Wickedly Ever After: A Baba Yaga Novella

“Actually,” Liam said, startling her, “there is. And I think I know where to find one.”


“What?” Beka and Barbara said together. Marcus, his muscular arm draped over Beka’s shoulder, just looked intrigued.

“I have an old roommate from college who went on to work in the biotech industry,” Liam explained.

“You roomed with a science nerd?” Marcus said. “That must have been an interesting combination.”

“Yeah, I was studying criminal justice and he was doing a master’s in biology with a specialty in biotech at Adelphi University. I think he was the youngest guy to ever complete a master’s there, he was that smart—but not terribly socially adept, as you might imagine. They used to call us the Brain and the Brawn.”

“Gee,” Barbara said, “let me guess which one you were.”

Liam grinned. “I kept him from getting picked on by the frat guys and he kept me from flunking my bio class. Phil was a great guy, despite his unfortunate tendency to quote Star Trek on double dates. We kept in touch, so I know he’s working for a biotech company that’s involved with bringing back extinct animals.”

Barbara perked up. “Wait, extinct animals, as in ‘dead species’?”

“The very same,” Liam said. “I didn’t want to say anything back home until I did a little research and talked to Phil, but the company he works for, Phoenix Technologies, is located in Montana. I texted him while you guys were on the beach and he said he might be able to help us. He’s expecting us as soon as we can get there.”

“That’s great,” Beka said. “You’ll have to keep in touch and tell me if it pans out.” She grinned at Barbara. “Isn’t Bella fighting wildfires in Montana right now? Maybe you can stop by and see her while you’re there. You know, after you fulfill your second impossible task.”

“Well, let’s not get our hopes up too high,” Liam said. “Phil said that all the stuff they’re working on is very cutting-edge and kept securely locked away. I doubt his bosses are going to just loan us a sample of their newest project.”

“Of course, it probably doesn’t help that you can’t explain why on earth you’d need to borrow a once-extinct critter,” Marcus suggested. “It’s not exactly something a small-county sheriff usually needs.”

“No kidding,” Liam said. “I basically stalled and told him I’d give him more details when we got there. So we have tonight to think of something clever enough to fool the smartest guy I know.”

“Oh good,” Barbara said. “No pressure then. Excellent.”

***

“This is weird,” Liam said to Barbara, watching the landscape change from trees to mountains and back again as they sat in the front seat of the silver truck that both was and wasn’t a part of the Airstream. “Is it always like this?” He looked dubiously at the speedometer, which indicated they were going more than two thousand miles per hour, even though the view out the windshield seemed normal except for its extreme changeability.

Barbara shrugged, turning around to hand an apple back to Babs, who was strapped into a car seat that Barbara swore was unnecessary (since the Airstream would never let anything happen to them) and which Liam insisted upon anyway.

“Not exactly,” she said. “But I told it we were in a hurry, so I’m not surprised.” One corner of her mouth turned up as she watched Liam watch the steering wheel steer itself. “You should have seen it when it was a hut on chicken legs. Sometimes when I was a kid I’d go to sleep in Russia and wake up in Poland.” She thought about that statement for a moment. “Of course, the border moved around a lot, so occasionally that was politics, not magic.”

“Gah,” Liam said succinctly.

“I know, I hate politics too,” Barbara agreed.

“This is the strangest family vacation ever,” Liam said.

Barbara handed him an apple and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.

“Maybe,” she said. “I wouldn’t know, since it is the first one I’ve ever taken, our honeymoon aside. But I’m kind of enjoying it so far.”

“Me too,” Babs said from the backseat, crunching contently.

Liam just looked at them both and shook his head. “It’s no Disneyland,” he said. “But the company is good.”

***

They met up with Liam’s friend Phil in the employee parking lot at Phoenix Technologies, sliding the Airstream in next to a slightly battered Toyota Corolla with a sticker on the back window that read BEAM ME UP, SCOTTY. THERE’S NO INTELLIGENT LIFE DOWN HERE.

Deborah Blake's books