Wanderers Of the Night

This village was called Vestovoe, but the lone traveler did not know about it. He chose the road by chance, focusing only on the fact that it seemed to him the most traveled. He did not have a horse, he walked, from the things only a sword in a sheath on his belt, and a small bag over his shoulder.- It is he? – Swirly asked doubtfully, he openly looked at the tall dark-haired guy approaching the gate. Today he and Cybor were acting as guards, and the warriors had to be bribed to take their place for a while. Both are of medium height, thin, lithe, and not at all similar in build to the guards. The form obtained from someone else's shoulder looked baggy on them, but there was no other.The traveler looked very young, almost a boy, but he walked confidently, as if this road did not lead from the forest, along which only well-armed detachments dared to move. Bright gray eyes with calm curiosity looked at the self-proclaimed guards, lingered on the open gate and glanced further - to the

As a child, this forest was perceived as just a terrible fairy tale told at bedtime by an old teacher. And how could it be otherwise? When you lie under a warm blanket in such a familiar, comfortable room and you know that you are safe. It becomes completely unimportant that the cursed forest actually exists. He's too far away to worry about the living dead, werewolves roaming among the monstrous red-leafed trees. The border is inviolable, monsters cannot cross it. And still, an obsessive thought beats in the mind that this fairy tale is not fiction. Especially when the teacher draws attention to the fact that it does not and cannot have a happy ending.Perhaps the teacher exaggerated too much to give the story of the forest of the dead a really fabulous sound, or maybe on the contrary, he downplayed the truth so as not to frighten his ward too much. The only thing that remained unchanged was that he heard this fairy tale every evening, it was repeated every day - like a spell, but he

A dream, just a nightmare, nothing more. His eyes were closed, but even through his eyelids he could feel the bright rays of the sun hitting his face. The skin was gently touched by a warm breeze, the nostrils caught the smell of grass and some meadow flowers, the carefree chirping of birds could be heard.I did not want to open my eyes, the eyelids were very heavy. He lifted them with difficulty and immediately turned his head to one side, escaping from the sun's rays. Grass stalks swayed in front of his face, tickling his skin. It was surprisingly good and peaceful, especially after the nightmare that I had at night. hmm . Why then the feeling of dull pain spreading throughout the body? And there was also some incredible weakness that prevented him from opening his eyes to the end.So was it a dream? From his mind, suddenly, as if a veil was pulled off, still intoxicating the brain, his thoughts became clear, and all sensations became aggravated to the limit. Only grass, a meadow, s

“These seven days, Yarsi, until you pass the conversion,” he said in a lifeless voice. “The border will be unstable, think about it. And then only you will be responsible for the safety of people from Reeta. And you are not Alato, and becoming king, you can probably do much more for people than he can. If there is a desire. If you can overcome hunger. It's difficult, Yarsi, but you are stronger than Alato, and you have the Gift.Yarsi shook his head.- A gift? I do not need it. I just wanted… never mind.” He slowly stood up. - I agree to everything, just help me, Matzher. I need to get to Ereald before I become a werewolf.“You won’t make it in time, but you know you have a chance to preserve the essence of a person. The chance to remain yourself and turn into a beast only when you yourself wish it. Of course, if in these seven days we can find the sorcerer of the old blood, who will agree to give you this same blood.“Old blood? Who are you speaking about? About the First? They are n

Yarsi stopped, lowered his weapon, looked into Vik's eyes. Something elusive, like a shadow, flickered in the Vistolian's gaze. He nodded, took two quick steps forward, and suddenly waved his hand. In the twilight of the night, the steel of the dagger flashed. Yarsi felt the movement of the air being cut by the deadly blade rather than realize what had happened. The body moved separately from the mind, only then came the realization that if Vic had wanted to, he would not have missed. It's impossible to miss from that distance. The dagger thrown by a skillful hand only casually touched his stomach. And this was already after he took a step to the side, turned sideways, and all this with some unthinkable, inhuman speed that amazed Yarsi himself. The dagger cut through the fabric of his shirt, touched his skin with a terrible cold, and continued its flight, disappearing somewhere in the darkness of the alley.Vic stared at the prince in amazement, throwing the dagger should have ended t