by Brey Willows
Blech rose and jumped into Maggie’s lap. He pawed at the pages.
“Hey, watch it. You’re rumpling the pages.” She tapped his head, and he stuck a claw into her finger. “Butthead.”
He stopped at a page and settled back against her. He continued staring at the page, and she wondered when she’d stopped being weirded out that her cat could read.
“Blech seems to think we should head to the creepy woman. Great.” She scanned the little bit of information about Kuma Lisa, a trickster figure who could take on the shape of a fox. “It says here she’s not necessarily good or bad. Is that true?”
Kody stretched out, her feet resting against Maggie’s, and Maggie liked that she wanted to touch her in even a simple way. “Kind of. She’s typical of her kind, someone who doesn’t pay a lot of attention to morals or right and wrong. It can be hard to know if what she’s telling you is true or not, or why she’s helping you. If she is.”
Maggie frowned and poked at Blech. “I need to understand why you think she’s going to give us the information we need.”
He jumped down and shimmered into Shamus. “She’s older than Ju-Ju man, and while he’s a villain in the true sense, Kuma Lisa often changes side like the wind simply because she feels like it. We may get lucky and find that she’s ready to change sides.” He looked at Kody. “If we go to Ju-Ju man, I feel certain you’ll be working with him alone once we get him back here.”
Kody sighed. “In that case, I agree with Shamus. Let’s see if we can get what we need from Kuma Lisa first.”
Maggie closed the book of world fairy tales and set it aside. She used to use Wikipedia. Now she was looking for information on real people from fairy tales. That part was still a little surreal.
Brenda held up her phone. “Found her.”
Maggie leaned forward to look. “You googled her?”
“One of the beautiful things about this world is the internet. For all its flaws, it’s really a miracle.” Kody took Brenda’s phone and scrolled down. “She’s a movie producer, and she’s working for the Syfy network in the Comcast building.”
“She uses her real name? And no one finds that weird?” Maggie’s world had just become a little more surreal. At least the Big Bad Wolf had gone by Nick.
“She works for the Syfy channel. She’d fit right in.” Brenda yawned. “What’s the plan?”
Maggie turned to Kody. “Would she see you the way Nick saw you, if they told her you were there?”
Kody stared at the ceiling thoughtfully. “It’s hard to know with the trickster figures, but I think she would, if only out of curiosity. We can try it, and if she won’t see us, we’ll find another way.”
Maggie nudged Kody’s foot. “Then let’s go.” They grabbed their things, and when Maggie held up the backpack to Shamus, he shook his head.
“I’ll stay behind for this one. I’ve never gotten along with the foxes and wolves. Natural enemies and all that. I believe Kuma Lisa might eat me just to say she had.” He shimmered and Blech lay in his patch in the sun again.
“Lovely. This will be fun.” Maggie closed the door of the cottage behind her, and they made their way to the impressive, and huge, Comcast building. The reception area included a beautifully decorated ceiling reminiscent of Greek reliefs, and the reception desk itself was almost throne-like, and they had to look up to speak to the people at the desk. As she had before, Kody told the receptionist who she was and who she wanted to see. The receptionist gave her a polite, disinterested smile and picked up the phone. She spoke too quietly for them to hear.
“If you’d like to wait just there to the left, someone will be down to greet you in a moment.” The receptionist motioned, and they followed her direction.
There were no seats of any kind in this lobby, and it was clear people weren’t meant to wait around. Brenda winked and smiled at the passersby who gave her a second glance, and it occurred to Maggie that she’d never really given any thought to the fact that in this world, Brenda had a heap of discriminatory things to deal with as a little person. It didn’t seem to bother her, though, and Maggie wondered if it was because she wasn’t from this world at all.
An elevator opened and a stunning woman got out. She looked around, and when she saw Kody, her unusually green eyes lit up. She opened her arms, and her voice echoed in the cavernous space.
“Kody Wilk! What an enormous pleasure to see you again.” She came over and embraced Kody, giving her the standard kisses on both cheeks. She turned to Maggie, her head tilted and her eyes narrowed. “And this…Ah. This must be the woman I’ve heard so much about.” She looked her over. “Stunning creature. If you ever want a part in a movie, I could get you on screen.”
Kody cleared her throat slightly. “Sorry, Kuma, but we’re here on business. Is there somewhere we can talk?”
She linked her arm through Kody’s. “Oh, I know you’re here on business. Everyone from our world knows, handsome creature. And everyone is on pins and eggshells, just waiting to see what’s going to happen next. And it’s just Lisa here, if you don’t mind.”
Maggie didn’t like her. At all. She most definitely didn’t like the way Lisa was holding on to Kody’s arm possessively, nor the way she looked so graceful while wearing five-inch heels. She didn’t like the calculating way her eyes had narrowed as she’d assessed Maggie, and the compliment had felt forced.
They took the elevator to the sixty-fifth floor, which led to the Rainbow Room restaurant, a place Maggie had heard of but never planned on actually being able to go to. It was empty except for the staff getting it ready to open, and Lisa led them to a table near the window. When they sat down, Lisa motioned a waiter over and they ordered drinks.
“So, how can I help the most famous couple in our world?” She placed her hand over Kody’s. “I do hope you’re not here to bring me back.”
Maggie felt the rush of desire that flushed through Kody, and she reached across the table and plucked Lisa’s hand from Kody’s like it was dirty. “No games, please.”
Kody let out a breath and shook her head as though to clear it. Brenda giggled and Kody frowned at her.
Lisa pouted, but Maggie saw the razor-sharp awareness in her eyes.
“At some point, Kuma Lisa, you’ll be going back. But right now we’re more interested in information, and I’d rather you give it freely than have to come with us now and enjoy our particular type of hospitality.” Maggie really, really didn’t like her, and part of her hoped she’d get to use the hag stone to tie her into little knots.
Lisa’s grin was almost feral, and the fox in her was easy to see. “I like you, spinner. What information do you want?”
“I want to know who the boss is. We know he’s from the Russian sector, but we don’t know his identity.” Maggie kept her gaze on Lisa, who seemed determined to stare her down. When she didn’t blink, Lisa relented and laughed.
“Yes, I like you. You’re going to create all kinds of fun mayhem.” Her expression turned serious as she looked between them. “If I tell you, I’m sending you to your deaths. And while that would be interesting, I’m more interested in seeing what you can do while you’re alive.” She sipped her martini, even though it wasn’t yet eleven o’clock. “So tell me why I should send you to your deaths?”
Maggie didn’t like anything about her, and games like this made her want to twist something, like a nipple or a handful of hair. “Why don’t you let us worry how to deal with people who step out of line. We need a name.”
Kody’s eyebrows were up, and her small smile told Maggie that she could feel just how agitated she was. Kody turned to Lisa. “I think you’ll find it interesting that Maggie is probably the strongest spinner we’ve ever known. She’s ready, and I know there are a lot of people in our world who are ready to get behind her.”
Lisa’s eyes sparked with interest. “Is that so?” She drummed her fingers on the table, staring at Maggie all the while.
Just when Maggie was figuring out how she w
as going to paint the woman into a pretzel, Lisa sat forward.
“Koschei.” She sat back, her eyes narrowed. “Now you know.”
Maggie tried not to look as confused as she felt. Kody’s body was stiff, her jaw working in that way that meant she was stressed. “Anything else? Is he working with someone?”
Lisa shrugged. “You know he controls the Red Guard, and his power has deepened over the years through the spells and souls of the young people he’s devoured. He can kill with a wave of his pinky,” she demonstrated by waving her pinky finger, “and he left nothing but piles of dust when people opposed him in the beginning. Now he uses the powers from those carved here to strengthen him, and he’s got a vast storeroom of them waiting to be used.” She looked vaguely irritated. “You can’t beat him.”
Brenda leaned forward. “It’s really great that you’re giving him up, but can I ask why? And how you know it’s him? I mean, he’s kept his identity a secret for ages, but you just know?”
Lisa’s smile when she looked at Brenda made Maggie glad Shamus had stayed behind, and she understood what he meant about her eating him just because she could.
“My reasons are my own. But I’ve known Koschei for many centuries. We were lovers, once. Until his fear of death took over and he sent me away, fearful of what I might do to him.” She shrugged. “And I might have. Who knows? When the purge began, I knew right away who was behind it. He had an inferiority complex Freud would have adored, always wanting to be feared and adored in equal measure. I confronted him. He asked me to join with him, as we’d be unstoppable.” She looked at Maggie contemplatively, like someone would look at an abstract painting in a museum. “Perhaps we would have been. But I liked the notion of coming here, not playing despot with a man who was already afraid of me. You can’t enjoy life if you’re always afraid of death.”
Maggie wasn’t going to spend another second with this woman, and she’d be glad when the time came to take her back to the fairy world, with or without her cooperation. In fact, maybe they needed to take her now.
Like she knew what Maggie was thinking, Lisa held out her wrists as though for cuffs. “If you’d like to take me now, I’ll go quietly.”
Maggie looked at Kody, who shook her head.
“We’re going to leave you here for a while. Maybe when we’re done, you’ll get to come back and answer for the fact that you knew he was having people hunted down and murdered and you didn’t do anything about it.” Maggie leaned forward, going with her instinct, which she could still feel even over her rage. “Or maybe we’ll take everyone else, and leave you here in a world with no magic, where you have to work in a place that reminds you of home, painting pretty pictures of a world you know exists but can’t be part of.”
It hit home. Lisa flinched like she’d been struck but quickly covered it with an insincere smile. “As you see fit, spinner.”
She stood, an indication the meeting was over. They went silently to the elevator and down to the lobby. When they got out, Lisa stayed in the elevator. This time her look wasn’t nearly as welcoming. “Good luck, spinner. I’m very interested in seeing how this turns out.” She put her hand out to keep the door open. “Oh, and if you’re interested—the old cottage keeper was disposed of by one of the Red Guard when Koschei decided he needed the cottage at his disposal.” Her canine-like eyes flashed. “I do hope the current cottage keeper won’t face a similar fate.”
She moved back and the elevator door closed, and Maggie, Kody, and Brenda left the building. Outside, Brenda took a deep breath and exhaled noisily.
“Whew. That was intense. I didn’t want to say anything because I thought she might change me into a mouse or something. Or turn me into nothing.” Brenda wiped at her arms like she was wiping off a spider web.
Kody laughed. “I thought Maggie might actually rip her face off.”
Brenda started laughing too. “Right? Oh my God, Maggie. I’ve never seen that side of you. I love it!”
Kody looked around. “Come on. Let’s go get lunch. I’m starving, and I think Maggie needs a cold drink.” She winked and took Maggie’s hand. “Remind me never to look at another woman. I’d hate to be responsible for her death.”
Maggie finally laughed and let the tension roll from her shoulders. She’d have to get used to someone else feeling what she was, though she obviously hadn’t hidden it well anyway. “Lunch it is.”
The Bouchon Bakery was crowded as always, but they managed to find a few stools by the window. Once they were seated with their coffee and pastries, Maggie asked the question bothering her. “Why’d she tell us? She wasn’t under threat, and she wasn’t afraid. Why give us the information we want?”
Kody shook her head and spoke around a mouthful of cinnamon roll. “You never know why a trickster does what they do. Lisa’s been around a hell of a long time, and I think sometimes she does things just to see what will happen and not because she’s interested in any particular outcome.” She pointed a bit of bread at Maggie. “But I think you got her when you threatened her with not being able go home.”
Brenda said something that was garbled by the food in her mouth. She held up her hand and finished chewing. “Sorry. I totally agree. She looked like you punched her kitten when you said that.”
Maggie thought about that. “Does that mean that once the villains are here they can’t go home? I mean, not just because of the cottage, but because that guy whose name she said, he won’t let them?” She took a sip of coffee. “And who is he, by the way?”
“Koschei the Immortal, though he’s gone by a lot of different names over the centuries. He dies in most versions of his story, but he keeps getting resurrected, so to speak, because new versions of his story come out. Originally, he removed his soul so he couldn’t be killed. He hid it in a needle, which he hid inside an egg, which he hid in a duck, which he hid in a rabbit, then buried it in a crystal chest on an island pretty much impossible to find.”
Maggie stared at Kody. “You’re serious.”
Kody shrugged. “He’s really afraid of dying. It’s probably the most extreme case I’ve ever seen. Honestly, I never considered him a real threat. His fear of death made him suspicious and overly cautious, so although he was a monkey turd, his role was clear and he never stepped outside it. I wonder what made him brave enough to take things this far.”
Couples walked past the café. People pushing strollers that cost more than Maggie’s…anything. Business people with serious suits wearing serious expressions. They went about their lives, and not one of them had a clue an immortal fairy tale character was infiltrating New York and ruining the lives of an entire other world of beings. Maggie felt the weight of it, of knowledge she couldn’t share without ending up in a padded room. But then, the knowledge was special, so maybe it wasn’t meant to be shared widely. Yet another thing to ponder. For now, she had to figure out the next step.
“What sector is he in?” she asked.
“Slavic.” Kody drained the rest of her drink and stuffed the crumpled wrapper into it. “So the question is, what do we do next? Do we go back? Hunt him down in his own territory?”
They were all silent, and Maggie wondered what the other two were thinking. She concentrated, questioning that place inside her that never steered her wrong. But without a direction to give it, there was nothing but silence. Should they go back, face him on his own ground? Yes, but not quite. There was another option she was missing. “What happens when we take him down? What happens with all the creatures here? And the Red Guard? And the nasty humans working for him?”
Kody put her hand over Maggie’s, getting her to focus. “Babe, slow down. What’s your first instinct?”
Again, it was nice to be with someone who knew how she worked. “We have to go back, but we have to do something other than facing him, at least right away. But I’m not sure what it is.”
Brenda came back with a bag of pastries and a to-go cup. She held it up. “Whipped cream for Shamus.” She picked up
her purse. “I think we should go back to the cottage and include him. I think he’s feeling left out.”
Maggie groaned. “I didn’t even consider that possibility.”
Kody scoffed and picked up the bag. “I can promise you he’ll get over it. His kind can be a little oversensitive. But he’ll be fine.”
They got on the subway and headed back to the cottage. Maggie’s mind was a whirlwind of information. She turned to Kody, who looked as at ease holding on to the strap on the subway as she did driving the cart in their world. It was both sexy and reassuring. “How was he killed? In the original stories?”
“No one really knows. That’s a weird thing with his stories. It’s said that the needle that holds his soul has to be broken before he can be killed. But that’s never mentioned as having happened in the stories. He gets kicked in the head by a horse, or killed by the sword of someone whose wife he stole. But no one ever finds the needle.” Kody smacked herself in the forehead. “And that’s why he’s still around. Because no one has ever killed him for real. It means it’s easy to resurrect him in new stories because he’s still around, a morality figure who hasn’t gone away. He must get stronger and more determined not to die every time he comes back.”
Brenda shuddered. “I wouldn’t want to be killed again and again in my story, only to know I was going to have to come back and do it again, with never a different outcome.”
Maggie agreed, and it made her think of the Big Bad Wolf. If you never got a chance to change your story, who were you? Apparently, Koschei had decided he was more than a disposable villain. “So, we need to break the needle in order to take him out for good.” She recalled the witch’s information about the key. “And that’s why the key was left for me in my parents’ house. So I could find the object I need to defeat the ultimate villain.”
Kody’s laugh was full and loud, making other passengers on the subway glance her way. “Fabulous. Now we just have to give you a place to try it.”
