The bloom turned out well - the first month of summer! Amazingly good. Warm, nice. Rainy days can be counted on the fingers. The current one was completely feast for the eyes. It has been pouring rain since morning. He beat down the dust, blackened out the mighty logs of the tyna and the hewn roofs of the huts, left shining puddles along the paths. And then the sun came out. Grace!
Silence still reigned in the yards of the village, but the smoke of the hearths was already stretching over the settlement - soon the hunters would return from fishing, the youth would come from the reeds, the children from the forest. Then the village will come to life: silence will crumble into voices, laughter, squeals, screams and joyful barking of dogs.
Summer days are long and bright. Night barely steps on the threshold, barely spreads its black wings over the world, and the morning dawn is already breathing down her neck. It would always be like this...
Grandfather Vron, leaning on a strong stick, descended from the porch and hobbled to a bench, specially arranged for him in the shade of an old apple tree. Here the old man sat down heavily, closed his inflamed eyes, and exposed his wrinkled face to the generous sun.
The hut door slammed. A girl ran out into the yard at eight springs. Entangled in the hem of her shirt, she flew up to the blissful old man and, trying to look like an adult, grumbled:
- You, grandfather, do not sit for a long time! And then it will get dark soon, - she threw a warm jacket over her bent shoulders and flew back into the house.
“Egoza,” Vron whispered after his granddaughter with hidden tenderness and sighed when he thought that he would never see how the matchmakers would come for Zoryanka. Don't live.
The wind caressed her gray hair. A bird whistled in the apple branches, a rooster crowed hoarsely. Good...
The gate creaked. Grandfather woke up from a slumber and opened watery eyes. A neighbor's guy came into the yard from the street. Young. Yes, he barely moved his legs. The once-straight back was hunched, gray hair was silver in the pitch hair, and the eyes were extinct.
“Peace in the house, Ostrikovich...” the newcomer said in a low voice.
“Mira, Kared,” the old man replied and moved up on the bench. - Sit down. What? Is it okay for you?
The guest sat down on the bench and nodded.
Ron looked at him with pity.
Half a year has already passed since Kared got lost while hunting in the forest and could not return to the village before dark. How then his mother wailed, how she fought in the hut, how she lamented! The only son was taken by the cursed night, the only man was stolen from the house.
As soon as it dawned, the whole village went in search, although they knew that they would not be able to find it. And so it happened - the guy did not spend the night at the hunting lodge. And where did it go, I didn’t even want to guess. But a week later Kared returned. If he came at night, they would not let him in, but the young hunter appeared in broad daylight.
The children were the first to notice the tired traveler and with a screech rushed through the yards to bury themselves. Only the mother was not afraid, ran out to meet, hung on her neck, sobbing and wailing.
It's just like the dead son was. He didn't say anything, stared into the void and stood with his hands along his body with whips. They invited him to the house of the sorceress. She looked at the unfortunate man, but did not find a single wound on a white body, not a single bruise ... Only a wooden amulet, hanging under a shirt on a string, was as if gnawed by someone's sharp teeth.
No matter how much they asked the guy, he did not say a word. The poor mother was dissuaded from letting him into the house, but she became stubborn, saying that it would be better for the whole family to die than to leave my own blood outside the threshold at night!
Fortunately, the family did not die. Little by little Kared entered the mind. But what happened to him in the night forest - he did not tell anyone. However, since that time, as if the fire of life went out in a young, strong and formerly laughable guy - the first fiance of the village. He walked now, barely dragging his feet, and was not capable of any work - he did not hold the once strong hands, neither an ax, nor a plow, nor a horn.
It was said that the said Kared, they say, enchanted his bloodsucker, and now the unfortunate hunter will not have either life or joy until he throws off evil witchcraft from himself or until the Night Walker takes a new victim for himself ... Oh, how I was afraid all. As soon as the sun began to sink towards the horizon, everyone was buried in the huts!
But six months have already passed, and the people in the village, praise the Guardians, did not disappear. Karedu got better, sometimes worse, but he didn’t become the same, all the same.
“It’s a chore for me, grandfather,” the guy finally said, with difficulty pushing out words. - Scary...
Vron paused, thinking about something of his own, and then remarked:
“You weren’t a coward before.
“He wasn’t…” the interlocutor said softly. “But before that I wasn’t so afraid. Until then, I knew how to overcome fear. And now I have forgotten. Weak became.
Raven smiled.
- Ty! If fear were an easy adversary, not a single coward would be left in the world. Duc, after all, only fear, Kared, is not just given to a person. The Keepers warned not in vain that any living creature should be afraid. To the benefit. But there is shameful fear, and there is forgiveness.
- Like this? – without any interest asked guy.
- And so. Is it embarrassing to be afraid of the undead at night? No. How can one not be afraid of it if a person does not know how to cope with it? Is it shameful to be afraid of bad deeds? Neither, because what kind of fear is that? It is our conscience that worries. And to pass by the weak, being afraid to protect him? Ashamed? Still would! How about showing weakness? That's it. Do you see how many of them are different fears? And all with meaning. So not everyone needs to be overwhelmed, but only the one that makes a person disgusting.
The bent young man smiled sadly and said:
- It's just you, grandfather. But it's not that easy to overcome.
The old man nodded.
– What did you think? Winning is always difficult. That takes courage. And courage comes only from love. Love is a powerful force. For her sake, only fears are forgotten. She heals the soul too... That's right.
Kared listened to the old man and looked into the void. What was he ranting about? Come on, guess. But by nightfall, the guy had disappeared without a trace. They did not find him either the next day or a week later. Only mother lamented bitterly and cried Zoryanka, to whom he promised to make a straw doll ...
Winter this year was cold and snowy. In the morning, while you clear the path from the house to the gate, you will get stuck. And the cold is so breath-taking!Lesana was returning from the well with two full buckets, the water in which had already begun to seize with ice. A sharp wind blew in his face, making it difficult to look, burning his cheeks.- Let me help you.And the buckets, which had just been so heavy, suddenly became weightless. The girl looked back, with difficulty opening her frozen eyelashes.A tall, broad-shouldered fellow in a sheepskin coat seized the burden and smiled. His face was round and snub-nosed. The best face in the world! Lesana blushed. Miruta has long sunk into her heart. And he liked her. And in the spring, perhaps, he will come with matchmakers. No, not “maybe”, it will definitely come! From this thought, the soul became warm, warm, and even the burning wind could not cool the burning of the sweet flame.They walked in silence. Yes, and what to talk
The hard face, overgrown with prickly bristles, was devoid of any expression, and in the eyes ... in the eyes of the dead wasteland. Lesana had never seen such a heavy look before. It did not reflect any feelings, no spark of fun, no curiosity, no fatigue. Nothing. And there were eyes, expressionless looking from under black straight eyebrows, as gray as a cloudy winter sky. And just as cold. And the right cheek of the kref was disfigured by a white welt of an uneven scar.The gaze of the guard glided over the faces of those who entered, and suddenly stopped at Lesan. In the reverent silence, a low voice sounded:- Come on.The girl was numb with horror. It seemed to her at that moment that the kref could read minds and would now shame her in front of everyone that she dared to think about the expression of his eyes and the ugliness of his face.- How many springs do you have?The unfortunate woman was silent, unable to squeeze out a sound.- Are you mute?Lesana shook her head in fea
The man froze near the tree, which was not reached by the faint light of the burnt out fire. The tall man looked intently and beckoned the victim to him.As if enchanted, Lesana took a step forward, but froze when she met an invisible barrier. Something prevented me from moving on. And green, like swamp lights, eyes flickered, attracted ...Only then did the girl remember: blood! The charmed ore of the guardian is what does not let her go beyond the outlined circle. The werewolf knew this. But he needed food, and he was looking for a way to get it. And the victim could not resist the inviting gaze, enveloping, attractive, promising ... Therefore, she leaned over and hastily scratched the ground with her nails, seized by the last spring frost. The barrier separating people from the inhabitant of the night collapsed.Lesana stepped out of the safe circle into the darkness, reaching out to the man. Oh, how she longed to touch him! To snuggle up with your whole body, to inhale the smell,
Chapter 3The last day of the journey was unseasonably warm. The sun warmed so gently, as if the month of the melter had been replaced not even by green and to, but immediately by the color of the shadow. The retinues seemed as hot as sheepskin coats, and the future learners threw them off with relief, secretly glad that they did not see their mothers, who would certainly begin to scold. The Krefffs didn’t care, but Lesana and Ailisha, taking advantage of the fact that none of the village gossips would cackle over their ears, took off their headscarves and even slightly loosened their braids.Tamir, no, no, cast furtive glances at his companions, involuntarily comparing them with each other. What, it would seem, is different: now a girl and then a girl - two arms each, two legs each, a pigtail. But if Lesana - ruddy rich, soft, like a loaf just pulled out of the oven - aroused warm curiosity in the soul of a young baker, then a shy doctor with a gentle blush that illuminates swarthy s
The corridor descended steeply and soon the windows were replaced by smoky torches. Eilish listened to the echo of footsteps and whispered in Lesana's ear:- In the soapbox, I still understand, but what kind of hrychovka and why go to her?- Cut the braids, - without turning his head, the guide dryly enlightened them.- How to cut? We are girls! - the future healer froze as if rooted to the spot.- You are no longer girls, but novices of the Citadel. There are no girls or boys here, only future guardians. And their hair is only a hindrance, - the senior student stopped.- Well, are we to go to the ports and wash with you? Lesana died.- In the ports - of course, but to wash ... Well, if you only want to rub your back, otherwise - separate soapboxes, - the guy laughed and added more stricter: - Let's move, otherwise they will punish you on the first day. You will quickly understand how to chew snot.And they again rushed somewhere down.Soon a corridor led them to a low door with an ir
A murmur passed through the vaults of the hall, but Ned lightly struck the table with his palm and, in the silence that reigned, continued as calmly as before.“If someone is afraid of my words and decides to run away, then I don’t keep anyone. The gates of the Citadel are open all day, and at night the gate in the wall is not locked - for those whom the sunset caught on their way. Just remember, - he looked around at everyone with a heavy look, - as soon as you move away from the walls, the amulets and witchcraft that protect the fortress, you are no longer intercessors, and the first walker will devour the fugitive. And in a few weeks, a special sign will be inscribed on the gates of the shameful settlement, by which any guardian will know that a coward was born here, betraying his compatriots and family. And no one overshadowed will help the inhabitants of the place that gave birth to the fugitive.Lesana bit her lips. They knew. They all knew it. They understood that studying at t
After closing the door of the dead, Mairiko and Kleskh went to the upper tiers of the Citadel. They walked in silence, each thinking about his own and not hearing the ghostly echo of steps hovering under the high dark vaults. What were they thinking? About those distant days when you yourself found yourself in the walls of a stone stronghold - frightened and miserable? They hardly remember them. After all, from a half-wild boy who grew up in a fishing shack, and from a girl from a remote forest village, there was nothing left, except for the names once given by their parents. The past is hazy. It became a stranger. Fake. There were drafts on the upper tier, but it was not as damp as on the lower ones. The mentors and the head of the Citadel lived here. Kleskh stopped when he heard a short chuckle behind him. He turned around, looking inquiringly at his companion, and she suddenly said something that he himself had briefly thought about as he walked along the worn steps. – Do you re
They say the old people - the day is long, but the century is short. What nonsense? Previously, Lesana did not understand this wisdom, although she repeated it on occasion, like everyone else. She had to comprehend the truth of habitual words here - in the Citadel. The days here dragged on for a long, long time ... Each seemed no shorter than a whole week, but, I didn’t have time to look back, more than a year had passed. Autumn. No, it had not yet arrived, but it was already felt in the air of the last summer month. Just a little bit more and the ducks and geese will stretch in wedges to the distant warm lands. It’s good for them - free - they fly wherever they want! And summer is ahead of them again. And here the sky is about to grow heavy from the clouds, showered with rain, and the month is replaced by the fruit of the harvest and ynik ... This is a glorious time! Hearty, fun, they play weddings, arrange festivities. The girl closed her eyes. No, I didn't want to cry. She has