NIGHT, I Rin [classic book list txt] 📗

- it's a divine light of Grail! Drink, Huron. This spring is what you are looking for!”

“It’s impossible,” the sorcerer whispered.

He started muttering magic words, then approached the sacred stream, got some water with his hands and took a few sips. Lica did not understand what happened next. There was some deafening sound, everything was shrouded in mist. And when it cleared, Huron and the girl were standing near the fire, which Huron had lit recently.

“What happened?” Angelica surprised. “Where have all been gone?”

“The Knights of the Temple put a spell on it. I drank from the holy spring, so the Grail disappeared and now it will be hidden somewhere else!”

Indeed, instead of the huge rock there was a hole.

Julien ran out into the upland. He was holding a sword, his clothes was torn and soaked with blood.

“I do not know what happened with you here,” he said, “but the savages went on the offensive. I cannot hold them back anymore, they are innumerable!”

“We must get out of here!” shouted the sorcerer. “Now we have a shorter way to the sea!”

And he pointed to the hole in the mountain. They were lucky because as soon as our heroes ran, about twenty wild men appeared on the upland, shouting and hooting, with spears and bows they were ready to attack.

“Julien! Save the girl!” Huron shouted. “I'll hold them!”

“But...”

“No “buts”!” the sorcerer barked.

He pushed the captain and Lica, and turned face to the chasers whispering spells. Suddenly heavy clouds with lightning and thunder appeared in the sky. The wild men afraid of boisterous weather retreated.

Julien and Lica went to the shore and rushed towards the boat. The sailors saw them and stood up confusedly, not knowing what to do.

“Take the oars!” shouted the captain to them.

The sailors immediately sat down getting ready to row. Huron followed Julien and Angelica. When they all were in the boat it sailed away from the shore. Five minutes later, when our heroes were quite far away from the jungle the savages ran to the shore. Threatening with their spears they shouted something angrily.

The sun had not been down yet, but the captain, Angelica and the sorcerer already were on the deck of the ship.

“I hope your trip wasn’t a bad idea, was it?” Julien asked.

“Yeah, it was okay!” Lica smiled. “But how do we go back now?”

“It’s easy! Now you are sailing with us, in the port you will change the ship, or wait for us, and we’ll go back together.”

“We have little time!” said the sorcerer.

“So do we!” the captain grinned.

The sails filled with wind and the ship sailed in trouble-free way...

"The Black Patrick"

In the port, the sailors immediately got into gear discharging delivered crabs. The crabs were so good that the customer arranged one more purchase.

“Lucky you!” said smiling Julien, referring to Angelica. “You won’t have to find another ship we are sailing back – for another shipment of crabs!”

“Excellent!” the girl said happily.

Two days later, after finishing their work in the port and preparing the ship, the travelers set off back.

The first few days everything went like clockwork. The sun was shining; the wind was blowing, filling the sails. Lica used to love standing on the deck and musing upon a distant scene. The captain often made her a company. He told the girl about his adventures at sea.

“Julien, can you tell me how you met Huron?” asked Angelica.

“Oh! It's a fascinating story,” said the captain. “At that time my father was the captain of this ship. One day we shipped out, carrying on board some tons of rice. I do not know may be the rice was a bait or not, but a terrible monster rose from the sea depths and put its tentacles around our ship trying to drown it. When the monster failed, it started to drag us back and forth across the sea, trying to overturn the ship. My father was a brave man. He ordered to charge cannons and shot the monster. After the third or fourth try, the sea creature finally got their tentacles out of our ship. Only one last tentacle was holding over the stern. My father armed with a sword and went down the ropes to chop it. He succeeded! However, the sea monster, mad with pain, spat some yellow dirt at my father. Since that day, something strange had been happening to him; his bones became soft, his head stretched, and he was out of breath. I had to put him in a bath with seawater. I didn’t know how to help my father. And then one of the sailors told me about a sorcerer named Huron. I immediately took him to my father. Huron looked at my poor father and concluded that the seawater significantly changed the closest to me person. ‘I’ll heal him, but it is going to take a long time!’ said the sorcerer.

I agreed and left my father in at Huron’s. To say the truth, I had no hope. Since that day I have become the captain of this ship and sailed. I had to fulfill my father’s obligations. I was sailing for about six months. Then I went back to Huron. Could you imagine my surprise when I saw my father save and sound! I promised the sorcerer that I would be in debt to the grave. Although my father was healthy, he refused to sail any more. ‘I've had just about enough of transformations,’ he said. Since then, he has lived on his own farm and I have continued our family seamanship.”

“How interesting!” exclaimed Lica. “Once again, your story has proved that Huron is a real magician. I'm very glad to hear that!”

“The ship is on the right of the board!” suddenly shouted the sailor on the mast.

Julien looked through his glass. Suddenly his face turned to troublous.

“Pirates!” he shouted. “Prepare the cannons immediately!”

“Captain, that is ‘Black Patrick!’” a sailor shouted again.

“It’s a problem,” Julien said slowly.

“Why?” asked Angelica.

“Dozens of sunken ships and hundreds of people’s lives are under his belt. Meeting him for a merchant ship is the same as a suicide!”

“But Huron is with us!” cried the girl. “He can help us!”

“You are right,” the captain nodded.

He immediately rushed down to the sorcerer’s cabin. A minute later Huron was on the deck reading spells.

“I'm calling the storm!” he said. “Of course, it is dangerous for our ship, but we will be able to avoid the pirates.”

He began to cry out to the sky and the wind, and soon the sky became gray. Meanwhile, the pirate ship was rapidly approaching to them. It was so close that they could distinguish the black flag with a skull on the mast and screaming figures of sailors on the deck.

“They are too quickly!” Julien cried. “Another twenty minutes and they will catch up with us!”

“No, they won’t!” smiled the sorcerer.

He raised his hands and began to make some circular movements. Suddenly a huge swirl appeared ahead.

“Captain, take the steering-wheel!” shouted Huron. “We are going to have some shaking!”

Julien rushed to help the sailor, who was at the wheel. The ship was shuddering from the high waves. Angelica looked back and saw that the same was happening with the pirate ship. The sorcerer continued moving with his hands harsher and harsher, and huge waves covered both ships.

“Angelica,” the captain shouted barely holding the helm, “get down to the cabin, quickly!”

The girl had already realized that to stay on the deck was extremely dangerous. Clinging to the side, she began moving toward the stern. Only two steps and she would be save. Lica dropped the rubbing piece and stepped forward. It was at this time the pirates shot at the merchant vessel. Julien sharply twisted the wheel. The ship lay on the left side, and a huge wave hit it with the top. Angelica screamed, but it was too late. The girl was washed away in the sea. She choked with water and passed out...

When Lica awoke, she was in a bed in someone's cabin. The girl jumped up looking around. A table with maps and a compass was next to the bed. A black piano was standing nearby. Angelica went to it and noticed a medallion on the lid. The girl opened it. She saw a portrait of a handsome, dark-haired, young man inside. The young man had big green eyes and angular features.

“God, where am I?” Angelica began to whisper with horror.

She put the medallion back and tried to see something in the window, but saw nothing except waves. At this time, she heard somebody’s footsteps and a tall young man entered the room. He wasn’t handsome. An ugly scar pockmarked his face, his long black hair with dirty greasy strands were hanging down his shoulders. Thin lips curled into a cold smile. But his eyes ... His green eyes were huge! Lica could swear that this man and the young man in the medallion were the same person!

“Good afternoon, lady!” the man sneered. “It was a bad idea to walk on the deck in storm! You see, what can happen!”

“Hello!” Angelica said softly. “Thank you! You saved my life!”

“This is the custom of the sea – to pull those who are overboard in a storm!”

“Thank you anyway!”

“You are welcome! Now I am wondering what I will do with you?”

“Can you take me to the port,” Lica murmured hopefully.

“Holy Fool!” the man laughed. “Do you have any idea where you are now?”

“I can guess,” the girl nodded.

“Well, well! You are on board of the ‘Black Patrick’, the pirate ship! And I'm the captain!”

“Patrick?”

“That's right!”

The man made a playful nod.

“Who are you? And what did you do on board of the merchant ship?”

“My friends and I were sailing to the mountains that were on that side of the sea.”

“To the wild place? Why?”

“Somebody had to meet me there.”

“That sounds strange...” Patrick said, lifting his left eyebrow. “You've got me intrigued! But I have one prejudice. I am definitely sure that the woman on the ship is for bad luck! Therefore, I'll drop you off at the nearest island we pass and there you will do what you want!”

“But Captain!” Lica exclaimed. “I hope you are a gentleman and never leave a girl alone on the island! I can die there!”

“I am a Pirate! And I do not care about your future. Anyway, you should be grateful to me for what I did not put you at the worry of my pirates!”

“I am grateful,” Angelica sobbed. “But please, do not leave me to fend for myself!”

“Oh, God!” Patrick said loudly. “I'm not here to calm you down!”

He turned and walked quickly out of the cabin, slamming the door. Now she was no longer constrained, burst of tears.

“Well,” she wailed, “I haven’t completed the mission, and he is going to leave me on a deserted piece of land where I will die of hunger and thirst!”

Having a good weep, Lica went to the piano, opened the lid and ran her finger over the keys. She was not a professional musician, but four classes of music school gave her the way for action. Angelica sat down on a chair and began to play soft, melancholic melody. She played more and more confident. The keys were groaning under her fingers, as if they were telling the girl’s sad story. Lica did not notice how the cabin door opened and Patrick went into the room with surprise and delight. Imperceptibly the captain closed the door. The girl finished playing, closed the piano and leaned on it thinking.

Patrick’s story

A few minutes later, she heard a knock on the cabin door, and then a smiling sailor went into. He was short and stout, but his face was very kind. Angelica was even surprised to see such a charming man on the pirate ship.

“Sorry, the captain ordered to set the table!” he said. “Today he wants to dine with you.”

And the sailor quickly put all unnecessary things off and brought some delicious food and drinks.

“Wait,” Lica