Ivan has been stalking Barbara for three days, trying to work up the courage to speak to her but tired of waiting, Barbara takes the bull by the horns and approaches him. It seems that the Baba Yaga before her gave Ivan's family a magical promise of aid due to his grandmother's bravery and love. With his children taken from his custody and justice system wrongly convinced that he abuses his children, Ivan is forced to turn to the Baba Yaga for help. It seems that a human named Johnathon Billingwood has developed the ability to influence people and has not only stolen Ivan's wife away but blocked Ivan's access to his children. Considering the circumstances, Barbara feels she must absolutely become involved.
Wickedly Magical is a prequel of the Baba Yaga series and coming in at 67 pages, it's a short story absolutely designed to interest the reader in the series. As an introduction to the Baba Yaga series, Wickedly Magical more than does it's job. I finished Wickedly Magical very quickly and am absolutely anxious to see where this story is going to go. Blake took great care to update some of the folklore associated with the Baba Yaga to make it fit within modern times. All of the Baba Yagas still live very secluded lives but they no longer fly around in a mortar with a pestle. Barbara's mortar and pestle now takes the form of a motorcycle. Their homes are all still made from the original chicken leg hut but have been changed to things like jet streams. Baba Yagas can still change their appearance at will and though Barbara very much presents as an average woman, she still has a bit of a long nose.
Each Baba Yaga is trained by the previous one. It seems that because the Baba Yagas are so removed from their humanity by the time they train their successor, this incarnation of Baba Yagas have some unresolved issues. Though the Baba Yagas are not blood related and have been selected to the current roles due to innate magic, they have a very strong sisterly bond and enjoy spending time together. I love that they lean on each other and get a strong sense of family from them. These women however remain isolated because of who they are and don't form relationships with human men.
