Ring of Madness

by Royden Labrosse

  With this silent communication, I infected all my friends for three weeks. And now I remember. And it's a good memory.

  The storm came up.

  This place didn't like being hurt either. I'm a daughter here. Loved and invited. Clara is a guest who is tolerated at best. And she decided to hurt me. That was enough.

  The storm's impulse knocked us down. The wind blew from Diego's window to us. And it was obvious: Clara couldn't come to the window with me.

  - Then I'll just break your neck," said the fox. The window with Diego flinched. The forest made a noise in a fit of rage.

  - No! - Diego shouted out. - Then everything will fall apart! And I will never find you! Drop it, come to me! To hell with her!

  Clara stuttered, but she let go of my neck. And I used my best weapon, my tongue. Why punch the enemy in the face? Shake him half to death, and that's it! He'll bend over himself!

  - You've got 20 seconds. Then the window will collapse, and you'll never find each other again.

  - Damn you! - Clara's exhaled. The window flinched and started closing. Diego's silhouette swayed like a picture on an old TV.

  The fox threw me aside, right onto the nearest pine tree, and in one animal jump, she rushed to the window. She grabbed the hand of her vampire, and the next moment I was there inside.

  The window was reduced to the size of a big book. And that's why I saw Clara suddenly curving and screaming terribly. And a second later, Diego screamed the same way.

  The pain distorted his face, and the window slammed completely.

  The wind had stopped. The trees made an outrageous noise, as if to say: "Well, be careful!"

  I got up from the grass, rubbed bruises and bumps...

  - What do positive heroes in cheap American cinema usually say in such cases? - I asked by the forest. The trees have stirred the branches again, but it's already kind of ironic. I hummed it. - Yeah, I know you did. You're not going to watch this. I suppose you should. It's a good thing I won't have bruises in the real world. No, you won't. It's too prosaic. What if it's too prosaic? I guess they got what they deserved, wherever they are! Well, no. It's too gloating. There! - I had a good idea. - Good will surely defeat evil! Because it always wins! Anyway, what kind of good can't even kick evil?! Thank you for your help!

  A healthy bump fell softly on my head.

  - Yeah, I got it. Next time, I'll think about this place, not the opposite. Honestly.

  The second bump somehow punched me in the back of the head. Well, if it wasn't the back of the head...

  - I got it. I'll be okay. Can I go home now? Cause I've got a vampire in there who must have gotten his toenails chewed up with excitement...

  It was okay to go home.

  * * *

  Mecislav was standing behind me. The vampire's fingers were bruising me hard, pushing my whiskey... hey, can you take it easy? I looked around. We were all alone in the room. Apparently, everyone else came out reasonably. I wish they'd taken me with them. You know, being in the same room as a hungry, predatory, fully mature vampire is... dangerous. Okay, if it just bites. And if it does... that?!

  - Hey, what is this, Spanish torture? That's not how I play it!

  - Julia! - A vampire exploded. - Where the hell are you going?! It's not like I'm going through - I can't even call you! Don't yell like you're in the woods at night, nobody will hear you! What's going on?!

  I just found myself holding Clara's hand, and I squeamishly opened my fingers. A dead brush splattered on the bed. And I turned around and wiped my hand on Mecislav's shirt.

  - Stop yelling at me here! And anyway, I want to go home! Milk and honey! And bang!

  - Would you like some birch porridge? A bucket?! - Mieczysław's overshoot.

  - Only after you, - I got out of the chair and went to the door.

  A vampire slowly stepped on me, sparkling with angry eyes.

  - Curly, either you take me there, or I can't vouch for myself! You're not going to sit on your ass for a week!

  - Sadist! You pervert! A cuckold!

  - Who?!

  - You fanger bastard! - I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

  I guess the subjects were shocked to see a cracked-up surname running through the corridors of a vampire safe house with laughter and screaming:

  - This is perversion! I will complain to the authorities! This is not our method! You're not all communists here! While our ships are sailing the expanses of the Bolshoi Theatre...

  And behind him (i.e. me) is a resentful vampire trying to unbutton his pants and pull his belt out of them. Or at least something to rip off a suitable work weapon.

  - I'll show you communism! You'll know the difference between perversion and parenting on my own skin!

  But I run fast and the yelling is loud. That's why Mecislav stopped at the stairs leading upstairs, under the stunned looks of a dozen vampires and about a dozen werewolves. I flew into the clubhouse itself and showed him my tongue.

  - What, you ate it, didn't you?

  Mieczyslaw sighed, zipped his pants and came out in the back after me.

  - Julia, if you do that again, I'll definitely pull you out. I think I got it. Isn't that a bastard?! Threaten a fragile, delicate girl!

  - Now tell me what happened to Clara.

  - She's gone. I guess we won't even meet her ghost again.

  - Oh, that's good. Now, in order. And don't you dare lie to me.

  I rolled my eyes.

  - In the beginning, there was a word. And the word was, "What a bastard twisted the sun." Then God saw that he had pulled all the plugs out of the drunk and turned them back. That's how the stars came into being. And then he looked at the ground, realized what he'd done, and said: "I don't buy moonshine from demiurgs anymore."

  - Julia!

  - Well, you wanted it in order.

  Mechislav rolled up his beautiful and incredibly green eyes.

  - Why do all vampires have normal family names?! And I got you?!

  - I should have sinned less. Adultery, my son...

  - Ugh!

  Epilogue

  Mecislav has been walking sad for five days now. The Vampire Council called and promised to send a commission to investigate the whole situation with Ramirez and Ivan Tulsky. headed by Alfonso da Silva. And Mecislav is nervous. They must be taken, placed, fed, satisfied, and the old vampires have... peculiar tastes. So that the guys from Dachau and Auschwitz would be jealous and brought to learn from their experiences.

  Joy doesn't add up to a lot of IPF attention. Rokin calls almost a day later and then invites me to lectures, or brings some literature on the auras. He pretends that nothing happened, but I don't give in. I don't know what they want from me, but they want it clearly on a voluntary basis. Maybe after a power test they realized that they couldn't subdue me and now they're trying to make up.

  Unconvincing?

  I agree. But what do they want from me anyway?

  Alexi's father died a week after our "friendly meeting." I wasn't surprised. As I was leaving the church, I knew he wasn't a resident.

  There's nothing to hurt the defenseless little one! In anger, I'm ridiculous... oh! I mean, scary! You're afraid! It's not working? You shouldn't have. There's nothing scarier than a monkey with a grenade.

  I wasn't charged with killing a priest, I could have. It's a matter of a minute to fabricate a case these days. But the FPI is doing its best to demonstrate its peacefulness.

  It's good, but it's disturbing. It's too powerful an organization for me to balance between them and vampires for a long time. Sooner or later, I'll have to make up my mind. Grandpa laughs and says that's how they grow up. And I should have done it a long time ago. Anyway, whoever tries to walk on two splitting boards falls nose in step three. And the IPF and vampires are perpendicular to each other.

  I still have my power. But it manifests itself as, where and when it wants. I can not only see auras, but I can also draw. Anytime, anywhere. Mecislav uses it from time to t
ime. We've interrogated three vampires and two werewolves in one week. Why is that? Well, the thing is, Vadim's a spy. He thinks that Clara wasn't working alone. She couldn't have been so good at gathering information alone. Someone knocked her out of our vampires or werewolves. And Mecislav supports him. Anyway, they're gonna figure out the woodpecker and make him eat one moth for the rest of his life. With my humble help. If the suspect's aura is bad, it means he's hiding something. My screams and protests are not taken into account. Well, I've still got to learn and learn. Aura is not the physiology of white gliders. One thing is comforting: no one tortured or dragged the interrogated into the walls - it was just a pleasant conversation with the Prince of the city. About where he was and what he saw. Well, you can practice reading auras.

  So it remained unknown who called me to warn me of the danger. If I find him, I'll say a big human Merci. From the money I took, the number was long-distance. It's no use looking. Vampires aren't stupid enough to register numbers for themselves. So we wait for the unknown benefactor to show up again.

  Boris went to Tula with the fighters selected by Mecislav. Every night, I read his e-mail reports. Everything seems to be going well. Ivan Tulsky has so finished with his self-centeredness that Boris seems to them like a manna from heaven. It's interesting how long it will take them to understand: even though Boris is a sweetheart compared to some people, you'll get off on it wherever you sit. Untouched, at best.

  In the meantime, the vampire is putting things in order, changing the places of his entourage and looking for a candidate for Prince Tula. He's not gonna pull this job himself. It's not much strength. Two hundred years from now...

  All selected vampires must be interviewed by Mieczysław. So there are also a lot of visits from landless vampires waiting for us. Everyone will show their strength, advertise themselves in every way and hope for the main prize - a warm, freshly prepared place of the Prince of Tula. Does it remind you of anything? There are not enough princesses and horses, and so would be one knight in one tournament. I propose to arrange something like that, even if not on spears, at least on sticks, but Mecislav doesn't agree. That's a shame. Many problems could have been solved.

  Because if there isn't a single spy among the vampires who will start arriving, call me Eva Brown!

  Peter woke up and left to get his ronin status, but he promised to come back. As soon as he did, right away. And I believe him. When he gets here, I want to get busy with the werewolves.

  There's trouble with werewolves at all. What's wrong? Oh, yeah!

  Nastia's pregnant. She's had a full moon and is about to give birth. I've already been booked to attend the birth. I sincerely hope that I won't throw up. It's a delicious sight. But I don't have the strength to say no either. Still, the first werewolf to give birth. Needless to say, Valentine's planning on discharging some world luminaire here. So that, God forbid, nothing happens...

  In the meantime, werewolves are lining up for my services.

  Everybody goes to Nadjushka to sign up. And the girlfriend sizzles that for some time such chances disappear. She's not a bribe taker, she could've borrowed that much - enough for Bill Gates. But Mecislav's taking advantage of it. He asked Nadia to inform all women-wolfs a simple truth: Julia helps only those who is loyal to the Prince of the city. Namely - to it, favourite and unique. And to lie in this matter very much does not advise.

  Women are not going to. Any of the werewolves for the opportunity to have a child will tear the enemy to rags. It doesn't even have to be the enemy - just anyone who doesn't like Mieczysław.

  In general, we get loyalty...

  all

  of werewolf species and flock in our city. Modestly and in a big way. My services are already reserved for four years ahead, and women are not going to stop there.

  I don't mind. I can understand them.

  And when Peter gets here, we'll try to make some kind of amulet with him. To block his ability to transform during the full moon. Only gently and with no irreversible consequences. We'll combine the blockage, like the one on his gift, with my vision of an aura. And we'll try to do it with a limited amount of power for a month, that's all. And then it will be possible not to worry at all - to rent amulets and live in peace.

  We celebrated my 20th birthday.

  Mecislav did not walk with us - the Prince of the city is not allowed. But the surname is quite. Therefore I have received the highest permission, I have taken all vampires with which I had time to become friends, and I have run away on will.

  Werewolves dragged me out into the woods at night on kebabs and red wine. Why red? Because that's where the vampires were grazing. So the difference between wine and blood wouldn't be noticeable.

  We all got drunk as pigs, sang songs, danced by the fire and in the morning found ourselves camped out.

  The vampires did their best. They weren't drunk. Although I suspect that if you let a vampire drink the blood of a junkie... but we're not going to do that kind of experiment yet, we've had enough.

  I found myself lying in a tent in proud solitude, in a sleeping bag with a white rose in my hand. I asked everyone who was the author of the idea, and they were silent.

  His Grace the Prince of the city gave me a set of gold and topazes. Heavy earrings, a ring, a necklace, a bracelet and even a small tiara. Golden and brown topazes were exactly the color of my eyes. And the gold seemed warm and heavy. Clearly a very old set. Stones aren't cut with cabochons now, are they?

  [18]

  I tried to get the vampire's stone history, but where is it going? Arms crossed on the chest, unyielding face, dropped eyelashes and a kind of cold and visiacious voice: "Curly, the gift horse does not look into the teeth.

  I was only able to pull out of Vadim - and that hint - that these stones, like a silver ring of roubles for five hundred for me, were something not worth mentioning. And if a vampire wishes, he can give me another five hundred years to make such original gifts three times a year.

  Yes, I understand that, but I couldn't find the strength to refuse. It's my birthday after all. And an anniversary. It's not every day that I turn 20?!

  And when I tried to find out which birthday is Mieczysław's, the vampire refused to confess. Even after the scandal.

  I had to reconcile temporarily. I'll find out from someone else. I see Mieczysław every three days. We share our strength, but we try to keep our distance from each other. I mean, I try. Mieczysław is doing his best to get me into bed.

  I can't say I don't feel like it. It's the opposite. But it's a matter of principle.

  Well, I don't want to sleep with anyone just for health! Especially with Mieczysław. It's like selling your soul to the devil, it's better not to get involved. You'll be healthier.

  In the meantime, you'll be quiet and smooth. Just for how long?

  Book 4 - Madness Ring

  Chapter 1.

  The life of a simple gymnast is hard and non-casist.

  August 30

  - ...the Dosya Shiny herself is coming to us!!!!

  I barely got away from my computer. They just posted a new book by one of my favorite detectives, and now I've been trying to read it. Why did you try?

  Well, when you get a half-hour of paintings, how cool it is, when there's a shiny daughter coming, it's hard to focus on something that needs a bit of attention.

  - I am so sick of you and your guinea pig!!!

  Nadia and I sat at my house. A friend was lazily jumping through the channels trying to grab something interesting on TV. I, in turn, was surfing the Internet with the same goals. Nadia was looking for something to watch. I was looking for something to read. I downloaded about five gigabytes of information - and picked the most. She chose. But I wasn't allowed to read. Nadia's a wonderful person. I mean, a werewolf wolf. But she has one minus. Coming from a village where the word "Internet" was perceived as a dirty mother, and the TV at best received two channels - and those in stripes, the girlfriend was completely defenseless against the flo
w of media. And with a huge enthusiasm watched all the talk shows, "intellectual" programs, soap operas, read newspapers, glossy magazines, novels ... in short - everything. And I listened, too. From my point of view, Nadia just had to go through this period of "hawaii everything" and acquire some notion of good literature and music. But before she did, she had to endure it.

  - Yulka! Look, Fluffy, if you don't know anything about modern pop culture, that's no reason to judge it!!!

  - Nadia!!! - ...I was finally angry. - Your pop culture comes from the word "butt"! And remembering "culture" in vain next to those pop singers is not to respect yourself! They don't even know the word "pop". And they won't find it in the dictionary! Because they do not know about the existence of the dictionary! Culture is Pugacheva! This is Edita Pieha! If you want - Pahmutova! Merlin Monroe, Vaikule, Rotaru! Not those bunny boys and girl bitches! This number is the legion. And they are of no interest, because they can't even sing on the notes. Their only dignity is their figure. But you're as good as them!

  Nadia looked at herself flattered, smiled, but immediately frowned back.

  - Yulka, you don't give me any trouble! It's not enough that you don't like them! She's a singer! She's a celebrity! And it's all said!

  - It's just another singing butt - I snapped. - It's not interesting to talk about her.

  - Yes!? Did you read "Premier"?

  - Nadia! I don't read GLANCIAL JOURNS!!! I do not have time! I'm gonna be kicked out of the institute with these idiotic vampires!

  - Well, don't exaggerate! Not everything is so tragic, - Nadia swung away.

  - Yeah, that's easy for you to say!

  Is life easy for me? I am Julia Yevgenyevna Leoverenskaya. Personal surname of the Prince of the City. How long it takes - not to pass! How did I get into this? Well, it's a long story. Well, it just so happened. I got into it carelessly. After it "turned out", I spent six months hiding from Mieczysław (the same Prince) in the corners and alleys. But how long can one hide from a vampire? I like it, I don't like it (I didn't like it very much!!!) - I had to leave the underground. There's nothing to do. And Mieczysław immediately smelled me up to nowhere further.