Page 45 of Tiger's Trek
“I think I do,” Stacia said, standing and tossing off her toasty blanket, regretting it immediately. “You left her on the other side of the river on purpose, didn’t you?”
“It were only for the summer,” one auntie began, crying.
“The townspeople been beggin’ us,” another chimed.
“What are we to do? She’s a powerful child. We’ve tried to help her control it, but she’s too small.”
Stacia put her hands on her hips. “Who are you? I think it’s time you told us.”
“Yes,” Zakhar added. “And then you’ll help us rescue Iriko.”
One of the aunties rubbed her hands. “If we agree to help you with your friend, then we’ll need a favor in return.”
“What favor?” Stacia asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
The auntie with gray braids held up her hands. “We’ll help you. Give you things to aid your journey.”
“Yes. We just need you to take Zima with you. Only for a bit.”
“Long enough so the townspeople have a summer.”
“What has Zima got to do with summer?” Stacia asked.
The aunties all blinked and looked at each other, then back at Stacia and Zakhar. “She’s the snow child,” they said as one.
When they stared at the aunties blankly, one of the younger aunties looked at the eldest and said, “You’d better explain who we are.”
The eldest sighed and said, “Very well. Please,” she added, holding up a hand. “Sit down, and I will tell you how we made Zima.”
Once they were seated, she said, “My name is Daz. My magic is in gift-giving, motherhood, sunshine, the renewal of life, and weddings. These are my sisters. Stribog—her gifts include manipulation of the wind, the ability to travel on lightning, and the ability to jump high and far. Moksha has power over death, fertility, fields, and herds. Veles can manipulate the waters and the earth. Sima controls all things in the sky, including birds and storms, while her identical twin, Yaryl, manages all the living things on and beneath the earth, including plants and animals. Last is Peruna, who controls fire and weapons.”
Both Stacia and Zakhar had heard these names before. They were the names of old gods and goddesses their ancestors had worshipped for millennia. Neither of them knew what to say. Never had they expected to meet these... goddesses and see them act like real people. People who served them lamb stew. What was this place?
Zakhar, in particular, didn’t know what to say. He didn’t believe in the old stories. They weren’t real. Were they? Then again, he didn’t used to believe in magic either. He cleared his throat. “Perhaps you’d better tell us how you created Zima and why you want us to take her.”
The aunties looked at each other. Daz continued speaking. “We were traveling when we first came upon Zima’s lost soul. She didn’t know who she was then, or how she’d become lost.”
“She no longer possessed a body,” Moksha explained.
“So we made a new one for her,” Yaryl added.
Peruna added, “All of us helped. Each of us added a bit.”
“For the magic to work, we had to search the world until we found her original body. It had been lost in the ice,” said Stribog.
Veles explained, “We took a bit of hair, then fashioned her new form. We didn’t expect the ice to stay with it.”
“We just wanted to know what it felt like to be mothers ourselves,” Sima said softly. “We help so many mortals but never get to experience it.”
“She’s our little snow child, you see?” finished Daz. “But the snow stays when she does.”
“Yes. The townspeople want summer. They need summer for their crops,” said Moksha.
“So we made a deal with the vodnik and warned her about crossing the bridge.”
“They weren’t going to hurt her,” one auntie added.
“No. Only keep her for five or six months if she tried to cross.”
