Читать книгу Legend. Dark kingdoms - Dmitry Nazarov - Страница 6

The clang of a heavy dead bolt rattled throughout the basement of Albert Castle, and woke up Marvin, who was lying on a bench inside the dungeon.

A large iron door slowly opened and two soldiers froze at the entrance. One of them, holding a torch in his hands, remained standing, and the second jumped up to the old man, and without saying a word, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and lifted him into the air.

– The king wants to see your wrinkled face, witcher, – the voice distorted by the mask felt like a grave cold. As soon as Marvin burst into a loud cough, the dark elf unclenched his hand, dropping the old man on the straw-strewn floor, and then abruptly stepped back, afraid of catching any infection from him – move, or we will chase you with kicks.

Leaning on his palms, Marvin, with grief in half, got up, and with the last of his strength, moving his legs, each bone in which mercilessly ached after the fall, followed the warrior who carried the torch in his hands. The second followed him, cheering the old man with kicks.

Overcoming hundreds of steps and a tangled corridor labyrinth, all three of them found themselves in front of the doors that led to the throne room, and, shifting from foot to foot, waited for the master of ceremonies to announce their arrival.

Finally, a short man with pointed long ears returned to them and, throwing open the doors, said loudly:

– The king is waiting for you!

Grabbing the old man by the arms, the soldiers marched into the hall, where the Black King sat on a huge throne.

His face, as in their first meeting, was hidden by a mask, but even at a distance Marvin could feel the hidden anger emanating from the dark elf that threatened to break out.

Stopping a couple of meters from the throne, the soldiers threw the witcher at Gamar’s feet and, taking a step back, knelt on one knee, bowing their heads.

The king got up from his seat and, going up to the witcher lying on the floor, put his booted foot on his neck.

– Where is the vessel? – just two words, but there was so much strength and hatred in them. Marvin was shaking.

– I—I-I…I don’t know, Your Majesty. – I summoned her to our world as you requested, and she should have been in the castle by now, but it looks like the spell didn’t work the way it should. For the exact work of my strength, most likely not enough, but she is somewhere in the kingdom, maybe even in the capital, – the pressure of the boot on his neck increased, so much so that the bones cracked.

– Read one more spell, and in a minute she will be standing in front of me. Otherwise, your death will be slow and painful.

– I have exhausted all my magic supply by moving it, Your Majesty. I’ll be good for nothing in the next few days.» Closing his eyes tightly, Marvin prepared himself for the fact that now he would either be decapitated with a single blow of the sword, or be kicked to death in front of the Black King.

But fate seems to have other plans for him.

– How many days? the king asked, and the witcher did not even believe his ears at first.

Instead of killing him, Gamar entered into negotiations. So, a sweet fair-haired girl sunk into his black heart, which was reflected in the water. It hurts, you want to get to it. But Marvin couldn’t help him now.

– I don’t know for sure, maybe six, maybe seven. The reserve must be fully restored, otherwise the spell will not work, – the dark elf removed his leg from his neck and returned to the throne.

– You two, stand up, – he said to the soldiers who had brought the elder. They jumped up on the spot and raised their faces dressed in masks to the king – I order you to send two detachments in search of the girl. One combs the capital, let the second pass through all the nearby cities. She is human, with blond hair falling to her waist, with green eyes and scarlet lips. I know the description is rather vague, and there are quite a few similar girls in the kingdom, but this one has a distinctive feature – clothes that are unusual for our places. Anyone who falls under this description, you are taking to the palace, I will personally check them. And warn the rest – anyone who even hints at the vessel will face a cruel death.

The soldiers nodded in unison, and remained standing still, waiting for further orders regarding the old man, who was also lying on the floor.

Gamar stared at the witcher for about a minute, then snapped his fingers, urging the soldiers to seize him.

– Get him out of my sight to where you brought him from.» In six days, if the reserve is replenished, I am waiting for him at the same place. If not… kill.

***

– Sessy, look at what they stole, – the dwarf sitting on the top bunk turned to the second dwarf, who was perched nearby, as soon as the soldiers pushed Milana and me inside the cell and, closing the door with a key, left.

From the moment we, through… no, I can’t say «portal». If I do this, then all this is really happening to me, otherwise I can pretend that I have an unusual dream full of adventures.

From the moment we, through the «passage in the cave», got into the prison, which Milana called Kandugan, half an hour had already passed. During this time, I still managed to get into the toilet, which looked more like a small utility room with a wooden bucket installed in the middle, which was covered with a lid with a hole cut in it.

As they say, everything is known in comparison. Against this background, the toilet in the odnushka I rented looked simply royal. But now was neither the time nor the place to present any claims to the soldiers holding us back.

They threw us two bundles of clothes that all the prisoners wore: brown burlap pants and gray shirts. They waited for us to change, took our things and put hoops around our necks with blue stones in the middle.

Milana managed to whisper that this was Mary’s stone, and she even felt how it was taking away some strength from her. I was neither cold nor hot from this trinket, so I didn’t make scenes, being afraid to run into outright aggression.

These orcs in iron masks did not even consider us human beings, pushing and slandering us with the last words all the time, angering them, in our precarious position, was fraught with great trouble.

The most interesting thing began when we were led along a narrow corridor, with compartments located on both sides, where prisoners were kept. Only transparent glass separated us from them, but the audibility was so distinct, as if there was no barrier.

Separation by gender was also poorly practiced here. Some cells held women, some men, and often opposite each other.

They followed us with their eyes, shouted something after us, but Milana and I, not paying attention, holding hands, walked, driven by the soldiers, to the cell allocated to us.

– Looks like the guards got bedding, but why they put this garbage in our cell, I don’t understand, – the dwarf Sessie answered, measuring us with a contemptuous look.

– Maybe to somehow brighten up your squalor? I won’t be surprised if this cell was bypassed, – without restraining myself, I spat out Milan in their faces, and my sixth sense screamed «danger» loudly.

Lasted a whole minute, this is a record.

The dwarfs, shouting «bitches», jumped on us from above and began to thrash with their small but strong fists wherever they hit. For such tiny creatures, they possessed remarkable strength and dexterity, making us scream in pain.

The one that sat on my shoulders grabbed my hair and began to pull with such force that I, mad with anger, hit the wall, trying to throw it off me. Nothing worked the first time, but the second time she fell to the floor, and then I already connected my legs, kicking where I had to. Milana and her opponent rolled around the cell like a club, furiously beating each other.

– Hey, redhead, aim at the stomach, this is the most unprotected place among the gnomes, – a mocking voice sounded slightly muffled by the glass separating us.

My opponent, apparently realizing that she had lost on all fronts, calmed down, stopped rocking, and I, tiredly sinking to the floor, stared at the camera opposite, where the man who was giving advice to Milan was sitting.

He settled down, like me, on the floor, bending one leg at the knee, and did not take his gaze off the «witch», who, having won the battle, dusted off her pants and tried to comb her red mane with her fingers.

Both dwarfs, cursing, crawled back to their beds and were now licking their wounds, but I did not look at them. All my attention was absorbed by the large black horns on the prisoner’s head.

I rubbed my eyes… once again… they didn’t disappear.

– Milan, – I whispered to my friend in misfortune, calling her to me, «tell me that I have glitches, and these are not horns,» she poked her finger at him, waiting for an answer.

– Sorry, Snezhina, but I don’t know what «glitches» are, but he has … – the girl froze, staring at her neighbor, who, closing his eyes, leaned his head against the wall, pretending to be asleep.

– What does he have?

– He is… a demon, – she answered in a barely audible voice, and immediately blushed, averting her gaze, «but where are you from, are there any demons?»

– Uh… no. At least I haven’t met.

– Honestly, me too. But they say there used to be a lot of them in the kingdom. It seems that the dark elves are not only eradicating the witch kind. Cute, right?

After getting used to the sight of the horns a little, I was finally able to pay attention to the man’s face. High cheekbones, plump lips and a straight nose did not at all fit with the image of horned devils that had taken root in my head. Even the skin was not red, but light, like people’s. If not for the horns that gave me goosebumps, a great example of male beauty.

I nodded, and only then did I notice a growing blue black eye under Milana’s eye.

– Not bad you were noted, for a long time, probably, will not come down, – the girl grinned, and touched my cheek with her fingers.

– If you are talking about a bruise, Snezhina, then you have the same one under your eye, and one on your cheekbone. Maryin’s stone of power covers, so I would quickly bring it down.

I took a deep breath, leaning my head against the wall.

– Call me Snezha, – only my grandmother called me that, but in Milan, in the short time that we knew each other, I managed to feel a kindred spirit, «one thing in all this mess pleases me, I don’t have to work tomorrow.

– And who will carry the stones for you? came the voice of the dwarf Sessie from the bunk.

Damn it!

At that moment, a menacing growl that sent chills down my spine reverberated down the corridor. Someone was being led, and steps, mixed with the clang of metal, were heard more and more clearly.

The «witch» and I, jumping up on the spot, huddled in a corner and clung to each other, and the prisoners from other cells began banging on the glass walls and shouting:

– Skye, how many years, how many winters, buddy?

– A month in a punishment cell, you’re a legend, Skye!

– Skye, I’m free after breakfast, you know where to find me.

Sky. Sky. Sky.

I exhaled loudly and relaxed. It looks like nothing is wrong, just another prisoner who was released from the punishment cell today. And judging by the fact that he sat there for a whole month, still that rebel.

At first, two soldiers appeared, and behind them…

He moved as if he were not under escort, but on a walk in the park. A short crew cut of black hair, a wry smile on her lips, beautiful features… now it is clear why the ladies in the neighboring cells were so startled.

His hands were shackled, and around his neck was the same hoop as mine, but twice as big. The wide, uncovered back, marked by large scars, caught my eye almost immediately. Her fingers began to itch from the desire to touch her, and her throat went dry for a moment.

Tall, strong, in only trousers and barefoot, he looked much more dangerous than the six warriors who led him to the cell.

As if sensing my gaze, the stranger turned in our direction with Milana and grinned. Pearl fangs, too long for a man, flashed, and my heart began to dance furiously.