A Question of Magic by E. D. Baker

Author:E. D. Baker
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2013-09-09T04:00:00+00:00

Serafina practically flew into the cottage. She’d made up her mind; she’d brew a cup of blue rose tea, drink it, then tell the cottage to return to Mala Kapusta, where she’d wait for Alek to show up even if there was fighting going on. The thought of seeing him again was enough to make her smile. Humming to herself, she put the kettle on to boil and did a little dance step as she carried the clay jar holding the blue rose tea from the cupboard to the table. She was turning to check on the water when she heard Boris shout. Before she could get to the door, it banged open and five men dressed in homespun clothes barged into the cottage, nearly filling the room.

The men moved aside as the roughest-looking one drew closer, almost stepping on Maks, who was standing, back arched and hissing, between him and Serafina. When the man drew back his foot as if to kick the cat, Serafina scooped up the animal, holding him out of the man’s way.

“We’re here to get some questions answered,” the man snarled, looking down his long, narrow nose at her. Serafina’s eyes were drawn to his mouth, where a scar crossed both of his lips. When Serafina didn’t say anything, he said in a louder voice, “Answer me, girl. Are you Baba Yaga or not?”

The cat stopped squirming to turn his green-eyed gaze on Serafina’s face. “I am Baba Yaga,” she answered in her Baba Yaga voice.

“Is it true that you have to answer our questions with the truth?” asked a short man with a bright red burn mark on his face.

“I must answer the first question you ask me with the truth,” Serafina said, aware that they’d now wasted two questions.

“What do you mean, the first question?” asked the leader.

“Maybe it means she’s not going to answer any others,” said the man with the burn.

“I don’t need your help,” his leader told him, cuffing the back of the shorter man’s head. “So tell me,” the man said to Serafina. “How can I break into the home of Master Vasylko Demidas, the richest man in the kingdom, so that I might steal his gold?”

Serafina wasn’t surprised that he was a thief or that he would ask such an unsavory question. “Actually, you already asked me a question. I’m not able to answer more than one for each person.”

She flinched when he grabbed her arm and shook her. Maks hissed and swiped at the man with his paw, missing only because Serafina jerked him back out of reach.

“I didn’t ask you a question yet!” the scarred man shouted in her face.

“Yes, you did,” said the shorter man. “You asked her if she was Baba Yaga.”

“That doesn’t count. It wasn’t the question I came here to ask.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Serafina said as she tried to pull away. “Whatever you ask first is the only question I’ll be able to answer.”

“Really?” said the leader. “I bet you’ll tell me with a little persuasion.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.