Very slowly she dips her hand into her ratty robe and pulls out a glowing firebirds feather. Magic beats and pulses through the cottage and out into the forest. Birds screech over head and ground animals hide deeper in their caves and burrows.
She weaves the feather seamlessly into the pattern. Baba Yaga moves her bony arms up and down, her fingers moving deftly as she hums. With special care she takes out a single strand of fair hair.
“Oh Anya,” she breathes, “If only you weren’t so stubborn like Yanka. Things could be so different.” Into the weave the hair goes. It glows softly against the dark threads. The firebirds feather lights up at the same instant. The strand starts to glow and like magnets they shoot through the weave towards each other.
“No! No, no, no,” Baba Yaga screeches in fury. As the objects finally meet white light explodes, throwing the witch across the room like a pile of rag and bone. The light burns and sears deep inside of her. Finally it stops and she feels like she can breathe again.
With a groan Baba Yaga rolls over. The weave, that has taken so much power from her, is ash. Her magic loom still stands, good as new. The feather and the hair are gone. The crate in the corner begins to pulse with power and she backs away from it. She stares at the smouldering mess of her weave for a long while.
Finally she sighs with frustration. It is time for her to go back to Mir.
Acknowledgements
A special acknowledgement for Barbara Holten who tirelessly edited this book for me more than once…I couldn’t have done it without all of your help and good advice.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One - Death for Breakfast
Chapter Two - Bird Man
Chapter Three - The Traveller
Chapter Four - Myths and Truths
Chapter Five - When Walls Break
Chapter Six - Through the Blue
Chapter Seven - Bones
Chapter Eight - The Tavern
Chapter Nine - Visits
Chapter Ten - Old Friends
Chapter Eleven - The Pieces of the Puzzle
Chapter Twelve - Cerise
Chapter Thirteen - Dog Fight
Chapter Fourteen - Rose Thorns
Chapter Fifteen - The Seer, the Hunter and the Witch
Chapter Sixteen - Plans
Chapter Seventeen - Mind Link
Chapter Eighteen - Uninvited Travelling Companions
Chapter Nineteen - Jumped
Chapter Twenty - Crows
Chapter Twenty One - Blackberries and Bath Tubs
Chapter Twenty-Two - Unexpected Hunt
Chapter Twenty-Three - Cowboys and Indians
Chapter Twenty Four - Taken
Chapter Twenty-Five - Enemy’s Camp
Chapter Twenty-Six - Aftermath
Chapter Twenty-Seven - Treaties
Chapter Twenty-Eight - Harley
Chapter Twenty-Nine - Flee
Chapter Thirty - Bright Sparks
Chapter Thirty-One - Blood Letting and Earth Screaming
Chapter Thirty-Two - Days Before
Chapter Thirty-Three - The Gates
Acknowledgements
Cry of the Firebird (The Firebird Fairytales Book 1) Page 38
