She held up one finger. “Wait here,” she said, and ran for the Airstream. A minute or two later, she was back, a small black leather bag that dangled from a long leather thong clenched in her hand.
“I know you’re going to think I’m crazy,” she said, “But I want you to promise me you’ll wear this day and night until I tell you it’s safe to take it off. It shouldn’t be for long.”
Liam looked at it dubiously when she handed it to him, then made a face when he sniffed it. “Is that garlic?” he asked. “This poison pie lady isn’t a vampire is she?”
Babs gave him a patient look. “There are no such things as vampires. Everyone knows that. You are just being silly. The bag contains garlic because it is a protection amulet, and garlic is a very protective herb.”
She had been studying the magical qualities of plants with Barbara since they’d started living together. Each Baba Yaga used magic a little differently, and since the element of Earth was the one Barbara and Babs both connected to most strongly, they tended to use a lot of herbs and crystals.
Liam’s expression became even more doubtful, if that was possible.
“Is this some kind of New Age thing?” he asked. “Because you know, I own a gun.”
“That’s nice,” Barbara said. “But guns only work against threats you can see coming.” She nodded down at the pie. “I know it seems wacky, but it will make both me and Babs feel better if you would just wear it. Please? I hate to think of you getting hurt because someone is targeting people I care about.”
An unexpected smile lit up his face. Dammit. She’d done it again.
“Well, in that case,” Liam said, lifting the necklace over his head and then tucking the small bundle down inside the front of his tee shirt. “I’ll wear it. But I’d feel a lot better if you went into the sheriff’s office and talked to Belinda Shields about this woman. The current sheriff is a useless twit, but there are still plenty of good officers at the department who could see if she has a record of violence. If she does, and you can prove she is stalking you, maybe you can get an order of protection.”
Frustration creased his brow. “If I were still sheriff…”
“You’d still have to follow the letter of the law,” said the woman who knew that better than anyone. “And until Brenna is caught in the act, there isn’t anything you could do about it.” Fortunately, the High Queen of the Otherworld had no such restrictions. Barbara just had to keep them all safe until Her Majesty’s justice took hold.
“True,” Liam said. “But then again, if I were sheriff, I wouldn’t be able to do this.” He leaned in and put one hand on either side of her face, then kissed her so gently and so thoroughly it took her breath away.
“What was that for?” she asked as Babs giggled.
“That,” he said, “was for caring about me enough that your nemesis would want to poison me. Although just for future reference, there are probably better ways to let a guy know you like him.”
“Duly noted,” she said. “Not that I expect there to be any need for that knowledge in the future.”
“Duly noted,” Liam repeated, grinning at her like a teenager.
“Coff. Get a room. Coff.” Chudo-Yudo made a noise that sounded like it might be followed by a hairball if he were a cat and not a dragon disguised as a giant white pit bull.
So much for romance. Still, it would have to hold her for now. She gave Liam a stern look. “I mean it about watching your back. This woman looks innocuous, but she is pure evil.”
“You watch your back too,” Liam said. “I’m not the one she’s truly mad at.”
“Oh, I’m not likely to forget that,” Barbara said. Nor was Brenna likely to let her. Romance would have to wait until this was all over and done with. Assuming they were are still around to celebrate then.
Chapter Twenty
Barbara occupied the rest of her day working on her experiments, although she had Chudo-Yudo spend most of the afternoon sprawled casually under a shade tree where he could watch both the house and the Airstream, and she kept Babs carefully by her side.
Brenna had to have found another unauthorized doorway to be coming and going the way she was, but Barbara couldn’t spare the time to go search for it. Unlike when Maya was using her doorway to carry Human children out of their world and into the Otherworld, which upset the balance between the two much faster than normal, it could take months before the mere existence of a random passageway would have enough of an effect for it to be noticeable.
It galled her to leave Brenna such an advantage, but Barbara was down to a day and a half to solve her problem, and she didn’t have a minute to spare to chase down a crazy power-hungry witch who the Queen was going to deal with soon enough anyway.
The work had to come first.
But at midnight, she was throwing out another steaming, reeking failure when a familiar outline materialized out of the shadows. Followed by two more.
“Hello boys,” she said, pretending she hadn’t been so deep in thought that they’d caught her by surprise. “What brings you by at this late hour?”
“My mission is accomplished,” Alexei said. “The boy is back with his mother, who was very happy indeed to have him returned. She is planning to start legal proceedings against the boy’s father first thing in the morning. I think this deserves a beer, yes?”
Gregori bowed at Barbara, looking considerably less pleased with himself than his larger brother did. “I, on the other hand, must regrettably report the failure of my own task. Brenna slipped away from me. I’m not sure how. The woman is incredibly sneaky, even for a Baba Yaga.”
Barbara inclined her head, acknowledging the compliment. “Well, I can tell you she was here at some point earlier in the day.”
All three brothers made noises of alarm and concern, and Barbara had to shush them before they woke Babs, who was sleeping inside.
“We’re all fine. We never even saw her. But she left a poisoned cherry pie in the house for Liam, and it was just good luck that he didn’t eat it.” She thought about what he’d said when he came to thank them and offer to share it. “Well, good luck and courtesy.”
Alexei hummed a Russian love song under his breath, smirking. Then winced when Gregori kicked him.
“Either way, I don’t blame you for not being able to keep track of her. After all, she’s always got the excuse of being on some Baba Yaga mission to explain her comings and goings. At least if she’s focused on me part of the time, maybe she’ll leave Beka alone.”
Mikhail stepped out of the darkness to join his brothers. “We think we would all be more affective sticking around here and keeping an eye on you and little Babs. Even your former sheriff, if that would put your mind at ease.”
“It would, actually,” Barbara said with relief. She’d never had any illusions that one small protection amulet, no matter how powerful, could stand against Brenna if she was truly determined to harm Liam. “But I want you to be on your guard as well.”
Alexei roared with laughter. Even the normally somber Gregori smiled.
Mikhail just gave her his usual charming and cocky grin. “Really, Baba Yaga. You worry too much. She is one small, old witch. We are the Riders. We have seen dozens of her kind come and go. No offence.”
“No offence taken,” Barbara said, wishing she could laugh too. But whatever memories she might be losing without being aware of it, the one of the sight of the three of them, broken and battered and barely clinging to life, still flared like a beacon in the landscape of her former life.
“But remember what I told you happened in my timeline. She used trickery and magic, and then turned your loyalty to each other into a weapon she used against you. Do not underestimate her cunning or the depths to which she will stoop.”
Alexei wrapped one hugely muscled arm around her and kissed her on the top of her head. “Do not worry yourself, old friend. We have Mikhail for the cunning, and Gregori for our own stooping.”
She looked up into his s
mirking bearded face. “And what do we have you for, old friend?”
“Well, someone has to drink the beer, and knock heads together, yes?” he said. And they all laughed.
Barbara gazed at them fondly, but she couldn’t help but remember that if by some miracle she succeeded with her impossible task, she might never hear them laugh like that again.
Whose happiness did she chose? How could she be sure that this changed timeline wasn’t what was best for the most people, especially once Beka was out from under Brenna’s thumb and able to grow into her own person? How could she take the Rider’s immortality—and as ironic as it sounded, their innocence—away from them, when this fluke of magic had returned it, when that had proven otherwise impossible?
Was she being selfish to want her own life back? If nothing else, she was pretty sure after today that she and Liam would end up back together one way or the other. They wouldn’t be exactly the same people, or have been brought together by the same common battle, but would that matter? Eventually, she probably wouldn’t even remember that there had been any other reality. Maybe she should stop fighting the inevitable and just let it be.
But then she thought of the children who would never be able to go home again, no matter how well-treated they would be in the Otherworld. Thought of Belinda and her parents, aching from the void in their hearts and in their lives. She remembered the young couple she’d liked so much who had lost their home through no fault of their own, and the look on Liam’s face when he realized that there was a problem he couldn’t do anything about because he was no longer sheriff. Maybe he had built himself a reasonably good life, but didn’t he deserve to have the job he loved, protecting the people of the area she’d become so attached to?
Then there were her sisters, who never met the men they were meant to be with. And the Riders, for whom being broken meant not just pain and sorrow, but their own journeys toward growth and love and the lives that suited them so well.
No, she thought, gazing at their laughing faces in the moonlight, they, all of them—her and Babs included—deserved to have the lives they had been meant to live. She just had to make this spell work and fix the timeline.
But by the appointed hour, she still hadn’t managed it.
She had tried variations on the spell she’d created from what Jazz had come up with, using the most potent of ingredients, although she was still holding the Kalpataru leaf back. There would only be one chance to use it. If that chance ever came at all.
During a few of the most recent attempts, Barbara thought she could feel something trying to happen, but in the end they all fizzled out. She had come to the reluctant conclusion that it was such a huge magical working, it would require more power than even she could muster on her own. After all, the initial disaster had been caused by the intersection between two potent witches. It would probably take at least that many to fix it.
She wasn’t sure if even all three Baba Yagas working together would have been enough to pull it off, but since she had been forbidden to speak to or see her sisters, there had been no way to even attempt it. Nor was she convinced that Bella and Beka would have agreed to help. No matter—time was up, in more ways than one, and she, Babs, and Chudo-Yudo were headed to the Otherworld, bringing her precious bottle of the Water of Life and Death with them.
She was also bringing along all of the magical supplies and abortive spells, just for the hell of it, but she suspected they’d be of as much use as the ornate decorative knife that hung at her waist. (The real one was tucked into her boot, of course.)
They were the first ones there, and the Queen’s major domo ushered them into a clearing to one side of the castle. It looked like a cross between a throne room and a parlor, nestled in a verdant glen filled with wildflowers, its boundaries marked by concentric circles of orange and yellow ivy. Across the carpet of low, emerald-hued grasses, the King and Queen sat atop high-backed chairs carved out of amber with curving sapphire arms, and around the ivied edge of the circle, high-level courtiers either stood or sat in simpler versions of the royal couples’ seats. Witnesses to what was to come, no doubt.
Barbara had never seen this particular space before, and she suspected that the Queen had created it just for this occasion. The setting might be bucolic and charming, but there were members of the royal guard scattered throughout the small crowd, and the circular nature of the area lent itself easily to the containment of magic in case things got out of hand. No doubt the Queen didn’t want to risk the more delicate ornaments in her throne room if Brenna decided to argue her case more violently than expected.
Barbara, Babs, and Chudo-Yudo approached the Queen and her consort and bowed. The Queen looked stern but beautiful, at ease in her flowing gown of lilac silk with a matching amethyst tiara, necklace, and earrings that dangled nearly the length of her long, elegant neck. A delicate purple fan lay at rest for the moment on her lap.
The King wore black from his high leather boots to his embroidered velvet tunic, his simple silver crown adorned by rough-cut black diamonds. He too looked relaxed and unperturbed, and Barbara began to wonder if she had imagined the entire conversation about striping Brenna of her powers, or if the royal couple had changed their minds. Certainly no one else in the outdoor parlor acted as though they expected anything other than the usual entertainments of court.
“Greetings,” the King said as the trio straightened up. “Lovely afternoon, is it not?”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Barbara said. It was always a lovely afternoon (or morning, or evening) in the Otherworld, but Old World manners required a certain protocol. “I hope we find you well?”
“As well as possible, under the circumstances, Baba Yaga,” the King said, his tone somewhat grim.
Barbara held in a sigh of relief. Not losing her mind, then. Thank goodness. Their Majesties were clearly putting up a casual front in hope of lulling Brenna into a false sense of security. It had certainly fooled her, so with any luck it would work on Brenna as well.
As they were greeting the Queen, Bella strolled into the clearing, followed by her dragon Koshka, in his usual guise of a gigantic Norwegian Forest Cat, his huge puffy tail arched high in the air as he walked. He and Chudo-Yudo exchanged affectionate head butts, and Bella flashed them all one of her brilliant smiles as she made her own graceful curtsey.
As far as Barbara knew, neither Bella nor Beka had any idea what was about to happen. The Queen caught Barbara’s eye and gave a tiny tilt of her head in Bella’s direction, accompanied by a raised eyebrow.
Barbara shook her own head. No, she hadn’t gone against the Queen’s orders and informed her sisters.
The Queen nodded, satisfied. “Ah, good, everyone is here,” she said as Brenna, Beka, that and Chewie, their massive black Newfoundland dragon-dog, were ushered into the circular space. “And you all brought your bottles of the Water of Life and Death, as We requested?”
“We did, Your Majesty,” Brenna said with a greedy glint in her eye. The pungent aroma of patchouli and potion-making preceded her, as if to warn the innocent that the witch wasn’t far behind. “And your timing was as impeccable as always. With two of us using it, we have gone through our supply faster than usual.”
“Is that so?” the Queen said, making a closer inspection of Beka. She exchanged a brief glance with Barbara, and tightened her lips imperceptibly. “Are you quite certain your apprentice is getting her share? She looks distinctly unwell.”
Barbara thought that was a fairly epic understatement. Even in the brief time since they had seen each other, Beka had gone even farther downhill. Her skin was ashen, and her usually glossy hair was brittle and course looking. There was no sparkle in her blue eyes, which seemed sunken and dull over the dark smudges underneath them. Her usual cheerful blue and green silk skirt and tunic hung loose, as if she had lost weight.
Bella and Barbara exchanged grim looks. If the Queen doesn’t kill Brenna, I’m going to, Barbara thought to herself.
Only som
eone as self-involved (or insane) as Brenna could have missed the warning in the Queen’s tone, but it clearly sailed right over the older witch’s head.
“Oh, she’s fine,” Brenna said. “You know the youth of today. No stamina. We’ve been working day and night on a potion I came up with to cleanse the seas. She’s just a little over-tired. She’ll be fine in a day or two.”
“We are quite certain of that,” the Queen said in a dry tone. She held out one slim hand imperiously. “But We will start with your bottle, certainly.”
Brenna put it eagerly into the Queen’s outstretched hand, and then waited, one toe tapping impatiently on the ground, for it to be refilled from the sparkling crystal jug sitting at the Queen’s feet.
“There is one issue We wish to address before proceeding,” the Queen said, putting down Brenna’s bottle and picking up her fan. Around the circle, the more observant of the courtiers suddenly began to show more interest in the conversation.
“It has come to Our attention that there may be a problem with one of Our Baba Yagas,” the King said gravely in his beautiful courtly voice.
Brenna endeavored to appear surprised, but smugness lurked not far under the surface. “Is that so, Your Majesties? How unfortunate.” She cast a triumphant sideways eye at Barbara, her eyes glittering. “I did try to warn you.”
“So you did,” the Queen said.
Chapter Twenty-One
Bella glared at Brenna indignantly, although the redhead had the good sense to throttle back her expression a bit before she turned to the Queen.
“Your Majesty, I know that Barbara has been a little…stranger than usual lately, but I can’t believe that she has actually done anything that is against your rules. Brenna tried to convince me that Barbara had lost her mind, but aside from an unusual tale we can’t prove isn’t true, she seems perfectly sane to me. And as for suggesting that Barbara might commit treason against Your August Majesties, well, that’s crazier than Barbara’s story of unraveled timelines.”
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