Wickedly Dangerous (Baba Yaga, #1)(99)
“Sheriff Mac!” she yelled, as she caught a glimpse of Liam, and ran across the floor to be scooped up into his arms.
“Mary Elizabeth!” Liam said. “Boy, is your mama going to be happy to see you!” Baba thought she saw tears shimmering in his eyes.
Baba seemed to be having some kind of problem with her eyes as well. Some kind of exotic dander from one of the queen’s menagerie, no doubt. But the soon-to-be-ex-parents were in much worse shape. One slender, fantastically beautiful woman with long pink hair and a flowing dress made up of gauzy sky-blue silks and twinkling star-studded organdy was on her knees in front of the royal couple, begging pitifully to be allowed to keep the child she’d been hiding in a secret underground lair filled with toys and candy.
The child in question huddled with the other kids near Liam and Baba, too stunned and confused to do more than stand in silent unity with those they recognized as humans.
The queen shook her head, a hint of pity amid the frigid harshness of her gaze. “I cannot reward behavior that could have destroyed the entire Otherworld. The rule against stealing Human children exists for a reason. It was that act which caused us to be hunted and reviled in the mundane world, forcing us to leave behind all our sacred spaces there and retreat to the safety of this realm, only to return now and then on those days, like the summer solstice and All Hallows Eve, when our power is strong.”
“But the Humans no longer even believe we exist,” another man protested. “They will not hunt what they do not acknowledge as real!”
“Will they not?” the king interjected, gesturing at Liam and Baba. “Will they not move mountains to track down and retrieve that which belongs to them? I say that evidence to the contrary stands before you now. The queen is right. There can be no condoning an action that puts us all at risk. And certainly no rewarding it.”
The pink-haired woman staggered to her feet, holding on to her mate as she swung around to search out the child that had been so briefly hers. “But, Majesty, everyone knows that Humans do not value their children as we do ours. And they have so many, and we have so few. How can it be wrong to take one or two for our own?”
Liam took a halting step forward, hampered by Petey’s limpet grip on one leg, still holding Mary Elizabeth in his arms. Baba’s heart swelled with pride as he stood in front of the court and spoke out in a strong voice.
“You’re not completely wrong,” he said. “There are some humans who treat their children badly. But most of them love their children more than life itself, and would do anything for them.” He pointed his chin at Mary Elizabeth, since both his hands were full. “This little girl’s mother went so far as to seek out the Baba Yaga for help, no matter what the cost. All these children have parents at home who have been suffering agonies of sorrow, fear, and loss since they were stolen. They are not prizes to be argued over. They are loved and treasured, and Baba and I are taking them home where they belong.”
The queen nodded sadly. “Well said, mortal. And so it will be. The rule will be obeyed and all those who are foolhardy enough to break it shall be punished most severely.”
She reached out one pale, long-fingered hand to stroke Mary Elizabeth’s hair. “It is a pity, though. They are so lovely, and they bring such youthful joy to this ancient world.”
Liam looked around at all the gloomy despondent faces, the weeping women and stony-faced men. Baba saw the moment when a spark of an idea kindled behind those kind hazel eyes.
“What are you thinking?” she whispered, a little concerned. They were about to walk out of here with all the children and their skins intact, something she’d had very little hope would happen. Liam didn’t know the Otherworld like she did; a single ill-spoken word could still get them turned into swans. And she’d make a terrible swan.
But he just handed Mary Elizabeth to her, and pried Petey’s arms off of his leg, attaching them around Baba’s instead. Then he swept a deep bow to the queen and said, “Your Majesty, if you’ll allow me, I may have a suggestion.”
One perfect eyebrow raised, the queen gathered her skirts and seated herself back on her throne. “I’m listening,” she said.
Baba held her breath and seriously considered taking up prayer for the first time in her long life.
“As Baba explained,” Liam said with a grave expression, “I am a sheriff. It is my job to enforce the laws of my community, much as you enforce yours.”
The queen nodded.
“It is true, as one of your subjects pointed out, that not all children are as lucky as these ones. Some are unwanted, even abused.” There was a disapproving rumble from the surrounding crowd, but Liam ignored them, speaking only to the queen and her consort.
“In my years as sheriff, I have sometimes come across children who were terribly mistreated; damaged in ways that scarred them mentally and physically, leaving them broken in ways that no one can fix. These children will likely never be adopted, or be able to create happy, normal lives for themselves as adults.”
“That is a terrible disgrace,” the queen said. “You should be ashamed to be part of a race that would do such things.”
Liam sighed. “Sometimes I am, Your Majesty, sometimes I am. But the point is this: if I understand Baba correctly, the children who are brought from our world into this one eventually forget everything about where they came from, and who they were. Is that right?”