"Me neither, to tell thee the truth," Lyubov says, grinning. "My eldest daughter and youngest son have like, been getting into it? But 'tis a little too arcane for me, strange as it sounds. Not my type of mysticism at all, nu?"

She pauses, and her face grows somber.

"They're most likely not here, are they?" she says, softly. "The kids. Or Nyura. 'Tis just me?"