Cassandra sighed in despair. Of course, it has to be some deep dark wood, she thought. Every time you need to find a dumb magical thing, there's always a creepy wood for you to go to. It has always been like that in every fairy tale she'd ever read, but she never once thought she would actually be in one.
The serpent appeared to have fallen asleep. Vasilisa stood up with a determined look on her face.
Owlyn safely led Cassandra back to Chamber of Mirror. They went through the mirror again, and the last thing the owl said before leaving was, "I'd appreciate it if you washed your face. You look like something a Groundsler dragged in. And remember we are all in a very great deal of trouble if you don't come back."The bird then turned and flew down the length of the ruined hall and plunged straight into the liquid-like mirror. Cassandra looked around to make sure that she was indeed back in the human realm. To her relief, it w
Ruslan turned the sheet of paper that contained the copied spells around and tried to decipher the fascinating writing system by himself. It looked beautiful but stranger, more alien and unreadable. Yet they also had an air of mocking familiarity, and he felt he would be able to read them if he only looked at them the right way."Latin?" he asked, looking up at the sorceress with unconcealed admiration. Vasilisa was packing her grimoire, wrapping it up with a large piece of gold cloth she had found.
By the time Cassandra and Ruslan reached Mischka Park, it was closed. They had to find a way to sneak in, which was not an easy thing to do. There was a security post by the entrance gate. They weren't sure if there were any guards around, but the post was empty.Ruslan found a gap in the park's fence and motioned for her to make use of it. They could see the greenhouse in the middle of the farmland. At the edge of the park stood the old mansion of the former landlady. No one lived there anymore. It would cost a fortune to renovate it, so it was practically abandoned. Some said the Soviet doctors had turned it into
They were now sinking down to the waist, and when Cassandra looked up, she saw the great jaw open wide above them, ready to swallow them whole. Just as she thought she was going to die, her eyes caught a glimpse of glowing light from her belt, and then she remembered the Gracelin dagger the Feathered Serpent had given her.In fact, the elven blade had been glowing ever since they had entered the mansion, but Cassandra did not notice and thought that it was just her own flashlight. She wanted to smack herself in the face
It was nearly midnight at the World Beyond, and they were waiting for the moon. They waited by the window because it had a clear view of the sky."What I'm worried about," said Vasilisa, "is the open mirror. For every moment we wait that means any magical beasts or evil mags can cross to the mortal world. We are running out of time."
"Owlyn, do you think you can lead us the way into the Wood?" Vasilisa asked the bird."I'm afraid the path is lost to me, too, my lady," Owlyn said sadly. "In the World Beyond, only Feathered Serpents and the fiery falcon,Raróg,have the power to travel fast and wide. And the warlocks, with their portals..." The white owl stopped and sighed."If we're fortunate, we migh
In the long silence that followed Cassandra felt herself sinking like a stone with her captor. They went deeper and deeper as if the oasis was bottomless. Cassandra tried to wiggle her body against the tight grip, but as she struggled, she caught a glimpse of a long dark green eel-like tail flipping beside her. Cassandra's frantic heart thumped against her ribcage.She bucked and kicked her feet, but the monster's arms held her down like an octopus's. Then it twirled her body around. Cassandra finally came face to face with her captor. She saw through the clear water, a beautiful red-haired maiden wearing light, sh
The morning came, pale and clammy. Cassandra woke up and found a tree-root under her back, leaving a dent mark there, and that her neck felt as stiff as the tree-root itself.She woke Ruslan and they both ate some cheese and bread for a quick breakfast. Owlyn was nodding off after a whole night of watch. Then again, the daytime was not for our nocturnal friend. Cassandra decided to let the owl rest while she looked around for Vasilisa.