Yaga's Blood (Root and Myth Book 1) Read online

Her eyes fell on the empty ragdoll on the floor.

  “It wasn’t a person. You’ll learn these things with time. You’re a Krapiva, Miroslava. A pure-blooded witch of powerful heritage. You have a wonderful, bright future ahead of you.” The effect from Yadviga’s words was spoiled by Solovei’s creepy voice translating it in Mira’s head. “You have no choice. It’s your destiny.”

  Mira lunged towards the trunk, and her hand closed around the feather. For a millisecond it felt cold against her skin, like a normal metal, and then it heated up, the warmth as if sipped into Mira’s skin.

  She turned around, and everyone seemed to move so much slower than her now! She could see her Mom’s widened eyes, and Yadviga’s face grow paler, and the vourdalaks shrinking back. And then the man in the suit rushed ahead, his long-fingered hand in a black leather glove stretched to her. And Kosh stirred, and jerked out of the vourdalak’s grip, and jumped on the suit, wrapping around him. The men fell to the ground.

  “Take it, Mira!” Yana’s scream was loud and high-pitched.

  And then Mira saw the man in the suit jam the dagger into Kosh’s torso, and Kosh screamed.

  Mira turned the feather, praying that a magical key worked like any other key. And the lock clicked and the trunk lid jumped open, throwing Mira back. She had one thought in her head - to hold on to the feather clutched in her hand.

  There was a low rumble coming from the trunk, growing louder and louder, and then a flock of ravens burst out of it. They seemed to be made of the same shimmering darkness as Kosh’s snakes, and they thrashed around the room, their ragged wings flapping, and raspy screeches echoing. They flew up to the ceiling, hundreds of them, it seemed, and then dove down. Some of them attacked the vourdalaks and the suit man. They avoided Yadviga, and she stood like a snow white spot in the middle of the commotion.

  And then several ravens melded into one, and this large, now crisp black bird plunged down - and hit Mira into the center of her chest. Mira gasped, from the blow and from the wave of extreme cold that spread through her body. It quickly dissipated, though, chased away by the magic from the feather that was burning her palm.

  Mira felt the raven wings open behind her back. It was a strange sensation - they were just another couple of limbs to her, like her legs and arms. She shimmied her shoulders, and then she spread the wings menacingly and took a step towards Yadviga.

  Yana had been right - Mira still felt she was herself. Just stronger, and faster. And she wasn’t scared anymore.

  Mira lifted the feather in front of her, and it glowed in her hand brightly. Its light was growing blinding, golden, and scorching - and finally, Yadviga wavered, and took a small step back.

  “Get out!” Mira shouted at her, and took another step forward. “Leave us alone!”

  Yadviga’s lips twisted in anger and disdain. Mira’s heart boomed twice, slowly, strongly in her chest, before Yadviga moved. Her face remained expressionless. She turned her back to Mira and started unhurriedly walking towards the still open passage into the outer room. Around her, the man and the vourdalaks were fighting the ravens.

  At the very door, Yadviga beckoned Solovei with her hand, and the ravens shied away from him. He was breathing heavily, his clothes were torn, and Mira saw blood on his cheeks. One of his eyes was now a bloodied wound, and she watched as he pressed his gloved hand over it. He rushed after Yadviga - and the two of them disappeared through the rectangle of darkness.

  One of the vourdalaks was already nothing but a pile of grey ash, and the second one was lying on the floor, weakly battering the birds off with its long arms. Mira stepped towards it, waving the ravens away from it. She remembered that Kosh told her they were nothing but dead bodies full of magic, but she needed to make sure.

  It was lying on the floor, and Mira saw the corpse inside. It was a man, in a hoodie and jeans, his face white and unmoving. The magical outer shell was gnashing its teeth at her, the long muzzle covered in foam and spit, and Mira stretched her free hand to it. It whimpered, staring at the feather in Mira’s hand. It then tried to shield itself from the light coming from the feather - and disintegrated with the blue flames bursting around it.

  ***

  Mira turned around.

  Her mother was sitting on the floor, cradling Kosh in her arms, his head on her lap. The dagger was thrown on the floor near him, and a large puddle of blood was growing underneath him.

  “Mom!” Mira cried out and rushed towards them.

  Yana was crying openly. Mira had never seen her cry like that. Large tears ran down her cheeks, and she was making quiet wailing noises. She was also murmuring something tender and heart-breaking in Russian, and her hand was stroking his cheek, smearing blood on it.

  “Mom! Mom! We need to do something!”

  Mira couldn’t believe her Mom just sat there! Surely, there was some magic they could use! A spell, or some herb! He was still alive - Mira could see his chest rise in shallow breaths, and from time to time his eyelashes fluttered as if he tried to open his eyes.

  “He didn’t let me...” Yana sobbed out. “I wanted to drag him to the cage… It would preserve him, even without magic… He said he wanted to die human.” Yana once again stroked Kosh’s face, and then she pressed her lips to his forehead. “Koschei… Please, don’t leave...”

  Mira felt tears run down her cheeks as well.

  “We knew Yadviga would come, she was following us close. We discussed it... And opening the door into the Underworld would show her where we were. We knew it would end like this.” Yana took a shuddered breath, trying to take her voice under control. “I just didn’t know I’d be left behind...”

  Kosh’s eyes slowly opened, unfocused, and unseeing, and the lips moved silently. Yana leaned closer.

  “What’s he saying?” Mira whispered.

  “I don’t know… I can’t hear...” Yana sobbed again. She went back to tenderly brushing his cheek with her fingertips. “Kosh… Don’t leave me… Please...”

  Mira’s mind thrashed in panic in search of solution. They’d gotten that far! They seemed to have defeated Yadviga! He couldn’t just die!

  “Kiss him!” Mira blurted out, and Yana stared at her aghast. “Mom, kiss him! Isn’t he your true love, or something?! I know it sounds stupid, but don’t they do it in all fairy tales?”

  Yana looked down at Kosh.

  “I mean there are all those sleeping beauty stories, and Russians have them too!” Mira was grasping at straws.

  Yana shifted, carefully put Kosh on the floor - his eyes closed, and the lips stopped moving - and she leaned in, and kissed him.

  Mira bit into her lip, holding her breath.

  Nothing happened. Yana moved away and stared at his face.

  And then his body arched on the floor, with a loud raspy gasp, and Yana winced away. He said something in Russian, in a coarse choked voice, and rolled on his side. He was coughing, taking loud difficult breaths, his body quaking - and then Mira saw that the blood that was pooling on the floor started moving in reverse, as if he were a sponge absorbing it.

  “The doors, you idiot...” were the first words he managed to rasp out, and then he blindly battered his hand in the air.

  Yana grabbed it and started pulling him up on his feet.

  “Mira, help me! He’s right! The doors will close when his blood isn’t keeping them open!”

  Mira dove under Kosh’s second arm, and together they started dragging him to the black rectangular of the exit. Mira looked back. The blood on the floor behind Kosh was like the trail of an evening dress, and the trail was getting shorter.

  They crossed five rooms, doors open ajar in all of them - and in the sixth they had to squeeze through a quickly closing one. Kosh pressed his hand into the wound on his side, and dug his fingers in it, hissing. The blood trail slowed its retreat, and they stumbled through two more doors - and were in the last room.

  “The exit,” Mira breathed out. “There’s no Vasya to keep it open!”

  An
d then she saw a small triangle of weak light near the furthest wall. The light from the feather in her hand seemed to stream into it, and the three of them lunged towards it.

  ***

  Mira fell on the wet asphalt first. Yana dove from under the staff next, and Mira watched her Mom drag Kosh out, by the shoulders of his coat.

  Yana fell on her back, taking sharp loud breaths. Nearby Kosh spread on the ground, his blood following him like a short thin tail - and then it disappeared under his coat.

  There was a moment of silence, only disrupted by the noise of passing cars, and the usual city sounds - and then the staff fell on the ground, and Mira squealed.

  Kosh started laughing, and Mira stared at him. He was lying on his back, looking into the unusually clear starry sky above - and loudly guffawing. Yana joined him a second later and moved to him. She pressed her forehead into his chest, his arms wrapping around her.

  “What’s so funny?!” Mira barked at the two of them, which only made it worse.

  They were as much as hollering with laughter now, and Mira sat up.

  “Are you two nuts? We just fought monsters, I got your crazy magic, and I still have a Firebird feather in my hand!”

  Mira shook the feather in the air.

  “Oh loosen up, kiddo!” Kosh answered, and Yana started snorting into his coat.

  And then Yana lifted her head, and their eyes met.

  “You’re a sleeping beauty,” Yana gleefully announced to him.

  “You’re my prince charming,” he answered, smiling widely.

  “Oh, grow up, you two!” Mira scoffed at them, and the adults started laughing again.

  Mira puffed air in irritation and tried to get up, her knees shaking.

  And then she remembered. “Vasya! We left her skin behind! How could I forget?! I was supposed—”

  “I got her, don’t panic.”

  Kosh pushed his right hand into his coat pocket and gently took out the ragdoll. It lay into Mira’s hands, empty and floppy.

  “We can try to make her again,” Yana said softly. “I’ll teach you. You have enough magic now. That is if you think she’d want it.”

  “She said she liked to be a person,” Mira mumbled, and tenderly straightened up the dress on the doll.

  “Then we’ll get on it first thing in the morning,” Yana promised.

  Kosh sat up with a groan, still pressing Yana into his side with his left arm.

  “But first, eggs, bacon, and coffee. Lots of coffee,” he said.

  “How can you think of food right now?!” Mira raised her voice. “Can I have some explanation here, heh? I have your magic now, right? Am I now Koschei the Deathless?! Do I need to take magic baths now? Will Yadviga come back? Are you still human? Did I get the magic from you as well, or just what was left in the cage? Are you two a thing now?”

  The adults exchanged looks, and smiled at each other.

  “She’s bossy,” Kosh said with a very pleased smile.

  “Yep.” Yana popped the last sound.

  Kosh leaned ahead and rubbed his nose to Yana’s. Mira glared at the lovebirds. They slowly got up and leaned their backs into the wall.

  “You’re still you, Mira. The feather would make sure of it,” Yana answered. “You’re just strong now, have a lot of magic, Old Yaga’s and Koschei’s. Even if Yadviga comes back - she won’t have anything on you. That was a smart move by the way, to let out Kosh’s magic. Genius, actually.”

  She stretched her hand and ruffled Mira’s hair.

  “Well, I thought either I’d get it - since you said the feather helps to absorb magic, or he would.”

  Mira felt a bit shy from the praise - and a bit smug. OK, really smug. She deserved it.

  “I was too weak by then.” Kosh shook his head. “And as grateful as I am, I’m relieved I didn’t get it. One needs to be a truly good person to wield it and to stay decent. You’re a much better option for it.” He smiled at Mira. “I can help you to learn to control it, if you want. If you two want me around, of course,” he trailed away and threw Yana a side glance.

  She pretended to be busy brushing dirt off her sweater.

  “Yarina?”

  Kosh was looking increasingly worried. Unlike Mira, he didn’t know how good Yana’s poker face was.

  “Well, I don’t know,” Yana drew out. “We’ve been doing just fine, just the two of us. We had the whole Gilmore Girls thing going on.”

  Kosh’s eyebrows jumped up, and Mira giggled.

  “She’s kidding, right?” Kosh asked Mira, and she gave him a shrug. “I mean, Solovei’s dagger drained me of magic. I’m mortal now.” Then, he finally saw how hard Mira was trying not to laugh. “God, the two of you are going to drive me mental, aren’t you?”

  “Let’s go, Bessemer.” Yana wrapped her arm around his waist. “Let me buy you breakfast. You probably don’t have any money, do you?”

  “I never needed money. People just gave me stuff,” he grumbled and let Yana lead him towards Osborne.

  “Nice,” Yana said sarcastically. “I think you’ll make a perfect insurance broker then.”

  Mira laughed, and then quickly looked away, giving the two kissing grown-ups a bit of privacy.

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