Chapter 7

Anya got in the shower and groaned as the hot water poured down over her. She had been cold since Vasilli had arrived. She tried not to laugh at the absurd day she had. She had a firebird and a psycho in her house, and she was…in her bathroom with no lock on the door. Shit.

Anya quickly rinsed off the soap and wrapped a towel around herself, feeling like the dumb girl killed first in a horror movie.

She stepped into her room and was about to drop her towel when she spotted Yvan sitting at the end of her bed.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" she demanded, clutching the towel tighter.

"I"m making sure Vasilli doesn"t climb through your window and murder you. You need to get dressed, and we both need to get out of here before he returns," he said irritably, holding the heavy stick that Anya kept hidden under her bed.

"Why should I go anywhere with you? He doesn"t seem interested in killing me, only finding you," Anya argued. "You said that you would leave as soon as he went to bed. You know where the door is."

Yvan shook his head. "You don"t get it. It"s too late for that. Vasilli had a compulsion on you that not only forced you to welcome him in your home but also to let him feel if what you were saying was true or not. He will know you"ve lied to him, and he"s playing with you like a demented cat and bloody mouse. He likes to play sick games with his victims, Anya. It means if you stay here, you"ll die."

"Why do you even care?" she demanded.

Yvan had been angry at her since he had hatched, and the thought he would protect her was laughable.

"Because I owe you a life debt for freeing me, that"s why. I"m going to keep you alive, whether you like it or not."

There was an earnestness in his voice that made Anya pause. His eyes were flickering with worry as he looked at her. "Please trust me. If you keep thinking Vasilli won"t kill you for the fun of it, I"ll be putting you in a grave earlier than I thought."

Anya pinched the bridge of her nose. "I can"t get dressed with you in here, can I?" She needed to have clothes on if she was going to fight with him.

"Dress warm. Pack a bag. I"ll be guarding the door," Yvan replied, his shoulders loosening with visible relief.

Anya pulled on a pair of jeans, a gray long-sleeved shirt, and tied her boots tight. It didn"t matter if he once knew Ilya. Anya didn"t know Yvan any better than Vasilli and didn"t know how far she could trust him. Yvan was pacing outside the door when she opened it, looking edgy and irritated again.

"Why haven"t you packed?" he asked, slinging Eikki"s old fishing bag over his shoulder.

"About that, I"m not going to run off in the night with you—"Anya began.

"Yvan!" Vasilli"s voice echoed through the walls, and Anya"s bones vibrated. "I know you"re in there, you coward! I can smell you and that damn bird! Come out, or I will burn this fucking house down to get to you."

Anya hurried to the window and peered through the curtains. Vasilli stood in the yard with a burning torch in one hand. The barn was already a fireball behind him.

"The animals!" Anya went to the door, but Yvan grabbed her roughly.

"They are already dead! You can"t save them, Anya. If you go out there, you die too," he said and pulled her back. "Pack! Now!"

Anya ran back to her bedroom and blindly stuffed jeans and shirts into a backpack. She put Eikki"s favorite coat on and reached for the pistol and bullets he stored behind it.

"Hurry, Anya! Leave the gun. It won"t work in Skazki anyway," Yvan shouted as she grabbed Eikki"s journals and put them in her pack. "Is there any way out of here besides through the doors?"

The house shook again, and Yvan"s hand shot out to steady her.

"Come out, Yvan, and I might be persuaded to spare that lying whore who"s hiding you!" Vasilli called. "Hurry, or I will kill her slowly in front of you."

Anya loaded her pistol. "Like hell, you will."

"That won"t do much good against him," Yvan said as he lowered the barrel. "Is there a way out or not?"

Anya glared through the window at the burning barn. "The cellar."

Yvan grabbed her hand, pulled her toward the kitchen, and down the steps into the dark. "Now what?"

Anya took two bottles of vodka off a shelf. One went into her bag, and she took a swig from the other. "Now, we pull this shelf back and get out of here."

Yvan took the bottle from her. "No more vodka. You are no use to me drunk and scared."

"The only reason I"m letting you push me around right now is because I"m drunk," she replied, raising her chin.

"Fight with me later when we both survive."

They pushed a set of shelving out of the way to reveal a tunnel, and Anya grabbed an old, dusty flashlight from where it hung on an iron nail. They used a handle on the back of the shelf to pull the secret door shut behind them.

Anya turned on the flashlight, grateful the batteries still worked. "This way."

Above the surface,Vasilli"s power and anger twisted together in his veins. "Yvan!!" he shouted again, to no reply.

Focusing, Vasilli raised his arms and released his power. The earth shook as a wave of magic surged forward and buckled the house in half before it burst into flames.

Vasilli was still watching the house burn when a wolf trotted up and sat down on his heels. There was a sickening sound of bones snapping and a piercing yowl of pain before a bony man was sitting on his haunches.

"You made it finally. I hope you"re in the mood for tracking," Vasilli said.

"Are you sure they survived that?" Vischto asked, nodding toward the pile of glowing coals.

Vasilli smiled. "We"ll find out soon enough. Yvan has the firebird inside of him. It might feel generous and want to protect them."

The woman had been a surprise. Vasilli knew a great deal about this family and the magic that they had in their blood. Anya seemed to be no threat, and he had only touched a little magic coming from her. She obviously had no training to use what she had. He was pleased that Ilya"s spawn had fallen so far from greatness. Watching his enemy"s house burn finally had its own kind of satisfaction.

"Let"s hope the firebird doesn"t immolate itself again like last time—" Vischto yelped as Vasilli backhanded him, sending him sprawling to the dirt.

"Don"t you dare mention it again, or I"ll skin you. I"ve waited over a hundred years to get this fucking bird and its power," Vasilli hissed. "Finding it before anyone else is all that matters now, so we will wait until this place is fucking ashes to make sure it"s here."

Ladislav had sent a message to him earlier in the day, wanting him to go back to Moscow. Vasilli had been on another job, hunting people of a magical bloodline that Ladislav needed for gods knew what.

Vasilli had to tell him about the firebird"s rebirth to get the old prick off his back. He would never give such power to a fool like Ladislav, but he had to play second-best for a little while longer.

Vasilli would take the firebird"s magic for himself and finally destroy the threat of it and his brother once and for all. No more would he have to worry about the truth of vague old prophecies from Ilya. No more would he have to hide his power from lesser men like Ladislav.

Vasilli watched the last of Ilya"s line burn…and his smile widened.