Unconquered Sun (72 page)

But suddenly some sound reached us. I listened - it was the clang of metal and some groans and shouts. We with sisters alarmed exchanged glances and departed directly on sounds. At the river, at the edge of the wood we saw strange beings. They were all from iron, they held iron sharp swords in one hand, and in another - flat boards with the image of a black eagle with open wings. Their faces were covered by continuous iron helmets with openings only for eyes and a mouth. Them was five or six, they stood shoulder to shoulder, on a belt in water.

Oh, Creator! They from the coast were attacked height about the average fairy by some awful creatures. It were big rats with long acinaciform canines and gray strips on a skin, and on a strong, brawny tail - the blow of which would break a neck to the adult fairy - the head of a snake. These creatures was pieces ten and it is obvious that iron soldiers had no chances - on sand, at the coast nearly two tens blood-stained soldier and only five beheaded rats lay …

Remained desperately beat off. They struck away blows of rat tails boards, without allowing the snake heads to themselves, and struck blows with swords, striving to cut either the head, or, at least, a tail. But rats dexterously evaded from their blows and it is clear why - being on a belt in water, it was difficult for soldiers to maneuver.

How many this would last, even at first sight, hopeless fight, it was only possible to guess, but so far we at full speed flew to the aid to unfortunate, I saw that one of soldiers who had a helmet with a bright red plume, probably, having realized hopelessness of their situation, suddenly rushed to desperate attack. He escaped from some other soldiers and was rushed forth, in a thick of rats, and in one dexterous blow cut one of creatures the head. Its blood-stained hulk with noise crashed down in water, but other rat, having used that the back of the brave soldier was not protected, came behind and knocked him the long brawny tail on the head. The soldier, without having kept standing, failed in water and went in all the iron directly to a bottom …

And at this moment we, at last, came nearer on a blow distance!

We with sisters at the same time lifted magic wands, mentally said a spell, and at each of us the magic stone of a stick let out on a long spear from a sunlight. Even a moment - and nine solar copies flying without miss at the same time pierced nine rats. Those, stridently having screamed, right there died.

And I with a sinking heart rushed to that place where couples moments ago under water the brave soldier disappeared, and of a hand forced his body to be raised by one wave in air and to be transferred directly to coastal sand. Having quickly removed from it a helmet, I saw unusually beautiful, courageous face covered with scars with unusual black vegetation on cheeks. However, his lips were blue, he did not breathe …

I began to do it an artificial respiration, and muddy water poured down from a mouth and a nose, and then when it released airways, I touched his lips with the and inhaled to it a particle of the life …

He has right there a fit of coughing and opened the eyes - dark-brown, almost black, as well as his long elf-lock.

- Oh, beautiful Valkyrie! - he whispered. - At last I in Valkhalle! - And then suddenly seized me for thallium also I, without having managed to understand anything, already it appeared in its embraces, on coastal sand …

But here my daughters appeared in time - also one blow a stick on the head was enough that this strange zhenoneistovy soldier was tumbled down backwards from the most severe migraine. And I, frankly speaking, even regretted that they appeared in time too soon …

And then, when he regained consciousness and, having got up, with astonishment examined a battlefield - the blood-stained bulks of dead rats, the torn to pieces bodies of companions - his youthful enthusiasm it vanished as if by magic.

The dead were buried right there. The soldier who kissed me together with the others cut firewood, put fires and put on them bodies of the dead, previously having removed from them an armor.

Creator! My heart nearly became torn from pain - I for the first time saw death! And whom - people - the most beloved creations of the Creator whom I dreamed to see for many hundreds of years!

They had terrible wounds. At one - a laceration from teeth on a throat, at another - the neck broken from blow of a tail, at the third - the shattered skull …

All our began to cry, except me and Pearl-white Arielle and we, frankly speaking, kept hardly. Soldiers beat out from rats iron gloves acinaciform teeth, and threw out bodies to the river, far away, that carried away them a current away from here.

So far soldiers did it, their leader - that whom I rescued - sadly looked at the burning corpses of the companions, and then told:

- Yes heavenly gods your souls, brothers upokoit! Feast in light halls of Valkhalla eternally! Yes sweet lips of beautiful Valkyries an award for your valor will be to you, alas, useless … - and it bent the head.

And I approached it, having suppressed in myself tears, and put a hand to it on a shoulder and told:

- They are waited much by the best destiny, than you to them predict, believe …

It turned to me, having with astonishment looked me fool in the face:

- And unless there can be something the best, the beautiful Valkyrie?

I with pity looked at it - this unfortunate, apparently, does not even suspect about the Creator!

- Any I am not a Valkyrie, I am a fairy, the modest attendant Sozdatelya of the sky and the earth and all real. But we will quietly talk about It somehow then when everything is settled. Tell me, what is your name, why you were attacked by these awful creatures and in general better - what here occurs?

It already opened a mouth as from where behind wind informed us of terrible roar.

- Words, beautiful fairy, words! Will be not to consider them here soon - they guessed a blood smell!

And then he seized me by a hand and we took to the heels somewhere to the opposite side. I wanted was to it to tell that how many these creatures would not come running, we with sisters will kill all of them, but for some reason did not make it. So it was pleasant to me that it held me by a hand that it conducted me somewhere in uncertainty, so courageously, so surely, so carefully …

We ran long enough, directly on the river bank. The river all extended and extended, did not disappear in waters in some the big lake yet. I did not see to it the end and edge, it seemed to me by sea.

And meanwhile roar reached closer and closer, to it loud footfall, hissing and a crash of the broken knots and branches increased, but we already were on the bank of the lake. There was a moored ship with one mast and a sail of white color on which the black eagle with open wings, with a number of oars and a nose in the form of the eagle head was represented. We quickly jumped aboard this vessel. Four soldiers together with my young man undertook oars and the coast quickly enough began to move away from us so when from the wood the first ten these saber-toothed monsters seemed, we were already quite far, and those were afraid to get into the water, apparently.

- Here so we also escape, the milady, - the young man told, having caught my inquiring look. - On the island to these creatures to pass is not present, our citadel there.

- And-and-and, you always, well, are always attacked by these … rats …

- These is not so often - they appear in our corner of the world only in the summer when migrate on the North, - the young man waved a hand. - But dragons disturb us every month - in the first day of month will steadily steal some of ours to gobble up. They eat once a month, especially love girls, young men or children. And in the winter white polar wolves come from the North and
snow
- even the island does not save from those, pass the lake on ice - here and to have to sit out behind walls. But worst of all - in the spring and in the fall. In the spring the fallen asleep spiders and lake and marsh
hmar
come to life - not to come into the wood, in general of the city not to lean out, and in the fall -
zveroyeda
- they for the winter should stock up with a fat, so they are ready even on cold water of the lake to us to float at night if only to drag off somebody. So for the present calm …

Soldiers continued, already more slowly, to row with oars, without paying attention to us and to the story of the mister at all. The ship floated somewhere deep into the boundless blue lake, and we are all nine sisters - listened to the young man with open mouths and could not believe the ears! We flew to the Lower Tselestiya, hoping to find the world of gardens and harmony, approximately as at us, in Skies here, and here …

"And that it was done by my mad hubby here centuries! Monsters, perhaps, parted these!" - I thought, hardly constraining anger. - "Well, you will return to me to a flower, I will suit you such "knowledge" that will not seem a little!"

I think, as sisters thought something similar as they had a gloomy expression of persons and suppressed. And then some shrill squeals from above reached us. I raised the head and saw there, in the bright blue sky, the flying creatures - pieces five - with big leather, as at bats, wings, with the heads as at lizards, only the size everyone from a bull which mouths were entirely covered with long sharp teeth. They obviously intended to fly to us because, having seen us, at them from mouths saliva began to drip.

- Children, zverozuba! Smelled after all! Throw oars, action! - the young man exclaimed, grabbing a sword.

But I was ahead of him - departed towards to these creatures, and for me - other sisters. Fight was short, but effective. Creatures obviously did not expect such attack - so they got used to feel like owners of air!

They stopped and puzzly looked at us, but their confusion was enough for us a hundredfold! We quickly aimed and shot at them the strongest lightning discharge. Blue categories obediently broke from stones of our sticks and struck creatures. One moment - and their nervous system was completely paralyzed, and from their bodies the suffocating fetid smoke went - they stooped down on a water smooth surface of the lake. However, even did not manage to drown as some terrible feelers which crept out of depth clasped them and dragged off on a bottom …

And when we landed on the deck of the ship, my heart just thawed from delighted looks of the young man with which it generously presented me. He jumped to me towards and, having risen on one knee, kissed to me a hand, and then told:

- Accept my respect, the great goddess, I, Roland Avalonsky, mister of local lands, is ready to serve you!

And then he told that he is an owner of these places, to be exact - the cities of Avalon which it founded on the main island of the lake, previously having cleared it of zverozuby pangolins and venomous snakes - it was the ideal place for defense. And still told what so was always - how many people remember themselves - were always monsters, it was always heavy - tigrovidny saber-toothed rats will bring plague, volkolak will bite somebody and your yesterday's fellow in one fine night will rush on you, having become the same monster as bitten it, that the cemetery suddenly will recover and from it hungry neupokoyenny dead persons, a crop failure will be and will begin hunger, winter will be such fierce will get that the bird freezes on the fly …

- Tell, oh, great goddesses, messengers of heaven why so? For what gods became angry with us? What did we make by it bad? Old men say that our ancestors something made angry you, heavenly gods but than and as - though you open for us!

And we with sisters significantly exchanged glances and did not know that to answer it.

Meanwhile, the city on the island heaved in sight.

The city all was constructed of a rough gray stone. High strong walls with powerful towers, spikes with flags - white panels with a black eagle on them, a drawbridge and a pier with a set of the oar ships. On the bank of us already waited.

The city struck me with the rough, courageous simplicity. Gray pavements from a rough stone, square houses from hardly burned brick, red tile roofs …

Stern weather-beaten faces of soldiers, the same stern faces of women in grubotkany dresses, unusually serious faces of children, on four, five, rarely it is less, around everyone. Only on faces of unmarried girls still it is possible to see smiles …

And then we saw the cart harnessed by black horses which went directly to us towards, and on it - the dead man, more precisely - the dead woman. The old woman - wrinkled a gray hair, the become hollow cheeks, a wax complexion, a thin body in a rough dress - skin and bone …

Me just shook all! Without remembering itself, I ran up to the cart and cried:

- And well to stand! Cost to whom speak! - and then I approach this woman and I look at her. Is that so! Favourite creation of the Creator! FOR WHAT? My legs gave away and I failed directly on knees before the cart and is bitter and loud, on all street, began to sob. Sisters also sobbed, even Pearl-white Arielle …

Someone touched me for a shoulder, and the familiar voice was distributed then:

- You, my great goddess, probably, for the first time saw what we see every day - an old age and death. Monsters I can strike the sword, I can take cover behind walls, but to win against this enemy I not forces. And anybody - not in forces …

Words of the young king Roland worked on me as an ice shower. I jumped from legs, flew up in air so promptly that the crowd of the people who were going to take a look at us started back, and I in all power of the lungs cried: