Chapter 25 #2
“Ivan, what is it that you’ve been hiding?” I heard the wolf ask me and turned to my neighbor. I’d been so absorbed in eating that I completely forgot about him.
“What do you mean?”
“That thing you keep checking in your pocket. I can smell something, but I can’t tell what it is. It’s very unusual.” I saw his whiskers move. “The Mistress and I have been debating, but neither one of us is familiar with this sort of magic.”
“I’m not hiding anything.” I put my hand in my pocket and felt the feather.
Its warmth normally calmed me and reassured me, but this time I felt as if an electric shock ran through my body.
I’d lost control of my movements and, all on its own, my hand clasped the feather and I laid it on the table for all to see.
Its warm glow was so powerful that it lit up the whole room.
It was as if the feather had gained special powers since I’d last taken it out.
“What’s this?” Martha put her fork aside and leaned over the table to examine it. The wolf reached with his paw to touch the feather, but immediately jerked it back. Only Lisa remained completely calm and said nothing.
“It’s hot!” Grayson exclaimed, sucking on his paw. “How did you keep this thing hidden from us? How did it not burn through your clothes?”
“I don’t know. It’s fine so long as I keep it tucked away in my pocket.” I shrugged. “I brought it back with me from Zorya.”
“Be careful, Grayson,” Martha cautioned. “Ivan, is that what I think it is?”
“It’s the Firebird’s feather. I found it in the forest, back home.”
“Just like that? The feather of a wish-granting bird?” Martha ogled me. “Now, that’s an interesting twist. I do remember wondering about this thing earlier, but I was so distracted by your origins, it completely slipped my mind.”
The witch pushed her chair back and stomped to the kitchen, then emerged with the silver mirror.
“Here, look into it again,” she ordered, shoving the mirror into my hand.
As I did, the Mistress, Lisa, and the wolf all stared at my reflection.
There I was, dressed in my Zoryan clothes, standing at the entrance to the bathhouse. There was no sign of the feather.
“What is this?” Lisa gasped. “Is that a portal mirror?”
“It’s something my grandmother passed on to me,” Martha said. “It shows the past and the future, revealing the person’s true self.”
“Can I look into it?” Lisa asked.
“Not yet, dear, it’s not time,” Martha cautioned. “And I’d like to understand what’s going on with this feather Ivan has been concealing.”
“I’m not hiding it.” I shook my head, but the Mistress ignored me. Nostrils flaring, she looked noticeably upset, even angry, as her questions came one after another in quick succession.
“How did it come to you? What are you meant to be doing with it? Did someone ask you to keep it for them?”
“I got it near Baba Yaga’s hut.” I bit my lip.
“Baba Yaga. That old hag.” Martha exhaled sharply, then furrowed her brow. “Wait a second, how did you know it was her hut? Did you see Baba Yaga?”
“Yes, I did.”
“And she let you out alive?”
“She did.” I nodded.
“There’s something you aren’t telling us. What exactly are you doing here in Virginia? Did Baba Yaga send you here?”
“Kind of,” I explained, catching Martha’s sneer.
“You see, I found the feather by accident, and then I was walking and there was this oak tree. It almost killed me, but then I ended up in Baba Yaga’s hut.
I didn’t really have a choice, I had to go in.
And then she fed me, and I fell asleep. And she ordered me to use the feather to capture the Firebird and bring it back to her. ”
“You’re telling me you’re here on Baba Yaga’s orders and I only find out now? What exactly is your plan? Have you captured the Firebird?”
“Not yet.” I looked away in shame.
“We tried to do it,” Lisa interjected. “But the peacocks—you know, the ones at the Aviary in Fernwood—got very aggressive and we had to stop. So we’re trying again, the night of the full moon.”
“Are you telling me the two of you thought you could capture the magical Firebird?” Martha guffawed.
“It wasn’t just the two of us. Harry was also there.” Lisa mashed her potatoes with a fork. “I read all the Russian fairy tales I could find, and we almost got it. We had the pomegranate seeds, everything. It was just the timing. We should have waited until the full moon.”
“Oh, this is too much. You thought these fairy tales could help you perform the highest order of magic?” Martha rolled her eyes. “Lisa, I expected better of you.”
“Harry?” Grayson snorted. “The little humpbacked horse? What exactly was his role?”
“Harry’s very clever.” I jumped to the pony’s defense, but the image of the peacocks mocking Harry popped into my mind. As I thought back to our failed attempt to capture the Firebird, our efforts seemed ludicrous.
The Mistress sighed, shaking her head, as she looked at me.
“Ivan, you’re in a pickle, aren’t you? I normally don’t do this, but I feel responsible for your well-being. Grayson and I have to help you capture that bird.”
“Thank you,” I started to say, but Lisa interrupted me.
“I don’t think that’ll be necessary.” She bristled at the offer. “It’ll be just fine. We’re going to try again in a few days.”
“Lisa, remember, Baba Yaga isn’t exactly known for her patience.” Martha drummed her fingers on the table. “You don’t want to leave her waiting any more than necessary. How long has it been?”
“Fifty-five days,” I responded without hesitation, catching a side-eye from Lisa. I hadn’t been counting the days, but the answer came readily.
“That’s a long time,” Martha said.
“I’ve been warning Ivan about Baba Yaga, but he’s safe here, isn’t he?” Lisa asked.
“I don’t know that for sure,” Martha said, and my jaw dropped. “Baba Yaga doesn’t feel time the same way we do. She lives in the enchanted layer of Zorya, and the fifty-five days might feel much longer for her.”
“And my family? It’s been longer for them, too?” I said slowly, only then realizing there might be other complications to traveling through a portal, beyond bringing a Firebird back to Zorya with me.
“Your family is insulated. Village life in Zorya sits in ordinary time. When you go back, your father will think you just stepped outside. Your brothers won’t have noticed a thing.
” Martha paused. “But Baba Yaga has been waiting, and likely for longer than just the fifty-five days you’ve been here.
And she has a great deal of patience for cruelty and very little for being ignored. ”
Lisa looked at me.
“So your family is fine,” she said slowly. “But the witch is furious.”
“That is,” Martha said pleasantly, “a reasonable summary.”
“Well, she’s fictional, isn’t she? But then, of course, Ivan and Grayson…Well, I don’t even know what’s real anymore.” Lisa wrung her hands in frustration.
“They are both real, just like you and me. The only difference is that Ivan and Grayson are portal travelers. They’re just a little more advanced than the rest of us,” Martha said. The way she was speaking about me and Grayson was as if the two of us were the best of friends.
“So then, what’s Baba Yaga’s role in this?” Lisa insisted. “I don’t get what the issue is.”
“Ivan is only here because of Baba Yaga. Don’t you get it? She’s got that ability to push people through the portal. And I’m pretty sure if she finds out he isn’t doing what he’s supposed to, she will bring Ivan back to Zorya and take her revenge.”
“How horrible,” Lisa exclaimed. “I didn’t realize it was like this. I mean, I knew she was scary, I’ve been reading about it, and I warned Ivan. But I just assumed Ivan would get the Firebird without an issue, because that’s what the fairy tales said. I didn’t think…” Lisa paused.
“You see now why Ivan needs my help?”
“Do you think, afterward, he can come back here again?” Lisa’s voice took on pleading notes. I didn’t want to be a cause for concern for Lisa, not now. Not ever. I shoved the last piece of stew into my mouth and spoke, keeping my voice steady.
“I can definitely come back to Virginia. Lisa, please don’t worry.” I rose from my seat and walked over to her, placing my hands on her shoulders. More than anything, I wanted to reassure Lisa that there was no reason for her to be concerned. “It’ll all work out just fine.”
“How can you be so sure?” Martha raised her eyebrows. “If you don’t even know how you made it through the portal in the first place.”
“Oh, I see your point.”
Doubt crept up. Martha was exposing problems one after the other, and I started to wish I’d never run into her in the woods and Lisa and I were still at Fernwood, with sweet Harry by our side, ignorant of how problematic our plan was.
“If Baba Yaga is so dangerous, then Ivan shouldn’t go back at all,” Lisa insisted.
“I actually consulted the fairy tales and summarized all the major tropes, and it’s not Baba Yaga.
It’s the brothers who are more dangerous.
In all the fairy tales, bad things happen to Ivan because of his two brothers. ”
“Lisa, please, Peter and Ilya would never hurt me. Don’t be silly.
” I massaged her shoulders. The memory of my two brothers sprang to my mind.
Why would they want to hurt me? I’d been doing everything for them.
Sure, they taunted me from time to time, but only as a joke.
“Those fairy tales are exactly that—in Zorya, things are different.”
“What if I went back with him?” Grayson barked, crushing the last piece of bone with his powerful jaws.
“What a lovely idea.” Lisa turned to the wolf. “Would you? Oh, with a wolf by his side, Ivan will do great. Is that okay with you, Martha? Will you let Grayson accompany Ivan to Zorya?”
“Absolutely,” Martha said. “I know Grayson has wanted to go back and visit Zorya ever since he was a puppy. And I’ve always been too worried to let him go on his own. But with Ivan, it’ll be a completely different story. The two of them can keep each other company.”
With those words, the Mistress rose from her seat to collect the dishes from the table. As she did, she noted with a sigh, “The magical tablecloth only works one way.”
Lisa gently reached to remove my hands from her shoulders and got up to help Martha. I also grabbed a few plates and brought them to the kitchen.
“Martha!” Lisa exclaimed, walking into the kitchen. “I haven’t seen your kitchen since the remodel.”
“Oh, yes,” Martha responded, stacking the dishes in the sink. “I decided it was time for me to live the dream. I always wanted to have a big kitchen. Cooking is a hobby. I just love it so much.”
“That’s great that you were able to do it,” Lisa noted wistfully. “I wish I could have a space like this one day, too.”
“Just give it time. And get your real estate license. It worked out great for me.”
“I just don’t know. I mean, I want to get the retreat center going first.”
“Of course, but you can surely do both. And I can help you.” Martha touched Lisa’s arm reassuringly.
Something about the woman’s behavior put me on edge. Even sitting next to the wolf, I felt safer than now, standing in that kitchen in her company.
“Thank you, that would be great. And you really don’t think there’s an issue with having Grayson travel with Ivan?
I mean, the whole portal thing is really confusing.
” Lisa crinkled her forehead. She looked like an adorable kitten when she was distressed.
All I wanted at that moment was to console her and make her feel safe.
“Think of the portal and Zorya as origami. You’ve done origami, right?” Martha explained.
Lisa shook her head. “Only when I was little.” I had no idea what origami was, but I was eager to understand the mechanics of what it took to get me to Virginia, so I paid close attention.
“Here—” Martha took out a napkin and quickly folded its edge. “Accordion pleats, see?” She then flipped the napkin over and folded it over itself, then continued as Lisa and I watched. “Now, there are a few pleats, right? One above the other?”
“Yes, I see.” Lisa and I stepped closer, trying to understand what the Mistress was explaining. “Let’s say our world is right here, on this fold. And Zorya is another fold.”
“You mean, it’s a parallel reality, but it’s happening now?” Lisa gasped.
“Yes! Exactly. We’re here, and Zorya is here.
And a portal would be a tiny hole, allowing some people to hop from one to another.
” Martha took out a pencil and with its sharpened tip made an opening through the two creases.
“Ivan was able to go from this reality to our reality. And so did Grayson when he was younger.”
“But then, why don’t we all go back there?” Lisa asked. “To Zorya?”
“We can try with time. I haven’t been able to do it myself yet.
” Martha flipped her braid. “But I’m convinced that pretty soon others will be able to do it.
Not yet, though. We’re not that advanced as humans, for the most part.
But this is the only explanation I have about the disappearance of dragons, for example.
They’re still around, but they moved to another reality. Same with Bigfoot. Another reality.”
“You mean those creatures are real, too? The dragons, they are on this fold right here?” Lisa pointed to the third crease in the napkin.
“Something like that,” Martha said.
I was about to ask Martha why she hadn’t been able to travel between the realities and where she had learned about Baba Yaga when we heard loud thumping on the porch. The next moment there was a neigh, then another one.
“Harry!” Lisa and I exclaimed and rushed to the front door.