- You've got to be kidding me. - I asked.
- Not at all," the advisor answered exactly, "you, Madam Vetryana, have been declared Lord's bark, which means that the choice has been made and no one dares to challenge it. Now my life and my power belong to you as well as to the lord. As long as the Abyss allows us all.
I was a little confused by what he said. In Darkhar's transparent eyes there was no mockery, not the slightest, he looked at me quite seriously.
- Thank you," I did not say it was appropriate. He bowed his head and left. And I stood still, watching him. When did Rion announce me as a bark? And why does everyone know about this but me?
* * *
I found friends in one of the rooms of the surviving wing. After the invasion of the Outer Circle, the palace was never rebuilt again, and then the war began, and the demons were not there at all. And now... There was no point in fighting anymore. The news that the Source of Chaos had begun to fade away had scattered around the world with the first morning messengers.
I knocked and came in when I heard Danila's voice. The guy looked cautiously, but when he saw me, he relaxed. And Ksenka immediately threw herself into a hug.
- Vetriana, forgive us," she said, "we fell into Alila's trap so silly. And Riverstein himself! She was waiting for you, but you never left the castle, so she decided to stay with us. We're so sorry!
- Ksenochka, don't blame yourself," I sighed, "Alira was very strong and cunning, yet in six centuries you can have the intelligence and the ability to get. I was worried why you hadn't been back from your trip for so long. Are you all right?
They nodded all right.
- But they've been to Chaos. I always wanted to see him," Danila said, and Xenia looked at him angrily.
- What a fool," she mumbled in embarrassment. And she put her hands in her side," Vetrjana, "why do demons call you the Lord of Chaos's bark? Does that seem to mean you're called a Chaos lord? And when were you going to tell us about this?
I seem to have blushed and muttered something inaudible. Danila yanked Xenia, looked at her harshly, and my fighting friend took her eyes off, smiled a little guilty.
- Well, you can tell me whenever you want," she said conciliatoryly.
- Sources are fading, what happens now? - Daniel sadly asked, "How much strength will be left? For a year? Or less? And then what happens?
Xenia took his hand, and they looked over. The door opened quietly, letting the Archbishop in. He came up and hugged me with his own gesture, kissed me on top. Oh, I don't know how long it's gonna be before I get used to it and stop pouring paint on it.
- Now that we're all set, Riverstein's off," he said.
* * *
When we came out of the passage in the castle office, the first thing I saw was Shider's pale face. He scolded through his teeth when he saw us, slipped his gaze on my tunic, and turned away. But everyone was having more serious problems than a personal relationship, and Riverstein already knew about the Sources.
Antashar and Solmeya were here, too, and Archarrion gave a brief account of Saharhard and Alir, and I told them about the threads of power I see.
- We are going to the Devil," Rion said.
- We are with you," Xenia said firmly and Danila nodded.
- And we are," Antashar smiled and took Solmeya by the hand.
- Me too," Lord Darrell sighed and squinted, "who in their right mind would refuse to see the legendary Tree of Life?
- If it exists," I said with a sigh, "I hope I haven't gone mad and got it right.
- In fact, I was going to take a bunch of trained and strong demons with me," Rion cut off, seated himself in a chair and pulled his legs out. My friends frowned and stared at me in harmony. I shrugged my shoulders and looked at the Archarrion beggingly. He shook his head, giving up.
- I don't know what use you have in the Hell, but let it be so... We need to make a reserve of power, because we can't last long in the black sands.
- Spheres of power? - Spider thoughtfully asked, do you know how to make them?
- I once crossed the Line with these spheres," the Archarrion said slowly, "Alira knew many secrets. I think I can do it again.
- These are the spheres in which the power of the Source can be encapsulated, right? - Antashar's eyes caught fire," oh, I've heard of them!
Rion nodded. It was decided not to waste time, no one knew how much of it we had left. So after a quick breakfast, he and I went to the Source of Riverstein.
I put my hands in the font, closed my eyes, listening. The whirlpool of power was a verse, now it was like the wind, still strong but already soothing, powerful in the center and soft at the edges. Now I could feel it so...
Rion's warm hands hugged me from behind, he held me back to his chest.
- Chickenpox, you must sink into the Source and separate part of the power, mentally enclose it in a sphere. Try it. Too bad there's no merger between us now, I'd help, but I think you can do it yourself.
I closed my eyes, sinking into the force, giving myself to its current, becoming it, and letting it through. Deeper, stronger, to the complete unity, where my consciousness is no longer there, and I am only a part of the wind ... It is good here, calm, but the warm hands of Archharrion do not let go away from reality, return me to myself. And I focused, shaken up, tried to do as he said. At first I couldn't do it, I couldn't understand how I could take a part of the power that wasn't material, only the wind, only the elusive stream. But Rion guided and guided, and almost an hour later, when I was barely standing up from fatigue, I still succeeded. I opened my eyes, looking with admiration at the small glowing ball in my palm. Pure power, encased in a form.
With delight I kissed Rion, but immediately slipped out of my clenched hands.
- How many spheres do you need?
- As many as possible, no telling how long the Hell will take. Black sand sucks out the strength and life very quickly... Do as much as you can. Can you manage on your own now?
- Yes, where are you going?
- I'm going back to Chaos because I need the power of a labyrinth. I'll meet you tonight, and we'll leave in the morning.
He left, kissed me goodbye, and I sighed. Without him, I was cold...
But shaken up, I focused on the areas of power. The next ones were easier to do, and in a few hours I had two dozen areas. I couldn't do it anymore, yet it was as if I had put a part of myself into each one, besides the power of the source, giving the spheres my healing power.
During our absence, it was decided to give the school to Tiana completely. We did not spread the word about the purpose of the journey to come, but it was too shaky and vague, and frankly sounded like nonsense. I was biting my lips thinking I might be wrong, and there is no Tree of Life. What if Alira lied? Or she didn't know herself... Or I misunderstood her. But whatever it was, it was some kind of chance, albeit quite ghostly.
Chapter 34...
At the early dawn of the next day, we were standing next to the horses in Riverstein Yard. I decided to follow Xenie's example and wore pants and a hood, remembering how uncomfortable it was to ride a horse in a dress. Everyone was worried about the journey ahead, and Solmeya looked frightened at the strange thing about the mermaid's face.
- I'm not much friends with horses," she whispered to me.
- You have a very calm mare, don't be afraid," I said soothingly, and added confidentially, "you know, I'm a bad rider too, to be honest. Not that, Xenia.
The mermaid and I accompanied Xenya, the stallion, to the bird's eye with a delightful look.
The school was still asleep when we left, and we kept silent, thinking about our way. The men were making the plan, and I didn't listen to them much, focusing on putting the provisions on the road. It was decided to go along the Line, and I will try to see where the lines of power lead. If I see the way, I'll have to enter the black sand itself.
I was distracted by the prospect. Even if I'm right and the Devil is a defense, it's hard to imagine a sca
rier place...
I looked back at Riverstein, circled dark rocks, spires of towers, ravens on the wall... I didn't want to say goodbye, and I just listened to the song that the spirits of my land sang to me. And I squeezed my teeth as hard as I could, promising to return.
* * *
We reached the Line on the third day of our journey.
In the Northern Kingdom, the smell of spring was already clear and it was coming from all sides, powerfully pushing back the winter cold. The warm wind was blowing through our faces, and my Echo ran with him as if he were a mad puppy with a stray dog.
I kept looking at the threads of power that surrounded us, trying to find and see their connection. Near Riverstein, they were almost all greenish because they were pulling from my source, but the closer we got to Hell, the more other colors began to appear: pink, blue, white, orange... Even the red threads I knew from the labyrinth of Chaos. It was like a cobweb that covered the entire underworld, and I was surprised I hadn't noticed it before. And all those threads stretched to the Devil... I told Archarrion what I saw.
- But I don't know what I need to look for yet. Where's the entrance?
- Then just look," he replied, "and tell me if you notice anything unusual, OK?
So I've been trying to look.
We'd been driving along the Devil for the fifth day now, making piles right by the islets of ashes, grabbing a quick snack, and moving on. We slept in the nearest settlements, if we could, and a few times we had to sleep on the ground, under the protective contour that Shyder and Danila were installing.
The first time we stayed overnight at a local pub, Rion took my hand and pulled me into his room. I tried to be embarrassed, so he turned me around and looked me in the eye.
- Chickenpox," he said calmly, "I don't care about moral principles, the opinions of others, or anything else. I will never let you go again, do you understand? It's been months since you lived in Riverstein. If you're worried about other people's opinions, I'd be happy to put your marriage bracelets on at the nearest source, and you'll be my date right now. Do you agree?
He threw his gaze at the narrow hallway of the pub where we stood and smiled.
- Sorry, I guess you were waiting for another... proposal. In a more appropriate setting. Really, I'm not sure I know how to do this...
And I looked at him and realized that I didn't need any other environment, and none of this matters.
- Don't you agree? - He repeated it, looking into my eyes with an intense expectation.
- I don't care what anyone else thinks," I said, "but still... let's wait.
Sadness flashed in my dark eyes, but only for a moment.
- All right," he said slowly, and suddenly he picked me up, "but be warned, I'm not going to pretend that there's nothing between us. You are mine, Vetriana.
I nodded and reached out to hug him.
* * *
After eight days of travel, when everyone was already tired of the grey ashes along which we were driving, it seemed to me that the threads of strength had increased. I didn't start talking about it right away, worried that it was just a thought. None of my friends hurried me in a word or in a gaze; on the contrary, everyone was trying to cheer me up and comfort me when I was falling into despair.
- The chickenpox, don't worry," Solmaius stroked me on the head, "you can do it! No one but you can see these threads, and we haven't traveled halfway! The archharrion said that we must go around the whole Line from the kingdom, and if you see nothing, we will go the same way from the underworld.
And so it seemed to me that there were more threads. And the very next day, I made sure I didn't feel like The threads thickened, and soon, they began to tie together as if they were twisting.
I stopped the horse, looking closely at them. Rion stood beside me, but he said nothing and did not disturb me.
- Here," I said quietly.
The friends looked at the grey strip of ashes, behind which the black sand began. Even from here we could feel the heat and the power of the Devil that was pulling the life out of us.
- We'll be in the Devil," Danila said cheerfully, "I think it's as good as our Wastelands! There's a hole, there's a hole! And there's just a little sand...
We laughed, even though it wasn't very funny, but the tension went away. We checked the force areas and turned the horses to hell.
- Horses won't go to the sand," Shaider said, "even if you tie rags around their faces.
The grey ashes circled around us, climbing up from every step and jamming into our mouths and noses, preventing us from breathing. Though we tied our faces with scarves, the ashes even broke through the fabric. A few hours later, when we were already reminded of each other's gray ghosts, the ashes ran out, horses snored, and sand appeared ahead.
We hurried, took off our saddlebags, distributed them to each other, and let the horses go. The horses, which had become mad with horror, smelled their freedom and rushed towards the ground. Only Kairos was delayed, faithfully standing beside Shider, moving his legs. Lord Darrell stroked his horse's neck, saying something quietly to him, and slammed it down the grain. Kairos waved his head and rushed after the other trotters, lifting clouds of grey ashes. Shyder threw the saddlebag over his shoulder and went silently toward Hell. We reached out for him.
None of my friends had ever set foot in the black sand except me and Archarrion. And though I told them what the Devil looked like, even my colorful stories could not be compared with reality.
Soon the ashes were left behind and the boundless sands stretched around us, diluted with islands of inverted stone sculptures and black whirlpools. We were silent, unwilling to waste our strength on conversation. The Archarrion was right, in the Devil the laws of space and time seemed not to have worked in the rest of the world, there was no sky and horizon, blackness merged with a white haze at different distances, and sometimes there was a nauseating impression that we were moving upside down, making us dizzy. There was no sun or moon, and the light of the heavenly lights did not penetrate through the grey mirage that covered the Devil, as if enclosing it in a cocoon. Constantly changing and floating landscape caused the desire to sit on the sand to take away the dizziness of this shaky reality.
The only thing that kept me from falling into despair and finally getting lost was the threads of power that guided me. True, and they looked different here, like flashes of light, sparks that made my eyes hurt, and in which I looked up to the rubber, afraid of losing them.
And a few hours later, we were attacked by snake guns.
The restrained Solmea shrieked out of surprise and fright when a funnel was formed near her, and a long spiky body slipped out of there. The men reacted instantly: Antashar closed the siren and cut the creature in half with one blow.
- They're attacking in groups," said Archarrion, with blades already chenille in his hands.
And exactly, in a moment, the sand around us burst into flames, letting the terrible creatures of the Devil out of their depths, and several serpents slipped out at once. Men attacked them at the same time, Xenia hit one snake, aptly throwing the dagger, and even Solmei skillfully twisted guard, one I stood inside the circle of fighters. There was no magic in the line, and I did not own the weapon at all.
We repulsed the attack, and the black sand calmed down, but Archharrion was in no hurry to share the joy of all.
- There are too many of these creatures in the sand," he said frowningly, "but the worst part is that we have now spent a great deal of power. It seems that's what they're attacking for.
We looked at them in a confused way. It's true, even I, who wasn't in the battle at all, felt tired. And Danila looked pale at all.
- We're using spheres? - I asked.
Rion shook his head.
- It was too soon. We've only been moving for three hours. We'll use it when there's no more strength left. Come on, let's go. And stay close to each other, no blades to clean. Watch your step carefully before you release the snake, the
re's a black vortex.
A few hours later, we're under attack again. The sand swirled into whirlpools in ten places at once, and the snakes were twice as big. This time the battle lasted longer, and one monster still managed to catch Danila, through the chest of the guy lay a bloody strip. I carefully crawled to him, put my hands on him, slowly injecting strength and healing. Sand fell on his head, and I screamed as I saw a sprawling jaw with bent yellow fangs on top. And immediately this jaw separated from the body and rolled away. The archpriest quickly looked at me and turned away, meeting the new monster with his blades.
I did not look away, focusing on Daniel, who had bitten his pale lips and looked guiltily. I tried to pull the threads of power on myself, as I had always done, and realized that it wasn't working. The sparks just broke out, but I couldn't get a hold of them. I had to heal with an internal reserve. Fortunately, the wound was shallow, and it healed quickly.
By the time I was done, the others had already slaughtered the snakes and were sitting in the sand, tired of looking back.
- Solmeer is a sphere," Rion ordered.
- I'm all right," the mermaid tried to object, but she took off under the gaze of a demon. And the way she greedily clutched free power in her hands made me realize that Rion was right. Among the sands the mermaid was rapidly losing strength, and perhaps Archharrion was right not to take my friends with him. But now it was too late to regret it, and we all went to the Devil willingly.
* * *
I didn't know how Rion navigated the black sand space and how he felt the time, it seemed to me that we were walking for a few days instead of hours... Even my Echo calmed down, clutched his legs, wrapped around me with a stream of wind. My leila in the Devil was uncomfortable.
Soon Rion ordered everyone to take the sphere, and we obediently squeezed them in the palms of our hands, feeling the blessed flow of life. After the spheres all cheered up, went more cheerfully and faster, though it was still the same desert around, without the slightest change. Threads and sparks still burst around, but sometimes it seemed to me that they were getting bigger. It was only through these strange sensations that we moved and I persistently drove away the thought that I might be wrong. I had no right to make a mistake because we had all gone so far to the Hell that we might not be able to go back, even with the help of spheres. Besides, there were fewer and fewer spheres. The farther we went from the normal earth, the faster the sand pulled out our strength and life, and the more we had to feed on the strength.
The Wind of the North Page 76