for drowning men they have chosen, but Eveshka abandons Pyetr and disappears again. Uulamets and Sasha find Pyetr unharmed, but are attacked by Hwiuur, a shapeshifting vodyanoi, known to drown people who go too close to the water. Uulamets traps Hwiuur and threatens to kill it. The creature pleads for its life and admits to drowning Eveshka, but blames Chernevog, a former student of Uulamets. Eveshka had fallen in love with Chernevog and run off with him, but Chernevog had used his newly acquired wizardry to control her, and then handed her over to Hwiuur. Even as a rusalka Chernevog still controls Eveshka and will not let her return to her father. Uulamets agrees to let Hwiuur go on condition that he helps them find Chernevog. While searching for Chernevog, Pyetr spots Eveshka and chases after her. Sasha wants to follow Pyetr to protect him, but Uulamets wills Sasha to stay. Uulamets had recognised Sasha's potential for wizardry and taught him how to use his talents, but stressed the dangers of unchecked wishing and the importance of considering their consequences first. Pyetr, who now has feelings for Eveshka, and is slowly accepting this new world of wizards, rusalkas and river creatures, finds her and together they locate Chernevog's house in the forest. Chernevog immediately takes control of Pyetr and instructs Hwiuur to guard him. As Uulamets and Sasha approach the house Chernevog starts sending lightning bolts at them, but Uulamets is able to redirect them back at the house, setting it ablaze. In the chaos, Pyetr breaks free of Hwiuur and overpowers a weakened Chernevog. Uulamets then casts a wizard's once-in-a-lifetime spell and commands Eveshka to "live!". This final wish kills the wizard but resurrects Eveshka. Sasha discovers that that spell also bestowed on him all of the wizard's knowledge and abilities. Chernevog is unconscious, but Sasha cannot kill him and instead puts him into a long, deep sleep. Hwiuur has disappeared, and leshys, woodland spirits, appear and celebrate the downfall of Chernevog. They put him on a stone in a circle of trees and agree to guard him. With Eveshka flesh and bone again, she and Pyetr finally unite, and Sasha, now a wizard, has new responsibilities to attend to. Reception In a review in the Chicago Sun-Times, science fiction and fantasy writer Roland J. Green called Rusalka "one of 1989's better fantasies". While he was critical of Cherryh's