The Shining Falcon

Chapter XXXVlll Rusalki

Danilo's men had been riding along the forest road in silence for some time, now walking their horses, now trotting, now cantering, covering verst after verst that way. But all around them loomed the trees, dark with shadow, mysterious, dangerous, and at last the men took to singing to keep back the darkness. After a time, though, they had finished all the songs (polite and otherwise) that they knew, and before the ominous, silence could fall again, one of them, young Ivan, said hastily:

«It's been a week. Must be halfway to Kirtesk by now.'' The others weren't in the mood for small talk. «Mm," said one, noncommittally.

«Think the sorcerer has her?» Ivan persisted. «Young mistress Maria, I mean.»

That earned him a scornful glance. «Now, what do you think? Of course he has her!''

Stung, Ivan continued, «And we're going to ride right up to him, yes? And tell him we're from her father? And— and demand the boyarevna back again?» The others glanced at him impatiently. «Of course!»

«We're really going to ride up to a sorcerer, and insist back the woman he probably went through a lot of trouble to get. Fine. But what," asked Ivan simply, «are we going to do if the sorcerer says no?» They were trying not to think about that. A nervous silence fell, broken only by Ivan's worried murmur, «I only pray the young mistress is safe. I truly do.»

«You are not my brother leshy's gift.»

Maria whirled at the voice, stifling a yelp. «I, uh, no," she said warily, realizing that somewhere along the way she must have crossed over into this second leshy's domain. «I don't think I am.»

«Yet you bear his mark of safe passage.»

«Yes.» Maria peered into forest shadow, trying in vain to locate the being. «He was paying a debt.»

«Ah.» It was a sound of perfect comprehension. «But you carry another's sign as well.»

Maria raised a tentative hand to the silver chain about her neck. «Do you mean this? This was a—a gift.»

«From the human‑magician.»

«You know him? Oh, please tell me, is he well? Is he — "

«How should I know that? His realm is city, mine forest.» The being sighed—a soft stirring of leaves. «But he has always been in harmony with the forest way. There is peace between us. You love him?»

The suddenness of the question caught Maria off balance. «Yes!» she gasped. «Please, may I go to him?»

«You may go where you will.» The leshy sounded surprised that she had even thought to ask. «A warning: You have passed safely through my brother leshy's domain, But that domain has been softened by the new, human ways from the west.» Was there a hint of superiority in the wind‑in-leaves voice? «The forest‑magic here is older, stronger. Walk warily.»

«What do you — "

But the leshy was already gone.

«I wish I could move that efficiently," said Maria. She gave a sudden shiver, remembering branches that stirred without wind, trees that moved to slay… «Softened," echoed the young woman. «If that was his idea of 'softened,' then what must his realm be like?»

She would find it out, sooner or later, whether she liked the idea or not.

«But the road, as the saying goes, doesn't get shorter for the waiting.»

And, with a quick touch of the silver chain for luck, Maria started eastward once more.

It had taken time for Alexei to gather enough courage to enter the forest, even with the magician-woman's assurance of protection, even under the goad of his own shame. Maria's trail had nearly grown cold when Alexei had finally mastered himself and plunged in, but now he found that he could still follow it. Somehow, magically, no one, no thing was moving to stop him.

Magically! The woman had been right, she had been telling the truth, her powers were protecting him! Alexei squirmed in delight. Let the forest demons rage as they would; they couldn't touch him, not with that beautiful and most powerful magician as his ally! And as for the girl he was pursuing—she couldn't be travelling too quickly, and soon enough he'd overtake her, and then… Alexei hissed with savage laughter as he tore his hungry way through the underbrush.

So that was Ms brother leshy's gift! The being stared at the ragged creature in distaste, thinking that Brother Leshy had a dubious sense of humor at best. No wonder the foxes were always sneaking out of his domain! The leshy gave a dry wind-whisper of a laugh, remembering the last time Brother Leshy had gamed with him, and lost, and been forced to give up almost all his squirrels from leaf-birth to leaf‑death.

He moved smoothly after the human, chuckling soundlessly in the joke of seeing but unseen. Well now, maybe he was, indeed, bound by the rules of the leshiye games to accept this… gift. But no rule said he had to actually do anything with it! The being hugged himself with delight. There is was! He'd let the creature pass as it would, and maybe it would be eaten by something, or simply make its way right out of his domain. Either way, Brother Leshy's jibe at him would be spoiled!

They'd been following her for some time, the whatever-they-were, drawn, Maria guessed, by the magical aura of her necklace. And while they hadn't actually done anything—yet—she was beginning to feel unnerved by the glimpses at the very corners of her vision of shadowy forms and pale, glowing, inhuman eyes. Something cried out— a bird? an animal? — with a sound very much like shrill, tittering laughter, and Maria started violently.

«Enough of this.» She held the silver chain out from her neck so it was clearly visible. «See? It's a necklace, that's all, a chain of silver. It was given to me by a magician. You may even know him: Finist, Prince of Kirtesk. Now, are you satisfied?»

They were, to judge from the whisperings in the bushes. But as she turned to go on, Maria found that she'd picked up a new, equally fascinated audience, the members of which—as far as she could tell in the deepening shadows-seemed to look something like hedgehogs. Hedgehogs with green fur, bright green eyes, and a tendency to giggle.

«Wonderful.»

At least the things—some type of forest sprites, she assumed—all seemed harmless. They were even, in their own strange way, a sort of company. But if so many magical creatures were able to gather by daylight (when, according to all the old tales she'd heard, nothing enchanted was supposed to be out and about), just what might be waiting for her by night?

No, Maria told herself firmly. I refuse to start worrying.

And yet, it was already twilight, and rapidly turning towards the night…

Akh, this was ridiculous! She had come all this way, she wasn't going to let herself be afraid of nothing.

But the swift forest darkness was overtaking her. She was beginning to have to peer to see her way. Better to stop for the night now, while she could still—

A sharp squeal of alarm made her jump. All her little green-eyed, giggling friends vanished in a frightened rustling of bushes. Then the forest was still, unnaturally still. Remembering the deadliness of two innocent-seeming larch trees, Maria, hand going to the silver necklace, turned, ever so warily…

What was that shadowy Something? Strain as she might, she couldn't see it clearly in the darkness, save to note that it was large and filled with a strange, boneless, supple power. And it was stalking her. Silent as death, it was stalking her, radiating a dreadful cold amusement at her fear.

«All right!» she shouted at it defiantly. «Maybe I am afraid! But I'm not going to run! And I'm not going to stand here like a little fool and let you scare me right into your jaws, either!»

But how could she fight something she couldn't even see clearly? How could she fight something that was sending wave after wave of terror at her?

The leshy? No, she had no hold on him; he would have no reason to answer her.

The necklace? It was silver, and magical—

Quickly she pulled the chain over her head and held it up, silver glinting bravely even in the darkness, and the Something, darker still than the night, flinched. But it stood its ground. And that cold mockery radiated from it, beating at her mind till Maria ached to simply turn and flee. But blind flight would surely be the death of her.

Maria straightened, listening intently. Now that the forest had fallen s6 still, she could hear other sounds, and one of them… Water? Free, rushing water? All the old tales said that creatures of evil couldn't cross rushing water! Maybe the tales were right, maybe they were wrong, but right now, they were the only hope she could find. Gathering up her skirts, Maria ran towards the sound of water with all her might. The moon was rising, the cold silver rays beginning to pierce through the forest, casting a ghostly light, just enough to let her see where she was going.

Then the earth was crumbling beneath her feet, and Maria threw herself backwards, just in time to keep from tumbling down the slight embankment into the water:

No mere stream, this, but a lake, fed at one end by a narrow ribbon of a waterfall, a lake silent and beautiful and eerie in the chill night, a flat mirror of silver shadowed here and there by grey or indigo or black shadows, its boundaries hidden by mist.

Beauty wasn't going to stop her pursuer. Maria glanced wildly back—and a cold, slim, inhumanly strong hand closed about her wrist, pulling her backwards, towards the lake. Desperate, Maria lashed out with the silver chain as best she could, feeling the magical metal whip across cool flesh. There was a wild hiss of pain, then she was free, scrambling about on the damp, slippery earth to face her attacker.

A woman!

She was naked in the moonlight, standing half out of the lake waters, one hand languorously brushing back long curtains of hair as fair as her pale, pale skin. She was too slim, too long of arm and leg for true humanity, from the sharp, triangular face, broad at forehead, narrow at chin, to the sleek, supple muscling beneath that smooth skin. Her eyes were green and wild and empty as emerald flame as she stared at Maria and gave a soft, throaty laugh.

Maria asked in shaken wonder, «Rusalka?»

«Rusalki," corrected the woman-thing. «See, here are my sisters.»

They were all around her, the strange creatures, slim and lovely and deadly as any predator. And predators they were, these women who had drowned by chance or design and been reborn to this parody of life, hating humanity, feeding off it when someone fell into their grasp.

As I have done! thought Maria in horror. That great, dark thing was illusion, their illusion, to drive me here to them.

«Pretty maid," one of the rusalki was crooning. «Brave, pretty thing. We shall not make you suffer, no, not like the others. We shall drown you swiftly, and feed. And who knows? Perhaps your spirit will join us, and play in these waters forever.»

«Thank you, no," said Maria wryly. «This is a lovely lake, and I—I'm sure you're very happy in it. But I'd really rather not join you.»

«No? You have no choice, pretty maid!»

They were closing their circle about her. In another moment, she would be forced into the water—

«Wait!» cried Maria in desperation. «You—you see, I do have a choice!»

They stared at her with those fierce, disconcertingly empty eyes, waiting with inhuman patience, and Maria racked her brain frantically. What did the old tales have to say about rusalki? That they were deadly, yes, that they were cruel and alien as cats… What else? Someone must have found a way to escape them!

«Riddles!» Maria cried, and the green eyes blinked. «I challenge you to a riddling contest!»

«So-o!» one of the rusalki crowed. «And do you dare, little human?»

«I dare!» Relieved to see the deadly ring draw back, Maria continued hastily, «It's to be a contest in the old style, three riddles for one of you, three for me!»

The rusalka who had first spoken gave her soft laugh. «I shall be your opponent, pretty maid. And if you cannot answer one of my riddles, mine shall be the hand to draw you underwater.»

«Fair enough. But if you can't answer one of my riddles, then I go free, and you have no further hold on me! Agreed?»

The rusalka smiled thinly. «Oh, agreed.»

«Do you swear it?» Maria persisted, not liking what she saw on that thin, fair face. «Swear by… by whatever you hold sacred.»

The lake-woman chuckled at that. «Oh, brave little human! Few are the things such as we hold sacred! But I will swear, by the moon and the lake and the living forest. Will that do for you, pretty maid?»

«It, uh, yes. It will.»

Maria hesitated, licking suddenly dry lips. «You—you're the challenged party, so you have the right to choose the first riddle.»

«Do I, indeed? Silver living, silver dead, upon me are others fed.»

She'd said it so smoothly, it took Maria a second to realize that the rusalka had just spoken a riddle. «Silver living, silver dead…» The first thing that came to mind was her necklace. But: «… upon me are others fed.»

Oh, good Heavens. It was simple enough, almost too simple. «A fish!» cried Maria. «The answer's a caught fish!»

There was the faintest of whisperings among the clustered rusalki. One of them moved smoothly forward, and Maria hastily said, «My riddle! My first riddle:

«I speed through city, forest, field,

Before my touch, the strongest yield.

I stir the wheat and bend the tree.

I am the one no man can see.»

For along moment, there was silence. Then her opponent laughed softly. «The wind, little human. The answer is the wind.»

«Uh… yes. That's right.» It had been an easy riddle; it had also been the only one Maria could think up in her haste. «Your turn.»

The rusalka smiled sweetly. «So, now:

«An emperor of wide renown,

Pale of face and horned of crown,

Rules in darkness all alone,

Cold as winter, cruel as stone.

But a usurper comes in golden crown,

To cast the silver emperor down.

The golden tyrant's loved by men,

Until the darkness comes again.»

She drew back in the water, watching Maria with such an unblinking stare that the young woman had to turn away—only to find herself facing the other rusalki, all of them with eager, hungry faces. Fighting down a shudder, she turned back to her opponent, trying desperately to think. An emperor with a horned crown… ruling darkness… a usurper king… Oh, it all sounded like a history out of some sorcerous land! What hope could she possibly have of solving a riddle based on such a—

«Have you no answer, little human?» crooned the rusalka.

«Of course I do!» snapped Maria. «Just give me a chance to think!»

An emperor of darkness… a golden‑crowned usurper…

Wait a moment! Here she'd been thinking in terms of actual rulers, flesh-and-blood kings, but what if… ? Yes, that must be it! Trust a rusalka, a creature of night, to see things in reverse to the human way! A «golden tyrant» — ha!

«The moon," said Maria. «The pale emperor is the horned moon ruling the night. And the golden tyrant's the sun, ruling the day till the night falls again!»

The sound the rusalka made could have been a soft laugh or a hiss of disappointment. «Clever, pretty maid. You will do well among us.»

«I have no intention of joining you, thank you! Besides, I still have two riddles left.»

«Come, speak. We are waiting.»

All right, she'd have to come up with something beyond a rusalka's experience if she was going to get out of this fix… But her mind seemed to have gone blank, quite blank…

«Come, little human! Speak!»

«I will, I will! What, are you in such a rush?» Maria asked in sharp humor. «You, to whom mortal time means nothing?»

«Perhaps it's that we ache to have you share our timelessness.»

«Cute. Very cute.» Dear God, she had to think of something, and quickly— Aha! «Here's my second riddle:

«I stand all day in empty space.

I move, but never leave my place.

One head, one crest, one body, one wing,

One leg in all on which to swing.»

The rusalka blinked, plainly taken aback, plainly going down a hasty mental listing of fantastic, magical creatures. Search all you like! thought Maria triumphantly. You'll never find this beast!

Time passed. «Come, come," prodded Maria. «You didn't give me this much time to think!»

The rusalka smiled at her, an unnerving flash of sharp white teeth. «No need for more time, little human. I, too, was human once. And I have not forgotten all the trappings of humanity. Your little one‑legged creature is noth‑ing more than a weathervane in the shape of a cockerel.» She tossed the wild, wet hair back from her face. «Am I not correct?»

«Yes," Maria admitted reluctantly.

«So now! One more riddle to go for each of us, then you shall die, and your spirit live again as rusalka.»

«Don't be so sure of that. I guessed the answers to your first two riddles.»

«Ahh, but you haven't guessed the third one yet! And even if you should, by chance, by luck, by wit, guess the answer, you are still bound to us unless I cannot guess the answer to your third riddle, remember that!»

«How," murmured Maria, «could I forget?»

«Come, now, enough delay! Here is my third riddle, little human. Listen well:

«I am the silent, stalking one.

If once I want you, no use to run.

No prey eludes me, none win free.

I am the doom of those I see.

I end all longings, end all fear,

Bring final peace when I draw near.

King or peasant, fear my cry.

Rank is nothing to such as I.

I stalk you, be you boyar, slave.

No one escapes me, no one save

The one who dares to play my game,

Who dares risk all to call my name.»

With that, the rusalka fell silent, dipping smoothly beneath the water, surfacing again without a ripple, smiling at the human through a veil of hair. «Well, maid? Can you answer?»

«Give me a chance to think!» Maria snapped, but she was thinking, What an ill-omened riddle. What a deliberately ill-omened riddle! She hesitated, considering. Could the answer be Death? The seemed too obvious. And the answer could just as easily be Plague! She fought down a shudder. I'll only have one chance at this, and if I pick the wrong answer…

«Why, what's wrong, little human? Why so silent? Do you yield?»

«No, damn you, I do not yield!»

«Oh, pretty maid, we are already damned! Your little curses cannot harm us! Come, choose! Answer— or die!»

At least it would be quick. The rusalka had promised her that it would be quick, the lake waters closing over her head, a few moments of fear and pain, swiftly over.

And then an eternity spent as a soulless lake spirit? Learning to hate the mortal folk? Learning to stalk them, deadly and inevitable as—

«Good God!» Maria cried out, and the rusalki stirred uneasily. «That's it!» She broke off, staring defiantly into her challenger's empty green eyes, and began again, deliberately, «The answer to your riddle, rusalka, is you, you yourself, you, rusalka!»

The lake-woman's eyes were full of malice. She said nothing.

Oh, no! You're not getting away with that! thought Maria, and insisted, «Well? Isn't that right? Don't just look at me! I know enough about riddling games to know that you must answer me, or forfeit the game! And I did guess the proper answer, didn't I?»

«Yes.» It was almost a hiss. «Oh, wise little human, let me hear your third riddle now. Be sure that I shall guess its answer before you can take a dozen mortal breaths!»

You want me to fear you, don't you? Maria asked silently. Well, you've succeeded. I do fear you—but not so much that I'm going to let myself be rattled! «No…» said Maria aloud. «No, I really don't think you shall. Here it is:

«I sit in judgment in the court,

Or fly with shining wings for sport.

The sunlight is no foe to me.

Day or night, I'm equally free.

I walk, or fly, or, sporting, swim.

I play with storm winds for a whim.

Sometimes one form, sometimes another,

I call the leshy‑man my brother.

On foot, on wing, I am the same.

Come, tell me, if you can, my name!»

She finished with a grand flourish, although she was thinking wryly, Akh, what dreadful poetry! Still, considering that she had made it up on the spur of the moment, maybe the thing wasn't so bad—particularly since it had made the rusalka sink down into the water till only her green eyes showed through the tangle of pale hair, eyes blinking quickly in confusion.

«There's no such creature, human!»

«No?» Maria forced a smile. «Believe me, rusalka, there is! Why, I, myself have seen… ah… it.»

«But nothing walks and flies and swims!»

Maria, still smiling, said nothing. The rusalka eyed her suspiciously for a moment, then continued, almost to herself:

«It must be magic. No mere human could befriend a leshy!» The rusalka gave a hiss of impatience. «Yes, but no magical being rules three of the four elements! And no magical being can walk by day and night and take no harm! Aie, impossible, impossible!»

«Are you giving up, then?»

«No! No!» There was tense silence for a time, then Maria heard her opponent muttering, over and over, «A being that walks and flies and swims!» The rusalka broke off» abruptly, glaring at Maria. «There is no such creature!»

«Ah, but there is!»

«No!» The rusalka's eyes were ablaze with savage frustration. «There is no such creature! This is a lie you tell, only a lie!»

«It's no lie.»

«It is! It is! A creature that walks and flies and swims— Bah! Your riddle has no answer! You cheated, you cheated! You've doomed yourself and forfeited the game and — "

«Are you finished?» asked Maria mildly. «There is an answer, rusalka. Would you care to hear it?»

«If you would live, speak!»

«The answer is a—a 'mere human,' as you put it — "

«No!»

«Yes. Rusalka, the answer to my riddle is: Finist, Prince of Kirtesk.» She saw the lake-woman draw back with a hiss, heard the others stir uneasily, murmuring among themselves, «The magician, of course, the magician…» and added wryly, «I see you know him.»

«We know," said her opponent shortly. «We should have remembered. You have won. Go.»

With that, they dove into the lake with smooth, silent grace, one after the other, and the water closed behind them, still as glass. Stunned by the suddenness of it, hardly daring to believe the ordeal was over, Maria backed away from the lake, wary at first, then gave up any pretense of caution and simply turned to run—

Right into arms that caught her roughly and held her fast.