Page 1 of Her Selfless Warrior (Omega Sky)
PROLOGUE
“Polina,you have to listen to me.”
Papa sounded scared. His Papa was never scared. Little Konstantin pressed his ear closer to the thin wooden door, trying to block out the sound of his older brother’s questions from across the room. Their Papa had told them to hide with the baby in the ancient cupboard, but Kostya was too curious, so he was at the bedroom door.
“Polina, they’re coming tonight, and when they do, I will go outside and meet them. I need you to stay inside and hide in the bedroom with the children. No matter what happens, stay inside and don’t say a word. It’s up to you to protect our children.”
“You keep saying that. But who’s coming? What are you talking about?”
Mama’s words were loud and she sounded even more scared than when his friend Ivan had almost been eaten by the wild boar!
Even though it was really cold in the bedroom he shared with his brother and sister, fear crawled up his back, heating his skin. Kostya wanted to cry, but he forced the tears back. He was seven, he was too old to cry. He sucked in a deep breath and continued to listen.
“Wife, listen to me!” Papa yelled. “The second they take me away, you need to leave here and go to your brother’s house, he will take care of all of you.”
“That’s impossible,” she whimpered. “Vasily, you know his house is too far away; we won’t make it in winter, not with a sick child and such a young child. It’s impossible.” Kostya watched as his mother threw herself at his father, grabbing at the lapels of his threadbare coat, her face red with tears.
Kostya ached to run out into the little common room and comfort her, but Papa would be the maddest if he thought Kostya wasn’t hiding in the cupboard where he’d put his three children. His Papa didn’t smile anymore—lately, he was either sad or angry.
“Polina, you are a strong woman,” Papa said, gripping her wrists. “You can do this. You have to protect our children. Be brave!”
“Vasily, I’m begging you to come with us! Please, I’m begging you.”
This time it was hard to understand his mother because she was sobbing so hard.
Kostya straightened his shoulders. He knew that he was the one who needed to be strong and brave. He was the most like Papa; his older brother Roman was sickly, and Irina was just a baby.
“Myshka, my love, there is no time left.” His Papa lifted one hand and stroked his mother’s cheek and she shuddered. “After they take me, get my mother’s diamond brooch from the children’s mattress and go to your brother’s.”
“Vasily, it’s too far, little Irina will never make it to Mikhail.” This time his mother sounded sad, almost broken.
Kostya looked over his shoulder at the cupboard. Roman had the door open. His black eyes were dark as pitch as he stared at him. Roman couldn’t hear what was going on, but somehow he knew. He might be sickly, but he knew things were bad…desperate. He gave Kostya a nod and Kostya felt himself settle. He and his brother were in this together.
His Mama started to talk again and his head swung back to the crack in the door.
“What you’re asking, it’s too much. It’s an impossible task. I’m not strong like you. I’m not brave like you. We will all die, Vasily.” This time she didn’t sob. Her words were sad and hopeless. Kostya saw his father’s expression change as he hugged his Mama tight.
“All right,Myshka. All right. I didn’t want you to do this because you’ll be left with nothing. No money, no security, but you can go to Fedor instead.”
“Fedor?”
“The butcher’s helper in town,” his Papa explained. “I have heard that he knows ways to cross the border. It is a rumor only, but it’s your only chance.”
Kostya watched as his mother threw her arms around his father’s waist. “Please come with us,” she begged again. “We can hide with a neighbor. Whoever is after you will forget in time.”
“It’s too late for that. They found out I was working on distributing flyers with Pavel, you know he disappeared, and look what happened to his family. I can’t take that chance with you and our children.”
“It was an accident when their house burned down. Nobody would have left Anna Popov and her children to die in that fire,” Kostya’s mother gasped in horror.
His father stroked the hair back from her face and kissed her forehead. “It was a message to the rest of us.”
Kostya wiped away his tears. A month ago his friend Sergei Popov and his mama and all of his sisters had died when their cottage had burned down. Everyone but his father. Is that what was that going to happen to them?
“I’ve got to go, Polina,” his Papa said as he pulled away from his Mama. He turned to the door.
Kostya jumped at the thunderous crash as the front door of their home was slammed off its hinges. Kostya quickly pushed the bedroom door shut.
“Vasily Baronavich! You are under arrest for crimes against the state!”
