A Song of Saints and Swans: A Yaga's Riders Tale (The Yaga’s Riders) by C. Rochelle

Author:C. Rochelle [Rochelle, C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-01-26T18:30:00+00:00

Don’t Shoot the Messengers

MARENA

Even when she was still a human, Vasi was an expert on mortality. One couldn’t grow up in the harsh conditions she had and not have a unique understanding of how fleeting your existence was.

Watching your mother die at a young age will have that effect on someone.

It was when her own step sisters sent her to her doom that she first met the Baba Yaga—and first glimpsed her three fated Riders. The clever girl cheated death that day, and again years later when I rescued her from Koschei. And then again, when the Yaga tried to send her to the Nav, only to have Vasi drag the old hag along and return alone—victorious.

If anyone has nine lives, it’s Vasilisa the Brave.

Given her intimacy with death, the witch immediately understood my suspicions about Margo’s demise. That Konstantin believed absinthe from an unregulated distillery killed her only supported my theory.

The distillery Vasi and her men were investigating produced vodka, not absinthe, but all that meant was the remaining heads of the defunct Facility were broadening their net.

What are they up to?

I didn’t hesitate to pass along Rahim’s contact info to Vasi. He had enough connections to legally uncover who owned both distilleries, and who possibly paid off Margo’s coroner. But the larger issue—at least from the Prav’s perspective—was if the poor girl’s death wasn’t by suicide, then she shouldn’t have returned as a Rusalka at all.

Which means the gods made a mistake.

One god in particular.

As if summoned by my accusatory thoughts, the creature waiting for us on the banks of the Baltic Sea was none other than Veles’ preferred messenger.

“Well, well, well,” the Gamayun chortled as Vasi’s izba settled to the ground so we could dismount. “I was wondering who’d been summoned to these shores. Could the wayward goddess of winter’s death be on a covert mission the god of the Nav knows nothing about?”

Truly, the most meddling creature in all three realms—along with her sister.

Because, of course, the Gamayun wasn’t alone. It was rare for the old bird to go anywhere without the Alkonost, and with juicy gossip on the menu, both zeroed in on me like the birds of prey they were.

I sighed, in no mood to dance around the subject. “What will it take to keep Vel out of this?”

The Gamayun preened, her blue and orange feathers gleaming in the early morning light. “There’s an item going up for auction at Sotheby’s I’ve had my eye on. An early 20th century amethyst and diamond cross worn by Princess Diana for a 1987 charity gala.”

Well, that’s… specific.

I often brought back pieces won at auction for Veles—mostly to remind him of the human world he mostly ignored—but wasn’t aware my habits were common knowledge.

How silly of me to think the creature privy to the secrets of the universe wouldn’t notice.

“Fine,” I sighed, turning to the Alkonost. “And what do you want?”

She shrugged her shoulders, causing her matte black feathers to shine like an oil slick. “Nothing. I’m simply here for the drama.

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