Heavy breathing with a whistle and wheeze escaped from the bared jaws, poisonous saliva boiled on the teeth... Powerful paws tirelessly dug up the snow, but it was very difficult to run through the deep snowdrifts. Every now and then they fell into the dry, crumbly snow, began to flounder like inexperienced swimmers, for whom the bottom suddenly went out from under their feet, and then the run slowed down. And the prey, light and swift, slid along the thin crust of the snow crust like a writhing black lightning. Snow Devil's enormous fangs snapped with a steely clang in vain anger, his eyes blazed with a mad yellow fire...
The leader himself would have long ago given up on the endless chase, almost immediately realizing that it would be in vain - not the place... However, the Lord's order inexorably drove him forward. It was worth only a little to slow down, as the collar of red leather squeezed his throat with an iron ring, his chest began to burn, multi-colored circles darted before his eyes, his legs buckled... The Lord did not trust the leader, just as Snow Devil himself did not trust the wolves. Only fear can keep one in submission, and the huge wolf did not blame the Lord and growled fiercely at anyone from the pack who dared to lag behind even a little.
The snow, sparkling in the bluish moonlight, flew violently to the sides like two torn brocade panels. When Snow Ghuul, running to the right of the leader, began to stick his head forward, Snow Devil slightly turned his forehead and menacingly bared his fangs, a threatening growl gurgled in his throat. The young wolf wrinkled his nose in response, also showing his teeth, but retreated, not yet risking an open fight with the leader. And it was not the time to find out who should lead the pack in a hot pursuit. The Lord would not forgive if his order was not carried out due to discord.
In the sharp resinous shade of the spreading spruce trees, the white fur coats of the wolves began to glow, and if it weren't for the icy breath that settled in prickly, sparkling needles on the hard pine needles, one might think that a pack of disembodied ghosts was rushing through the night forest. The forest. Snow Devil didn't like it, avoided it as much as he could, and was even afraid of it. In the forest, the wolves lost half of their strength. The damned tenacious branches grabbed their thick fur coats, tugged, stopped them. Small flexible birches got underfoot, preventing them from running. Their thin branches lashed at their muzzles, trying to get into their eyes. And Snow Devil snapped at the trees in impotent rage… And most importantly, there was no wind in the forest. Silence and peace… No whistling blizzard, no whirlwinds of ground blizzards…
Meanwhile, the sable was leaving.
A small black shadow nimbly darted into the tight interweaving of windfalls. Snow Devil, having managed to figure out what this threatened, dug into the ground with all four paws and braked so abruptly that he spun, he almost turned over his head, raising a fountain of snow. Snow Viper rushed straight at the branches, but, thrown back, rolled on the ground, whining pitifully.
Snow Devil howled furiously. A trembling, iridescent howl rose up, rolled through the forest and sank into the thickets without a trace, leaving not even an echo. The wolf listened. Nothing. No answer. And he was used to his voice intertwining with the mournful refrains of the wind, with the whistling rustle of snow rushing over the ground. It was always like that in the Twilight Land. But here, in the cursed forest, it was dark and quiet. The wolf howled again, and the pack, crouching on their tails, echoed him. However, the evil song was powerless, and the wolves began to call for the Lord.
Instead of an answer, the collar squeezed Snow Devil's throat again. He jumped up, shook himself and ran along the rubble with a heavy, even gallop, deftly skirting the sharp roots of the uprooted trees. The leader's instinct had not yet failed him and was leading him correctly. Snow Witch and Snow Viper ran after him, Snow Ghuul, Snow Snake and Snow Venom raced from the other side of the rubble. Sable was surrounded, no matter which side he jumped out from - he could not avoid the sharp fangs of the wolves. Sable had nowhere to go... Now this vile jumble of roots and branches would end, and then...
But suddenly the wolf sensed something strange, some vague disturbance. He moved his head, sniffing, and a green light flared and began to burn in his transparent amber eyes. Someone was walking nearby. People! Prey!
The wolf hesitated. The Master's order had to be carried out, but there were people! People, whom the wolf hated even more fiercely than the forest, because the Master hated people. Snow Devil even whined, so strong was the desire. He was literally torn in two. Only now did he regret that he had gone hunting with only five wolves, and not with the whole pack. Then he could have left someone to guard the sable, but what to do now? Everything was decided when Snow Viper, greedily inhaling air with his flared nostrils, could not stand it and, growling menacingly, rushed in the other direction, towards the people. The leader followed him, gathering the pack with a drawn-out howl. The sable was forgotten for now.
Having forced their way through the dense young spruce forest, the wolves jumped out into a clearing filled with a whitish, murky light and froze, seeing those they were chasing. People in the night forest? This was unusual. And everything unusual is fraught with danger. Weak, clumsy creatures preferred to sit out at night in strong log huts, which were very, very difficult to penetrate, or surrounded themselves with rings of disgusting, biting red fire, making numerous fires. They did this in the vain hope of protecting themselves from the wolves, not imagining what the pack was capable of. Snow Devil licked his lips sweetly, remembering. And these three walked without fear, as if on a city street. One miserable burning brand could not disperse the night darkness, much less stop a wolf.
Snow Devil listened again: would there be a sign from the Lord? The Lord knows everything and sees everything, there is no point in trying to hide anything from him. But he is silent. It means the leader is acting correctly. Snow Devil coughed hoarsely and stepped towards the people, followed by the other five. This was more than enough to cope with the three tired travelers, Snow Devil did not even sing an angry song. What is the point, they are already frozen with fear. The leader smiled, flashing his fangs...
Snow Venom, the youngest and most impatient, and also the stupidest, did not wait until the people's arms and legs were completely paralyzed with fear, and their tongues froze in their mouths. He growled bloodthirstily and rushed at the one walking in front. And then something unexpected happened. A blinding blue lightning flashed towards the wolf, the growl turned into a choking cough, then into an inarticulate gurgle, and the beast with a pierced throat rolled on the ground. This had never happened before...
But wolves are not used to retreating. Snow Witch and Snow Viper rushed at the man at the same time, but again a piercing blue gleam split the night, forcing Snow Devil to close his eyes twice.
But the leader was not afraid. He did not know what the fear of death was. The enemy turned out to be much more dangerous than it seemed at first glance, and now the leader regretted that there were three of them left. Three against three! And most importantly - not a single breath of even the slightest breeze.
Three people stood in a clearing, tightly pressed shoulder to shoulder. In the hands of one of them a colored lightning flashed. It was necessary to finish him off, then the other two would be no more dangerous than hares... Three huge wolves froze in the shadow of huge fir trees, not daring to attack.
Suddenly Snow Devil heard a familiar call. The Lord was ordering him to leave immediately. The wolf growled discontentedly, he did not want the people to mistake this departure for running away. And, responding to his growl, the man with a sparkling blue lightning in his right hand went to meet the wolves. The fire of the lightning cut the eyes and even from a distance scorched much more than the flame of the largest fire. But it did not seem to affect the man.
Snow Devil snorted in displeasure and backed away. The other two retreated as well. The man shouted something triumphant and ran straight at the wolves, raising the lightning above his head. The wolves turned and trotted away slowly. Snow Devil looked back and howled long and loudly. He remembered this man, and wherever they met now, the wolf would immediately recognize him. And the man would regret it.
The Sea King nervously licked his constantly drying lips and, in order to distract himself, twisted his ring. He did not like to be in the throne room of the Ice Palace, he did not like it for many reasons. First of all, because it immediately brought back memories of his own palace, his own throne room, his own throne, decorated with mother-of-pearl and pearls, his former state. He immediately remembered that he was no longer a king, but just some unknown person - a hanger-on at the mercy of the Master of the Mist. At such moments, the Sea King bit his fists until they bled, furiously stamped his shabby shoes, shouted inarticulate curses and waved his arms senselessly. They would meet again! They would definitely meet! Then we would see who would win. He would remember, he would remember everything about the damned princess, the naughty boys... Everyone, everyone, everyone! If not by himself, then with the help of the Master of the Mist... Revenge! The impudent scoundrels will feel the crushing power of black magic on their own skin. And then...
The Sea King squinted like a well-fed cat, anticipating victory. He imagined chained captives, burning cities, the jubilant cries of the victorious army... However, sobering up came. The curious one told many interesting things - an invaluable friend. The only one who remained faithful even in times of adversity. Sees everything, hears everything... More precisely, eavesdrops and spies on everything. So, he said that even in this case, the Sea King will not see the crown as his own ears. The Master of the Mist is not one of those who, having once seized the prey, then lets it go from his claws.
This thought drove the Sea King into a complete frenzy. Everything was lost! The crown was gone, the throne was gone, the Blue Pearl was gone! All that remained was the Golden Talisman and an unquenchable thirst for revenge. The cursed princess! Revenge on her! Revenge!
The high greenish-white walls of the throne room shone faintly, reflecting from within. It seemed that under the thick green glass milky stripes were flowing, carrying tiny greenish sparkles. The Sea King could not decide whether it was the walls themselves that were glowing or whether they were reflecting the phosphorescent fog swirling under the ceiling. Not a single ray of light penetrated through the high narrow lancet windows - the Master of the Mist did not like the sun, and the sky above the Ice Palace was constantly covered with thick gray clouds. And the Sea King did not like this either, because he preferred warmth and sun. And here a cold, piercing draft constantly walked through the halls, whirlwinds of snowflakes rushed about, wisps of whitish fog moved. The king could not get used to the absence of servants: you see, everything appears from an imperceptible mess creeping into the room... Yes, in this palace you can't be sure of anything. Any wall, any staircase, any door can melt away without a trace the next second, turning into a damp spot, disappearing... Fog is everywhere.
Heavy, ringing footsteps were heard, the marble floor creaked under the feet of the one who entered. The Sea King bowed hastily.
- Greetings, General.
The tall, dark figure, shrouded in a translucent black haze, nodded majestically.
— Darkness and fog!
The Sea King smiled tensely. The commander of the Ice Army, Lieutenant Field Marshal Evigezais, inspired even more fear in him than Frozen had once. He was an ordinary Iceman, even if he held the rank of Captain General. And this one… Clad in armor of blued steel, without a single decoration, turning water into ice with his gaze, Evigezais made the king tremble at his very appearance. If only he had… Damned Toril, the king would never have set foot in this terrible place.
- Well, here we are.
The Sea King involuntarily flinched, hearing the quiet, whistling voice of the Master of the Mist behind him. As always, he had appeared completely unnoticed. Just a moment ago he was gone - and now he was sitting on the throne, and guess what he saw and heard... The Ice Star, fixed at the head of the throne, shone with a gloomy bluish light.
The Sea King bowed quickly again, an unusual thing for a king to do.
— We await your word, lord.
Evigesais bowed his head gloomily; it seemed as if a rusty creak was heard.
"I received a message from my faithful wolves," the Master of the Mist began after a short silence. "They are coming. They are coming, no matter what. Behind them is the Great Swamp, behind them is the Pitch Forest. Soon they will come out onto the plain, almost at the border of our domain."
The Sea King's eyes widened.
- What? Your wolves didn't stop them? After all, no mortal can resist the songs of the Snow Wolves!
"Not a single mere mortal," the Master of the Mist clarified angrily.
"But these snot-nosed boys are mere mortals!" cried the Sea King.
"I don't know," the Master of the Mist answered dryly. "For some reason, such a simple boy destroyed your Reverse Mirror and drove you to me. Besides, they have that damned stone girl with them." He hissed like an angry viper. "Who knows what the evil Rainbowmen are capable of. One of my armies has already perished." The Master of the Mist cast a withering glance at the Sea King, who was fidgeting with embarrassment. "And you are to blame for this! I will need time to create a new one, because I want to make it invincible. And it is not so simple. We have sorted through a great many icebergs, but there is desperately little ice silver. We have to mine it in the depths of the blue ice. The mines are too slow. Evigesais!"
Ice responded dully:
— Slaves die too quickly.
- It's none of my business. The Lord's wish must be fulfilled!
The lieutenant field marshal moved slightly.
- It will be done.
"Great one," the Sea King murmured ingratiatingly. "Why should you worry? You'll wipe them out with a single click. Your Snow Wolves alone…"
The Master of the Mist began to slowly swell with anger.
- What do you mean, "worried"? You seem to want to say that my power has been shaken?!" The Sea King froze with fear, but the Master of the Mist apparently did not intend to intimidate him too much, because he continued peacefully: - My wolves... The fool Snow Devil left the whole pack here and went to the Pitch Forest with only five wolves. They were supposed to catch Sablekit for me, damn them! But they ran into these three. There were too few wolves. They are scary in a pack, not alone!
The Sea King said as simply as he could:
- That can't be! They don't have the Golden Torch! After all, the princess didn't go with them! - And he rejoiced. There is a way to deal with you too! We'll remember this, it will come in handy in the future, when we have to divide the spoils.
"Nevertheless…" muttered the Master of the Mist. "I don't know how they managed it, but they've already passed through the mists…" he stopped short. "Some lightning… I don't know."
"You are so great and powerful," the Sea King suddenly realized that he bowed low every time he addressed the Master of the Mist, and he became angry with himself. "You will defeat and destroy them. Your soldiers will simply capture the impudent bastards." He turned to Evigesais. "A dozen ice warriors will be enough."
"He's right," thundered the Field Marshal. "I'll throw them at the foot of your throne!"
The Master of the Fog thought for a moment and then said:
- There is no point in boasting. I have no doubt of my victory. After all, Terkving lies at my feet, and not three youths can shake the walls of the Ice Palace. But how much honor is there in such a victory? I need more. As for them... - He waved his hand contemptuously. - They are not worth paying attention to. The wolves were simply taken aback by the surprise. But you can't underestimate the enemy. Once it ended very badly, and there is a witness to it. - The Sea King turned purple, then turned pale. - Especially since these scoundrels have assistants everywhere.
- What? - the king did not understand.
- What if they come to an agreement with Sobolenok? After all, they managed to find a common language with Crystal Edelweiss. The last thing I need is for Sobolenok's subjects to turn against me. I don't want to destroy them, I don't need lands without servants!
"But, great one," the Sea King objected, sighing with relief, "that will not happen. There is no man with them who knows the language of animals. Where the princess is now, no one knows."
"You think so?" the Master of the Mist asked mockingly.
- Forgive me, great one, I forgot. In any case, Toril is not with them.
"The power of the Black Sword is great," Evigesais added sullenly.
"You may be a field marshal, but you are a fool," the Master of the Mist said coolly. "Do you think that only a sword can be the basis of a treaty?"
"What else?" Evigezais didn't understand.
"Yes, of course," the Master of the Mist said in a strange tone. "However, they will never be together."
The Sea King chuckled wryly.
- Are you sure, great one?
— Yes.
- Why?
- I know.
The king shook his head demonstratively.
And then the Master of the Mist became furious again.
- You don't believe me?
- I doubt.
- This sword is Black. You can't communicate with evil with impunity, you can't use it and still remain pure. Every time you resort to another evil while fighting one, a third evil is inevitably born. Even more terrible than the first two combined. The princess did not understand this and has now become our ally. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. - At these words, the Sea King giggled nastily. - The time will come, and the Black Sword will show itself!
"Have you seen how it will be?!" The Sea King's voice was filled with delight and awe.
The Master of the Fog looked gloomily upwards.
"Look!" insisted the Sea King.
The Master of the Mist slowly turned on his throne and pulled a black granite pedestal towards him, on which stood a three-sided prism on a golden stand. It was stone - one facet of green malachite, the second of blue lapis lazuli, the third of red rhodonite. But this inexpensive thing was guarded much more vigilantly than the palace treasury. Therefore, the Sea King took advantage of any opportunity to get to know it better; after all, he expected to become the master here one day.
"Look ahead?!" the Master of the Mist hissed. "No... Never! First, let's see how they managed to get so far."
He turned the prism with the green side facing him. Mounted on an axis in a golden circle, the prism turned at the first touch. Then the Master of the Mist sharply spun the golden rim. A heavy, menacing ringing sounded, as if someone had struck a giant copper bell. The prism began to glow, at first dimly, then more and more brightly. Green shadows began to run across the throne room. It seemed to the Sea King that the wavy pattern from the stone had moved onto the walls. First the walls began to shake, then the clear lines of the windows began to bend, the hall writhed and trembled, as if in a fever. Again the invisible bell sounded, and the hall melted away…