“Still,” he said. “It will save a lot of time if you just show her, don’t you think?”
Bethany was starting to get mad. She opened her mouth to tell them all off when Beka’s outline began to waver oddly. Bethany blinked rapidly, wondering if the sun really was starting to get to her. When she opened her eyes again, Beka was gone, and an old woman stood in her place, her hair gray and wild, her nose long and crooked, her back bent. Only the laughing blue eyes remained the same, gazing back at her with benign good humor.
“What the everlasting hell?” Bethany gasped.
The old woman wavered again, as if surrounded by fog, and then she was young and blonde again, albeit with a more serious expression than before.
“Sorry,” Beka said. “I know it is kind of startling the first time you see it, but we could have talked forever and you would never have believed us.”
Bethany turned to her father. “Did you see that?”
“Told you so,” he said smugly. “I knew I should have brought you home to the Old Country more often, but there was never enough money, and then your mom got sick. There are tales of the Baba Yagas in Scotland, although they’re not as common as some other stories. Never thought I’d get to see one in person, though.”
Bethany’s head was spinning. “But…I thought the Baba Yaga was a Russian fairy tale.” She was still trying to grasp that it wasn’t a fairy tale at all. Or that fairy tales were real. She wasn’t sure which one was worse. Or better. Argh, she was so confused!
“Oh, it is,” Beka said. “But we’re everywhere, really. We just take other names in some countries. There’s a Baba Yaga who is in charge of all of the British Isles, including England, Ireland, and Scotland, and three for the Unites States, of which I am one. The youngest,” she added wryly. “You should see Barbara’s crone. It’s way more convincing than mine.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Bethany said in a faint tone. “I thought yours was plenty realistic.” She gazed at Alexei. “Are you a Baba Yaga too?” If so, his disguise was insanely good. And she was about to be really depressed. Leave it to her to develop a crush on a witch masquerading as an incredibly attractive man.
He guffawed, a low deep sound that bounced out over the waves. “Goddess, no. Can you imagine me traveling around the country righting the balance of nature and helping worthy seekers?”
Beka rolled her eyes.
“I know!” Calum said, his face alight. “In the stories my grandmother told me, the Baba Yagas had three companions called The Riders, who helped them with their tasks. Especially when they needed a strong arm or someone to have their backs in a fight. That makes perfect sense. You’re a Rider, aren’t you?”
Alexei’s smile slid away like the sun going behind a cloud and he regained that distant, shuttered look he’d worn when he’d first walked into the bar. Even the normally cheerful Beka got quiet, a strangely haunted expression flitting across her face almost too fast to see.
“Not anymore,” Alexei said. “I was once, but not these days, no.”
“Then what are you now?” Calum asked, for a change sounding as puzzled as Bethany felt.
“Nothing,” Alexei muttered, at the same time Beka said, “My friend.”
Bethany swung her head from one to the other, her heart hurting at the aura of pain emanating from Alexei. “You’re still helping her, though,” she said quietly. “What does it matter what you call it?”
Alexei just grunted. “I’m not helping much standing here talking to you when I’m supposed to be talking to these sharks, am I?” He gestured at the gray shapes still circling the boat. “So now that we’ve gotten the whole ‘magic is real, not everyone is who they seem’ conversation out of the way, maybe I can get down to work?”
He turned his back on her and leaned over the side. “Yo, sharks! What can you tell me about a boat that got wrecked near here a few days ago?”
Beka gave her a sympathetic look, patting her on the shoulder as she went to stand next to Alexei.
Calum, on the other hand, pulled out a stub of cigar he wasn’t allowed to smoke anymore and stuck it in the corner of his mouth to get even more noxious than it was already.
“How about that, girl? We’ve got a real life Baba Yaga on our boat. And the guy who has been taking me to the bathroom can talk to dogs and sharks and who knows what else. How about that.”
Bethany’s knees suddenly felt like they were made out of rubber. How about that indeed.
Chapter 13
Alexei had a moment’s temptation as he leaned over the side of the boat. He could lean just a little further and the sharks would probably be able to tear him to bits before Beka could stop them. Of course, that wouldn’t be fair to the sharks, since not only would Beka blast them to kingdom come for something that wasn’t their fault, but then she wouldn’t get the answers she needed. Still, getting gnawed to death by sharks might be preferable to seeing that stunned, appalled look in Bethany’s eyes again.
Of course, this wasn’t the first time a Human had figured out their secrets, or had to be told the truth for some reason. It was just the first time he’d ever cared about the response.
He growled under his breath at nothing in particular, which the shark below him apparently took as some kind of greeting.
“What? What you want?” it asked, jaws gaping open. “Who talks to sharks?”
Alexei repeated what it said for the benefit of Beka and their unplanned audience.
“Ah,” Beka said. “I’ve talked to sharks back home a few times, although I try to avoid it if I can, for obvious reasons. They’re not nearly as smart as dolphins, so you will want to keep your side of the conversation as simple as possible.”
“Ought to be easy for him,” Calum said with a snort. “Most mornings he only talks to me in grunts anyway.”
“Ha,” Alexei said, without taking his eyes off the shark. “Not everyone is a morning person. It’s not like you’re Mister Cheerful first thing in the day.” He cleared his throat. “My name is Alexei. I am a friend of the Baba Yaga.”
The shark swam in a circle, its powerful tail bringing it back around to where it started with seeming effortlessness. The whole time they talked, it never stopped moving.
“Baba Yaga here?”
Beka moved closer to the edge and bowed slightly. “I am the Baba Yaga,” she said. “Thank you for your help.”
Alexei translated for the shark, whose name, apparently, was White with Big Teeth. Alexei wondered if all his friends had the same name, or if there was one called Pale Gray with Big Teeth. He decided not to ask.
“What Baba Yaga need?” White asked.
“We are looking for the sharks who saw a ship like this one get destroyed recently.” Alexei also had no idea if sharks had any idea of time. “Near here. Lots of pieces. Three Humans died.”
The shark opened its mouth wide, showing multiple rows of very sharp teeth. Alexei had the uncomfortable feeling this was its equivalent of a smile.