Traitor Read Free

our landlady?”
    “I found her when I was just a boy.” His smile waned. “When I was lost. I’ve worked for her ever since. And that’s why you’re here, I suppose.”
    I frowned, confused. “We’re here to find out what’s going to happen to our homes, and if we have to move on, how long we have to find somewhere else.”
    He nodded enthusiastically. “Of course. She warned me of the situation, and when she made her decisions, she provided for the inevitable outcome.”
    I was beginning to think he would never make sense.
    He sat heavily in his chair and laid his palms on the desk as if steadying himself.
    “Ms. Delaney, I won’t pretend to understand it all—I’m not privy to every secret—but a blood protection surrounded Baba Yaga’s properties. Of which, she had many.”
    “She was attacked in her own home. Killed in the cul-de-sac. The protection wasn’t worth much.” I couldn’t keep the bitterness out of my voice.
    He sucked on his upper teeth. “There are loopholes, you see. There’s always a loophole. Whoever wanted her dead knew exactly what they were doing and when to attack. She was protected by ancient laws. She was untouchable. That is, until she gave up her neutrality and took your side.”
    “She didn’t take my side. She defended herself, defended the people she had already promised to protect.”
    He cocked his head, sadness dulling his eyes. “I agree, but semantics can play against us. She knew what she was doing, and so did those who struck against her. Her own protection had been taken away. She didn’t get the chance to adjust. Whoever organised her death must have known this because they acted as soon as Baba Yaga was judged by her peers.”
    “Her peers? Judged?” I glanced at Anka, who shrugged and held her finger to her lips.
    Breslin leaned forward eagerly. “There’s so much you don’t know. The judgement was decided, and the attack came almost immediately. Clever move because only the spilling of her blood by an enemy would permit entry by those who intended harm. When she was injured at her home, the protection temporarily fell from the cul-de-sac because they spilled just enough of her blood to weaken the magic. Upon her death, it fell for good.”
    “So there’s no hope,” Margie said in a dull voice. “We’ll never be safe there again.”
    “The others won’t interfere, but there is hope.”
    Others ?
    Breslin slipped on a pair of glasses and shuffled through the papers on his desk. “Ah, here it is. Her heir’s blood will provide the same defences on the homes of those who were under Baba Yaga’s protection. It all comes with a price, of course, but there can be protection once again. Provided the heir stays out of the bloodshed and doesn’t try to influence anyone to take actions that the heir would profit from.” He looked up and smiled as if he expected us to be happy.
    But I was more confused than ever. “Why would her heir give us his blood protection?” I asked, choosing to lead with the least complicated one of my questions.
    “It’s a lifetime commitment, really, but it’s not as serious as it sounds.” He patted the pages in front of him. “It shouldn’t hurt so much. I can organise everything, but I’m more concerned with the long-term options.”
    “We’re all concerned with long-term changes,” Anka said sharply. “How long do we have to find new homes if the heir refuses?”
    Breslin shot a concerned glance at Anka. “I’ll read her will as soon as you’re all ready. Upon speaking the words, the clauses therein will be invoked, and I would rather we all know where we stand first. Mrs. Yaga wished to provide for all of her souls. She left the homes to those who still live in them. It was the fairest way she could think of.”
    My mouth dropped open. “She’s giving us the houses? All of us?”
    “Yes,” he said. “Her first priority has always been to protect those she accepted under her wing. The only proviso is