Chapter 11

Anya was almost back at the cabin when Yvan came up behind her and grabbed her by the shoulder to stop her.

"I"m sorry for snapping at you. You should take these rune stones with you," he said gruffly. "They are precious, and I can feel their power. I hope they won"t generate a bigger aura once we get to Skazki because it might act as a beacon for Vasilli." Yvan held a small leather bag out to her.

"Why don"t we leave them here? It would save us any additional trouble," Anya said, her hand burning as she took the bag.

"Real runestones are rare, useful, and important. They could help us in Skazki."

"Only if we can hide them."

"It"s worth the risk," Yvan argued. "Trust me on—" He stopped mid-sentence, choking on his words. The firebird"s feathers pushed through him, his bones cracking as he screamed. He collapsed to the ground as his arms changed into wings. Flames licked up his back, burning his clothes.

Anya got up as Yvan"s form fought between bird and man. "Yvan? Are you okay?"

A voice touched Anya"s mind. I want to see the world. I want to be free. It was old and angry, with a terrifying metallic timbre.

"Stop it! You are going to hurt him. Find a compromise or let him be." Not knowing what else to do, Anya grabbed the bucket of water and dumped it over him.

Yvan seized, and Anya quickly rolled him onto his side to keep his airways clear. Colors danced along his skin, flashing back and forth.

Finally, with a cry ripped from his throat, the colors settled. Tattooed on his entire torso was the firebird. Its wings stretched up over his shoulders and cascaded down his back, a living tattoo of bright oranges, reds, and yellows. To Anya"s horror, the firebird"s eye winked at her. Yvan groaned and coughed.

Anya asked, "Are you all right?"

"No," he said hoarsely. "What happened?"

"The bird tried to get free of you. I yelled at it to leave you alone," she said, feeling like an idiot.

Yvan"s brows shot up. "It listened to you?"

"It wanted to see more, so that"s why..." She gestured at his fresh tattoo.

"Well…I…hmm," he mumbled in shock and touched it. "It feels so bizarre." He took her hand before she could protest and ran her fingers along the wings on his arms and down his chest. It felt incredibly soft, like one continuous feather.

Anya suddenly noticed how naked Yvan was. She reddened and pulled her hand away. Yvan"s eyes had changed from gold and red to a deep blue that was almost black in the fading afternoon light. His expression shifted from her to something over her right shoulder.

"Vischto," he growled. Anya whipped her head around to see the wolf disappear into the forest.

"Who?"

"One of Vasilli"s minions. We need to go," Yvan said, getting up and hurrying into the cabin.

"Are you sure? It looked like a normal wolf to me," she said, grabbing her bag. Anya tried to keep her eyes focused from his neck up as he dug about in Eikki"s things and pulled on some more clothes.

"I"d never forget the skin-changer who almost tore my throat out," Yvan said. Anya went to grab the pistol, but he stopped her. "Don"t bother. Guns don"t work in Skazki." He took Eikki"s fishing knife from a shelf of gear and passed it to her. "If Vischto gets anywhere near you, use it."

"Okay, now you are freaking me out."

"Good. You should fear them because they will kill you."

"You really suck at comforting people." Anya took the knife, ensured it was secure in its leather sheath, and shoved it into her coat pocket next to the bag of rune stones.

"No time for comforting." Yvan looked outside of the cabin before waving at her. "Come on, he"s gone for the moment. Probably to find Vasilli."

"Awesome," Anya said, staring at the darkening forest. It was suddenly looking a lot more menacing.

Yvan wrapped his large hand around hers. "Don"t get lost and try to keep up."