to keep the branches from stretching lengthwise and creeping further into the castle.
What if that tree is a living dragon? Where’s its head around here, though? Gloria leaned out the window and took a closer look.
«You are curious, mortal!» Someone upstairs muttered.
If it was the same invisible man talking to her, he had already flown to the top of the dragon tree.
His voice was pleasant, yet taunting. Why did the simple word ’mortal’ sound like an insult in his mouth? Is being a mortal humiliating? The invisible man wailed something over her head, as if lamenting the fact that she wasn’t a fairy.
«Who are you?» Gloria dared to ask.
There was silence in response. The invisible man is playing some kind of game with her. Wouldn’t it be better to play charades and make witty conversation? Gloria called out to the invisible man a few more times, but it was still impossible to get him to dialog.
But in the large feast hall there was a conversation ready to turn into an argument. There were aggressive voices coming from there, and one of them was female.
Gloria was surprised. She hadn’t noticed any adult women in the Count’s castle. Even the servants here were mostly made up of men. This could be because the castle owner was wary of female coquetry, because he had already been hurt very badly by it once. It did not escape Gloria’s notice that Angus was extremely sensitive about Amaranta’s disappearance. It was as if he considered himself abandoned. And yet Amaranta was apparently kidnapped by the elves and is still alive. Angus should be angry at those who stole her, not resentful of everyone else.
But the castle master was used to taking out his anger on those who happened to be at hand. In the great hall, crystal tinkled. It looked like Angus had broken a whole set in the heat of the moment.
«I don’t want handouts from the elves!» He shouted.
«Do you want a war?» Some woman asked.
«Yes.»
«Well, it can be organized, but you’ll lose.»
«Try me! What if I find a warrior who can defeat even an elf king?»
«Did they predict that for you?»
«The Sword of Thorns is awake. It seeks its master. I saw it vibrate as if it was eager to fight. Soon the legendary warrior will appear, and your glorious Elves’ kingdom will come to an end. Then you will fly back to me.»
«Or fall into oblivion with them.»
«I want my wife back! Perhaps all you have to do is cut off her wings and she’ll be back to her old self.»
«Don’t be silly! Or this castle will be in ruins by morning. Remember that next to the elves, there’s a kingdom of black fairies. They too can attack on the sly. You remember you stained yourself once with a pact with a black fairy.»
«That pact was canceled a long time ago.»
«But Medea Shai thinks you owe her. She’s coming to collect with blood and souls. And who will help you then, if not us?»
«Don’t bribe!»
Gloria went into the great hall at the sound of the argument. She was so curious that she forgot the invisible man’s warning not to walk around the castle without her sword.
The great hall was clearly preparing for battle. It made more sense to prepare it for dinner. The hunters had brought in the game. A spit was placed over the fireplace.
Gloria found it strange that all the hunters had pale faces, as if they had returned from a funeral rather than a hunt. Probably they had seen something in the forest that frightened them.
«Did you hunt wild boars or pheasants and partridges?» Gloria asked from the doorway, trying to make her tone more cheerful. The atmosphere in the room was very gloomy.
She shouldn’t have asked.
«Is there another girl living here?» A human voice shrieked with excitement from the bag where the game was supposed to be. «How exciting is that? Does Dagda know yet?»
«Throw the sack into the fire!» Angus commanded, but it was too late. The sack was tied tightly, but the clawed paw had torn it from the inside.
Gloria gasped in amazement. There were nine black clawed toes on that foot at once. What kind of animal has nine limbs on its feet? What are the things found in the Ilior’s forests? What a marvel!»
The hunters had obviously been sloppy in their hunting. The game jumped out of the bag alive, grabbed the mace, and began to twist it over her head as if it were a chain. Gloria shrieked. It was a small monster, not a game.
The creature, the size of a large lynx, had six legs, three tails, and a head with branching horns like a demon. And the little freak had the strength of a giant. Many of the knights gathered in the hall were severely injured in half a minute. Some had their fingers chopped off, some had their arms cut off, some had their hands cut off, some had their legs cut off, some even had their heads cut off, which rolled across the floor and fell at Gloria’s feet.
Gloria didn’t have time to bounce aside. The hem of her dress was splattered with blood. The black creature triumphed, easily deflecting the blows of swords and halberds. How had the hunters managed to put this devil in a sack! Now it was free, and pools of blood ran down the floor of the hall.
«I’ll take the girl with me! I know who to give her to…» the devilish creature snorted, smashing the head of the knight who had fallen to the floor with his mace.
The invisible man was right when he advised Gloria to bring her sword. Though what could she do against such an aggressive creature even with a sword? The knights weren’t doing so well. Arrows from crossbows flew at the recent game, but they couldn’t kill it. The creature easily pulled the arrows from its belly and chest and broke the shaft of each one.
«I am stronger and more agile!» The ugly man danced on the dismembered corpses of the knights, waving his mace. He was chanting something that sounded like a spell. His chants made the surviving knights sick. This lasted until Angus intervened. He managed to put a thin ribbon embroidered with some strange signs on the freak, and strangely enough the little monster lost all his giant strength.
«Ah, you are a treacherous magician!» It hissed and tried to twist away.
«We must gut it and put it in the fire!» Angus commanded, who suddenly looked very tired.
Did he really mean to make a meal out of monster game? As luck would have it, Janet appeared behind Gloria.
«There are guests in the castle,» she whispered.
«Don’t look!» Gloria tried to pull her away, but the child was harder to move than a granite statue.
Janet was unexpectedly strong. How do we get her out of here? We can’t let the baby see the gutting of a game, no matter how monstrous. As Gloria pondered, her gaze came upon an open window. There was indeed a woman in a white ball gown standing there, resembling a pale shadow. Could it really be Amaranta? But after all, Amarantha is dead. Or is she not? Was it probably another woman who looked a lot like her? She didn’t even recognize Gloria.
«Why don’t you go back to living with people instead of these creatures?» Angus said to her.
«I’m not going back,» the lady replied quietly, as if the wind rustled in the window.
«Then it will die.»
«That’s not likely. They never die.»
«But they feel pain.»
Who are they talking about? That monster the hunters caught? It was impossible to kill. It was almost impossible to injure it, either. Though Angus had given orders to disembowel it, it was hardly feasible. The knives only glided through the thick hide without scratching it. But the beast laughed, spat fire,