Chapter 29

Anya woke to the sound of rain pattering on the roof and the milky smell of porridge and cinnamon. Sitting up slowly, Anya ran her hands through her hair. Her wounded palm was still tender but not throbbing as it had been. Whatever Yvan and the firebird had done, it had helped with the pain. With her body protesting every step, she hobbled through the curtained doorway.

Baba Zosia, swathed heavily in knitted shawls, stood in front of a cast iron, pot-bellied stove scooping thick porridge into painted wooden bowls.

"Eat," she urged, giving Anya a bowl. She took it and sat at the small pine table. Muttering something under her breath, Baba Zosia sat down and glared at her.

"Thank you for getting the thorns out of my hand," Anya said, not knowing if the older woman would even understand her. "I would be dead without your help."

"Worse," Baba Zosia said. "Eat."

Anya scooped the gooey porridge in her mouth. Ever since she had come to Skazki, she had a much stronger appetite than usual. Being sober more often probably had a lot to do with it.

"You have Papa"s eyes," Baba Zosia said, tapping her temple.

"You knew Eikki?"

"Our path cross. He come to me when you born. To see destiny. I don"t lie. He scared. I go to him when you older. Destiny still same." Baba Zosia clucked her tongue.

Aleksandra came into the caravan, her black hair glittering with rain droplets.

"Bunǎ diminea?a," she greeted with a bright smile at Anya. "It"s nice to see you up and eating already." Baba Zosia said something long and complicated to Aleksandra as she removed her soaked shawl and hung it near the stove to dry.

"Baba Zosia said I"m to translate for you," she relayed to Anya as she poured them all coffee. "Her English is limited, and she says she has much to tell you."

"You speak English very well," Anya commented.

"Yakaterina taught me. She spends a lot of time in the human world, and our language is only used by our particular tribe. It"s a hybrid of many languages, Rom, Russian, Romanian, Egyptian, French you name it. We have had many different cultures join us over the years, so it"s tough to learn it unless you live with us."

"Do you live in Skazki permanently?" Anya asked.

"We are world walkers. We travel in and out as it suits us. Lately, we have been in Skazki more, though trouble is brewing."

They were interrupted by Baba Zosia, who started to talk rapidly to Aleksandra.

"She says that she looked into your future when you were a child, and she saw you being torn apart by dark and light. You were powerful and strong. She could taste the magic. Eikki didn"t want that for you, so he said he wouldn"t teach you. He thought that if he made people believe you had no abilities, they would leave you alone like they did his son."

"Well, I"m disappointed that Eikki didn"t teach me when I did have magic," Anya said.

Baba Zosia raised an eyebrow at her, and Anya quickly shut her mouth. She said something to Aleksandra, who nodded and said, "When your parents named you, they found one so close to your ancestor"s that it was like destiny was going to force itself. Your destiny that Baba Zosia saw scared Eikki even more. With a name like yours, it would draw suspicion even if he did lie about your abilities, so he shortened your name to Anya."

"But Anya is my whole name," she argued. She had been called Anya for as long as she could remember. She thought of Yvan calling her shalos?—mischief—and she smiled at the nickname. "Then what"s my full name if it is not Anya?"

Aleksandra translated for her, and Baba Zosia clucked her tongue before answering, "Anyanka."

"Anyanka," she repeated her stomach dropping. Eikki had never called her that, not once. This old woman had examined her twice as a child…Eikki"s journal. "Zosi. You are Zosi, who Eikki wrote about."

"He call me that sometimes," Baba Zosia said, with a wave of her hand.

"It was because of you that he took my memories away." Heat rushed through Anya, her magic waking up with her anger.

Aleksandra translated, but Baba Zosia"s eyes narrowed at Anya"s tone.

"He took them so you hurt no one else," she spat.

"What are you talking about? I never hurt anyone!"

Baba Zosia slammed her hand down on the table. "You almost drown boy! Bah!" She broke off in an angry conversation with Aleksandra, who grew paler with every word.

"Tell me!" Anya demanded.

"She said that you had been playing down at a lake while Eikki was gleaning in the forest. A group of boys came down and started to tease you. You summoned the water and wrapped it around the boys and held them down with it. You were pushing the water into their mouths, and Eikki only just managed to stop you from drowning them. He had to change their memories, made it so that they had been tangled in the weeds, and he had saved them," Aleksandra explained.

"I-I did that?" Anya shook her head. "I wouldn"t have."

"You did," Baba Zosia said and stood up. "You want past back, yah? Even hurtful past?"

Anya nodded decisively. If she had her magic, she could use it to defend herself. If it hadn"t been taken from her, Vasilli would never have been able to trick her in the dreams. She would"ve been able to defend her friends against the dragon. She was tired of feeling powerless. "Yes, I want it all back right now. Tuoni"s magic is taking too long to undo it."

"Fine! Come." Baba Zosia gestured at her, and Anya moved to stand beside her. She held a hand out over Anya"s head, and her magic tingled over her scalp. Baba Zosia clucked her tongue irritably. "Stupid men. Only half do job. Tuoni knows better than to get involved."

"Well, he did. Now I want the memories back for good," Anya insisted.

"You will regret this."

"Better than not knowing."

Baba Zosia shook her head. "No, it not." She flicked Anya hard in her third eye, sending a bolt of power streaking through her, and Anya hit the floor. Heat and magic and memory bombarded her, and all she could do was lie still until it stopped.

"It"s going to be okay, Anya," Aleksandra whispered kindly.

Anya couldn"t form a word of reply as the magic pulled her further and further down, tearing down walls in her mind so quickly, she couldn"t make sense of what she was seeing. Tears poured down her face, and she shut her eyes and surrendered to the darkness.