Baba just smiled sweetly and lifted one finger. Liam choked back a laugh.
“Your Majesty! Your Highness!” Maya bowed again at the queen and her consort, who stroked his pointed black beard and gazed back dispassionately. “Whatever this horrible witch has told you, you can’t believe her. She has been stealing children with the help of her Human lover, and bringing them here to sell them.” As usual, her musical voice was charming and persuasive, and she clearly expected it to have its usual result. “I was trying to get back here to warn you when she ambushed me. You have to believe me!”
The queen curled her perfect lips in a haughty sneer. “Save your breath. I am no foolish mortal to be taken in by your lies. Besides, this giantess has confirmed the Baba’s version of the tale, and admitted to conniving with you. No doubt others have done the same, despite my wish to believe otherwise.”
She rose and descended from the throne, walking down the polished arc of stairs to stand in front of Maya. The queen’s height and dignity made the other woman seem even more petite than usual.
“How dare you trifle with my kingdom, you selfish Rusalka?” The queen said, ice dripping from every word. “How dare you?”
Incredibly, Maya stared the queen in the eye, not backing down from her sovereign’s rage. “I am no mere Rusalka now,” she said. “I have amassed great power. I will fight you if I have to.”
The queen threw back her head and laughed; melodious peals of effervescent sound like bubbles in the sparkling air. “Idiot,” she said, almost fondly. “I am the queen. I can tap into the power of every being within the Otherworld. What you have accumulated is but a trickle in the floodwaters of my magic, and I can take it from you with a snap of my fingers.”
Maya opened her mouth again—to argue perhaps or to plead for mercy—but the queen just said, “Enough. I’m done with this.” As she’d promised, her long slim fingers snapped once, twice, three times, and a golden mist lifted from Maya and floated serenely into the stately monarch standing in front of her.
For a moment, Maya remained shrouded in a luminous fog, but when it lifted, what remained bore little resemblance to the beautiful blonde who’d been the bane of Baba’s recent existence. In her place, there was only a pale, scrawny water creature with straggly seaweed-colored hair and a fierce expression accented by pointy teeth in a too-long jaw.
Liam took an involuntary step back. “Holy crap,” he said in a low voice. “Is that what she really looks like?” Petey hid his face against Liam’s leg.
Baba just smiled. “Yes indeed. Not so pretty now, is she?” The Rusalka hissed at her, dripping murky water onto the floor. “It takes energy to maintain a glamour as sophisticated as the one she wore, and she no longer has that power, thanks to the queen.”
The queen drifted over to stand in front of Baba and Liam, her movements so graceful she seemed not to touch the ground.
“It is I who should thank you, Baba Yaga,” the queen said regally. “I, my beloved consort, and all who live in this magical land. You have done Us a great service on this day, and We are truly grateful.” The royal We was quite clear in her tone.
“Is there any gift We might give you in return? Jewels, perhaps, or a chest of gold?” She glanced around the throne room in the manner of one who had mislaid her car keys. “I do believe We had one of those around here somewhere.” Courtiers started looking around, one going so far as to peek behind the king’s throne.
Baba inclined her head. “I have no need for jewels nor gold, Majesty, although I appreciate the generous offer. In truth, there is but one favor I require in return for finding the door and the troublesome creature who abused it.”
“Indeed? And what would that be, pray tell?” The queen’s haughty demeanor made it clear that Baba was walking a fine line between asking for too much, and not asking for enough.
It didn’t matter, though; there was only one thing Baba needed, and she didn’t intend to leave until she had it.
“The children,” Baba said, and Liam straightened up beside her, Petey still gripping his leg with both tiny arms. “I ask you to help me reclaim the other children Maya stole, so I might return them to their sorrowing parents, in the world where they belong.”
“Indeed, the children,” the queen said. She mounted the steps to her throne and sat, leaning in close to confer with her strikingly attractive consort. For all his glory, the king was not quite as reserved as his mate, and his warm emerald eyes held just a hint of a twinkle as he glanced down at Baba and her motley group.