First Demonic Dragon

The woman raced through her house and headed straight for the cellar.

As she threw open the door, she was suddenly grabbed from behind and thrown against the wall.

Her feet dangled off the ground as Nubia held her by the neck.

Through choked gasps, she tried in vain to announce her plans to surrender.

Nubia’s twin bejeweled eyes gave off a light of immense irritation.

“I should have known that you had something to do with this. A hundred years without your powers not enough punishment for you?”

Nubia only received choked gasps in response.

And… chewing?

She looked to the side and found Courtney chewing on a slice of pumpkin bread. And wearing a small milk mustache.

“I forget how bad food on earth tastes, but I can’t stop eating the sweets for some reason. You think some kind of ability is coming in for me, or are they just better than I remember…?”

Nubia scoffed. “I think you’re just being fat.”

“Rude. At least I’m not choking some random lady.”

Pamela rushed in from the kitchen with a handful of herbs and a candle. “P-Put my mother down, now!”

Courtney blew out the candle with a thought and sent the herbs up in flames.

Pamela dropped the plants before they could burn her and stamped them out.

She then rushed over to a cupboard and pulled out a shotgun.

“For real?” Courtney folded her arms.

Pamela looked down at the gun in her hands, suddenly finding it to be inadequate.

Nubia dropped the woman she was holding at her feet.

Placing her hand on her throat, she coughed aloud while trying to back away from Nubia.

“So you’ve got a coven now, Yaga? I suppose that would make it easier for you to commit your unscrupulous practices.”

Courtney swallowed the last of her unflavorful treat and let her mouth hang open.

“… ‘Yaga’? As in Baba Yaga??”

“The very same.” Nubia looked down at her.

Courtney thought she would get used to eating mythological celebrities at one point or another, but every new one she met proved to inspire her with even more awe.

However, there was someone else who was just as shocked as she was.

“Mom… what is she talking about?”

Pamela slowly put her shotgun down on the table.

She walked over to help her mother up, with a concerned look on her face.

“They’re not… telling the truth, are they..? You know gods get confused sometimes with their old age and all…”

‘Bitch…’ Nubia thought.

Pamela’s mother couldn’t look her in the eye.

Her gaze was firmly affixed to her heels. Her shoulders were tense.

“I-I, umm… I never wanted you or the others to find out… I put that name behind me, and all of that is… from a lifetime ago. I go by Sarah Jane now.”

“Try four.” Nubia snorted.

Pamela stumbled away from her mother. “J-Just how old are you??”

Baba Yaga rubbed the back of her head and said nothing.

“Maybe we should… all sit down.”

–

A tea party had never been so silent before.

Courtney and Pamela stared at Baba Yaga with every action she made. Nubia only seemed to be interested in her teacup.

“So, Baba Yaga…” Pamela addressed her mother pointedly. “Care to tell me who these women are who clearly seem to know you better than I do?”

Baba Yaga absentmindedly ran her fingers around the rim of her teacup.

“Do you remember when we were young, and I used to tell you stories about where magic came from?”

“You also told me that our chests were a gift, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I found a little plastic surgery in your medical records.”

“Pam!”

“Fine, yes, I remember! The, uh..” Pamela scratched her head. “The golden woman. Her very breath is what we draw on to fuel our magic.”

“Very good.” Pamela nodded. She then held out her hand to Nubia. “This is her daughter.”

Nubia waved.

Pamlea’s mouth fell open.

Courtney was unamused. “I’m her kid too, baby-eater.”

Baba Yaga didn’t seem phased by the choice of nickname, but she did seem surprised by the claim of parentage.

She looked at Courtney, then at Nubia, then back at Courtney.

“…Cute, kid. Real cute.”

Courtney threw her hands in the air. “God, why does everyone act like anthropomorphic personifications can’t adopt kids?!”

“That was a real story..?” Baba Yaga seemed surprised. “I thought my leg was being pulled.”

In that moment, Courtney understood what her sister meant about dragon rage. She felt a very strong urge to burn this entire house down.

“S-Should I be… bowing or something…?” Pamela suddenly asked.

“NO, not at the moment.” Nubia dismissed. “We’re not here for formalities or to re-hash old history. We want-“

“Just in case… please tell your mother that I’m keeping my nose clean.” Baba Yaga pleaded. “I’ve um… gone straight as they say.”

Nubia casually looked around the house.

“Yes… I see that. You’ve come a long way from secretly following my brother around so that you could eat the souls left in his wake.”

“Wait, what??” Courtney blinked. “Are you talking about Bell?!”

“Ancient history, dearie. You’ll have to ask our brother about it sometime.” Nubia sighed.

She turned back to the ancient witch and stared at her in frustration.

“…You didn’t take my sister. You wouldn’t dare.”

Baba Yaga didn’t seem to understand. “I…? Your sister was taken…?”

“Through forced summoning. Need I remind you that very few witches even know how to attempt such a thing to begin with?”

Slowly, Baba Yaga lost all of the color in her face.

Nubia heard her heart skip inside of her chest, and it raised her suspicions considerably.

“You know something. Spill it.”

Baba Yaga indeed knew something, but even she was beginning to doubt her hunches.

“I… Your sister isn’t the only one missing.”

Courtney and Nubia sat up in their seats as their hearts slowly dropped.

“…What are you talking about?”

“M-My divination spells haven’t been working recently. It’s like no one has been properly monitoring destiny. And when I try to commune with the deities, it’s like-“

“They’re not listening.” Nubia’s voice quivered.

She reached across the table and grabbed Yaga by the hand. “Which deity do you use for your divinations?”

“T-The Fates, obviously… but they… can’t be taken, right?”

Nubia swallowed. The Fates were one of the few gods who still came in person when they were invoked. Though almost no one on earth really knows how to summon them anymore.

However, if someone did possess the knowledge, then they could definitely bind them using one of her father’s artifacts. The person wouldn’t even need to have a lock of their hair or a toenail.

And because the fates aren’t the most social goddesses, no one in the heavens would have even known that they were missing.

Until now, that is.

“Shit… shit.” Nubia’s composure broke.

She ruffled her head through her hair as she tried to regain control of herself.

For those infinitesimally short seconds, Nubia planned all of her next steps.

The others had to be informed. And Asherah too.

Nubia wondered if maybe, just maybe Yggdrasil knew something about all of this.

But before she could check on any of that, she had to first deal with the matter at hand.

“I need to know everyone you’re aware of who is proficient in one-way summoning.”

Baba Yaga nodded. “Well, it’ll be a short list. No one outside of this house knows anything about the family business and yes, we do all live together. Nothing goes on without each of us noticing.”

“And are you all present?”

“My husband is at work at the moment…” Pamela finally chimed in. “He’s a bank manager.”

“Get him here. Now.” Nubia demanded. “We need to be able to rule everyone out.”

“That’s..” Pamela began.

Her mother placed her hand over her daughter’s. “She’ll do it, but I truly don’t believe it’s necessary. Her husband is a mortal, he has no affinity for magic power. And even if he did, I wouldn’t go around teaching him our family secrets.”

Nubia bit her lip hard. Was this all really nothing more than a dead end?

She could feel that something was here. She knew it so viscerally that it made her bones vibrate.

Nubia was on the cusp of achieving a breakthrough. There was just one piece that she was still missing…

“Who is that?”

Courtney pointed to a photograph sitting on a kitchen island.

She held out her hand and the photo came flying towards her. Nubia leaned over to look at it.

There were two men in the photograph that they hadn’t seen.

One looked to be Pamela’s husband, judging by the fact that she was sitting in his lap.

The other was a much younger man who was hanging around on the outskirts of the photo.

“That’s my son Baron…” Pamela answered.

“And where is he?” Nubia raised a brow.

“Well-“

“We don’t know.” Baba Yaga interrupted. “He ran off around three years back. Took some money that was in the safe and a few tomes too.”

“The almighty Baba Yaga doesn’t know how to do a locator spell?” Courtney questioned.

At this, Baba Yaga fell silent.

For the first time, Nubia sensed an immense amount of turbulence within the witch’s heart. But the reason why was buried deep.

“…Didn’t feel the need to look for him.” She shrugged at last. “Better that he get knocked around a bit and come back once he cooled off. H-He couldn’t do anything with the stuff he took anyway.”

Nubia’s eyes narrowed.

It’s him.

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