Page 3 of Cry of the Firebird

Much good it did me, seeing how I've gone nowhere.

"What happened to that old man was a tragedy. Attacked by wolves in the middle of summer. It's unnatural?—"

"Sorry to interrupt, but Anya and I have much to discuss before I leave today," Tuoni replied, cutting her gossip off.

"Of course! It's so nice to see a new face, especially a handsome one."

Anya rolled her eyes. Liisi was a liar because no one gave a shit about Eikki except her. Liisi just wanted someone new to flirt with.

"Let me know if you need anything else," Liisi said, touching Tuoni's shoulder before bustling away.

Anya sipped her coffee. "You said legacy. What do you mean by that?"

"I'm talking about your responsibility to be a gatekeeper and shaman, like Eikki was."

Anya coughed as the coffee went up her nose. "You think he was a shaman? At most, he was ajoikingenthusiast when the Sami performers came through, but?—"

"I am many things, Anya, but I'm not a liar," Tuoni snapped, his eyes flashing angrily. "There was a lot Eikki kept hidden from you, his magic included. He wanted to protect you and make the world believe you were as devoid of magic as your father was."

"Enough! I don't know who you are or who put you up to coming here to piss me off, but don't you dare speak about my grandfather like he was crazy and never, ever talk about my father," Anya snapped.

She had endured enough teasing about Eikki over the years. The village loved gossiping about him until something terrible happened, and he was the first person they called.

Cold radiated from Tuoni as his lips lifted in a sneer. "Do you think I'm going to obey a mortal like you? I'm here to help you, so shut your mouth and listen."

"No, thanks. I'm done with your bullshit," Anya replied and tried to get up. Tuoni made a slight gesture, and her body froze.

Blood and fury roared in her ears. "What the fuck did you do to me? Let me go."

"I don't want to frighten you, girl, but I need you to sit still and listen." Anya opened her mouth to tell him where to go when her jaw shut tight.Fuck.

"Much better. As I was saying, Eikki was a shaman and a gatekeeper. There are only a few places in the human world that touch an Otherworld, and your farm borders are one of the strongest in Russia. Like your ancestors before him, Eikki protected this gate into Skazki his entire life."

The forest at night is their domain.Eikki's warning words rushed back to Anya. He had said that the night her parents died, trying to convince them not to leave.How did I forget that?

Anya's jaw loosened. She said, "What do you mean by a gateway to Skazki?"

In the fairytales, Skazki was the name of the land of heroes and myth, and Mir was the human world.

Tuoni laced his fingers together in front of her. "It's a place where two worlds touch and weave together. Sometimes, people and creatures with magic can cross through. Your family has always been gatekeepers, and because of that, Eikki had enemies. Unless you have a lot of power, you need a gatekeeper to world walk, and people like Eikki would be petitioned. He was particular about who he let through. The night your parents died? That was a disgruntled petitioner lashing out because they wanted to punish Eikki."

They were murdered?Anya shuddered against the invisible bonds holding her as she remembered the shadows surrounding the car, blacking out the windscreen as they all screamed. Then, the deafening silence when they hit the ditch.

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked, swallowing the emotion in her throat.

"Because Eikki can't protect you anymore. You're lucky that word spreads so slowly between the worlds because when thecreatures and magic users in Skazki find out he's dead, they are all going to break in. You need to learn to become a gatekeeper to keep this world safe. You have a great power hidden inside of you that needs to be unlocked because if you don't keep the gates closed, anyone and anything will get in. Like the skin-changers that killed him, for example." Tuoni studied her curiously. "You saw them that day, didn't you?"

Anya had thought she had imagined seeing the skinny, humanoid forms hidden under the wolf furs. By the time she had reached where they were attacking Eikki, they had vanished into the forest. He had been left to bleed out from where they had ripped his stomach and chest open.

Anya couldn't hide the tremor in her voice. "If Eikki was guarding this gate, how did they get in to kill him?"

"I can't be certain, but my guess is that one of his enemies from Skazki helped the skin-changers. I know he had premonitions of his death coming, and maybe they did too. The last time I saw Eikki, he was determined to cast a ward that would shield you for the rest of your life. He was still trying to ensure you were protected after his cancer killed him," Tuoni said, his tone gentling ever so slightly. "He couldn't hide you forever. He couldn't stop the supernatural war that is coming, and neither can you. Now that he isn't here to renew the gate's strength, they will weaken and fray. You have little time before they are ripped apart and probably you are with them."

"Why me?" Anya was struggling to believe any of what he was saying, and if it wasn't for the fact she still couldn't move by whatever power was binding her, she wouldn't believe him at all.

"Because you have untrained magic, and there are powers in this world who will want it once it manifests again. You probably have six months at the most. Gate protection spells are usually renewed twice a year at the summer and winter solstice to strengthen them."

"Why do you even care enough to tell me any of this?" Anya asked.