Emberg. Four months laterA lot of time has passed since that terrible night. One calm day gave way to another, flying by unnoticed and quickly. A warm summer has come, bringing a time of prosperity, joy and happiness to Emberg. Leaving nightmares behind. During the first month, all those who were poisoned recovered. While they were in the temple, their condition did not worsen, and after the death of the sorcerer, they began to recover one by one. Sorcery was dispelled, and the water was purified. When warm days came, they began to rebuild the destroyed houses, shops and warehouses. From the boulders that remained from the stone giants, they laid out an arch at the entrance to the city. People whispered that magic still lived in the stones and would guard the city for many years to come.The inhabitants of the castle lived, forgetting about excitement and fear, until one summer sunny morning a rumor flew by: the time had come.There is nothing more painful and joyful than waiting. Be
Edgar caught hold of a thick branch and easily pulled himself up on his hands, his bare feet deftly ran up the dry bark. It's business as usual. The guy chose a convenient fork between the branches and sat down, comfortably crossing his legs. He carefully pulled out a plump notebook and a special drawing charcoal from a canvas bag. He wiped his forehead and tossed a tight, blond braid behind his back, so as not to interfere. He let his hair grow in the manner of the Markats, trying to at least be like everyone else in this, at least to seem normal, but it still didn’t help.Edgar has always been different.And his passion for drawing didn't help much either. It wouldn’t be like a brother to practice with swords from morning to evening, maybe it would come out well. But no, Edgar was attracted by the beauty of the surrounding world, which, with an unbearable itch in his hands, he wanted to capture on sheets of paper. Stop the moment, letting it pass through you, as if gaining a kind of
The sun was setting behind the city wall, painting the houses and streets in bloody tones that mingled with long shadows. The people looked like the living dead, behind each of them trailed black melting smoke. They were sick and dying, and nothing could help them. Deya walked among them, barefoot, dressed only in a linen shirt. Her loose blond hair was tousled and confused by the unfriendly wind. It was cold, she hugged her shoulders chillily and tried to call out to one of the people, but they did not hear her. She couldn't make out their faces.She walked forward until she came to the square, in the center of which was a giant fire. Black flames flared up at her approach, and doused her with grave cold instead of heat.Deya backed away, but a voice stopped her. Someone alien and dangerous stepped out of the crowd and stopped behind her shoulder. Deya did not dare to turn her head, frozen in place and not feeling her body.-That's what awaits you here. - Said the voice indifferently
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
Emberg. Four months laterA lot of time has passed since that terrible night. One calm day gave way to another, flying by unnoticed and quickly. A warm summer has come, bringing a time of prosperity, joy and happiness to Emberg. Leaving nightmares behind. During the first month, all those who were poisoned recovered. While they were in the temple, their condition did not worsen, and after the death of the sorcerer, they began to recover one by one. Sorcery was dispelled, and the water was purified. When warm days came, they began to rebuild the destroyed houses, shops and warehouses. From the boulders that remained from the stone giants, they laid out an arch at the entrance to the city. People whispered that magic still lived in the stones and would guard the city for many years to come.The inhabitants of the castle lived, forgetting about excitement and fear, until one summer sunny morning a rumor flew by: the time had come.There is nothing more painful and joyful than waiting. Be
Three more months later...- Deya ... - male fingers, lightly tickling, ran along the bare back. - Deya-ya-ya ... - Beria whispered in the ear of his wife, who was sleeping sweetly, hugging the pillow touchingly. Pillow, not his, legal spouse.- Mmm… what? the girl sighed, eyes closed as her hot breath touched her neck.- It's time to feed the children, - said Beria, carefully brushing aside his silky hair and kissing the soft skin on his neck.-Yeah...His fingers traced wavy patterns between his shoulder blades, moving down and up his spine.Dea, are you sleeping? the man asked ingratiatingly.- Get away from her, - Aznar's displeased voice was heard. Bery tried to get it in the dark with his foot so as not to interfere, but instead he heard a dull sound of a blow and a quiet hiss.-For what? Beria groaned. - Deya!“Your children, you feed…” the princess muttered unintelligibly.“Yes, I would love to,” Bery quipped, rubbing his cheekbone.- Shh, - Aznar hissed at him, - let him slee
Finding a much-needed vampire was not so easy. His office, with its shiny brass sign, was locked. And where does he hide on weekends?I hope the professor didn't leave the academy and head into town to have a couple of drinks with friends, or, well, dine with an unfortunate townswoman.Thinking, I walked over to the silent armor in the corner. These were very old, the feather was faded, thick cobwebs twined around the helmet. Perhaps no one has asked for directions here for a very long time."Honorable sir," I said slowly, imitating Fiona. “Can you tell me where I can find Professor Valentine?”The armor was silent for a while, either surprised by the question, or trying to find what they were looking for. With a terrible clang, the rusted spear hit the stone floor, and a thin, shining line snaked into the corridor.- Thanks! - I threw on the run, following the prompt.She led me lower and lower, first to the first floor, and then past the utility rooms and the kitchen straight to the
In the morning, Borch woke up everyone who managed to tame animals, as soon as the red disk of the sun appeared above the horizon. The rest, less fortunate, had another day of hunting ahead of them.Sleepy and yawning freshmen climbed out of the tents. Then they brought their companions out of the stalls.Smoke hopefully sniffed my pockets, snorting and hot breathing, but found no food and out of spite tried to bite me on the shoulder.“We’ll have to be patient,” I patted the horse’s withers. - I'm hungry too.August failed his griffin. He stubbornly glared angrily at the hunter with orange eyes. The front bird's paws plowed the ground with their claws. The lion's tail twitched nervously from side to side. I looked at the griffin in fascination. And she shuddered when Thunder snapped his powerful beak right next to August's face.With persuasion, and even shouting, we, along with other students, pulled our companions into the luminous circle of the portal. The animals were stubborn, r
August helped me lead Smoky to the makeshift stalls that had been hastily put together from thin logs. Then the games began: the horse did not want to go into the corral, and completely dodged the rope with amazing dexterity. In three hands, we barely coped with it. Looking into the eyes burning with resentment, I felt guilty.- Do not worry - I stroked the freedom-loving animal on the neck. - It's not for long. Now I'll bring you water and apples if I can find them.There were no problems with water: in a day, freshmen dragged a whole bucket to the stalls. But with apples it turned out to be more difficult. But Eitin unexpectedly came to our aid. The magician left for a short time, agreed with someone, and soon brought three large red apples.You have no idea how you saved me! I said gratefully.-Nonsense. You owe me.- Hey, wait a second! We didn't agree on that.“Okay, okay, I was joking,” the half-elf snorted when he saw my surprised face. - Come on, we're on the same team.It too
Alas, the euphoria from a successful landing quickly evaporated. The sun was slowly going down, and the air was getting colder. Having examined the area, I concluded that we were on a small green plateau, next to the rocks.Fortunately, the elemental was not going to fly away and leave me cuckooing alone. But he didn’t let me approach him either, as soon as I approached, the horse briskly ran off to a safe distance and continued to pluck the grass.- No, I understand everything, such stress: they woke me up, led me by the nose, and also rode without permission, - I could not stand it. “But what am I supposed to do now, huh?”The horse twitched its ears and turned its back to me. The bushy black tail twitched contemptuously.I crossed my arms over my chest and thought as the only chance to get out of here continued to ignore me. If I do not agree with him soon, I will have a hard time. Who knows when they'll find me here? The backpack was left somewhere in the forest, the flask of wate
Immersed in my thoughts, I did not notice at all that I was lagging behind. When I woke up, I realized that the Kertar was not around. All around was only a bright forest, and the chirping of invisible birds.I thoughtfully looked at the squirrel, which enthusiastically gnawed a bump, tightly clasping it with small paws. Yes, it is unlikely that she will be able to suggest the way.Well, at least I'm not in danger of dying from thirst now. The flask is here, full.-August? – just in case, I shouted.Silence was my answer.Okay, don't stand here alone. I'll go ahead - I'll go out somewhere. Maybe I'll find our footprints, which we generously left on the way to the lake.Walking through the forest without a hunter turned out to be not so easy: driftwood constantly fell under his feet, low branches whipped his face, a lone mosquito rang disgustingly above his ear. Soon I wandered into such dense deadwood that I almost got stuck there.Somehow getting out and tearing my hands to blood, I
He got close. Too close for me to be indifferent.Forgetting herself for a moment, she slowly and carefully ran her finger over her parted lips, wiping away the drops of pure water. The hunter froze, almost ceasing to breathe, and his hands gripped my waist tighter.Abyss, why are you so attractive!It was foolish to deceive myself - I was drawn to Augustus from the very beginning. His good-natured smile and a little obsessive concern sunk into my heart from the very first day. And now, biting my lip, I shamelessly admired the bronze skin of the southerner, his clearly defined rough cheekbones and hard jawline, allowing myself not to think about anything else for at least a few agonizing minutes.August reached out to me first. Male lips were unexpectedly hot, greedy. I didn't resist. Nobody had ever kissed me like that before: the kiss was powerful, crushing, disturbing the darkest hidden desires.The partner released me almost immediately, catching my exhalation-groan with his lips,
Waking up before dawn was not the most pleasant: the morning cold insidiously penetrated into the tents and chilled to the bone, so that Fiona and I had a tooth on the tooth. Trembling and wrapping yourself in raincoats, you climbed out, hoping that it would be warmer in the morning sun.The sky on the horizon gradually brightened and filled with a blush, dew glittered on the grass with millions of diamond drops, even if you dive in face and wash yourself.- Are you ready for the second round? - Asked a sleepy August, getting out of his tent, and not even trying to suppress a yawn. - Today I propose to walk through the forest to the lake. In the fields with prey is not dense.-Look forward to!The Larnian and I looked at each other, jumping up and down to keep warm.We set off as soon as it was finally light. Instead of breakfast, we were given a loaf of rye bread with a decent piece of soft cheese. The food was divided equally and had a bite to eat on the way, so as not to waste time
I coughed, trying to unstick my face from something prickly and realize where the top is, and where the bottom is. Fiona moaned softly nearby.Finally, I realized that I was lying on the ground with my face in the grass. But as soon as I raised my head, trying to look around, I was again unceremoniously pressed to the ground. I thrashed about, trying to throw off my heavy body.From above, they cursed in Eitin's voice. I listened with interest - I did not even suspect that one could swear in Elvish.“I'm lucky it wasn't me,” said the cheerful voice of Augustus.Almost immediately they gave me freedom: the hunter helped Eitin up.“Hannah, didn’t you get squashed a lot?”I choked. Here is the concern!- That is, if a little, then it's not scary? I still grabbed the outstretched hand. Don't neglect help.It was necessary to quickly get out of the portal, until someone else arrived heavier.Fiona dusted herself off beside her, all green, as if she was about to vomit.“You know, it’s still