Page 4 of Cry of the Firebird
"I have my reasons. The main one being if this world is flooded with the monsters from all your stories, it will be a massacre," Tuoni replied, his voice ice cold. "There are other powerful magic users in this world and Skazki who will seek to take control of the gates from you so they can have unlimited access between here and there. Stealing your magic and killing the last of your bloodline will just be a bonus."
Anya blew out a frustrated breath. "Say I believe you… How am I meant to learn how to close—or even find—this magical gate before I get murdered?"
"Don't be sarcastic to me, girl. You know I speak the truth, even if you were made to forget it," Tuoni replied. "I suggest you start by looking through some of Eikki's books. Most shamans don't believe in writing things down, but I know he did. You could learn a lot if you read them and kept your mind open." He gave her a chilling smile. "Now, I really must be going. I hope to see you again soon."
"Sounds ominous."
"At leasttryto stay alive and make it a challenge for me," he said with a sigh and got to his feet.
"I would like to be let go now," she added, and the weight holding her limbs down lifted.
"One last thing. Eikki asked me to give you this before he died." Tuoni reached into his pocket and pulled out a smooth black and red stone.
Anya didn't want a damn thing from him. "What is it?"
"It has been in your family for a long, long time. All you need to know is that it's dangerous, and it's your destiny." Tuoni took her hand and slapped the stone into her palm, holding on tightly. "I have a parting gift for you. You have been made to forget a lot in your life, Anya. It's time you woke up."
Anya stopped breathing as his handsome face shivered and slipped away. Black eyes burned in a face with a horrifying beauty swathed in shadows. A bolt of static snapped between their palms, and she cried out as pain tore through her insides. Salt and ash and blood in her mouth, the sound of wings beat about her ears. Tuoni held on until the pain eased and she was gagging and gasping for breath. His face had changed back to normal, and he smiled down at her.
"Take my advice and stay sober for the next few days. Things are going to get strange.Hyvää päivää, shamanitsa," he growled and then vanished.
"Where did he go?" Anya shouted, scrambling out of the booth.
Liisi rolled her eyes. "Are you drunk again? You're the only one in here, idiot girl."
Horror clawed at her. Anya threw money down on the table, clutched the black and red stone to her chest, and ran.
Anya's lungs burned as the village rushed past her in a haze of timber and brick houses, stores, and thetsasouna. The priest called out to her to watch where she was running. The kids on the corner playing games on their phones pointed and laughed, but she didn't stop until she was over the boundary fence and on her own land again.
Anya bent over her knees and spat out the ash and blood taste lingering in her mouth. What did Tuoni mean, she had beenmadeto forget things? How was that possible? She shut her eyes and breathed in the earthy scent of pine, birch, and cold rot that rose from the forest looming beside her.
The back of Anya's neck burned, and she spun. There was nothing there, as always. Certainly no terrifying death god trying to tell her about magic gates and monsters. She rubbed the warm stone in her hand, using the repetitive action to ground herself.
Tuoni had wanted her to know without a doubt that magic was real, and what he said was the truth. He said he hadn't wanted to frighten her, but the terror of his actual face wasn't something that would leave her soon.
Icy rain crept under the collar of Anya's black jacket, and she shook herself. She needed to get warm and think this through properly.
Seethe man in the forest. He is wearing a black trench coat to keep the rain and mist at bay. Some days he curses Eikki and the promise he made to watch over his family. Other days, he wonders what it would be like to step into the light and let Anya see him again. It's not his duty to talk to Anya, only to protect her.
Sharp pain scratches at the pit of his stomach and back of his throat. He needs to feed, but is reluctant to leave her. Not when she is so alone.
His head snaps to attention as he spots her running as fast as she can, clearing the village buildings, stumbling over the boundary fence, and cutting across a field. He stays hidden in the tree line, seeing nothing chasing her to cause such fear. She passes through the farm's wards.
He stares at the sky. It will be a few hours before nightfall. Then, he would hunt down whatever made her so afraid and tear it to pieces.
CHAPTER THREE
Anya made for her small house at the bottom of the field, her grip on the stone tightening. She tried to ignore the lingering pain from the static of Tuoni's touch.
Breathe and think about the three things that Tuoni said.First, Eikki was a shaman and a gatekeeper. As Anya looked back, there were signs he was into the old ways. He would whisper rhymes to the trees, plant during particular phases of the moon, write and draw strange things in journals, and whistle songs to birds. When she was little, he would sing to her all the old tales of heroes and magic. When Anya was older, she had tried to tell him they hadn't been tales for children.
Eikki had only said, "They are tales for you, though. They will teach you about life." Anya's lips lifted in the smallest of smiles. She had forgotten about that.
Second, if Tuoni was right, and she only had months left before the gates in the forest opened and people tried to murder her, she would have to find someone to buy the farm or rent it if she was going to have time to learn anything. In the past months, running the farm by herself had taken its toll; she was exhausted, frustrated, and had no time to grieve for Eikki, let alone learn magic. A bitter laugh escaped her lips.
Learn magic. Sure. Do you actually think Tuoni told you the truth?The bloody ash taste grew stronger in her mouth as a lingering reminder that she had seen real magic that morning. There was no way she could dismiss or deny it. Not like she had in Moscow. Anya fought the urge to dry heave again.
In the short months she had lived there, Anya had been forced to see doctors about her nightmares. Even her boyfriend had suggested she get medicated the night they broke up. They had been out drinking, and she thought she had seen aleshyin the Park Zaryad'ye, and she couldn't stop screaming. Her boyfriend, sick of the nightmares and the stories, had left her soon after.