come back.»
They emerged from the bushes and continued on their way, now more slowly and cautiously, moving parallel to the path but staying in the undergrowth. The forest grew denser, and the slope steeper. Finally, they reached a rocky outcrop that provided a view of the lake and the reserve.
«Look,» Dinara whispered, pointing down.
Three black jeeps stood by Ermek’s house. Flashlight beams darted between the trees – the pursuers continued to search for them.
«We need to keep moving,» said Alexei. «Where is this hunting shelter Ermek mentioned?»
«If I understand correctly, it should be higher up the slope, in the rocks,» Dinara looked around. «There are several grottos carved by wind and rain in the sandstone. Ermek uses them to observe wildlife.»
They continued climbing. The forest gradually thinned, giving way to rocky scree and low shrubs. After half an hour, they reached a rock belt – vertical sandstone walls about ten meters high.
«Now we need to go along the rocks,» said Dinara. «The grotto should be somewhere around here.»
They moved slowly along the base of the cliffs, carefully examining each crack and depression. The moon illuminated the stones, casting peculiar shadows that sometimes took the form of cave entrances, misleading them.
Finally, Dinara stopped before a small opening, almost completely hidden by shrubs.
«I think it’s here,» she parted the branches and peered inside. «Yes, definitely. Help me move the brush aside.»
Together they cleared the entrance and went in. It was a small grotto, spacious enough to accommodate several people. In the back stood a simple wooden bench, and on a stone ledge serving as a shelf lay canned food, matches, and a kerosene lamp.
«There are even supplies,» Alexei said with relief. «Your uncle is well-prepared.»
«Ermek is always ready for the unexpected,» Dinara lit the lamp, and a soft light illuminated the interior of the grotto. «He says that in the mountains, you need to be prepared for anything – from encountering a snow leopard to a sudden blizzard.»
They sat on the bench, resting their backs against the cool stone wall. The tension of the chase gradually subsided, giving way to fatigue.
«What do you think happened to Ermek?» Alexei asked.
«I don’t know,» Dinara shook her head worriedly. «But I believe he’s all right. He’s an experienced and respected man; even Karabaev’s people wouldn’t dare harm him seriously.»
«What should we do next?»
«We’ll wait here for the night. In the morning, we’ll try to reach the village where my grandfather lives. It’s about fifteen kilometers from here.»
Alexei nodded and unconsciously touched the medallion under his shirt. It still felt warm.
«May I see the medallion?» Dinara asked, noticing his gesture.
Alexei removed the chain from his neck and handed her the medallion. She examined it carefully in the lamplight.
«Amazing craftsmanship,» she whispered. «Even today, it would be difficult to create such fine engraving.» She turned the medallion over. «And these symbols… some resemble Syriac script, but others… I can’t decipher them.»
«My grandfather wrote in his diary that he couldn’t fully identify them,» said Alexei. «And he was a specialist in ancient languages.»
Dinara returned the medallion to Alexei.
«Perhaps it’s some kind of cipher or conventional notations, understandable only to initiates.»
Alexei put the chain back on. The medallion seemed to press against his skin with relief, becoming warm again.
«Strange,» he noted. «It’s as if… it’s alive. Always warm.»
Dinara looked at him intently.
«Warm? Are you sure it’s not just your own body heat? Metal usually takes on the temperature of the body.»
«No, this is different.» Alexei shook his head. «It was warm even when I first took it out of the envelope. And… this will sound strange, but sometimes it seems to pulse, as if it has a heartbeat.»
Dinara nodded thoughtfully.
«In our mountains, there are legends about sacred objects possessing their own life force. Some shamans believe that certain stones or metals can ’remember’ a person’s energy or events.» She smiled. «Of course, from a scientific perspective, this sounds fantastical. But here, in these ancient mountains, you sometimes start to believe such stories.»
They fell silent, listening to the sounds outside. The wind rustled in the shrubs; somewhere in the distance, a night bird called. The pursuers, it seemed, couldn’t be heard.
«We need to get some sleep,» said Dinara. «Tomorrow we have a long journey ahead.»
She turned off the lamp, and the grotto plunged into semi-darkness, illuminated only by moonlight filtering through the entrance. They made themselves as comfortable as possible on the narrow bench, pressing against each other for warmth. Nights in the mountains were cool even in summer.
«Thank you for coming to my aid,» Alexei said quietly. «You could have simply refused when I called.»
«I wanted to refuse,» Dinara admitted. «But then I realized this might be my chance to learn the truth. About my grandfather, about the past… about everything.»
«What truth?»
«I don’t know. But all my life, I’ve had the feeling that there’s some secret in our family. Grandfather never spoke of it directly, but sometimes, especially when he thought no one could hear him, he would whisper strange phrases. About light in water, about a key that would open a door… I thought it was just an old man’s muttering. But now…»
She didn’t finish the sentence, but Alexei understood. Now, with the appearance of the medallion, these strange phrases were beginning to make sense.
«We’ll solve this mystery,» he promised. «Together.»
Dinara didn’t answer, but in the darkness, her hand found his and squeezed it. And so they fell asleep – shoulder to shoulder, holding hands, under the protection of ancient rocks that held many secrets.
At some point during the night, Alexei had a strange dream. He stood on the shore of Issyk-Kul, and the water before him glowed from within, as if an enormous fire burned in its depths. From the water emerged the figure of a monk in dark clothing, who extended something shining toward him. Alexei wanted to move closer, but the water around the monk began to bubble and foam, forming a whirlpool. The monk shouted something Alexei couldn’t understand and disappeared into the depths, and with him, the glow vanished as well.
Alexei awoke with a pounding heart. Beside him, Dinara breathed quietly, still holding his hand. Beyond the entrance to the grotto, dawn was breaking – the sky in the east was brightening, taking on a delicate pink hue. A new day was beginning, one that might bring them closer to unraveling the secret of the medallion and what it had protected for centuries.
Chapter 4: The Keeper of Secrets
Twilight descended on the mountain road as Bakyt’s UAZ, having left behind the winding serpentine, entered a small valley. The last rays of the setting sun gilded the peaks of the surrounding mountains, but below, among gardens and low mud-brick houses, shadows were already deepening.
The vehicle bounced over countless potholes on the dirt road, raising clouds of dust from under its wheels. Alexei, who had been leaning tiredly against the door, straightened up when the first houses of the village appeared among the trees.
«My father, Rustam, lives in this village,» said Ermek.
«Does