NIGHT, I. Rin [ebook reader with highlight function TXT] 📗

to explain the reason for my coming. The witch immediately made a healing potion and sent me home. I was as quick as I could and finally reached my home. My Mom was dying. But I gave her a potion, that Margo made, and she was getting better soon. Less than in six months my mother was healed.”

 

“Where are your parents now?”

 

“When I was sixteen years old, my father gave me to serve our Hakim. I had to leave my family for a long time. For several years I lived in the palace and they didn’t allow me to leave. But finally I was given a homing device. When I came back home I did not recognize it! All what I saw was only ruins. The neighbors told me that one night robbers attacked my parents and killed them. Nobody could tell me about it because I was very far away. That’s how I lost my family.”

 

“It’s a pity,” Angelica muttered. “Why did you save me? Having done that, you put in jeopardy your career and life as well!”

“I have never met such a beautiful and open girl before,” said  Isa. “And after your kiss I ever lost my head.”

 

He sat down on the straw, and said quietly:

 

“Angelica, can I ask you a question? Your companion – someone who you were in the desert with – is he your husband or fiancé?” “Neither one nor the other!” honestly said the girl. “And now you tell me, please! Did the Hakim’s people catch my companion in the desert?”

“No,” Isa shook his head. “But there is another danger. He may die if he is attacked by Sand Snakes.”

 

“Snakes, snakes... Well, if you are so afraid of them, tell me what they look like?”

 

“They are horrible creatures! They move under the sand and although they are several meters long, it is very difficult to see them among the dunes. Sand Snakes are nocturnal animals, so at the day time it is safe in the desert. But to stay there for a night, I would not recommend to anyone.”

 

“Are you saying that snakes can eat Edward?” exclaimed Lica.

 

Isa nodded.

 

“So, what’s to be done?” the girl said nervously.

 

“Nothing. At night we never find your friend, and can be-come the pray of the snakes ourselves. Therefore, we have to wait until morning.”

 

Angelica nodded.

 

“Isa, I’m awfully tired! Can I get some sleep?”

 

“Of course.”

 

The guy got out of straw and sat down on a low chair.

 

“No, that’s not the way it works!” Lica noticed. “I will sleep, and you won’t! Lie down next to me. But I should warn you – I feel cranky and bad today, so if you are going to accost me, I’ll kill you.”

 

“I do not doubt!” Isa laughed.

 

Lica lay down on the straw. The young man blew out the little lamp and lay down next to her. Soon there was quite colder in the room. The girl did not notice that she huddled up to the man and fell asleep in his arms.

 

Angelica suddenly woke up at night. She heard a weird sound behind a wooden wall... as if someone huge crawled past touching the wooden walls.

 

“The Snakes!” guessed Lica and moved even closer to the young man.

 

Isa enjoyed his balmy sleep, and she could feel his breath in her hair. Soon the sound was off.

 

A little later, through the invisible gap in the trapdoor a beam of sun light fell to the floor. Isa woke up. He buried his nose into Angelica’s long hair and kissed her neck. She turned and hugged him. The young man looked at her with his black almond-shaped eyes and began kissing her neck. Lica suddenly came to her senses.

 

“Isa! Stop, Isa!” she tried to stop him.

 

But he seemed not to hear it. His lips were going down - to the girl’s breast. And then they heard a strange sound again.

 

“Isa!” Angelica whispered. “There is someone behind the wall!”

 

The guy listened and said quietly:

 

“Snakes!”

 

“But it’s morning!” Lica murmured.

 

“They have smelled us and don’t leave. We need to go out of here - to the sun!”

 

Before he could say these words, something huge hit the wall. Breaking the boards on the wall a huge snake’s head appeared in front of our heroes. The girl screamed. Isa grabbed his knife from the table and curved sword and slashed the snake. She hissed and arched into a bow, ready to attack.

 

“Angelica, run!” shouted the man. “Go upstairs!”

 

Lica rushed to the stairs and climbed out very quickly. The snake lunged, but the young man jumped aside and cut her head. The animal began to fight in agony, crushing everything in the room. Isa, even having no time to take his things, ran to the stairs and climbed out. At this point, the shelter collapsed and buried the monster.

 

“Isa!” she cried and ran to the young man. “I thought you had died!”

 

“I am all right,” said Isa, kissing Angelica. “But now it’s time to get out of here. Snakes never attack alone!”

 

He took her arm and they quickly ran towards the oasis.

 

Fortunately, no one was following them. Soon Lica saw their horses.

 

“Hooray! They are all right! Our horses are safe!” she ex-claimed.

 

Five minutes later, our heroes climbed into the saddle and raced away from the oasis.

 

“Isa, I have to find my companion - Prince Edward!” Angelica said. The young man nodded. Having overcome several dunes, Isa said: “Here you and Prince were yesterday.”

 

The girl looked around, but couldn’t recognize this place. “How do you know?” she asked. “Sand doesn’t retain traces!” “I grew up in the desert,” the young man grinned. “We must go to the east now.”

 

And he turned towards the rising sun. A few hours, our heroes were riding through the desert. Suddenly Isa stopped and pointed ahead:

 

“Look!” he turned to Angelica. “I can see something there!” Lica looked narrowly ahead and did see something powdery with sand. She immediately spurred her horse and rode to the strange object. When she came closer, she saw that it was partially eaten body of Prince Edward’s horse.

 

“Oh, God!” cried the girl. “It was Prince’s horse!”

 

The young man dismounted and examined the dead animal. “Look!” he pointed to the bites on horse’s skin. “It looks like snake’s teeth marks! I told you.”

 

“Have Edward died?”

 

“I do not know. If he met the snakes, then may be! They can swallow a man in one piece, so it is likely that we never find his body.” “No!” the girl burst into tears. “Isa, dear, we must look for him! The Prince may have escaped!”

 

The young man mounted his horse, and our heroes contin-ued their way.

After another couple of hours Angelica saw something that plunged her into shock. Between two high dunes she saw chipped pieces of two huge snakes’ bodies. The head of each monster was almost the girl’s size. The sand was red with blood.

 

“Your friend knows how many beans make five!” Isa noticed. “It’s a rare thing when someone can win the battle with two Sand Snakes!”

 

The ray of hope that Prince was still alive settled in Lica’s heart. Riders went on. But suddenly, behind the next dune, Angelica saw the Prince Night’s sword.

“Isa,” she cried. “This is Edward’s sword! Something happened to him! He would have never left his sword!”

The girl jumped from her horse, ran to the sword and raised it. It was covered with blood.

“No!” Lica cried again.

 

She sat down on the sand covering face with her ​hands.

 

Isa dismounted, came to the girl and sat next to her.

 

“Don’t cry!” he said. “Your companion was a brave warrior!”

Getting to know the sorcerer

 

 

Angelica was choking with tears. The young man hugged her stroking her hair.

“Take it easy!” he said again. “Now you should think about yourself! You said you had been searching for the sorcerer.

 

I heard about him… a few times our Hakim sent his servants to him. The sorcerer lives in the east, near the sea. We’re going the right way.”

 

“Yes, you’re right,” Lica sobbed. “I must complete the mis-sion! Prince Edward really wanted it and always believed in the success. Thank you, Isa!”

 

The girl hugged the man, then got to her feet and went to her horse. In five minutes the riders raced on. The sun was so scorching that it seemed as if sand was melting under the horses’ hooves.

 

“There is another oasis,” said Isa. “We need some rest and give the animals some water!”

 

Lica nodded, and our heroes turned their horses to the visible rising palm trees ahead. They were happy to cool ‘life blood”, water their horses and had a little rest in the shade of the trees.

 

“We have to get to the sorcerer until midnight,” said the young man. “We need to hurry!”

 

He helped Angelica to sit on the horse and jumped on his horse...

 

A few hours of riding through the endless dunes had been exhausting the girl. She couldn’t see anything around except one blinding sun! Her face and hands were burned, her lips baked with heat. Suddenly, the young man stopped and said:

 

“I can hear the noise of the sea!”

 

Lica listened, but heard absolutely nothing, except the rustle of sand crumbling under their horses’ hooves. But her companion was right. Soon they saw a blue ribbon of the sea on the horizon.

 

“Hooray!” cried the girl. “The sea!”

 

“Save yourself,” smiled Isa. “We are pretty far away yet!” After some time the riders approached the blue lagoon. “How beautiful!” Lica gasped. “But it is impossible to live  here even for a sorcerer! There is nothing except the sea and sand!”

 

“I know that if you go to the north from this place, along the coast, you can reach the mountains that surround the desert.”

 

“Then let’s go!”

 

The sun was sloping to the west, when our heroes saw the mountain. The huge rocks towered above the yellow sand dunes, and some rocks looked as if they hung over the sea coast.

 

“I do not know if we can find the sorcerer, but at least we are safe from the Sand Snakes here,” said Isa.

They reached the foot of the mountains, when the nightfall was in.

“We must stay here for a night!” the young man said. “Our horses are tired, and so are we. In addition, in the darkness we won’t find anything.”

“Then we have to climb a little higher, so we are not seen from the dunes!” said Angelica.

“You are right!” nodded her companion.

 

They dismounted and led the horses by the reins around a low cliff. Behind the rock they saw a small round meadow covered with wilted vegetation. A pure spring was running through the stones. The girl and the young man immediately slaked their thirst and gave water the animals.

 

“Here we can peg out!” Isa offered. “At least, we are near the water!”

Lica agreed. While Isa was taking care of horses, the girl picked up some dry sticks and grass and made something like bed.

“Probably, it will be cold,” she said.

 

“I’ll warm you!” Isa smiled.

 

He found nearby some bushy trees with fruits looked like wild apples, and brought some to Angelica.

“Sorry, there is no other food,” the young man said. “You know, I’m very tired today! Let’s have some sleep!”

The young man lay down on the sticks and grass, and a minute later he fell asleep. The girl washed the wild apples