Wickedly Dangerous (Baba Yaga, #1)(47)
“They be in the rose garden by the pond, mistress, at tea with some of the court,” the little woman said, and ran off to bring the drinks and a pile of lacy fans to a group of haughty-looking ladies standing under the casually drooping bows of a weeping willow.
Baba strode on, rounding the edge of the castle to see the rulers of the Otherworld, along with a number of ladiesin-waiting, knights of the court, and some attendants, seated at a carved wooden table overlooking an azure blue pond the size of a small lake. The pond was dotted with notch-edged lily pads, their brilliant blossoms a vivid contrast to the crystalline waters.
Small orange frogs croaked in three-part harmony, and majestic white swans floated by decorative statues of scantily clad youths. In the middle of the pond, a fountain shot sprays of water twenty feet into the air, creating a rainbow-filled mist that arced down over the fishtailed maidens who frolicked underneath its perpetual showers.
Baba ignored most of the scenery, although its unearthly loveliness always made her heart soar for just a moment. She approached the group seated by the end of the waterline, and going directly to the queen, dropped to one knee and gave a flourishing bow.
“Your Majesties,” she said, nodding at the queen and her consort. Although the king had a title equal to hers, it was the queen who was the true power in the Otherworld. “I greet you, and bring news of the world beyond your walls. May I beg leave to speak with you in private?” Baba thought it might be best to limit the people who knew what was going on. Besides, that would reduce the number of innocent bystanders.
The queen rose from her ornate, thronelike chair and gestured for Baba to rise, embracing her, and kissing her on both cheeks. As always, the queen’s long, silvery-white hair was piled in a tower of complicated braids, emphasizing her long neck and high cheekbones. Her pale, almost translucent skin made her look fragile and delicate, an illusion reinforced by her willowy figure and fine, long-fingered hands. A gauzy gown of pale pink silk matched the roses that grew all around, and a tiara of pink diamonds glittered in the light of the moons. She was almost too beautiful to look at, and capable of both remarkable generosity and mind-blowing cruelty.
“My darling Baba!” the queen cried in a voice that sounded like music. “It has been far too long, my dear. Come, you must sit and have tea with us.”
Baba put on her best court smile. She got along well with the queen, for the most part; it wasn’t so long ago, in the long lives of the royals, that Baba was a small child, visiting with her mentor, playing with dolls underneath the table at the queen’s feet, and the queen still had a tendency to think of her as a beloved younger second cousin, very much removed. That didn’t mean Baba was foolish enough to think she was safe from reprisal if the queen decided to hold her responsible for the bad news she brought.
“I would love to have tea some other time, Your Majesty, but I’m afraid I have urgent tidings that cannot wait. I beg an audience, if you please.” Baba kept her eyes slightly lowered, trying to see the queen’s face without staring rudely.
“Pish tosh, my dear,” the queen said dismissively. “Any news you have to share can be told in front of the rest of this company. There is nothing you can say that my beloved consort and the most trusted members of our court cannot be witness to.” She waved one languid hand at Baba. “So, what is this oh-so-important information that cannot wait until I finish my tea?”
Crap. Well, she’d just have to spill the beans and hope for the best. Presumably the members of the queen’s inner circle had gotten good at ducking over the centuries.
“Highness, I have had a number of run-ins with a mysterious woman wearing a glamour and wielding powers unlike those available to most Humans. And then today, the White Rider, the Red Rider, and the Black Rider were all attacked by creatures they swear could only have come from the Otherworld. We assume they were acting under the command of this woman, who calls herself Maya.”
There were gasps from the assembled company, although the queen’s expression didn’t change. The Riders were considered to be utterly dependable and beyond reproach in their service to the Babas, and by extension, the kingdom as well, since Babas guarded both worlds.
“That seems highly unlikely,” the queen said, a slight chill in her voice. “How could she have such creatures in the Human lands?”
Baba braced herself and looked directly at the queen. “We believe that she has somehow discovered a new, unauthorized door somewhere in the area. It is the only explanation for the presence of so many magical creatures, many of whom she is using to torment the local citizens, as well as directing them in attacks against the Riders and against my own person.”
There were more exclamations from the courtiers around the table, but Baba kept her attention on the only person whose reaction truly mattered.
The queen’s regal face grew even sterner, if that was possible. A few of the surrounding people started to edge away from the space.
“That would be an extremely undesirable situation, were it to prove to be true,” she said. Frost crept out from underneath her pointed silver shoes and turned the grass below her feet to dust. The closest rosebush faded from a healthy pink to a lackluster gray, its petals dropping one by one to litter the ground. “Are you certain these beings are not crossing through another gateway? Yours, perhaps?” The queen narrowed her eyes at Baba, who tried not to flinch.