I know it's herI collect things. Zark did not return home after last night. Patrick relayed the order from the clan elders, and now I'm heading back to the dorm again. A bride with the marks of two werewolves cannot live in the house of one of them, so as not to provoke conflicts.I follow Patrick sadly along the garden path. I think I'm going to miss Zarq's house. The scene with the demon in front of the school gates comes to mind. Resentment rolls with renewed vigor. Why didn't he even listen to me? Mixed with resentment is the desire to protect this stupid demon from the pain that his speculation inflicts on both of us. I saw the pain in his eyes. Everything was getting better between us. How could Damian end up on my bed? Thoughts spread to the perpetrator of the scandal. Judging by his friend's dumbfounded expression, he definitely didn't expect to wake up in Zarq's house. Clearly, someone set it all up. And this someone knew the explosive nature of Zark very well and played on
Here you are, bitchThe school met me as usual - that is, gossip and sidelong glances. I'll probably get used to it soon.I did not find Aina in the hostel. A friend sat next to me in class.- Fox! Well, how do you do it?! Every day is fun.- Yeah, fun. It's called scandals.- In my opinion, this is your way of life, - Aina laughed softly.And then she added seriously:- Can you imagine how angry girls are at you? Everyone is taken to the director's office for interrogation. There is a whole delegation of teachers and elders. I don't remember such a fuss in our school. Well, maybe only when your... ahem... - Aina stuttered and coughed.- What are you talking about? - I immediately tensed up. My intuition told me that it was connected with my family.“Your sisters and stepmother,” Aina continued quietly.- Disappeared?! So you mean they're gone? When? Why aren't they looking for them?- Immediately after the death of your father, - Aina did not want to talk about this topic. - You'd be
I'm not running up, just trying to get my life on trackI went to school in a happy mood. Damian has been released and is able to attend classes again. And, I will not be hypocritical, the fact that Viola is now in custody instead of him did not upset me at all. Well, okay, I confess, I was even glad that I would finally spend the next few days calmly in the absence of one unpleasant splinter.The first thing I ran into the guys class. Damiana met me at the door to the office.- What are you doing here? The lesson will now begin!- Domi! I'm so glad to see you! - Sincerely hugged a friend. He quickly pulled away and shook his head.In the next second, he jumped back as if scalded and bowed his head. I rolled my eyes, realizing that Zark was standing behind me. However, he wasn't the only one standing there. Toby and the demon watched my wild cheers. Toby - with a raised eyebrow in surprise, Zark - with a gloomy expression on his face.Why don't you take care of your fiancee? Zark grow
No one will decide for me- I want to go to my father's clan! I've been stubbornly repeating to Toby for ten minutes now.After a hard night with endless dreams, where the yellow-eyed werewolf hugged me passionately, and then disappeared into the gray haze of the forest, I didn’t even want to go for a run. I lay on the bed and thought about the fate of my sisters and the circumstances of my father's death. When her thoughts began to fill up with the vision of the demon's tired face, and "don't play with me!" sounded in her head, she resolutely threw back the covers and plunged into the coolness of a refreshing shower. By the beginning of the lessons, I stood outside the school and waited for Tobias.- Well, why don't you live in peace? The guy sighed. - If you really want it, go talk to Zark.- Never! If you can't help me, I'll go alone or with Patrick. With my bodyguard, can I go outside the school? - I could ask for more Damian, but I was afraid to set him up in front of Zark.- Did
Everything just gets more confusingIn the morning, light fluffy snow covered the entire yard. The air chilled my cheeks. Instead of running, I started making snow figures. Probably too carried away by childish fun. I didn't know that Zark was standing on the porch watching me.- Chanterelle, you are a child.Are you peeking again? - shuddered at his mocking remark and was embarrassed.- It's fun to watch you.“Baby, then,” I squinted slyly.And a hastily made snowball flew into the demon. Zarq raised one eyebrow as he considered whether or not to fight me in the snow, and I knew it was going to be hard for me. The demon's revenge fell on me like a bunch of snow grenades. I ran around the yard, dodging projectiles. Zarq was throwing me at incredible speed. I laughed, barely managing to throw a couple of snowballs in response. Finally, she ran out of steam and, unable to stay on her feet, flew straight at Zark. We fell on the white snow-covered ground and suddenly burst out laughing. T
Guess it's time to grow upI woke up in my bed in the middle of the night. Went downstairs for a drink of water. She tiptoed through the living room so as not to wake Zarq.- Who is there? - they called me.- I'm sorry, - she turned around and stared in surprise at ... Patrick!- What are you doing here?!The master asked to be replaced.Where is Zark?“Master returned to the Western Clan.- Why? He didn't tell me anything.The master didn't tell me why.Patrick shrugged. I felt my heart fill with disappointment.All day long, Patrick, on behalf of Zarq, briefed me on the affairs of the Southern clan. They really intended to entrust me with the management of my father's affairs?- Patrick! I've said a hundred times that I can't do this. I'm only sixteen! I came to learn something new about my father's death! I found out. Now we can return.- The master ordered to show you everything here. Let's see and go.We drove deep into the forest along a winding forest road. The snow had melted,
My crazy planAll night long thoughts about the blond bitch kept me awake: where could she have run away to?In the morning curiosity brought me to the demon's house. I hesitantly stamped my feet at the threshold and was already thinking of cowardly retreat. But she didn't have time to leave.- Is your wild little head looking for adventure again?- BUT? - I turned around. Zark stood in the doorway wearing nothing but trousers. His powerful tanned torso made me nervously swallow saliva.- I say, where did you go again early in the morning?“Actually, I came to you,” I diligently looked away from his breathtaking body.Zark raised an eyebrow.- I won't invite you, speak here.Well, here it is again! Are we pretending to be strangers again?"Don't be offended," Zark said softly, seeing my confused face, "I'm worried about you." We shouldn't be alone.I immediately blushed, remembering last night. Zark entered the house and returned a minute later already dressed. We sat on the terrace.
I'm going to my mom's clanThe elders were waiting for us. The young Yugari took me to a small old house. He stood alone on the outskirts of the settlement. Dense thickets of trees surrounded him from all sides, threatening to swallow him completely. My "bodyguards" were asked to stay outside. Zark tensed. I quietly squeezed his hand: everything is in order.I was invited to sit in a high, tattered leather armchair. Two old men with gray hair and faded colorless eyes were carefully studying mother's pendant.- This is a real one. You say it belonged to your mother? croaked the first old man.I nodded confidently.- We need to look at the records of the archive. Every oun counted. We can easily find out who it really belonged to, - the old man slowly got up and left the room.- And who is your father? Human? - In the meantime, he moved on to the interrogation of the second.I frantically searched for a safe answer.- Yugari.- That's how, ours, then ...Good thing he didn't elaborate!
Lisa didn't answer my call. I woke up closer to dinner and immediately dialed my couple's number. I couldn't wait to see how she was doing. But she was silent. Minutes passed and I began to worry.- Toby, did you send the answer to the challenge? - A friend picked up the phone immediately.- Well, yes and what?- When?- What?- When, I say?- Calm down, what are you yelling at? Recently…- What the heck? Why recently, I ask you!!! - I almost yelled into the phone.“S-sorry,” Tobias began to stutter, “first he reported to the elders…- I'm your head! And it was an order! I don't need the approval of the elders! Do you want to go into exile?- Zark, I'm sorry, I didn't think a couple of hours mattered.- They have! And how!!!- Yes, what happened?The fox isn't answering!Tobias was silent for a couple of seconds.- Wait, maybe you're boiling in vain? Probably can't hear, put the phone away. Isn't it enough?- Get ready, we leave for the Southern clan.As soon as I pressed the end call
Lionella and Conrad, having lost their enemy, looked for a new target with their eyes. And there were several of them to choose from: the sanctifier, but it was possible to wait with him, he was exhausted and would not be able to attack right away, a pretty bored archer boy who again got involved in the battle against the non-human heretics he hated, and Vlad, unarmed, trying to negotiate .Ridiculous... What could he bargain for if he had nothing to offer? The mage chuckled. It is done. Wolf Ruby, here it is, warm, as if alive, responding to the slightest thought, to the slight movement of the fingers. And the power that he pours into the brain is more intoxicating than any fortified wine. Konrad felt the ability to slam all enemies with almost the power of thought, without hassle, without loss, with almost no effort. But he was aware that this was only self-deception, a side effect of a too strong magical artifact, which, of course, increases the powers of the sorcerer many times ov
They caught up with the guards the next morning. The battle ended quite recently, in some places on the grass and weapons, not completely clotted blood still glistened. Eleven bodies of varying degrees of preservation - from literally torn to pieces to killed by a neat, precise blow to the throat. Duffel bags are turned over, but all belongings are left right there. They were looking for something specific. You had to be an idiot not to guess what.-The pebble has changed hands, hasn't it? Armand looked questioningly at Alisande.She nodded and closed her eyes, concentrating for a couple of seconds.-Wolves move faster than people, we need to hurry.No one had any desire to replenish their stocks of provisions at the expense of loaves of bread scattered among the corpses. Cesare, who did not utter a word at the sight of the carnage, quickly collected all the arrows, including those that were sticking out of the corpses of several werewolves. In order to fit such a solid supply, the ar
This night, unlike the last, was calm. No hallucinatory mists appeared. During the day they managed to overcome the “right of way”, as Vlad aptly called the area of the dead forest. The oak forest lived an ordinary life: twigs crunched, leaves rustled in the breeze, crickets chirped, fireflies gathered on grass stems.Armand went on twirling everything that had happened this way and that in his brain. “Something I also start to run like a puppet. I don't like it. And to understand the intricacies of all the intrigues does not work. Here is this girl, for example. After all, I see that she is lying somewhere, or at least not telling. However, we immediately fell for her idea, like two males for a female in heat. Stop. And here is the answer. She just uses magic. Of course, I understand, beautiful, but not to the same extent as to completely lose my head. He refused to believe that ordinary hormones were to blame for everything. “On the other hand, until we figure out what kind of peb
Leroy caught himself on the fact that he no longer remembers how much a pillar costs and stares, almost forgetting to swallow his saliva. The woman clearly saw him in the mirror, but not only did not quit her business, but did not even blink an eye. As if every single day unfamiliar men in strange clothes fill up in her boudoir and freeze into wordless sculptures. Although ... if they had come in, they would certainly have done so. It became obvious that the hostess of the apartment was not going to somehow react to the uninvited guest.- Eee … - thoughtfully began Leroy. It seems that his vaunted eloquence betrayed him for the first time in many years. “And because of what? he wondered inwardly. “You might think I haven’t seen beautiful women!” And then he realized that he had seen something, but unimaginably long ago, in a past life - this inhospitable world did not deign to show him any of its beauties. There is no need to talk about something more than just a look. Armand looked a
This hall was not so grandiose in size. But most likely the main one in the temple. The room was filled with the sun, beating through the huge windows in the ceiling. After the dim glow of the sanctifier, all those who entered for a while closed their eyes. And as soon as the eyes got used, they froze in admiration, surprise, disbelief ... Twenty meters ahead, right in front of them, on a dais, he lay. Wolf Ruby. Even though no one present had seen the ancient artifact before or even read the descriptions of its appearance, everyone understood that it couldn't be anything else.The amulet did look like a gem, but natural rubies don't get that big. It was no smaller than a fist. Sparkling with bloody facets, throwing glare on the walls, floor and altar on which he lay. It made the whole room look reddish. The altar very clearly reminded Vlad of what he saw in his time in Conrad's room and explored in the basement under Lionella's shed. The same stone parallelepiped, with a ligature run
Vlad was at a loss what was stronger in him - curiosity, which only flared up even more from the proximity of the necessary information, or fear of the unknown, hostile magic and, to be sure, ghosts. People who previously did not believe in the supernatural, when faced with irrefutable evidence of its existence, experience much more shock and horror than those who have always been afraid of meeting ghosts, goblins or zombies. That is why Cesare felt most comfortable and confident of all of the trinity, for him the City of Ghosts, although it was an implausible legend all his life, in the end it was much easier for a local inhabitant to come to terms with its existence than for aliens "from a distant world".The stones that could be seen behind the trees really turned out to be ruins. It was not possible to determine the original appearance of the buildings from what was left: separate blocks and slabs, fragments of walls, usually not more than the first floor high, sticking out like b
They walked through the oak forest for the third day. From time to time they deviated to the side, but, having heard a mournful howl, they corrected the route. Somehow the responsibilities were assigned. Cesare and Vlad took turns shooting at the birds for food. In the best of times, the boy would have coped alone, but now, with a not quite capable left hand, it was inconvenient for him to pull the bowstring, the arrows quite often went “into the milk” and they had to be searched for a long time. Arman was cooking game on a fire lit by common efforts. The mercenary was slowly mastering the difficult art of using flint and flint. At night, they took turns standing on the clock. No one wondered why this was necessary, because there was no third-party danger, but it was more familiar and calmer.And oddly enough, there were no more conflicts. It is not clear why this happened, but although neither of the men had any special positive feelings towards the other two, nevertheless, quite sta
Cesare looked, to put it mildly, not in the best way, but to tell the truth, it was scary. A face with a huge bruise on the cheekbone, a trickle of blood caked under the nose. His shirt was in tatters, there was a shallow cut on his collarbone, and on his back there was a mark from a wolf's paw that had gone through with its claws. The matted hair almost covers the face. His hands are twisted behind his back, and a barely audible whisper escapes from his broken lips. At first, Vlad did not make out the words, and only listening, he realized that the boy, without ceasing to repeat prayers, reaches the end and starts again from the beginning, and so continuously."Cesare," he called cautiously.No effect. The archer didn't even look up, the mumbling didn't stop. Vlad slightly shook the boy by the shoulder and said louder:-Cesare!The young man tossed his head, looked so that goosebumps passed over the skin - so much pain and approaching madness shone in his eyes. The endless prayer sto