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«It is another duenna!» Angus grumbled after her.
Good thing Janet didn’t think she was a duenna. Gloria walked on, puzzled. How to explain to the child that she was neither a nanny nor a governess? She was a relative and a friend. Gloria didn’t have much experience in dealing with children. Perhaps she should behave directly to instill confidence in the child. Maybe try reading stories to Janet. The girl’s red-haired head flashed in the castle courtyard. Gloria went there and was stunned.
Janet was playing ball with strange, ugly creatures that seemed to have crawled out of the ground. It looked wild! Janet is a dainty girl, and her friends have claws, tails, and rough feet, but they are not animals. They deftly catch the golden apple-shaped ball and laugh, even making some jokes. They’re monsters!
«Get away from her!» Gloria grabbed the whip, apparently forgotten by the stable boys, and rushed at the freaks.
Janet looked at her surprised and angry.
«Go and mind your own business!» She said as if she were an adult. «My brothers and sisters have a right to visit me.»
These things have indoctrinated her that they are her brothers and sisters! The horror! Many of them have scales stretching across their skin and wretched wings fluttering behind their backs. Can’t Janet see that these are creatures from another race – from a non-human race!
One creeping monster sprang up, wrapped its claws around Janet’s shoulders, and whispered something in her ear. Its breath was black smoke. But the ball they were playing with was a real golden apple.
Is there such a thing as a tree that grows golden apples? It must have been made by a jeweler from Rhodolith. After all, the nearest town to the county, Rhodolith, is famous for its jewelers. But a gold object must be very heavy. You’d have to have a lot of strength to toss it around like a light ball. Janet had that strength. She was a child, but she could probably lift a sword without help.
The game with the monsters continued on the sidelines. The whole company quickly moved away from Gloria. Gloria did not even notice how they crawled away. They were just suddenly a few meters away from her, as if they had been transported there by magic.
Should we leave them alone? One of the monsters playing with Janet crawled into the well and hid there. One thing to keep in mind for the future was not to drink the water. Gloria had gotten used to drinking wine on her voyage, because there was not enough drinking water aboard the ship that had brought her to Ilior.
Suspicions about Amaranta’s so-called daughter only grew stronger. What if it wasn’t Amaranta’s daughter at all? First of all, she’s not blonde. Secondly, Angus is too cool towards her, as if he is not her father at all. Thirdly, she looks like a changeling, of which there are so many scary stories. But changelings are usually ugly, and this girl is beautiful. Janet has silky red hair, curly at the ends. She has red eyelashes, iridescent eyes, and bright freckles on her heart-shaped cheeks. This really is a child of fairies! All that’s missing are the wings behind her back.
«Hey! You forgot something!» Janet tossed Gloria a ball, not gold, but red and blue, covered with sharp scales.
Gloria ducked, caught it, and gasped. It was not a ball, but a miniature cannonball. It looked like it had been taken out of the dragon’s mouth and was about to explode.
«It is a dragon’s apple!» Janet explained.
«What is it?»
«It helps innocent maidens defend themselves against castle storms, and it can help someone get an annoying companion out of the castle.»
Janet laughed contagiously. Maybe she was trying to get Gloria into the game. She should throw the ball back to her. But as Gloria swung the ball, sparks flickered across the scales. No, we shouldn’t throw it. It could be explosive and hurt the baby. It might be a good idea to teach those freaks around Janet a lesson, but there was a risk of hurting her, too.
Gloria decided to keep the scaly ball. It was about the size of an apple, and its skin was like dragon scales.
«So, you are a dragon’s apple! Is that what Janet called you?»
The ball sizzled in her hand like a real dragon and got hot. Should she throw it down the well? Gloria pondered, but her hand burned. She couldn’t stand the heat any longer. Gloria unclenched her fingers and the ball fell into the well water. A pillar of fire erupted from the well.
«What did you do?» Janet stared at the explosion, which was part water, part fire. Something huge and flexible, like the scaly body of a dragon, crawled up from the well toward the windows of the towers. Gloria did not immediately realize that it was not a dragon, but a tree. It was covered with branches and scaly fruit like the ball Janet had given her.
«You gave it to me!»
Gloria felt like a fool. She’s a grown-up dolt accusing a little kid of something! That’s ridiculous! Except that the child, judging by the eyes, looked more like an ancient dwarf creature from the world of fairies, which was not the first hundred years old.
«From one apricot seed grows a whole tree, and from one dragon apple a whole dragon!» Janet whistled, looking at the scaly tree stretching from the well to the spires of the castle. «That’s what Iveyna told me!»
«Who’s Iveyna?»
Naturally Janet did not answer, but ran off laughing. And Gloria was left alone to give explanations to the sentries already rushing into the castle courtyard with pikes and halberds. Apparently, because of the trembling in the ground, they thought that a giant was breaking into the castle. And there was only a scaly tree growing here, looking like a gaunt dragon. For some reason, even the guards felt sick at the sight of it. Gloria suddenly realized that she’d done something that would get her kicked out of the castle. Maybe she should blame it on Janet. The child can be forgiven. But blaming her mischief on a child, even a supernatural one, was too mean. Gloria prepared to take the blame. Only no one blamed her for anything. No one even realized that the dragon tree growing out of the well was her doing.
The guards were whispering about the elves’ jokes and some guest still upstairs. Gloria hadn’t seen a carriage or riders ride up to the castle. So where had the guest come from? The guards certainly didn’t mean her. Taking advantage of their confusion, Gloria quietly left. Let them deal with the dragon tree themselves.
Magical threats
«Hey, mortal come here!» A familiar voice called out from somewhere above. The tone was mocking, as if the name «mortal» meant something insulting.
Gloria looked up at the ceiling. No one was there. Only a shiny cobweb stretched across the ceiling paintings. What did she expect to see? Was it an elf floating beneath the ceiling? Or was it a fairy with wings? The voice was most definitely male, though. After a moment, he spoke again.
«Take your sword with you, mortal! You’re about to need it!»
Naturally, there was no sign of the speaker. Gloria was used to listening to the invisible man half-heartedly. She didn’t care what he’s saying! His warnings were useless. And he could not be seen at all. And if you can’t see him, you can’t see him.
«Ouch!» Gloria felt someone pinch her. Probably someone was there after all.
«What do you want?» She snapped, trying to see who was attacking her.
«You can’t fight, but it’s dangerous to walk around the castle without a sword right now,» the voice laughed.
Gloria even took offense. No matter how many times she turned on her axis, she couldn’t see anyone around her. Though she could feel someone’s breathing nearby: above her head, behind her back, or at her side. An invisible spirit was taunting her.
«You’re a ghost!» Gloria guessed.
There was such deafening laughter that the walls shook. Gloria even covered her ears. It felt like the giant was laughing.
«I don’t hang out with jesters,» she said as the laughter died down.
Gloria had just reached the floor of the castle, where she could see the branches of the scaly tree through the window. The fruit on them was uncountable. They were all as scaly as the trunk itself.
«Don’t touch it!» The invisible man warned.
Why was he so concerned?
Gloria approached the large, high arched window. The branches of a dragon tree poked through the window. One scaly fruit could be plucked, but Gloria didn’t dare. So these scaly fruits are called dragon apples. That’s what Janet called them, anyway. And they’re as hot as a charcoal fire. You could burn yourself on them. She didn’t want the castle on fire because of them. If they stick through a window in the library, for instance, the whole place could go up in flames. Good thing there’s only one stone wall. It was nothing to catch fire. The fruit sparkled and flared. At night, they’d make great lighting, but you’d have to keep all flammable objects away from the windows. The main thing was to keep the branches from stretching lengthwise and creeping further into the castle.
What if that tree is a living dragon? Where’s its head around here, though? Gloria leaned out the window and took a closer look.
«You are curious, mortal!» Someone upstairs muttered.
If it was the same invisible man talking to her, he had already flown to the top of the dragon tree.
His voice was pleasant, yet taunting. Why did the simple word ’mortal’ sound like an insult in his mouth? Is being a mortal humiliating? The invisible man wailed something over her head, as if lamenting the fact that she wasn’t a fairy.
«Who are you?» Gloria dared to ask.
There was silence in response. The invisible man is playing some kind of game with her. Wouldn’t it be better to play charades and make witty conversation? Gloria called out to the invisible man a few more times, but it was still impossible to get him to dialog.
But in the large feast hall there was a conversation ready to turn into an argument. There were aggressive voices coming from there, and one of them was female.
Gloria was surprised. She hadn’t noticed any adult women in the Count’s castle. Even the servants here were mostly made up of men. This could be because the castle owner was wary of female coquetry, because he had already been hurt very badly by it once. It did not escape Gloria’s notice that Angus was extremely sensitive about Amaranta’s disappearance. It was as if he considered himself abandoned. And yet Amaranta was apparently kidnapped by the elves and is still alive. Angus should be angry at those who stole her, not resentful of everyone else.
But the castle master was used to taking out his anger on those who happened to be at hand. In the great hall, crystal tinkled. It looked like Angus had broken a whole set in the heat of the moment.
«I don’t want handouts from the elves!» He shouted.
«Do you want a war?» Some woman asked.
«Yes.»
«Well, it can be organized, but you’ll lose.»
«Try me! What if I find a warrior who can defeat even an elf king?»
«Did they predict that for you?»
«The Sword of Thorns is awake. It seeks its master. I saw it vibrate as if it was eager to fight. Soon the legendary warrior will appear, and your glorious Elves’ kingdom will come to an end. Then you will fly back to me.»
«Or fall into oblivion with them.»
«I want my wife back! Perhaps all you have to do is cut off her wings and she’ll be back to her old self.»
«Don’t be silly! Or this castle will be in ruins by morning. Remember that next to the elves, there’s a kingdom of black fairies. They too can attack on the sly. You remember you stained yourself once with a pact with a black fairy.»
«That pact was canceled a long time ago.»
«But Medea Shai thinks you owe her. She’s coming to collect with blood and souls. And who will help you then, if not us?»
«Don’t bribe!»
Gloria went into the great hall at the sound of the argument. She was so curious that she forgot the invisible man’s warning not to walk around the castle without her sword.
The great hall was clearly preparing for battle. It made more sense to prepare it for dinner. The hunters had brought in the game. A spit was placed over the fireplace.
Gloria found it strange that all the hunters had pale faces, as if they had returned from a funeral rather than a hunt. Probably they had seen something in the forest that frightened them.
«Did you hunt wild boars or pheasants and partridges?» Gloria asked from the doorway, trying to make her tone more cheerful. The atmosphere in the room was very gloomy.
She shouldn’t have asked.
«Is there another girl living here?» A human voice shrieked with excitement from the bag where the game was supposed to be. «How exciting is that? Does Dagda know yet?»
«Throw the sack into the fire!» Angus commanded, but it was too late. The sack was tied tightly, but the clawed paw had torn it from the inside.
Gloria gasped in amazement. There were nine black clawed toes on that foot at once. What kind of animal has nine limbs on its feet? What are the things found in the Ilior’s forests? What a marvel!»
The hunters had obviously been sloppy in their hunting. The game jumped out of the bag alive, grabbed the mace, and began to twist it over her head as if it were a chain. Gloria shrieked. It was a small monster, not a game.
The creature, the size of a large lynx, had six legs, three tails, and a head with branching horns like a demon. And the little freak had the strength of a giant. Many of the knights gathered in the hall were severely injured in half a minute. Some had their fingers chopped off, some had their arms cut off, some had their hands cut off, some had their legs cut off, some even had their heads cut off, which rolled across the floor and fell at Gloria’s feet.
Gloria didn’t have time to bounce aside. The hem of her dress was splattered with blood. The black creature triumphed, easily deflecting the blows of swords and halberds. How had the hunters managed to put this devil in a sack! Now it was free, and pools of blood ran down the floor of the hall.
«I’ll take the girl with me! I know who to give her to…» the devilish creature snorted, smashing the head of the knight who had fallen to the floor with his mace.
The invisible man was right when he advised Gloria to bring her sword. Though what could she do against such an aggressive creature even with a sword? The knights weren’t doing so well. Arrows from crossbows flew at the recent game, but they couldn’t kill it. The creature easily pulled the arrows from its belly and chest and broke the shaft of each one.
«I am stronger and more agile!» The ugly man danced on the dismembered corpses of the knights, waving his mace. He was chanting something that sounded like a spell. His chants made the surviving knights sick. This lasted until Angus intervened. He managed to put a thin ribbon embroidered with some strange signs on the freak, and strangely enough the little monster lost all his giant strength.
«Ah, you are a treacherous magician!» It hissed and tried to twist away.
«We must gut it and put it in the fire!» Angus commanded, who suddenly looked very tired.
Did he really mean to make a meal out of monster game? As luck would have it, Janet appeared behind Gloria.
«There are guests in the castle,» she whispered.
«Don’t look!» Gloria tried to pull her away, but the child was harder to move than a granite statue.
Janet was unexpectedly strong. How do we get her out of here? We can’t let the baby see the gutting of a game, no matter how monstrous. As Gloria pondered, her gaze came upon an open window. There was indeed a woman in a white ball gown standing there, resembling a pale shadow. Could it really be Amaranta? But after all, Amarantha is dead. Or is she not? Was it probably another woman who looked a lot like her? She didn’t even recognize Gloria.
«Why don’t you go back to living with people instead of these creatures?» Angus said to her.
«I’m not going back,» the lady replied quietly, as if the wind rustled in the window.
«Then it will die.»
«That’s not likely. They never die.»
«But they feel pain.»
Who are they talking about? That monster the hunters caught? It was impossible to kill. It was almost impossible to injure it, either. Though Angus had given orders to disembowel it, it was hardly feasible. The knives only glided through the thick hide without scratching it. But the beast laughed, spat fire, and then sang. Its song made Gloria dizzy. Suddenly a voice called out.
«Come to me, Gloria! Do you want to be my lover and my victim?»
The voice penetrated her brain. It didn’t belong to the creature. The others couldn’t hear it. Only Gloria heard it. And now she was no longer in a hall where live monstrous game was being gutted, but in a field where winged maidens danced in wreaths of flowers she did not know the names of. Someone from the round dance holds out his hand to her. Instead of fingernails on his hand he has golden leaves.
And that’s it! The vision evaporated. She found herself back in the feast hall, as if she had fallen from heaven to earth. One of the hunters took a sickle instead of a knife. The beast was frightened by the sickle and howled in an uncontrollable voice.
«You have no right to use Alais’s weapon,» it howled. «Only she has the right to torture us with them. There is a law that no one but our leader can punish us.»
But the hunters didn’t care about the law. Suddenly the sickle vibrated in the knight’s hand like a living thing and sank into his shoulder. The blade easily passed through the dense armor and plunged into the flesh. Human blood splattered and mixed with the pool of the monster’s blood on the floor. The knight screamed in pain. This distracted his comrades. The disemboweled monster took advantage of this and twisted away.
Gloria couldn’t believe that it was able to jump off the table with its belly open, losing its guts in the process. By the way, his cut gut from the drops of human blood splashed on it, instantly fused.
«Humans are rare creatures,» the monster muttered, glancing warily at the knights.
Gloria herself was not averse to calling the hunters as knackers. How could anyone torture a living creature, even a monstrous one? She moved out of the way so that it could escape unhindered, but its bloody paw still left an imprint on her train. The clawed paw was like a seal on brocade. Even the most diligent washerwoman couldn’t wash it now. Well, it wouldn’t be her last dress.
