Free A Question of Magic by E. D. Baker Page A

will, but I’ll saywhat I’ve got to say first. I’ve lived in the same house just outside Vioska for forty-seven years, and in all that time, my neighbors have learned to leave me alone. We have our occasional tiffs—they wonder where their lost relatives have gone and come nosing around my house, though they’ve never found anything, I’ve made sure of that! And when I need a few ingredients for my work, I sometimes go to them, stingy as they are. All in all, however, we’ve left one another alone. Until now, that is. It seems they have a new sheriff whose nose is bent out of shape over a few missing people. I could have stayed, of course, but they were planning to burn me at the stake, so I slipped away in the middle of the night. Only now I don’t have anywhere to go. So here’s my question—where can I go that I can scare people into letting me do what I want and they won’t be able to do a thing about it?”
    Serafina didn’t want to answer this woman or help her in any way. Even though she tried to keep her mouth closed, her lips parted of their own accord, and she said in her Baba Yaga voice, “In the kingdom of Norovise lies a small village called Pimki. Most of the young people have moved away, leaving only the infirm and elderly. No one who currently resides in Pimki can stand against you.”
    The old woman’s eyes lit up. She licked her lips and stood, dumping her odd pet onto the floor. Moving toward the door, the woman dragged the creature on the string, pausing just inside the threshold to size up Serafina. “You don’t look like much, but it occurs to me that you might tell someone where I’ve gone. By all rights I should kill you. I won’t, however, because I’ve heard that anyone who kills the Baba Yaga becomes the next Baba Yaga, and I’m not about to get stuck with the job. I know I’m supposed to give you a gift, so consider your life my gift. If you’re smart, you’ll keep your mouth shut and not tell anyone about me.”
    The woman paused, still staring at Serafina. “Hmm. You don’t look that smart to me, so perhaps I should take one little precaution.” Pulling a crooked stick from the folds of her gown, she pointed it at Serafina and said, “If you tell anyone that I was here or the question that I asked, your tongue will shrivel in your mouth and you’ll never be able to speak again.”
    â€œI won’t,” Serafina said, and waited until the old woman had gone before adding, “unless someone asks me.”

    After the witch’s visit, dozens of people came to see Serafina, but she waited until a farmer who seemed honest and reliable stopped by before mentioning that the sheriff of Vioska should come to see her. It wasn’t until the end of the week, when she’d almost given up hope, that the sheriff finally appeared.
    â€œI hear that you want to see me,” the sheriff said, laying his cap on the table as he took a seat. From the condition of the horse he’d left tethered to the gate, it appeared that the man had ridden long and hard to get to her, and he looked grateful when she handed him a cup of cold cider. She couldn’t help noticing that he was only a few years older than Alek.
    â€œI do, indeed,” Serafina said as she took the seat across from him. “I understand that you’ve had a problem.”
    Ever since she mentioned the sheriff to the farmer, Serafina hadn’t slept well. Visions of her tongue shriveling in her mouth had haunted her dreams, and she frequently found herself pressing her tongue against her teeth and swiping it across her palate. She had no control over what the sheriff might ask; if he asked the wrong question, she fully believed that her tongue would shrivel in her mouth. If only she could just tell the sheriff where the witch had gone without saying anything else, but she was afraid that he’d ask