One of the walls was lined with jars, each with a pickled beast inside each. On the opposite wall, wedged in between the many shelves, an old mirror was hung. It didn't seem to reflect anything in the room.
At the center of the massive hut was a cast iron stove. It was much too large to merely be for heating the hut and for cooking meals. The stove’s huge grill, like a monster's smiling teeth, was easily the size of two men. The metal chimney extended up through the roof. Curiously, the stove also extended downward as if it were part of the hut. Embers simmered in the belly of the thing, radiating just enough warmth to keep the chill out.
Perched atop a rug made from some huge furry beast was a table and two armchairs with armrests carved into the shape of bear paws.
It was easy for me to find a hiding place and watch the events unfold. I couldn't imagine how anyone could find anything in Yaga's hut, it was so cluttered.
Mama Yaga pulled up one of the chairs and gestured towards it. "Sit, sit."
Lycus, entranced by Eliana, kept staring after her even as she left the room through one of the curtains. He sat mechanically without comment.
"Now," Yaga gathered up her skirts to sit across from Lycus, "tell me about yourself."
Lycus thought for a bit, but I could tell he was having problems concentrating. There was a pot of steaming stew in front of the great furnace. It smelled delicious.
"I uh…my name is Lycus."
"Oh dear!" Yaga chuckled. "It seems we have a wolf in our midst."
"Huh?"
"Never mind, dear. I make jokes for my own benefit. To keep my mind sharp." She leaned forward. "Tell me Lycus, did you come here of your own free will, or did someone send you?"
The air went out of the room. I could feel Yaga's eyes burning into Lycus. He seemed a tiny thing compared to her, even though he was a young man and she was an old woman. The answer to this question was of extreme importance.
Lycus blinked. "My own free will."
Yaga seemed disappointed. "I see. Very good." She cleared her throat. "Nyx, dear? We've a guest."
Another beautiful girl with a heart-shaped face, ivory skin and pale blue eyes walked into the main room from the side room where Eliana had gone. She looked like Eliana's twin, with different hair and eye color. Unlike Eliana, she was wide-awake and dressed.
"Some food for our guest, dear," said Yaga.
Nyx nodded, her jet-black hair contained in a bun. She brought freshly-baked bread to the table, and bowls of berries and mushrooms soon after. She poured an odd concoction for them both into wooden mugs.
Lycus took a sip. "What is this?"
"Kefir." Yaga slurped her own drink with deep satisfaction evident on her wrinkled features. "With a dash of honey."
"It's very good." He stuffed great handfuls of the berries and mushrooms into his mouth.
Yaga smiled at him, and I was sure that the light glinted off her teeth. "You're very kind, young Lycus." She sniffed at him. "But you stink like a wet dog. Nyx!"
Nyx sighed. "I'm right here, Mama."
"Oh yes. Please ensure that this young man takes a bath. New clothes and all! And speaking of dog, bring that mangy good-for-nothing mutt inside."
"Yes Mama."
"I'm off to bed now." Yaga addressed Lycus. "But I want you to clean up. We'll have breakfast early tomorrow."
"Thank you very much," mumbled Lycus around a mouthful of food.
"So polite," said Yaga with another wolf-like smile. "So polite." And with that she creaked to her feet and shuffled out of the room.
Nyx didn't seem to have quite the same effect on Lycus as Eliana. He barely paid her any attention at all, although she was just as beautiful.
She put two fingers to her mouth and whistled. A few seconds later the huge scrawny dog padded into the room and, without looking at anyone, walked through one of the curtains and disappeared.
Nyx followed after him, only to return dragging a huge pot.
Lycus finally looked up from his meal. "Do youf neef helf wif fat?"
Nyx's eyes narrowed. "Did you just call me fat?"
Lycus swallowed hard. "No, I—" he started to choke as he tried to gulp the rest of the berries and mushrooms and the huge hunk of bread all down his throat at once. He grabbed the pitcher of kefir and swallowed it to wash the whole thing down, which promptly set off a fit of coughing and wheezing.
"Never mind," said Nyx. "I've got it." She dragged the huge pot in front of the oven. Water sloshed over the sides with every tug.
Lycus finally stopped coughing, eyes watering. "I—" he gasped, "was trying to ask you if you needed help with—" he took another breath "help with…" he finally was able to blink away the tears enough to realize the pot was already in place. "Oh, sorry."
Nyx allowed herself a smirk. "It's all right."
"What's for dinner?" asked Lycus.
Nyx giggled and mumbled something under her breath. "That's your bath tub. There's a scrubbing stone and some soap." She wrinkled her nose. "Wash up. Mama Yaga doesn't like her guests to be dirty."
She whirled out of the room.
I froze. Lycus hadn't heard Nyx's response to his question about what was for dinner, but I did.
She had responded: "You."
Before I could warn Lycus, a jet-black paw slapped down on my tail.
* * *
"Well what do we have here?" asked a giant, glittering green eye with a yellow slit for an iris.
I let out a rat-like "Eep!" It was all I could manage under the pressure of the cat's paw.
The eye drew back and I could see it belonged to a big black cat. "You look positively juicy." The cat's pink tongue flicked out and around its jaws. "I haven't eaten in three days."
"What?" I said out loud. I didn't mean to, but when you speak by thinking, and you're staring at someone who wants to eat you, it's easy to make a mistake. I broadcast my thoughts directly at the cat. "There's food everywhere in this place and you haven't eaten in three days?"
The cat's whiskers twitched. "Hush! That kind of talk can get you put in one of those jars!"
The cat inclined his head in the direction of the jars along one wall. I spared a glance, only to see the withered eyes of the hairless things that were pickled in those jars staring back at me. All of them. At once.
"What are you afraid of?" I said slowly. I was afraid of whatever was in those jars, but I sensed the cat was afraid of something else.
"Mama Yaga of course. You don't eat anything here without her permission."
"What if I said I could get you some food? Would you let me go?"
The cat sniffed at me. It was an unpleasant sensation. "You'll never get far." The claws in the paw retracted and the weight was lifted.
Lycus had been bathing while I was occupied by the cat. I focused on him. "Oh, Lycus?"
Lycus' head popped over the edge of the huge pot he was bathing in. I was reminded again that Lycus was easily distracted. "Are you done talking with the cat?"
"Yes. Listen, I need you—"
"Just grab food off the table," he said.
I looked back to the cat to explain, but he was watching the exchange, ears darting back and forth.
"Wait…you can understand us? You can hear us?" I asked.
Lycus sopping wet head popped up over the edge of the pot. "Yeah. Something about food."
"How is that possible?" I asked.
"Everyone understands everyone else in Mama Yaga's hut," said the cat. "That's the way it works in here."
"So everyone can speak to everyone else but you don't get fed?" I asked, incredulous.
"I didn't say we're all equal," said the cat sourly.
"The food on the table was meant for me. You can eat it. The scraps anyway." Lycus laughed at the joke.
"What's so funny?" asked the cat.
"My name. It's Scrap." I said.
The cat snorted. "Hilarious. My name is Ivasik." The cat peered back at the pot where Lycus was scrubbing. "Is he serious?"
/> "As serious as he ever gets," I said. "There's nothing to be afraid of." I trotted over to the nearby bear claw chair and hopped up on it. "See? Easy as caaAAAAH!"
I dove sideways as one of the bear-shaped paws of the armrests on the chair took a swipe at me. I ducked the first swipe, jumped over the second, and landed on the table.
"What the…?"
"See," said Ivasik. "THAT is why I don't jump up on the chairs."
"You couldn't TELL me that before?"
Ivasik would have shrugged if he had shoulders. "You didn't ask. Now bring me some food."
"Fine." There was still food left on the table, more than I was able to view from my hiding place. Sliced meat that looked like ham was laid out at the center of the table. I stuffed some of it in my maw. Then, grabbing hold of more ham between my paws, I hurled it over the edge of the table.
Ivasik snatched it right out of the air with both of his paws. "Oh this is…this is DELICIOUS," he said between bites. It was clear Ivasik wasn't as accustomed as I was to thought-speak. He paused between bites as if he were actually talking. "I've been here forever and I've never gotten to eat anything like this!"
"That's…that's sad," I said.
"Yes, yes it is. And for what?"
"You must have done something to upset Mama Yaga." Between Nyx's comment and the strange hut, it was clear that Lycus’ staying here was a very bad idea.
"Weeeellll," Ivasik slunk around, tail twitching. "Got any more?"
"Oh, sure." I flopped another hunk of meat over the edge of the table.
"I don't get out much," said Ivasik. "I can't go outside or I'll be left behind. So…" He looked over at the little mini-forest of twisted trees. "Sometimes I use the trees…"
"Say no more," I said. "Please. Really, no more."
"You asked," said Ivasik.
"So how do we get out?"
"Get out of here?" asked Lycus. "I'm not going anywhere." He splashed in the water. "This is great!"
"You didn't happen to notice that you're bathing in a pot?" I said. "You know, a pot used to cook food?"
Lycus looked down at the pot. "So?"
"So? I think Mama Yaga's fattening you up."
"To eat me?" Lycus laughed. "Oh come now!"
"It's true," said Ivasik.
"See?" I said. "We've got to get out of here."
"There's nowhere to go," said Ivasik.
I sensed the cat was holding something back. "If I give you more ham will you tell me?"
"Ham?" asked Ivasik curiously. "What do you mean?"
"This," I threw more meat over the edge of the table.
"That's not ham," said Ivasik evenly.
Lycus and I looked at each other. He hopped up out of the tub and grabbed a towel. "Let's get out of here."
"You won't get very far," said Ivasik.
Lycus was half-shrugging on his new clothes and half-hopping his way to the doorway. He threw the curtain aside…
Only to discover the world spinning by accompanied by a great rumbling shriek of metal on metal. Great booms echoed beneath us and, from the glimpse we could spot of the whirling terrain below us, we were over sixty feet up in the air.
"Told you," said Ivasik, still chewing on the not-ham.
* * *
The commotion was enough to draw Nyx, who stepped out from behind the curtain on the far side of the room. "Is everything all right?"
Lycus, still half-in and half-out of his clothes, blushed and tried to pull on the rest of his clothes. It wasn't Lycus who should have been worried—Nyx expected him to be there. A rat, on the other hand, was likely to cause a stir…
"Ivasik, I thought I told you to take care of the rats!" said Nyx in exasperation.
Ivasik, who had finished slurping down whatever it was that passed for meat in Yaga's hut, was now washing himself diligently. "I'll chase it later."
"I've heard that before," muttered Nyx. She turned back to Lycus. "Are you all right?"
"I just…" His eyes darted to the exit. Lycus was terrible at lying. I feared trying to talk to him—in Yaga's hut it was entirely possible that everything I mentally projected would be broadcast, just like my conversation with Ivasik. Better to let them think I was a mute rat.
And yet I couldn't help but wonder, given that everything else in the hut seemed to talk, if it would be abnormal if I WASN'T talking.
"You looked outside," said Nyx sternly. "We have to get a door one of these days."
"Yes." Lycus managed to get his trousers on underneath the towel. "We're moving?"
Nyx pulled up a chair. "Yes. This is Mama Yaga's hut. It moves." As if everyone knew that.
"I didn't expect that," said Lycus.
Nyx allowed herself a smirk. "Few visitors do. But Mama Yaga must keep moving. It's how she sells her wares, moving from place to place." She gestured at the jars full of pickled creatures.
"People actually buy those things?" Lycus shrugged on his tunic.
"Oh yes. Mama Yaga sells all kinds of things; salves and potions, remedies and spell components. The soul trees over there create gemstone tears." She pointed at the odd-looking trees. "Even their bark can be useful. Mama Yaga does brisk business in each town we visit."
"And what are you doing here?" asked Lycus.
"You mean, why am I still here?" she looked curiously at Lycus. "Mama Yaga's not so bad."
"She gives me the creeps," said Lycus. "Are you her bodyguard?"
Nyx laughed. It was a pleasant, tinkling trifle. "I'm sure some might say that. There are three of us: Eliana, whom you met, me, and Dawn. Mama Yaga is our foster mother. She took each of us in because we have a special talent. We work in shifts."
"So you're the night shift."
"That's right. And right now you're really mucking things up. If Mama Yaga found out you hadn't gone to bed by now I'd be in trouble for sure."
"About that…" Lycus looked around, expecting the creaky old hag to come bursting through one of the curtains at any minute. "Is she going to eat me?"
Nyx was about to say something but clamped her mouth shut. After a moment, she dragged one of the chairs over and sat on it, facing Lycus. "That depends."
"It depends?" Lycus' voice squeaked. "On what?"
"She asked you a question when you first arrived. How did you answer?"
Lycus squinted, trying to concentrate. The boy was frightened out of his mind. I half-expected him to just jump right out of the moving hut, preferring to take his chances with a sixty-foot fall.
"Let's see. She asked something about free will. And I said that I came on my own."
Nyx relaxed. "Good. Then she's not going to eat you today."
"Today?" Lycus flushed, his anxiety rising. "What about tomorrow?"
"Do you have any use to her?"
Lycus looked over in my direction, but I wasn't willing to make myself known just yet. The simple gesture made his point: my primary value to Lycus was my ability to speak with other creatures. Lycus' primary value to me was his arms and legs, taking me where I couldn't. Separated, Lycus was just a kid and I was just a rat.
"I can pick pockets," said Lycus.
Nyx shrugged. "So can I."
"Steal things?"
"I can do that too."
"I'm fast on my feet."
"All three of us are." By “us” I presumed she meant her foster sisters.
Lycus slumped in his chair. "I'm doomed."
Nyx reached over and patted his arm. "There, there. You seem nice. You'll have a few days to think about it while Mama Yaga fattens you up. I recommend you eat slowly." She stood up. "Now, off to bed with you or we'll both be gobbled up."
She ushered the terror-stricken Lycus through a curtain and into one of the side rooms.
* * *
"There's got to be a way out of here!" I mind-shouted desperately.
Ivasik had finished cleaning himself and sprawled out on the floor, tail flicking. "There are plenty of ways out. But you'll never make it two steps if Yaga do
esn't wish it."
"Is that why you're still here?"
Ivasik closed his eyes. "She likes having a cat around. I eat the rodents." He gave a meaningful glare at me to make it clear he could eat me if he so chose.
"Take me with you!" shouted a voice.
I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound. It was enough to make Ivasik open one eye.
"This is horrible! Oh horrible!"
I looked around. The source was very near. It was…
"Will?"
Will. Stuck in the jack-o'-lantern. The magic that bound him allowed him to animate the features of the carved pumpkin he was in. It went from a look of perpetual surprise to one of pitiful sadness. Even makeshift carved tears appeared around Will's eyes, casting bizarre shadows along the wall.
"I can't fly! I'm stuck in here!" The eyes looked left and right. "Where am I?"
"In Mama Yaga's hut."
"Who are you, little talking hairy thing? Where is my friend?"
"He's…" I didn't have the heart to tell him that the torch had gone out. It was somewhere in the muck, probably leagues behind us. "Outside."
"But he was right with me! He went out, didn't he? Oh he's gone, gone!" Will rambled on in self-pity.
"He'd better shut up," said Ivasik, not looking at either of us. "Mama Yaga's fond of pumpkin pie."
"Shh," I said to Will. "Look, I'm sure your friend is outside. But right now we need to stay calm if we're going to get you out of here. Understood?"
Will sniffled. "Yes." He looked around. "What is this place?"
"It's the home of Mama Yaga. She's a w-"
"Don't use the “W” word either," said Ivasik. "She can hear it. From anywhere."
I sighed in frustration. This was going to be harder than I thought.
"She's a what?" asked Will.
"She's not someone we should provoke. And I think all your wailing and carrying on will draw her attention. So for right now, I need you to be quiet and just observe."
"Be quiet?" Will's eyes opened wide in typical jack-o'-lantern fashion. "I've never been quiet in all my life!"
"I know," I thought through mentally-gritted teeth. "But you're going to need to be still if you're to survive. Can you do that?"
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