Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

Author:Sofiya Pasternack
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HMH Books

Chapter Eighteen

Babulya said nothing to Anya as they walked back to the house, but Anya could practically feel the heat of Babulya’s anger wafting off her. They went into the kitchen, and Anya shut the door.

Babulya rounded on Anya so fast, it frightened her. “Explain that!” the old woman snapped.

“It was just—”

“It was just you and a bogatyr and a fool and a monster having a battle by the river!” Babulya clenched her fists, and all the plants in the kitchen turned, like they were looking at Anya.

“We didn’t want to!” Anya said. “Sigurd started it.”

“Why are they even here?” Babulya extended a crooked finger at Anya. “You’re about to do what your auntie Tzivyah used to do and talk your way around a straight answer. I can tell.”

Anya scoffed. “No, I was not.”

“Then why were they here?”

“Because . . .” Anya sighed and let her head drop. “There’s a dragon in the river. I saw it in our barn. They want to catch it.”

Babulya’s wrinkly little face grew redder, until she looked like she’d been out in the sun too long. “And you were helping them?”

“You don’t understand.”

“I understand that dragons are almost extinct!” Babulya hollered. “That could be the last dragon in Kievan Rus’! Or even the last dragon in the world! And you’re helping them kill it!”

“The magistrate is going to take our house!” Anya yelled over Babulya, and her grandmother went silent. “He told Mama we owe too many taxes, and she has thirty days to bring him two hundred and fifty rubles, or else she’ll go to prison! Or we can give up the house, and she won’t go to prison, but we’ll be homeless!”

Tears stung her eyes, and her nose tickled as it ran. She wiped the back of her sleeve across her face. “Gospodin Yedsha is paying me, and if I help him catch this dragon, we’ll have enough money to stay here. I care more about us than I do about a stupid dragon!”

Babulya said nothing. The plants around the room swayed gently from side to side.

Anya took a deep breath. “You told me when you had to leave your town that it was the worst part of your life. And I’m not going to let that happen to you again. I’m not going to let it happen to Mama.” She couldn’t say out loud what she feared most if her mother was thrown out of their home: Mama wouldn’t survive it.

Babulya’s lips tightened as they pressed together. “There’s an exemption. Since your papa went to the war—”

“No,” Anya said. “The magistrate told us that exemption didn’t apply to us.” She swallowed hard. “To Jews.”

“No.” Babulya’s voice was much softer. “I thought living out here would protect us. I thought we could hide.”

Anya shook her head. “We can’t.”

“Annushka, that burden isn’t yours to bear.”

“It’s got to be someone’s.” Anya fisted her hands, puffed out her chest, and marched to the door.

“Wait,” Babulya said.

Anya shook her head. “No.” She pulled the door open and ran out before Babulya could say anything to stop her.

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.