“That’s them. Let’s head toward the back.”
She grabbed her notebook and the pen and followed Fencer. Her instinct was to duck into the restroom and see if there was a window she could climb through, but as they headed toward the back exit, Fencer turned and said, “You have to get to Assjacket, West Virginia. Look for the Baba Yaga there. She will know what you should do. And she’s a force to be reckoned with. No way would these guys be able to get past her.”
How was she supposed to get there? What about Jesse? She couldn’t just leave without her.
“Hollyn, stop right there.” The familiar, deep voice sent chills down her spine.
Her father was here.
She froze where she was and glanced behind her. He stood at the end of the hallway, his hands planted on his hips. A long cape draped down his back, and a yellow glow surrounded him. His white hair and beard hadn’t changed, but he looked smaller to her than when she’d last seen him ten years ago. He still intimidated her.
His two goons moved past him and began to approach slowly.
Without thinking, Hollyn held up her hands as if to cast a spell. She knew, though, that nothing she could do would be anywhere near the level of her father, but there was one thing he couldn’t do.
She breathed in a deep breath and delivered a string of trilling notes in a melody that she hadn’t dared to sing in years. Instantly, the guards and Fencer stopped and stood straight, their eyes glazing over in an inescapable trance. Yet, even as her siren song seemed to work on the men nearest to her, her father stepped forward, seemingly unaffected.
“Oh, how I’ve waited for this moment, daughter.”
Hollyn glanced around her, searching for an escape. The women’s restroom was to her right. She burst through the entrance and sprinted toward the tiny window. But before she could climb through it, the restroom door flew open, and her father stood in the doorway.
“Before you go, you should know that I have Jesse locked up. She’ll pay for betraying me, but I only want you to come home. Things can be different.”
Hollyn dared to speak, “You better not hurt Jesse!” He remained unaffected by her voice.
“Only one way to make sure. Come with me.” He motioned toward him.
“And if I refuse?”
He shrugged. “There’s nowhere to run where I won’t find you, Hollyn.”
“That might be true. But my mother would want me to try!” With that, Hollyn pulled herself over the windowsill and slipped through. The minute her feet hit the ground, she ran toward the nearby water. Although she thought she heard him behind her, she didn’t dare stop until she felt the water of the ocean all around her. She swam away from the shore until she turned parallel to it and began making her way against the current. After some time, she stopped and stared at the deserted shoreline. It was dotted only with a few seagulls, and she hoped one just happened to be wearing a woolen cap.
With sure strokes, she started back toward the sand of the beach until her feet were planted firmly on land once more. The smell of the ocean hovered over her, but it was a smell of comfort. It meant she was still free.
A gull separated itself from the others and ran her little legs over toward her. The cap sat cockeyed on the top of her feathered head. “What now, kung pow?”
“When a scary monster is chasing you, Bertie, you find a scarier monster. Let’s go find Baba Yaga.”
