LITMIR.BIZ

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be able to notice me. Opening the door, I boldly crossed through the threshold and passed to a high window with an arched niche. It was nice to look at the starry sky from the fortress.

      «What’s the matter?» said the lord. «Why do you look as if you saw a ghost,» he turned to his lady and the servant.

      «Someone opened the door,» murmured the servant.

      «It seemed to me that I saw someone’s silhouette,» the lady concluded, while resorting to her rich imagination. Otherwise, it was impossible to explain it, because of her thoughts it became immediately clear that she had seen no more than the rest.

      «The door is opened from the wind,» the owner of the castle calmly said. «The wind blows here from all four sides. Go to yourself, Leonora,» he turned to the lady. «And you too go and close the door behind you,» followed the second order for the servant.

      As soon as the door behind the servant and Leonora was closed, the lord began to look restlessly around. Then, without finding anything unusual around him, he sank into the carved chair:

      «It should be true, just the wind.»

      «You really think so,» I walked away from the window’s niche and found myself in the middle of the hall. The poor fellow lifted his eyes to me and almost cried out of surprise, because at first he heard an infrequent voice emanating from emptiness, and now, in addition, he saw a silhouette of a golden smoke.

      «You’ve been waiting for someone else?» kindly asked I, having already assumed that Vincent not just dropped in here. «Most likely, I disappointed you, coming here instead of your friend’s unusual, and even without an invitation.»

      – No, I’m just waiting for my partner in gamble and not a friend. The lord once again looked at me, trying not to miss a single detail of my appearance. He had a good reason, because the visitor entered the castle unexpectedly and could be anyone.

      «You got bored of gambling with your friends, and your wife, why are you waiting for someone different from all of them,» I began carefully to read his thoughts.

      «You did not even guess,» he was afraid.

      «I guess. The luck smiled so often to you that no one wants to gamble with you… only he.»

      «All that way. Nobody wants to help me dispel the boredom,» sadly said the gambler. «When he came to me, I was in despair and loneliness. And now I’m ready to play cards even with the devil himself.»

      «He is in front of you,» I responded with gloomy courtesy, while my eyes flashed naughty, and I was ready to swear that the lord saw the black shadow of the dragon.

      The lord was nor alive, or dead. In this moment, even addiction to gambling could hardly bring him out of stupor, so I did not wait for the invitation, took a place at the table. Before me stood white chess and taking advantage I made the first move, of course, while not touching any figure. White pawn itself moved forward to one field, quickly and deftly, as if a brave soldier.

      «Adrian,» using the confusion of the interlocutor, I decided to contact him by name. For me, it was not difficult to read all his names and titles among other thoughts arriving in confusion. «You should not trust either a penny for this fraudster. If he visits you again, drive him away.»

      We both understood about whom we are talking. And the lord every time, thinking about Vincent called him with another name. It was indifferent to me, in the end, Vincent had the right to call himself as he liked, but I didn’t want to have entire provinces under the rule of this scoundrel. It will be impossible to follow him forever, but I need to save at least these prosperous places from him and located nearby Lara with their noisy masquerades, cozy taverns, sea of artificial flowers and garlands, and even marshy outlines. When memories of the swamp and his host, the mood rightly spoiled. The only consolation was that if Vincent declares the swamp and meets there with my new acquaintance, then either leaves out of there, or it will not have time to carry his legs at all. For some reason it seemed to me that all these years he was engaged in the fact that he was deceiving around others and used them for its purposes.

      «You do not want to continue the party?» I asked.

      The lord who came down from fear, stretched out the trembling hand and made a pawn, and so it was so unpleasant that this figure was immediately lost. His move followed, then my, a few more thoughts and movements of fragile chess figures, while the game was not a duel of two minds, and rather reminded the hunt for a rabbit, which suddenly began to beat back from the pursuer.

      «I warn you, do not trust this card-sharper,» Shah and Mat followed the warning immediately. Adrian flinched and moved away from the figures as if they were enchanted and could harm him.

      «I just warned you, now you have the right to get rid of the scoundrel,» I tried to soften the tone a little, but the advice sounded too cold and sternly.

      «But you said that you…» the lord was not deciding to call me once again by the Devil.

      «Yes,» I confirmed carelessly, caught in his thoughts this word and fear that he experienced before his guest. «Just, for the first time in the century, I decided to make one good deed. So, for the sake of diversity.»

      I shrugged with such a kind, as if I could not understand the causes of such madness. And why suddenly such an interesting person, like a dragon, with long-standing glances and morality to do a good deed to someone. This was followed by graceful flap of a raincoat and guest, not even saying good-bye again became invisible. At the same time, it was very curious to observe how the lord looks in a bewilderment and fright right at me, but sees only emptiness.

      At least Vincent is now persona non grata here, and extensive possessions are almost saved from his tricks. When he declares here closer to midnight, he will expect a hot welcome.

      Passing by the chamber of the lord’s wife, I was long delayed. Leonora talked with a slender girl – a teenager, most likely a poor relative. Something in their conversation made me stop.

      «Who gave you this book?» asked the girl.

      «The necromancer from Lara,» answered Leonora. «He came here several times.»

      «And he, though, is good?» In a thin voice, curiosity sounded. «Usually all necromancers are so old and evil.»

      «In this case it is an exception. He is very pleasant in appearance, but he has such an ugly scar on his throat.

      «And what kind of scar?»

      «Yes, it seems like from claws,» Leonora shrugged, expressing complete misunderstanding. «But the book is interesting. Over the years, the bards, and scientists also whisper secretly about some destroyed power. The fact that one of the three heirs got mixed up with the sorcerer and destroyed himself and the whole country.»

      «Why did he get mixed up with the sorcerer?» asked the girl again. «I read this legend, but I almost did not understand anything.»

      «It seems that he gave up his soul for a beautiful face or for something else. Most likely, he was irresistible, but because of him, so many people died.»

      «Or maybe he himself still did not die, maybe the story had a completely different end, which no one suspects.»

      «Anyway, we and even this necromancer can only guess what happened in fact. We read too much scary legends. Of course, I can understand that this prince immediately became your idol, but even if he did not die then, he would still be dead now.»

      «But maybe he still escaped and still wanders on earth under a different name and other appearance?»

      Leonora did know the answer.

      «You’re right, child,» I thought silently, leaning against the door, and in this moment a fragile blond girl, as if hearing me, staggered and fainted. The inquisitive reader was motionless, like a doll, which was dropped on the floor.

      Leonora, with a cry,

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