LITMIR.BIZ

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Marina, the visitor, with a final, desperate effort, cried out:

      «Madam Isolda! Help me!!»

      And she went almost completely limp. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Kid appeared:

      «Everything’s all right. No reason to worry,» he gestured and freed the captive off the invisible manacles. Failing to keep balance, the stranger fell down in the middle of a five-pointed star drawn on the floor.

      Marina dashed forward to help the night guest on her feet. She felt that the latter needed assistance.

      «You know my aunt, so we have to assume that this isn’t the first time you’ve been in this house. But how did you get in? And why are you here?»

      «Through the window,» Boris joked. Then he immediately dropped his voice and added, threateningly. «You decided to clean out the house while the mistress was gone. Is that it, you thief?»

      «She is neither a burglar nor a thief,» Kid said. «Be respectful. In front of you is Praya, the Priestess of the Circle of Light, the burgomaster of the City of Zueraf from Damramir!»

      «Priestess?» Grigoriy’s eyebrows went up.

      «Dam-ra-mir?» Marina slowly repeated the strange word in a low voice.

      «Burgomaster?» Boris snorted disdainfully; nothing could surprise him.

      The priestess was bombarded with questions from all sides. She shook her head, as if trying to finally wake up from a deep sleep and said:

      «I can see that, I will have to tell you a bit about myself and why I am here.»

      On the way upstairs Marina noticed that their visitor was evading shadows and dark corners. In the living room Marina settled down in an armchair, Grisha sat down on a little sofa, Boris remained standing next to a table, while Kid snuggled by the fireplace and kept adding logs into the fire. Sothern nights are extremely chilly.

      Praya walked up to the fireplace:

      «May I have a seat here? I feel somehow more comfortable when the fire is near. What shall I start with? I don’t know how to describe my world for you. One day I found a book titled Seven Underground Kings in the library. There was an illustration there depicting a huge cave with a city inside that was lit up with a ball of light. It is very similar; the difference is that our world has no walls. Where the light ends, Darkness and Chaos begin. The world is lit up with not one but a few Lights. I am one of the Priestesses of this Sacred Flame. Madame Isolda taught occultism and potions classes. Lo and behold, one by one, girls of our class started disappearing. We were in despair and decided to seek your aunt’s help…»

      Marina, who up until that moment had been calmly listening to the story, stood up and asked crossly:

      «Can somebody here explain to me what is going on? How did this young girl get here? What were you doing to her when I got here? How can we understand her if she’s from a different world? Besides Russian, I speak English, but I can understand her without a problem. What is this, a practical joke? If it is, it has failed. Well, which one of you is going to talk?» She looked at each of the young men in turn.

      «Perhaps, you?» she jabbed her finger at Praya who drew back reflexively and almost fell into the fireplace. «No, you have said enough.»

      «Maybe, you?» she looked at Boris. He shrugged his shoulders and sipped his cocktail. «Nothing to say, huh?»

      «Could, you, Grisha, possibly quell my worries?»

      «I think it’d be better if I did it,» Kid stood up. He took a deep breath and started talking. «I shouldn’t do it, but I have no choice. Your aunt Isolda is a witch. So is your mother. The only difference is that the first one is dark while the second one is light. An incredible future was foretold for you. Hence, you father decided to protect you against magic of any order. However, there is no escaping your fate. So, here you you are.»

      «My mom? What are you talking about? My aunt is a witch? It’s nothing but words, you have no proof, she is not here. Where is your evidence?» Marina’s voice rose to a shriek.

      «I am a vampire and werewolf, a half-blood, a wild hybrid. I’ll give you proof, just don’t be scared.» What used to be Kid fell down on the floor. What rose up in its place was a creature with a vicious maw filled with razor-sharp teeth that seemed to be ready to break out and devour the visitors. A gigantic dog wearing a leather collar with glittering studs all of a sudden sat up on its hind legs. Looking into Marina’s eyes, the dog asked her:

      «Is that enough? Are you convinced now?»

      It was Marina’s turn now to sit down in shock. Grisha took her hand and patted it. She murmured:

      «I think I’ve had too much to drink. A talking dog, just imagine that.» Her eyes closed, her body sank limply into the soft embrace of the pillows.

      «What vigor!» Boris whispered admiringly. «Three people could not make her sleep! Unbelievable!»

      «As a matter of fact, I had a hand in this, too,» the priestess declared.

      «What a mess!» Grisha was as nonplussed as his friends were.

      «Things will look better in the morning. It’s time to go to bed. Let me show you to your rooms.» Kid was trying to make everybody understand that the party was over.

      Marina heard nothing. She was sound asleep.

      ***

      Marina was dreaming. First, the talking dog offered her a cocktail, and then it pushed her off the pier into the sea. Marina turned in a mermaid and swam down into the depths. There, in front of her the spindle-shaped shell appeared, giving off an iridescent glow.

      «Hello, Marina! I am the Spindle of Fate.» A sense of serenity enveloped her and she began to listen intently. «The Supreme Being created me to guide the lives of all people. When he left me, he lost control over me. And those in Hell made good use of the opportunity. They limited my influence on people, allegedly in order to ensure their free will. The angels want to give control over people back to God. I believe that everything should be left as it is now. I have decided to go over to mortals. Kid didn’t lie: you were prophesied to become the second after the Creator. However, this will happen only if you agree to accept me. I have chosen you on purpose. There is the ideal balance of forces in you.»

      «Why? Tell me, I don’t understand,» Marina wanted to find out more.

      ««A long time ago, an electrician, a total stranger, was passing by the ward in the maternity hospital where your mother was waiting to give birth to you. Stopping next to your father, the electrician told him:

      «Your daughter will hold the fate of the whole world in her hands. She will become the second after God. People’s lives will depend on her.»

      «The prophecy,» Marina mused, as if she had witnessed the scene as a bystander and not as a participant.

      «Yes. Your father was scared. He knew that your mother was a Light sorceress. He decided to save you from Fate. He forbade your mother to see you. He told you that she died giving birth, but she is alive. Your father unknowingly made the prophecy real. If you became a sorceress I would not have come to you.»

      «Wait, I don’t understand. Are you a male or female?»

      «I am not an object; I am Power. Power cannot have gender. You may call me as you wish. With my aid you will be able to understand people, know everything about the past, foresee the future a bit, and change the present. You have already become susceptible to magic. You have felt the heart of this house, you have witnessed the battle of illusions between your companions, you have learned to understand the languages of others. However, beware, try not to meddle with people’s fates too often. It is very difficult for a human. As time passes it will become easier, and then you will occupy your position.»

      «How

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