Page 54 of Call of the Ride
Finally able to move again, my Riders scrambled to their feet, desperately trying to reach me, but the punishing winds created a buffer, pushing farther away. I could sense Koschei drawing closer, which frightened me as much as it made my claws lengthen in anticipation. He could’ve simply allowed his whirlwind to snatch me away, but he was so eager for his prize, he was coming to collect me himself.
Right where I want him.
Borrowed darkness pulsed out of my skin, but—in keeping with the rules of engagement—it wasn’t part of my attack. I was purposefully obscuring my actions as I reached down and grabbed what I needed from the bag at my feet.
“Vassssilissssaaaa...” the voice of trauma hissed in my ear, like claws on bone, and I felt Koschei’s presence close around me, like a prison.
“No!” Nox shouted. I found my Darkest Midnight in the chaos only moments before his darkness consumed me, holding his gaze as I placed Veles’ bomb over my own heart.
“I love you,”I fiercely whispered to all three of my Riders, sending this promise down our bond, even as I severed it. “Always.”
Just as before, I felt a blast of excruciating pain as the connection was cut, only this time, I was the one hurtling into the darkness realm, smiling wickedly as Koschei was dragged along with me.
“You’re breaking our contract, you bitch!” Koschei screeched in outrage once we’d settled into our fathomless surroundings.
There’s that tired B word again…how unoriginal.
“No,” I allowed my disembodied chuckle to echo through the vast expanse. “I’ve kept upmyend of the bargain—even severing my bonds with my men to avoid interference. This is between you and me, and I’m simply adding an addendum to our agreement.”
“You can’t do that!” he hissed. “I own you now!”
“Wrong again!” I sang out, drinking in his anger like a fine wine. “You said it yourself—you cannot stake a claim on any creature of divine origin. As I became such a creature when I returned from the Nav as Yaga, well, it sounds as if you cannot claim me after all.”
You lose.
Koschei was silent, the only sign he was still with me, his simmering rage. “I own your human death,” he finally spoke, and my blood ran cold. “When Marena stole you from my cave, through the Water of Life, you had to die before you could return from the Nav. As you belonged tomewhen that occurred…”
“No, Koschei,” a powerfully resonant voice joined us, and I immediately knew it was Mokosh. “Vasilisa’s human life has always belonged to me, as I blessed her at birth. Because of that, you didn’t have any right to capture or make a deal with her in the first place. However, Vasilisa did indeed deliver on the bargain, meaning I am now free. You, on the other hand, broke the rules, so what you want is inconsequential.”
And you’ll never get your hands on either of us again.
Koschei couldn’t do anything but howl as we were both yanked out of the darkness realm and roughly deposited on the grass surrounding the Facility. Before I could get my bearings, strong arms wrapped around me. My men were there, pulling me to stand—our severed bonds neatly snapping into place as they nearly suffocated me with the crush of their muscular bodies.
Not the worst way to die…
“Vasilisa!” Koschei shrieked from where he’d landed across the field. “If I cannot lay claim to your death, I shall be the one to deliver it!”
I slowly turned to face the creature of my nightmares and realized I wasn’t afraid of him anymore. Koschei may have played a leading role in a deeply traumatic chapter in my life, but he didn’t define my story. Even as his illusion of humanness fell away, revealing the rotting corpses I always suspected lay beneath, I stood my ground.
The surrounding air crackled with electricity, the drumbeat of war echoing off the trees as all three of my men were suddenly mounted on their horses. I watched in awe as they transformed into legends before my eyes. Plated armor began covering every inch of their bodies, like a second skin, their horns elongating to rise menacingly above helmets crafted to look like the faces of wild beasts. Capes billowed behind them in the punishing wind and each man held a medieval weapon formed of their individual powers. My men looked exactly as I’d seen them as a little girl, when they’d led me to my destiny centuries ago.
My Riders.
To my surprise, instead of immediately attacking Koschei, they first turned their attention to me, seamlessly combining their powers to create a fourth horse—a steed born of light, heat, and darkness. One that was just for me.
Mine.
I mounted my horse, laughing in wicked delight as we rose into the air and charged at Koschei as a team, eager to deliver death to the deathless. Koschei rose to meet us, his form grotesquely shifting and enlarging until what we faced was truly monstrous. “You four cannot defeat me!” he laughed, his voice everywhere and nowhere as he rode the wind. “Only those from the realm of the dead can touch me.”
Is that a fact?
Sending my awareness outward, I felt the earth already healing around me as Mokosh took over the repair efforts. The veil was still thin, however, which left me with the perfect opportunity for vengeance. Koschei had been using living creatures to hide his death since time began, never giving a second thought to the trail of bodies left in his wake. Accessing my power as Yaga—the witch who walks the line between life and death—I called upon every inhabitant of the Nav who’d been sent there by this creature, inviting them to join us.
It’s time for a reunion.
Koschei’s bulbous eyes widened in terror as these souls joined us on the wild hunt, sweeping through the forest and air with a horrible sound. A low buzzing joined the din. A swarm of bees so large it blotted out the sun pointed the way to the underworld, herding Koschei as he spun mid-air and took off toward the north.
My army was relentless, nipping at his heels as we chased him over the sea. At one point, I spotted Marena and Jarilo joining in the hunt. Their pale blue and golden horns were on full display as they alternated covering Koschei with thick layers of ice before burning it off of him with scalding heat, cackling like two children at play. Even the Gamayun and Alkonost appeared to keep pace with our troops as a great whirlpool formed in the ocean far beneath us.
