Spinning Tales

by Brey Willows

  “Like most things I do.” Brenda winked, and the pan sizzled as she made another. “What’s the plan, Maggie?”

  Maggie pushed the newspaper in front of Kody and tapped on the ad. “I think we need to move fast. We’ll leave here after breakfast and head into the Slavic sector. I want to go in quietly and see how close we can get to him. Then you and I will have a discussion with him and do what needs to be done.”

  Kody nodded, watching Maggie as she ate.

  Maggie took a deep breath. “And then I want to find a way to make an announcement. Like, a multi-sector announcement, that there’s a spinner and a shepherd back in the fairy tale world, and the laws are changing. That Koschei is no longer in power, and anyone still following his orders will have their stories cut without question.”

  Kody’s eyebrows went up, and Brenda dropped her spatula.

  Shamus stared at her before nodding slowly. “A spinner indeed.”

  “You know what you’re saying? And that you have to follow through on that kind of thing?” Kody asked, looking down at her eggs.

  “I know,” Maggie said quietly. “I’ve been thinking nonstop, and this is the only way. Many of the people doing Koschei’s bidding aren’t main characters, right? They’re outside their stories. So that means they’re not essential to the structure of the world.” She took another deep breath. “That means they can’t be retrained into their stories and that they don’t owe allegiance to anyone. If they’re truly evil, if they’re willing to hurt people with or without a leader, then they have to go. I have to protect everyone I can.”

  Maggie let them think about what she was saying. She knew what it meant, but she also knew she was right. It didn’t answer all the questions, but it was a big start.

  Kody finished her breakfast, wiped her mouth with her napkin, and set it aside. When she looked up at Maggie, there was nothing but determination and respect in her eyes. “I’ll follow you to the end, tale spinner.”

  * * *

  The back door opened onto the road leading into the Slavic sector, much like it had opened onto the road for the Celtic sector. Maggie had thought of Koschei’s place, but mentally she’d kept it at a distance, so they didn’t drop in right at his front gate. This time, it was an altogether different landscape as they walked toward their destination. Tall pines towered over dry scrub, and Maggie caught glimpses of water through the trees. “What body of water is that?”

  Brenda closed her eyes, and her fingers drew an imaginary map in the air. “If I had to place it to a similar location in our world, I’d say it’s the Gulf of Finland, and we’d be in somewhere akin to St. Petersburg in Russia.”

  Maggie took out the key and concentrated. It wouldn’t lead her to a person, but it would lead her to things. The thing she wanted was Koschei’s house. The key warmed in her hand, so they were going the right direction. Blech walked beside Kody, and he occasionally darted into the tall grass or disappeared into the trees, only to return again looking pleased with himself. Maggie wasn’t about to ask what he was doing. She had a feeling it was a cat thing that would gross her out, so better not to know.

  Brenda was regaling them with the time she’d spent getting to know some of the demon clans in the area. “There are so many. A lot like our Sidhe, there are tons of them. But really, they’re okay. A little quick to bite each other’s heads off if they have an argument, but that’s just who they are. One of them, Vila, was incredible. She was born from the dew of flowers.”

  Maggie tuned her out and focused on the key. It was growing hot, and she turned toward the water. They crested a hill and saw what they were looking for.

  The bright mustard building was incredibly long, three stories high, and made to look even higher since it sat on a tall network of stone arches. Golden statues adorned the top, and black marble stairs led to the front. Fountains shot into the air, and if it weren’t for the fact that the water was crimson, it would have been pretty.

  “Well, that’s not imposing.” Maggie sighed.

  “You didn’t think he’d live in a hut, did you?” Kody wrapped her arm around Maggie’s shoulders. “I say we go through the tunnels.”

  “Because there are always tunnels in a place like this, right?” Maggie nodded. “Lead the way.” She tucked the key back into her pouch and put it safely in her backpack. She’d pushed the paintbrush into her front pants pocket, just in case she needed to get to it quickly. She was glad the road here had been far shorter than the one they’d taken through the Celtic sector. If demons were a big thing in the Slavic sector, she wouldn’t mind not meeting any on the road.

  Kody moved alongside the building, staying in the shadows, and the others followed. She tugged on a stone grate here and a metal gate there. None budged, until she got to a rundown section of the far corner, where a gate slowly ground open. Kody went first, then Maggie. Maggie considered stopping to pull the gate shut but thought better of it. The easier it was to get back out, the better, and it was unlikely anyone was guarding this empty section of the palace. Brenda stopped her when she tugged on her shirt. “Shamus and I are going to stay behind. We can’t help you once you’re in there, but we can be sure you’ve got a way out.”

  Maggie squeezed Brenda’s shoulder. “Be careful.” She turned away and felt their absence, like she had a bit of spider web that linked them, but it was too faint to see.

  “Maggie,” Kody whispered. “Koschei always wears a red robe. And a pointed hat. And he’s got a beard. Can you see if the key will help you find those things in combination?”

  Maggie pulled it from the backpack and concentrated. It began to glow, lighting the slick black walls of the damp tunnel. She and Kody both had to bend in order to fit, and Maggie hoped they wouldn’t be in it long. She took the lead, the key gripped firmly in her palm, and she followed the glow and warmth. The tunnel ended behind a thick, heavy drape. They stopped and listened. Maggie couldn’t hear anything and looked at Kody.

  Kody moved around her and got down on her knees. She bent low and twitched the very bottom of the curtain so she could see into the room. After a moment she stood and pulled it aside for them to enter.

  The room was opulent and stifling. Thick dust covered much of the furniture, and the windows were coated in years of neglect.

  “An empty part of the palace,” Maggie murmured.

  “Guess you don’t need a lot of space when you’re an immortal villain afraid everyone around you is going to try to kill you off.” Kody grinned slightly and nodded at the key. “Where to?”

  Maggie turned in various directions. “This way.” It bothered her that the key was already hot to the touch. If this part of the palace was abandoned, why would he be so close? They went to the next door, and Maggie could hear a voice coming from above them. Maybe it wasn’t the whole section of the palace that had been abandoned but just this floor.

  Cautiously, they made their way up the stairs and ducked into a window niche when some Red Guards ran past.

  “Find them! I don’t care if they’re in this world or the other, find them. I want the spinner’s head. The shepherd will be useful once she understands her place in my army.”

  Maggie shivered at the hoarse old voice that echoed off the stone around them. It felt as ancient as the stones themselves and had the same weight. But if he thought he was getting anyone’s head or obedience, he was mistaken. And he didn’t know where they were, which was even better. Another group of guards ran past, and his shouting was replaced by angry muttering.

  Maggie slid the needle from her bag and closed her eyes. She could do this. She didn’t need to panic. Anxiety had no place here. She was a tale spinner, and she’d been born for this. When she opened her eyes, Kody was watching her intently. She nodded, and Kody stepped onto the stairs and moved quickly up them. Maggie followed. At the entrance to the doorway where they could hear him continuing to mutter, Maggie froze. What did they do? Just walk in and accost him? Was there supposed to be witty villain-hero banter?


  Kody winked, straightened, and strode into the room.

  Maggie followed, hoping her hands would stop trembling when it counted. I’m tough. I’m a badass hero. I can do this. She closed the door behind her and locked it with the huge key sticking out of it.

  He stopped muttering and spun to face them. Kody stood with her thumbs hooked in her pockets, looking like she was waiting for a drink order rather than facing down one of the worst villains she’d come across. If it weren’t for the gleaming sword hooked across her back, they could have been back in New York. Maggie stood beside her, and without saying anything, she lifted the needle so he could see it.

  He blanched and held his hands out pleadingly. “Please, don’t.”

  Maggie thought of the people they’d seen, afraid and in hiding. She thought of the segregation, of the Red Guard. She thought of her parents. And when she looked at him, she saw beneath the practiced expression. He wasn’t afraid, and he wasn’t remorseful. “There’s no reason not to. You had my parents killed.” She got the words out, but they tasted rancid and poisonous.

  His expression changed and he moved slightly, shifting his hands as though to pull something from his voluminous robe. His gray beard reached to his stomach, and he was impossibly thin, almost skeletal. His almond shaped eyes narrowed, and when he spoke, Maggie could see that his tongue was forked.

  “And I’d do it again. I had to do it in hiding back then, ordering other villains to help me through threats and bribes. When the last of the aos sí died, it wasn’t just threats and bribes. It was respect. I’d done what no one before me had. I set the villains free from their stories. I changed this world. I defeated death.” He lifted his chin defiantly. “Come get me, malyshka. I think you’ll find you’re no better than your parents. The magic in that needle is older than you by thousands of years. You’re not strong enough. No one is.”

  “Malyshka?” Maggie whispered.

  “Little girl,” Kody said, her frown line deep.

  Maggie raised her voice. “I’m not your little girl. But I am your destruction.” She held up the needle again, felt the ancient magic in it, but she could also feel how brittle that magic was. It had been out of this world too long, and the magic had become like moth-eaten cloth, much like the man who stood before her. She took it in both hands, and bent it slowly until it snapped. It oozed green slime that hissed when it hit the floor. A cloud of smoke the same color as the slime rose from the broken needle and swirled, arrow-like, as it spun toward Koschei and slammed into him with such force he stumbled backward. His moth-eaten soul returned to him, making Koschei the Immortal very much mortal.

  He gave a strangled cry, his eyes wide with terror. “No! It can’t be! Your magic can’t…” He fell to his knees, this time his hands covering his face as he shook like leaves in a last autumn wind. “Please have mercy.”

  “Why? You haven’t shown any. Why should we?” Maggie asked.

  He looked up, his expression confused. “Because you’re heroes. You’re a spinner, and spinners always show mercy.” One of his hands moved away from his face and dug frantically inside his robe.

  Maggie tilted her head and thought of the misery he’d wrought. She thought of her family and of those other families he’d devastated. She thought of the child who had died in her place in order to let her live long enough to make it to this moment. There was no need for games or further conversation. His actions spoke louder than any words he could ever say.

  She took out her paintbrush. “I’m not that kind of spinner.”

  With a flick of her hand, his head fell from his shoulders and rolled across the floor, leaving an ugly, steaming red path in its wake. In his hand was a red and black wand of some kind. He’d obviously anticipated more time, more of a battle.

  “Huh.” Kody turned to her, looking bemused. “That’s usually my job. I think I feel insulted and underappreciated.”

  Maggie pocketed her paintbrush and tucked her trembling hands into her pockets. She’d just killed a man. She’d been judge and executioner without talking to anyone about it. “I’m not sure if I’m okay.”

  Kody reached out and pulled Maggie into her arms. “This is what a spinner does, babe. She protects the people here. She’s fair and wise, and that’s exactly what you are. With him gone, the pieces will start to fall, and we can start pulling this world back together.” She held Maggie at arm’s length, the pride in her eyes unmistakable. “You’re amazing, and you’re just what both worlds need right now.”

  Maggie rested her head against Kody’s shoulder until the overwhelming feelings passed. When she felt steady again, she said, “Okay. Let’s send out some messages.”

  Kody picked up Koschei’s head and took it onto the balcony. She let it sit on the railing in full view and yelled to the people in the courtyard below.

  “Koschei is dead. The tale spinner lives and has taken control of the palace. If you want to serve the spinner, come to us. If you want to leave and go back to your lives, go. If you think you can take revenge…” She smiled that smile that made Maggie’s heart race. “Then come on up and take your chances.”

  She turned away and joined Maggie back inside. She went to Koschei’s body and took the wand from his hand. She broke it and tossed it into the fireplace, where she lit a log and it immediately began to burn in swirls of red smoke. She dragged his body behind the desk, out of view of anyone who came in. His head was already on show. No need to be extra gruesome. “And now we wait.”

  They didn’t have to wait long. Footsteps clanged up the stairs, slowing only when they got near the door. People filtered in, some in groups, some alone, all looking at Maggie and Kody with wide-eyed wonder. Shamus and Brenda came in too and stood beside Kody and Maggie.

  “I wish I could have been here,” Brenda said. “I bet it was a battle for the ages.”

  Maggie shrugged. “Sadly, no. I broke the needle then cut off his head. It was pretty low-key, to be fair. I didn’t give him a chance to use any magic.”

  “Totally disappointing. We’ll have to change it up a little when we tell it to people, or it will make a terrible fairy tale.” Brenda blew a kiss to a beautiful woman across the room. “That’s Vila, the demon I was telling you about.”

  The room was full to bursting when Maggie held up her hands for quiet, which she got almost immediately. She smiled and hoped she didn’t look as terrified as she felt. Why was talking to groups so much harder than taking off someone’s head? “Hi, everyone. My name is Maggie McShay, and I’m a tale spinner. I was raised in the other world, but I’m here now, and I want to help the world be what you want it to be. If you’re here, I’m guessing it means you’re ready for that too. So, what I’d like you to do is spread the word. Leave here and tell everyone you know that things are going to change.”

  Someone from the crowd yelled, “What about the soldiers? And the spies?”

  Kody stepped up beside Maggie. “We’re not going to be able to fix everything in a day. But if there are soldiers who continue to do evil, we’ll be dealing with them in the same way we’ve dealt with Koschei.”

  Maggie took Kody’s hand, needing to feel her security in the face of the changes they had to make. “I take it most of you work here and haven’t been allowed to leave?”

  There were nods and smiles all around.

  “Now you can. But if there’s someone who knows how the ostrich messaging system works, could you stay behind to help?” Maggie asked. She turned to Brenda. “Could you ask Vila to stay as well?”

  The crowd began to filter out, and some stopped to give Maggie a hug, and more than a few went down on one knee, which she tried to stop, but Kody just laughed at her.

  “You can’t undo centuries of habit.” When there were only two people left, Kody waved them over. “Are you the ostrich keepers?” she asked in Russian.

  The couple, a man and woman in beautifully embroidered clothing, nodded without saying anything.

  “If we give you a mes
sage, can you copy it word for word and send it to every king or queen or head villain, whoever is running a sector?” Maggie was thinking furiously of what she wanted to say. Kody translated Maggie’s request.

  They nodded again, and this time the woman said something in Russian. Maggie looked at Kody, who was smiling.

  “She says you’re beautiful like the mountains in the spring time.” Kody grinned. “I agree.”

  Maggie felt the heat rise to her face, and she dipped her head in acknowledgement. She went to the desk and found parchment and a quill pen. She wrote the message and was reminded of the ads in the newspapers. Maybe there was something similar she could put into play here…

  She finished the message and showed it to Kody, who read it and nodded. Maggie handed it to the woman, and Kody asked her to rewrite it word for word and send it everywhere, as quickly as possible. The couple left, chattering animatedly.

  When they left, Maggie went over to Brenda and Vila, who were talking like teenagers beside the window.

  Maggie held out her hand. “Brenda speaks very highly of you.”

  Vila, whose demon eyes were red but whose smile was soft, took Maggie’s hand. “Welcome home, spinner. How can I be of assistance?”

  “I assume there’s a heavy gathering of Red Guard here. And I’m guessing demons have some pretty intense powers.” Maggie had a feeling flattery wouldn’t go amiss, and when Vila’s eyes widened and her chin lifted, she knew she was right.

  “We do. How can we help?”

  “I’d like you to spread the word among the demons of every sector, if you can. Find out where the Red Guards are, who is pissed off at not having a job anymore, and who is happy to retire. Names and locations, so that when I’m ready to tackle that particular group I have somewhere to start.” Maggie wasn’t entirely sure trusting a group of demons as her first big order was a good one, but it felt right so she went with it.

  Vila gave Brenda a kiss on the cheek and then moved away. “We’ll start now.” Before she got to the door, she turned around. “The captain of the guard…he was the one who…your parents.” Her red eyes glowed in the dim light of the room. “He’s in your world now. Once the aos sí were gone he wanted more of a challenge. He’s the one who’s keeping the villains who have gone across in line. Red Beard was just muscle who liked to push people around and play like he was more important than he was. The captain is the one who does the carving for the dream seller. I thought you should know.”