This was the primeval forest of Mother Russia. They circled around for many hours in search of a stretch of flat, treeless ground where a 747 could land. Finally the coming darkness of night forced a decision—a meadow that wasn't really long enough or level enough, but it was their only chance. Baba Yaga helped with the landing, making it smoother than they had any right to expect, and then stopping it quite abruptly before they ran into the forest edge. She was in her strength again, her powers filling her, her spells as potent as ever, and she rather enjoyed the pain and panic and injuries suffered by the passengers because of the sudden stop. What she cared about was keeping the flying house from being damaged by a collision. The people were here only because they happened to be in the airplane when she took it. Though the sound of shrieking and weeping was music to her ears.
As the sounds of pain and panic died down, Baba Yaga seized the microphone and, with the help of a vigorous new spell of Understanding, she announced to the entire plane, "You have reached your final destination."
After the meaning of her announcement had a chance to sink in, the crying and screaming started up again in earnest.
16
Restoration
Every morning Sergei arose at dawn and walked to the door of his hut to see if Ivan and the princess had returned. Every day, all he saw was the chasm, the empty pedestal, and no future at all for him and poor Father Lukas.
Who could have guessed that within days of Princess Katerina's departure, Dimitri would revolt? And who could have guessed that the moment he had power, Dimitri would declare Christianity to be a false religion and forbid its teaching in all of Taina? Father Lukas was all for becoming a martyr, and tried to persuade Sergei to do the same, but in the end it was Sergei who carried the day by asking which Christ would rather have, two dead clerics or two living missionaries who might someday restore Christianity in this benighted place?
Ever since then, they had been living in the one place Sergei knew that no man of Taina had ever succeeded in finding, at least not when the princess was lying here in enchanted slumber. Of course he was not so foolish as to tell Father Lukas of the significance of the place, just as he did not tell Father Lukas of the precious parchments hidden in a sack inside a box under a stone just inside the woods. To the priest, this was a place of penance and prayer. To Sergei, it was a rendezvous. Katerina and Ivan would come back, and when that happened, Dimitri's support would melt away. It was only with the princess gone that the people despaired and listened to his claim that they needed a strong warrior to save them from Baba Yaga. When Katerina returned, the people would flock to her again; indeed, they were already deeply ashamed of having followed Dimitri, especially after he used some hideous magic to strike old King Matfei dumb, and longed for—prayed for—her safe return.
So disgusted were they with Dimitri's strutting and boasting and bossing and bullying that they even prayed for Ivan to come with her, for they realized now that having a king meant more than leadership in battle. King Matfei's hand had rested lightly upon them. Dimitri's hand was not so deft.
And yet even he was better than Baba Yaga. So they did not revolt, not yet. And when Sergei crept back to the village to hear news and gossip, he heard more and more resignation in the voices of those he spoke to. They were still faithful Christians, they assured him. But how could they shrug off Dimitri's kingship when Baba Yaga might return at any time?
For even those who did not believe in Katerina's return had no doubt of Baba Yaga's. That's the way of the world: The princess can disappear, but the witch is forever.
So it was that the two clerics dwelt in the hut that Sergei built, living on whatever herbs and berries, roots and mushrooms Sergei could find in the forest. Neither of them was much of a cook, either, so the only seasoning that made the food palatable was starvation. They both grew thinner; Father Lukas lost the rest of his hair; and Sergei had dreams of naked women coming to him in the night, so that he hardly slept at all, what with Father Lukas shaking him and demanding that he stop having dreams of pleasure at a time like this. It was hard for Sergei to figure out how hell might be worse.
This morning, like so many others, Sergei staggered out of the hut at first light, looked to see if by any chance Katerina and Ivan were back, then walked over to the edge of the chasm, lifted his robe, and relieved himself of the night's urine. That's what he was doing when Ivan and Katerina suddenly appeared out of nowhere, stepping onto the pedestal from an invisible bridge.
"Sergei," said Ivan.
Startled, Sergei dropped his robe, which meant he peed all over the inside of it. Inadvertently he cursed, and then forgot all about it, because they were back. Even before they crossed over another invisible bridge to the side Sergei was standing on, he was shouting to them the story of all that had happened. The tumult brought Father Lukas out of his hut, and to Sergei's surprise the priest looked happy—no, ecstatic. He almost danced he was so happy. It almost made Sergei wish he had told Father Lukas of Katerina's promise to return—it would have given him hope. But it also would have given Father Lukas something more to berate Sergei about. As if Sergei needed Father Lukas to tell him that if only he had told the truth to King Matfei about where Katerina and Ivan had gone, Dimitri might not have been able to win support and take over.
What Father Lukas didn't understand was that if Sergei had told, Dimitri would have been standing here with a sword when Ivan and Katerina arrived, and Ivan's head would have rolled into the chasm within moments.
For half an hour they all talked—or rather, Sergei and Father Lukas talked while Katerina and Ivan listened, saying little, but looking more sorrowful and more grimly determined as each tale unfolded. Finally, Katerina turned to Ivan and said, "You see? Maybe it's Christ who has been helping us all along, for unless we defeat the Pretender, Christianity is lost in this part of the world."
"Baba Yaga isn't the problem of the moment," said Father Lukas. "There's plenty of time to drive out the servants of the devil from other kingdoms, once we rid ourselves of the devil in our midst."
"Dimitri," Sergei explained.
"Poor man," said Ivan.
"You pity him?" said Katerina. "After what he did to my father?"
"And you would be wise to pity him, too," said Ivan. "He isn't the first person that the Widow has deceived into acting in a way that he never would have on his own."
"He shriveled my father's tongue in his mouth," said Katerina.
"Did he know the spell would do that?" said Ivan. "Or was he like Ruthie, who never knew what she was doing?"
Clearly Ivan and Katerina had had experiences of their own since leaving Taina. But this discussion was leading nowhere. "The story is that the Pretender returned yesterday, with more magic than ever," said Sergei.
"Only yesterday?" asked Katerina. "That's good."
"Good?"
"She left the land where Ivan's family lives more than a week ago. We were afraid she would strike before we could get back."
"They say she has a huge new house that walks around on chicken legs. It's as white as snow and as hard as a sword's blade. So they say," said Sergei.
"Gossip spreads fast," said Ivan.
"She wanted everyone to know," said Katerina. "She probably spread the stories herself."