She braced herself for another moon to plummet from the sky, but the queen simply shook her exquisite head in denial. “I refuse to believe such slander. You must be mistaken. Perhaps this woman is a talented witch who has somehow stumbled on the secrets of the gateways between our worlds.” The queen narrowed her eyes. “Perhaps it is even a Baba gone wrong. Have you talked to any of your sisters lately?”
Baba gritted her teeth but answered politely. “I have, Your Majesty. The other two American Babas have their hands full with their own issues, far away from the area in which I am staying. And I fail to see how a witch, no matter how mighty, could command scores of Otherworld creatures.”
The queen flipped open her fan, as if to waft away the unwelcome argument, and rose with inhuman grace to face those who had gathered to listen avidly to this fascinating conversation.
“We will settle this right now,” she said, raising her voice without effort to be heard by all. She addressed her courtiers using her most regal attitude. Around the table, knights snapped to attention instinctively, and the ladies sat up straighter. Baba thought she heard the king let out the tiniest of sighs.
“It has been suggested that some among you might knowingly be assisting a woman, possibly a Rusalka, who is stealing Human children and bringing them to our lands through an illicit and unauthorized doorway,” the queen said, looking out over her subjects with glittering amethyst eyes. Her gaze seemed to focus on each one in turn, like a laser scalpel, dissecting their thoughts and uncovering any hidden secrets.
“Should such a thing be true, it would be a violation of our strictest laws, and a direct threat to the well-being of our land,” she went on. “If, in fact, any here are involved in such a travesty, speak up now, or be found out later and punished most severely for your crimes against me and this court. I, your queen, so command you.”
There was utter and complete silence, although people could be seen subtly checking out those standing nearby, waiting, perhaps, for someone to confess. No one did. In fact, most of the company wore their most haughty, forbidding expressions, as if to imply that even the suggestion was ridiculous. But Baba thought she caught a few guilty looks; a twitch here, a tightened lip there, and made a mental note of them for future reference. Of course, Otherworld faces were different enough from human ones; it was possible she was simply imagining it. But she didn’t think so.
“There, you see?” said the queen, as if that settled things. Which in theory, it should have, since it was a very bad idea to lie to the queen. Very Bad.
“No one here is involved.” She stared at Baba, twirling her fan between long, slim fingers adorned with jewels that twinkled like the stars this world lacked. “That does not, of course, negate the possibility that this person is bringing children here and hiding them, somehow. Nor does it solve the problem of this door, if in fact it does exist.”
The king stroked his neatly pointed beard, as dark as the queen’s hair was pale. “There have been a number of odd occurrences lately,” he pointed out. “Parts of the land shifting in and out of existence unexpectedly, time fluctuating even more erratically than usual.” Concern wrote unaccustomed lines on his handsome face. “Overuse of a newly created door could cause such imbalances, could it not, my dear?”
The queen’s face was as calm as ever, but the delicate ivory fan snapped into pieces between her palms. “Indeed it could, my love, indeed it could. And if true, the chaos will only become worse as the miscreant continues to use it.” She dropped the remains of the fan on the ground, dusting her hands as if to rid herself of the problem at the same time.
“Baba Yaga,” she said decisively.
Baba’s stomach felt like it was attempting to join the broken beige shards lying at her feet. “Majesty?”
The queen drew herself up to her full height and spoke in her most imperial and dulcet tone, like exotic flowers shot out of a cannon at full force. “Baba Yaga, I hereby command you to find this woman Maya and discover, by whatever means necessary, the location of the door she is using, so We might close it before it further harms this world. You will also discover the location of any children she has illegally transported to the Otherworld, should this in fact be the case.” Her words rang out for all to hear and those surrounding the table nodded in approval and began to wander off, satisfied that the show was over.
In a quieter but no less intimidating voice, she added flatly, “I am depending on you, Baba. Bring me this woman. Find the door. Rescue these children. Or else.” The queen looked meaningfully in the direction of the six bewildered women currently shivering under borrowed cloaks. “And don’t take too long about it. You do not want to try my patience.”
FIFTEEN