Ring of Madness

by Royden Labrosse

  How dare that scum?!

  This time we've grown up in three voices - with a woman with beastly eyes and a beastly mirror.

  - What the hell?!

  Pop dropped the mask of the kind, and the blue eyes began to resemble pieces of dirty ice in a puddle. Even though the sky is reflected, the dirt is coming out.

  - Would you like to cooperate with us in good faith?!

  In his aura, there was a dark cobblestone torment. It looked frankly disgusting. I tried to get through to him somehow. I tried to get through. I mean, they can't

  both

  to not understand what's going on here? They don't. Rokin's not a bastard. And he has a good aura. So why is he standing there doing nothing? He's not trying to say something, to smooth things over?

  I don't get it.

  - Rokin, is this your "talk, learn something new..."? Do you realize that you've become a scoundrel and a traitor yourself?

  Rokin's face was perfectly calm.

  - Yulia, Father Alexei will not hurt you in any way. He'll just help you overcome the negative attitude towards the church.

  Oh, is that what it's called now?

  - By brainwashing? You play dirty, gentlemen of the saints!

  - This is not brainwashing, Julia Yevgenyevna Leoverenskaya. You will voluntarily help us. In the soul, every man is a deep believer. We just have to help him free this faith from the platitudes of evil and life's mud...

  Why is he calling me by my full name?

  I spat on the words - and it's so clear that he won't do me any good - and I focused on what I see. The aura of the bastard in the cassock was floundering with purple brown and black tones. It looked as if the rotten meat was being stirred in a blender. But there was no time to turn inside out. Because it made it look like it was bouncing off false legs and clearly crawling towards me with unfriendly intentions. And I didn't want to let anybody near me.

  this is .

  closer to you. Or even in your aura. Who knows what's gonna get picked up by that ass. Syphilis is treated with antibiotics, and that kind of dirt in the aura? "Domestosa" with chlorine wouldn't be much, that's for sure.

  - Let me go,

  - quietly whispered deep down the beast with human eyes.

  - Just imagine that the mirror breaks and I break free. We'll tear it up into rags, you can do it, you're stronger than him...

  And I didn't think I accepted the offer. It's better to spend the rest of my life with a tail and horns than to be the same as that scum.

  Cracked the frame, and sang shards of glass in the diamond rain. And suddenly I felt a wave of rage. The scarlet flame overflowed me and led me into a sea of molten volcanic fire. I was burning and rejoicing at that fire.

  - You have one last chance, I didn't even know I was capable...

  this is .

  to speak - a few tones lower, with the beast growling and the roar of an avalanche ready to break. - Stop it, and you will live. Whole and even r-r-smart. Maybe...

  - Father! - Rokin shouted out, for some reason, not daring to come near me.

  I turned to him for a moment.

  - Is that your father?

  - Ah... no, no...

  Rokin was stuttering. I slipped my gaze on his aura and suddenly fell a little deeper. Where? I don't know. But for a moment, I saw our confrontation with his eyes.

  I, pale as death, in all blue. And the priest across the street. And around his black cassock you can see a red glow more and more clearly. Almost like in early paintings of saints. Except they have a yellow or white halo, not a dirty red one. And the same scarlet glow around me. It surrounds the priest in its entirety, and for some reason I've got more and more gathering around my head and hands, turning them into a kind of grotesque mask. And it seems that my body has an animal head and paws on it. The legendary minotaur... The fangs are about to sparkle. But for some reason, a weak cross-shaped glow on my shoulder is getting brighter and brighter. And the priest is in no hurry to grab his crucifixion.

  - All the better.

  I got out of Rokin's mind in one jerk. There's no time to admire, you have to hit!

  I thought the last words were spoken by my beast. But I'm not sure... It could have been my thoughts.

  I slowly covered my shoulder with my palm. In winter, I was bitten by a vampire. And I had to put a cross there to burn out the poison. It hurt to the white circles in my eyes. And it hurt terribly. It's a very bad place, under my collarbone. Plastic surgery would cost more than a cast-iron bridge. But now I didn't have to wear a cross - the mark successfully fulfilled its function. When I took my palm off my shoulder, there was a cross on it too. And I slowly stretched my hand out to my ass. I whipped one of the tentacles that I had reached out to me. It recoiled and retracted back into the aura. Gross... I feel like I'm in a jellyfish, rotten and boiled.

  - You've got one last chance. Leave or you die.

  There's a slimy smile on that scumbag's lips.

  - You're strong, Julia Yevgenyevna Leoverenskaya, but I'm stronger. I will turn your lost soul to the light of true faith...

  He called me by my full name, so the tentacles could find the target. If he was good at his power, he wouldn't talk, that's for sure! Or am I just cheering myself up?

  The pop said something else, but I wouldn't listen. From what I read, I knew that any aura was directed outwards. I had to change it for five minutes, plus or minus. Me, to the priest himself. There's no point in cutting off the tentacles, it's just pieces of energy. And there's no telling who's gonna be stronger. He's the one who's attacking. I only defend myself. He's older and more experienced, and I don't have that on my side. He's done his "job" many times;

  and no one has ever tried to hurt me.

  this is .

  to attack. My defense is just an act of nourishment. I can't even put up a shield. But to change the direction of attack for five minutes is my strength. Now I have to figure out how to do it. And I slowly reached for the nasty, red and black lump of aura.

  It looked like a funnel from above. The priest was pulling more and more power to bring it down on me. Then a nasty cloud of purple was coming, and the tentacles were pulling away from it.

  So you can choke, you bastard... Choke? That's a thought! Well, keep your teeth on the air, you parasite! I don't defend anymore, I attack!

  - the beast with human eyes growled. –

  R-r-r-r-r-r-r!

  I slowly extended my arms forward. And I felt like I could get to the funnel.

  And now we're her...

  Two yellow harnesses flew out of the palms of your hands. Caught her base, pushed her over and yanked her hard.

  - Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah! - the priest squeaked in the room. The crimson and black tentacles were pulled sharply inside. He didn't have enough strength to support them, but the tentacles didn't rush to disappear, moving like snakes scraped off. You can't get rid of them that easily. I waited until they were in the aura and began to feel the priest himself, and then I shook my hands abruptly, and that there was strength to "flashed" a yellow light, trying either to repel or scare them so as not to come out.

  And that was enough.

  Too much power he pulled into himself, trying to break me. He chose a spell that was too serious. And now...

  If the battery burst, you can't shut it with a cork. And if you try, you'll have enough for five seconds, but then the water will come out even fiercer.

  It worked out just as I planned. Feeling a powerful burst of energy, the tentacles turned around again, but did not dare to go out immediately, frightened by my "flash". And pounced on their author and carrier.

  And share it with him, shameless bastard! Did I touch him? No! I didn't even want to talk to him. I'd go home quietly, that's all. And he decided to attack. Well, stay out of the way, you won't be amazed.

  The man was lying on the floor, whining quietly. He couldn't shout anymore. I took a look at his aura. That's very nice. The red was gone, replaced by a smooth gray. It felt as
if the tentacles were sucking the very essence out of him. It must have hurt. And... I had a feeling a man would remain a blank sheet. Then you can write anything you want on top. But that's if the rite is done by all the rules, if the spell works without failure. And now, looking at his aura, I was like, "Oh, not a resident... Oh, what a grief!"

  And it's so rustic to put your hands on your head and shake it a little bit.

  That's a good thing. These tentacles would make me look as gray, and you could write anything on my personality. And that "anything" to me

  already

  I really didn't like it.

  Very much.

  And now there's no one to write something new down - I won't take it, and the others just can't. The spell only worked between the two of us, any third would just kill the villain. You could have gloated or watched, but I didn't want to. You wouldn't be happy to watch a bunch of manure, would you?

  Well, that disgusts me.

  I turned around and took a hard step towards the door.

  So I could run into a pale one like Rokin's chalk. The colonel froze with a pole and just clapped his eyes. It must have been a spectacular sight.

  Oh, your Latin!

  Behind Rokin was an open door, and now there were some bubbly beards in cassocks. And how do I get out of here? It's in beautiful movies the protagonist screams: "You'll see me again!" - and jumps out the window (naturally, there's a limousine with a gorgeous blonde, a princess carriage or at least a saddled horse, a motorcycle, a sports car...). And it doesn't even break or bounce anything. If I try to jump out the window...

  At best, I'll only break one leg. Worst case scenario, I'll be buried by novices. The fertilizer for the roses.

  What difference does it make how many? You're better off... There was more, there will be less!

  The beast with human eyes didn't even think to go back to its looking-glass. Nor did it think to rest. It would shake its paws gently, exposing its impressive claws, and tune in for a good fight.

  Why wouldn't he?

  - Will you let me through, or will you do the same to me?!

  Those are the words I almost growled. It's a little low and scary. The beast only smiled, exposing white and very sharp fangs.

  The people in attendance flipped in different directions. Rokin woke up when I came to the door.

  - Julia, what did you... did you do to him?

  - He did to himself what he wanted to do to me," I answered. A good idea came to my mind, and I spied in all my jaws, no worse than my beast. - He could understand that any harm done to me would return to its master. He was a weak and bad psychic.

  There was a growling in his throat. And Rokin somehow hunched over it.

  - I'm sorry, Julia.

  - God will forgive you. That's what he's gonna do. And he'll give in. Don't see him off. With these words, I left the room. The corridor was completely empty. The bravery of the Holy Fathers truly knew no bounds.

  It wasn't hard to find my way back. Werewolves met me on the way out - very helpful. The werewolf was gaining momentum and threatening to go into a full-scale hysteria.

  - Julia, are you all right? - Konstantin.

  - No. I'm sick," I confessed. - Let's get some water.

  * * *

  It took another hour in the square next to the nearest store. First, I was drunk with water and lemon. Then I was vomiting and shaking. Then werewolves wiped my face with water (already without lemon) and tried to drink more mineral water. They offered to put me in a car and take me to Mieczysław, but I had to survive without a vampire. Otherwise, the old problem would be the new stress and I would make the worst mistake of my life.

  Something suggested that I wouldn't be able to kick a vampire out of this very life. Even if I pulled by the ears, kicked and threatened to pull out my fangs. I'm sorry.

  Oh... but if that ass had gotten his...

  I was shaken up again, threw myself into the bushes and began to get rid of what seemed to be yesterday's breakfast, if only to remember its aura. И

  this is .

  he wanted at me... at me... what's the interaction between auras called?! I mean, an aura on an aura or something?

  Oh, mommy! What if I had become what he wanted me to be? What would happen to my family? Grandpa certainly wouldn't have been happy to get zombies instead of his granddaughter. And he'd find out what, how and where. And he knows how to find out. And he'd just... uh-oh...

  Mecislav... would he have survived our breakup? Even though the Seal is one, who knows him? He might have survived, but not for long. The same Ramirez would have eaten him. For what? Oh, for everything. It's your fault for wanting to eat...

  And if those saints hadn't been afraid of me, they'd have piled up a bunch... They didn't know that no magic would roll against a log hitting the nape! All the more so is mine. Oh, Mother...

  Who the hell took me to these IPFs' lair?!

  But I thought they were decent people! Anyway, Rokina! And he...

  Asshole. With his brains washed through. From the corner of a dusty Bible, he's banged up!

  An hour of serious reflection, interrupted by running to and from the bushes, I've had enough. The conclusions made during that time were as simple as five kopecks.

  Never .

  not to go into a church if there are less than fifteen outsiders! And tell the family not to wander into suspicious places. If they had a mother or grandfather in their hands, I'd run faster than a dog. Or even Slava. Although no. Because of Slava, I won't run for sure. He's a werewolf. And if he falls into the hands of the IPF, he'll be knocked down immediately. No bargaining or thinking. Okay, about Slava later.

  Talk to the FPI - if they cut through - only through Rokin and only in the presence of bodyguards. And no screams of trust. Trust in someone who will not betray you! Boom! And Rokin will always and everywhere just be the executive mechanism of his organization.

  Talk to Mieczyslaw. He promised to teach me magic? Let him teach me! He'll be the first to drag me to bed! And how to talk to a girl about history (magic!), theory (magic!), art (magic!), practice (also magic, mother-fucker!) - you can't expect from him. Uh-uh-uh-uh... Vampire!

  I tried to dazzle myself from the bench. The werewolves supporting me on both sides picked me up, and I took a few steps.

  - Guys, let's go to the Mieczyslaw. We gotta go.

  There's an expression of outrageous happiness on werewolf faces. Yeah. Fighting, guarding, protecting is a bodyguard profession, it's hard to scare them. But to bring to life a hysterical girl who can't even be slapped? Werewolves are stronger than humans in several times: almost calculate, beat her tooth (or even break her neck) - and a vampire will remove your entire jaw without anesthesia. At best.

  I shaken my head. Okay. Whatever's done is done for the best. To sum up, I tried my hand at combat. Like a witch and a sorcerer, if you use IPF terminology. It was scary, but I got through it. And my condition is quite understandable. My grandfather used to say that they were in a squad after the first fight and it didn't happen. And puking and crying and hysterically fighting and lying there like dead...

  I won and managed to get out of the enemy's den alive. It's a double win.

  Now it is necessary to tell about everything, to get stuck for recklessness and wait for the arrival of Prince Tula.

  I wish I had waited for something else...

  Where do we go?

  Okay, it was worse in the winter. Once you remember how it broke me when they let the blood out of Mečislav on Duchkin's orders.

  No. Winter was better.

  Because I had a loved one next to me.

  Oh, Danielle, why did you leave? Oh, I love you. And I will always love you... And you left me all alone. In this dark, deaf and solemn world... For what?!

  - Yulia, keep your head down or you'll knock.

  Nahaly. They won't even let you pine normally.

  I obediently crawled in the back seat of the car.

  Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta
...

  The phone call broke all my attempts to make myself comfortable.

  I wonder who it is.

  * * *

  It's weird. The number wasn't determined. And who's living with the antidecisioner? Those who have something to hide. By definition, not very good people with skeletons in their closet.

  - They are?

  I expected anything. From some "Katya or Petya can I?" to a joke like "MTS is on fire! Put your phone in the water bowl right now!" But not a deaf man's voice:

  - Julia? Leoverenskaya?

  - Yes, - I confirmed.

  - Wonderful. Julia, listen carefully. The whole embassy thing is a big setup. And be careful. You could get kidnapped.

  - And, uh...

  I didn't have time to say anything, as the horns were ringing again.

  - And what was that?

  - And who was it?

  Werewolves asked questions without conspiring.

  - Did you hear everything?

  They would've won the prize for synchronous nodding.

  - Then you know for a fact the man didn't even know me by my voice. Otherwise he wouldn't have asked me.

  - Don't you have any idea?

  - The number isn't...

  - I have no idea. Not even remotely. And the number is undecided," I answered both questions.

  - What about the set-up? - This is Gleb.

  - I think so myself.

  - Then we must urgently go to the "Three Sixes", - decided Konstantin. - Two werewolves aren't enough for security. We'll ask for another five. And a couple of vampires.

  - Mm-hmm. Weigh it up, wrap it up. I got in the car a little bit.

  - Let's go!

  Chapter 7.

  And we have no peace at night or during the day...

  We catch up with our enemies and hit them with slippers...

  I never understood when they started shooting at us. And I didn't notice any shots either - so, deaf slaps on the very edge of consciousness and a sudden shudder of the car that drove sideways.

  - They want to take us alive! They're shooting at the wheels! - Gleb, who is sitting next to me, barked. That is not sitting any more - the werewolf dumped me on the floor and covered me with his body.