A Question of Magic

by E. D. Baker

  This book is dedicated to Kim, my inspired

  research assistant and my very own Baba Yaga.

  To Ellie, my future Baba Yaga, who is always up

  for some creative brainstorming. To Kevin,

  who knows the true answers to my computer

  questions. To my fans, who help me believe in

  myself. And to Victoria, who knows how

  to ask the right questions.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Acknowledgments

  Also by E. D. Baker

  Chapter 1

  Serafina watched as Alek folded the metal back on itself and used a heavy mallet to beat it flat once again. He was making a sword for Sir Ganya, a local knight who had promised more work if this piece turned out well. Serafina always enjoyed watching Alek, whether he was making horseshoes, nails, or something as refined as a sword. Although his father specialized in plows and axles and tools ordinary people needed, Alek preferred to work on items that required a more precise touch.

  Alek’s father, Kovar, grinned at Serafina from the other side of the blacksmith shop. Everyone knew that Serafina liked seeing how things were done. Her own father’s nickname for her was Kitten because he swore that she was as curious as a cat. Whether she was watching someone work or asking questions about things she didn’t understand, Serafina was always interested in learning something new.

  “When you finish working on that sword for the day, you can help me take off the axle I’m fixing next,” Alek’s father told him. “The farmer who brought the wagon in wants it as soon as possible.”

  Alek nodded and wiped the sweat from his eyes. His father was a strong man, but Serafina had seen Alek lift almost as much weight.

  “Miss Serafina! There you are!” Tasya, her mother’s servant girl, waved at her from the doorway. “A letter came for you! Your mother wants you to come home now. Everyone is waiting for you to read it!”

  Serafina’s eyes went wide. A letter was always a big event, and she could imagine how excited her family must be. “I’ll come back to tell you what it is as soon as I can,” she told Alek.

  He had been her best friend since they were children, but in the last few years he’d become something more. After her family, he would be the next person to hear any news she had to share.

  Serafina was reaching for the door to her parents’ house when it flew open and her sister stepped out. “There you are!” snapped Alina. “We’ve been waiting for you to come home.”

  “How are you?” Serafina asked her.

  Alina rubbed her belly. “I think the baby will be here soon. I’ve been having little pains for the last few days. And look at my ankles!” she said, lifting the hem of her skirt. “They’re so swollen I can’t lace up my boots. Come into the kitchen. I need to sit down. Nesha Zloto is here,” she added in a whisper. “The old gossip is in the kitchen with Mother and won’t leave until you read the letter.”

  Serafina’s father, Tadeo Divis, the most sought-after master builder in the town of Kamien Dom in the kingdom of Pazurskie, had encouraged his youngest daughter to learn to read and write. No one else in her family had been interested. After Serafina learned, she taught Alek and often shared her books with him.

  Someone laughed inside the kitchen as Serafina followed Alina through the door. Their mother, Zita, was seated at the table across from a white-haired woman. Tasya had gone into the kitchen before the girls and was already pouring hot water into the teapot.

  Zita’s eyes lit up in a way that always made Serafina feel warm inside.

  “Oh, good, you’re here, Fina!” said Zita. “Tasya, I’ll take care of the tea. I want you to run over to Katya’s house and tell her that Fina is back.”

  Tasya set the pot on the table, wiped her hands on her apron, and hurried from the kitchen. Alina took a seat beside her mother and sighed.

  Their neighbor, Widow Zloto, scowled when she glanced at the girls. “Alina can sit at the corner like that; just make sure you don’t, Serafina. Move over! Alina is already married, so it won’t affect her, but unmarried girls who sit at a corner will stay single for seven more years.”

  “Good day, Mistress Zloto,” Serafina said, bending down to kiss the old woman’s wrinkled cheek.

  The widow Zloto patted Serafina’s hand. “You can fetch me some of that good bread your mother makes, Fina.”

  “I’ll have some, too,” said Alina.

  “I’ll bring a plate to share,” Serafina told them. She had already spotted the letter on the table, propped against a mug filled with daisies. Her fingers itched to pick up the letter, but instead she hurried to get the bread and cheese.

  The bread was the traditional round loaf topped with salt usually given to guests and special company. Her mother made one every day, knowing that at least one of the neighbors was bound to stop by.

  “Don’t forget the knife!” cried Widow Zloto. “It’s bad luck to break bread with your hands. Break a loaf, break a life; that’s what my mother used to say.”

  Serafina smiled. The old woman was one of the most superstitious people she knew, and she mentioned the knife every time she ate a piece of bread.

  Alina leaned forward to rub the small of her back. “Hurry, Serafina! I want to hear your letter before this baby is born!”

  “Your baby isn’t coming this very minute,” Widow Zloto told her. “But when it comes, you make sure no stranger sees it until it’s at least two months old. It’s bad luck if they do!” The sisters sang out along with the old woman, then laughed when she laughed, too. “So, I’m a little superstitious? What can I say, my mother was just as bad and my grandmother was even worse. But your sister is right, Serafina. Hurry so we can hear what’s in the letter. I wonder who sent it.”

  Serafina couldn’t imagine who might have written to her. Aside from her father, people in her family rarely received letters. When they did, everyone wanted to be there for the first reading. Because she and her father were the only ones in the family who knew how to read, they were often asked to read the letters over and over again. The few letters they did receive were usually their only connection with some of their friends and relatives and were generally treasured and set aside to keep.

  Serafina’s mind raced as she tried to think who might have sent her a letter. Could it be one of her cousins inviting her to visit? Perhaps it was her old friend Eva, whose family had moved away the year before. Serafina was pondering the possibilities as she carried the still-warm bread to the table.

  The door opened and her oldest sister, Katya, burst into the kitchen, out of breath from running. “Oh, good! I’m not too late!” she said, collapsing into a chair. “Mother, the children were taking their naps, so I asked Tasya to stay and watch them. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all,” said Zita.

  “It’s good that Tasya won’t be here,” declared Widow Zloto. “Servants love to gossip. Whatever your letter says would be all over town before nightfall. I know—you should hear what my serving girl tells me!”

  “You sit down now, Fina,” said her mother. “Read the letter while I take care of the food. We can’t stand the suspense any longer.”

  Serafina set the knife on the table, slid into her seat, reached for the letter, and turned it
over in her hands. She had hoped to see who had sent it, but the writing on the back simply said “Serafina Divis.”

  “What does it say?” Alina asked, leaning toward the table.

  “Just my name,” said Serafina. “No address or anything.”

  Even the stamp used to press the sealing wax had been plain, without the usual initial or decoration. Frowning in concentration, Serafina broke the wax and spread the letter open on the table.

  “Don’t start yet, Fina!” said Katya. “Let Mother sit down and get comfortable. I’m just sorry Father is away,” she added. “He would love to hear the letter, I’m sure. All right. You can start now.”

  Serafina glanced from one person to the next. “Are you certain I can read it? No one has to fetch someone else or start supper or—”

  “Just read the thing!” Alina ordered, kicking her leg under the table.

  Serafina grinned, but her hands were shaking when she began.

  Dear Serafina,

  I am sure you have never heard of me, but I am your great-aunt Syianna from your grandmother Yanamaria’s side. I am writing to inform you of the inheritance that I intend to leave you. This inheritance is of great importance and will change your life forever. Should you be interested in this bequest, come to the town of Mala Kapusta on the next market day. At nine o’clock that night, go to the house located at the westernmost edge of the town, past the Bialy Jelen tavern.

  Looking forward to your arrival,

  Your great-aunt Sylanna

  “She’s right. I’ve never heard of her,” said Alina. “Who is Sylanna? And why is she leaving anything to Fina? Why not me or Katya? We’re older, after all. Mother, have you ever heard of this person?”

  “The name isn’t familiar, but then your grandmother had so many sisters. Some of them died young, others moved away.”

  “An inheritance!” said Widow Zloto. “Well, well! We might have a little heiress here! I do wonder why she chose you for this honor. Not that you aren’t deserving, dear child, but your sisters have been completely cut out.”

  “It isn’t fair!” complained Alina.

  “I’m sure Great-Aunt Sylanna had a reason,” said Katya. “But I can’t imagine why she would pass over two older sisters for Fina.”

  “What do you suppose it is?” their mother mused.

  “Money, of course,” said Widow Zloto. “Inheriting a lot of money would change anyone’s life.”

  “Perhaps it’s a small business,” said Katya. “Then she’d have to move to Mala Kapusta. It makes sense that she’d inherit that. Both Alina and I have families of our own and can’t just pick up and leave.”

  “We won’t know why I was named or what my inheritance is until I go to claim it,” Serafina declared. “Do you think Father will be home in time to take me?”

  Her mother shook her head. “He’ll be gone for another week at least. The next market day is tomorrow.”

  “I wish Alek could go with me—but I know it wouldn’t be proper, so I won’t ask him,” she hurried to say, even as her mother and Widow Zloto opened their mouths to protest. Serafina turned to Alina, but she knew the answer even before she asked. “I don’t suppose that Yevhen—”

  “He can’t go anywhere! How can you ask with the baby coming so soon?”

  “I know, I know. Plus he’s busy taking inventory in his father’s warehouse,” said Serafina. Alina’s husband worked for his father, a successful wine merchant.

  “Why doesn’t Viktor take her?” asked Widow Zloto. “He’s always so busy, but he can take a day off for that, surely?”

  As one of her father’s apprentices, Viktor had lived with the family for seven years, and then another two as a journeyman. Soon after receiving his master builder’s certificate, he’d married Katya and they’d moved into their own small home.

  Serafina had been just a little girl when Viktor had started his apprenticeship. On his first day there, she had caught him rifling through another apprentice’s belongings. He was so good at lying, however, that no one believed her. After that, Viktor had shown that he didn’t like her in lots of little ways, making fun of her when her parents weren’t around, pulling her hair when no one was looking. Her favorite necklace went missing one day and turned up broken the next. Serafina was certain that Viktor had done it. Things hadn’t gotten much better between them since.

  “Of course Viktor can go,” said Katya.

  “But—” began Serafina.

  “Then it’s settled,” said her mother. “You’ll leave early in the morning and be there by supper time. I’m sure Great-Aunt Sylanna will invite you to spend the night, and you can return the next day.”

  From the look in her mother’s eye, Serafina knew there wasn’t any point in arguing. She sat back as the women began to talk of other things, wondering how she was going to stand spending so much time with Viktor.

  Chapter 2

  By the time Serafina returned to the blacksmith shop, Alek had finished working on the sword for the day and had helped his father take the axle off the farmer’s wagon. Since the time he was old enough to wield a hammer, Alek had worked in his father’s shop. Although he was only a few years older than Serafina, he was nearly as tall as his six-foot-three-inch father. With his thick blond hair and easy smile lighting his handsome face, Alek attracted the attention of all the girls wherever he went.

  “Can you take a break and go for a walk with me?” Serafina asked him.

  He stood and brushed off his knees. “Let’s go. I could use a breath of fresh air.” After washing his hands and face in a bucket of water they kept by the door, he dried off with a piece of cloth and told his father, “I’ll be back in a little while.”

  Taking Serafina’s hand in his, Alek led her out the door to the road that fronted the blacksmith shop on its way to the center of town. They strolled past the narrow stone buildings that lined the streets, to the town square where serving girls lingered by the well, flirting with the older apprentices who stopped by. On the other side of the square stood the oak that had been there long before the oldest man in town was born.

  “Remember when I made you climb this tree?” Alek asked as he and Serafina wandered into its shade.

  Serafina nodded. “And I couldn’t go higher than the first two branches. That’s when I discovered that I was afraid of heights.”

  Alek laughed. “I had to help you down. You were shaking like a kitten in a wolf’s den. But that wasn’t the part I meant. That was the day I kissed you for the first time.”

  “I remember. I didn’t know if I should kiss you back or run home and tell my mother,” she said with a smile. Although Serafina’s dark hair and deep blue eyes were pretty enough to turn heads, everyone said that she was most beautiful when she smiled. Alek made her smile more than anyone else.

  “I’m glad you decided to kiss me. Who knows what would have happened if you’d told your mother. That reminds me—did you read the letter? Who sent it? Let me guess: someone is coming for a visit.”

  “Not quite,” Serafina said. “My great-aunt Sylanna wants me to visit her.”

  “I didn’t know you had a great-aunt Sylanna. I thought I’d met all your relatives.”

  “I didn’t know about her, either, but it seems she wants to give me some sort of inheritance. What we can’t understand is why she’s giving it to me and not to Alina or Katya.”

  “What is she giving you?”

  “She didn’t say. All she said was that it was going to change my life. We think it’s either money or a small business. I have to go to Mala Kapusta tomorrow. Father won’t be back in time, so Mother has asked Viktor to take me.”

  “Viktor!” Alek said as if he had tasted something bad. “That man is a bully and a liar. Couldn’t your mother find someone else? I would go if she’d let me.”

  “And set all the gossips’ tongues wagging? Mother would never allow it. Besides, you need to finish that sword for Sir Ganya. Didn’t he say that he wants it as soon as possible?
Don’t worry. I should be gone only a few days. Mother thinks Great-Aunt Sylanna will invite us to stay overnight; then we’ll be back the next day.”

  “I don’t like it,” Alek said, scowling. “You’re going to spend an entire day with Viktor so you can see a relative you don’t know. And this inheritance … What if it is a business and your great-aunt expects you to live in Mala Kapusta?”

  “If she does, I suppose I’ll have to consider it,” Serafina said with a shrug. “But I won’t make any decisions right away.”

  “But it is possible that you could move there.”

  “I suppose it’s possible,” Serafina replied.

  Alek sighed and stopped walking. “Then there’s something else for you to consider before you make any big decisions,” he said, turning her so that she faced him. “I’ve wanted to ask you something for a while, but the time never seemed right. Now I guess I have to just come out and say it. I mean, if you’re going to make life-changing decisions, I want you to take something important into account. I love you, Serafina Divis, and I have for a very long time. I know our parents think we’re too young to get engaged, but I would like to give you this.” Reaching into his pocket, Alek took out an ornate gold heart twice as big as his thumbnail. “It was my mother’s, and her mother’s before that. My mother used to wear it on a gold chain, but when she was dying she took it off and gave it to me, saying that it would remind me how much she loved me. I’ve been carrying it in my pocket ever since, but now I want you to have it to remind you how much I love you. Think of it as a preengagement token.”

  Serafina felt tears come to her eyes. She remembered his mother wearing the necklace, though Serafina didn’t know that his mother had given the heart to him. Serafina also knew how much Alek missed his mother, who had died three years ago, and how precious this keep-sake must be to him. Although she had long thought that she would marry Alek someday, they had never really talked about it. “Are you proposing to me, Alek?”

  He gave her a nervous grin. “I’m telling you that I want to propose someday. It’s early yet, but I want you to know just how serious I am.”