Chapter 8 : The Baba Yaga's Apprentice

As Elena and her companions stood over the body of the Baba Yaga, they heard a rustling in the bushes. Suddenly, a young girl emerged, dressed in tattered clothes and looking terrified.

She approached Elena cautiously, and Elena could see that her eyes were wide and wild, as if she had seen things that no one should ever have to see.

"Please," the girl begged. "Don't hurt me. I was the Baba Yaga's apprentice, but I never wanted to be. She forced me to do her bidding."

Elena lowered her sword, unsure of what to do. She had never encountered anyone who had willingly served the Baba Yaga before.

"What did she make you do?" Elena asked.

The girl hesitated, her eyes flickering back and forth. "She could make me see things," she said finally. "Things that weren't really there. She would make me think that I was talking to someone, or that I was somewhere else entirely."

Elena felt a chill run down her spine. She had heard of the Baba Yaga's powers of illusion before, but she had never experienced them herself.

"How did you escape?" Nikolai asked, his voice sharp.

The girl looked down, her face filled with shame. "I didn't," she said quietly. "She let me go. She said that I had served my purpose, and that she had no use for me anymore."

Elena felt a pang of sympathy for the girl. She knew what it was like to be trapped by the Baba Yaga's power, to be forced to do things against your will.

"We won't hurt you," Elena said finally. "But you have to tell us everything you know about the Baba Yaga. We need to know how to defeat her."

The girl nodded, and they settled down to talk. She told them everything she knew about the Baba Yaga's powers, her weaknesses, and her plans.

As they talked, Elena began to feel a strange sensation, as if the forest was closing in around her. She looked up, and saw that the trees had started to twist and turn, their branches reaching out like grasping hands.

She realized with a start that the girl was using the Baba Yaga's powers of illusion to trap them.

"Stop it!" Elena shouted, drawing her sword once again. "Stop using the Baba Yaga's magic against us!"

The girl looked up, her eyes wide with fear. "I can't!" she cried. "I don't know how!"

Elena gritted her teeth, determined not to give in to the illusion. She closed her eyes and focused, drawing on her own powers of magic.

Slowly, the forest around her began to fade away, and she found herself standing in a clearing, with Nikolai and Anna beside her.

The girl was nowhere to be seen.

"We have to find her," Elena said, her voice urgent. "She knows too much about the Baba Yaga. She could be our only hope."

They set off into the forest, searching for any sign of the girl. But as they walked, Elena could feel the Baba Yaga's power growing stronger around them, as if the forest itself was alive and trying to trap them.

Suddenly, they heard a scream in the distance, and they rushed towards it, their swords at the ready.

They found the girl in a clearing, her eyes wide with terror. She was surrounded by twisted, demonic creatures, their eyes glowing with an unholy light.

Elena charged forward, her sword flashing in the dim light. She fought with all her strength, cutting down the creatures one by one.

As the last creature fell, the girl collapsed onto the ground, her eyes closing.