5

- Stop! Lily screamed loudly.

But in the standing noise it was impossible to hear one's own voice.

- Stop! she screamed louder.

The hippo dragged Elya back to the stairs. The guy, although he looked frail, but the girl could not free her forearm from the male fingers. He stopped, pulled her angrily towards him and shouted something in her face. Rokotova did not hesitate and answered. At some point, she even went on the offensive: Behemoth twitched nervously at her words, anger distorted her haggard face, and shaking Elya's shoulders with force, hit her in the face backhand.

Lily took off. Pushing people away, she made her way through the crowd to her friend.

The hippo again grabbed the girl by the forearm and dragged her, stopping her attempts to break free and run away.

- Let me go! Lily read her friend's lips. - Let go!

At that moment three men didn't come to Elya's help, she dragged the Behemoth and held him, emotionally explaining something. The conflict grew, Ros descended from the second tier.

With difficulty overcoming the last steps, Lily tightly squeezed Rokotova's hand and did not let go, making her way to the exit. Behind the girls, screams and swearing were heard, the music died down. From the stage they called to calm down.

“What, you brat, you can only deal with a girl?” Can you punch me in the face? - the phrase rolled out with a loud cry.

The music finally stopped.

"Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?" shouted Behemoth.

- With a freak who imagines himself a local god!

It was enough for Leela to be distracted for a few seconds, and one of those who approached Ros blocked the way.

“You should have sat at their table, right?” she grumbled, yanking Elya toward the exit again.

But it was not there!

- Decided to run off, skins? Because of you, now the guys will beat their faces. So stay! roared the man in the plaid shirt.

— Skip it! Rokotova hissed. “You don’t understand what will happen to you all, touch us even with your finger.

"You've already been touched, little one. And as you can see ... - He spread his hands, demonstrating impunity.

When the sound of the first blow was heard behind him, threats and insults rained down from all sides. They took advantage of the confusion, the friends rushed to the front door, but there were already three people standing there.

- Here! Lily dragged her friend to the toilet. They went around the swara, and in order not to get caught, they moved through the crowd, using people as human shields.

- Hold them! - the cry of the Behemoth gave the girls strength.

Lily was the first to jump onto the stage and dragged Elya. Running, touched the synthesizer. The instrument, along with its stand, rumbled against the wooden floor.

“If the crazy Behemoth and his buddies don’t kill us, then the musicians will definitely kill us,” she remarked.

Jumping off the stage, the friends ran to the toilet - common for both men and women. A small room with a toilet bowl, a sink and a cupboard for storing cleaning products. Leaning against the door, Lily closed it on the latch.

- Help. Elya grabbed the edge of the cabinet and dragged it to the door.

The wooden canvas shook from frequent and strong blows. A couple of seconds of silence, and the metal handle was pulled.

- Can you get out? Lily asked.

A window at eye level of human height is the only chance for salvation.

The old dried-up frame opened from the third time.

- Faster! Lily turned around at the loud pops.

The door was kicked.

Rokotova stood on the toilet, pulled herself up and leaned out up to her chest. The friend had to push and hope that under the window there was earth, not asphalt.

- Come on! Well! Lily was in a hurry.

With each blow, the door sagged more and more.

At some point, Elya disappeared. A second ago, I felt pressure on my shoulders, put my hands up, pushed, and after a moment, nothing. As if Rokotova was pulled out with one jerk.

“Elya,” Lily shouted, climbing onto the toilet. - Elya!

Standing with her foot on the tank, she looked out. A tall man loomed over her friend, behind whom it was impossible to see what was happening. After briefly examining the ground under the window, Lily made a decision. A couple of sharp kicks from the tank with his foot - and she flew towards the asphalt.

Pain burned through the girl's ribs, elbow and thigh. For a few seconds she lay with her eyes closed, trying to take a full breath.

From the window came a roar and a cry:

They climbed out the window!

“Take Elka and run! Run!" Lily thought.

Still sitting at the table, she called a taxi, and the car arrived at the bar a long time ago. You just need to sit in it.

She opened her eyes. Lying on her side, she looked at the man who was bending over Elya and holding her by the shoulders.

“We can’t handle him,” the thought flashed through the girl’s head.

Behind her long hair, almost to her shoulders, she couldn't see a face. But I heard him growl softly.

Uncertainly getting to her feet, Lily acted decisively: "We have only one chance, there will be no second."

She swooped in from the side, pushing the man in the ribs with both hands. He staggered, took a step back, looked away from Eli, and turned.

His face was in shadow.

The girl's body, the word bound with invisible chains, and she could not take her eyes off her unnaturally flickering yellowish-green eyes. It cost her titanic efforts to move and push her friend back, hiding Elya behind her back.

“Commendable, girl,” the man rumbled. His voice was like a growl, deep and vibrant. "What do you say if I do this?"

With one movement, the man approached Lily, grabbed the back of her head with a wide palm and pulled her.

Strong fingers roughly squeezed the neck at the base, making it impossible to twitch. The girl stood up on her toes, animal horror filled every cell of her body, her gaze darted over the man's face, hidden behind fallen hair.

Taking both hands behind his head, the stranger lifted Lily to the level of his eyes.

Her legs hung limply in the air, her throat was dry and she croaked:

- Don't touch her.

Either it seemed to Leela, or the man's lips twitched in a smile.

"Brave and stupid," he shook his head.

“Man, would you give our girls,” Behemoth said angrily. Together with his friends, he approached the stranger from behind.

Men's hands carefully put the girl on the ground, which she definitely did not expect and was preparing for a blow when the stranger opened his fingers.

“There are seven of them,” Elya warned for some reason and took her friend by the hand.

"I know," the man snorted back. “There is nothing of yours here, and you know it very well,” he addressed the words to Behemoth. - They are with me.

With these words, he covered the girls with himself. He looked at his opponents without interest.

- Isn't it a lot, two at once? someone asked mockingly.

The question remained unanswered.

- I'm not in the mood today. So let's solve the problem quickly. They,” the long-haired man moved his shoulder, pointing to his girlfriends, “are with me. Both. It is clear?

- Not really. Are you dumb? We are seven, you are one. Do you know what it smells like? Behemoth stepped forward and defiantly stretched his fingers, making a nasty crunch.

“I don’t care how many you are,” the stranger answered with a dull rumble in his voice. “You're all out of town unless you're back at the bar in ten seconds.

And the countdown began. Without raising his voice, he clearly pronounced each number at regular intervals, but at three he fell silent, giving him time to change his mind and the opportunity to leave.

“Elya…” whispered Lily, forcefully squeezing her friend's hand. The pain after falling from the window in the girl's body was distracting and prevented her from concentrating.

The friends were squeezed in a dead end between two buildings, and the only exit was blocked by excited freaks, who clearly dreamed of having a good time on the man who covered them with his back, and then continue the fun with them.

The phone vibrated in my pants pocket: “Most likely, the taxi driver got tired of waiting for us,” thought Lily. “Yes, a dead taxi is not required,” a fatal thought settled in my head.

“Everything will be fine,” Elya whispered, trying to calm her down, stroking her friend’s palm with her thumb. - Just don't look.

And Lily had absolutely no desire to watch seven beat one.

“One,” the strange man breathed out the last digit and added doomedly: “I warned you.

As if on cue, all seven of them began to move, with nasty smirks and vile comments approaching.

Lily instinctively stepped back, dragging her friend with her.

- Behemoth, Deer, Seabiscuit! Stop! - the command was given a second before the fight.

“I'm glad to see you in good health, Ros,” the defender said in a mocking tone. "I'm surprised no one has killed you yet." He jerked his head. "Yours?"

- My. Excuse them, they have recently been working. Good?

“Good,” agreed the stranger magnanimously. “But remember, this is the first and last time your dogs have opened their mouths.

Ros nodded in agreement.

“He took our girls, Ros!” Behemoth roared.

Lily came to the conclusion that Behemoth was one of the stupid ones. The remaining six were imbued with the laconic dialogue between the men and were now waiting for the next command. And the fool understands that the long-haired big man is not so simple and has a clear authority among those present.

- Shut up. The bar is full of girls. Get out! “Ros sent his friend away. “Did I say something incomprehensibly?!” He cast an unhappy glance at the others.

And don't look at them. Or do you have extra eyes?

Lily heard the quiet words of the savior who stood with his back.

Don't get excited, Wolf. Ros stepped closer, but kept a respectful distance. How long have you been out of town? Year, two?

- Five. And I see that the Light Ones do not follow the rules at all. Yes, and you and your pack forgot whose city it is. The relaxed posture and lazy speech of the man suggested to Lilya that he had not seen the threat before and does not see it now.

“Wonderful,” thoughts attacked the girl. - The men gathered to have incomprehensible small talk, the meaning of which was captured only by them. What should we do? Can we go already? And is it worth leaving? Suddenly Behemoth and his company are around the corner?

"El, we need to leave," she whispered in her friend's ear. This decision seemed the only right one, I did not expect that the men, carried away by the conversation, would hear the words.

"Stay where you are and wait, girl," the big man said casually over his shoulder.

Lily looked away from the man's back, covered with a T-shirt of an incomprehensible color - a mixture of khaki and dirty brown, and looked at her friend. Rokotova looked calm, even detached. Obeying the words of the savior, she stood still, and she herself was somewhere deep in herself. What she was thinking now worried her much more than what was happening around her.

And Lily had dozens of questions swarming in her head. Who is he, the man who saved them? What are they waiting for? What will happen to them next?

Dmitry, swearing through his teeth, pressed the gas pedal to the floor. It was three blocks from the bar, and the closer he got, the more fear came over the werewolf. If something happens to Elka, his mother will not forgive him. Yes, no one will forgive him for this, as well as he himself. Here's an idiot, he decided to hook girls in the nearest shopping center. Soon there will not be enough memory in the phone to save the numbers.

And this little idiot wanted adventure on her ass. He could have guessed: Elka had never so actively escorted him to dog feats. Always just laughed and grumbled.

The werewolf tried not to think about what Leo would do to him. The desire to make sure her sister was all right pulsed in her temples. The rest after...

Dmitry parked the car at the entrance to the bar, jumped out and opened the door to the room when he heard familiar voices outside the building.

He ran the distance and exhaled with relief: his sister was fine, he did not smell blood and did not notice any injuries. Elya tightly held the hand of her frightened friend, who, when Dmitry appeared, noticeably relaxed and smiled weakly at him.

Arnar covered the girls with himself and kept one of the Light vampires' henchmen at a distance from them.

“Take it and take it home,” Ar looked up at the guy. - I will come back later. I still need to resolve a couple of issues. Go.

The man took both girls under the elbow and handed them over to Dmitry.

Lily looked around fearfully and got into the car.

— How did you find us? Elya was the first to break the oppressive silence.

"What do you think, you idiot?" - At this moment, Dmitry did not look like that merry fellow who poisons jokes every morning and scatters in compliments. A serious expression on his face, not a hint of a smile and good nature, a focused look at the road and nervous movements of his head, as if he were brushing aside the thoughts circling in his head.

“Sorry,” Elya was not offended by her brother’s harsh words.

- You can put your "sorry" ... in the place of your stupidity. Why did you fall into this viper? Mmm?

“I persuaded her,” Lily tried to stand up for her friend.

“But don’t lie,” the guy barked, “I hear your lies even more than the scent of perfume.”

“I don’t understand…” the girl muttered.

“Your heart is pounding so that your head will soon hurt.”

"That's stupid," whispered Lily.

- That's what I'm talking about. Stupidity! The stupidity of one little offended girl, which will entail rather big consequences. The werewolf stopped pressing the gas pedal to the floor and tried to control his breathing. He needs to calm down, he's already said too much. It remains to be hoped that Lily will not attach importance to words.

- And if you ask Ara not to tell? Elya asked hopefully.

“A-ha-ha,” Dmitry laughed nervously, “did you understand what you said yourself?”

- So you know each other? Lily was surprised. After analyzing the behavior and words of a friend, she could have guessed earlier: “Everything will be fine. Just don't look," she remembered.

- If only we knew each other, - Elya sighed, - he is my mother's brother.

"Will he be all right?" Lily was worried. “Maybe we shouldn’t have left him alone?” The words came out by themselves.

Dimitri chuckled loudly.

“I'd be worried about the rest of the people in the bar.

“Lil, everything will be fine with him, believe me,” Elya added.

- You know better. Lily paused and turned to the window.

The lights of the city flickered behind the glass, and she, pressing her forehead against the coolness, tried not to think about anything.

The car stopped at the curb.

The girl, not taking her face off the glass, watched Dmitry. He got out of the car, went into the pharmacy and immediately returned, clutching something in his hand.

“This is for you, lubricate the bruises,” he held out the tube.

- Thanks. Lily was overwhelmed with excitement. She did not say that something hurt her, she did not complain, she did not utter a word ...