they destroyed everyone who was close to me! And soon an attack on the king is planned. I, as the last Defender of the Crown, must warn Henry of the impending danger. But I am afraid that my path will not be crowned with success: even the Royal Advisor is among the conspirators!
– What connects you with the Anti-Witch League? – asked the Herald. – You said that you had some kind of unpaid bill to them.
– It’s an old story. They deprived me of my home. And perhaps there is only one road that leads back. But first we must fulfill our duty! Moreover, Ilan said that the last surviving Great Portal to my world is in the House of the Sorcerer.
Eleon suddenly fell into thought, remembering old times and his native places.
***
Skyscrapers. And they had neither beginning nor end. And this endless noise was an echo of the bustle, or the fault lay with the electric cars that scurried back and forth: left and right, forward and backward, up and down. And so the whole day from early morning. But the night gave people long-awaited peace, and even the billboard signs flickered less often.
Eleon was returning home from friends. It’s calmer at night than during the day. But there was not a moment when the city was completely empty: after all, for taxi drivers, night trips are their bread and butter. The guy decided to walk.
He didn’t even notice when eight or nine people surrounded him on all sides.
– Will you give the money yourself, or will you help? – said one of the bandits. The area was not at all criminal, but even here there were vultures.
A blow to the face. But Eleon felt no pain, only anger and strength. Just like that time in childhood, when the guys from the neighboring yard were chasing him. The world has changed, it has become black and white. Everything, even the air, took on the appearance of a sweater woven from white and black threads.
«These lines are the Elements, the primary sources of Light and Darkness,» Ilan told him later.
He felt power over the threads. The night traveler weaved a lasso out of them, invisible to others, and pulled sharply. The one with the ray gun fell to the ground, hitting the weapon’s trigger. The beamer obediently responded with an immediate blast of laser light, wounding one of the vultures. The bandits rushed to help their comrade. Our hero did not wait for the attention of new acquaintances, and ran from the scene. But the vultures woke up from their shock and followed him. Once upon a time, even before the new government, you could go outside without fear at any time of the day. But the number of people grew more and more, and many, in order to survive, took to the streets in search of easy money, and some – the only means of subsistence for one day. This area was not considered unfavorable, but there were also those where the patrol completely lost power, and the most desperate and experienced patrolmen were afraid to go out into the street even during the day in full uniform! And all because of the ubiquitous bandits. They called themselves vultures or wolves; the night had long belonged to them.
Eleon ran another block, but the dogs (which of them are «wolves»? ) slowly began to surround him.
– If I catch you, I’ll kill you!!! – shouts were heard to the right, somewhere nearby.
– He killed Paw! – someone shouted to the left. And try to explain to them that they themselves killed their friend!
And now you can no longer hear extraneous steps. Looks like it came off! He decided to stop just for a couple of minutes to catch his breath. The barrel of a ray gun suddenly appeared from around the corner.
– Do not move! – the vulture said with an ominous grin. «Guys, he’s here,» the «wolf» shouted loudly. The whole gang appeared from different directions. «It looks like this is the end,» our hero thought.
– Hold him, Swift! – said the owner of the rayman in a nasal, smoky voice. The gang leader handed the weapon to Slam. «Shoot if he decides to do something weird,» and he took a folding knife from his pocket. The bandit brought it to the guy’s face and made a shallow cut, and a trickle of blood flowed in a small stream down his cheek.
And again, these threads filled the entire surrounding space, turning the world into a black and white film screen. Eleon weaved a lasso, twisting several lines around the neck of the rayman’s owner, and he soared into the air, but did not fall. He kept clutching his throat, but threads invisible to others continued to strangle the bandit until the last scream escaped his lips, and only then Al allowed him to fall. The ray gun in the hands of the vulture, who, along with others, was watching this strange scene, fired only one shot in the direction of our night hero. But Al grabbed the beam, like one of those threads, and the weapon slipped out of the hands of the offender.
– He is a sorcerer, guys! – Slam. – We need to run! – he shouted, and everyone rushed in all directions.
***
The next day, the door opened and three people in black suits and white shirts entered the room. One of yesterday’s bandits trudged behind them.
– Eleon Stambor?
– Yes. Who you are?
– Now the conversation is not about us at all! Do you use magic?
– I?
«These are the rules, Mr. Stambor,» said the round-faced man in a tuxedo. – I ask questions, you answer. All clear?
– Yes!
– That’s good. Do you use magic?
– No.
– I protest, Mr. Judge! – said the bandit. – I personally saw the opposite yesterday.
– The protest has been accepted. Do you, Mr. Stambor, have the right to use magic in the human world?
– What right?..
– Only answers! I ask questions! – shouted the nervous Judge.
– No.
– Great. The court will not even retire for a meeting. In the name of the Anti-Witchcraft League, endowed with authority by the Master, I declare Eleon Stambor guilty of illegal use of magic. There is only one punishment for this – expulsion from this world. Touch the mirror!
Everything happened too quickly for Al to understand anything. The surface of one of the mirrors in the room suddenly sparkled with white flashes, and an image of distant lands appeared inside. Forest. Endless green trees.
One touch. Flash Light…
It feels like you’re being turned inside out.
***
– That’s how I ended up in Seisil. Later I met Ilan, who began to teach me magical techniques.
«What a strange story,» said the Herald. – I have never heard anything about this country where mechanisms replaced magic!
– Ilan said that I could return home through the royal portal. If he’s still there.
Dorian perked up at these words.
– Is there a way home? And you were silent about it? So, I will walk this path to the end! I have a lot to tell Angel. After all, we parted in silence. I was so angry with her then. But don’t think, I still love my beauty.
He took her photo from his breast pocket. Esmeralda took the portrait from his hands and said:
– Beautiful.
– I think so too.
– What is this? – Esmeralda exclaimed, stopping abruptly. -Did you hear that too?
– What? – the Herald asked.
«The trampling of horses,» said Esmeralda.
«You never know how many travelers you meet on the road,» Dorian remarked.
– No,