Читать книгу Anna Alexander: Master of the void. Part II - - Страница 6

– Form a circle! – Sardо suddenly commanded, watching as the Likki descended upon them like a silent and relentless avalanche.

The three creatures instantly took their places, as if obeying an invisible conductor. In their eyes was the closeness of beings, a connection that united them despite the difference in blood and purpose.

Around them, as if by the wave of a magic wand, a ring of fire rose, devouring the darkness. In an instant, the brothers transformed into monsters whose bodies blazed with furious flames. Their appearance was terrifying, yet the color of their eyes and the amulets around their necks remained unchanged. Another brother, with his own amulet, joined the ominous siblings, and this brother was Stefan.

His amulet, resembling the number “30” with a small curl, was crafted in the spirit of the “Om” symbol, representing the spiritual path to self-knowledge. The simplicity and elegance of the amulet reflected the essence of its owner. The amulet, like Joe’s eyes, emitted a soft lilac light whenever he sought to help, perform a good deed, or protect against an enemy. The brothers understood that Joe, the half – human, possessed more kindness than all of them combined, and they found his presence difficult to bear. But to deal with Likki and their army, raw strength, drive, and rage – found in each of them and their talismans – were required.

Azazel was surprised by Likki’s appearance. Although she had seen things far more terrible than these “faces”, the girl felt her roots, once deeply grounded, become shallow and fragile. She felt herself losing connection with Anna and growing increasingly attached to Sardo and his family. And although the Demon of Darkness never broke the family covenants (except for becoming a half – human), family always remained his top priority.

Sardo had no intention of being polite with Azazel or saying words he might regret later, but he decided to tell her something anyway.

– Soon you will become part of my family, you need to get used to it! – he said suddenly.

Azazel was taken aback by Sardo’s sharp tone. It wasn’t a suggestion, but rather a statement.

– You’re offering me something I don’t need, I’m still too young for your family! – she objected.

– Does my family not make you happy? – he asked.

– I don’t know anyone in your family! Your family isn’t just your brothers, it’s also your parents! – Azazel shot back.

An awkward silence followed, after which Sardo softened. He knew the seed for further conversation had already been planted.

– Very well, then. It means you’ll be preparing to meet and get to know them! – he replied sharply.

– I think we’ll have time for that conversation later. Right now, we need to save Anna! – Azazel cut in.

Sardo smiled at his beautiful friend, for in that moment she seemed even more mysterious and radiant to him.

Everyone remained in the same positions as a minute before, except for Azazel. She felt the presence of immense forces around her and didn’t know what to do. She was being tossed from side to side, and like a bird with clipped wings, she didn’t know how to direct her boundless energy.

– Hold on tight, Azazel, now you’ll see something greater than the infernal court! – Joe shouted, letting out a strange laugh that Sardo didn’t like at all.

Moments later, the surroundings where this strange gathering of creatures and half-humans had assembled fell into oppressive silence. It was so quiet that the beating of hearts could be heard, and every beat could be counted.

Azazel had forgotten the purpose of her stay in this cursed place. Sardo was sure he had not arrived here by accident, while Joe was determined to pull Anna out of the captivity of time.

Meanwhile, Ruvars, without taking his eyes off him, watched Mark frozen in place. It seemed the little squirrel was preparing for a decisive leap, wanting to make his final move, but here too Ruvars misjudged.

– I believe Mark needs to stay and make a choice… The fate of many depends on his decision, including Anna, who might one day return if we are quick, and for her return I will continue to fight! – Ruvars suddenly declared.

The silence dissipated, and a rumble, like distant thunder, woke Azazel, Sardo, and Joe from their sleep.

– I ask everyone to remain in their places and not take chaotic actions. Something extraordinary is happening right now, a strange event that should free us from Likki. But if we are careless, disaster is inevitable! – Ruvars announced.

The space around the villains, sitting in their bizarre mirror, began to distort. Their mad dance was not just entertainment – the monsters drew destructive power from it, and there were more and more of them!

The Likki loomed over them like ominous asperatus clouds, full of rage. Their wolfish faces had long ceased to take on a human form, and their menacing fangs gave them a repulsive, grim appearance.

– Sanavar! Sanavar! – the Likki shouted as they saw their leader.

Sanavar stepped forward. His crooked legs resembled the wheels of an old cart. He moved like a komodo dragon emerging from an ambush, waiting for prey. His strange gaze wandered across the vast mirrored space above, and it seemed as if this height might collapse at any moment – for there was nothing permanent in this dark place!

The Likki became lively. They greeted their leader as if witnessing a miracle, something that happened rarely and only under extraordinary circumstances. Sanavar was unique in that he could lead huge, multi-million hordes of strange creatures into a battle that could be their last!

– Get up, you lazy creatures! Our time has come to rule this world! – roared Sanavar.

The Likki instantly sprang to their feet and, jumping either from joy or in anticipation of conquests, surged as a single mass toward Sanavar. He watched with a satisfied smirk as the entities transformed into human bodies with the more terrifying features of wolfish faces. Their torsos seemed ghostly, like mist; they whispered strange words, and their legs grew fur like true predators. They walked on two legs, not like beasts but like half-humans, and their ritual dance became a key part of worshiping Sanavar. The viscous slime disappeared from their jaws, giving way to the bloodthirsty snarl that never left their constantly open mouths.

– We are with you, oh great and mighty Sanavar! We have come to take what is ours in this world, but there is no spirit left here to turn to! – rang a voice, echoing like a chorus from above.

The Likki began to click their teeth, as if trying to tear each other apart or gnaw through the very air… Strange creatures, tearing themselves from the depths of their bodies, dissolved into the air, painting nightmarish pictures of their thoughts.

Sanavar made unusual sounds, resembling a call to an undeclared battle between the Likki and a quintet of entities that had emerged from the underworld and Lion’s house.

– I wish to speak with the leader among you! Let him step forward! – Sanavar said in a bass voice.

There was neither malice nor benevolence in his eyes… Sanavar seemed the embodiment of absolute calm and even kindness, for he had no intention of “shedding tears” over his two-faced servants, who might cease to exist! And though they were neither human nor animal, there was something in them between a being and a creature!

Ruvars stepped forward and looked around. He saw the grotesque faces twisted into smirks, unbecoming of the Likki. The half – humans, half-wolves did not seem as terrifying as Sanavar had imagined them. Ruvars saw in them mere puppies compared to the monsters dwelling in “his” house.

– I have little time, and I am here not because I wish to see you, but because you appeared uninvited, and with threats as well! And whatever you decide about us, I hope we part ways peacefully and, most importantly, quickly! – said Ruvars.

Sanavar raised something resembling eyebrows, giving him a childlike expression, and, opening his eyes wide, said:

– Greetings to you, Ruvars, green – eyed demon of the underworld or a former demon?!

It was unpleasant for Ruvars to hear words that touched his essence, possibly still dark, not yet fully turned to the side of light.

– You and your pack have no chance for honors. You need to leave this abode immediately, forever! – Ruvars cut him off.

Sanavar paled at the demon’s words. He found it strange that, despite the demon’s power, many times greater than his own, Ruvars did not want to converse with either him or his pack. His fear of being destroyed instantly grew with every word the demon spoke.

Suddenly, the sky seemed to burst into light from a sunbeam reflected off Likki’s mirror high above. A vast number of wolf – faced creatures, standing one behind another as if in an unbroken chain, began to dissolve. Their multiplication threatened Sanavar with heavy losses. The fog, spreading over the height at incredible speed, instantly transformed the area into an invisible battlefield. The Likki merged into a single massive blot, an army ready to wipe the proud five and all living things around from the face of the earth.

Ruvars, watching the events in amazement, was annoyed that he would once again have to fight the creatures that had appeared out of nowhere. Joe, on the other hand, was waiting for his moment to prove himself as the eldest son of the chief of the underworld – after all, such an opportunity was rare. Mark, sensing the seriousness of the situation, could not take his eyes off Ruvars, who was also thinking about the inevitable battle! Sardo and Azazel hoped that everything would be resolved without them and with minimal losses, but as the story would later show, someone would still not survive.

– Ungues expande et in proelium vade!1 – suddenly, Sanavar shouted.

Wolf faces, like a mirage, crumbled to dust, following the grotesque bodies, dissolving into the air in an instant. Sanavar, mesmerized, watched this strange transformation, where his former notions of the Likki shattered like broken glass.

He bent down, scooped up a handful of ash left from their burned bodies, and held an unwarranted hope from their disappearance. Half – human, half – beast, Sanavar could not understand: would they rise again for battle, or was their defeat final?

The Likki warrior looked around in bewilderment, like a predator that had lost the trail of its prey. His eyes searched in vain for signs of life from those who had so recently sat on the mirrored surface. The wolf – faced ones were nowhere to be seen.

At that very moment, a dreadful melody of a trumpet pierced the air from afar, so alien, so otherworldly, that the fearless five involuntarily shuddered. Each asked themselves: where does this ominous call come from, unlike any they had heard before?

Then the chief of the Likki realized that this was not the end. Soon, not a single creature would be allowed to walk on this patch of land if it tried to obstruct his army. He knew that something great, something terrible, was about to happen…

Climbing the high mountain, blinded by the first rays of dawn, Sanavar felt an incredible weight, a nervous tremor, or perhaps a fatal premonition. The appearance of Ruvars had begun earlier than he had expected. The Likki warrior did not want to ruin the carefully laid plan. His servants were already forming an army capable of destroying the youngest of the brothers, his companions, and the Dark Minister. The head of the wolf tribe rejoiced – the forces gathered by the Likki would be enough to make the green-eyed demon perish forever. No one knew what drove Sanavar and his team in their hatred toward Ruvars, but the desire to erase him from the memory of beings was even stronger than the fear of his brothers.