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– No no! Mika, don't! – Splinter squeaked, but the thug, whose broken nose was dripping blood directly onto his expensive jacket, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck with one hand and dragged him to the wall of the building.
Bathmore did the same, pulling me back into the gig.
– Where, you fool! Sit! – he hissed.
– But…
– Quiet!
The bully extended his hand, fingers spread, and shouted just one word. The ether tensed, and the next moment lightning struck from the sky, deafening with a dry crack and blinding. I screamed, covering myself with my bag, but even through tightly clenched eyelids I saw lightning strike one after another, all over the street and the walls of the houses!
Above us, the absorber shield hummed strainedly, which by some miracle managed to deploy Batmore. The driver himself, no longer embarrassed, hissed dirty curses through his teeth, interspersing them with prayers to the Mother of All That Is. And it seems that she heard him, because the shield withstood the blow. When it was all over and I risked opening my eyes, the girl was lying on the pavement again. The magical firefly was destroyed when lightning struck the area. The windows went out in the houses whose residents were disturbed by unexpected disputes between the nobility.
At a distance, the PR lantern that had somehow miraculously survived was still shining, and the thin wisps of smoke emanating from the girl’s clothes seemed especially ominous in its greenish light.
–You killed her! Killed! – Splinter was the first to break the reigning silence, but he was forced to shut up with a short blow to the nose.
All participants in the incident looked scared and confused, but did not yet take their eyes off the northern woman’s body lying on the ground. Entertainment turned into a real crime, and Batmore and I turned out to be witnesses, and very soon they will pay attention to us…
“Mika, this time you definitely overdid it…” noticed the rather pale “mom’s little pie.”
“We should get rid of… her quickly,” one of the guys suggested.
I couldn’t make out who it was, but I was amazed by the fact that they were so calmly discussing how to hide the crime!
“Batmore…” I breathed out.
At that moment the girl moved again and tried to get up. The whole company recoiled from her, as if from a dead man who had risen without the participation of a necromancer. The guys looked at each other, and something unkind was reflected in their eyes, and I realized: the game had gone too far. With trembling fingers, I felt in my pocket the artifact given by Grymza and threw the chain around my neck, and then, praying to the goddess that it would work as it should, I jumped out of the gig, and this time Bathmore did not have time to stop me.
– Well, stop! – she barked, trying to speak as low as possible.
My throat was dry from fear, successfully adding the hoarseness that was naturally lacking.
All the magicians frowned at me. Under their heavy, unprincipled gazes, I was at a loss, not knowing how to behave further. The same Splinter came to the rescue.
– Oh no! This is Grymza! We're finished! – he screamed nasally because of his broken nose.
“The artifact worked!” – I mentally exhaled.
The image of the strict director of the boarding school, terrifying both the pupils and the staff, was the first thing that came to my mind. Having made sure that everything worked out, and the hooligans see an elderly, strict woman instead of me, I poised myself, raised my chin higher and, squeezing my lips into a tight line, looked around at the guys with a dissatisfied look, focusing on the leader.
– And from you, Mikael, I didn’t expect this! “I’ll have to have a serious conversation with your father,” she said, carefully copying the mournful intonations of the headmistress and she was surprised at how much like Grymza I managed to do.
The pale brunette, whose whole appearance hinted that he had overdone it with the lightning and was now suffering from magical exhaustion, completely turned red. His eyes flashed lightning. True, this time only figuratively.
“Eshsheri…” He opened his mouth.
– Be silent! – I barked and winced with displeasure, not wanting to enter into controversy. If there's any chatter, I'll be found out right away, so I can't give them that opportunity. – Go away! And pray that the girl survives! – I commanded.
The hooligan really didn’t like what was happening. Maybe they would even risk getting rid of Grymza, who appeared on their way at such an inopportune time, but behind me stood the gloomy Batmore. And three corpses are not two for you anymore! There were too many witnesses to the failed entertainment.
An ordinary candle lit up in one of the windows right above us, and a man looking out asked in a drunken voice:
– … ... What … is … happening here … your … ...?
The meaning of the tirade thickly mixed with obscenities, it seems, did not immediately reach the hooligans, but at least they were distracted. The man was immediately dragged deeper into the room by a woman, whose frightened voice tried to persuade her husband not to interfere. He growled in response, but still retreated from the window.
The number of witnesses to the crime instantly increased to five. And how many other dark windows watched the street secretly?
The criminals also understood this, so they became increasingly gloomy, but did nothing. Taking advantage of the pause, I sat down next to the northern woman.
– Hurry up, get up! – she asked in a whisper, offering the girl her shoulder.
Butmore fussed over and grabbed her by the elbow, trying to lead her to the gig.
– I won’t go anywhere without my things! They stole them! “She was in no hurry to get away from the place of potential death.
– Nobody stole anything from you! Just wanted to joke! Who knew that you were completely bruised! – Mom’s Pie lost his nerves.
He was the first of all to arrive and, grabbing Mikael by the arm, tried to lead him into the alley.
– Return everything safe and sound, otherwise the ruler will know about your trick. I'll take care of it! – I threatened, carefully dragging the northern woman in the opposite direction. – Things should be sent…
I looked expressively at the victim.
“To the Academy of Wind and Storms,” she muttered reluctantly.
– To the Academy of Wind and Storms. Clear? – I echoed. “And if I find out that anything is missing or damaged…” without saying anything, I arched my eyebrow meaningfully.
More precisely, I imagined how Grymza does it. I couldn’t do that well myself.
Mikael hesitated, nodded and finally allowed himself to be led away.
Considering the conversation over, I led the northern woman to the gig. She walked not too willingly and did not take her frowning, promising gaze off the backs of the would-be killers disappearing into a dark alley, but she did not provoke them again. She probably decided that it was better to disperse peacefully this time than to continue the obviously losing confrontation.
Once we were in the wagon, Bathmore breathed more freely. Jumping onto the box, he lashed with the reins, and we were pressed into the seat. The ice fence ahead was broken by the same lightning, and its fragments had already melted considerably. Having released an air wave, the driver scattered the remains, clearing the passage, and drove the horse to the station.
– Thank you, eshsheri. But you shouldn’t have taken such risks at your age,” the northern woman expressed her gratitude ambiguously as we drove around the block.
She sat hunched over and winced from time to time when the gig bounced on potholes. The road closer to the station turned out to be completely broken.
“Eshsheri Blackrock, I will have to report to the Ashsheri director about your prank,” Bathmore suddenly said and unexpectedly added: “But you’ve done well.” I don’t know how it all would have ended otherwise.
“Thank you,” I thanked him for the praise and pulled the pendant from my neck.
His hands were shaking like a never-dry drunk. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and the taste of iron appeared in his mouth. It seems that not everything is so simple with this artifact. A full mask sucked out magic faster than maintaining an air fu
– So, you’re not an old lady! – the northern woman was sincerely surprised.
She even straightened up, but immediately bent over again, wincing in pain.
I smiled welcomingly, looking at my new acquaintance, and answered:
– No. I am just a future adept at the Academy of Wind and Storms. So that's where you're headed?