Buch lesen: «A demon’s rival»

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Translator Natalia Lilienthal

ISBN 978-5-0064-4367-9

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

Thirteen curses

Samantha looked out of the carriage. Night had fallen over the provinces of Ivilor, and the moon shone as brightly as if the moon fairies were dancing around it. The journey to the capital was not a long one. The carriage sped along the road, bouncing over bumps. A leprechaun squeaked under the road and was carelessly hit by the wheels of the carriage. A hiss of curses came from the coachman.

«Trouble is with you! I send thirteen curses after you all!»

Samantha shuddered. She thought she saw thirteen ghostly silhouettes separate from the trees and flapped their whitish wings. The figures resembled the ghosts of the plague. Samantha didn’t get a good look at them, but she remembered that a plague was roaming the outskirts of Ivilor, and that warlike nomadic tribes that looked suspiciously like werewolves were coming from the other side of the border. It’s as if thirteen curses have fallen upon the land. Pestilence, drought, crop failures, and some superstitious people claimed vampires were in the cemeteries. Who could be responsible for all these curses?

Samantha wondered for a long time. She believed in leprechauns, who lived in holes under roads and paths like moles. Only unlike moles, leprechauns kept gold and precious stones in their underground holes. She wished she could catch a leprechaun! Then she would be rich in no time and would not have to go to the capital. Samantha’s vain mother suddenly decided to send her daughter to court to find a rich groom. Her father, who spent his days in the library of the family estate, did not interfere with his wife’s plans. So Samantha shook in a carriage that bounced over every bump. She cursed the road, all the rich suitors, and her mother’s selfishness. It would have been good to stay at home and pick flowers in the garden of the manor. No, her mother wanted to arrange her daughter’s fate as favorably as possible. How unfair!

«If you had been born into a less ambitious family, everything would have been fine,» Samantha said to her reflection in the carriage window. «And some insolent leprechaun has managed to curse me thirteen times for being unhappy as I am! Had he known that I was only a puppet in the plans of a vain parent! What a pity you can’t choose your parents!»

«But you can choose a patron,» whispered a melodious voice outside.

There was no one in the carriage, except for the grooms on the saddles. But the grooms were young men, and the voice was definitely female. Samantha opened the window. Now there were several voices whispering outside.

«I swear to you, I would fly to Ivilor, but it’s useless. They won’t even let us on the edge of the parapet of the royal balcony.»

«How can you not let the fairies in? The King has been polite to the magical people so far. He respected us! Why the sudden change of heart?»

«It’s because of the King’s companion! The King is untouchable now!»

Are those fairies whispering? Samantha saw translucent hovering silhouettes in the heights. If they are fairies, they are always right. Only why are they saying it next to her with the express intention that she should hear them? Does her fate have something to do with the fate of the king himself? And the king, according to the fairies, is out of reach. All right, she’s not aiming at the king.

Samantha lowered the velvet curtain of the carriage, but the voices of the fairies still reached her ears.

«Serpin is poor!»

«Yes, poor King!»

How could the king of a rich country be called poor? Samantha was tempted to open the window and get into a debate with the fairies, but she held back. She’d already been cursed thirteen times today. She didn’t want to get cursed fourteen more times.

«Imagine!» The voices of the fairies sounded outside, melodious as bells. «The king will never have a sweetheart, a maid of honor, a bride, or even a wife.»

«Will he go to the Red Constellation Monastery?»

«It is no way! The strong demon won’t let him go there. He drinks and sleeps next to the king, but no one knows about it. That’s why the beautiful young king will never have a bride or a favorite. No girl can be with him.»

«What must he do?»

«He must cast out the dodgy demon.»

«Isn’t that the same thing: breaking the curse and casting out the demon?»

«No, neither! You’ll see I’m right! Such a strong-willed girl will not be found. The King will be alone forever. There is not even a fairy strong enough to rescue him from the demon’s grasp. And whoever tries to save him will die!»

«You’re just scaring us, Rosafeira, because you want to take him away yourself!»

The voices of the fairies were like an operetta under a carriage window. Samantha couldn’t stand it any longer, so she lifted the curtain and opened the window. The scent of wild roses wafted into her nostrils, as if a rose fairy were flying outside the window.

«There are dangerous borders beyond! We’re not going that way,» several winged silhouettes chanted. In the darkness Samantha couldn’t see them properly. They soon fell behind the carriage.

A demon on the road

The voices above the carriage seemed like a dream. Could she have dozed off on the road? Samantha looked out the window for the fairies. Were they really following the carriage? No, it must have been a dream. Who was she to get the fairies’ sympathy? Rumor has it that fairies suddenly appear out of the void to advise only special girls. And she is an ordinary provincial noblewoman. Her manners, education and appearance leave much to be desired. An unusual mole in the shape of a star on her shoulder is the most unique thing about her. For some reason, superstitious people called this mole a mark of fairies, so Samantha tried not to wear dresses with open shoulders. It’s uncomfortable to have fingers pointed at you. In the Inquisition, they might call it a witch’s mark and send Samantha to the stake. There’s an inquisition in the capital. Samantha hated to go there, but she couldn’t turn back. Her mother had told the coachman, when he complained of frequent attacks by robbers, that even if he met a demon on the road, he couldn’t go back.

«We won’t meet a demon, but the bandits might attack us,» Samantha grumbled, hoping the fairies would respond again, but they were silent. Or were they not even here anymore? If the fairies didn’t follow the carriage, then the boundaries were indeed dangerous.

Samantha became despondent. Even though the fairies hadn’t spoken to her specifically, they had indirectly given her advice: don’t go to Ivylor. It’s dangerous! It would have been better if they had given such advice to her mother. Only Samantha’s mother could decide where her daughter would go. Samantha was tired of feeling powerless, but not having a penny to her name, she could not do what she wanted.

An owl hooted somewhere. It was normal for nighttime, but the disturbed cries of day birds were not supposed to be heard at night. Samantha recognized the startled trills of nightingales, kingfishers, and skylarks. A flock of birds was flying away from the forest. Their wings hit the roof of the carriage. Samantha recognized woodpeckers, thrushes, magpies and orioles. Were the birds migrating? Or had something frightened them so much that they were hurrying away from the forest? The forest animals also ran away with such speed that they almost got under the wheels of the carriage. The coachman had to slow down. Samantha watched in amazement as foxes, squirrels, hares and even moles ran away from the forest. Could there be a forest fire raging ahead? No orange flames could be seen in the distance. Could the animals and birds have gone mad?

Suddenly the horses in the carriage reared up. The carriage almost overturned. Samantha fell from her seat and hit her shoulder against the wall.

«It hurts!» Someone nearby squeaked.

Samantha looked over her shoulder for the person who had spoken. Had the leprechaun from the fields the carriage had passed this morning jumped into the carriage and hid under the seat? No mice or leprechauns in sight. But the dress had slipped off Samantha’s shoulder, and the star-shaped mole shone as brightly as if it had been a star. What an obsession! Samantha tried to pull up the sleeve, but it was torn. And the mole shone more and more dazzlingly.

«It must be a fairy’s joke!» Samantha complained as the coachman struggled to hold the horses. It seemed the horses were frightened by something and might have gotten loose. Samantha could hear them snorting excitedly.

What was going on in the forest that all the animals were so frightened? If the fairies were flying nearby again, one could ask them. If only they’d honor an ordinary Earth girl with an answer.

«Hey, coachman,» Samantha called, and then bit her lip. Her accent and manner seemed too rustic. How would a highborn lady call her servant? While Samantha was thinking, the carriage stopped. It smelled hot from the darkness, like a furnace. So there really was a forest fire up ahead. It meant they’d never make it to lvilor. Samantha rejoiced. Now they could go home.

She was early to rejoice. Neither the grooms nor the coachman responded. Had they been kidnapped by fairies? Samantha cautiously opened the carriage door. An unbearably bright light struck her eyes. A circle of fire was shining right on the road. Only a dragon could leave such a mark on the road. Samantha was frightened. Was here a dragon? Surely it intends to kidnap an innocent girl and take her to its caves. We must escape!

The circle of fire blazed brighter and brighter. Tongues of flame rose to the dark sky, but for some reason they did not spread through the forest, even though the trees were close to the road, and dry twigs were lying on the road itself. Somehow it was suspicious! The fire looked like a witch’s circle. Samantha became interested. Curiosity was stronger than panic. The girl got out of the carriage and stood on tiptoe to peer into the circle. No dragon was there, but a small, skinny black creature was hopping around inside the circle. He had a long tail. Was it a demon? It was horned, ugly, and incredibly agile. But its voice was pleasant, like a minstrel’s. The imp was humming some kind of counting song.

«All maidens away from Serpin,
Or you’ll die like Evangelina.
Though his crown beguile you,
But there’s a devil on his shoulder.
If you come near Serpin,
You shall die immediately.»

The nimble demon released his claws. Samantha was afraid that he would attack her and jumped aside, but the demon put his clawed paw on the throat of the dead girl, who was lying in a circle of fire. Judging by her dress with diamonds, she was no less than a duchess. Samantha looked at her jewelry with envy. Though was it wise to envy a dead woman? However, the demon quickly removed the jewelry from her, and they disappeared as if dissolved in his clawed paws. The body of the dead girl was mercilessly wounded by the demon, and he made some fanciful marks on the ground with her blood. He drew them with his claw more evenly than with a pen.

«Let all who pass through here know what happens to those who cross me, the great Ibracimus of Hell!» The evil black creature proclaimed. «All travelers spread the rumor of how powerful I am! Or else you’ll be in trouble!»

The demon suddenly noticed Samantha and wanted to jump on her. Now he would sink his claws into her throat and she would become the second corpse on the road. Samantha suddenly noticed that the coachman and the groomsmen were already dead, with claw marks on their throats. Pieces of meat had been torn from their bodies, as if a cannibal had feasted here. Demons must be feeding on humans. She’s going to die in this forest! That’s why she was so reluctant to go on the journey! Samantha waited for the fatal attack, but she guessed the demon had had enough.

«Hey, girl!» He called out to her. «Do you swear to spread frightening news about me all over the neighborhood?»

«Yes, of course, Your Infernal Majesty,» Samantha mumbled hastily, and even wanted to curtsy before the demon, but her legs wouldn’t bend with fear.

«Then live! But if I find out that you kept what you saw on the road tonight from anyone, I will come to your bedroom and tear you to pieces with my claws in your sleep.»

The imp jumped almost to the heavens and disappeared from the circle of fire. The fire immediately went out, but the dead body of the noblewoman was left lying on the road, and around it stretched a ligature of bizarre bloody symbols. The symbols must be witchcraft. Samantha was afraid to go near them. The dead girl was a very beautiful lush-breasted brunette. Her dress of the finest Alur’s brocade was embroidered with the ducal arms. Samantha would have wished her to rest in peace had she not feared the demon’s vengeance.

«Does he really want everyone to know about his misdeeds?» She wondered. «He should be in the theater. He must have been thrown out of hell for striving for the stage.»

The coachman’s body slid off the horses and fell to the ground. Samantha realized it was useless to wait on the road. There were no helpers in sight. Unless another pack of demons swooped down and tore her apart.

It was hard for the girl to get on the goats herself and make the unruly horses move. They were so frightened that they refused to move forward for a long time. When the carriage did move, the horses went around the unfortunate circle and nearly broke their legs, for there was a ravine at the side of the road.

«The lady is driving the carriage! That’s no good,» whispered from behind the puzzled voices of the forest fairies.

Had the fairies begun to behave like high society gossips? Samantha herself knew that a lady should not replace the coachman. But with no coachman and a forest full of evil, what could be done?

In the morning, Samantha thought she was just dreaming, but at court she spotted the fairies again.

The Dwarf King

After such a terrible incident, one could go home and do what the demon wanted: spread the horrible news about him all over the neighborhood. Everyone would realize that after the horrors Samantha had endured, she didn’t want to go to Ivilor. Or would that trick not work? Her mom said that even if she met a demon on the road, she couldn’t go back. Even though it was a metaphor, mom got it right. Samantha met a demon.

«What do we do now?» In frustration, the girl kicked the wheel of the carriage. Naturally, the carriage didn’t move.

She no longer had a coachman, no groomsmen. Her encounter with the demon had deprived her of her traveling companions. Would she have to drive the carriage herself?

Samantha glanced at the empty road. No oncoming carriages or riders were expected. Maybe someone would show up in the morning. We should stay in the carriage and wait for help. What if the bandits showed up before the helpers did? Samantha had heard how often they rob carriages on the big roads.

There’s no sitting still. She’s a lonely, defenseless girl, a tasty morsel for bandits and other dark figures. Only a devil would shun her. It’s unlikely the bandits will spare her either.

Samantha would love to go home, but her mother wouldn’t forgive her. You can’t be such a coward. I mean, what if she met a demon on the road? She must quickly put this terrible incident out of her mind and go on with his life as if nothing had happened.

«I didn’t see him! I was just dreaming about him!» Samantha admonished herself. That’s how you get rid of nightmares. It was better to think of them as an obsession or not at all.

But she had promised the demon that she would tell everyone about him. What if she didn’t, he’d get back at her? What if she just forgot about what had happened?

Samantha imagined her running around the village screaming about demons, and superstitious peasants searching for demons and robbing landlords’ estates of everything of value. Riots because of evil spirits are frequent. Sometimes it is better to be quiet, even if the demon is sitting next to you. After all, there is nothing scarier than panic.

Samantha pulled the coachman’s cloak, and his body slipped off the horses. It turned out that the coachman was carrying a carbine to defend the carriage from bandits. Samantha decided to appropriate the weapon. When traveling on deserted roads, a carbine or musket does not hurt. The coachman had another revolver in his pocket. Well, now she’s armed for war. Let’s go!

The horses, as it happens, would not budge.

«I am your lawful mistress, your master’s only daughter. You must obey me!» Samantha exhorted them. The horses didn’t care! There were four of them in the carriage. Their names were Naughty, Ardent, Sleepyhead and Pegasus. Rascal was trying to prove that his nickname was a waste of time. It completely contradicted his sedate manners and slow walk. Rusty also loved to be lazy and to nibble on roadside grass. Sonja dozed on the move. Pegasus was named Pegasus as if in jest. He had no horn and no wings on his sides. A regular horse! The stable boy must have heard a lot of fairy tales and decided to name him that. If Pegasus had been magic, she would have left the three lazy horses and ridden him to Ivilor in a heartbeat.

The horses were stubbornly unwilling to obey her.

«Horses, sweethearts, let’s make a deal. Here’s a carrot!» Samantha shoved the only carrot she had in her picnic basket under Pegasus’ nose. The horse ate the carrot, but didn’t obey.

«You are scoundrel!» She scolded the horse, even though he wasn’t a gelding. «If you don’t go, I’ll call you a donkey or even a monkey!»

The horse didn’t care, but a voice from under the wheels answered:

«Better a pony!»

Is there really someone underground? Is it another demon? Samantha looked for something to defend herself with. A funny looking gnome in a bright green outfit and wearing a crown came out from under the wheels.

«I love ponies, they’re just the right size for me,» he waved a chubby hand in greeting.

«You are a pygmy!» Samantha shrieked and backed away.

«Don’t insult me!»

«And what are you?»

«I’m a dwarf. Or rather, the king of the dwarves,» he fixed his crown, which had slipped to his side, and winked at the girl. «I agree that there is nothing worse than a small stature, but I do not like lanky fellows either.»

«Now you’re insulting me,» Samantha said, rightly deciding that at her height she seemed no more graceful than a milepost.

«I used to think of tall girls like you as tall,» he admitted, «but now I’m married to a princess as tall as you.»

What a surprise! A dwarf married to a real princess!

«You kidnapped her?»

«At first, yes,» the dwarf confessed embarrassed. «I had to lure her into my dwarf kingdom. Viola didn’t like it, but she liked my library. And then the girl appreciated my wisdom. She said that I was the wisest dwarf in the world and even wanted to marry me, but between us was her old acquaintance – a tall blond elf.»

«And then what happened?» Involuntarily Samantha became interested.

«Viola had met the elf much earlier than she had met me. They shared a common passion – music. Viola plays the elves’ whistle very well. Anyway, the elf came to rescue her, and with him his entire magical army.»

«It was the horror! If the elves turned against the dwarves, then the dwarves’ kingdom is over?

«Not quite! Although the elves are strong, they’re short-sighted. And the dwarves are small but wise. Our powers were equal.»

«And when the elf decided he couldn’t beat you, you married Viola?» Samantha guessed.

«Alas, it was more complicated than that. Since neither rival could defeat the other, Viola had to decide the dispute between us. She had to choose who she wanted to stay with: the dwarf or the elf.»

«She probably chose the elf. I’ve heard that elves are very beautiful.»

«But empty-headed! Clever Viola took that into account. She liked the way Urel looked, but she didn’t like everything he did or said. She talked to me for hours, but my looks disappointed her.»

«You couldn’t cross an elf’s body with a dwarf’s brain to suit a princess’s tastes, could you?»

«But it was possible to give her a privilege: two husbands at once, which the generous dragon emperor Edwin did. Since he rules over all the magical creatures in the universe, he held a trial where he gave his verdict. And now Viola spends one month in the elf realm, and the next month she returns to me in the dwarves’ realm.»

«So one month she’s the wife of an elf, and the next month she’s the wife of a dwarf king! That’s an interesting alternation! I wouldn’t have dreamed it in a wild dream.»

«You’re not in the same situation as Viola,» the dwarf chuckled.

«That’s right. I’ve never fallen in love once, let alone twice! But Princess Viola is lucky. If she has two husbands at once, when one goes bankrupt, she can always come to live with the other. When my father went bankrupt, my mother had no one to go to, so she took it out on me.»

Samantha didn’t notice how she began to trust the gnome. She was not even embarrassed by the fact that she was standing in the middle of the roadway talking to a stranger.

«Viola is by the elves now. They muse and dance on the cliffs by the sea, with azure dragons flying nearby. They love Viola’s whistle.»

«Is it far from here?» Samantha wanted to see elf society.

«If you don’t have wings, it’s a month from here to the cliffs of the Coast Elves.»

«Then I won’t get there in time. I’m running out of time. Say hello to Viola when she gets back.»

«I have nothing to do while she’s with the elf,» the dwarf muttered, «but when she gets back, I’ll be happy for a month, and I’m already collecting gifts for her,» the dwarf turned a leaf that had fallen from the tree into an emerald. «She also likes it when I read interesting stories aloud to her, so I became a regular at the royal library, borrowing books there for Viola, but the king’s current advisor won’t let me in anymore. He’s so clawed!»

She guessed the dwarf was referring to the character of the counselor. The king’s counselor can’t really be clawed!

«I have a book from my father’s library with me. Here, take it for Viola,» Samantha rummaged under the carriage seat and pulled out an adventure novel.

«Your father has good taste. We should visit him,» the dwarf was glad of the gift and eagerly began to leaf through the book with a small number of pictures.

«You can do that. Father is in the library day and night, and you can catch him there anytime. And if my prim mother doesn’t catch the two of you there together, my father will be sure to treat you to tea or even port.»

«It is good!» The gnome king’s tiny eyes lit up with lively interest. «It’s so good that I met you. Usually girls are frightened of me and even try to trample me with their feet.»

«I’m not scared. Besides, you’re better than the creepiness I met on the road before you.»

The dwarf thought she was talking about wild animals and looked toward the forest.

«By the way, do you know how to make my horses move?»

«It is simple!» The dwarf scratched the hoof of one horse, and suddenly the whole four moved. Samantha barely had time to scoot back into the carriage.

«Goodbye! I’m going to Ivilor,» she shouted to the dwarf. «You can visit me at the local royal palace.»

«Is it to lvilor!» The dwarf’s face suddenly grew concerned. «You shouldn’t go there! You’d better come back!»

«I have no choice!»

Samantha looked out of the window, but instead of the dwarf, she saw the glassy eyes of the dead Evangelina. They were staring straight at her, as if the dead one was trying to warn her about something. The horses were backing away from the corpse and trying to avoid it, as if a demon still sat on Lady Evangelina’s chest. The pentagram around the dead body glowed mysteriously red.