Scrambling up the chicken legs as if they were the world’s most horrifying jungle gym, Lin walked into the house of the Baba Yaga. The interior was surprisingly cozy. There were landscape paintings of a jagged coastline of the wall, a black leather couch in the corner, and a warm kitchen in the back with the stove letting out puffs of smoke. Forks and knives danced about the counter tops, dicing carrots and gutting fish in preparation for a stew that Lin hoped wasn’t missing any ingredients. A set of stairs spiralled upward into shadow and downward into impossibility.

All of this was taken in with the background music of Lin’s internal screaming.

“Sit.”

Lin plopped down in what must have once been a rich red satin armchair, now reduced to a pinkish-gray chair covered in holes and fraying threads. A round window let her look out at the vast expanse of Seatt-hell as the house rose onto its legs and took off at a jog down the street. Buildings of concrete, hell stone and mushroom blurred past as the unwieldy vehicle picked up speed.

“She’s fast, yes? She ran length of pacific wasteland and swum through all Alaska without stopping… Unless you count getting eaten by dogfish as stopping.” Baba patted the wall of the house affectionately, before striding into the kitchen, apparently immune to the constant shaking and swaying of the house. It was all Lin could do to stay in her chair.

“Tea?” The witch called from the kitchen. Lin searched her mind. Tea? Did she like tea? Did she want any? What even was tea? If she did want some, how did she respond? Her mouth didn’t seem to work. Why was everything so slow? Her mind felt as if it were in a constant fog.

“Oh.” Baba Yaga said with a snap of her fingers. And with that, the fog retreated, so quickly as to make Lin wonder if it ever existed in the first place, or if it was just all in her head- Wait a minute.

Rubbing her temples, Lin tried to stand up, only for the unsteady house to fling her back into the seat. After briefly considering surrendering to the will of Baba Yaga’s house, Lin stubbornly rejected the option. Remaining in the tattered chair that Baba Yaga had relegated her to was beyond demeaning. So, intent on maintaining her pride, Lin threw herself onto all fours and crawled into the kitchen, where Baba was mixing a packet of herbs into a steaming pot with one hand whilst slurping on her smoothie with the other.

“Much harder without cauldron, but we make do, yes?”

“What did you do to me?” Lin demanded through gritted teeth.

“Bah.” Baba scoffed with a wave of her hand. “Simple charm spell. Could happen to anyone. No need to get upset.”

“You controlled my mind! How could I not be upset by that?”

“Simple! Nod, and say ‘never again!’ And then sip tea and accept some people are better. Stronger! Is not bad. Is life.”

Lin’s mouth fell open as she tried to decipher this abysmal life philosophy. “So, I should just accept when people take advantage of me?”

At this, Baba paused, looking out a window thoughtfully. “Nothing else to do, yes? Accept that pain happened, and you were powerless to resist. But,” She turned to face Lin, mad iron bars clanking down in her eyes and fire sparking in her voice. “Do not accept that it will happen again. To be weak is life. To stay weak is choice! … Tea?” She finished chipperly, proffering Lin a cup of green fluid that smelled of citrus and honey.

Reflexively, not wishing to be rude, Lin reached for the cup, but then thought better of it. “No, thank you, I’m… not thirsty.”

“And paranoid, eh? Wise. But why waste drugs on you when I have fingers?” She said with a flourishing snap of her thumb and pinky. Instantly, the fog began to creep back into Lin’s mind. This time, however, before it could fully take hold, a fiery pain seared its way across Lin’s cheek and chased the fog away.

“Don’t let her do it again, kid!” Grizz roared as he recoiled from his lunging slap. He tried to shout more, only to have Baba yank on the needle hooked to his base and shove him into a cupboard.

“Little demon should have stayed dead.” Baba hissed. “I was rooting for little Spanish man!”

Lin’s anger fled at this comment, pushed away by her curiosity. “Rooting for… You were there when Cortez killed Grizz?”

The Baba Yaga chuckled. “In a way, yes. I was watching from couch.” She extended a gnarled figure to point at a grimy silver disc mounted on the wall across from the furniture. “I see all that I wish. Ball is better, but mirror is, ah, more comfortable.” The idea of what the wicked witch might find comfortable made Lin shudder.

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“But… How did you know to watch him? There are so many devils around, choosing him seems impossibly lucky.”

Yaga wagged her finger appreciatively. “Good question! I was not watching devil; I was watching ink monster! First strong, traceable source of your magic in years! Very exciting. I thought you would have continued east, but here you stayed. How odd.”

“So… You have been watching for my… Magic?”

“Yes!” Baba said with a chiding tone that implied this was obvious.

“But I have no magic.”

Baba replied only with cackling laughter that persisted for several minutes. Finally, she got a hold of herself, wiping a tear from her eye. “And my house is ordinary chicken, hah! Your lies have gotten so bad. Were you struck on head?”

“I’m not lying or joking! I’m just an ordinary human! What is this all about?”

Baba Yaga was silent for a moment, staring intently at Lin. “You do not lie. But you do speak false. I thought this human body was mere ruse, meant to hide. But is not… You are different person.” Baba looked away, a surprisingly worried expression on her face. “Oh Koschei, how far have you fallen?”

Lin stared at Baba Yaga bemusedly, taking several moments to force her mouth to work. “Was that supposed to answer any of my questions? Because it really just made everything more confusing.”

“Bah, hush. You are child in control of car- No… Tank. You have stumbled into war of which you have no understanding and control magic beyond wildest dreams. And you use it to make tattoos.” The Baba Yaga spit, her hair rising to float in the air above her, a glimmer of sickly yellow emanating from her green skin. “Egg has hatched and gobbled mother goose and Rabbit whole.

“Rabbit? Wha-”

“I said hush and will not suffer to say it thrice. Koschei in prime might oppose me, but you are mere child. Know your place.” The chipper veneer had vanished from Baba’s countenance, replaced by a repellent acrimony for all that which is beneath her.

And not a star in the sky or mountain peak is above her.

Lin curled into a ball on instinct. What was that voice? Why did it keep assaulting her senses? And why was she filled with a near overwhelming urge to deny its existence whenever it spoke? It was as if an ethereal hand were reaching out of the darkness of her mind to pull a veil of shadows over itself, to hide that it ever existed.

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled…

This was not acceptable. Lin would not hide from the cruel truths of the world, no matter how numerous or overwhelming they might be. Lifting her head up to make defiant eye contact with the Baba Yaga, in fatigable earth crashing against unquenchable flame. After several moments of this exhausting staring contest, Baba relented, turning away.

“I will not hush. Something is happening to me. Has been happening to me for some time, and you know something about it. Clearly you brought me here for a reason, so if you want my help, I insist that you give me something in return. What. Is. Happening to me?!” It took more effort than Lin would have cared to admit to keep herself from screaming, but whether through divine aid, or sheer will, she managed to keep her voice to a hushed command. It was barely more than a whisper, but more captivating than any shout.

Baba Yaga’s shoulders sagged a barely perceptible amount. “Mind might be gone, but steel is still strong, eh? I hoped you would be plyable, but I was wrong. I will reveal what I know, but disappointment has always been your friend, yes?”

Not knowing what else to say, Lin simply nodded, pulling herself to her feet in as dignified a manner as she could. Leaning against the counter allowed her some semblance of stability as Baba Yaga began to speak.

“The story of Koschei the Deathless is that of great sorcerer who gained immortality. By placing soul in egg, he spat in face of death. By hiding egg in rabbit, he ensured soul could outrun death. By putting rabbit in goose, he ensured soul could outfly death. And by hiding goose in buried chest on island, he obscured soul from death’s gaze. That is legend.

“Is half true.” She said with a shrug. “By hiding soul away, Koschei weakened hold death held upon him. But death is no slacker, and soul is not useless. Without it, Koschei’s body weakened and slowed, bereft of fuel to keep going. When one loses fuel, only choice is replacement, yes? But stealing soul? Not so easy. Latched onto original like leeches on skin. Pieces of soul, however, are simple. Given away all the time. Whenever people share memories, they share shreds of soul. And Memory is something Koschei can easily steal. So, all those women they say he kidnapped? All for their memory.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “Was still early, stealing memories without being remembered was subtle skill learned late. Perhaps too well, apparently.”

Lin reeled slightly. “What does that mean?”

“If you do not know, not my place to say. Memory has a way of choosing place and time. Now! Cumberhatch is near destination. Small island that was not here ten years past. Go sit. Find cauldron.”

Lin opened her mouth in protest, but the words were forced back down her throat by a gust of wind.

“Leave my home and discover yourself. Or die in fall. Whichever.” Baba boomed, “Take blob with you.” The cupboard door was wrenched open with a flourish of the witch’s wrist, and Grizz came tumbling out, getting caught in the same wind storm as Lin.

As she grabbed hold of the kitchen counter in a feeble attempt to resist the wind’s might, Grizz landed on her shoulder with an inky splat. No words could be heard or uttered under the mighty gust’s blow, but still the little demon screeched. Finally, as Lin’s grasp of the countertop faltered and she found herself spinning through the living room to bash open the front door with her now bruised back, Grizz began a slow but determined clamber up her arm. As He reached her shoulder, the ink demon got a perfect few of the wide open sky above them and fast approaching ground beneath.

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