Novel 1. Mercenary Company "Bright Heads". Full novel

— Lady Emilia. — Gritting his teeth, Carlon turned to the little girl, pointed to the rapidly spreading puddles. — Get your chains ready. If the salt washes out...

And it looked like it was going to. The puddles, a mixture of everything liquid that was on the tables, were getting wider and wider, threatening to touch the salt circle. The girl guardsmen huddled together in a group of gleaming silver armor, shielding Christina with their bodies. Each took a sword in her right hand and an amulet in her left. Valria and Dallan drew their blades as if that would do more to help them. Sir Roland — huge, bearded, in black mourning armor — drew an axe from a leather ring on his belt. He muttered:

— When the circle is broken, I'll try to cut through the door. Have the girls cover me and Christina. Then just run from the room.

— Good plan, sir, — the Duchess said softly. — I'll make a correction to it.

Christina stepped forward, spreading her bodyguards apart, and placed her right hand clenched in a fist against her chest. She spoke loudly and clearly:

— I call upon the oath.

For a second or two nothing happened. Then, one step in front of the duchess, the air began to thicken. There was exactly the same column of mist as when the demon appeared, only without the swamp fire inside. The gray blob grew denser, taking on the form of a slender female figure. Colors other than gray appeared. Carlon saw more and more details. Recognizable details. Brown skin. Short black hair. A blue guardsman's uniform. Soft brown thighhigh boots. Silver cuirass with shoulder pads, the same armlets and gauntlets. A blue cloak slung over her shoulders... Finally taking her form, the guardswoman drew a narrow, straight sword from its sheath and saluted the duchess and her companions. Meeting her gaze with the master, she smiled at him. This smile, seen only once before, dispelled the last doubts.

— Lady Jana... — he astonished mage exhaled.

The black-haired girl seemed woven of rare smoke and dense air, her yellow lynx eyes faintly glowing with golden fire. And yet it was, beyond all doubt, Lady Jana. Not just her illusory image — the look in her burning eyes was completely meaningful and familiar.

The girl, woven out of thin air, turned to face the rampaging creatures. She stepped toward the invisible barrier. Raising her left hand, she clenched her thin, silver-clad fingers into a fist. Carlon understood her. Falling to his knees, he slashed the salt line with the edge of his palm. The snapping and grunting of the creatures became a roar, and the disembodied swarm rushed into the breach. Where Lady Jana awaited them. The ghostly blade of a dead guard sliced off the long-fingered paw of the swiftest demon as though it were flesh and blood. The demon shook, staggered backward with a croak. Wasting no time, Jana leaped into the midst of the creatures and whirled there, wielding her sword furiously.

— Roland, Adela, Kaya! — In a truly commander's voice, the Duchess of Elvart shouted. The old knight and the redheaded twins jumped out of the protective circle, which Carlon closed behind them again. Without interruption, Sir Roland ran to the door and brought his axe down upon the flaps. The twins stood behind him, spinning silver chains — several demons, distracted by Lady Jana, rushed toward the men who had left the circle. Just in time. The ghost guard fought the demons equally — but there were twenty of them against one. Only the yellow-eyed girl's lifetime combat skills helped her to withstand the many foes. On her arms and cuirass appeared shimmering white light scars — marks from the touch of otherworldly monsters. Jana retreated, dragging her enemies behind her, but it was clear that in a matter of seconds she would be crushed.

— Ehk... ehk! — Sir Roland, with a grunt, finally broke through the oak sash. With two more blows he smashed the outer bolt, kicked the door open... Crossbows clicked. Three arrows struck the old knight in the chest, piercing the thin black cuirass like a sheet of paper, the fourth hit the lady Adela in the back, entering under the left shoulder pad, two more did not reach their targets. Half a dozen of the earl's servants, waiting in the corridor with crossbows at the ready, hurried to reload their weapons. Not in time. A triple blow to the chest forced Sir Roland to retreat a step back, but the black-bearded knight, coughing up blood, raised his axe above his head and with a full swing dropped it... on the threshold of the refectory, immediately collapsing beside it. The pack of demons that had surrounded Lady Jana suddenly forgot about her, rushing to the door. Lady Kaya, grabbing her wounded sister, jumped aside with her, and the otherworldly horde rushed past them into the corridor. The savage screams of demon-eating servants lasted only half a minute, and then there was a dead silence in the dining hall.

Sir Roland stretched across the threshold, showing no signs of life. The redheaded Lady Kaya was hugging her sister tightly. The others were still standing inside the salt circle, useless because one edge of it had already been washed away by the drinks spilled from the tables. Carlon swallowed, closing his eyes to confirm his hunch. Yes, the outer circle of protection was gone, too. Cutting through the threshold, the old knight let the demons out of the room, and they went in search of easier prey.

Lady Jana silently approached the duchess, again saluting with her sword. She smiled tiredly at Carlon, nodded to him. And then she scattered silver dust, instantly melted into the air...

Chapter 15

Master cautiously looked out the door. The corridor was empty, with only the corpses of the earl's servants lying in a lurch. On the faces of the seemingly unharmed dead there was a grimace of horror — demons don't inflict physical wounds, they drink the very life of a man. The invisible, insensible "glue" that binds the soul to the body.

There was a muffled cry coming from somewhere behind the wall. It seemed that the creatures that had broken free had taken on the other inhabitants of the castle. Carlon shuddered, kneeling hastily beside Sir Roland's body. The old knight no longer needed help, but the mage still searched his neck for a pulse. When he couldn't find it, he leaned over the threshold. He chuckled when he saw the copper band with the magical insignia carved into the metal. So that's how it was. The protective circle was closed not by the doors of the Hall, but by the threshold. To close the magical barrier with the blown shutters would be easy and convenient, but not reliable. Someone had been very thorough in their preparations for the assassination attempt. Unfortunately for them, Sir Roland was clever — not being a mage, he knew what to do, and with his final blow he sliced through the brass band, breaking the barrier. But Carlon was a fool. He could, after all, have seen the line on the threshold when he entered the hall...

Lady Kaya walked past the wizard. She stopped in the middle of the corridor and glanced to the right and to the left, keeping her sword and her amulet at the ready. The mage turned around. A frowning Maria was examining the wound of the other twin. The duchess, accompanied by Lady Emilia and the mercenaries, was pacing toward him. She was clearly about to speak to Carlon, but at that moment something in the castle courtyard crackled and rattled deafeningly. The mage darted toward one of the windows that cut into the wall of the corridor.

— What is it? — Valria asked, standing beside him.

— The gateway is closed, the bars drawn down. — Mater pressed his lips together tightly. — They are raising the bridge.

— And the sentries? — Dallan inquired. She stood on the other side of the mage. It was impossible for the three of them to see through one narrow window, so the mage stepped aside to make room for the girls.

— The doors are locked, so are the entrances to the gatehouses, — the eagle-eyed elf answered for the mage. — Like a siege.

— So we got out of the trap into the trap, — Emilia wrapped the amulet chain around her palm and clenched fist. While Lady Kaya kept a watchful eye on one end of the corridor, the tiny girl watched the other. But no one was in any hurry to finish what they had begun. Creepy shouts came from all directions, which was unnerving, but suggested that the castle's servants were no longer concerned with guests. — Perhaps all of Sir Cyril's men were involved in the conspiracy. To get out of the castle we would have to break through the inner rooms, the courtyard, break into the towers, seize the lifting mechanism, open the gates, raise the bars, lower the bridge... I don't think we can do that. Even if the Earl has only a few servants capable of fighting, all they have to do is lock themselves in the towers. Master, can you use magic to break down the door?

— One or two, if they are not lined with iron. — The mage shook his head. — We have bigger problems now. The castle is surrounded by a moat of flowing water, and its walls are protected by fortress amulets. It's all designed to keep demons and ghosts from entering. But now...

— It won't let them out of here. — Valria whistled softly. — The demons are trapped in the castle, and so are we... Great. A jar full of flies and spiders.

— We'll get the mistress out of here. — The little brown-eyed lady said it as if she was stating a fact. — If we can't open the gate, we'll find a rope and let Christina down from the wall. The escort should be moving, they'll meet her on the other side and help her across... We need to find an unlocked tower or other way to the crest of the wall. The sooner the better.

— On the other hand, I would suggest we take our time, — Valria protested, turning to the Duchess. Carlon saw the violet lights in her eyes, and snorted:

— Thinking up something idiotic, are you?

— On the contrary, I want to be careful, — the girl pretended to take offense. — Carlon, you said demons are afraid of the sun's rays, right?

— Yes. It burns their etheric bodies.

— The donjon has an open area upstairs. — Without taking her eyes off Christine, the elfess pulled up her parade suede gloves, adorned with black embroidery. — The tower is tall; the sun will light up its peak before anything else. And there must be only one entrance to the platform. The assassins must be waiting for us downstairs and in the courtyard. And the demons are where more people are right now. Also downstairs. No one thinks we're going up.

For a few seconds everyone was silent, digesting what they'd heard. Lady Maria and Adela emerged from the trashed dining hall. Maria had stripped her wounded sister of her shoulder pads, removed the arrow, bandaged her pierced shoulder, and now the redheaded girl acted as if nothing had happened. Except for putting the sword in its scabbard and taking the chain of amulet in her healthy hand.

— We'll go up to the upper ground, fortify ourselves there, and wait until morning, — Lady Emilia finally understood the elf's thoughts. — Maybe we can make some sort of connection with the escort behind the wall. And in the daylight we'll go down to the courtyard and deal only with live enemies. Yes, I agree with that plan.

— We'll have to fortify ourselves against demons, too. — Carlon rubbed the bridge of his nose with force. It looked disrespectful in front of the Duchess of Elvart, but the master decided that the extraordinary circumstances excused him. — Your Highness, may I know what we all saw in the hall? The words you spoke there were not a spell, they were just words. But after them the ghost of Lady Jana appeared, in a very clear manifestation. She looked perfectly alive. And she acted... consciously. There are no ghosts in their senses, it is against their very nature. What was that, Your Highness?

— You saw the little secret of all the ruling houses of old Daert, Master. — The Duchess met the mage's gaze, and Carlon barely averted his eyes. — The traditions of the personal guard are very ancient, and the oath of the guard was written in the days when oaths had real power. In fact, the oath is a magical ritual. The guard mixes his blood with that of his suzerain and swears to serve him until his death. Until the death of his lord, not his own. The death of a Guardian does not release him from his oath.

— So... the souls of dead guardsmen cannot enter the Creator's gardens as long as their lord lives? — Carlon was dumbfounded. And apparently so was Valria — she opened her mouth to say something, but at the last moment she changed her mind.

— Of course they can. — Christina the Second suddenly smiled. — No magic can prevent the Creator from summoning a soul to his throne. The Guardian's oath is simply a... a request for reprieve. Usually this request is granted — if the guardian was a worthy man. Jana herself wants to be with me after she dies. And she has been allowed to do so. Any of her sisters would want the same. Doesn't it?

— Yes, — Lady Emilia replied. She didn't even turn around, continuing to watch her end of the corridor.

— Yes, — the other girls in blue and silver echoed her.

— Is she here now? — asked the master. — Jana, I mean.

— She'll be here if we need her.

— And she can protect us from the demons?

— No better than you could see. — Stopping smiling, the duchess sighed. — The oath doesn't grant any special powers in the afterlife. It only allows you to keep your identity and memory intact.

— Then we'll have to manage on our own. — Master put his hand on Valria's shoulder. — Captain, do you smell food?

— The smell from the refectory is overpowering. — The elven girl grinned, wiggling her pointy ears. — But if we step back a bit, I'll lead you to the kitchen, wherever it's hiding.

— Your Highness, captain Valria and I will search for salt to create a barrier on the roof of the donjon, — Carlon told the Duchess. — You and the guardsmen move to the wing passageway in the tower. I'm sure it's locked, but wait for us there anyway. If anything forces you to leave, leave some sign.

— Very well, master, — Christina nodded.

— And here's the other thing. I could use one of those amulets. I have demon countermeasures, but they're... one-time use, so to speak.

— Take mine. — The Lady Maria took a step toward Carlon and placed a silver chain in his palm. She squeezed his fingers lightly with hers before letting go of his hand. Girl smiled only with her eyes. The mage felt the urge to call the girl with him, but he held back. Instead he asked:

— And you yourself...?

— My sisters will not let me offend, — Maria answered seriously, without a smile.

The mage picked up Sir Roland's axe and weighed it in his hand. It was a bit heavy, and the blade had chipped while the knight was chopping at doors, but it was better than a sword. Carlon wasn't much of a swordsman, but he'd always wielded an axe in combat. Valria, too, examined the crossbows scattered across the floor, kicked one with her boot and grimaced. The crossbows were all wall-mounted or siege weapons — not something you could carry for long, especially if you were a delicate, graceful Elf. Fixing the sword's armband, the girl said to her sergeant: