Chapter 7
EVERY BOLOTNITSA PRAISES HER OWN SWAMP
“Now, now beastie,” the little man said, holding up his hands. “There’s nothing you’ll be wanting here. It’s all been a simple misunderstanding. I’m already spoken for, you see? Perhaps the lad might be interested?”
He turned back for just a moment to catch Nik’s eye.
Panicked, Nik shook his head vehemently, saying, “What? No! I am not interested.”
“Okay, son. Calm yourself. Don’t want to be offending the pretty bolotnitsa now, do we?” he said with his one eye wide open and his teeth clenched for emphasis. Then hissing under his breath, he added, “Use your magic. Fashion a net to hold her while I distract her.”
Nik nodded but stood rooted to the wet ground, gape mouthed as the bolotnitsa slid further out of the water, exposing her slime-covered torso.
Digging unnaturally long arms into the muck, she pushed her body into an upright position and smiled at the two of them as she wove back and forth in the air. That was when Nik realized the bottom half of her body was shaped like a snake’s. Nik just so happened to be terrified of snakes.
The bolotnitsa opened her mouth, and her jaw unhinged, exposing a menacing set of sharp teeth with two protruding fangs that glistened in the moonlight.
Moving closer, her hair flickered in the light, and the tips sprung to life with tiny white filaments.
They were beautiful in a way, almost mesmerizing.
Nik could see how in the dark water they might serve to lure prey closer to those deadly jaws.
Even he had a difficult time looking away from her.
He shook his head and instructed the boots to weave a net to trap the creature.
The laces went to work, creating a webbing that intersected between the trees.
As he worked, the likho kept talking, making some sort of an attempt to woo the terrifying creature, but whatever he was doing didn’t seem to be working.
“Faster, boy,” the little man said. “Faster!”
Nik concentrated, widening the net and stretching it over the bolotnitsa’s head. When he was ready, he cried out that it was time. “Okay!” Nik cried. “Whatever you’re going to do, you’d better do it now!”
The likho rubbed his hands together, mumbled a few words, and then it was like powerful bursts of light exploded right in front of the bolotnitsa’s eyes.
She screamed and writhed, bringing her long limbs up to protect her head.
Then they heard a hiss and a snarl. Nik let his net drop, picked up his magic boots, and ran.
The likho, now free, grabbed his arm, telling him to move like his life depended on it.
Normally, Nik should have been able to outpace the other man, even without the boots. His legs were much longer, and he was younger and trained in such things. But his body was tired. He’d already used up most of his energy. “Faster, boy!” the likho warned. “You’ve got to run faster!”
The bolotnitsa was out of the trap before they’d gotten far and was soon crashing through the trees behind them.
They could hear her quickly catching up to them.
The swamp was her territory, and the boggy ground was thick and wet and didn’t easily release its grip on their feet.
Nik didn’t think he could run much longer.
If they split up, one of them might make it, but not both.
He didn’t know what to do. Then, suddenly, he did.
Reaching over, he grabbed the likho’s arm.
“Stop,” he said. “I know how we can hide. You’ll have to trust me and remain very still and quiet.
” Ever practical, Nik had long ago fashioned several pairs of breeches as well as shirts that were made to be worn inside out and backward but didn’t appear as such to any but the most careful of observers.
He now made it a habit to always wear his clothing in a such a way.
He’d also learned that being butted and kicked by various animals wasn’t nearly as important as the tunic created for him by the old kikimora—though it did help.
When he’d sewn his special breeches, he also included a secret pocket, and that’s where he always kept his magic tunic. Quickly, he unbuttoned it and pulled it out. He told the likho to stand very close to him and then slid it over his head. Once he yanked it into place, it covered both of them.
The woods went silent around them as the magic did its work, making the two of them invisible. They moved together quietly, slowly, until they found the shadow of a great tree in which to hide; then they waited, hoping the magic would work on a creature of the dreamworld—a being of magic herself.
Sweat broke out on Nik’s face as he heard the screams of the frustrated bolotnitsa.
She hissed and slithered through the swamp, her claws and scales scraping and making a sucking sound as she moved.
She came very close once, so close they could see her yellow eyes glance at the spot where they were hidden, but her reflective eyes passed over them, and she soon moved on, screeching and angry.
When they could hear her no more, they finally stepped out of the shadows, and Nik removed the tunic, carefully folded it, and placed it back inside the hidden pocket of his trousers.
Then he flipped his shirt right side out and put it back on.
The likho stared at him thoughtfully with his one eye, stroking his chin.
“I’m wondering how a lad such as yourself came by leshi and kikimora magic. They don’t often bless wayward youths with gifts like that. Tell me, boy. Did you steal it?”
“What? No!” Nik said, offended. “They . . . they loved me in their own way.”
The little man grunted. “Interesting. Very interesting. Well, seeing as how I owe you a boon myself, are you certain there’s no one you’d like me to curse?”
“Is cursing all you can do?”
“It’s mostly all I do.”
“Can you help me find my friends?”
“Probably not. But I can help you find the nearest settlement and get you some grub.”
“I suppose that’ll do. What’s your name, anyway? I can’t call you the likho.”
“Why not?”
“I usually know the given names of my friends, not just their, er, species or, I guess, kin.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I don’t have any friends.” He turned and began walking.
Nik followed. “I thought you said you were out tonight wooing a girl. Wouldn’t you call her a friend?”
He snorted. “There’s no such thing as a woman you can be friends with. Any woman claiming to be your friend has other plans for you, son.”
“Really? I hope that’s true.”
The one-eyed man gave Nik a long glance. “I never said those plans included marriage. Lots of reasons a gal might have to keep a fellow on a chain. Could be she’s got no one else better at the moment. Or maybe he’s a good hunter or can fix up her house. You follow?”
“But she could intend to further the relationship, couldn’t she?”
“Yes. I suppose that’s true. But a woman who intends to do that lets the man know fairly quickly.
If she doesn’t, you can be certain she has another reason for keeping him around.
Move on or move out. That’s my motto. Never waste time being friends with someone of the feminine persuasion.
Come to think of it, I don’t much consider it worth my time consortin’ with anyone, male or female, lest I’m looking for something permanent like.
A friend, in my opinion, is just someone waiting around to ask favors of you.
Borrow your favorite axe and then leave it out in the rain.
That sort of thing. Don’t need none of their kind hanging around, if you know what I mean.
I prefer the solitary life, in most cases. ”
Nik nodded distractedly, thinking about his relationship with the tsarevna. Could Veru have been using me all this time? He didn’t like to consider the possibility. Even the thought of it made him sick. But what the likho said made sense. It felt right.
Then he began mentally listing the reasons why he loved her.
She was a kind person. Generous. She wouldn’t hurt him in such a way.
It wasn’t in her nature. Also, Nik wasn’t that naive.
He’d seen abuse, experienced it personally.
Veru cared about him. She was just careful.
He understood careful. Her position made their relationship complicated. That was all.
Settled, Nik asked, “Well, you can consider me a friend, if you like. And I promise not to borrow your axe or leave it out in the rain. The only thing I ask is that you tell me your name.”
The little man blew air out his nose. “Don’t want to.”
“Why not?”
“I hate it.”
“Hate what? Your name? Why?”
“My mom thought it was cute, but it isn’t. It’s humiliating, is what it is.”
“Is that why you prefer all those other names? The Bringer of Darkness and Doom and so forth?”
He sighed. “It’s the Bringer of Misery, the Master of Temptation, the One-Eyed Demon of Disaster, and the Ghoulish Gnome of Grotesquery.”
“Right. Right.” Nik eyed the man, then snickered.
“What’s the Master of Temptation about? Do you tempt people to overindulge during mealtimes?
That sort of thing?” Teasing, Nik gestured as if he were tempting someone at the dinner table.
“Here, madam, taste this sweet corn cake with honey sauce. Isn’t it delicious?
Oh yes. Have another. And another! Ha, ha, ha!
” He wrung his hands together and giggled in fiendish delight, then said with a deadpan expression, “That’s just weird. I wouldn’t brag about it, personally.”
The likho blinked his one eye and said, “You are a foolish little man-child, and you know nothing of which you speak. I don’t know why I bother saddling myself with an idiot such as you.”
“Um, because I saved your life, that’s why. That’s a good reason to have a friend, by the way.”
“That’s not a good enough reason, and I’m regretting it already. The bolotnitsa is starting to look better and better as each moment passes, I assure you.”