Читать книгу: «Gryphon dynasty», страница 4

Raid

A night surrounded by creepy sea creatures was no sugar coating. Fiona didn’t even know where best to spend the night: out in the open, risking being clawed by griffins, or in a house full of sea creatures. As soon as Rokuela left, the morgens in the aquarium became aggressive. Some strange, tiny creatures crawled across the floor of the hut. And the shells whispered in hoarse, monotonous voices, like the sound of the surf:

«I’ll bet you an eternity that the griffins will come back for her.»

«They never leave their prey behind.»

«Not even iron doors can keep her from them.»

«But there is an amulet that protects even against a bird’s claws!»

Could it be that they’re talking about that fancy amulet of feathers that lies next to them on the shelf. Fiona instinctively grabbed it and put it around her neck. Any protection is better than none. Although, she had noticed a similar amulet around Ornella’s neck. It probably wasn’t protective after all, but a sorcerer’s.

The bivalve on the table shone and opened, revealing a large pearl inside, glistening with all the colors of the rainbow. A wonderful singing voice poured out of the shell. It must have been hypnotizing, because Fiona fell asleep to the singing of the shell.

She awoke to an earthquake-like rumble. The dawn was gray, and it sounded as if rocks were falling from the sky and hitting the roof of the cabin. Fiona became nervous. The house seemed to be groaning under the heel of a giant who was about to tear it down.

The walls shook, and sharp bird claws scratched against the windows.

They were griffins! They swooped down on the sea witch’s cottage from all sides. The flapping of their wings echoed in her ears. Their claws scraped against the windowpanes, but they could not squeeze them out.

«They’re looking for their prey,» they whispered from the shelves. It was the shells talking again.

«How could they see the house below? They don’t usually see it when they fly over.»

«That’s right! They’re blind wherever sea magic has taken root. They, too, are prisoners of the underwater kingdom.»

Fiona shuddered when she heard the last phrase. The shells said it with grim solemnity.

«Who are the prisoners of the underwater kingdom?» She asked, but none of the shells dignified her with an answer.

Fiona was even offended. Shellfish are such chatterboxes when they need to talk among themselves, and with a human girl they do not want to engage in conversation. Or are they forbidden?

«Come to the window!» Suddenly a familiar voice called.

Fiona turned around. Outside one of the windows a huge, majestic bird was flying. It was a gryphon, a crowned gryphon. His feathered head gleamed with a gold crown of teeth like a king’s crown. It was no longer a gryphon, but Prince Orwell, standing outside the window, timidly beckoning her to him.

Fiona hesitantly moved toward him. She was won over by the fact that Orvel acted as if he were a lover who had come to sing a serenade beneath the window of his sweetheart. Except he had neither a lute nor a mandolin, and his sharp steel fingernails bore the claws of a griffin. But he has a magnificent crown on his forehead. Fiona sighed languidly. Somehow she instantly forgot all the hurt and even the fact that she was about to be executed. Now Orvel looked more handsome than ever. Only his eyes glittered feverishly.

«Let me in!» He asked. It was very uncomfortable for him to stand on the bridges near the house. There was a little room, and it was slippery, and the bones of mermaids and morgenes could prick him.

«Can’t you go in yourself?»

Orvel shook his head sadly.

«There are sea spells everywhere. They won’t let me in. But you can let me in. You’re special! That’s why we can’t all live without you. Ever since you disappeared, all the princes have had thirst and insomnia that won’t go away from anything.»

«But you were going to burn me as a witch,» Fiona reminded him.

«It was Ornella, not us. We won’t let her do that again.»

Should we take his word for it? Fiona hesitated. He was a werewolf, after all. She had just seen with her own eyes how he had changed from a griffin to a man. But he was a prince, and quite handsome. She’d developed a weakness for princes recently. She guessed all country girls are overly susceptible to the allure of nobility.

«I can’t let you in,» Fiona admitted honestly. «This isn’t my house.»

«Then come out yourself!» He beckoned to her more insistently. «Hurry up! Rokuela will return.»

Behind him on the bridges the other brothers were already turning from griffins to princes. Perhaps Condor could join them. Fiona longed impatiently to see him again.

She cast a wary glance at Rockwell’s sinister pets. It was no less dangerous in the sea witch’s cottage than it was in the company of the griffin princes.

Fiona dared to go out to them. And no one touched her! Even Orvel hid his steel-clawed hands from her so as not to scratch her.

«I am so glad to have you with us again!» He smiled beamingly. «I promise you that we will not play bluffs anymore.»

«Blind spots are for victims,» one of his brothers confirmed.

«And you are not a victim!» Orvel agreed. «You’re our lady!»

Is she a lady? Can’t he see she’s only a peasant girl? Or is it more important to him some inner magical light he sees in her?

«Would you like to ride on the back of a griffin?» Orvel suddenly suggested it.

«Are you serious?» Fiona didn’t have time to break free. The elder prince put his arm around her waist and danced with her across the bridge of mermaid’s bones. A moment and they were already dancing over the sea. Fiona didn’t even realize how they had managed to get off the bridge. The waves were bubbling beneath her feet. Let her go now, and she would fall and drown. It must be deep under the bridges, and she couldn’t swim.

Orvel suddenly laughed like a madman. Perhaps he wants to drown her after all. She had trusted him for nothing! The prince tossed her in the air like a light toy. Now she is going to fall! Only instead of the cold waves, Fiona fell straight to the scruff of the huge bird. Orvel managed to change into a griffin in an instant. The other princes left below were also turning. Fiona noticed that each of them had an amulet around their necks like the one she had found at Rokuela.

Orvel was already carrying her forward, overtaking the wind. The other griffins were catching up behind her. The flapping of their wings made the sky black. Fiona focused her gaze on the crowned bird’s head, which was now a millimeter from her. She clung to the griffin’s powerful neck as tightly as she could. A normal bird would have strangled by her now, but for Orvel her touch was barely perceptible. He cackled something quietly as he flew over the waves.

The rainbow was suddenly right below them. It weaved and diverged into a multitude of new rainbows. Fiona did not immediately realize that these were the rainbow bridges of fairies and elves about which there were so many legends among the people. She had always thought they were the fiction of storytellers, and now she saw them with her own eyes!

Griffins flew over the bridges. Fiona noticed some winged figures idly strolling on one of the rainbow bridges.

The sea below began to stir. A storm was coming up! One could see from above how the huge waves were breaking the small fishing boats. The griffins began to play, flipping Fiona from one back to the other with ease. Within minutes she was flying on the scruff of each of the griffin princes. Sometimes she got creepy. The storm below was wrecking ships.

«Shall we dive aboard some merchant caravel to play with the sailors?» She could hear the words in the bird’s wail.

«It is not today! The storm is already playing with them!»

One enormous shaft nearly covered the gryphon on whose back Fiona was now flying. The bird carrying her had managed at the last moment to fly higher into the sky.

«Griffins can carry you to the stars, but they can also kill you,» the distant whisper of Rokuela stood in her head. It probably just seems.

Fiona laughed as the griffins lowered her to the sandy shore, turned back into princes, and began to waltz with her each in turn.

«She’s still alive and in one piece!» Orvel proclaimed. «This is our victory! It’s good to have at least one friend on all of us who isn’t afraid of the fact that we’re werewolves.»

«Magic can take its toll on her later, and she, too, will jump off the wall or grow feathers like pustules, or wither away!» The other princes began listing the dangers, but Orvell didn’t care.

«They’re overprotective,» he explained to Fiona.

And then she was suddenly attracted by the golden light. It pulled her toward him like a magnet, and she broke free from Orvell’s grasp.

«There it is!» Fiona pointed under a big boulder.

«What’s in there?» Orvel wondered. «It’s just a stone.»

«It’s all glowing!»

«I don’t see anything.»

«I can definitely see light around the boulder,» Fiona insisted.

«There must have been a mermaid sitting on it recently. There would have been traces of her magic on the surface.»

«Can’t you see under the boulder? There must be something hidden under it.»

Fiona’s ears perked up. She thought she could hear the sound of dwarves’ hammers right here on the beach.

«It is as you wish, pretty girl!» Orvel wanted to oblige her, and with a light touch of his hand moved the enormous boulder easily out of the way.

Fiona was astonished. There was more strength in Orvel alone than in the giant. And what he could do with all his brothers, who also appeared to have magical powers! And all of them together cannot overthrow Ornella alone! What is so special about their sister?

«You’re right!» Orvel discovered a deep hole under a boulder, in which something glistened enticingly. A moment later he pulled out a huge chest full of luxurious gold jewelry and ancient gold coins. The massive lid of the chest was forged in the shape of some fantastic city and adorned with gems.

«The mermaid must have hidden them,» said Archibald uneasily.

«It is best not to touch them,» Terence said.

«They’re bad luck and attract vengeful ghosts,» agreed Lestan.

«It is better put it back,» advised several princes at once.

But Orvel did not want to part with the find.

«Let Fiona try it on,» he suggested.

Fiona hesitated. Her dress is plain. It wouldn’t go with such gorgeous crowns and necklaces, but she wanted to try it on anyway. There’s no one here anyway. It is no one to see. The coast is empty all around. And the griffin princes don’t count. They all want to be her suitors. And you can do all the things you can’t do with a cavalier. Tradition was discarded. The peasant dress was adorned with intricate brooches and necklaces. On Fiona’s head Orvel wore a magnificent crown of rubies and pearls. There was also a mirror in the chest. Its handle and frame were also of solid gold. The monograms on the lid of the casket looked like Arcana’s emblems, and Arcana is a state that has long since gone. Legend has it that it was sunk by the king of the sea. The princes noticed it, too, and looked at each other.

«You can’t joke with mermaids,» Leroy remarked.

«Is it with live ones or with bony ones, like in Rokuela’s domain?» Warwick asked, irascibly.

«It is with both!» Several of the brothers answered at once.

Fiona couldn’t even see which princes were speaking. She glanced in the mirror. The crown and long emerald earrings made her look like a real queen herself. If only she could find a fancy dress somewhere else! Then she would be just like her new friends, the princes.

She found the jewels herself. Pity that satin and silk, unlike precious metals, do not last. And, consequently, buried along with the jewelry also the chest with the dresses could not.

«Your jewelry is no worse than that of the queen of the seas, Lilophea,» Orvel commented.

«It’s a good thing Ornella can’t see me now. She would think I was a witch if she found them,» Fiona thought aloud.

«Aren’t you a witch?» Orvell was genuinely surprised.

«Am I a witch?» Fiona sounded frightened. All witches are old and ugly. How can she be compared to them! – I am not a witch!

«I think you are,» Leroy said casually.

Fiona didn’t even have time to be offended.

«If you weren’t a witch, you wouldn’t have spent an hour with us,» said Archibald. «Ordinary girls go crazy if they’re in our company. The ones who turn into griffins tend to die. You’re still alive. So you’re a witch. Or are you a clairvoyant? Or a chosen one of the magical powers whose path leads to the School of Witchcraft?»

It was something Rokuela had said. Fiona wondered.

Another gryphon flew over the sea. She wondered if it might be Condor. Fiona’s heart quickened with excitement.

The gryphon lowered itself onto the sand and turned into the furious Ornella instead of Condor.

«She must be a witch!» Ornella pointed a clawed hand at Fiona. «If she doesn’t burn, she must be drowned!»

«Well, no!» Orvel was resolute this time. All the princes surrounded Fiona. Ornella only pressed her lips together angrily. The squad of guards was not with her at the moment. Besides, griffins were more powerful than an army.

«I am in charge!» Ornella insisted. «I alone decide who lives and who is executed. She is dangerous! She’s a redhead!»

«This prophecy about redheads is nonsense,» Orvel cut his sister off. «You’re so hung up on it you’ll drive yourself mad.»

«Let Fiona come and live with us!» Lestan suggested.

«This is intolerable!» Ornella stomped her foot and her shoe sank into the sand.

«One less lady at court, one more, what difference does it make?»

«But she’s just a peasant girl!»

«So dress her up like a lady and no-one will know the difference,» Lestan could not take his eyes off Fiona and Ornella grew more and more furious.

«Our ancestors would roll over in their graves with shame if they knew of such frivolity.»

«When have you ever had any respect for our ancestors?» Orvel snapped at her. «They’re just people. Griffins are just us!»

Fiona was astonished! She had thought the curse was old, but it was fresh.

A large cavalry party was galloping toward the shore. Ornella’s guards followed her everywhere. Fiona was frightened.

«The witch must be put to death or we shall all regret we were sentimental!» Ornella kept on persisting.

«She is useful!» Orvel stood up for Fiona, pointing to a chest lying in the sand. «Look what she has found! She is the only one who can see the light of buried treasure!»

«Is she a treasure hunter?» Ornella became alarmed. «And this was not the first time?» She remembered. «The valuables you had with you when you were taken… Did you find them in the earth or in the sand?»

Fiona nodded.

«That changes everything!» Ornella immediately showed her greed. «Better to keep her alive for now and test her. If she shows her talent as a treasure hunter in the future, you can consider her saved! I love it when people are useful!»

Ornella went to meet the party, talked to their leader about something, and took his horse. She liked riding as much as she liked flying through the sky on her own wings.

«We’ll be under escort to the palace, I suppose,» Orvel concluded, justly. «The important thing is that we’ve asserted our rights to our friend.»

Fiona watched as the guards gathered the jewels and coins from the chest and could not understand why Ornella was more important than the whole group of Prince Heirs. Why was she the queen? And why are all the princes beside her practically powerless? After all, apart from her they have the power of giants. There lies some mystery here.

The new position

Yesterday she was a prisoner. Today she is the guest of honor. Fiona was looking at her own apartments in the royal palace of Sultanit. Ornella, grudgingly, agreed to let her have several luxurious rooms at once. A royal treasure hunter is entitled to a little luxury. Ornella took the crown and jewels from the chest she found. Fiona was left with only the emerald earrings, the weight of which was already hurting her ears. Apparently Ornella hadn’t noticed them, so she forgot to take them away.

Fiona took a seat on the cushioned sofa. The furniture in the small boudoir was upholstered in silk. The mirrors had gilt frames. A screen was painted with pastoral scenes. And in the bedroom there is a bed under such a magnificent canopy that it resembles an oriental tent. Everything is like in a fairy tale! Except that there are guards with halberds outside the rooms. The treasure hunter is under control.

A dark-skinned maid named Charisi brought a pile of clothes and left them in the checkroom. On her black wrists she wore multi-layered bracelets that looked something like fetters. There was a pattern of magical marks on the metal. It looked like Charisi was a slave. Fiona would have expressed sympathy for her, but the fire fairies, like orange cats crawling over the trellises, were eavesdropping on every word. Apparently Ornella had sent them here as spies. Somehow the fragile trellises and tapestries were not ignited by the bodies of the fireflies. Apparently, the fire fairies didn’t set fire to everything, but to a select few. Their nimble hands or paws went through the pile of clothes and stole a few bows. The fairies grinned and hissed at the black-skinned maid. Somehow she had irritated them greatly.

«Find the heart of the giant! If you can weaken it, we’ll all be free,» Charisi whispered, seizing the moment.

What did she mean? What is a giant’s heart? Fiona didn’t have time to ask her. She’d been so caught up in Charisi’s exotic costume that she hadn’t reacted immediately to her words. Now it was too late to call out the maid.

The light breakfast of bacon slices and hard-boiled eggs was far less satisfying than the muffins from the village bakery. Except that it was much nicer to eat from fancy crockery than from wooden bowls. Fiona fiddled with the silver forks and spoons. Such a set must have cost a fortune. There were still honeycombs and exotic desserts on the tray. Hunger forced Fiona to eat practically everything they brought her. Only belatedly did she think that the food might have been poisoned or sprinkled with some magic additive that would make her more docile. It was dangerous to eat anything at Ornella’s house, but you couldn’t eat air alone, either. She wouldn’t be allowed to go back to the mill anyway. She will have to get used to the menu offered by the sorcerer’s palace where the griffin queen rules.

The fire fairies that clung to the ceilings and walls were a clear reminder that this was a magical place. A guest was at risk every minute. Probably the minute-to-minute risk of getting burned was not the worst thing that awaited here.

Though all the fire lizards were the size of small bobcats, they were frightening to the point of a nervous tic. Their flaming orange faces peeked at Fiona from every crevice.

«Stay away from me!» The girl warned those fairies who were closest to her, but the fire lizards were oblivious to any warning. They hissed like crackling flames. Okay, unlike griffins who played tug-of-war with their prey, at least they didn’t scratch with their steel claws. Fiona tried to concentrate on going through her new outfits and ignoring the searing company.

The sky outside the windows darkened as suddenly as if a storm was approaching. A strong gale wind blew in from outside. It came too quickly. A moment ago there was no sign of trouble.

There was a resounding roar from above the towers that sent a shiver through the walls. It was definitely not griffins or thunder, but something far more ominous! Fiona had the feeling that some sort of flying monster had rushed from the sky to crush the entire castle.

«It had flown in!» The fire lizards suddenly flared up and crawled down the walls. Fiona was horrified at the avalanche of fire-breathing bodies, crawling up and down the walls in a panic.

What was the matter with them? Where were they all going in such a hurry? On the way, they were setting fire to everything living in their path. Fiona barely had time to jump up on the bollard before she found herself on the floor filled with flaming bodies.

«Hurry up! She’s already here!» The orange wings flapped either nervously or cheerfully, sending up a shower of sparks. Several of these sparks landed on Fiona’s hands, burning her badly.

Strangely enough, the fireflies didn’t walk across the floor, but crawled on all fours. Only a few of them fluttered over the others, bending in an arc. It was as if someone had worked magic on them all.

As they crawled away, leaving burn marks on the carpet, Fiona ran to the window. Above the towers hovered something dazzling, scaly and winged. Its powerful tail slid across the glass, and the glass cracked. Fiona barely had time to move away from the shards.

The hysterical cries of the maids in the corridor were either burnt or burnt to a crisp. The footman carrying the tray of drinks was nothing but ashes.

Fiona took advantage of the delay of the guards at the door and emerged from her chambers. A marvelous sight was before her eyes. A huge semi-circular veranda was like a portal through which a stately blond lady entered the castle. She was dressed more sumptuously than a queen. Her long, bejeweled train was in some way reminiscent of a dragon’s tail.

Fiona stared at the blond stranger and wondered where she had come from. Until a moment ago the veranda had been empty. Now the dangerous fire lizards were streaming toward her. They were flitting about her, crawling at her feet, clambering over pillars as she passed. This was not the way of the queen, but of some goddess whom they wished to receive a blessing from. The sparks that flew from the wings of the fire fairies did the lady no harm.

The fireflies themselves whispered interspersed:

«Your Majesty!»

«Your Divinity!»

«Are you pleased with us?»

«Are you no longer angry with us?»

«Will you take us back to the firefalls?»

Fiona frowned. Did the fire fairies really say that? Or did she only seem to hear the words in the hissing flames?»

«You see, they’re not so arrogant if you squeeze them a little,» the lady said to Ornella, who had been walking slowly out of the throne room.

«Oh, my beloved Sephora!» Even the haughty Ornella suddenly began to fawn over her guest. «We were not expecting you so early, otherwise we would have prepared for your visit.»

Was she really going to parade the flamethrowers around to greet her important guest as if she were at a military parade?

«I’ll stay exactly one hour, and then I have business to attend to in Tioria,» Sephora said.

The fire fairies clapped their hands for joy and danced under the chandeliers. Their activity made the castle look like it was on fire. She didn’t think the townsfolk would have rushed out to put it out! Or did they all know the fiery fairies had taken root by Queen of Sultanit?

«Dear Lady Sephora!» Condor, who had also emerged from the throne room, bowed as low to the blond lady as if he were her laborer. What was the matter with him? Was he in love with her? Fiona felt a sudden burst of burning jealousy.

This dazzling lady was surely a sorceress! Surely she had flown in on a dragon, which was now circling the castle. Only somehow its roar can no longer be heard.

It was the only way she could have got here, like on a dragon. She herself has no wings, like a fairy. But her green dress, studded with sapphires and emeralds, strongly resembled the skin of a dragon.

«Shall I summon the rest of the Sultanit’s clan?» Condor asked, turning to the blonde, though Ornella was the queen here, but for some reason the guest seemed to be in charge. Next to her, even the ruler of the country was somehow overshadowed.

«You’d better show me the father’s remains.»

«The Sea King took his head with him,» Condor warned her.

«I know,» the blonde unfurled a train that seemed to move on its own like a miniature green dragon. «Everyone already knows about it and is talking about it in every way.»

«It’s a fiasco!» Ornella spoke up.

«It’s a fiasco,» Sepphora glanced at her haughtily and then suddenly let out a jet of fire, drawing an enigmatic symbol on the frieze above the entrance to the throne room.

«You should follow good advice more accurately in the future. Then the fiasco won’t happen again.»

Ornella had nothing to say to that. She was clearly frightened that a jet of fire would hit her in the face, but Sephora only put up some sort of magical protection. Fiona began to feel dizzy at the sight of the entrance to the throne room. Apparently, the amulet was placed against clairvoyants and witches. And she wasn’t called a witch here for nothing.

Ornella’s ceremonial gown, lavishly trimmed with ermine, also bore some magical symbols. But the sight of them only made Fiona slightly dizzy. The crown of rubies Fiona had found with the coastal treasure was already adorned on the queen’s head. But it was still nothing compared to Sephora’s fancy tiara.

The tiara of diamonds and star-cut emeralds must have come from the treasuries of dragons. The stones in its setting looked as if they were real stars lifted from the sky.

The lady’s brocade train did indeed move slightly while Sephora herself was motionless. Wow, the emeralds lavishly stitched on it resembled the staring eyes of a dragon. Fiona shuddered.

«Let’s do the ritual!» Ornella suggested. «All of us!»

«You mean your brothers and the ones Rokuela forced out of the tomb?» Sephora suddenly became alarmed. «Who is she?»

Her keen eyes noticed Fiona lurking around the corner.

«She is a new companion,» Ornella said quickly.

«Is it a redhead?» Sephora arched her eyebrows in amazement. «You are braver than I thought.»

«Time has changed me,» Ornella agreed and shifted her stern gaze to Fiona. «Rest a little! But don’t think I’m going to let you sit idle forever! The guards will take you back to your chambers.»

«You must not!» Sephora beckoned Fiona to her side. «She should see the ritual if she plans to remain your companion any longer.»

Fiona wanted to run away, but realized that she could not resist the magic lady’s call. She was pulling her against her will, like a puppet tied by invisible threads. Fiona felt herself a living, powerless toy.

Apparently others felt the same in Sephora’s presence. Ornella was displeased, but dared not object. Sephora was the stronger of the two, so she made the rules.