The cells were located on the lower floors of the castle, going deep into the thickness of the mountain. Heat breathed in the stone walls, it was always dry and warm here. Nothing to do with the usual damp casemates, in which they died from diseases, rotted alive. The chambers themselves, hollowed out in stone, had rounded shapes and were closed with gratings with massive strong rods, so that not a single markat would break.Larana was sitting on a stone bench with her legs folded and hunched over. She was still wearing men's clothing, badly damaged in the fight. The wounds gradually healed, the itching and pain passed, but she did not care. She did not feel her body, her thoughts being far away.Aznar did not like to come down here. Here it seemed that the walls were crushing, suffocating and did not allow to breathe normally. And if you remember what a monstrous thickness of rock separates from the sunlight, hangs over your head, it becomes completely sickening.He walked over to La
Snow blizzards gave way to the pressure of warm sunny days. Under the hot rays, the snow melted rapidly, becoming wet and dense. The first clearings appeared, although where the shadow reigned, sparkling snowdrifts still breathed the cold of winter. Children were playing snowballs with might and main, snowballs fell on the walls of houses and melted there, spreading in streams.Outside the city, reindeer herds wandered into the field more and more often, moose came. They fought, and the crackling of horns reached the city walls. The ice melted off the coast and the merchants gleefully rubbed their hands, waiting to launch their ships into the water to trade with the magicians and the inhabitants of the islands.Dei's position became clear. The round belly was already difficult to hide. They made new dresses for her. Warm and spacious, with drawstrings under the bust. Deamara continued her studies with Atara, embroidering and sewing with Shali. Aznar and Bery again disappeared for days
-Are you okay? - Beria looked carefully and calmly. Of course, he had already been told about the incident on the walk."I'm fine," Deja gently stroked the raised scar that adorned his left cheekbone. The same was on the neck. - With me and with the children.The princess thought how much he had changed since their first meeting. How I learned to keep a mask in front of strangers. It's like he's grown up a few years.Yes, she has changed a lot since then. Who was she then? A poor girl who was scared to death of the Markats and dreamed of returning home. She wouldn't trade harsh Emberg for the Anmar capital now. The golden city was far away and in memory seemed like a ghostly vision. Like all past life.He and Beria settled down in a round living room in one of the towers of the castle. The walls of this room were decorated with a painting depicting a chain of snow-capped mountains. Four bodyguards remained on guard at the door: two inside, two outside. Shawls, along with other servant
The merchant and his family lived on the second floor of their shop. And at this late hour, he obviously did not expect guests. But he didn't sleep either. A dim reddish light shone in the windows. Beria, seeing this, narrowed his eyes:What can an honest person do at a time like this?- Do not rush to conclusions, - Aznar answered judiciously. “Maybe he's just counting the daily receipts.Beria raised his eyebrows, showing that he did not believe. The time was indeed well past midnight.“Knock,” he ordered the guards who carried the torches. Let's please him with a late visit.The merchant was “rejoiced” notably: he turned pale and almost slammed the door on the uninvited guests, but who would allow him. The man was clearly not going to sleep, he was fully dressed and did not look sleepy. Deya was alarmed, did this good-natured man who keeps his shop decide to resort to dark sorcery?The ground floor was in twilight. There were stacks of herbs and boxes on the counter.-What's your n
Deya slept for a long time after a sleepless night, and when she woke up, she did not immediately understand what time of day it was. Seeing in the dusk Beria, who was sitting on the bed with his back to her, the girl smiled. She stretched, then crept closer and hugged the man by the waist, pressing her cheek against his warm back.-Awoke? he asked without turning around. - Good.-What time is it? Deamara asked, running the copper strands through her fingers with pleasure.It's already late in the evening, you've been sleeping all day.-Truth? Deja reached out to kiss her husband, but he pulled away. He turned around to look at her seriously. The princess realized that something bad had happened. The remnants of sleep immediately evaporated, giving way to anxiety. - What?"I have to show you something," the man said, and Deja went cold at his voice. We have found the source of this corruption. And I want you to confirm that this is indeed the case. Only Aznar forbade you to show it, b
The first thing Deya felt when she woke up was pain. The back of my head throbbed with pain, my arms stretched on chains ached, my back and right side ached. Recovering herself, the girl was able to lean on her legs to ease the pulling pain in her wrists, on which she saw massive iron shackles. And only after that I was able to look around.The room she was in looked like an underground grotto: the ceiling was low, and stalactites hung from it, like frozen wax drips from a giant candle. Some of them looked like tree roots or strange outlandish towers, reaching to the floor. Somewhere in the distance, a soft splash of water could be heard.And very close by, groaning from chronic pain in the back, an already familiar old man was busy. He placed six small tripods at equal distances from each other around a flat, low piece of granite. Deja examined the brown smooth surface of the stone and felt sick. The sorcerer pulled out a coal from one of the braziers near the wall and began to draw
Aznar walked along the fortress wall. It was the first time he had seen so many undead. There were so many of them that they literally pushed their own people off the cliff. And those who fell tried to crawl over the rocks and over the bodies of their unfortunate relatives. And there were more and more of them. Soon they would actually be able to reach the walls and towers. Clatter chewing, scream and whistle merged into one monstrous rumble. Crossbow arrows bounced off strong chitin plates on the bodies of creatures, and if they managed to find unprotected places, they did not cause significant harm. The guards, whose faces were written with anxiety and suppressed fear, became calmer at the sight of the ruler. They gripped their weapons more confidently and looked directly at their opponents. As soon as Aznar passed by, the backs straightened, and the voices and commands became louder and clearer."They are healing," one of the guards said disappointedly, lowering his crossbow as the
The second awakening for the Anmar princess was even worse than the first. She woke up on the altar, her hands chained. Stalactites hung precariously from above, like the fangs of ancient monsters. Nearby loomed a sorcerer. Deya went cold when she saw in his hands a wide knife that looked like a cleaver."Let me go, old man," Deamara said in a low voice. - Why do you need it?He looked at her nervously. The broad knife quivered in his gnarled hands, momentarily blinding with a gleam of flame. For a moment the princess thought she saw the swift shadow of a tiger on the wall. The flame flickered and she was gone.“If the Reaper does not want this power, I will take it myself,” his voice did not sound too confident.He touched his hand to the girl's stomach, and she almost turned inside out from disgust. The old man withdrew his hand, as if frightened."I'll get ten years of life, maybe a lot more," he said.A low, furious growl was the best sound Deya could hear here. A swift red-haired