“Easy, easy now,” Evdokia murmured. “You’re scaring the house.”
Get over it. Just get over it. Put it away, shove it aside, so you can deal with it later.
The magic filled me, threatening to burst out. The house rocked. Cups clicked against each other on the table. Evdokia clenched my hand.
I had to get out of here alive. If I let it all go now, Evdokia would fight me to save herself. I needed a clear head.
Put it away.
I could do it. I was strong enough. I had Voron to thank for it.
I pulled the magic back. All the anger, all the pain, I collapsed it on itself and stuffed it away. It hurt.
I took my hand out of Evdokia’s fingers and picked up my teacup. Lukewarm tea touched my lips. “It’s cold. I think I need a refill.”
Evdokia looked at me for a long moment. That’s right. Barely human, you got it. I had a chance when I was five. Now it was too late.
“You never said what you would do about your father,” the witch said.
“Nothing has changed. It’s still him or me.”
“You’re not strong enough,” Evdokia said. “Not yet. I can make you stronger.”
“At what price?”
She heaved a sigh. “No price, Katenka. You are one of our own.”
“If I’m one of your own, why did you wait till now? Why didn’t you help me when my aunt almost murdered me?” Where were you when Voron died and I had no place to go?
Evdokia pursed her lips.
I fixed her with my stare. “What do you want from me?”
The witch’s magic flared. She set her cup down. “Sienna has foreseen a tower over Atlanta.”
Towers were Roland’s trademark. “Sienna of the Witch Oracle? Does the Oracle know who I am?”
Evdokia nodded. “Yes.”
“Who else knows?” The list of people to murder was getting longer and longer.
“Just us.” Evdokia matched my gaze. Her blue eyes turned hard. “We’ve kept it to ourselves, too.”
“Why?”
“Because we govern ourselves. Nobody tells us what to do.”
I smiled at her. It wasn’t a pleasant smile. The cat leaped off the porch rail into Evdokia’s lap and growled, puffing its fur.
“I get it. You have power. Status. Respect. You know Roland is coming one way or the other. And Roland doesn’t tolerate any government except his own. He doesn’t have allies or friends. He has servants.”
Evdokia narrowed her eyes. “That’s right. I’ve earned my place in this world; with backbreaking work I’ve earned it. I won’t be bending my knee to anyone, not to a government, not to a judge, not to that cursed tyrant.”
I rose and leaned against the porch post. “I’m your best bet to keep Roland from taking over.”
“Yes.”
“Young, in need of being taught . . .”
Evdokia crossed her arms. “Yes.”
“Easily manipulated? Emotionally compromised? Are these my best qualities?”
Evdokia threw her hands up in exasperation.
“I would just like to know the score from the start. So I have no disappointments later.”
“Boginiya, pomogi mne s rebyonkom.”
“I doubt the Goddess will help you with this child. The last time I came across a goddess, she decided she didn’t want any.”
Evdokia shook her head. “You are what you are, Kate. You can’t run away from yourself. Do you think your lion didn’t consider who you were before he swept you off your feet? All those years, all those women, and you are the one he mated with. He was interested in more than your bed, I can tell you that.”
Ouch. “Leave Curran out of this.”
“The man isn’t a fool. And neither are you. Now is the time to build alliances and learn, because when your papa shows up here, it will be too late. I’m offering power. Knowledge. Things you will require. I can help you. You don’t even have to do anything in return.”
I would take her up on it. I would come back here, and sit, and drink tea, and eat cookies. I’d bring Julie with me and watch her play with the mutant cat-rabbit-duck thing. But not yet. Not now.
I took the picture of de Harven’s body from my pocket and passed it to her. Evdokia glanced at it, spat three times over her left shoulder, and knocked on the wooden rail.
“Chernobog’s volhv. Grigorii. That’s his work.”
“This picture was taken in the workshop of a Russian inventor. Name is Adam Kamen.”
“Ah! Adam Kamenov. Yes, I’ve heard about that. Smart boy, no common sense. He was building something vile. Had all the elder volhvs tied up in knots. Whatever it was, they told him not to build it. I gather he built it anyway.”
“He’s missing.”
“They have him, then.” Evdokia shrugged.
“The volhvs sacrificed someone to teleport him out.”
The old witch grimaced. “It doesn’t surprise me. They are men. They solve things directly. Grigorii needed power, so he took it. Give me a coven of thirteen witches and I could’ve teleported him too, and without blood. We’d channel the magic through us, pull it from nature through our bodies and focus it on the target. Grigorii’s way is to take everything from one. Our way is to take a little bit from each of us, so everyone can recover.”
“I need to find Adam.”
She raised her chin. “I’ll ask around.”
She wouldn’t do anything that put her in conflict with the volhvs. She would teach me, and she might throw me a crumb of information now and then, but she wouldn’t fight my battles for me. That was fine.
I started down the porch stairs. “Thank you for the tea.”
“Don’t mention it.”
The house crouched down and I stepped onto the path. The moment my feet touched the ground, the porch rose back up.
“Think about what I’ve said, Katenka,” Evdokia called from above. “Think carefully.”