NIGHT, I Rin [classic book list txt] 📗

that is why we’d better hurry up to conduct the ceremony. If something terrible happen to you, I will never forgive myself! Therefore, I ask everybody to climb the volcano to finish the ritual.”

“Huron, dear!” Margo said. “We are too tired of the battle and the road. May be only Lica and you will go up?”

“My sister, you forget something!” said the sorcerer. “As soon as I call the soul of Angelica and return it into her body, the gates of the underworld will open for some time, until I seal them again. During this time monsters and energetic creatures will be able to break through into our world. That's why I need your help.”

“Of course!” exclaimed Prince Night. “I think a couple of monsters are unlikely to scare us after such a tremendous battle!”

“I’ll go with you,” Swein talked up.

“Then let's go!” exclaimed Huron.

And he first started to climb the slope of the volcano...

A few more hours passed before our heroes had reached the crater. Here Margo’s brother found the pentagram and exclaimed:

“I swear by all the elements! If I was not in the other world, I would be sure that this magic pentagram was created by me!”

He read all the spells written on the rays of the star and corrected something. At this point Lica felt dizzy. She firmly grasped the Prince of Vampires hand but losing consciousness fell to the ground...

“What happened?” Edward shouted. “It’s early, she still has time?! Why has Angelica fainted?”

“You know, near the geopathic zones the clock may show the wrong time,” said Huron. “That's why I insisted on the immediate completion of the ritual! Arthur, take her and bring here inside the pentagram!”

The Vampire easily picked her up and carried to Huron. Meanwhile, the sorcerer turned to Swein and the Prince Night:

“You, gentlemen, have to stand near the volcano vent and be ready to meet monsters, because as soon as I open the portal, they will be able to get here.”

Edward and the Goblins’ King nodded and went closer to the vents. Arthur also joined them. Huron started reading magic spells...

Angelica was again in a lovely room with a high throne where a sad Angel of Light was sitting as before. Lica heard melodious voice in her head again:

“Look! As soon as the last grain of sand falls to the bottom of this hourglass, you will disappear!”

Suddenly, a large hourglass appeared in Angel’s hand, the sand was falling so fast that the girl was terrified.

“Is it possible to slow down the time?” she asked gently.

“Yes... But then you have to give me ... your soul!”

“But I do not have it!”

“Now you don’t have it! If I slow down time, the sorcerer will be able to return it to you.”

“And what’s then? I will be Devil’s servant!?”

Angel laughed loudly. If Angelica was the usual lively girl, this thunderous laughter probably would kill her. Now she was just deafened and it finished in a minute.

“How ridiculous these human biases,” again she heard a voice. “You will live a normal life, may be even happier than other people will. Just one thing when you die, you will lose the possibility to reincarnate. That's it!”

“Even when I was sucked with the crater into the other world,” softly said Angelica, “even then they didn’t take my soul away and sent me into oblivion! They just returned me to the departure point. But here I have to choose... It's not fair! I saved this world for all people – as well as for you! I did not ask for anything in return and did not seek for benefits! If now my soul is at the stake, I'll tell you that I will never give it to you, because it is My Own soul!”

“You were in the Great Divide!?” the Angel surprised. “And returned?! Well, I must listen to His opinion.”

“Whose opinion?” did not understand the girl.

But the host of Hell wasn’t listening to her anymore. Slowly, he rose from his throne holding out his hands with the hourglass forward. Angel was so huge that Lica had to lift her head up high to see what was happening. The Angel opened his wings and scarlet drops of blood were drumming on the floor. Dazzling light was flowing from his white clothes; it was so bright that Angelica’s eyes became wet of tears. The Angel started saying something musically, referring to the sky...

The girl blinked and looked at the hourglass. At this moment, the last grain of sand was falling down... The host of the Hell squeezed the clock so that the glass cracked and all the sand crumbled on the floor. Large splinters stuck in Angel’s palms and blood dripped from thick cuts...

Lica felt something nasty in her body. She looked at her hand. It became translucent and her fingers began to disappear.

“What’s going on!” cried the girl. “I am disappearing!”

The drops of Angel’s blood, fallen on the floor, suddenly turned into grains of sand. There were lots of them. The host of Hell flapped his wings and all sand from the floor rose into the air, spinning around went... into the large hourglass, which now was completely unharmed! The girl's hand came back and became consistent.

“You... You gave me more time!” Angelica cried happily. “Thank you very much!”

“WE gave you time!” Angel said pointedly. “However next time I won’t be so kind! Now go away - do not bother me!”

“With great pleasure!” said Lica released.

She turned around not knowing where she should go. Then something whirled her and she flew away from that place...

“Amen!” exclaimed Huron, ending saying the spell.

Suddenly, from the volcano vent separated a translucent substance that floating to Angelica’s body and then smoothly went into it. Something happened and in a minute, she moaned and opened her eyes.

“My dear brother, you are well done!” Margo noticed. “We have finished the first part of the ritual! Now we have to seal the portal with your soul. Hurry up, every second is precious.”

The witch hadn’t finish saying that yet, as from the crater vile tentacles appeared and two or three ‘black blobs’ floating into the air.

“Gentlemen, action!” the Vampires’ Prince said with a cold voice, turning to the Prince and the King of the Goblins. “The monster with tentacles is yours and ‘energy monsters’ are mine!”

Edward and Swein nodded and immediately rushed to attack. Arthur tried to distract the ‘blots’.

“Huron, hurry up,” whispered the witch. “Close the portal immediately!”

Margo’s brother stepped aside and drew on the ground another magical symbol. Then he dropped to his knees and began saying magic words.

Meanwhile, the King and the Prince Night managed to kill one monster, but from the crater of the volcano more and more creatures were going out. The Prince of Vampires wresting down with ‘black blots’ rushed to help Edward and Swein. Angelica came to herself and sat up...

The sorcerer went on saying the magic words and then from all sides of the earth leaden clouds were coming to the volcano. Following thunder and lightning...

“Amen!” shouted Huron and one of the lightning struck him on the body.

Margo’s brother fell down and separated from his body translucent substance floated toward the volcano mouth. The Vampire finished with all predators attacking him and now he was quietly watching Edward Swein killing their monsters. Huron soul was descending into the volcano.

“Well, everything has finished!” Arthur grinned putting his sword into the sheath.

He turned back to the vent and went to Angelica to help her up. It was at this point when from yet uncovered portal a huge tongue or tentacle tilted out and almost less that in a second took the Prince of Vampires pulling him to the abyss. Arthur could not draw his sword because his hands were tightly held to the body.

“Prince!” Lica cried.

Swein and Edward immediately rushed to help but they were too far away. Huron was lying unconscious and Margo froze like a statue. Lica realized that the witch was in shock! Angelica has estimated the distance to the tentacle whipped out her sword, which once Swein had given her and ran to Arthur.

“Angelica, don’t come here!” shouted the Prince of Vampires. “Do not go near! We have just saved your soul!”

But she seemed to not hear him. She boldly rushed forward and slashed the disgusting arm. Tentacle immediately released Arthur and shriveled. The chopped cuts were bleeding with something black. But the monster decided not to give up getting its arms out one after another. Now the Prince of Vampires was on alert. He sheltered the girl with his back chopping the tentacles on the right and left. The Goblins’ King and the Prince Night also arrived to help. Now together it was very easy to kill the monster. By this time, Huron’s soul had tightly closed and sealed the gates into the portal.

“Angelica!” said the Prince of Vampires. “You startled me so much, that I can’t choose the words to say thank you. What courage, what temper! If not you, then I would die. You saved my life!”

“You were a good teacher!” smiled the girl. “Now, at least, we're even!”

Swein and Edward looked at Lica with interest. However, Arthur had perfectly understood what she was saying about.

“Thank you!” said the Prince.

He came up and kissed Angelica's hand. Meanwhile, Margo came to herself and hurried to help her brother. She gave him a kiss of life and in a few minutes, Huron woke out of trance.

“Hmm...” he muttered. “Now, I know what it means to ‘lose soul’. Even for me, it was incredibly difficult. I can imagine how hard it was for a young girl to seal the portal!”

“I am fine!” Lica smiled.

Then she hesitated and quietly added:

“I hope I am fine...”

“Well!” exclaimed the witch. “Congratulations! Hooray for all of us, hooray!”

“We’ve done it!” cried Angelica.

She suddenly burst into tears.

“Come on, Angelica!” the Prince Vampire smiled. “It's all over now!”

“I know,” sobbed Lica, “but it’s so touching.”

“Don’t worry, let her cry!” said Huron. “She will feel better after that! She had too many troubles recently.”

Arthur hugged the girl and said:

“Well, gentlemen, it's time we went back home to our normal life!”

“Go home!” Margo nodded.

Edward gave the witch his hand and our heroes went away from that terrible place...

Farewell

When they reached the valley, the moon rose high over their heads brightly shining the recent battlefield. Now nothing told that recently the bloody battle took place here. Just terrible chaos around!

“I should come back here to sort out the mess,” muttered Huron.

“Why are you thinking about it now?” asked the witch.

“I like this place and would love to live here.”

“But you can live with me!”

“No, thank you! Two wizards in one cave - it's like two cooks in one kitchen,” the sorcerer laughed. “The last sorcerer arranged everything here for normal life. I just need to restore everything! And I’d better to live near the abyss... You never know what may happen?!”

“Well, you decide!” Margo said. “In any case, you are always welcome in my house!”

Our heroes reached the cliffs surrounding the valley and came out. In the fields - here and there - were small horse and foot troops of soldiers - all that remained after this terrible war. The vampires were standing a side. As soon as the soldiers saw their leaders alive, they met them with joyful hooray.

The vampires immediately gave a saddled horse to their master. Arthur came up and shook hands with Swein, Edward and Huron, then climbed into the saddle and said:

“Gentlemen, it was nice to deal with you, even though you are not vampires! Now I must leave you, I have a lot of work to do at home!”

Then the main Vampire came to Lica and said:

“Angelica, if you wish - my castle is always at your disposal!”

“Thank you, Prince!” the girl said sincerely. “I need to be alone for a while to recover and think.”

“All right,” the Vampire nodded. “But I keep my offer open! I'll always be glad to see you in my castle!”

With these words, the prince