Leonid and Izzy return then, shooting through the door with big bags in their hands. “These are such good burgers!” Izzy’s eyes are bright.
“They really are,” Leonid says. “Who thought they’d have them out here in the middle of nowhere?”
I rip open the bag, the smell hitting me like a hose to the face. “For a last meal, this wouldn’t be a bad one.”
“Stop,” Izzy says. “Don’t say stuff like that.”
I ignore her, reading the bag’s branding. “White Manna, huh?” I ask. “Hackensack, New Jersey?” I can’t help my smile.
Izzy laughs. “What a stupid name for a town, right?”
“Did it come with a woven bag full of rice?” I ask.
“Not even a crappy happy meal toy, but I think the food’s some of the best I’ve had.” Izzy pokes the bag. “Try the fries, too.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t wait to eat it with me.”
“I was starving,” she says. “Besides, I was scared it might be gross and we’d need to go somewhere else. You do have high standards.”
“Hackensack, poo pile,” I say. “They can call the town whatever they want, and if the burger smells like this, I’ll still eat it.”
I wonder whether Xolotl would try it again if he were here. I was so stupid, thinking I could really change who he was with food.
Pure delusion.
“What?” Izzy asks. “You’re pulling on your ear. That means you’re thinking about something.”
When I turn to talk to her, I see something behind her.
It’s a long-handled dagger, and it’s just sitting on the counter of the little apartment we portalled into. The blade’s serrated, and it looks terribly sharp. As we’ve been moving from place to place, I’ve slowly seen the truth: I’m wearing Baba Yaga down, and I’m putting Leonid and Izzy both at risk with this stupid plan to try and save my life. If I just died already, Xolotl would go to sleep and stay that way.
They’re doing all this, risking themselves, all to try and save me.
I’m not a martyr, truly, but any pragmatist would see the same equation. “Izzy, I love you. I always have, and I always will. Tell everyone I love them all.” I snatch the dagger off the counter, and before anyone can stop me, I plunge it into my belly.
Or at least, I try.
The dumb dagger literally just zoink, disappears. I claw at my red dress, and I hate that there’s literally not a single scratch. Gah.
“Nice try,” Baba Yaga says. “Non-martyr.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m a pragmatist, remember?” I glare at Izzy. “I don’t like them traveling with us. This guy’s powerful, and he’s bad news. They’re going to get killed doing this.”
“What do you suggest?” Leonid asks. “Should I take Izzy and the rest of your family and just disappear to Russia? Baba Yaga could come and make sure the horseman over there leaves us be.”
“Yes!” I clap my hands together. “That’s what I wanted from the start.”
Leonid rolls his eyes.
Sweet, kind Izzy hauls off and slaps me across my face. “You are such a jerk.” She spins on her heel and sulks in the corner. Before I can even try to smooth things over with her, there’s a strange popping sound outside.
Baba Yaga cackles. “It’s about time.” She flings her hands forward and the door to our little place bursts open. “Get in here.”
“You don’t order me, witch.” Thanatos saunters into the tiny room, and I realize how terrifying he is when Xolotl’s not by my side. He towers over Leonid, who was hands-down the most horrifying individual I’d ever met when we were first introduced.
Thanatos has a dark, foreboding presence about him, and the whole room darkens when he’s inside it. “You want to blast her full of light?” He arches one eyebrow. “I hate the idea. You’ll kill her.”
“But would it break the bond?” I ask.
