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“Thirteen years.”
“Ears?” Jenya touches her earlobe, confusion written across her face.
“Yeah, years,” Tanya says impatiently, then narrows her eyes. “Oh, has he continued to brainwash you with stupid terms? What is it this time? Still the cycle of light and dark, is it? What nonsense has he put in your little brain?”
She’s getting worked up, her body emanating negativity in waves. Anger, hatred, disgust. It’s warping her features like I’ve never seen before. Bringing Jenya here might not have been the best idea.
“How do you measure time in your village, Jenya?” I ask as I put my hand on Tanya’s white-knuckled fist. Her fingers relax under mine, but she pulls away, shooting me a warning glance.
“The sky flares, in winter and summer,” she replies, seemingly undisturbed by Tanya’s antagonism.
“Of course, you can’t see the Northern Lights in Chicago.” Tanya rolls her eyes. I have no idea what she’s talking about. “So how many ‘sky flares’ old are you?”
“I don’t know what you mean. According to the Holy Books, I’m two away from the immortality ritual.” Jenya frowns. “It won’t be happening until I find Koschei. He saved himself first.”
I blink at the ludicrous cult talk, turning to hear Tanya’s response, only to see her face stuck in an expression between anger and anxiety: her jaw clenched, her lips pressed into a thin line, her eyebrows raised like she’s also in shock.
She exhales, the type of exhale people do before they lose their shit. With an exaggerated move of her head, she looks me in the eyes. “She is seventeen years old. She needs to be at the embassy with the children.”
“She wanted to be here,” I say. “Did you understand anything from what she said? What’s this deal with sky flares and immortality?”
“The fireworks. They would have been impossible to ignore in that compound, no matter how brainwashed everyone was. On New Year’s and on Fourth of July,” Tanya grumbles.
“Still, that doesn’t tell you—” I press on, but Jenya interrupts me.
“You were there on the Day of Cleansing, weren’t you? Koschei said the darkness took you then.”
Tanya starts to visibly shake. I raise my arm to the bar woman, hoping she will bring us some water or just send someone over to ease the mounting pressure.
But she’s busy doing inventory and there’s no one else. We did come before opening, after all. Fuck, I don’t want to be here between them.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tanya says through gritted teeth.
“You were in one of the pictures inside. With all the other children who were taken by the darkness.” Jenya’s voice is even, like Tanya’s body language isn’t speaking to her at all.
My eyes widen when Tanya’s chest starts rising and falling rapidly. Is this a panic attack or an incoming anger flare? I open my mouth to say something that will undoubtedly make matters worse, when Tanya speaks.
“I need a moment.” She gets up.
“Where are you going?” Jenya asks what I’m too afraid to.
“To the bathroom. Alone.” Tanya casts a sharp glance my way, and I lift my arms in surrender. I’m not following her.
She shuffles out of the booth, her body rigid and jerky. I watch her as she disappears into the corridor, unstable on her high heels. I have definitely underestimated her involvement with the cult.
“Why did you push her like that?” I whirl on Jenya the moment Tanya is out of sight.
Jenya looks at me with her unchanging, piercing blue eyes.
“This is normal,” she says.
“What?”
“It’s not easy to live in the village. There are many rules.”
“Couldn’t you see she was getting agitated?”
“Yes, which only shows how long she has been away. Being unable to control emotions like that would have gotten her into a lot of trouble.” Jenya nods solemnly to herself and then it dawns on me.
