Chapter 17 Whitney
Whitney
It physically hurts for me to move away from Xolotl. I suppose that’s the point of the bond, since it binds me to him so I can serve properly, but I didn’t expect it to pain me emotionally.
I’m worried about him.
Nuclear weapons? Missiles? Troops and tanks and jets? I know he’s powerful, and I know he’s death, but still. What if they do hurt him?
I should be rejoicing at the thought that they might defeat him.
I know that.
I do.
But I’m not. I’m in this now, and in my heart of hearts, I’m cheering for the bad guy.
Still, I love my family, and I’m human, so after a quick introduction, I go with Baba Yaga voluntarily when she portals us all—traveling via a hole in the ground is way less fun than through the air—to a small town a hundred miles away.
She grunts when we all emerge. “I’m not great at portalling away from my own territory, but hauling you three makes this way harder.” She’s scowling at Izzy, Leonid, and me. “You could at least try to make it easier.”
“I’m learning,” Leonid says. “I’m not perfect yet.”
“Hardly seems like you’re trying.” In spite of her words, Baba Yaga looks at him with great affection.
“How are you connected to Leonid?” I ask.
“We don’t have long here.” Baba Yaga starts to pace in the hut she chose. “He’ll notice you’re gone and come after us very soon.”
“Let’s go now, then,” I say.
Baba Yaga exhales.
“She needs a break,” Leonid says. “She’s pulling on the living things in this area to restore herself before the next portal.”
“Did Xolotl not need to do that?” Izzy asks.
I shrug. “We portaled exactly once, but he seemed to have plenty of power to do anything he ever wanted to do. He never seemed to need to charge up.”
“Death fuels him,” Baba Yaga says. “But he was always the most powerful among us. We all hated him for it, but we’re all terrified of him, too.”
Goodie. I happen to be bonded by the most powerful evil out there. That figures. What’s strange is the pride I feel about it, as if somehow I’m happy he’s the strongest villain.
“So what’s our plan, other than staying one hop ahead of him?” I ask. “If you’re tiring with each move, it doesn’t feel like an end-game plan.”
“Lechuza’s bringing Thanatos,” Izzy says. “She’s asking him whether our plan might work, and if he says it shouldn’t kill you, we’re going to try and pump you full of light energy.”
“Wait, if it won’t kill me?” The plan’s totally half-baked. But then I realize. . .even if Thanatos says it will kill me, that might be enough. “You shouldn’t wait for him. Do it now. We win either way.”
“They were right.” Baba Yaga rolls her eyes. “Izzy said your plan was to die. Why are humans always such martyrs?”
“I’m not a martyr,” I say. “But I’ve seen what Xolotl can do firsthand, and I don’t think we’ll have another option.
” I arch one eyebrow. “I’m a pragmatist. I’d think you’d appreciate that.
As long as Thanatos won’t try to revive him so he can choose another general, my death should be enough.
I’m an oven timer for him. He told me that himself. ”
“I appreciate that you’re light enough to care what happens to humanity.
” Baba Yaga frowns. “But it’s only because you’re equally light and dark that Xolotl could bond you in the first place, and the dark side makes me nervous.
Your death might not function as we all assume it will. Your bond is different.”
“You’re going to inflate me with light and hope that blows the bond, right?” I ask. “And if that works, he’ll either be bonded to a light person, the bond will shatter, or I’ll die. Are those the options?”
“We aren’t sure.” Baba Yaya shakes her head.
“That’s the problem. Dark energy isn’t evil.
It’s dark—it’s tied to the ending of things.
There’s a great power in both sides of humanity.
The creation of new life and the destruction of it.
You’re a juxtaposition. You’re life in the face of death—you and your sister both are.
Thanatos and Lechuza really broke things wide open when they created your line. ”
“What happened there?” I ask. “Why aren’t they still together? Or are they?”
Baba Yaga sniffs. “It’s a sore point, but I had my own error, so I agreed to let it go.
” She glances at Leonid. “Love’s fickle, though, child.
You should never rely on it.” Now she’s glaring at Leonid and Izzy.
“Not that any of mine ever listen to me about that. At least their love has been more pure and enduring than mine was.”
“I’m guessing Lechuza and Thanatos broke up,” Izzy says. “Just like you and your stupid guy?”
“Indeed.” Baba Yaga stops pacing. “Now if we can figure out how much light to pump into Whitney so we break that bond but she doesn’t die, that would be perfect.”
“Do we really think light outpacing the dark could kill her?” Izzy looks sick.
“You’re both creatures of both. Powering up one energy or the other for a creature who lives in a perfect balance is. . .” She shrugs. “It’s a gamble.”
“Try it on me first,” Izzy says. “If you can blast the dark from me, and I survive, then it’ll work for Whitney.”
“I forbid it,” Leonid says.
“It’s my job as her sister.”
“You two are tiring.” Baba Yaga goes back to pacing.
“I can’t have her death be something I could stop.” Izzy grabs Baba Yaga’s hand. “Please.”
“I told you this was her only chance at surviving,” Baba Yaga yanks her hand free. “You sewed all your hopes and dreams on it.” And she’s back to pacing again.
“Why are you helping me?” I ask. “And don’t say it’s for Leonid. You’re fond of him, but that’s not why you’re doing this.”
Baba Yaga sighs. “It’s because the times the horsemen are awake are the hardest on us, beings of pure light energy. They do serve a purpose, but the balancing is painful for us and for the earth itself. If we can cut their sojourn here short, I’d like to.”
It feels like that’s not everything, but I can’t think why else she’d risk her power by fighting Xolotl. I watch Baba Yaga as she transports us from one place to the next. She’s weakening visibly, and she sends increasingly frequent messages to Lechuza, entreating her to hurry, basically.
When we portal to Jersey, which is really freaking cold, Leonid and Izzy run off to get us burgers. While he’s gone, I take my chance to talk to Baba Yaga without him around. “Why are you really helping us?”
She frowns.
“For thousands of years, you witches have watched as the horsemen woke and you’ve done nothing, waiting for them to go to sleep. You’ve never worked against them—it’s the balance you’re part of. Right?”
Her furrowed brow deepens.
“But this time, you’re going up against Xolotl himself. I watched him with his brothers—two against one. He wasn’t afraid.”
“He was the first,” Baba Yaga says. “He stood alone for a long time.” She sighs. “I thought he’d always be alone. Four of us, and one of him, balancing the life we created so it didn’t overgrow and damage the earth.”
“And?”
“And he did his task and went to sleep.” She frowns. “But he became more and more detached. He felt like. . .we stayed very far from him. His energy grew more and more dark and disconnected from the earth until. . .”
“Until?”
“Until I met Rurik.” She sighs. “Something about my mixture of our life-giving power with the humans who populate the earth threw off the balance of light. It gave us an edge. Xolotl wasn’t sure why, but he felt imbalanced.
He killed far more than he should have in that round, and when he slept, there was a massive boom that we all felt.
When he woke again, it was with brothers. ”
“You caused the horsemen to exist.”
Baba Yaga frowns. “I’m not sure, but perhaps.”
“You increased humanity’s suffering.”
She purses her lips. “I’m not saying that, but every action has an offsetting, balancing reaction.
In my case, the love I thought I’d found was false, but its fruit was not.
My beloved Rurik betrayed me, but my child never did.
I think that’s how the world works. What’s created always has a cost, and it was one I willingly paid.
But when, a thousand years later, Lechuza helped me to protect my precious child, that also had consequences.
She spent time interacting with Thanatos. ” Her lips compress.
“And then along came us.”
She sighs.
“But now, you’re doing something again. You’re risking the balance again.”
She shakes her head. “Wrong, girl. My actions in loving Rurik, that was something. Then protecting my child, again, but this time, it’s out of my hands.
Those past decisions forced me here, where to protect my Leonid and his beloved, to keep their pure and enduring love safe, I have no choice but to—” Her mouth snaps shut.
And I realize she believes she’s going to die when she faces Xolotl.
But she’s doing it anyway.
Leonid and Izzy return then, shooting through the door with big bags in their hands. “These are such good burgers!” Izzy’s eyes are bright.
“They really are,” Leonid says. “Who thought they’d have them out here in the middle of nowhere?”
I rip open the bag, the smell hitting me like a hose to the face. “For a last meal, this wouldn’t be a bad one.”
“Stop,” Izzy says. “Don’t say stuff like that.”
I ignore her, reading the bag’s branding. “White Manna, huh?” I ask. “Hackensack, New Jersey?” I can’t help my smile.
Izzy laughs. “What a stupid name for a town, right?”
“Did it come with a woven bag full of rice?” I ask.
“Not even a crappy happy meal toy, but I think the food’s some of the best I’ve had.” Izzy pokes the bag. “Try the fries, too.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t wait to eat it with me.”
“I was starving,” she says. “Besides, I was scared it might be gross and we’d need to go somewhere else. You do have high standards.”
“Hackensack, poo pile,” I say. “They can call the town whatever they want, and if the burger smells like this, I’ll still eat it.”