***
“That went surprisingly well,” Liam said as they walked back toward the doorway between the worlds. Ahead of them, Chudo-Yudo pretended to chase little Babs, who in turn pretended to threaten him with her miniature sword.
Barbara heard Liam’s barely suppressed sigh and linked her arm through his. “Don’t worry,” she said. “Chudo-Yudo may look like a dog, but he’s really a dragon under all that fur. She can’t hurt him. Besides, she’s very careful.”
Liam gave her a sideways grin, flashing those dimples she loved so much. “To be honest,” he said ruefully, “since honesty seems to be the theme of the day; I kind of wish I had a sword too.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “What? Since when?”
“Remember that movie I made you watch? The Princess Bride?”
She chuckled. “I remember I didn’t want to watch it because I’d never seen a movie before and I didn’t want to start with one that had some silly princess in it. Then it turned out that there were fire swamps and Rodents of Unusual Size, and pirates, and sword fighting. I love that movie.”
“Me too,” Liam said. “I’ve secretly wanted to learn how to use a sword since the first time I saw it.”
“Well why didn’t you say so?” she said, only a little exasperated. “I’d be happy to teach you. You and Babs can take lessons together.”
He looked at the ground, a sheepish expression on his face. “I didn’t want to just learn the basics. And I figured you’d think it was silly if I told you I wanted to be able to fight like the Man in Black. I know that’s impossible.”
She leaned in and kissed his cheek, loving him so much it made her feel like she’d swallowed the full moon in all its radiant glory.
“It’s only a little impossible, and I’m a Baba Yaga; you know that’s my specialty. Besides, you’ll have plenty of time to practice now. Lots and lots of time.”
And they walked down the hill to join Babs and their faithful dragon-dog and get on with the rest of their lives. Happily ever after—or at least, together, which was almost the same thing.
***
“You are looking very pleased with yourself, my dear,” the King said to the Queen after their visitors had taken their leave.
“Am I?” she asked, leaning back in her chair and taking a sip from a golden goblet. “Perhaps I am planning something particularly entertaining for when we retire to our private chambers this evening.”
The King raised his glass to her. “I look forward to discovering exactly what that is. But I suspect that smile you are trying to hide arises from some other source entirely. Not that I mind.”
He gazed at her fondly. “You know, you may fool the Baba Yaga and her new husband, and you may fool the members of our court, but you cannot fool me, who loves you well and knows you best. You intended for her to succeed all along, is that not so?”
Long eyelashes fluttered down to hide amethyst eyes, but a tiny smile lingered on the Queen’s perfect lips. “I shall never admit to such a thing,” she said, placing one hand over his. “But even I know that true love is an extraordinary and wondrous miracle, hard to find and difficult to hold on to. Once you have achieved that impossible task, surely all the rest are merely very difficult.”
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Available February 2016
Chapter One
The early morning fog blanketed the area surrounding the fire tower, stippling the windows with condensation and cloaking the ground below in mystery. Even the twittering of the birds was muffled, as if the world itself had fallen away behind the mist.
To Sam Corbett, perched on a stool in the tower with his coffee mug gripped between tense fingers, the fog looked like smoke and brought back nightmares.
Eventually, he set down the cooling coffee and turned his back to the windows, doing push-ups and crunches and working with the free weights until he had an excuse for the sweat on his brow and the tremors in his hands, and the sun had burned away the fog and welcomed in a bright new day.