan openly stared in wonder while Asa tracked her like a hawk, like a snake about to strike. Nox unexpectedly turned his attention to me as if gauging my reaction. Anthia's eyes were now shut tight as she trembled in the Yaga’s presence, and Harbison’s gaze kept darting between me and the apparition as if confirming we were two separate beings. Although all Yaga’s wore the same disguise, I knew without a doubt that this was the one who’d made me. The one who’d ushered me into this life. The one who first tricked me with death.
“Vasssssi,” she croaked, a viper’s tongue flicking across her cracked lips. “You thought you could steal my legacy from me and never have to face the consequences?”
The faint scar over my heart throbbed. Centuries had faded it—physically and emotionally—but in her presence, I could feel the curved blade entering my flesh as if it were yesterday, unimaginable pain slicing through me as I was sent hurtling into the Nav. It was her betrayal that cut the deepest, but with my last mortal breath, I’d grabbed the Yaga’s bony arm and dragged her to the underworld with me.
And then I left her there.
Awe replaced with protectiveness, Tan shifted to position himself between me and the threat above us. I could feel the new tattoo on my forearm pulsing with an energy that seemed to generate between our clasped hands, making the white ink glow in response as if it were a source of light.
The Yaga cocked her head at Tan and me as if tuning in to the unfamiliar frequency, her rheumy gaze narrowing suspiciously. “I see you’ve managed to find your Riders, even after all these centuries.” She sniffed in Asa’s direction like a predator scenting its prey before cackling low, “Although you’ve only two here, and just one properly claimed. You may run out of time yet…” Unnoticed behind her, Nox silently eased out of his chair with surprising grace, his eyes fixed on the chasm beneath the Yaga’s feet while he blindly reached for something on the sideboard.
“No Yaga lives forever,” I sneered, anything to keep her attention away from my men, from the collective power I could feel building in my shaking hands. “Especially ones who attempt to manipulate the natural order of things.”
My mentor’s eyes widened, rage darkening her expression at my accusation. “How do you know about that…?” she hissed, but the rest was lost as I instinctively raised my free hand, somehow engulfing her in a burst of white light the same instant Nox flooded the room with the flash of Harbison’s camera.
The Yaga shrieked in anguish before bursting into a cloud of thick, black smoke. We all leaped away from the table, chairs overturning as the room once again fell silent. Candlelight flared to life a minute later as Harbison quickly relit the sconces and pillars, revealing the smooth surface of the mirrored table to be as unblemished as it had been when we began.
What just happened?
Did I just shootdaylightout of my fingers?!
“Are you all right, sweetness?” Asa’s soft voice in my ear made me flinch, my chest heaving as adrenaline continued to course through me.
“I am not sweet,” I snapped, harsher than I meant to, but he only pulled me tightly against him in response.
“You’re a hell of a lot sweeter than the last Yaga,” Tan chuckled before addressing Asa over my head. “She does taste sweet, though, doesn’t she?” Asa hummed in agreement as Tan turned his attention back to me. “I told you, you’re mytutly juddah—my ‘sweet witch.’” Laughing as I growled in annoyance, he leaned down to nuzzle his nose against my cheek. “Don’t get too upset, doll. In Turkish, it’s a nickname that also means ‘a very stubborn woman.’”
I laughed despite myself until I spotted the others gathered around Nox’s photograph of the Yaga. Anthia and Harbison looked pale and concerned, but Nox scowled angrily at the image before stalking over to us. “Who the fuck isthat?”he snarled, thrusting the photograph in my face between thick fingers.
Gasping, I blinked rapidly at what the camera had captured. Apparently, the former Yaga had not simply disintegrated, but rather, was pulled back to the Nav from below by a distinct, horned figure with fire in his eyes. Suddenly finding it hard to breathe, I rubbed my hand over my racing heart, over the scar on my chest, as I met Nox’s dark brown eyes, seeing something unreadable buried beneath the usual suspicion.
“I believe that’s Veles, the god of the underworld,” I whispered, knowing there was no turning back from our inevitable conversation. “And I think he’s waiting for me.”
Chapter 25
Vasilisa
After the horror of the séance, Harbison recommended we all retire to his sitting room for after-dinner drinks—an offer we all gladly accepted. The room was cozy in an odd way, furnished with floral couches covered in clear plastic surrounding a steel coffee table floating above a strangely illuminated glass floor. The tension immediately lifted as Anthia, and my men happily helped themselves to the occultist’s vast wine collection. At the same time, I gratefully accepted a steaming mug of chamomile tea from our host.
“You don’t drink, doll?” Tan gazed at me curiously, thrusting his glass toward Nox for another refill while bathing me in that natural light of his—light which had become an actual physical thing since our adventures in the bathroom.
Waving a hand dismissively, I replied, “I don’t see the point to it. If I wanted to escape reality, I would drink some dream tea. If it were my troubles I was trying to work through, I’d simply go for a walk in the woods.”
“The forest has that effect on you too?” Asa asked, quietly observing me from where he sat on the opposite couch next to Tan.
I nodded. “Ever since I was a little girl—a human girl—I felt drawn to the forest, tomyforest. My mother encouraged this connection with nature, but I always felt it called to me anyway.” Asa nodded in reply, although he remained silent, chewing his lip thoughtfully.
Harbison cleared his throat. “I hope I’m not prying, but I wasn’t aware the role of Yaga was transferred to humans or transferred at all for that matter. It was always my understanding the same Yaga existed throughout all time, although sometimes shewasdepicted as three Yagas...and sometimes she was killed only to be resurrected…” he trailed off, confusion clouding his expression.
“What did I tell you?” Anthia chuckled. “Yaga is a riddle not to be solved!” Her tone was teasing, but she smiled kindly at the occultist, casually rubbing Harbison’s shoulder in a way that caused me to realize their relationship went beyond customer and supplier. It shouldn’t have surprised me that Anthia had other friends—her personality practically demanded you allow her access to you—but most shifters kept their distance from humans.
Perhaps this human is to be trusted after all.
