Cry of the Firebird
Amy Kuivalainen
Top 10 Best Quotes
“You don’t let many people behind that wall of yours do you?” “No I don’t because basically people are shit. They have let me down over and over so now I choose them very carefully.” “You have let Yvan in,” he pointed out. “Yvan’s different.”
“What are you reading?” she asked as he poured himself scotch and her a vodka. She looked over to the deserted volume. “Stories and Legends of Pagan Russia,” she read aloud. “Are you catching up on Yvan’s biography?”
“You better be able to turn yourself off if you think you’re coming back into my house,” she said. The bird gave her another dubious look before stamping one foot and the flames disappeared leaving long gold and red feathers. “Oh,” Anya said embarrassed. “I suppose you can.”
“Tuoni takes her by the shoulders and turns her to face him. “Remember this Anya. Dreams have power; they show old truths you are too blind to see on waking. They make you remember memories that are lost in the blood flowing through your veins. Remember her magic. Remember what she did when you wake,” he says before he pushes her off the cliff.”
“Vasilli had often wondered if the secret of Ladislav’s power was, like Samson, held within his hair. And what would happen if he shaved it off.”
“The trail through the pines and beech trees was bright red. He was surprised the other human couldn’t see it. She was walking slowly, not far from him. He could smell the moisture on her hot skin. She hadn’t noticed his presence yet. She stopped in her tracks and he moved silently behind a cluster of moss-covered rocks. She turned and he saw her face. Oh no not her…he thought before turning and bolting back the way he came.”
“The shiny black nose of a fox appears through her door before the rest of it steps tentatively across the wooden floor to where she’s cooking. A pile of children’s clothes lie discarded in a corner of the room. The fox knows what she is cooking and holds back a shudder. There are some things even foxes know better than to eat.”
“Squinting in the darkness Anya could just make out a strange curving symbol scratched into the bark. Baba Zosia scored a line through it, disfiguring the symbol. Anya felt something in the air change and give, like the forest had let out a breath it had been holding around them. Something like static pricked the back of her neck as Baba Zosia cut her finger and smeared blood on the tree. The strange symbol melted into the bark, healing the tree to appear like nothing had been carved on it to begin with. Lifting her hands towards the campsite Baba Zosia started to chant softly in the complicated language of the tribe. Magic thrummed through the air, making Anya’s own flare and itch under her skin. She rubbed her arms to stop it. Around her a breeze picked up and the campground, with its tracks in the mud and stains from the fires all melted away until there was nothing but autumn leaf litter and debris in its place. It looked like it hadn’t been disturbed for years.”
“Oh, and Aramis? There is something else about the girl that you should know.” “Yes?” “She is of Yanka’s blood line. That won’t be an issue for you will it?” “No sir.” Aramis hung up the phone quickly and tried not to drop it as he put it in his coat. His hands trembled as he tried to maintain a cool, professional façade. Yanka’s blood. He had to find her and fast.”
“Oh Jesus, oh Zeus, oh Odin,” Anya dropped the stick and started shaking. “Oh shit.” The bird spread out its wings, which slowly transformed back into arms and the rest followed until it was a man once more.”
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Book Keywords:
prince-yvan, feathers, samson, children, dreams, blood, magic, trust, vasilli, cannibal, russia, firebird, remembering, forest, transformation, walls, aramis, anya, folklore, yanka, baba-yaga, houses, yvan, odin, tuoni, hair, foxes, ladislav, trail
