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CHAPTER 1. Scandal in a noble family

Before you disinherit your son, get another one!

– I'll curse you. I will disinherit. I’ll send you to a distant garrison. Brat. And this is my son!

Marius expected, of course, to face his father's anger, but did not think that it would be so strong. The hissing, barely audible whisper sounded more like the hiss of a snake than a human voice – a sure sign of extreme rage. Sieur Gaunt del Marre never raised his voice, considering it inappropriate for a relative of the royal family, and the more angry he became, the quieter he spoke. Whoever does not listen is to blame.

The words spread like a heavy poisonous gas, wrapped around and suffocated, Marius’s temples rang and he wanted to gasp for air, like a fish thrown out of water. And suddenly the father almost lost his temper, steel rang in his dispassionate voice:

– Shame of the family, the ancestors are turning over in their graves!

The obsession disappeared, it became easier to breathe, as if a gust of hurricane wind carried the poison away – but for how long?

“They don’t roll over, I know for sure,” Marius objected disrespectfully. – And you, father, better imagine what benefits it will have for the family if you have a heart-to-heart talk with your ancestors. One great-great-grandfather’s treasure is worth something! And those strange hints of royal gratitude in your second cousin’s diaries? What about your father’s secret techniques that he didn’t manage to teach you? And how many more did the ancestors take with them beyond the Border that could be useful to the clan? And you – “I’ll deprive you of your inheritance”! Yes, and deprive me, I’ll ask my grandfather on my mother’s side for protection!

In Marius's voice, resentment became clearer and louder, a nervous blush flared up on his cheeks, and magic flared and crackled in his dark, military-style, short hair like green swamp lights. But the proof of considerable magical power did not at all please the high-born Sieur Gaunt del Marre.

Why be happy? Because the heir and, alas, only son, with the connivance of higher powers, was born a magician? And it would be nice if he were also a combat magician, an elementalist, or at least an empath – such gifts can be easily combined with service to the crown and with the elevation of the clan. But a necromancer! Pah-pah, Great Power forbid! And if, as the father orders, forget about the damned gift, so he, you see, decided to study! And I even found a mentor without asking my father!

To be honest, it was with his mentor that the heir showed himself to be quite good: master Turvon was passing through their area, not everyone would have had time to make such a fuss. Go find a master necromancer who is ready to take on an apprentice. There are maybe a dozen of them in the whole world, or even less, but in the kingdom there is only one. And, to be honest, in the depths of his soul, Ser Gaunt understood this very well. As well as the possible benefits of finding grandfather’s and great-grandfather’s hiding places and secrets. But the son is a necromancer!

But, whatever one may say, son. The only one. One cannot expect continuation of the family line from daughters; they will go to their husbands’ families, and in general, abandoning the first-born, the blood successor of the family name, and accepting a son-in-law-consort is much worse than allowing a son to study in a way that is not entirely appropriate. It is “not quite”, and not “not at all…” – magic, after all, not some kind of chicanery or, Great God forbid, trade. And the wife, although she does not interfere in the upbringing of her son, loves him and will not allow him to be driven out. To fight with his wife and daughters who adore his brother – no, he is still sane! Peace in the family is worth more than indulging a kicking offspring.

“Okay,” Ser Gaunt said almost forcefully. – I won’t say that I think it’s appropriate, but…

“Acceptable” will be quite enough, suggested Marius.

But then the idea of procreation finally came to its logical conclusion, and Sieur Gaunt again fell into a hissing rage.

– "Acceptable"? How will you order you to look for a bride? What girl would agree to tie her heart to a necromancer? I will not allow the family to fade away. Neither. Behind. What.

For some time, father and son silently glared at each other. Marius was the first to break the silence: he, after all, could not help but understand how terrible the very thought that the del Marre branch could dry out was for his father. And even more so – through his fault.

– Is this the last reason? What if I give my word that I will find a suitable bride myself?

“When you find…,” Ser Gaunt began, cooling down, but his son interrupted disrespectfully:

– No, that would be wrong! I need a girl who won’t be afraid of my gift, which means she can’t hide it.

“You won’t find such a girl.”

– Would you like to make a bet?

In the dark eyes flashing with excitement, in the stubbornly upturned chin, Ser Gaunt suddenly saw himself, young, not yet really learning to restrain his hot temper. Son, flesh from flesh, blood from blood… an apple from an apple tree, as the common people say. And it’s true, how can one not admit it – it’s a bull’s eye!

“I haven’t spanked you enough,” grumbled the high-born sieur. – With ignoramuses like yourself, you bet on clicks. Here's my will for you. I allow you to study. But so that no later than the next harvest festival he introduces me to his chosen one. Of course, I will negotiate with her family myself, but the girl must agree.

– But there’s less than a year left!

– Did you hope to remain single until old age? This winter I intended to find a worthy match for you, so consider that I also received a reprieve.

Marius grunted with displeasure, but bowed, acknowledging his father’s will, and that was the end of the argument. And an hour later, having collected the necessary things, hugged his mother and sisters and accepted his father’s blessing, albeit reluctantly, the heir to the del Marre family clenched the portal amulet given by his future mentor in his fist and disappeared from the castle of his ancestors, as if it had never happened. And in the ancient tower in the middle of the reserved Deer Log, in the very one that people knew as the home of the master necromancer Turvon, a student appeared.

***

Oleniy Log, an ancient protected forest, is located very close to the capital – you can reach it on foot in half a day, and the horseman can quickly gallop there. But both on foot and on horseback took the tenth route around it, trade routes were bypassed, even though the convoys lost a few extra days on the long journey, and even poachers were afraid to go there, although everyone knew that the royal rangers were not guarding this forest.

Everyone knew that in the Deer Log, behind the windbreaks and swamps, among the ancient oaks and hazel thickets, the Altar and the Tower were hidden. Everyone knew that noticing them even from a distance was not good, and even meeting their owners was a completely disastrous thing. But no one could indicate exactly which path would lead you there; Well, how do you come across it by chance? It’s better not to set foot in the forest at all.

On the Altar they talked all sorts of tall tales. Whose is it, what powers did they bow to there, what sacrifices did they make? Nobody knew for certain; even in old chronicles there were no mentions of it. Make up whatever stories you want, one more terrible than the other, you still can’t check it!

The tower is a different matter. People did not know how old it was and who lived in it before, but for almost two hundred years it served as a dwelling for a necromancer magician. Master Turvon, tall and thin, as if withered, with a piercing gaze of eyes as black as hellish tar, and the same black hair tied in a ponytail at the back of his head, has not changed at all in two hundred years. That is, maybe a few wrinkles and gray hairs have increased, but who will notice such a trifle? What’s more important is that the way his great-grandfathers described him is how his great-grandchildren see him.

Although necromancers are distinguished by their nasty character, Master Turvon has not aroused any special fear in the residents of the surrounding villages and the not-so-distant capital – and, as a result, the entire kingdom – for a long time. Among the magicians you won’t find fluffy bunnies, they’re all wolves; Well, a hellish dog has wormed its way among the wolves, so what now? Do not touch unnecessarily, and he will not touch you; and when the need arises, don’t rush like crazy to the Tower, pounding on the door and yelling under the windows, leave a sign on a post near a withered oak tree at the edge, and the magician himself will find you. Moreover, Master Turvon did not raise cemeteries, did not summon evil spirits, preferring to question the dead or murdered for the benefit of their living relatives or the crown. And what he does in his tower is his business, which it is better for no one to meddle in. And they didn’t go in, and even for the most part not out of fear, but because it is clear to any sane person that where the necromancer casts spells, it’s better not to meddle there. Otherwise, how the Great Power forbid will enchant you by accident!

That's how we lived.

No one knew that the master had a student. The high-born Sieur Gaunt del Marre was in no hurry to tell everyone where the heir had disappeared. “Learns the knowledge necessary for a young man from a knowledgeable mentor,” and period. Those who were interested in the details received, instead of an answer, thoughtful reflections on the fact that service in the border garrisons, especially in the south, did not make people such idiots. And so it turned out that Sieur Gaunt did not seem to be lying, but he reliably hid the location of his son from everyone.

And the master, of course, did not take the undergrowth with him when he went to perform dark magic at the home of his next customer. Magic is not about weeding beds and allowing the untrained to practice. But even incompetent people don’t like garden beds; but it’s better to confuse weeds with cabbage than, instead of summoning a soul that is peaceful in a good afterlife, suddenly raise an evil corpse.

Marius did not dare to grumble, although every time his mentor went to work, he had difficulty suppressing the desire to ask to come with him. And master Turvon, you know, left the student with tasks that were dirtier and bigger for the time he was away, so that he wouldn’t sit idle, wouldn’t suffer from nonsense and wouldn’t climb into places where he shouldn’t climb without supervision.

So Marius sat in a black tower in the middle of the forest, like an enchanted princess from a fairy tale. He chewed on the intractable science of magic, dismantled ancient books, memorized rituals. Daily household chores – cleaning, a garden with herbs and a stable with the only inhabitant, the black hellish horse Garo – were also on him. You never know whose heir you are. You may brag about your high birth in the palaces, but in the tower of a magician, while you are a student, you are nobody and there is no way to call you. In addition, maintaining proper order in the home, and magical herbs, and even more so, the inhabitant of the stable is the same part of the training. You need to understand what to do with all this and why it is this way and not otherwise.

It was difficult at first. But the autumn poured down with dull rains, the winter swept through with snowstorms, the early timid spring snowdrops blossomed – and from the old Marius, who fiercely wanted to learn, but in the explanations of the master who understood well if one word out of ten, only the name remained. Now he could distinguish one herb from another by smell and touch, even in dried and mashed form. I discovered that thoroughly washing the floor before drawing a circle of invocation on it perfectly sets the mood for the ritual. And the mad creature Garo caressed, accepting the treat, allowed him to comb his mane and pat his terrible face and did not try to bite off his fingers right up to his shoulders. And the master moderated his sarcasm, making remarks about the dubious intelligence of some high-born blockheads.

And at night, through sleep, voices were heard at the very edge of consciousness. They whispered something incomprehensible, called, promised. In his dream, Marius thought that in the morning he should tell his mentor, ask what kind of strange dreams he had, who was calling him and whether this call was dangerous. But in the morning I forgot.

CHAPTER 2. Fatal accident

Before entrusting a student to lead the ritual,

Take a safety test!

Marius didn’t completely forget the promise he made to his father, but put it on the farthest shelf of his memory. Well, really, where should he look for a bride now – in the forest? In the ancient dungeons of the Tower, shrouded in eternal darkness? Or in cemeteries, where the master began to take him so that he could learn to smell the emanations of decay and dust and work with them? How old is he, he'll have time! Breaking one’s own promises, of course, is not right and is completely disgraceful, but perhaps the father will understand and he himself will free him from the word given in the heat of the moment. And anyway, there are still six months before the harvest festival, you never know what can happen. Why worry in advance? Moreover, very soon – one of the eight Axes of the Wheel of the Year, day and night, when very special rites and rituals are performed. For three years already, Marius had met a necromancer as a student, but until now he had been admitted to these rituals only with the rights of an unreasonable child: “stop, look, don’t touch anything, where I tell you, repeat after me.” And this time the master promised to allow more. He said that the student would need help in a very important and special matter. How about brides here?

On the eve of the long-awaited day, Master Turvon ordered the student to rip out the floor throughout the entire tower, from the basements to the guard area on the roof, and not to forget the stone-paved area between the stables and the vegetable garden.

– Why there? – Marius was amazed.

“When you finish, find the answer in the treatise “On the rituals of the annual Wheel,” answered the master and, without saying anything else, he was transported somewhere by a portal. And Marius, sighing and looking lustfully at the library window, trotted off to the well.

He would have preferred to start with a treatise rather than with the work of a scrubber, despised for a high-born person, but the master said – the student did, and nothing else. And be quicker, otherwise there won’t be any time left for reading!

He carried water, wrung out rags, scrubbed dirt from black stones – there wasn’t much of it, that dirt, but he still had to wash it often, the master really respected cleanliness. And, while my hands were busy and my head was free, I remembered that very treatise on rituals. After all, Marius read it, how could he not read it! But I can swear by anything that there was nothing there about the fact that some rituals must necessarily be carried out in the open air. Preferably – yes, and spring ones are right there, along with summer ones. But the correctly drawn ritual circles are more important than the ceiling above your head or the sky, and in the basement the circles are drawn, the signs are soldered into the stone with the necessary metals and imbued with power. Where is the uneven stone platform against them, which will have to be painted with chalk? No, he probably just doesn’t remember something or understood something wrong. So I was in a hurry to wash up and stick my nose into a book.

But I never managed to get to the book. He polished the uneven stones to a shine, appreciated the suddenly appearing pattern of sharp fractures and the depth of the glassy blackness, and wondered why he had not noticed before how difficult the stone was here? Why does it seem like I’ve already seen something like this somewhere? And then the master appeared. Dissatisfied – Marius had already become very good at guessing his mood behind his seemingly impassive expression. Threw:

– Hurry up. We start at sunset.

And there’s still time left before sunset to rinse off and change into clean clothes. And why with sunset? After all, Axis rites begin at dawn and end at midnight!

– What are we starting with, teacher? – he asked, unable to bear it.

– Rush order.

– Right now?! Or…

The master understood what was not said and explained:

– No, not one of those that are made only for the Axis. And it would be better not to take it, but sometimes it’s easier to charge triple the price and eventually agree than to explain to the customer why not. – Marius feigned extreme curiosity with his entire appearance, and the master relented: “Vitor del Bornio, do you know this one?” He wants urgently, absolutely immediately, to get a special bodyguard for his daughter.

– For what?! – Marius was amazed. – Virita deglia Bornio is a quiet, calm, well-mannered girl, the world would rather turn upside down than she would get into trouble.

Virita was indeed quiet, calm and well-behaved. And also boring. So boring that, despite the obvious beauty and sweet smile, already in the third minute of communication I wanted to run away anywhere, as long as it was far away. She's a bodyguard too?!

“So the world has turned upside down,” Master Turvon shrugged his shoulders and cast a short glance at the sun, which had almost disappeared behind the crowns of centuries-old oak trees. – Enough talking. Let's run.

The riddle called “a bodyguard for Virita” occupied Marius so much that he forgot to even think about the treatise. And how important is it, if he didn’t have time now, he’ll read it tomorrow. Or the day after tomorrow. In the end, if it were critical, the mentor would explain it right away.

And only when, with the last ray of sunset, together with Master Turvon, I stepped onto the perfectly round platform shining with the black fire of the night, I remembered another word spoken by the mentor: “a special bodyguard.” And, like a key in a lock, it clicked in my memory: “Mirror of the Night.” A ritual circle that does not require additional signs and amplifiers such as fire, blood or sacrifices. Only the shape, size and material work in it – fabulously expensive and rare, specially cut hellish glass. It is used to search for and summon souls that can linger in the world for a long time, and to install them in a suitable body. And, if necessary, to create this body.

Highest necromancy. So high that even among the masters, it would be good if one in a hundred would undertake it.

What is this that Vitor del Bornio ordered for his daughter?!

“You will be a conductor of power,” the mentor told Marius. “At the same time, you’ll look at a ritual that you’d better not get involved with for another hundred years.”

"You'll see"! How much will the conductor of power see if his job is to support the conductor of the ritual with his magic and not be distracted by anything else? After all, all the most interesting things don’t happen here. Master Turvon stood in the center of the circle and fell into a trance, and Marius could only stand in dead silence, strictly on the border of the circle and the lush grass, and stare at the lean figure, barely visible in the thickening darkness, motionless and literally soulless. The soul of the master necromancer, reflected by the Mirror and caught up in its dark radiance, wandered beyond the Boundary, looking for what he wanted. Marius would like to see how this search is going on! Yes, at least just to see what is there, beyond the Bound. The books I read were too contradictory to each other, describing the Edge and travel there. One might think that their authors organized a competition of liars, not for the sake of interest, but, at the very least, for a royal reward. And Turvon answered all the student’s questions with one answer: “You will see for yourself how the time will come, but for now it’s too early for you, I don’t teach.”

But you can secretly feel proud: even though the mentor is strong, the ritual would not have been possible without his help, an ignoramus. No matter how you look at it, you need a guide, someone who will serve as a beacon and an anchor, from whom a thread or a thick rope will stretch – as strong as you can – from the world of the living into the twilight of the Edge.

– Save-ee-ee!!! – a wild scream mixed with a squeal, which can only be emitted by a girl frightened to death, broke the silence into fragments. A lathered horse rushed out of the dense thickets of hazel trees, breaking branches; in the dim light of the moon, Marius clearly saw bulging, bloodshot eyes and flakes of foam on the skin shining with ripe chestnut. The brain noted that the horse was scared to death, no worse than the rider, the gaze, tearing away from the mentor, became attached to the thin figure in a tight dress, the body twitched treacherously to help the damsel in distress, to stop the racing horse. But he had to stand straight and watch only the master!

The bay horse crashed against an invisible barrier – for the duration of the ritual, the circle of the Mirror is not in the world of the living, but on the Edge, where there is no place for mortals with a still beating heart. It burst out and, as if the meeting with an otherworldly obstacle was the last straw, it slowly fell onto the black stones. Marius even shuddered from a surge of necroemanations, much more powerful than from deer killed in a hunt. The maiden flew out of the saddle with a desperate squeal, head over heels, over the head of the falling bay. Straight into the circle made by the death of the horse! And it would be okay to just join a circle, although this would not lead to anything good, but! This… shriek! She somersaulted right to the center of the Mirror, knocked Master Turvon off his feet and fell straight on top of him! And she froze, because now, in the midst of the activated ritual, her soul was guaranteed to go to the same place where the soul of the master necromancer wandered.

And what, one wonders, could a person who is not completely ignorant, but a categorical dropout, do in this difficult situation?!

First of all, don’t panic. This rule, true for any sudden problems, was hammered into the student not only by Master Turvon, but also by his father before him, from early childhood. And Marius, fully aware that he did not know what was “right,” instantly decided to do the only thing he could and that seemed to suggest itself. He continued to pour power into the thread that connected him with the master, preventing it from breaking and the necromancer’s soul from getting lost without a return path to the world. The connection, however, after the girl’s spectacular fall across the teacher’s body, behaved strangely. It twitched and tossed around, like an angry huge fish caught on a fishing rod that was too weak – it was about to break, but it didn’t break, it would tangle the tackle, hook it on a snag and… and still break. It became more and more difficult to hold on, not to let go, at some point Marius even imagined that at the other end there had happened, no less than, a fight, as if two hungry greedy fish were grappling with a tasty worm. Oh, if only he wasn’t that worm himself! How can creatures from the dark world, for whom there is nothing more desirable than warm human blood, get through the connection? How bad it is to be a dropout; he doesn’t even know what to expect, what to be afraid of, what can happen and what won’t happen for sure! And the master is also good, if only he could explain in detail all the dangers of broken or disrupted rituals, and how to deal with them! And he only said once, at the very beginning:

– If you make a mistake, the world may not collapse, but you risk not knowing about it.

But it can’t be that nothing can be done and there’s no way to save the situation? Here are two bodies without souls lying on sparkling black stones, but it’s too early for souls to cross the Brink, which means they should return? This means that he feels them through the connection, and all these twitchings are because instead of one soul, two went through the Mirror. Right?

Marius nodded to himself: the explanation seemed consistent, and most importantly, reassuring. You just need to not miss the connection, and the mentor will return. But then it’s time to demand that all the subtleties be properly explained! Otherwise – “ignoramus, ignoramus”… Let him teach! And at the same time explain to the girl that it is inappropriate to interfere with the rituals of necromancers. And if you are not sure that you can cope with a restive horse, then it is better not to ride alone. Especially in Oleniy Log. Especially at night. What kind of demons brought her here anyway?! I would sit at home, have fun with embroidery or something else appropriate…

The worst thing is that Marius did not know how long the ritual would have lasted without the intervention of the stranger and her horse. Searching for a soul is a matter of luck. And now at all. Should I wait quietly, or should I urgently remember what my mentor told me about uninvited guests from beyond the Border and ways to escape from them? Or not to be saved, but to be pacified, or even put into service? It all depends on who exactly shows up.

The longer the night dragged on, the more Marius wanted, if not his mentor, then at least someone to come back. If only the exhausting uncertainty would end!

Perhaps it was worth remembering that too desperate desires tend to come true down to the last letter? Exactly to the letter, and then it’s too late to go back and convince the Great Power that this is not what I wanted at all. But, honestly, Marius was not ready to see how the dead bay opens his eyes filled with otherworldly light. Yes, demons take it all, calling souls is the exact opposite of raising wights! This simply shouldn't happen!

It doesn't happen like that!

“So it happens,” he retorted doomedly to his own panicky thoughts.

CHAPTER 3. Escape and its consequences

Before concluding an agreement with the Highest,

find out the size of the penalty!

All the troubles of Virita degli Bornio were due to her gentle and refined beauty and too quiet and gentle character. It would seem – what’s bad? A girl should be soft, modest, obedient, so that her wife turns out to be gentle and docile, and beauty is a very pleasant addition to other advantages. But, as they say, too good is also not good. The appearance of an exquisite porcelain doll, childishly plump pink lips, deep pools of eyes shaded by long eyelashes, as if reflecting either the bright blue of the sky or storm clouds… Virita hated mirrors. Girls of the same age and their mothers and aunts could not stand the heiress of Vitor del Bornio, the recognized first bride of the kingdom. Young people drooled, some at her appearance, some at her dowry, tried to arouse interest, but they themselves were not at all interested in what lay behind the doll’s face and in the depths of her heavenly eyes. Flowery compliments, followed by self-interest and lust, which Virita felt even without being an empath. And the line is getting closer and closer, beyond which the father will get tired of hearing “Daddy, I don’t like him,” and he will have to become the wife of the one who is pointed at.

If only she were a little braver! So that she has the audacity to flirt with those who are interested in her, and the self-control to refuse communication with unpleasant gentlemen. But in the bright bustle of balls and receptions, Virita seemed to be in a stupor; all she could do was answer at random and smile timidly. And, as luck would have it, the most interesting young people, those who might have liked her herself, and not her dowry, pedigree, her father’s connections, found her unbearably boring.

If only my mother were alive! She would tell you how to let a young man know that you like him and win his attention back. I would teach you. One day Virita dared to ask her father for advice – and received a disastrous rebuke. “You are a worthy girl from a noble family, beautiful, rich and well-educated. Your attention is an honor and happiness for any young man. How did it even occur to you to be interested in the tricks of walking girls?!”

"Honor and Happiness"? Yes if only! No, Virita had no doubt that they would willingly take her as a wife. For wealth, pedigree, maybe even for beauty. But will they love?

Virita was angry with herself, tried to change, but nothing worked. She seemed to be living in a suffocating, viscous nightmare. If you tell anyone, they won’t believe you; they’ll say that he doesn’t value his own happiness. Is this really happiness?!

And then disaster struck: the father announced his imminent engagement. And although this did not come as a surprise to the girl, the groom did! As soon as she heard who was asking for her hand in marriage, Virita froze and sank into a chair without strength – her legs suddenly stopped moving.

– But father, he…

“He is a noble man, and he is ready to take care of your well-being.” He even insisted on security for you.

– Why security?

“Don’t be scared, these are our adult affairs,” the father said softly. – Noble families have difficult times.

He said something else, explained that a better party could not be found, that she was being honored, and Virita sat frozen, cursing her too quiet disposition. A single thought was beating in my head like a frightened bird: “What to do?!”

But in the end this nightmare ended: the father, noticing, apparently that his daughter had withdrawn too much into herself, fell silent, grabbed her arm and led her to her favorite gazebo in the garden. He kissed his forehead, sat him down, and said:

– We'll talk later if you want. I see you need to get used to the news.

And left. Virita still heard him sharply:

– Tea for the young lady! – and then a sleepy silence thickened around, broken only by the rustling of leaves, the hum of bees and the chirping of birds.

And in this silence she gradually came to her senses.

Slowly, in small sips, she drank the tea brought to her, sweet, dizzying with the aroma of linden honey and mint. Quietly, with silent steps and almost without breathing, she went to her chambers, changed her light house dress to the thick one in which she usually rode, put some necessary things in her belt bag and just as quietly went down to the backyard, to the stables. She asked, smiling sweetly at the stable boy:

– Saddle me with Chestnut. I want to clear my head a little.

There was nothing unusual in her request, Virita loved horseback riding, and her father allowed her this innocent entertainment. And he didn’t even insist on accompaniment if the daughter did not leave the meadows and copses adjacent to the estate and covered with security charms.

The chestnut accepted the usual offering – a thick round carrot that had withered over the winter – and snorted contentedly in the hostess’s face. The groom lifted him into the saddle, and Virita, as if inadvertently looking back at her father’s windows – no, she’s not looking! – she let her pet go at a light trot. She took a deep breath, catching the wind on her face. It smelled of river mud and meadow grass, young leaves and apple blossoms. Freedom. As soon as you had the strength not to break into a gallop, while the horse and rider could be seen from the windows of your home!

And only then – I didn’t hold back. There was little time – an hour, maybe two, and they would catch on.

She was lucky. Or maybe it was the higher power to which the girl hurried for help that helped. Having rushed unnoticed through the lands of del Bornio, leaving aside a large village near the highway and a mill near the river, Virita stopped her horse at the edge of the Deer Log. She sobbed and whispered in a broken voice:

– Here, Kashtan… I don’t know where to go next. Maybe you know?

The faithful horse turned around and snorted, as if wanting to say: “Mistress, who have you confused me with? With a professor of geosciences from the capital's university? Or maybe with an elf mercenary?

– Oh, yes, what’s there! – Virita shook her head, closed her eyes for a moment, deciding to do the unheard of. She took a pouch with wild wheat grains from her purse, shook half of it into her palm and, swinging it wide, threw it to the side of the path. – Accept the gift, Oleniy Log!

Following this, half a flask of wine was donated to the forest. And finally, the most difficult thing – closing her eyes again, the girl slashed her palm with a dagger. Large drops stained the grass.

– Accept the gift, Deer Log, show the way to the Altar! – Wrapping her hand in a handkerchief, Virita touched the horse.

Without a path, at random, but the forest really led me where I asked. The sunset glow gave way to deep twilight, and the light birch and thick hazel trees gave way to gloomy centuries-old spruce trees, when Chestnut, snoring and spinning his ears, stepped into a perfectly round clearing, in the center of which stood a white stone… pedestal untouched by time? Table? Or just a stove? For some reason, the longer Virita looked, the less she understood what exactly she was seeing. A white stone in the purple twilight of the night – there is nothing more to say.

But, since she has already come, since she has been shown the way, it is stupid to hesitate and hesitate. Jumping off the saddle, Virita shook out the remaining wheat at her feet:

– Thank you for the journey, Oleniy Log! – and went forward. A step, two, three… a dozen… My heart was fluttering in my chest, about to burst from horror, my fingers were frozen, and my cheeks and ears were glowing with heat. Approaching the stone almost closely, she splashed the rest of the wine onto the ground: “Accept the offering, Ancient One!”

The earth did not open up under our feet, thunder did not burst from the heavens. Either they didn’t hear her, or they accepted the offering—go figure! But don't retreat? Virita, with a convulsive sigh, took the last step, tore the bandage from her palm and pressed her blood-smeared palm to the white stone.

– Hear, Ancient One! Fulfill the request, set the price, accept the promise!

The noise of the forest became distant, the silence rang in my ears, for a moment it seemed that the Ancient One had not come, as the old books promised, but that she herself had fallen into another world, where forgotten gods and demons live. But suddenly the silence was broken by a laugh. Completely human, so ordinary that Virita decided it was her imagination. Or did someone sneak in here after her?

Startled by this terrifying thought, the girl turned around. Although would you really see who might be hiding among the trees in the thick twilight? For some reason, the fact that they could follow her, spy on her, was more frightening than the meeting with the Ancient One. But then a human silhouette appeared on the white slab. First – a ghostly figure, as if molded from the gray pre-dawn fog, then the fog acquired colors and a face. The green hunting suit, broad shoulders and a powerful torso, a reddish-blond beard and shoulder-length hair, desperately blue eyes became denser and became real… Virita looked at the man – there are no words, very attractive, but a very ordinary person, not some kind of demon. If you meet someone like this at a fair, on the streets of the capital, or even in a royal palace, you can look at him, but you won’t suspect anything is wrong.

He also looked at her, carefully, appraisingly, but his gaze did not frighten her. Other suitors looked at it much worse – as if they were prey, some kind of game: either shoot it, or let it fly for now, fatten up the meat for next time…

In the old books they wrote – offer a gift, and when the Ancient One comes, name your wish and ask how you will have to pay. It was time to speak, but Virita seemed to lose her tongue under the intense blue gaze. Only her hands froze, her cheeks burned, and the shame rolled in more and more painfully – as if she was doing something wrong, but she didn’t know what it was. And at that moment, when the silence became completely unbearable, the Ancient One suddenly appeared next to him, took him by the chin, raised his head, and looked into his eyes. His fingers were hard and hot, his touch was careful, and his gaze was heavy and dark, like basement vaults.

“They came to me for power.” For wealth. For luck. Even for women, although this is stupid. But I don't see what you're asking. What do you want from me, mortal child?

“Help,” Virita squeaked.

– It is clear. Which one? What do you want?

– I do not want to get married! – the girl sobbed. – For the one whom the father chose! He's scary!

– Scarier than me? – The Ancient One laughed, and the forest responded with a booming echo, the hooting of owls and, it seemed, a distant rockfall. “What mortal man are you more afraid of than me?”

Here, probably, it was necessary to either get completely scared and go into a life-saving faint, or start humiliatingly apologizing. But Virita seemed to have a rope under her tail!

– Marriage is, you know, for life! – she blurted out. – With you, they write books, we can come to an agreement, and even if not, it won’t be any worse.

– What kind of books are these?

– Diaries… Notes from my great-grandfather, the noble Reyas del Bornio.

“Oh, this…” The Ancient One laughed again, but now his laughter seemed to ring with the sound of a stream over the stones and the clatter of horses’ hooves. – OK. So you want to change your betrothed – right?

“Y-yes…” Virita wanted to say “probably”, she herself didn’t know whether she wanted another betrothed or even freedom from a frightening marriage, or maybe something else, vague, not completely clear to her. But in some unknown way it turned out that the answer could only be “yes” or “no.”

– How will you pay?

And again I wanted to answer “I don’t know”, to ask what kind of payment would suit the Ancient One, but it came out against my will:

– Anything!

Blue eyes flashed with triumph.

“Leave,” the Ancient One ordered. – All will be.

She herself didn’t understand how Virita woke up in the saddle – and barely had time to be surprised, as soon as an overwhelming thought flashed in her empty head: “What have I done!” – as Kashtan neighed wildly and took off at a gallop, perhaps by the grace of the Great, not bumping into the brothers-in-law. Rushing along, not making out the road, the frightened horsewoman could only hold on with her last strength. Suddenly, in the impenetrable darkness of the night forest, a light flashed, not even light – a barely noticeable reflection. And Virita, afraid that Kashtan would carry her past and in the end would simply break his neck in the windfall, screamed desperately:

– Save-ee-ee!!!

Stupid. Of course, no one saved her, but Kashtan seemed even more enraged, although much more so! And why was she brought to this Ancient One?! What kind of nonsense has hit my head! Virita was sure that she was living her last moments when the lathered horse carried her out… somewhere. The bulk of a dark tower flashed from the side, moonlight reflections shone ahead, like ripples on a pond, although there was definitely no water there, and Chestnut fell, wheezing, into these reflections, throwing off the rider.

She didn't remember anything further.

CHAPTER 4. Guests from beyond the Border

Before offering a horse a carrot,

make sure he's not a cannibal!

The chestnut horse, which a moment ago had been absolutely and undoubtedly dead, rose to its feet, shook its head and stared at Marius with burning eyes. The black mane rose up like a cloud and stayed that way. The fur darkened: it was bay with a red tint, exactly like a ripe chestnut, but it became brown, like dried blood. A deathly greenish glow appeared in the eyes.

And the worst thing is that Marius had no idea what kind of creature this was or what to expect from it. Master Turvon didn’t talk about anyone like that.

Whatever you say, a noble upbringing has its advantages. I desperately wanted to give up on everything and run away, but the mentor’s soul was still wandering beyond the Boundary, which meant that he needed to stay in place and keep in touch. No matter what happens. Even if a whole herd first dies on these stones, and then turns into otherworldly creatures!

“There’s no need to play staring contest with me,” Marius muttered, proving to himself that he was doing well and generally wow, and didn’t even think about being afraid of anything.

The horsewoman stepped with her hooves, loudly clicking on the washed stones, and snorted mockingly. Somehow it’s not just not horse-like, but even, one might say, human-like. One to one, as Aunt Amalia snorted, wanting to show her nephew without words the entire boundless depth of his stupidity. I would have punched him in the impudent face! “Mentor, come back already!” – Marius mentally prayed. And, as if this was not enough for Master Turvon! The connection twitched especially strongly, the mentor’s body rose, opened his eyes – and, just when Marius froze from horror and impotent panic, human meaningfulness returned to the empty gaze of the living corpse.

The master caught the student’s stunned gaze and rejoiced:

– Get used to it. This is exactly how they return from the Grani. Who else is this?! – he saw a girl lying on the stones.

“And this is it,” Marius waved his hand at the creature baring its teeth. – The horse bolted and was killed right here, in the circle. He dumped the girl, and… here he is. First he died, and then he rose.

Without looking any more at the unfortunate maiden, Master Turvon approached the horse. He ran his hand along his neck, as if feeling the air. He muttered something like “well, well” in response to another malicious snort. And then… the glances of Master Turvon and the horse creature collided, and it seemed to Marius that in a couple of moments these two managed to say so much to each other – the words of the whole night would not have been enough for a conversation!

“My student is brave,” the mentor chuckled. – Clueless, but brave. This is not a raised creature or even an infused spirit. This is – meet me, young man! – Ancient One incarnate. Or rather, the Ancient One is on the verge of incarnation.

– D-ancient?! – Marius hiccupped. It’s not that he hasn’t heard of the old gods at all, but, the Great One sees, it’s one thing to listen to all sorts of fables, and quite another thing to meet them in reality like that! And how are they all still alive?! Although… is that all? “Um-mm…” Marius drawled. – Greetings, glad to meet you and all that, but, master, what’s wrong with the girl? Is it possible to touch her? At least move it from here and see if I’m badly hurt. Help…

Whether Ancient or not, this creature screamed – stallion stallion!

“I’ll show you,” the mentor sighed heavily. – How to check that this is still a living and intelligent girl, and not a creature from the abyss that has moved into her.

And he showed it. Four times until Marius understood and managed to repeat it. And the horse, Ancient or not, neighed, snorted and generally showed its contempt in every possible way.

On the fourth test, the girl opened her eyes, and it immediately became clear that she was no creature and was generally no more dangerous than a lamb. True, the mentor was not touched by the innocent girl’s gaze.

– Look and remember, student, this is exactly how they will look at you before devouring your soul. The truly dangerous will never seem frightening. Those who are afraid of being devoured themselves are frightened.

“But that was offensive,” the girl suddenly spoke. – Eating souls is not my thing. Better treat him with a sandwich.

The voice seemed familiar to Marius, but the intonation… When he heard this wonderful, ringing-tender voice last time… when was that? Visiting someone, but who? So, then this voice was not at all so confident, cheerful and even, perhaps, aggressive, but on the contrary, it evoked yawning and despondency. Exactly! Dejection! Same…

– Virita degli Bornio! – Marius blurted out. And what kind of demons, one wonders, brought this timid doll here?!

Virita froze, bowing her head as if listening. She shook her head:

– No. If you want your Virita, I can try to push her and drink her out, but… No, it’s unlikely. Sorry. A delicate violet in a deep swoon.

– Where – fainting? – asked Marius. It sounded extremely stupid, but the girl understood. And she even answered, tapping herself on the forehead:

– Somewhere here, probably. But how I ended up in it is the question! And who, I ask you, will answer it for me?

“I don’t understand anything,” Marius admitted.

“It would be something to understand,” Master Turvon grabbed the girl under the arms and put her on her feet: “Stop sitting here.” Let's go to the house and we'll talk there. “And I’ll open a window for you, my mansions are not designed for horses,” he told the Ancient One disrespectfully. – And the only treats are carrots. Shouldn't I offer you hay?

Master Turvon’s “mansions,” to be honest and frank, were not designed for guests at all, especially girls from noble families. In the basement of the tower, the same one where the necromancer received rare visitors, there was a kitchen. Rough stone walls, a primitive hearth in which you could roast a whole deer if desired, a shelf with simple pottery, a huge table, several squat oak stools. Door to the pantry, hole to the basement. The Virita deglia Bornio that Marius remembered would have been afraid to look here out of the corner of her eye, let alone calmly enter. And the girl, whom the mentor had seated on a stool by the fire, looked around with interest and declared approvingly:

– It’s beautiful here. Atmospheric. At such a table, it’s not about chewing sandwiches, but about stuffing meat.

“Bring the meat, student,” the master ordered. – Just open the window first. “That’s it,” he waved his hand to where a dark horse’s muzzle loomed behind the cloudy glass. – And don’t even think about giving him a carrot!

– And what?

– Yes, the same as for us. Just put it on a tray so that it’s convenient to eat with a horse’s muzzle.

I had to put aside curiosity and do what students are supposed to do under the master – that is, “cook, bring, serve” (and thank you that mentor Turvon did without the final “get out”!). Smoked venison, fresh village bread (just yesterday I ran to the baker for it!), foamy beer in a keg – a real feast. Although not exactly the kind of treat that should be served to a noble maiden. But the guest ate and drank with visible pleasure – and with the same visible lack of manners. It was probably a good thing that the real Virita was somewhere out there, fainting in her own head. Otherwise I would have fainted again, for real.

“So, our dear and so far nameless guest…” Master Turvon began when Marius set out the treats and sat down opposite the girl.

– Why is it nameless?! – without listening to the end, she became indignant. – My name is Natalya. Yes, Natasha.

– This is the name of your world, your former body. And you, let me tell you, are just a soul. Before a new incarnation, souls forget their previous life.

– I don’t know anything, I remember everything. And in general, some kind of “new incarnation”?! You, as I understand it, pulled me out here, stuck me in someone else’s body, which, by the way, is an adult and quite occupied. Not ready for a new life! This is not to mention the fact that I somehow missed the ending of the old one! Your job?

– Not mine. Personally, I didn’t pull you out of anything or shove you anywhere,” Turvon objected grumpily. The horse neighed mockingly. Marius would also have neighed if he had been watching this bazaar from the sidelines! It just seemed like it was not the mentor, but him, who would have to deal with the consequences. Because why else are students needed? That’s right, push the most unpleasant things onto them!

“It’s better to ask Virita why she interfered in the ritual,” Marius couldn’t resist. – She got into the circle at full gallop and screaming, and we are to blame.

“So it’s not her you need to ask,” the guest shrugged. – There’s a face looking in the window. The horse is shameful. Your girl has already said goodbye to her life, but he has done things and is laughing.

“And he would probably be the one who could explain everything.” Is it possible to talk to him at all? – Marius asked hopelessly. It seems that instead of answers to his questions and clear explanations worthy of a master necromancer, he will receive an ugly market squabble. But two souls in one body – according to all canons, a complete disorder! And something needs to be done about it. And who should do it if this disgrace fell on their heads with their mentor? This Ancient One is also incomprehensible. The more Marius looked at him, the less he looked like the horror of legends. Although it is not for nothing that the mentor says that truly dangerous things do not look frightening…

“I called a soul that could become an invisible guardian for Virita degli Bornio,” the master spoke slowly, intertwining his fingers in a lock. “Her father insisted on constant protection and certainly demanded the spirit of the feminine principle in order to preserve the honor and modesty of his innocent daughter. And this spirit should not have occupied the body of its ward at all!

– And he also had to be able to do something in terms of defense? – Natalya asked mockingly. – Well, I’ll make you happy, something went wrong.

She finished her beer, slammed the mug down on the table, jumped up and walked over to the Ancient One. She grabbed the long ponytail.

– Stab, horse, it was you who arranged everything! And don’t make blank eyes at me here, you’re not the cat from “Shrek”!

The horse rolled his eyes and lay down, and a foggy male figure loomed in the window opening. It filled with color and life – and now on the windowsill sits the most ordinary robber-looking lout: in a forest-green suit, overgrown with a beard and long tufts, except perhaps clean and combed. There was no sign of transcendental strength, as befits an Ancient One, and nobility and authority, even less so; in short, if you show up like this in the house of any noble family, they won’t let you in further than the back yard.

“I’ll explain briefly, once,” he said quickly. – The girl Virita came to me with a request and promised payment. The payment will be my incarnation. I need a horse until I gain enough vitality. The man would have come up too, but there was no one nearby,” he grinned wickedly. “We don’t need anything from you, we got here by accident.” And you,” the blue eyes stared at Virita-Natalia point-blank, “hold your tongue.” Don't look for the guilty where there are none. Better find out why the girl needed a guardian.

– What did she ask you for? – no, where does this otherworldly soul come from so much impudence?! Marius, standing in such dangerous proximity to a being of divine strength and power, would have spoken to him more politely!

– This is her business, if you want, ask her.

– Clearly, the company guarantees confidentiality. Listen… so, wait, what's your name? Not a Horse, really.

– You can call him Ancient.

“When he incarnates, he will receive a new name, but now, in fact, he is little different from a nameless soul,” the mentor explained quietly.

“Memory and strength, this is not so little,” objected the Ancient One. – And I will return the name to its original one. I remember him, people have forgotten.

– OK. So, what do we have,” the girl turned around, crossing her arms over her chest. – I, that is, my soul, was called so that I would guard the timid violet with an invisible spirit. Violet turned out to be not so timid, she ran away into the night on horseback and without guards, asked the Ancient One for something and in return promised to help him become incarnate. As a result of this help, the Ancient One moved into a dead horse, and I into a violet, both of which were not provided for. Did I miss anything?

“Not yet,” for some reason it seemed to Marius that the Ancient One was openly amused. In any case, he looked at the girl with cheerful interest. Either he was waiting for her to do something ungodly, or he was plotting some kind of dirty trick himself.

“Then explain this to me, dear Ancient Horse.” Doesn't it matter to you that your temporary body has died a little?

– Yes, it didn’t have time to die. The horse spirit flew away, I stayed. You can't turn a living creature into an undead in a few moments.

– Clearly, clinical death and rapid resuscitation. And how long will you have to walk like this? And most importantly – then what? What will this supposed incarnation of yours look like?

The Ancient One shrugged.

– As soon as I accumulate enough strength, I’ll simply rebuild my body from this to my own. Am I God, after all, or did I go out for a walk?

– Do you want to be polite or honest? – the girl snorted. – Now you quite specifically went out for a walk. What kind of god are you? Well, I mean, whose? Or for what?

– God of Deer Log, of course. If you want, I'll show you the altar later. Or ask Virita to show her, she was there. Have you already asked everything important? Have you turned to empty curiosity?

– The main question at the end. I also want to incarnate. Somehow it doesn’t feel warm to sit in someone else’s body. Your method is clearly not suitable, but is there another?

The mentor chuckled and suddenly asked:

– What do you think, student, should I help the girl find a body, or let her sit in this noble doll?

As soon as I imagined this alien impudence not bound by someone else’s body, a chill of foreboding immediately seized me. Although Virita with such an addition is not a gift!

“I don’t even know what scares me more,” Marius muttered.

CHAPTER 5. Face to face in someone else's head

Accepting an invitation to visit,

make sure you can leave at any time!

Of course, the Ancient One’s method did not suit Natasha. Even if she suddenly discovered divine powers to reshape someone else’s body into a familiar and familiar one, what should she do with the rightful owner? Silly Virita felt purely humanly sorry. I got myself into such a mess, I got myself into a complete mess.

“Hey,” Natasha mentally called, “where are you? Have you come to your senses? Are you listening to what they are saying?

I sensed a weak consonant response and, it seems, a complete reluctance to communicate and generally get out, at least in front of strangers. Well, the girl is right about this, it’s better to have serious conversations face to face, even in your own head and with your own madness.