Chapter 36
YAGA
Yaga hoisted her weight onto the step of her wooden cart, knees creaking with the effort.
“Careful, you oaf. Drop me, and I’ll use your bullocks in my next hair-growth elixir,” the aged hag barked at the buffoon who’d helped her into her seat.
Instead of fortifying the fool, her threat caused his hands to shake.
Her fragile bones slipped from his grip, and her backside smacked the unforgiving bench. She bit back a sharp curse.
A literal curse that would see his children and grandchildren big-eared, cross-eyed, and wort-faced.
Where was a virile vampire king to lend a hand when she needed one?
Oh, how that Victor Custodis got her blood pumping.
With his long silver hair and his fine royal rump.
The mortal men of this realm were lacking in a variety of ways.
It was a shame she was headed in the opposite direction from Hot Britches’ kingdom. Opposite of Carcerem.
At the pointed, one-eyed glare she sent him, her assistant was quick to back away, wiping his hands on his trousers like he could wash off the dark magic she wielded.
Coward.
A little zap of power, and he was ready to piss himself. Bet her favorite vampire-god could take a hit and keep on... Well...
She shook her head to clear the lusty fog.
It was no wonder dozens of the realm’s kingdoms were failing with all the obsidian-starved idiots around.
The loss of so many Sacred Arbors during The Dark One’s regime had changed the very fabric of their existence.
There were many days she feared the destruction of even a single magical branch could destroy them all.
At least she could take comfort that even now, a tiny sapling was nestled safe in a forgotten Draconian castle. Safe within the care of its devoted shepherd, where it would thrive and grow. And, fates willing, become a part of the tapestry of their realm.
“Here you go, Yaga.” One of her many children passed her a satchel loaded with bread, sausage and cheese. The tempting aroma made her mouth water, though she’d had an early breakfast. Best not to indulge if she hoped to keep her girlish figure.
The eager young woman smiled up at her. “The bread is fresh and rich with herbs, enough to fortify you on your journey. Just as you taught me. I got up early to bake it this morning.”
“Most kind of you, Daliah.” Yaga nodded in a regal manner that queens would envy.
“Thank you, dear. You’ve done well.” Daliah was a devoted and attentive student of the craft.
Though an over-eager one. Too bad for Daliah, Yaga had a soft spot for the hard cases.
Cases like Runa, a determined thief who was now Queen of Carcerem and mated to a vampire god—King Hot Britches. Lucky girl.
Then there was Seraphina, a former slave turned Hathor’s Handmaiden. Blessed mate of a virtually extinct race of dragon shifters, a Draconian. Pride swelled in her chest. The two were some of her finest students by far.
“I’m sorry to see you leave so soon.” Daliah cast an eye at the damage Hathor’s temple had received during the last attack. “Though I can’t say that I blame you.”
Iron Wood and its infamous market were in shambles—but not for long. The villagers and merchants worked tirelessly to repair the destruction the wendigos and ghouls caused. Sadly, there would be many more villages lost before she achieved her goal.
Yaga heaved a sigh. “I apologize for leaving at such a perilous time, my dear, but I fear I’ve already stayed too long. There is much that needs my attention.”
The girl peered up at her from beneath a lock of dull brown hair.
The color was nowhere near as enticing as the fiery curls of her last student.
“I heard a rumor that some dark force tried to invade Carcerem as well,” Daliah said.
“That it left their sacred tree on the verge of death. It’s only by some miracle that the arbor survived and the Dark One was defeated.
” Her student whispered the abomination’s name, casting a cautious eye to those who lingered in Iron Wood’s streets. He had spies everywhere.
Yaga checked for interlopers as well, finding none within earshot now that her bumbling assistant had fled. Again, she resisted the urge to make the entirety of his family ugly.
“I wouldn’t put too much stock in rumors. While he may have fallen back to lick his wounds, I suspect the beast got exactly what it wanted. And now that he’s made his play, it’s time I made mine. Time I set another piece onto the game board.”
“Game board?” Daliah arched a brow. “Yaga, are you sure you’re feeling well enough for travel? Perhaps you should stay a bit longer.”
There was nothing more infuriating than folks looking at her like she was an old woman who’d lost her mind, especially when her damned mind was sharper than ever. Mostly.
“Don’t waste your energy worrying about me.
” She flitted a gnarled hand. “I’m plenty strong.
” Despite the headaches she often got when communing with the fates.
Each time she reached out to them, it took longer to recover.
She just prayed that she would last long enough to fulfill her promise to the goddess.
But that was none of the girl’s business.
The sound of gusting sails pounded the air. Yaga wrenched her head back, peering up at the sky. Between puffs of gray-trimmed white, the shadow of a massive, winged figure appeared. Perched on its back was a figure with a bright shock of red. Just as quickly, it vanished behind a thick cloud.
The corners of Yaga’s mouth curled. “Safe travels, dragon,” she whispered. “I always knew the two of you were born to fly.” Seraphina and Thorne had played their part. Now it was time she played hers.
“What’s that?” Daliah peered up, squinting at the glare, but the dragon and his mate were already gone.
“Tis nothing.” Yaga shrugged her creaking shoulders. “Guess these old eyes are seeing things.”
“Right. No worries.” Daliah offered her a pitying look.
Girl better watch herself, or she’d find that look knocked clean off her face. One did not pity an all-powerful hag, seer to the fates, and Hathor’s head priestess.
Daliah watched Yaga gather the horse’s reins with an expression of concern. “Where will you travel next? To Carcerem, perhaps? Or some other village that needs your gifts of healing?”
Little did the twit know Yaga’s skills extended far beyond medicine. Sadly, the simple-minded tended to see only what you thrust beneath their noses.
Speaking of noses... Yaga turned her face toward the horizon and drew a deep breath.
The faint scent of salt and ocean life wafted on a thin breeze.
The fragrance called to her, urging her to make haste.
To hurry, no matter the distance or the rugged terrain.
It was a scent that none would detect save for her.
For the hag, the fates had chosen to aid Hathor.
She had been their puppet for far too long to bemoan her purpose. At least hers wasn’t a lonely quest. Her destiny was one filled with children, families, and lovers. All of them just waiting for her to ignite their futures.
She gazed down the length of the street lined with clay-roofed abodes. To the end of the road where the sky met the earth. The place where the sun shouted its brilliance as it set into the landscape. Where the scent of brine lingered on the wind.
“The sea beckons,” she murmured, the pull of the future already calling to her, tugging at her strings. This was her role, and she loved it, lived it, embraced it. Hers was the greatest purpose of all. Her mission—that which would preserve life for generations and heal the wounds of the past.
“The sea?” Daliah blanched, swallowing hard. “A journey across the water can be quite difficult. There are many perils along the way, or so I’m told. Your plans must be very important for you to take the risk.”
“Nothing I can’t handle.” Yaga straightened her spine and flicked the reins over the horse’s rump, urging it into a spirited walk. “Step back now, dear. Don’t want to smash your toes.”
“But, Yaga, what will you do there?” Daliah asked as the wheels of the cart began to turn.
“A bit of fishing, of course,” she called out, the wind carrying her voice.
“Fishing?” her concerned student squawked. “Dearest Yaga, please come back. I fear you need rest, and possibly a tonic.”
The apprentice doubted her master? The fool.
“Do not worry, my dear,” Yaga said, eyes fixed on her path and the future that unraveled before her. “I’m off to teach a queen a lesson about the monsters of the deep.”