When Among Crows by Veronica Roth
Author:Veronica Roth
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tor Publishing Group
7
A DEAL RENEGED
Ala is in the middle of watching a Knight of the Holy Order chop off a czortâs head with an ax when Dymitr walks in. It must be afternoon, because sheâs lucid enough to speak to him, and that wouldnât have been possible earlier.
âGet out,â she says, too dully to make an impact.
Dymitr steps right through the Knight standing in triumph over the czortâs disembodied head, and sits in the chair next to her bed.
âWould it help if you showed it to me as you watched it?â he says.
She shakes her head. âNot interested in traumatizing both of us.â
âI can handle it.â
She sighs, but the work of creating illusions is enjoyable to her, the way she imagines other people feel about knitting or cross-stitch. She re-creates the Knight, the czort, the bare country road where they encountered each other beneath a lone streetlight.
âPoor czort,â Dymitr says. âIâm given to understand they rarely cause trouble.â
âGentle souls cast as devils in humankindâs ongoing stage play of existence. Itâs Oppression 101: find a bad guy, and if you canât, make one up.â The curse has left her sweaty and weak. She wants to go home and wrap herself in her grandfatherâs quilt and watch television. Instead, sheâs stuck in this place that stinks to high heaven of dread, one of her least favorite of the fear flavorsâlike toasted walnut, maybe, or a honey-wheat cracker.
âWill you tell me about the Knightâ¦â she says to him, as the vision changes. Now theyâre in a village square, all cobblestones and stone fountain and hedgerows. The sky is orange-pink from the setting sunâor the rising sun, itâs hard to say. She layers the imagery over the hospice room so Dymitr can watch it unfold with her.
Toasted walnutâDymitrâs dread.
âTell me about the Knight you want Baba Jaga to destroy?â she finishes. The village square is empty, but sheâs sure the Holy Order will appear soon. They always do.
He asks, âWhat do you want to know?â
âWhat did he do to deserve your ire?â She tilts her head. âOr she, I suppose. Theyâre letting women do it, these days.â
âMy ire. Yes, I guess you could call it that.â
He clasps his hands in his lap. She notices the gauze around his fingers, the lost fingernail finally bandaged.
In the village square, a black car pulls up to the curb just outside a pharmacy. The neon sign in the window of a nearby barâa beer logoâis dizzying. It reflects on the tinted car windows.
A woman all in white steps out of the car, her bone sword already in hand.
Ala focuses on Dymitr so she doesnât have to look at that sword.
âThere was a girl,â he says. âYoung. Barely more than a child. Sheâ¦â He smiles a little. âShe liked thoseâturtles. You know the ones? They wear masks in different colors, and fight with weaponsââ
âTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?â Ala says, with a laugh.
The woman in white is walking toward the fountain. Through the falling water, Ala sees a strzyga woman, with stringy black hair that hangs almost to her waist.
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