Page 57 of Into The Green

"Yeah, I guess. I didn't know any of this," I said, waving a hand around, "existed until Jasper brought me in."

"You've never felt drawn to the woods?"

"God, no. I've actually always been really leery of the woods. I never got close. I have some irrational fear of being attacked by some wild animal. I don't know why."

"A spell. To keep you out of here. Your parents didn't want you to come back."

"Any idea why? No one seems to be able to tell me anything at all about my possible lineage or what I am or why I can do this," I said, lifting a hand and putting all my energy into creating the shield even though I wasn't afraid of anything right then.

"I haven't seen a power like that in a long time," Baba Yaga said, though somehow sounding wholly unimpressed. "I'm not here to give you answers about your family, girl. That isn't my place. My place is men."

"What does that mean?"

"You've never heard of me? Not even in your human fairy tales?"

"No."

"I exact vengeance on men who wrong women."

I felt myself start at that. It was so ridiculous that I almost wanted to laugh. But nothing about Baba Yaga's expression seemed to suggest I was allowed that luxury. "Like... a voodoo curse?" I asked, brows drawing together at the image of bent old Baba Yaga sticking pins in a sack shaped like a man.

"Child's play," she said, scoffing at the very idea. "My methods are much more lasting."

"But why?"

"You're new to this realm, dearie. It has been at least one human lifetime since I have been in the human realm, but I can't imagine things have changed all that much since then. Progress is progress but it takes generations. Since the beginning of time, the best thing you could be in any universe has been a man with a small bit of fortune or power. And the worst thing you could be? A woman. Any woman. Any one of us could face the same fate. Powerlessness. Abuse. Rape. We have that burden as we always have, as we always will. Someone needed to step up and make it clear that not all women were powerless, that not all men's sins would just be accepted, brushed off, excused because men 'can't help themselves'. Before me, women had no where to turn to set things right. I gave them back that power. And as such, men, powerful, unstoppable men, are brought to their knees by the mutter of my name. That is why my methods are more lasting. They need to be. Men need to know that any woman at any time could come to me and that he will pay three fold for his misdoings. We can't afford to be soft."

"That's... kind of a sad way to live, isn't it?"

"Girlie, when you have had an entire army of Dark fae take turns on you at thirteen like Rose here," she said, gesturing toward the young girl who was still doing something to my ankle, "then you may speak about it being a sad way to live."

And, well, looking at that young girl, thinking about how innocent I myself had been at the tender age of thirteen, at the horror she must have endured, I had to admit, castration by fucking fire ants sounded like a merciful punishment for their actions.

"Now you get it," Baba Yaga said with a nod as if she read my thoughts.

"Yeah, I get it."

"Your Jasper, what did he do?"

"Nothing worth any punishment you would offer."

"That's your choice to make," she said, nodding. "Many women come here angry and bitter, not having given much thought to their decision. They stay, they eat, they rest, then they change their minds. Many end up staying here for ten, twenty human years, enjoying a life without men, without expectations on their actions or beauty, where they can do good work, can champion the right causes."

Like a feminist commune. I had to admit, I knew a fair amount of women in the human realm who would love something of the like.

"This isn't a home built solely on anger, bitterness, or hatred. This is a place of refuge and healing, of sisterhood and love. We make healing teas and compresses for women troubles. We step in as midwives when another can not be found. So while men who have reason to fear me cower, men whose women need me are glad I exist."

"Why would the Will-o'-the-Wisp lead me here?" I asked after a silence fell.

"It must have thought it was dangerous for you to come here. For you or..."

Oh, God.

Jasper.

He would come for me. And if there was some kind of spell around to keep women who didn't need Baba Yaga out, I didn't want to imagine what kind were in place to keep all men out.

I needed to get the hell out before he came looking for me.