7

“Surely she forgot me, she married some count a long time ago and gave birth to him nice children.” She deserves happiness and a life of abundance...

- But why did we run like that then? Did you find out where she is? – Ira began to be annoyed by his friend’s romantically snotty state.

- Escaped? Oh yes! My uncle decided to marry me after my father's death. He kept saying: “There’s no point in snotting, live in the present, be a man!” He matched me with the daughter of a large merchant. One of the largest on the South Shore,” Felix paused, then blurted out, as if the name was poisonous: “Rikana... this is everything that the Inquisition is chasing, rolled into one... She is evil, greedy, rude, unbearably selfish and infinitely treacherous. I hid and ran from her as long as I could, then left, hoping that she wouldn’t find me. And this morning she found herself in a tavern. I can’t imagine how this annoying girl managed to find me! My gratitude to the innkeeper is limitless, because he did not give me away. I know first-hand how difficult it is to resist this beast. I will definitely thank him if I come to Kermalan again.

- What does it smell like? – Ira interrupted Felix in bewilderment.

- He... what? Who smells? – the knight did not immediately understand what the girl was talking about.

The young man sniffed. The air was filled with the acrid smell of fried meat and burnt skin. They turned towards the city. Plumes of smoke rose from behind the wall. Screams were barely audible.

- Are they shooting people? – Ira whispered.

- It looks like that...

- It's horrible!

Felix lightly spurred the stallion, who broke into a light trot. The travelers had only one desire - to get away from this nightmare...

The friends drove for several hours before the sight of the city, which harbored the largest nest of the Inquisition, disappeared behind the hills, and the acrid smell of burning flesh stopped wafting through the air. The travelers stopped on the outskirts of the forest. Having moved a little away from the road and hidden from random prying eyes, the friends dismounted. Felix loosened the saddle girth, removed the bridle and allowed his four-legged friend to have a snack. The horse immediately buried his muzzle in the wild alfalfa and, without moving far from the owner, cheerfully crunched the juicy stems.

Ira wearily sat down on a large fallen maple, eaten away by time and insects. The old fire pit and the absence of small branches indicated that the couple were far from the only travelers who knew about this wonderful corner.

- You are hungry? – Felix sat down next to Ira, taking out a small dagger from a leather sheath on his belt.

- I think, yes. Although it’s strange to be hungry after such fragrant aromas,” the girl smiled dejectedly.

- I'll go and catch some little things. The animals here are completely unafraid, so I can knock someone down with a dagger. While you gather the branches, let's light a fire.

“Okay,” Ira nodded, stood up and headed towards the trees, trying to stay on the outskirts and not go deep into the forest.

The girl was lost in her sad thoughts. The Inquisition is terrible! Ira did not know what a person had to do to deserve a terrible death in the fire. It seemed to her that such a punishment was sheer madness, even if the person had really sinned. Ira herself did not notice how she wandered deep into the forest. Drowning in gloomy thoughts, she collected brushwood. When it became inconvenient to carry the branches, the girl turned around and froze. Behind her, rough trunks met in a tight wall. A thick carpet of last year's leaves crunched underfoot, on which the girl could not see any traces.

The forest rustled quietly. Low bushes and young trees surrounded Aira, hiding the way back. She listened, but nothing gave away her companion's whereabouts. The girl panicked. After spinning around in place, she completely lost the direction from which she had come. An armful of brushwood fell to the ground. The girl had no time for him anymore. She ran, not knowing where.

Fear rolled in in cold, dark waves. It seemed to her that a cruel monster with cold eyes and a mouth bared in rage was chasing her... no! It's daytime and no one is chasing. For some reason it just felt incredibly creepy in my soul.

They want to enslave her... devour her...

An agony of pain pierces her body...

The cold moon grins from the sky...

And his devilish laughter rings in her ears...

Ira screamed briefly, falling to her knees. Her hair, full of small sticks and leaves, shrouded her face in a black curtain. The girl was breathing heavily, her body was trembling, and her mind could not determine where these terrible sensations came from.

Someone's hand touched her shoulder.

Ira screamed. The girl quickly turned around, slashing her claws at the enemy. Warm blood flowed through her fingers.

- Ira, what are you doing?! It is me! – the perplexed, frightened look of gray eyes brought the girl to her senses. Felix clutched his bleeding forearm with his left hand. At his feet lay two hare carcasses.

- Ira, what happened? – asked the confused knight.

“Boy, is something wrong? - responded the voice in the girl’s head. - You're wounded. Come to me, I will save you from suffering." The mocking tone made her shudder. The smell of fresh, sweet blood turned my head. Ira recoiled, covering her mouth with her hand, but small scarlet drops also flowed down her fingers.

- Ira! – Felix took a step towards the girl who had sunk to the ground.

- Don't come closer! – Ira roared in a voice that was not her own. - Get out of here!

“But you want to help him,” the voice continued. “Do you want to help him...die!”

- Shut up! Shut up... shut up... - Ira’s voice died down. The girl curled up into a ball and wrapped her arms tightly around her knees.

The voice in my head died down.

“Ira, honey, everything is fine,” Felix sat down next to the trembling girl and hugged her, pressing her to his powerful chest.

Gradually Ira relaxed. The senses became dull, the smell of blood ceased to be so bright and exciting. The exhausted girl clung to the knight and cried quietly. This voice in her head, this vile presence of someone else's consciousness. What happened scared her so much!

Ira's breathing evened out and the trembling subsided. Felix was relieved to notice that she had fallen into a semi-fainting state.

“Well, good,” thought the knight. “By lunchtime he’ll finally calm down and get some sleep.” My forearm hurt a little, but the scratches were not deep. Having assessed the condition of the wound, the young man sighed heavily and carried the girl to the resting place.

Ilyana was sitting by the window. Her gaze wandered over the tiled roofs of the houses and over the cirrus clouds. The girl wondered if she had done the right thing by refusing Kyrian. After all, he is good, kind, caring, gentle... what else do women dream of? Maybe what she is so worried about no longer makes any sense? Maybe I should have agreed after all?.. But the old image, hidden in the depths of my memories, made my heart ache with melancholy. Brushing aside the surging emotions, the girl looked at the horizon line.

The city was still shrouded in smoke, and the sweet smell of burning meat made her stomach churn. Seven women and two men were burned in the sacred, punitive flames. They were found guilty of helping a vampire. The girl never doubted the decisions of the Holy Inquisition, and believed in the correctness of every sentence. But today she felt uneasy from their cries and pleas for help.

Having joined the ranks of warriors for justice, Ilyana dreamed of only one thing: a peaceful, happy life for all living beings. After all, the girl knew that not all vampires want to harm people. They can exist in peace without fighting or killing each other.

Ilyana's gaze clouded as her thoughts took her to the distant past. In her childhood.

Her father, who served as a captain in one of the kingdom's largest troops, went on reconnaissance with a small detachment. He was gone for several days, and little Ilyana and her mother could not find a place for themselves. In those days, despite the growing power of the Inquisition, evil spirits were still often seen, and the roads were unsafe.

On the evening of the twelfth day of my father’s absence, there was a knock on the door. The mother rushed to open it. On the threshold stood a young man who seemed incredibly handsome to little Ilyana. His father was hanging exhausted on his shoulder.

The mother's screams and lamentations did not bother the young man. He entered without waiting for an adequate reaction from the shocked hostess. Placing his father's motionless body on the sofa, the stranger turned to the little blond girl who was silently watching what was happening.

- Please bring warm water and clean cloth.

His voice was imprinted in Ilyana’s memory, and she could easily remember it now, fourteen years later. This voice, a little hoarse but soft, was full of sadness and fatigue. The stranger's eyes burned through her very essence with a black flame. The girl did not run immediately. She was captivated by this look, smooth movements, amazing baritone. The girl came to her senses only when the stranger ran his finger over her tender cheek. His touch was as cold as marble, although the weather outside was warm.

Little Ilyana rushed into the next room. She quickly found rags and warm water and ran back, without spilling a drop along the way. The girl's mother cried quietly, sitting on a stool, and sobbed into a white silk scarf.

The stranger tore his father's shirt. A deep wound on her side made the little girl’s heart skip a beat. The young man carefully wiped the torn flesh with a wet cloth and carefully bandaged the wound. Ilyana looked at her father’s pale face, stained with dirt and blood. His chest rose and fell rhythmically, accompanied by a quiet wheeze. He was alive...

The Savior turned to the girl and dropped to one knee. His long, black hair, braided tightly, framed his handsome face, highlighting his white skin. High cheekbones and a thin chin, eyes dark as a moonless night - the stranger was so beautiful that the girl could not take her eyes off him.

- He'll be fine. Well done, you did everything right. I'll leave now, but I want you to remember that not all vampires are enemies. This is what I'm trying to convey to the world. If you believe me, I will be one step closer to success.

And then he left without saying a word to the tearful woman, only quietly closing the door behind him. Ilyana stood there, looking after him. She couldn't understand why vampires were considered bloodthirsty killers. After all, this beautiful young man looked more like an angel descended from heaven...

Ilyana found it difficult to return to reality. Smiling sadly at the beautiful young man from her memories, the girl leaned back on the pillows and thoughtfully stared at the ceiling. A nagging feeling of uneasiness tormented her heart. My thoughts were still confused. After Ilyana spent all her strength on the vampire, and also after Kyrian left, she often forgot herself, not catching the essence of many things. The girl still needed rest, but rushed in search of evil spirits as soon as a particle of her strength was renewed. Ilyana stubbornly held a small energy shield, scanning parts of the city and supplementing it as strength came in.

Today's execution kept creeping into my head. Ilyana was never indifferent to death. But today's incident worried her more than usual. The girl closed her eyes and tried to push away the heavy thoughts. Listening to herself, she tried to relax. Her energy field did not indicate danger, and pulsated barely noticeably, calming its owner.

Field... sensations... exactly!

If even one dark ritual had taken place inside her protective “dome,” Ilyana would not have missed it.

Everyone who was executed today was innocent ...