Читать книгу Elinor. The Deserted Valley. Book 1 - Mikhail Shelkov - Страница 39

Ulari, throwing the sword from hand to hand, watched as Mou’Kaa, Khan, and Sa’Ea brought the rest from the forest.

Master Nao still held the four Vedichs in a daze. They were the first to jump out of the forest, however, the Ulutau were already prepared to meet them. They had felt the approach of the unknown people for a long time, and Ulari had no doubt their newly appeared captives were the Vedichs. Already in Tokana, Master Nao told his pupils how representatives of other nations can look.

“Is that all?” Ulari asked Mou’Kaa.

“It is,” she replied. “I’m sure.”

Ulari counted sixteen prisoners.

Four more are on the beach. The faces are very young, some are still just children.

“Who’s in charge here?” he asked calmly, but severely.

“I am!” the redheaded Vedich girl stepped forward. “My name is Wey-Leya and my people will serve as the Embassy to the Valley! By what right do you hold us and threaten us with weapons?”

Ulari looked intently at her face. Wey-Leya was also young, but still looked older than the others.

She is indeed in charge!

“Master Nao wants to talk to you!” Ulari preferred that his teacher himself answered the questions asked by Wey-Leya.

The leader of the forest-squad obeyed and followed him. The other Vedichs slowly followed. When they reached the shore of Kawa, Master Nao finally dropped his hand, and the four teenagers, who up until now were held frozen, collapsed to the ground. The master knew how to draw away enemies with a simple move of the hand – let it be six or six hundred.

“Her name is Wey-Leya,” Ulari introduced the red-haired Vedich girl to the master. “She’s the eldest!”

“I want to know why you stopped my squad!” Wey-Leya took a step towards the master, her voice angry.

Master Kuno and Master Ean took a step forward to help Nao, but he stopped them with a gesture of his hand.

“Are you Vedichs?” he asked Wey-Leya.

“Yes, we are the Vedichs,” she responded.

“Can you shape-shift into animals?” interrupted the master.

“I can, but…”

“Shape-shift, then!” he interrupted.

Now we will finally find out whether this is true or fiction! The wonderful gift of the Vedichs.

“Why are you ordering me?” Wey-Leya was furious.

“Shape-shift,” the master calmly repeated his demand.

For some time, Wey-Leya just stood still, until she lifted her head upwards and her face stretched forward, becoming a red, furry face. The Vedich girl’s reddish hair color was passed on to her body, which in a moment was covered with fur. From under the hem of a linen shirt, a fluffy red tail popped out. A few moments later, a large fox was standing on the clothes that had fallen on the ground. At that moment, representatives of all the three schools gasped at once.

“It’s true!”

“Incredible!”

“What an inexplicable power!”

Men, women, children – everyone whispered in surprise. Ulari, as though still not believing what had just happened, looked around at the faces of the Masters, who were also staring at the fox. And only one person seemed unperturbed – Master Nao, of course.

The fox looked into the master’s eyes, then sniffed loudly. She stood still for a while, and then rose to her hind legs. Then her features began to change again. The limbs became human hands and feet, and the muzzle became a face again. A girlish, attractive face.

Ulari regretted that the master treated Wey-Leya so severely. However, he understood the necessity.

A sage said that one should not yield to temptations of appearance. External beauty could be deceiving. Before you trusted a person, you need to know his inner world, look into his thoughts, look into his heart.

The Vedich girl was standing in the clearing, covering her nakedness with clothes picked up from the ground, and she was shaking, either from fear, or from anger.

“Shape-shift once more!” the master told Wey-Leya again.

“Enough!” she snapped.

“Shape-shift!”

“What for? I won’t!”

“Shape-shift…” The master continued to insist on this, slightly lifting his right palm up.

Wey-Leya clenched her teeth even harder, but still obeyed. She raised her head again. She strained all the muscles and her body continued to tremble. Finally, she collapsed on her knees.

“I can’t!” almost in tears, the Vedich girl cried out.

Master Nao calmly let his hand down.

“They are not dangerous!” he declared to his people. “You can lower your swords!”

Ulari drew attention to the gaze of his master. Though not a single muscle twitched on his face, that gaze expressed a bit of compassion. However, the teacher had made his discovery! Not all the Ulutau had realized this yet, but the master was able to understand that the unusual gift of the Vedichs was not magic, and that the strength of Tau was enough to stop the shape-shifting.

Master Nao did it! So, the Vedichian people are the same people who have flesh and blood, body and soul, and not at all beings of any other race unknown to people.

The Ulutau warriors lowered their weapons.

The two Vedich girls who first ran to the shore now rushed to Wey-Leya to help her stand up and cover her nakedness. The anger and pride that just overwhelmed the fox disappeared dramatically. Wey-Leya looked broken and depressed. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Who are you? And what will happen to us?” she asked the Master.

“If you have no bad intentions, nothing will happen to you,” the teacher replied. “My name is Master Nao. I am the new ruler of the Valley!”