NIGHT by I. Rin (fantasy books to read .TXT) 📖

In Subtle World

 

 

“Well, let’s start, time is precious!” exclaimed Huron.

 

He immediately brought some wood and lit a fire. Then he pulled a sharp dagger out of his belt and began to circle around the fire with it, shouting strange phrases. Soon the sorcerer went into ecstasy and seemed not to notice anything around. He was spinning round and round on the spot and suddenly fell down. Angelica ran to him.

 

“Huron, what happened?” she murmured. “Are you okay?” Suddenly Huron up on one elbow and held the dagger to Lica. “Take it,” he said. “Cut your wrist and lick your own blood. If

 

you are really clean, you will see the unseen!”

 

The girl took the dagger and gently scratched herself on the wrist. The scarlet blood had come out. Angelica licked it with her tongue feeling the salty taste in the mouth. Suddenly she felt dizzy. The girl closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them, couldn’t recognize the surrounding landscape. There were mountains, but they were quite different from those which Lica had seen before.

 

“Wow!” cried the girl. “What is it?”

 

“You’re in the Subtle World,” she heard Huron’s voice. “Look around! You should see some hints that will help you to find the Holy Grail.”

 

Angelica saw over all around. At this moment, something had flashed in front of her.

 

“There!” Lica pointed ahead. “There’s something!” “Come on!” said the sorcerer. He took her hand and said:

 

“I will hold you, and you lead me to the Holy Grail!” Angelica nodded and walked forward. Suddenly she stepped on the path.

 

“I am on the path,” said Lica.

 

“Excellent!” Huron said with optimism. “Walk over it!”

 

The girl went on the path, which began to wind among the rocks. Here and there on the rocks she could see strange signs.

 

“I can see some signs,” Angelica said. “Crosses and em-blems...”

 

“These are the symbols of the Knights Templar. We are on the right path!”

 

Lica was turning left then right but ... suddenly the path ended. “The path has ended up!” the girl said. “What am I going to

 

do next?”

 

“Look around, if there are other signs?”

 

Angelica looked around but did not see anything unusual.

 

“No hints anymore!” she turned to Huron.

 

“Have I been wrong!” exclaimed the sorcerer. “It’s impossible! I have spent years of my life looking for the hidden bowl! Maybe there is some kind of a cave or a hole where you could put a magic bowl?”

 

“No!” she shook her head.

 

And then she saw that the sunlight is falling on the earth in an unusual way, as if through a sieve.

 

“It’s interesting!” she said quietly. “What does it mean?” Lica looked up and saw a huge rock over her head. Oddly enough, but the sunlight was not detained by this rock, it went through, as if the rock was consisted of a billion small holes.

 

“How curious!” surprised the girl.

 

“What, what can you see?” asked her the sorcerer.

 

“I don’t know yet. This rock is quite strange!”

 

“Look closely, maybe the Grail was hidden there?”

 

Angelica pulled her hand out of the sorcerer’s clinging fingers and began to climb to the strange rock. In a moment she was on the edge of the cliff above the abyss.

 

“Look out!” Huron shouted. “You can fall down!”

 

But Lica could not hear him anymore. She began to touch the stone. It was absolutely unharmed, without any holes big or small. Moreover, it seemed round if looked closer. Holding on to the rounded edge, she moved around the stone. In a moment she went on a small ledge and saw a spring flowing from the stone. And then she saw a really fascinating scene. The rock was not a rock! It  was a huge, giant bowl made of solid stone, as if it was embedded into the rock. And the spring was flowing from this bowl.

 

“I can see it!” Angelica cried. “I can see the bowl!” “Where?” exclaimed the sorcerer.

 

After a couple of minutes he was standing next to her and looked at the stone.

 

“Where is the Grail? Is it there on the rock?”

 

“No! The Rock itself is the Holy Grail! We were looking for a small bowl, but in fact the Holy Grail is a giant bowl! The light coming through it - it’s a divine light of Grail! Drink, Huron. This spring is what you are looking for!”

 

“It’s impossible,” the sorcerer whispered.

 

He started muttering magic words, then approached the sacred stream, got some water with his hands and took a few sips. Lica did not understand what happened next. There was some deafening sound, everything was shrouded in mist. And when it cleared, Huron and the girl were standing near the fire, which Huron had lit recently.

 

“What happened?” Angelica surprised. “Where have all been gone?”

 

“The Knights of the Temple put a spell on it. I drank from the holy spring, so the Grail disappeared and now it will be hidden somewhere else!”

 

Indeed, instead of the huge rock there was a hole.

 

Julien ran out into the upland. He was holding a sword, his clothes was torn and soaked with blood.

 

“I do not know what happened with you here,” he said, “but the savages went on the offensive. I cannot hold them back anymore, they are innumerable!”

 

“We must get out of here!” shouted the sorcerer. “Now we have a shorter way to the sea!”

 

And he pointed to the hole in the mountain. They were lucky because as soon as our heroes ran, about twenty wild men appeared on the upland, shouting and hooting, with spears and bows they were ready to attack.

 

“Julien! Save the girl!” Huron shouted. “I’ll hold them!” “But...”

 

“No “buts”!” the sorcerer barked.

 

He pushed the captain and Lica, and turned face to the chasers whispering spells. Suddenly heavy clouds with lightning and thunder appeared in the sky. The wild men afraid of boisterous weather retreated.

 

Julien and Lica went to the shore and rushed towards the boat. The sailors saw them and stood up confusedly, not knowing what to do.

 

“Take the oars!” shouted the captain to them.

 

The sailors immediately sat down getting ready to row. Huron followed Julien and Angelica. When they all were in the boat it sailed away from the shore. Five minutes later, when our heroes were quite far away from the jungle the savages ran to the shore. Threatening with their spears they shouted something angrily.

 

The sun had not been down yet, but the captain, Angelica and the sorcerer already were on the deck of the ship.

 

“I hope your trip wasn’t a bad idea, was it?” Julien asked. “Yeah, it was okay!” Lica smiled. “But how do we go back now?” “It’s easy! Now you are sailing with us, in the port you will

 

change the ship, or wait for us, and we’ll go back together.” “We have little time!” said the sorcerer.

 

“So do we!” the captain grinned.

 

The sails filled with wind and the ship sailed in trouble-free way...

“The Black Patrick”

 

 

In the port, the sailors immediately got into gear discharging delivered crabs. The crabs were so good that the customer arranged one more purchase.

 

“Lucky you!” said smiling Julien, referring to Angelica. “You won’t have to find another ship we are sailing back – for another shipment of crabs!”

 

 “Excellent!” the girl said happily.

 

Two days later, after finishing their work in the port and preparing the ship, the travelers set off back.

 

The first few days everything went like clockwork. The sun was shining; the wind was blowing, filling the sails. Lica used to love standing on the deck and musing upon a distant scene. The captain often made her a company. He told the girl about his adventures at sea.

 

“Julien, can you tell me how you met Huron?” asked Angelica. “Oh! It’s a fascinating story,” said the captain. “At that time my father was the captain of this ship. One day we shipped out, carrying on board some tons of rice. I do not know may be the rice was a bait or not, but a terrible monster rose from the sea depths and put its tentacles around our ship trying to drown it. When the monster failed, it started to drag us back and forth across the sea, trying to overturn the ship. My father was a brave man. He ordered to charge cannons and shot the monster. After the third or fourth try, the sea creature finally got their tentacles out of our ship. Only one last tentacle was holding over the stern. My father armed with a sword and went down the ropes to chop it. He succeeded! However, the sea monster, mad with pain, spat some yellow dirt at my father. Since that day, something strange had been happening to him; his bones became soft, his head stretched, and he was out of breath. I had to put him in a bath with seawater. I didn’t know how to help my father. And then one of the sailors told me about a sorcerer named Huron. I immediately took him to my father. Huron looked at my poor father and concluded that the seawater significantly changed the closest to me person. ‘I’ll heal him, but it is going to take a long time!’ said the sorcerer.

 

I agreed and left my father in at Huron’s. To say the truth, I had no hope. Since that day I have become the captain of this ship and sailed. I had to fulfill my father’s obligations. I was sailing for about six months. Then I went back to Huron. Could you imagine my surprise when I saw my father save and sound! I promised the sorcerer that I would be in debt to the grave. Although my father was healthy, he refused to sail any more. ‘I’ve had just about enough of transformations,’ he said. Since then, he has lived on his own farm and I have continued our family seamanship.”

 

“How interesting!” exclaimed Lica. “Once again, your story has proved that Huron is a real magician. I’m very glad to hear that!” “The ship is on the right of the board!” suddenly shouted the sailor on the mast.

 

Julien looked through his glass. Suddenly his face turned to troublous.

 

“Pirates!” he shouted. “Prepare the cannons immediately!”

“Captain, that is ‘Black Patrick!’” a sailor shouted again. “It’s a problem,” Julien said slowly.

“Why?” asked Angelica.

 

“Dozens of sunken ships and hundreds of people’s lives are under his belt. Meeting him for a merchant ship is the same as a suicide!”

 

“But Huron is with us!” cried the girl. “He can help us!”

“You are right,” the captain nodded.

 

He immediately rushed down to the sorcerer’s cabin. A minute later Huron was on the deck reading spells.

 

“I’m calling the storm!” he said. “Of course, it is dangerous for our ship, but we will be able to avoid the pirates.”

 

He began to cry out to the sky and the wind, and soon the