Читать книгу Chintamani Chronicles. Crystal of Truth - Anastasia Sergeevna Bondarenko - Страница 3

A deafening rumble of thunder made the girl flinch and open her eyes. Trying to catch her breath, she ran her hand over her eyes. Again this dream. He so often dreamed of her, all the time supplemented with new details and details… Getting up, she went to the window and opened it. The wind that blew into the room refreshed her flushed face. The ringing Skype call distracted her from her thoughts. A familiar number popped up on the screen…

– Arthur?

The holographic image that had taken the form of her colleague looked oddly confused.

Anna, we need to talk.

– I’m listening to.

– No, could you… could you come? To me.

– What, right now? Have you looked at the time at all? In fact, there is a curfew in the yard and it is strictly forbidden to leave the house at this time…

– As you wish… I thought you were the person I could rely on when… Well, I guess I was wrong.

Anna hung up the phone in anger. What the… She walked around the room, trying to calm down. How dare he turn to her, HER, after everything that happened?! “I thought you are a person I could relied on,” the girl chuckled. Who would have said… But still, the tone of the man’s voice alerted her. Why did he call her and not one of his girlfriends? Gritting her teeth and clenching her fists, the girl went into the dressing room…

At night, the city was almost deserted, so the light train quickly brought her to Arthur’s house. Stepping outside, she breathed in the fresh air with pleasure. How she loves the night. Her acquaintances, who were not so sensitive to the change of time of day, did not understand this passion of hers, because the girl was used to wandering alone. Especially now, after the end of the Third Cold War and the constant supervision of the Patrol, such walks have become absolutely safe. Under the vigilant control of the Watch and the Guard of Order, humanity was finally able to forget about the fears of the past. Tougher punishments and rules common to all have reduced to nothing the ridiculous and cruel behavior of people. But still, due to the silent confrontation between the two superpowers and the incitement of opposition factions, absolute calm was still very far away…

“I wonder what time is it?” As soon as she thought about it, the time flashed before her eyes, pointing to half past one at night. Hmm, it’s still too late for walks and visits. The girl frowned as she looked around. Still not enough to arouse the interest of the Night’s Watch! She did not want to spend a couple of days in a punishment cell and receive a reprimand from her superiors. Approaching the gate, the girl pressed the call button. Passing through the opened gate, she quickly crossed the dark courtyard and knocked on the door. Footsteps followed her…

– Anna you are here. Come in.

The behavior of her colleague was more than strange. The girl frowned – something was clearly wrong. She glanced at Arthur, but he averted his eyes. The girl took off her coat, and they went into a large room that served as both a living room and a dining room. But this time there was complete chaos on the table, there were some maps, books… Books everywhere?!

– Arthur, what the… Where does all this come from? Do you know how much paper books cost now? Have you robbed a museum?!…

The young man interrupted her.

– Sorry for the mess. But first, give me your word that what you learn will remain between us. Promise?

– Yes, of course, – the girl looked at her friend with growing astonishment. Always so calm, confident, now he looked very strange (she would even say “excited”, using the old vocabulary), and his blue eyes were shining, as if in a fever.

– Arthur, are you okay? You’re acting strange… Where are Sarah and Boris?

– She and her son are in some kind of vacation… I didn’t want to… involve them in this.

– What are you talking about?

– Long story. Do you remember Professor Johansen from the University of Berlin, the one who replaced Dr. Karpatov?

The girl closed her eyes, the memory of the loss still fresh.

– Oh sure. He came to our forum two days ago…

To be honest, she never liked Johansen, nor did many of those dark and slippery personalities with whom Arthur interacted. But it didn’t seem to bother him at all.

– That’s when we met and talked to him. It turned out that he knew my father well and even more than that, they were friends in their time. In general, he said that he would like to invite me to Berlin to work with rare manuscripts in the archive of the institute, since they are written in Latin, and this is precisely my profile. You know my passion for learning languages.

– Oh, yes… Who else could master French in a couple of years, – the girl looked at the man with irony, but he did not notice this, immersed in his thoughts. – And what? Did you agree?

– That’s not the point… Later, in the evening, Skype rang. I was surprised when I saw the professor. He seemed extremely excited and asked me to come to his university immediately. You should have seen him at that moment! He seemed to be out of his mind. Glancing back at the door, he took out something wrapped in a thick green cloth and handed it to me. But just as I was about to open the bundle, behind the door, in the corridor, someone’s heavy footsteps were heard. Opening the window (the office was on the second floor next to the fire escape), the professor ordered me to leave, but first he asked me to take care of the bundle that he gave me, even at the cost of my life. There was no time to think…

Rising from his chair, the young man went to the secretary and, pulling out one of the drawers, took out a bundle. For a moment he seemed to consider whether he should give it to the girl, but then he handed it to her.

– Look. But keep in mind that this secret should not go beyond this room.

– Okay, – the girl took the bundle, it felt like something weighty was wrapped in it. Opening it, she froze. – Arthur, it’s…

– Shh… Quiet, calm down, – the young man grinned and put his finger to his lips. The girl nodded, unable to take her eyes off the stone. – Yes, this is something that should not fall into the wrong hands in any way. Now do you understand how important it is to keep what you just saw a secret?

– You can be sure, I understand. I will be dumb, like… walls.

– Agreed, – Arthur smiled. – But you can barely keep up. I’m sorry I dragged you out of bed at a time like this.

– Nothing, I…

– Night bird, I already understood that.

The girl snorted – no sarcasm anywhere – but then the sound of an approaching car was heard outside the window. The door slammed. The young man rushed to the window. Anna noticed how he turned pale and, out of habit, bit his lip.

– Arthur, what’s going on?

– What a night! We have guests…

– Are you waiting for someone? – the girl looked at the man in disbelief. He shook his head.

– No, but some people have a habit of showing up without an invitation, – under the girl’s blank look, he quickly took out a travel bag and put a tablet and a computer in it. It’s good that I always keep things ready. Thanks to the eternal business trips, – he zipped up the bag and, throwing it over his shoulder, looked at the girl. – Are you going?

– Wait, but where?

– All questions after, we have little time!

Without even bothering to close the door (they would break it anyway), the young people hurried to the car parked behind the house. Arthur started the engine, the light engine roared, and the car started abruptly. Stripes flickered outside the window, into which the lanterns flying past merged. Finally, as they pulled onto the freeway, the girl decided to break the silence.

– Maybe, of course, I’m interfering in other than my own business… But what’s going on?! And, in case you forgot, my house is on the other side.

– Sorry, Anna, but you won’t be coming home today.

– What?! The girl looked dumbfounded at the man. But he did not react to her indignant exclamation, still continuing to follow the road. – Arthur, is it a joke?!”

– This is not a joke, Anna, everything is much more serious.

– Yes, it’s much more serious when you are pulled out of bed at dawn, thrown into a car and taken away to no one knows where. Arthur, if you decided to kidnap me, you could say so.

Despite her, the young man stepped on the gas, and his black jaguar, easily maneuvering, overtook a couple of cars in front. The girl chuckled.

– Yes, once again I am convinced that my intuition does not fail me. All because of this cobblestone? – having received an affirmative nod, the girl leaned back in her seat with a sigh. – That’s what I thought. And now what? Although… you can stay with me for a while. True, the apartment is rented, but…

This plan won’t work. Besides, you too have been figured out for a long time.

– God, Arthur! What have you got me into?! The Night Watch will not leave it like that… – the girl looked at her friend with anger. Couldn’t you have warned? And where are we in such a hurry now? Well, yes, of course, the airport… Where to now?

– I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you that. But as long as you are with me, nothing threatens you.

– Yes? Oh well…

Without answering, the young man got out of the car. The girl clutched the arms of her chair with helpless fury. Although she herself is to blame… He always acted on others, like a boa constrictor on rabbits. That’s why she went to him, she could have guessed… She would be lying in bed now, watching the tenth dream.

Opening the door, the man looked at the girl impatiently. Looks like she got kidnapped. Without uttering another word, Anna got out of the car, slamming the door with force. Ignoring Arthur’s indignant exclamation, she moved to the airport entrance and looked at him. She understood that something irreversible was happening, but curiosity prevailed over fear of the unknown.

– If you want to incinerate me with a look, that won’t work. Although I’m not holding you, you can take a taxi and go home. True, you are unlikely to expect a warm welcome there, dear Anna… But now we are late for the plane. And you’ll have to keep me company.

Taking the girl by the elbow, the man led her into the building. There was no point in resisting…