Vadim gentlemen kiss. The Kiss of the Ouroboros read online

© Panov V. Yu., 2017

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Prologue

Green House, headquarters of the Great House of Man

Moscow, Losiny Ostrov, June 25, Saturday, 16.16

“If I understand the basics of modern medicine correctly, we don’t have time to arrange Her Majesty’s tragic death during childbirth,” Vseved said evenly. Very smoothly, despite the fact that a furious hurricane raged inside the priestess of the Green House. - So?

“It will be extraordinarily difficult to do this,” veil Wanda, vice-voivode of the “secret” regiment of the Great House of Man, confirmed with a sigh. “The queen's chambers are carefully guarded by the Daughters of the Crane personally devoted to her, and it will not work to direct the desired spell into the chamber. In addition to the queen and guards, the midwife Zagoska and Vseslava's secretary Fata Yamania are in the chambers. Even the priestesses Parasha and Snezhana have no way to go there.

- Why?

“Because the dust on their dresses can be poisonous,” Wanda smiled thinly. - This has happened before.

“I remember,” agreed the priestess of the All-Knowing after a pause, who also served in the “secret” regiment. And she laughed nervously: - I didn’t expect such foresight from Vseslava ... I didn’t expect at all that she was going to give birth today ...

Because it was on this Saturday that Vseved appointed the conduct of the most subtle and bloody operation to crush the faithful Queen Yarina, the governor of the squad of the Daughters of the Crane, and with her the opposition priestesses Lyubava and Miroslava, who wished to remove Vseslav from the throne. The last Vseved attacked not because of loyalty to the crown, but because she had her own plans for this very crown.

This Saturday, Vseved made the biggest bet of her life, and so far everything has been going perfectly.

As a result of a cunning intrigue, Yarina is accused of killing Lyubava, Miroslava and the barons supporting them and is forced to hide. It will be extremely difficult for her to restore her good name. The command of the squad of the Daughters of the Crane has passed to the faithful Gradislava, who will be able to move those who remain loyal to Vseslava. The fortress of the Sokolniki domain, the main stronghold of forces loyal to the queen, has been destroyed, and the top of the domain has been destroyed. The surviving priestesses are either dumbfounded or support Vseved, and everything turned out that already tomorrow, on Sunday, Vseslav, weakened before childbirth, could be removed from power under a plausible pretext, but ... But childbirth began today, and this circumstance confused Vseved's cards. The priestess understood that as soon as Vseslava appeared in public with a baby in her arms, people would immediately forget the claims that had accumulated against her personally. The queen will return her former influence and begin to restore order. And considering everything that Vseved had managed to do, there was no doubt that restoring order would turn into unscrewing heads that were personally hostile to the queen.

If Vseslava gives birth safely and turns to the Great House, then in order to survive, Vseved and her supporters will have to start civil strife, and without much hope of victory.

Fortunately, veil Wanda understood the current state of affairs and was ready to go to the end.

“Ozhega returned to the palace?” Vseved asked quietly.

The dim-witted warlord of the "secret" regiment, appointed by the Queen solely for her display of loyalty, was the last of the House's leaders to remain uncommunicated. Now Ozhega could help Vseslava a lot, perhaps - save her not only the crown, but also her life, but the young governor was frightened of tough events, she preferred to hide and thus played into the hands of Vseved.

- If Ozhega appears in the palace, immediately bring her to me.

- Will be done.

But don't arrest.

- Understand.

Wanda bowed her head respectfully. And Vseved looked at the blond top of her assistant and sighed heavily, because they had to discuss the most difficult issue of the day.

And the most important.

- As for Queen Vseslava, she needs to arrange puerperal fever as soon as possible, or instead of puerperal fever, or purulent childbirth, whatever! - Vsevedya could not restrain herself, cracked her fingers, but then she came to her senses and finished in a different, almost calm tone: - Do what you want, but Vseslava's issue needs to be resolved.

– How to decide? Wanda raised her eyebrows.

The vice-voivode perfectly understood what the priestess meant, but demanded clarifications. The question before the conspirators was terrible, they talked about a serious crime, and Wanda made it clear that Vseveda would not be able to get by with hints alone.

“We have devoted veils,” the priestess said softly, gazing intently at her assistant. - Chilika and Shadra from the Daughters of the Crane.

“They will do anything,” the vice-voivode narrowed her eyes.

- Summon them.

“They are already here.

All-knowing bit her lip. The performers are ready, it remains to give an order that will either elevate her to the pinnacle of power, or send her to the scaffold. But since the priestess had made her choice a long time ago, she hardly hesitated now. Only a second, because she had to decide the fate of not only the enemies, but also the baby.

The priestess hesitated for a moment before condemning the newly born child to death.

Just a second.

- In these containers - "pseudo-spiders". - All-knowing took out two large green stones from the folds of the dress and put them into Wanda's hand. “Launch them first, so the attack looks like another diversion.” Then enter the royal chambers, and if the “spiders” fail, finish the job yourself. Vseslav must die.

“What should I do if there is a priestess in the chamber?” the Vice Governor asked. Or priestesses?

“I will divert the attention of Snezhana and Parasha,” Vseved promised. - Ruzhena is about to return, and we will have to speak seriously in our Circle.

Wanda nodded, showing that she understood, and clarified:

– My prospects?

“You will become a priestess. - Vsevedda paused and finished: - I swear.

And then he screamed.

Loud. Sharp. Pitifully. Surprised.

He screamed because he could not speak, could not express his feelings in any other way. He screamed, and Yamaniya's heart sank. And even joy...

- Praise to the Sleeper, at last! the midwife shouted.

... and even joy failed to overshadow the forebodings that swept over the veil:

- What about the queen?

“The birth was very difficult,” Zagoska immediately answered. “Her Majesty is still unconscious. And she is very weak.

This means that she is unable to protect herself or the baby. And the outer magic circuit, which reliably closed the royal chambers from the rest of the palace, disappeared. Only the inner one works, not very strong, able to hold out for a minute, maybe two. And part of the guards left: someone under a plausible pretext, someone simply disappeared into the empty corridors of the palace. A palace destined to be a place of execution.

The palace has seen a lot, what's more blood for it?

Even children's...

“Lock yourself in the bedroom, seal the door from the inside, and don’t open it to anyone but me,” Yamaniya ordered harshly, looking point-blank at the midwife.

- That is? Zagoska was confused. All her life she took birth, reached perfection in this art, brought into the world almost half of the subjects of the Green House, but never built a battle lasso.

- Lock yourself in the bedroom! Yamaniya barked and turned to the doors to the corridor.

Behind which were heard ... no, not steps - rustling. A barely perceptible sound made by paws carefully stepping on the walls or ceiling.

“Spiders,” one of the vigilantes said quietly.

And there are only three of them, and it is clear that there will be no help. And it's also clear that it's too late to give up - they won't let you out. And it remains either to die or fight, and then die. There are no other options, only death, but, on the other hand, isn't it, merciless, awaiting all of us? And it can come at any time, especially when you are not expecting it.

“Any state is alive only as long as at least one of its defenders has the concept of “duty,” Yamaniya says loudly. In her right hand, the "Elven Arrow" is born, and in her left hand, a multi-tasking wand appears. Yamaniya is a veil, but everyone knows that she is a weak witch, she has enough strength for one shot, no more, then she will fight with an artifact. “It so happened that our duty is to die here and now. For our Great Home.

“For our Great House,” the combatants answer in unison.

And when the defense falls, and the doors to the corridor disappear in a flash of an explosion of "ball lightning", the enemy is met by a devastating volley of "Elven Arrows". The warriors did not see where they were shooting, but they created such a dense stream of deadly lightning that it was impossible to miss. And they didn't miss. Because of the flash, visibility dropped, but Yamaniya clearly distinguished the hiss with which the red-hot "arrows" pierced the flesh, growl, someone's cry of pain, cheered up, but...

But the next moment, "pseudo-spiders" burst into the room, and a fierce fight ensued.

The artificial flesh of the golems withstood the "Elven arrows", the loss of a pair of limbs or several eyes was also not fatal for the "spiders", but their poisonous saliva and sharp claws posed a considerable danger to the green witches. The golems attacked the warriors from the walls and ceilings, targeted them with poison, forcing them to activate the “shields” impervious to liquids, but most importantly, they distracted them from the doors through which the killers entered the room. Against the orders of the All-Knowing, Wanda did not rely on the "spiders", but ordered to attack under their cover. Shadra and Chilika blew up the door, then took cover, waiting for the return volley, shouted, showing the defenders that the “arrows” hit the target, and when the warriors were distracted by the “spiders”, they attacked swiftly, mercilessly destroying the same as themselves, the Daughters of the Crane, whose only fault was that they remained faithful to the queen.

Blow, another blow, another...

Chilika and Shadra were experienced warriors and easily predicted the behavior of their friends. Chilika and Shadra knew that they would throw "shields" on themselves, and prepared enchanted blades that could easily pass magical protection. Sharp steel mercilessly pierced the defenders who did not have time to come to their senses, and those who turned their attention to the traitors were beaten by "pseudo-spiders".

And the first, of course, fell Yamaniya. Faithful, but too weak Yamaniya. The royal secretary, who did not even have time to put on her "shell", missed a blow to the neck and collapsed to her knees, flooding the room with streams of blood. She dropped her wand, tried to close the wound with her hand, croak a curse at Chilika, but failed - her eyes glazed over, and Yamaniya fell face down under the killer's feet.

Having done everything she could for her queen...

“Sleeper, Sleeper, how do you allow such horror? Why can't you wake up even for a minute? Why?

Old Zagoska, with tears in her eyes, watched the massacre arranged in the next room. I watched through the keyhole as some Daughters of the Crane ruthlessly exterminate others, and I understood: she was next. Zagoska was old, far from politics and war, but not stupid. She knew who the killers were after.

And she also knew that the magical protection she had put up would not last long, so she begged the Sleeper for help, interspersing requests with attacks:

– Please, please, wake up! Don't leave us... How can you have such dreams? Why do you need this cruelty? Sleeping, save at least the baby ... At least him, I beg you ...

And in the next room, the last warrior had already died: she tried to pierce one of the killers, but the “spider” spat poison, and the unfortunate woman screamed from unbearable pain, pressing her hands to her head. But the cry was almost immediately replaced by a death rattle - when the "Crane's Beak" pierced the warrior's heart.

Shadra turned to the bedroom door, tilted her head slightly, quickly performed a magical scan, and said hoarsely:

- Enchanted.

“Not a problem,” Chilika laughed, after which she took an embroidered pillow from the sofa and wiped the bloody blade on it. I will open in three minutes.

"Three minutes!"

It's scary when you know exactly how much you've been given. And it is doubly scary when a real trifle is released, pitiful crumbs, unfortunate three minutes.

Latest…

Zagoska cast a crazy look at the Queen - Vseslav, pale as chalk, with a sharpened nose and sunk eyes, still abolished in unconsciousness, then she looked at the baby, fortunately, he would not cry, otherwise she would have gone crazy with pity, after which she went up to the wardrobe and looked at her reflection in the mirror: an elderly woman, very simple and very simple. Very kind in appearance. Such Zagoska was. And so, it turns out, he will die.

"Three minutes. More precisely, already less ... Call your daughter? Once again to say that I love her ... No, the phone has not been working for a long time ... Write a note? Will find. Try to run? How?"

Seconds melted before our eyes.

“Did the queens not provide a secret passage to the bedroom? Let not for escape - for lovers! After all, not all queens had legal husbands ... And for those who had them, such secret passages are even more necessary ... "

Two minutes.

Zagoska looked around the bedroom feverishly, ran up to the picture on the wall, moved it, tilted it, removed it—nothing. She tried to find a secret button in the armrest of the chair, sobbed loudly, realizing that she had made a mistake again, and jumped aside. She howled, then stopped immediately, forced herself to collect herself, because panic kills faster than a blade, returned to the wardrobe again, flung open the doors, glanced at the things hanging on her shoulders, felt the back wall, and then stared at the mirror. On a large mirror that started at the very floor and rose to the ceiling. The mirror was most like a door, and it remained to be seen how it worked.

If, of course, it works.

Thirty nine seconds.

- Your Majesty! Your Majesty! The midwife rushed over to the queen and with a rude jerk lifted her from the bed. - Have to go.

- Zagoska? – Fortunately, Vseslava managed, albeit uncertainly, staggering, but to stand up, and did not hang on the midwife with a heavy bag. The queen was very, very ill, but she tried to help. “What… what’s going on?”

“We must go, Your Majesty.

Twenty-two seconds.

- You say. With one hand, Zagoska continued to hold the staggering queen, and with the other she managed to catch the baby.

Then she summed up, or rather, dragged Vseslav to the mirror.

Fourteen seconds.

How can the portal be opened?

- Zagoska?

– How to open it?! the midwife screamed in despair. “Open the cursed portal!”

Zagoska both believed and did not believe that she would succeed. But she knew: if she made a mistake, they would not live. And so she screamed. She screamed loudly. And even evil.

- Open the portal, Vseslava!

And the queen's thoughts were confused:

– Portal!

- In the mirror!

- In the mirror…

Seven seconds.

The queen's index finger touches the cold glass and draws an intricate symbol on it.

Four seconds.

Her hand is trembling, Vseslava does not understand what is happening, she has almost no strength, her knees give way, but she manages to complete what she started. Perhaps not understanding what he is doing. Perhaps delirious. Perhaps realizing that he was saving his child.

Vseslav is doing well.

And at the very moment when Chilika rips off the protection from the bedroom, the mirror turns dark green, Zagoska pushes the queen into it and steps on her own, absolutely not knowing where she will be in the next second, but happy that she managed to deceive the killers.

Chapter 1

Office of the company "Unpleasant Feelings"

Moscow, Bolshaya Lubyanka street, June 25, Saturday, 15.51

No one will now say how it happened that one of the main buildings of the Merchant Guild did not have its own name. Either Bijar Khamzi tried to be original, so he didn’t give the huge complex a pretentious name, or he decided that modesty really adorns, but the fact remains that the building known to the entire Secret City was called simply a building, without any additions. But it was located at the very beginning of Bolshaya Lubyanka and was a solid multi-storey building of the old building. Its first ground level was occupied by a supermarket, seemingly ordinary, but the rest of the floors, both upper and lower, underground, were intended exclusively for the inhabitants of the Secret City. Here they traded, made deals, worked, and some even lived, trying once again not to go beyond the house protected by the best spells.

And it was in this building that Cortez, the leader of the best, by all accounts, a team of mercenaries in the Secret City, set up an office. How did it happen? Cortes himself, being a pragmatic and economical person, would have rented a room from such a beetle as Bijar, only if he had agreed to pay extra monthly for advertising, but everything was ruined by Cortes' partner Artem, who urgently needed an office for one intrigue, and he, in his youth, got into the nets set up by a cunning shas. As a result, the mercenaries got several large rooms in the city center on long-term lease, and in order not to pay a huge penalty to an old friend Bijar, Cortez decided to use the office for its intended purpose. Here, the mercenaries received visitors, signed contracts, stored weapons and equipment, sometimes loot, sometimes prisoners, and also periodically used rest rooms as temporary housing, for which they equipped a mini-kitchen and took care of two showers. However, the main room looked exactly like an office: there were desks, sofas and chairs for visitors, a coffee machine was puffing, generously distributing a wonderful aroma, and a printer bought on the occasion was gathering dust. There was a dark filing cabinet in the corner, and bookshelves adorned the walls, among which hung a seventy-inch TV connected to the Secret City network. It turned on infrequently, but today, given what is happening, the TV did not stop in the morning.

“Currently, attention is riveted on the events in the Green House,” said the host of the Tigradkom special issue, not forgetting to build an alarming expression on his big-nosed physiognomy. - The rest of the Great Houses remain silent, none of the ordinary people understand what exactly is going on among the people, but it is quite obvious that we are witnessing an attempt at a palace coup predicted by some analysts. The moment, let's be frank, was well chosen: firstly, Queen Vseslava is due to give birth, and her health, according to rumors coming from the palace, has seriously deteriorated; secondly, there was an incredible and absolutely unexpected for everyone escape from the famous "Mshely cellar" - Ardolo, the murderer of Baron Mecheslav, the golem who hates the Green House, escaped to freedom. And now get ready for urgent and completely impossible news: as our correspondents have just become aware, it is not just anyone who is accused of releasing Ardolo, but Yarina, the governor of the squad of the Daughters of the Crane ...

“Most likely, she was set up,” Artyom muttered, but there was no answer: the big-nosed announcer of the young mercenary did not hear, and his friends were too carried away by the news.

- The displacement of one of the highest hierarchs of Lyudy, moreover, personally devoted to the queen, confirms the version of a palace coup. It is reported from the Green House that Yarina has taken refuge at the base of the squad of the Sokolniki domain, and now we just have to wait for an answer to the most main question: will the green bulldogs be able to determine the winner under the carpet or will a full-fledged civil strife with the participation of the military begin? - The announcer took a dramatic pause, allowing the audience to draw their own conclusions, and finished: - You can learn about how events will develop from our operational inclusions, and the excellent quality of communication is provided by a new package of services from Tigradcom - "Summer Magic", in which ...

Cortez turned off the sound, threw the remote on the table and sighed.

- There is a feeling that the queen will not hold power.

“There is a feeling that she did not retain power at the moment when Ardolo killed Mecheslav,” Artyom clarified sullenly. “As it turned out, the Baron meant too much not only to her, but to the entire Great House.

– Which is surprising for a matriarchy.

- Mecheslav was smart, cunning, and when necessary - cruel. Without him, Vseslav is losing one position after another.

“This is the reverse side of the baron’s strength,” Cortez drawled on reflection. - He formed a circle of great performers, but among them there was not a single leader who could lend a shoulder to the Queen in a time of crisis.

- I guess I agree.

Artyom and Cortez both resembled and did not resemble each other: broad-shouldered, strong, short-haired, they differed only in the color of their hair, eyes and, of course, in age - at one time, Cortez, who had gone through the harsh school of imperial military intelligence, became a mentor for young Artyom both in the world of the Secret City and in teaching the hard work of a mercenary. And now, not surprisingly, they seemed to talk, think, and behave very similarly, distinguished by an enviable calmness and restraint. At the same time, the men were not magicians, and the reputation of the best mercenaries of the magical world of the Earth was earned thanks to intelligence and cunning.

- It is a pity that the power of Vseslava rested only on the baron.

“Maybe you are wrong! – loudly said Inga Volkova, fragile and therefore very young-looking girlfriend of Artyom Golovin.

The men fell silent, turned their heads at the same time and stared at the redhead. But it was not possible to embarrass the impudent girl, she answered the mercenaries with an expressive look and demanded:

- Stop croaking!

“We don’t croak, we discuss,” Artyom tried to object, but was interrupted with lightning speed:

- The word is material!

Unlike men, the redhead was a real witch, she knew what she was talking about, and it was useless to argue with her. However, arguing with her was always useless.

“Okay, okay,” Cortez waved his hand. - Vseslav will cope.

And he swayed in his chair, as if showing that one should not get excited.

“But for this she will have to work hard,” said Jan Mannerheim, the fourth and last member of the team.

Her remark surprised Inga.

- Do you agree with them?

“Not really,” she shook her head. “As a woman, I understand what a terrible situation the queen is in, and I sympathize with her ... But only as a woman. Let's be frank: a well-planned attack is being carried out against Vseslava, she needs to respond harshly, perhaps cruelly, and she is incapable of strong steps and makes one mistake after another. This is not royal behavior.

Cortes silently nodded, showing that he completely agreed with his girlfriend, Artyom repeated the gesture of his partner, Inga, on the other hand, sighed and asked in a barely audible voice:

- No chance?

“To win, Vseslava must perform a miracle,” Mannerheim replied harshly.

“Or she should be helped to create it,” Artyom chuckled.

- By the way: why Chud and Nav remain neutral? the redhead remembered.

– And why should they meddle in the internal affairs of the People?

Isn't it in their interest?

– What is in their interest? Cortez didn't understand.

“The stability of the system,” Inga explained. “The feud in the Green House will hit the entire Secret City.

“It’s not a fact that it will come to civil strife,” Yana said sadly. - The attack on Vseslava is thought out to the smallest detail, so if Santiaga is right and Yarga is really behind the current crisis, there will be no civil strife. Yarga needs strong power in the Green House, not chaos.

“Because the Green House will become a springboard for him to capture the entire Secret City,” Artyom clarified.

“And you talk so calmly about it?” - the redhead was surprised.

- Do you offer to shed a tear from grief?

- Bolvan! - Inga threw at a friend the first thing that turned up under the arm - a sofa cushion. “If the Hidden City attacks the Yarg, we must fight!”

And she fell silent, hearing a short chime - Cortez received a message on the phone.

The mercenary looked at the screen and chuckled.

- Santiago.

- When will it appear? - Yana immediately clarified.

- After a minute.

The mercenaries looked at each other.

“It seems to be important.

– And most likely connected with what we are discussing. Cortez turned off the TV. – We need to decide: are we in the game or not?

The leader hinted that his “trademark” penchant for risky operations had failed, and in order to conclude a contract, he needed to know the opinion of his friends. Find out right now to build a conversation with Santiago, based on the decision.

What is the probability that we will get our heads turned off? – inquired Artem.

“Ninety percent,” Cortez screwed up his eyes. - The greens are in full swing palace coup and no one will stand on ceremony.

“I would help Vseslava,” Inga sighed.

“Pity has brought many to the grave,” Cortez muttered.

- Are you serious?

“Yes,” the mercenary replied firmly. “But note that I am not opposed to your proposal. I just reminded you to approach work with a cool head.

- I understood. Inga sighed. - No pity - I'm just for helping Vseslav.

“I support you,” Yana agreed. - No matter how stupid Vseslava is, she is against Yarga. So you need help.

“I agree,” Artem finished the discussion. “After all, it is indecent to attack a pregnant woman, so I will gladly teach her enemies a lesson in good manners. - I thought and smiled: - Well, or I will spit on their trousers at least ...

Cortez nodded, but before he could sum it up, the door swung open, and an unusually tall brunette in a perfectly tailored suit, white as a wedding dress, in a snow-white shirt and a collector's tie worth a small fortune, stepped into the office. On the way he greeted:

- Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

He sat down in an armchair, immediately riveted everyone's attention to himself, and smiled:

“Sorry, without an invitation, there is very little time.

And carefully looked at the mercenaries with black, deeply sunken eyes.

“Commissioner, we are always glad to see you,” Cortez said politely.

- Thank you.

“Good afternoon,” Yana replied to the greeting.

“If he really is like that,” grumbled Artyom.

“The day will be as we make it,” Nav promised. Everything is in our hands, gentlemen. All in our hands…

The Commissar of the Dark Court was one of the highest hierarchs of the Secret City, deservedly considered the most famous nav of the planet and was responsible for the security of the Great House of Nav. Moreover, Santiaga dealt with security enthusiastically, with fiction and such enthusiasm that the mere mention of his name caused an attack of the most severe allergies in the neighbors in the Secret City. But the subjects of the prince idolized the commissar, feeling behind him, like behind a stone wall.

– I will not hide the fact that we are present at very interesting events, which, perhaps, will be called historical.

- Is a change of power coming in the Green House? Cortez stated.

“I suppose it will happen,” the nav did not hide. - Unfortunately.

"And you won't help the queen?" The redhead almost screamed. She fell silent, realizing that she had got excited, but she did not look away and stared defiantly at the commissioner.

Why should I help her? he asked after a short pause.

- Because you need Vseslav more than Vseved.

- We need someone who can keep the People from civil strife.

“And for this you are ready to give the People to Yarga?”

“Hm ...” Santiaga looked at the ruffled girl for several seconds, realized that she would not back down until she received an answer, smiled and barely perceptibly moved the fingers of her right hand: “Inga, you cannot but understand that the events taking place are an internal affair of the Great House of Man. If Nav or Chud intervene, it will be a big mistake and will be immediately used to destabilize the entire Secret City. There will be tension between the Great Houses, which will most likely end in war. And we definitely don't need a war.

“No need,” Cortez confirmed in a low echo.

“The conspirators have struck, and the queen must prove her right to the throne.

- They took advantage of Vseslava's weakness!

“That's the art of winning: exploiting the enemy's weaknesses to your advantage. Having answered, the nav defiantly turned to the leader of the mercenaries: - Cortes, if you don't mind, I would like to get down to business.

Would you like to propose a contract?

- Not really.

- Not really? Cortez raised his eyebrows.

“I will not hide that our conversation is directly related to the events in the Green House,” Santiaga said slowly. - And I will not hide the fact that very dangerous, unpredictable work lies ahead, but I cannot offer a contract. - A short pause. - Alas.

That is, the commissioner needed the services of mercenaries, but he cannot act as a customer and invites Cortes to work at his own peril and risk. The subtlety was that, according to the Code in force in the Secret City, it was the customer who was responsible for the actions of the mercenaries, and the offended party was supposed to take revenge on him, and not on the performers, who, according to tradition, were considered something like a tool. In other words, by entering into a contract, the commissioner legally intervened in the internal affairs of the Green House.

And he didn't want to do it.

“For me, the opportunity to answer “No” to the question “Are you working for me in this matter” is fundamental for me,” Santiaga continued after a pause.

- What will the job be?

- Don't know.

- Sorry? Cortes thought he misheard.

“This morning, the prince looked into the Navi Mirror and saw that in a certain place, the exact coordinates of which I have, something will happen that the prince decided not to talk about,” Santiaga politely explained. “I only know that the Dark Court has no right to interfere in what is happening, I cannot send a garok to that place, and therefore I immediately thought of you.

In principle, there was nothing unusual in the proposal, except for the huge risk that the intervention in the palace coup promised.

– That is, we must go to the place you indicated… By the way, when?

“Immediately, if we agree,” Nav spread his hands. - When this event will occur is unknown. Will have to wait.

- What? Inga couldn't resist.

- Don't know.

- Fabulous.

- What to do when we wait? Cortez inquired, giving the redhead an expressive look.

“I have no idea,” Santiaga smiled. “But I believe that when something happens that the prince saw or did not see, you will understand how you should act.

- That is, at our discretion?

“If time permits, you can call me,” Nav suggested. But only if time permits. - And then he asked: - Are you taking it?

“You've had stranger contracts too, commissar.

Thanks, Cortez.

- I didn't flatter.

- I know. Santiaga answered in a playful tone, but his black eyes remained cold. - But that's not all, Cortez, I want you to separate. Two should do the job we just talked about, and two will have to go where the Las Vegas will indicate after a while. - And before the mercenaries asked questions, the nav finished: - We need to save Yarina.

Have you decided to help the Greens yet? Inga smiled with relief.

- If Yarina dies, Vseslava will have no chance of holding the throne. The commissar's voice became dry and extremely businesslike. – The Las Vegass continuously scan the Secret City, searching for genetic code. We know for sure that Yarina is now in the fortress of the squad of the Sokolniki domain, but I predict that she will not stay there for a long time. Vseveda is resolute, acts thoughtfully, which means that the fortress will fall and Yarina will be forced to flee. The Las Vegas will figure out the point to which she will build a portal, and transfer you there.

Kiss of Ouroboros

Vadim Yurievich Panov

Secret City #29

Power, love, hate. What else is needed to start a war? On one side of the scale is the royal crown, on the other is the life of loved ones, and the choice is like a blow of a sword: swift and sharp. There is no time ... But the outcome cannot be changed either by force or by prayer, because it is impossible to change what has already happened. The bloody wedding of Queen Vseslava became the prologue to a series of upheavals that affected not only the Green House, but the entire Secret City. And again, the Great Houses cannot do without the help of a close-knit team of human mercenaries - Artyom, Cortez, Inga and Yana.

Vadim Yurievich Panov

Kiss of Ouroboros

- Why?

“Because the dust on their dresses can be poisonous,” Wanda smiled thinly. - This has happened before.

This Saturday, Vseved made the biggest bet of her life, and so far everything has been going perfectly.

If Vseslava gives birth safely and turns to the Great House, then in order to survive, Vseved and her supporters will have to start civil strife, and without much hope of victory.

Fortunately, veil Wanda understood the current state of affairs and was ready to go to the end.

“Ozhega returned to the palace?” Vseved asked quietly.

- If Ozhega appears in the palace, immediately bring her to me.

- Will be done.

But don't arrest.

- Understand.

Wanda bowed her head respectfully. And Vseved looked at the blond top of her assistant and sighed heavily, because they had to discuss the most difficult issue of the day.

And the most important.

– How to decide? Wanda raised her eyebrows.

“We have devoted veils,” the priestess said softly, gazing intently at her assistant. - Chilika and Shadra from the Daughters of the Crane.

“They will do anything,” the vice-voivode narrowed her eyes.

- Summon them.

“They are already here.

The priestess hesitated for a moment before condemning the newly born child to death.

Just a second.

“What should I do if there is a priestess in the chamber?” the Vice Governor asked. Or priestesses?

“I will divert the attention of Snezhana and Parasha,” Vseved promised. - Ruzhena is about to return, and we will have to speak seriously in our Circle.

Wanda nodded, showing that she understood, and clarified:

– My prospects?

“You will become a priestess. - Vsevedda paused and finished: - I swear.

And then he screamed.

Loud. Sharp. Pitifully. Surprised.

He screamed because he could not speak, could not express his feelings in any other way. He screamed, and Yamaniya's heart sank. And even joy...

- Praise to the Sleeper, at last! the midwife shouted.

... and even joy failed to overshadow the forebodings that swept over the veil:

- What about the queen?

“The birth was very difficult,” Zagoska immediately answered. “Her Majesty is still unconscious. And she is very weak.

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disappeared into the empty corridors of the palace. A palace destined to be a place of execution.

The palace has seen a lot, what's more blood for it?

Even children's...

“Lock yourself in the bedroom, seal the door from the inside, and don’t open it to anyone but me,” Yamaniya ordered harshly, looking point-blank at the midwife.

- That is? Zagoska was confused. All her life she took birth, reached perfection in this art, brought into the world almost half of the subjects of the Green House, but never built a battle lasso.

- Lock yourself in the bedroom! Yamaniya barked and turned to the doors to the corridor.

Behind which were heard ... no, not steps - rustling. A barely perceptible sound made by paws carefully stepping on the walls or ceiling.

“Spiders,” one of the vigilantes said quietly.

“For our Great House,” the combatants answer in unison.

But the next moment, "pseudo-spiders" burst into the room, and a fierce fight ensued.

Blow, another blow, another...

Having done everything she could for her queen...

“Sleeper, Sleeper, how do you allow such horror? Why can't you wake up even for a minute? Why?

And she also knew that the magical protection she had put up would not last long, so she begged the Sleeper for help, interspersing requests with attacks:

– Please, please, wake up! Don't leave us... How can you have such dreams? Why do you need this cruelty? Sleeping, save at least the baby ... At least him, I beg you ...

Shadra turned to the bedroom door, tilted her head slightly, quickly performed a magical scan, and said hoarsely:

- Enchanted.

“Not a problem,” Chilika laughed, after which she took an embroidered pillow from the sofa and wiped the bloody blade on it. I will open in three minutes.

"Three minutes!"

It's scary when you know exactly how much you've been given. And it is doubly scary when a real trifle is released, pitiful crumbs, unfortunate three minutes.

Latest…

Seconds melted before our eyes.

Two minutes.

If, of course, it works.

Thirty nine seconds.

- Your Majesty! Your Majesty! The midwife rushed over to the queen and with a rude jerk lifted her from the bed. - Have to go.

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happening?

“We must go, Your Majesty.

Twenty-two seconds.

- You say. With one hand, Zagoska continued to hold the staggering queen, and with the other she managed to catch the baby.

Then she summed up, or rather, dragged Vseslav to the mirror.

Fourteen seconds.

How can the portal be opened?

- Zagoska?

– How to open it?! the midwife screamed in despair. “Open the cursed portal!”

Zagoska both believed and did not believe that she would succeed. But she knew: if she made a mistake, they would not live. And so she screamed. She screamed loudly. And even evil.

- Open the portal, Vseslava!

And the queen's thoughts were confused:

– Portal!

- In the mirror!

- In the mirror…

Seven seconds.

The queen's index finger touches the cold glass and draws an intricate symbol on it.

Four seconds.

Vseslav is doing well.

Office of the company "Unpleasant Feelings"

“Most likely, she was set up,” Artyom muttered, but there was no answer: the big-nosed announcer of the young mercenary did not hear, and his friends were too carried away by the news.

- The displacement of one of the highest hierarchs of Lyudy, moreover, personally devoted to the queen, confirms the version of a palace coup. It is reported from the Green House that Yarina has taken refuge at the base of the squad of the Sokolniki domain, and now we have to wait for an answer to the most important question: will the green bulldogs be able to determine the winner under the carpet or will a full-fledged civil strife with the participation of the military begin? - The announcer took a dramatic pause, allowing the audience to draw their own conclusions, and finished: - You can learn about how events will develop from our operational inclusions, and the excellent quality of communication is provided by a new package of services from Tigradcom - "Summer Magic", in which ...

Cortez turned off the sound, threw the remote on the table and sighed.

- There is a feeling that the queen will not hold power.

– Which is surprising for a matriarchy.

- Mecheslav was smart, cunning, and when necessary - cruel. Without him, Vseslav is losing one position after another.

- I guess I agree.

- It is a pity that the power of Vseslava rested only on the baron.

“Maybe you are wrong! – loudly said Inga Volkova, fragile and therefore very young-looking girlfriend of Artyom Golovin.

The men fell silent, turned their heads at the same time and stared at the redhead. But confuse the daring

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the girl failed, she answered the mercenaries with an expressive look and demanded:

- Stop croaking!

“We don’t croak, we discuss,” Artyom tried to object, but was interrupted with lightning speed:

- The word is material!

Unlike men, the redhead was a real witch, she knew what she was talking about, and it was useless to argue with her. However, arguing with her was always useless.

“Okay, okay,” Cortez waved his hand. - Vseslav will cope.

And he swayed in his chair, as if showing that one should not get excited.

“But for this she will have to work hard,” said Jan Mannerheim, the fourth and last member of the team.

Her remark surprised Inga.

- Do you agree with them?

Cortes silently nodded, showing that he completely agreed with his girlfriend, Artyom repeated the gesture of his partner, Inga, on the other hand, sighed and asked in a barely audible voice:

- No chance?

“To win, Vseslava must perform a miracle,” Mannerheim replied harshly.

“Or she should be helped to create it,” Artyom chuckled.

- By the way: why Chud and Nav remain neutral? the redhead remembered.

– And why should they meddle in the internal affairs of the People?

Isn't it in their interest?

– What is in their interest? Cortez didn't understand.

“The stability of the system,” Inga explained. “The feud in the Green House will hit the entire Secret City.

“Because the Green House will become a springboard for him to capture the entire Secret City,” Artyom clarified.

“And you talk so calmly about it?” - the redhead was surprised.

- Do you offer to shed a tear from grief?

- Bolvan! - Inga threw at a friend the first thing that turned up under the arm - a sofa cushion. “If the Hidden City attacks the Yarg, we must fight!”

And she fell silent, hearing a short chime - Cortez received a message on the phone.

The mercenary looked at the screen and chuckled.

- Santiago.

- When will it appear? - Yana immediately clarified.

- After a minute.

The mercenaries looked at each other.

“It seems to be important.

– And most likely connected with what we are discussing. Cortez turned off the TV. – We need to decide: are we in the game or not?

What is the probability that we will get our heads turned off? – inquired Artem.

“Ninety percent,” Cortez screwed up his eyes. - The greens are in full swing with a palace coup, and no one will stand on ceremony.

“I would help Vseslava,” Inga sighed.

“Pity has brought many to the grave,” Cortez muttered.

- Are you serious?

“Yes,” the mercenary replied firmly. “But note that I am not opposed to your proposal. I just reminded you to approach work with a cool head.

- I understood. Inga sighed. - No pity - I'm just for helping Vseslav.

“I support you,” Yana agreed. - No matter how stupid Vseslava is, she is against Yarga. So you need help.

- Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

He sat down in an armchair, immediately riveted everyone's attention to himself, and smiled:

“Sorry, without an invitation, there is very little time.

And carefully looked at the mercenaries with black, deeply sunken eyes.

“Commissioner, we are always glad to see you,” Cortez said politely.

- Thank you.

“Good afternoon,” Yana replied to the greeting.

“If he really is like that,” grumbled Artyom.

“The day will be as we make it,” Nav promised. Everything is in our hands, gentlemen. All in our hands…

– I will not hide the fact that we are present at very interesting events, which, perhaps, will be called historical.

- Is a change of power coming in the Green House? Cortez stated.

“I suppose it will happen,” the nav did not hide. - Unfortunately.

"And you won't help the queen?" The redhead almost screamed. She fell silent, realizing that she had got excited, but she did not look away and stared defiantly at the commissioner.

Why should I help her? he asked after a short pause.

- Because you need Vseslav more than Vseved.

- We need someone who can keep the People from civil strife.

“And for this you are ready to give the People to Yarga?”

“No need,” Cortez confirmed in a low echo.

“The conspirators have struck, and the queen must prove her right to the throne.

- They took advantage of Vseslava's weakness!

Would you like to propose a contract?

- Not really.

- Not really? Cortez raised his eyebrows.

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it was the customer who was responsible for the actions of the mercenaries, and the offended side was supposed to take revenge on him, and not on the performers, who, according to tradition, were considered something like a tool. In other words, by entering into a contract, the commissioner legally intervened in the internal affairs of the Green House.

And he didn't want to do it.

“For me, the opportunity to answer “No” to the question “Are you working for me in this matter” is fundamental for me,” Santiaga continued after a pause.

- What will the job be?

- Don't know.

- Sorry? Cortes thought he misheard.

In principle, there was nothing unusual in the proposal, except for the huge risk that the intervention in the palace coup promised.

– That is, we must go to the place you indicated… By the way, when?

“Immediately, if we agree,” Nav spread his hands. - When this event will occur is unknown. Will have to wait.

- What? Inga couldn't resist.

- Don't know.

- Fabulous.

- What to do when we wait? Cortez inquired, giving the redhead an expressive look.

“I have no idea,” Santiaga smiled. “But I believe that when something happens that the prince saw or did not see, you will understand how you should act.

- That is, at our discretion?

“If time permits, you can call me,” Nav suggested. But only if time permits. - And then he asked: - Are you taking it?

“You've had stranger contracts too, commissar.

Thanks, Cortez.

- I didn't flatter.

Have you decided to help the Greens yet? Inga smiled with relief.

- If Yarina dies, Vseslava will have no chance of holding the throne. The commissar's voice became dry and extremely businesslike. “The Las Vegass are constantly scanning the Secret City, searching for the genetic code. We know for sure that Yarina is now in the fortress of the squad of the Sokolniki domain, but I predict that she will not stay there for a long time. Vseveda is resolute, acts thoughtfully, which means that the fortress will fall and Yarina will be forced to flee. The Las Vegas will figure out the point to which she will build a portal, and transfer you there.

“You do understand that we may have to fight the Greens, don’t you?” Mannerheim asked calmly.

“Yarina needs to be saved,” Santiaga repeated. - It is important.

- It's clear.

Yana was not particularly afraid of a fight with the sorceresses People: she was a Hyperborean witch, the incarnation of one of the concubines of Azag-Toth, and in terms of magical power she stood as high as the commissar himself and the priestesses of the Green House. There were very few magicians in the Secret City who could stand up to Yana in open combat, and she asked the question to understand how far Santiaga was willing to go.

More precisely, how far he intends to send the mercenaries.

“In the Great House of Man, there is a fierce struggle for power, but at the moment it is being waged by civilized, so to speak, methods,” said the nav, looking around at the interlocutors in turn. - What I mean? The charges brought against Yarina must be confirmed by the court, but Vseveda does not need a trial over the governor of the Daughters of the Crane, so she will not send hunters, but killers for Yarina. This is the only correct move in her circumstances, but at the same time, Vseved will not be able to make official claims to those who will stop the killers. Santiaga smiled thinly and looked at Cortez. - The same applies to the case of Vseslava. The Omniscient will operate secretly and outside the law, which means you can use any means to protect the queen.

“But if the All-Knower wins, she will do her best to grind us to powder,” Cortez said softly. - She's vindictive.

“Let's make sure she doesn't win,” Nav suggested. And immediately continued: - And now about the good. Under the circumstances, I will triple your already incredibly high fee and, as always, guarantee an unlimited amount for expenses. - He laid out four black Tigradkom cards on the table. He paused, added a dozen identical rings to them and explained: - "Rings of elusiveness."

- Wow! Artem couldn't resist.

“Very generous,” Cortez supported his partner. Thanks, commissioner.

“Activate them at the beginning of the operation and do not remove them,” Nav ordered. I hope they help you.

- No doubt.

"Rings of elusiveness" were called super-difficult to manufacture and incredibly expensive to use artifacts that protect the owners from the magical search for the genetic code. In the normal case, the inhabitants of the Hidden City preferred to hide with the overlay of "Bee Swarm", which gives a huge number of responses, in which even the supercomputers of the Great Houses were lost, but this disguise could be removed mathematical methods or total check. Unlike the “swarm”, the “rings” did not give false targets, but simply blocked the response, making the owners invisible to the search. The activated "Rings of Elusiveness" consumed a gigantic amount of magical energy, since they hid not only their owners, but also themselves, not allowing them to see the working artifact, but they guaranteed one hundred percent protection.

“Give it back at the end of the operation,” Santiaga finished and rose to his feet. - All the best.

- With your permission, Commissioner, one more question. Cortez got up too. How much can we trust Airba?

- Why do you ask?

“He chose us as friends and constantly gets in the way,” the mercenary answered in the tone of Santiague. “Until now, this circumstance has not bothered me, but given the complexity of the upcoming task, I must decide whether to leave him around or get off.

“I understand,” the commissar nodded. He thought for a moment and answered: - Let's agree this way: if Captain Aerba expresses a desire to accompany you, do not resist.

- How dangerous is he?

- Rather helpful.

- Are you sure?

- Well ... - Santiaga rarely hesitated, but now such a case has come. “Let's put it this way, Cortez: I know that Captain Airb is Yarga's enemy. And that's enough for now.

Can I turn my back on him?

- Yes. If Captain Airb is who I think he is, then you can - he will never sneak up on you.

What if he's not who you think he is? Artyom chuckled.

“In this case, you can easily kill Airba before he intends to hit,” Santiaga smiled back. - I give you my word.

- Here? Artyom asked, looking around.

“According to the navigator, it’s here,” Cortez confirmed. “I double-checked and I'm sure we're at the indicated point.

– In an open field?

- Not just in the field, but on

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shore of a beautiful lake,” Aerba smiled.

“This is a reservoir,” Cortez corrected the romantic captain.

- What's the difference, Orthodox brother? Serb was surprised. - We are in an open field, on the banks of a beautiful reservoir ... What could be better?

“It’s strange that a cottage settlement hasn’t been built here yet,” Artyom remarked bitterly.

“Be quiet, otherwise you’ll croak,” Cortez snapped at him.

- What are you talking about today! The young mercenary threw up his hands. - Inga says that I'm croaking, now you ... Do I have an evil eye?

“I didn’t notice,” Cortez answered honestly.

- That's all. Artyom turned away and slowly walked away from the SUV, showing with his whole appearance that he was offended, but he would definitely try to pull himself together.

Cortez put away his phone, with which he checked the accuracy of the navigator installed in the car, yawned, put his hands behind his head and stared at the flat surface of the reservoir. Aerba looked first at one mercenary, then at another, realized that they were not in the mood to chat, hesitated and asked:

– Nice little place, Orthodox brothers, but what are we doing here?

The captain joined Artyom and Cortes just before leaving, appeared when the mercenaries were already getting into the car, shouted: “I'm with you!” and barely had time to plop down into the back seat before the Navigator fell through the cargo portal. Then the mercenaries asked him not to distract him, because they needed to focus on establishing the necessary coordinates, then they drove a couple of hundred yards across the field, because Artyom had pointed the portal with an error and they had a short but very emotional dialogue with Cortez, and only now, when the point was finally determined, did Aerba take an interest in the case that brought them to the Moscow region.

– What are we doing here?

And he received such an accurate answer from Cortes, as if he had been cut out with a laser:

“So you can’t swim?”

The mercenary barely perceptibly twitched his shoulder, glanced at the hot summer sun, sighed and shook his head negatively:

Swimming would be nice, but...

“It won’t work, I understand,” Aerba interrupted him and continued cheerfully: “But this is nonsense, I’ve bought enough in my life ... I told you that I was a captain, didn’t I?”

- Did you tell? - the Serb was immediately surprised. “Strange, it seems that I trust you.

“Sometimes it seems that you trust us more than yourself,” Cortez chuckled.

– This is because I am talkative with those who I like, Orthodox brother. Let's call Artyom, and I'll tell you again about the seas in which I had a chance to swim.

“I’m afraid he’ll finally go berserk.”

Sometimes the captain's garrulousness turned into violent volubility, and he began to look like a wasp.

– Did it seem to me or do you really want to offend me, Orthodox brother? Airba frowned.

- It was a joke.

- I thought so!

Captain Werbo Airba could be summed up in one word: huge. Tall, almost seven feet, but not slender and elegant like Santiaga, but powerful, wide, radiating strength and pressure, Aerba looked like a giant, and given his noisy demeanor, then like an unbridled giant. The captain spoke loudly, laughed loudly, could not help attracting the attention of those around him and liked to repeat that “We must live like it’s the last time!”, adding: “Especially since this is true.”

In the Secret City, Aerba was represented by Evstafiy Drozdbezhkovsky, a Serb by origin and way of thinking, using the address “Orthodox brother” in place and out of place, however, both the mercenaries and Santiaga knew that the big man had nothing to do with the Balkan country. Fake documents were built for him in the Order in gratitude for the service rendered in the warm southern seas, and who Huerbo really was, apparently, only Santiaga guessed.

- So how is the wait? Artyom, who had walked across the field, inquired sourly. - It turns out?

“So far so good,” Cortez chuckled. - Water?

- Thank you.

The mercenary took the proffered bottle and took a couple of long sips.

“Have you heard what’s going on in the Green House?” - jumped to new topic Airba. - Terrible, huh?

"Yeah," Cortez nodded. Never has, and here it is again.

Are you saying you weren't surprised by what happened? the captain asked.

– I want to say that this is not the first palace coup in the history of the Great Houses and specifically in the history of the Great House of Man.

- Well, in our memory the first.

- If you live a little longer, there will be a second one.

- Sure?

- For sure.

“You calmed me down,” the Serb laughed. – And then I began to think: as soon as I appeared in the Secret City, how everything here went topsy-turvy. I hope, Orthodox brothers, you do not accuse me of anything?

- Who is blaming you? Cortez was worried.

I just asked, just in case. People are different after all. If you were more suspicious or superstitious, you might think that I bring misfortune.

“In-in,” Artem supported the captain. - Do you also constantly say: “Be quiet, otherwise you will croak”?

Do you bring misfortune? Cortez asked.

“Only to those who don’t love me,” Aerba immediately clarified. – And it is not I who bring misfortune, but their reflected hatred falls on my enemies. Here I act as a mirror: I reflect aggression, remaining spiritually pure and calm ... What do you know about spiritual purity, Orthodox brothers?

“A little,” Artyom didn’t lie.

"That's bad," the Serb remarked sternly. But he didn’t delve into the topic and continued: “Well, for those who don’t love me not out of resentment and hatred arising from it, but just like that, for example, for money, I bring misfortune to those who do not have any mysticism. It happens, I kill, not without it ...

What about spiritual purity?

“I sleep well, if that’s what you mean.”

Cortez burst out laughing, and then slapped his forehead and pulled out a ring from his pocket:

- Put it on.

- What is this? Airba inquired, eyeing the artifact suspiciously.

- "Ring of elusiveness".

“I don’t scatter genetic material, so they won’t look for me. And no one knows that I'm with you.

“Put it on,” the mercenary repeated curtly. - Everyone will be calmer.

It was clear that Cortes was not going to retreat, and the captain decided not to argue:

- Fine. - He took the ring and with difficulty screwed it on the little finger. - This is a gift?

“I was dreaming,” the mercenary chuckled. “Come back when it's over.

- What will end?

- Operation…

- By the way! Airba came to his senses. You still haven't said what we're going to do!

- Quiet! – While Cortez was persuading Werbo to put on the “Ring”, Artem took out his phone, wanting to check the news channel, and immediately stumbled upon the special issue. - Listen!

And turned up the volume.

“Our correspondents have just reported that a terrorist act has been committed in the palace,” the announcer said almost quickly. “The details are unknown, there is no official confirmation from the press service of the Green House, but… One second…” The announcer put his hand to his left ear, shook his head, as if not believing what he had heard, and said quietly: “Two more of our reporters report that a battle is going on in the queen’s chambers… There are dead… Who attacked is unknown… Vsevedya runs to help Her Majesty… There is information about the use of battle golems…”

- Get ready! Cortez clapped his hands

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attracting the attention of satellites. - Artem, march behind the wheel. Start your car and be ready.

– Airba! Weapon for battle.

- Eat. The captain unbuttoned his holster, in which his beloved Colt 1911 was waiting in the wings, and grinned: - You knew that this would happen, Orthodox brother.

“I guessed,” said Cortez. “Besides, nothing has happened yet.

– What should happen? Why are we here?

“I still don't know.

“But guess what?

Cortez turned around, looked the Serb in the eye, paused, and answered quietly:

– Yes, I guess.

And the next moment, a few yards to the left, a green whirlwind of a portal swirled.

- We have guests. Werbo raised his gun and aimed it at the whirlwind.

“These are not enemies! Cortes rushed to the women who had fallen out of the magical passage. “But if another green portal appears, shoot without warning.

And at the same time as his answer, the SUV engine roared: Artem directed the car towards the guests.

Near which already stood Cortez.

- Queen!

- Queen? Airba repeated in astonishment. And he opened his mouth, completely forgetting about the order to be on the alert. - Queen?

Indeed, she is. But at the same time, it is completely different from itself. The magnificent Vseslava, considered the most beautiful woman of the Secret City, the standard of elegance and sexuality, appeared before the mercenaries disheveled, pale to transparency, with terrible circles under her eyes, sunken cheeks, colorless lips and completely exhausted. Coming out of the portal, she could not stay on her feet, sank to the ground and now barely sat, trembling and panting.

“Your Majesty…

- Don't come! - Vseslava's companion sobbed - an elderly person in a simple dress. Short, plump, with a round face and a bulbous nose. Either she did not own magic, or she was completely devastated, but she decided to defend herself not with a spell or an artifact, but with a paper knife, ineptly directing it at the mercenaries. - Don't come!

She held a knife in her right hand, and with her left she pressed a child wrapped in a lace diaper to her.

“God Almighty,” Airba whispered, lowering his weapon. The queen has given birth.

- Don't come! - Tears rolled from the eyes of an elderly woman, but she was determined to protect Vseslava to the last drop of blood.

“It's all right, we're friends,” Cortez said very softly. - We'll help.

- Is it true?

- I swear.

Luda sobbed, dropped the knife and pressed the baby to her with both hands. Either she believed, or she realized that she would not be able to resist three armed men.

- What about the queen? Cortez inquired businesslike, sitting down next to Vseslava.

– I don’t know… She lost a lot of strength during childbirth. I tried to call the doctors, but the fight began ... Oh!

The queen rolled over slowly.

- Lost consciousness. - Cortes easily, like a feather, lifted Vseslav in his arms. - Everyone in the car.

- Certainly.

Airba opened the door, then helped an old woman with a child into the Navigator, after which Artyom pressed the accelerator. The off-road vehicle rushed across the field, and while the young mercenary set the coordinates for the next transition on the artifact of the portal, the voice of the announcer suddenly sounded loudly in the silence of the cabin, ending the short summary of the special issue:

- ...according to unconfirmed reports, as a result of a terrorist act, Queen Vseslava died.

Airba sighed, Cortez clicked his tongue, and the elderly burst into tears.

Only the child remained calm. It seems he fell asleep.

Being ready to fight for a long time is much more difficult than it seems from the outside. To be honest, it is impossible, and most importantly, no one needs it. What is the point of keeping yourself in suspense, waiting for the signal to attack at any second? Who needs senseless suffering that can only exhaust a fighter? The correct answer is nobody. In any case, Cortez thought so, and therefore introduced a rule in the team to put thoughts of the upcoming operation out of their heads and remain calm until its very beginning. True to this rule, Inga and Yana did not twitch in anticipation of the command, but settled down in armchairs and quietly carried on a leisurely, smoothly flowing conversation. And if there was a table with a tea set in front of them, the girls would look like old friends who gathered to gossip over a cup of aromatic drink.

But there was no table. And the girls' attire did not suit the gossiping summer residents in any way: black overalls, combat belts, included headsets and the most comfortable boots. The girls did not know how difficult the operation would be, so next to each lay a small backpack with additional equipment, allowing them to operate offline for at least three days.

And at the same time - absolutely relaxed postures and calm voices.

– Do you think that the crisis was inspired by Vseved? Inga asked, absently drawing her finger along the soft arm of the chair.

“If the customer is unknown, look for someone who benefits,” Yana shrugged her shoulders. “This truth is as old as there are sentient beings in the universe, and it has never failed.

“In the meantime, we can conclude that Vseved gets the most,” the redhead drawled thoughtfully.

- Exactly.

- It is even strange that none of the people paid attention to such a dizzying career.

“Because her rise took place, albeit rapidly, but in stages, it was brilliantly thought out,” Yana explained. - Remember: Vseslava herself raised Vseved to the top, overnight making a modest veil a priestess of Kuzminka's domain.

- And received a black ingratitude in response.

- You can say so, - after thinking, Yana agreed. - But the one who developed the rise of Vsevedy perfectly understood the character of Vseslava. Vseveda did not make a single mistake and deservedly won.

- How can you say that? Inga winced.

“As it is,” Yana sighed. - I would say that the plan for the rise of the Vsevedy is worthy of the pen of Azag-Tot, but I think that it was developed by an even more sophisticated intriguer.

“Or a real monster,” the redhead shuddered.

“Or so,” Yana agreed in a barely audible voice, since she understood monsters, perhaps even better than Santiagi himself.

Now, when they were waiting for the signal to attack, Mannerheim threw off her usual haze and assumed the usual appearance of a Hyperborean witch: a bald head, on which there was not even a hint of hair, a black tattoo on it - the sinister signature of Azag-Toth, and Kadaf's golden eyes - devoid of proteins, pupils, and iris. Yana was not embarrassed by her true appearance, but, knowing how painfully he acts on others, she rarely threw off the haze, in which she seemed to be the way she looked before rebirth, a beautiful blue-eyed brunette.

“Tell me, did it also seem to you that Santiaga…” Inga stammered, remembering that they were wearing the included headsets for communication with the Las Vegas, but, after thinking, she continued: “Do you also think that Santiaga deliberately did not help Vseslava to keep power?”

“It didn’t seem to me,” the Hyperborean witch calmly replied. - I'm sure.

- That is, Santiaga gave Vseslav Yarga?

– I think the commissar is playing a beautiful green gambit.

- But why?

- Let's try to imagine what will happen next? - After a pause, Yana suggested. - Let's say that the All-Knowing wins, becomes the Protector of the Throne, and then -

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rightful queen. And at the same time, as we know, she is Yarga's henchman. What will be the next move of the first prince?

“Yarga will bring down Franz de Geer, the Grand Master of the Order,” Inga answered confidently. - It is obvious.

- But how? Mannerheim quickly asked. - The example of Vseslava is before our eyes, and it is quite indicative, so Franz will be extremely careful. And very cruel. He will not make a single mistake from those that almost sent Vseslav into oblivion ...

“Franz is in big trouble because of Vincent Sharguet,” the redhead pointed out.

“This is nonsense, not problems,” Yana waved him off. “De Geer will deal with Sharge. And in order to bring him down, Yarga will have to personally appear in the Secret City.

- Because the next attack will be fast, one might say - lightning, but most importantly - double. The Yarga will not only sweep away the current leadership of the Order, but will immediately strike at the Dark Court. Definitely hit. Santiaga understands this and waits. And in order for Yarga to think that everything was developing as he planned, the commissar gave him Vseslav.

- Cruel.

Not cruel, but risky. If the first prince guesses that a trap is being prepared for him, he will come up with an additional dirty trick, and then Santiaga will collapse. And with it, the whole Secret City, - Yana said harshly. – There is a lot at stake, and therefore, at the beginning of the gambit, the commissar gave Yarga a large piece.

“I meant: cruel to Vseslav,” the redhead quietly clarified. - I feel sorry for her.

- I understood you. Yana sighed. - And you think about this: Queen Vseslav is not a little girl, and Santiaga is not her dad. He is not obliged to wipe her snot and make sure that she does not scratch her knees. If the Dark Court had helped Vseslava, Yarga's servants would have accused the navs of interfering in internal affairs and, possibly, started a war of the Great Houses. At the same time, Yarga would have retained the initiative, and the commissar would not have been able to lure the first prince into a trap.

- Santiaga saves Nav? The redhead smiled wryly.

“Santiaga saves the Secret City,” Yana snapped.

And in the next moment, a black whirlwind spun in the center of the room, the headsets came to life, and the girls heard the voice of Dominga, a nava-soothsayer from a pair of personal analysts of the Commissioner of the Dark Court - the famous Las Vegas.

- Inga! Yana! It's up to you.

– We understood.

"Then why are you sitting there?"

“Look after yourself,” the redhead hissed, hastily tossing her backpack behind her back.

- Don't forget your weapons.

We'll figure it out without you!

Another step - and the girls stopped at the portal. They slowed down for a moment, looking at each other and as if checking the equipment, after which Inga smiled:

"I wonder where we'll be?"

- Who cares?

“Perhaps you are right.

And they stepped into the whirlwind.

And then they rolled on the ground, because the exit from the portal was about a foot above the surface.

“Sorry, we were in a hurry and made a little mistake with the vertical guidance,” Dominga whispered into the headset. – What is going on with you?

- Where are we? Yana asked, looking at the trees and people walking along the paths.

Fortunately, the clearing, to which the portal led the girls, was not of interest to the people.

“Izmailovsky Park,” the Las Vegas answered curtly. - As you understand, I brought confusion to the entire site, making you invisible ...

- Yarina! - Yana saw people frozen in a daze and hurried to her. - Yarina!

– Yana? - The governor, apparently, has not yet recovered from the fight in the fortress of the "Falcons" - she was visibly trembling and was a little slowed down.

- You're not hurt?

- Don't come! Yarina came to her senses and took a step back. - Stay where you are!

“You can’t stay here,” the Hyperborean witch said loudly and distinctly. - Need to leave.

“Here, get out.”

The warlord of the Daughters of the Crane was a small, frail woman who looked like a blond sparrow, but the mercenaries knew how dangerous this “sparrow” was in direct combat. Yarina was an experienced battle mage, however, now she was not at ease.

“I think the green one is broken,” Dominga muttered.

"I'm a psychiatrist too!" Inga snorted. - Don't stop working!

“You don’t seem to be particularly stressed.

- I'm in reserve.

The redhead was absolutely right: Yana completely took over the conversation, managed to attract the attention of Yarina, and she should not have interfered.

“You have little energy left,” the Hyperborean witch reminded, not approaching the governor.

- None of your business.

The next fight will be your last.

"Why are you taking care of me?" How did you even get here?

– Just like the killers following your trail will be here: I figured out the portal from the fortress. – Yana withstood a tiny pause. "Why didn't you use 'triple jump'?"

“Because you're right and I'm almost empty,” Yarina sighed. She looked around: “Where are we?”

- Izmailovsky park.

The furious surge turned out to be just a surge, and Yarina's thoughts returned to the battle that had just ended. And these thoughts brought unbearable bitterness.

“We have to leave,” Dominga said quietly. “I predict a green portal within the next twenty seconds.

“They are following you,” Yana said. - You have to jump.

“They couldn’t figure me out so quickly,” the green one shook her blond head.

“The All-Knower controls both the “secret” regiment and the squad of the Daughters of the Crane, which means the Operations Center,” Mannerheim answered harshly. - You are accused of a serious crime, Yarina, they will chase you until they catch you.

In that case, run away.

- I can not.

- Why?

- You will be killed.

- Do you care?

“If you die, Vseslava will not have a single defender left,” Yana answered.

And it seems to hit the mark.

- Vseslav ... - Yarina sighed heavily. She will be killed next.

- Exactly. Mannerheim took a step to the side. - Therefore, you have no right to become limp, governor, get together! And put this on!

She pulled a black ring on her sparrow finger.

- What is this?

- "Ring of elusiveness".

Isn't all lost yet? whispered the green one.

“You are alive,” Yana answered. - So, not all.

“Portal…” whispered Dominga. “And don’t say later that I didn’t warn you.”

The Hyperborean witch turned around, making Yarina be behind her, and coldly looked at the green portal, from which four armed witches were just coming out.

“If you’re interested, the main one is Sobislava, the one with a mole on her temple,” Dominga whispered. “She is a chief centurion of the squad of the Daughters of the Crane.

The "Las Vegas" continued to keep the haze over the clearing, and therefore none of the people walking through the park saw either another whirlwind of magical transition, or women dressed in green armor.

- You came for me? Yarina asked softly, taking a step forward. She wasn't going to hide behind Yana.

“You are a criminal,” Sobislava answered harshly.

- I was slandered.

- May be.

“Why didn’t you say: the court will decide that?” Yana asked loudly.

- What? - the chief centurion was confused.

“Why didn’t you say that the governor’s guilt would determine

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court? repeated the Hyperborean witch. Or will there be no trial?

For a few seconds, Sobislava looked at the girl angrily, and then turned her gaze to Yarina:

Why are mercenaries here?

“We were just passing by,” Inga smiled pleasantly.

Although, to be honest, there was little pleasant: one Hyperborean witch could not cope with four warriors, Yarina was in bad shape, and the redhead's magical abilities left her only hope for an honorable surrender.

Sobislava understood this very well, and impudent notes appeared in her voice:

Her three assistants smiled, but did not stop, continued to gently surround the prey, choosing advantageous positions for the attack.

“We keep a record of everything that happens here,” Yana said.

- What did you yell?

“The video is being recorded,” Mannerheim repeated calmly, touching the video camera mounted above her right ear. – I confirm that Yarina expressed her desire to surrender and go to the court of the Great House of Man.

“I didn’t hear that,” Sobislava grimaced.

“I surrender and am ready to go to court,” the quick-witted governor said loudly.

There was a pause. The chief centurion continued to look at Yarina, but her expression did not change, as if petrified.

“Sobislava is receiving instructions,” Dominga whispered. “There is a ninety-five percent chance that the All-Knower will order you all killed.

And the next moment there was a fight.

But it could not be called unexpected - everyone knew that a fight could not be avoided, and the redhead, who also heard Dominga's warning, decided to play ahead of the curve. However, Inga didn’t succeed very well, because at the very moment when she activated the multi-tasking wand, throwing the “Elven Arrow” at the nearest witch, Sobislava hit Mannerheim with the “Dragon’s Breath” of the third level, and only the lightning reaction of the Hyperborean witch saved her from death. Yana jumped, deftly moving away from the stream of fire, opened the Eagle Pole in flight and responded with a smashing attack. The ancient Hyperborean weapon pierced both the magic "shield", and the shell of Sobislava, and her chest - through and through.

- Oh! Yarina breathed out.

She still considered the servants of the All-Knowing to be her sisters.

And Yana had already landed, turned around as soon as her feet touched the ground, and waved the "pole", directing the end of it, which ended in a razor-sharp blade, to the next enemy.

- Oh! - repeated Yarina, noticing a thin, barely distinguishable line that appeared on the neck of the warrior. - Oh…

She blinked her eyes, then again, then her legs buckled, and her head flew down, cut off along the very subtle line that Yarina noticed.

Yana, of course, did not wait for the unfortunate head to roll on the grass, but the Hyperborean witch could not even get ahead of the third warrior with all her desire. Here she needed the support of her friend, but Inga blundered - despite the suddenness of the attack, her opponent dodged the Elven Arrow, tried to respond with an enchanted blade, but the redhead managed to stab with a green fist reinforced by the Blacksmith's Hammer, stunned, but lost precious seconds. The last warrior could have already killed Yana, but at that moment the “Ball Lightning” exploded above her, and her head burst like a pumpkin pierced by an explosive bullet.

“Please,” Dominga muttered.

- What would I do without you? Yana sighed.

“Let's settle…” Nav wanted to say something else, but changed his mind and said briefly: “I'm preparing the portal. Go away.

And the girls obediently went to the black whirlwind.

Citadel, headquarters of the Great House of Nav

The Citadel - the most famous fortress of the Secret City, the stronghold of the Dark Court that frightens the inhabitants and just a "nightmare building" - is located at the very fork where Leningradsky Prospekt turns into two highways: Leningradskoye and Volokolamskoye. Externally, the headquarters of the Great House of Nav is a large complex, and its center is considered to be a wide "Stalinist" house, in which in imperial times either a secret design bureau, or a defense plant, or a military facility was hidden - the general public did not have accurate information. After the collapse of the country, the building became the property of a company that did not like too much attention, and a company so large that neither state nor shadow structures contacted it. The company accurately paid due taxes, participated in charitable events and did not refuse the mayor's office in earmarked contributions to a particular project. But she did not let strangers near her: neither to finances, nor to the house.

Which aroused curiosity among people, and anxiety among the inhabitants of the Secret City.

There were a variety of, mostly bloody, rumors about the dark lair, and therefore, unlike the townsfolk, eager to know what was happening under their noses, the subjects of the Great Houses were not eager to make excursions around the Citadel, and especially its dungeons, where even wasps living in the Labyrinth avoided climbing.

As for the room where Santiaga was now, no one knew his exact location. Sometimes it seemed to the commissar that the office of the prince of the Dark Court hovered high above the Citadel, invisible not only to ordinary chelas, but even to the highest mages of the Great Houses; sometimes the commissar assumed that the gloomy room lurked in the bowels of the lower levels of the Citadel, somewhere between the distant torture chambers and the crypt of unidentified bones.

Prince's office...

There was only one way to get into it: if the lord of Navi, for some reason, wished to see you. And in this case, wherever you were, wherever you went, the next step brought you to the abode of Darkness. Into a room whose size was as obscure as its location. To the office of the greatest magician on the planet.

“White suit again,” the prince rasped, when elegant Santiaga appeared in front of his simple wooden chair.

“In some human cultures, white is the color of mourning,” the commissar was immediately found. “So you should be happy.

- You're repeating yourself.

“Just to test your memory.

- Have you become a doctor?

- Naturalist.

- From your suit in the eyes ripples.

“Next time I’ll bring you drops.

The master of Navi grunted from under the hood pulled down low, completely hiding his face, Santiaga smiled pleasantly and sat down on the edge of a simple table that had just emerged from the surrounding Darkness. He always showed up during the commissioner's visits, he knew what was needed.

Did Yarga guess? the prince asked softly.

“It's hard to tell if he understands what's going on, but Yarga should have figured out that I deliberately gave him the queen. - Santiaga changed his tone with lightning speed and now spoke with the utmost seriousness: - The First Prince is anyone, but not a fool.

"So your plan is at stake?"

- Not at all. The commissar shifted to make himself more comfortable on the table and continued, “The beauty of the situation is that Yarga has no room to maneuver. He expected resistance, assumed that we would rush to defend Vseslav, and our indifference came as a surprise to him. Yarga's strategy was that I would turn the people against me, the Green House would rally around a new leader and turn into

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obedient instrument. Now Yarga has to improvise.

“He could have foreseen your passivity.

“I doubt it,” the commissar chuckled. – Yarga is a great warrior and commander and thinks like a great warrior and commander. He could not allow us to give up resistance. And now he's dumbfounded.

“Nevertheless, we gave him the Great House.

- Not yet.

– All-knowing finishes off the last rivals.

“Let him finish it off,” Santiaga waved his hand.

Will you give her Vseslav?

- Not right away.

- Will you give it up?

“I don’t give anyone away,” the commissar sighed. - Vseslava is an adult woman and has been a mother for half an hour. Unfortunately, she made many mistakes and now she can only return to the throne on our bayonets. Or on the bayonets of miracles. But then Yarga's plan will succeed and a full-fledged war of the Great Houses will break out in the Secret City, in which he will become the winner.

Silence reigned in the dark room for several seconds, after which the prince croaked:

- You called Yarga great, and he really is. He improvises brilliantly. As good as you, maybe even better. I have no doubt that you ruined his plan, but if you relax even for a second, Yarga will turn everything upside down.

“I know,” Santiago nodded. “Therefore, in the near future I will help the enemies of the Vseveda a little, she will stagger, and Yarga will have to help her. He will come. And you will kill him.

- And if Yarga takes an example from you and surrenders the All-Knowing?

Does that mean he won't answer?

- Exactly.

Then I'll have to improvise. But, as you just noticed, I'm pretty good at it.

Silence fell again in the office, and again for a short while. The prince bowed his head even more, completely dissolving in the Darkness swirling around the chair, and asked in a barely audible voice:

“You understand that Yarga doesn’t need a Human, a Chud, or even a Secret City, right?”

“All these are just steps, milestones on his way… Yarga needs the Dark Court.

“The Great House is loyal to you, prince,” Santiaga replied softly, but very firmly, rising from the table. No one has forgotten how it all began and how it ended. Nobody wants a new Secession.

- How will Nav react to the death of the first prince?

“He should have died many thousands of years ago.

- How will Nav react? repeated the lord of the Dark Court sullenly.

“No way,” the commissar said confidently. “By his actions, Yarga has placed himself outside the Great House.

He is our legend.

We fought with him.

- He created Nav.

“Then I almost lost it.”

He won the First War.

- Nav won the First War! Santiaga retorted with unexpected fervor. - Nav performed feats and died under the blows of the asuras. And Nav remembers how the first prince paid her off. - The sovereign was silent, bowing his head low, and thus showed the commissar that he agreed with his every word. Santiaga came to his senses, took a breath and continued much more calmly: - You should not trust your Navi, prince. We were loyal to Yarga. We were proud of him, we loved him, we died for him. But you can betray us only once. The commissar paused and finished, “Yarga betrayed me.

Green House, headquarters of the Great House of Man

It just so happened that one of the main buildings of the Secret City, not even a building, but a complex of many buildings, including huge ones, was forced to hide from prying eyes under a veil of haze. Because otherwise, the people and representatives of their authorities would certainly have questions about the purpose of a powerful fortress, built in full accordance with the science of fortification thousands of years ago and still in perfect condition. No, first they would ask where did the fortress in the middle of Elk Island come from? Who built it, when, why and why has nothing been known about it until now? Answers to these questions would require a serious digression into the history of the Earth, a revision of the theory of evolution, and would necessarily lead to a global crisis, which nonhumans prevented by not showing curious people what they were not supposed to see.

As for the fortress itself, it is also a royal palace, called the Green House, it was massive and even rough only from the outside, where walls and towers made of giant logs rested on a mighty foundation of colossal boulders. A internal buildings impressed with elegant finishes, combining stucco, gilding, wood and stone carvings and other architectural techniques designed to make the world more elegant and beautiful.

In addition to the royal residence, the fortress housed the services necessary for the Great House, an arsenal, numerous magical laboratories, a "secret" regiment and, of course, the squad of the Daughters of the Crane - the basis of the green army. The Operations Center was also located here, the employees of which controlled the situation in the Secret City, and, if necessary, could look around the entire planet. It was in the Operations Center, in one of the most eavesdropping rooms, that those people gathered because of whom Vseslava almost lost her crown and, perhaps, will soon lose her life. Gathered those who, as if by notes, played the most complicated intrigue and stood one step away from absolute power over the Great House of Humans.

The conspirators have gathered.

“I'll start with the bad news,” said the priestess of the All-Knowing, sitting at the head of the table, harshly. “We were able to determine where the portal from the royal quarters was directed, but the group sent in pursuit was too late.

- Were you waiting for Vseslav? Semir frowned.

- This is bad.

“That’s not clear,” said Vseved. - The development of events was unexpected even for me, because it was supposed that Vseslava would spend another day or two in the palace and be arrested, but ... But everything suddenly changed, and it was incredibly difficult to predict these changes.

The All-Knowing Priestess led the conspiracy and was primarily responsible for everything. decisions made: for lying to the Great House, slandering the higher hierarchs, and most importantly - for shedding blood. In this civil strife, Vseved has already gone so far that defeat threatened her not with disgrace, but with death. Victory promised absolute power. Vsevedda had a dizzying career, going from an aging veil in a middle position in a “secret” regiment to the Throne Keeper in a few weeks, and was determined to play to the end.

“I think that miracles or navas awaited Vseslav,” Wanda said. “Only they have predictors of the right level.

“Such perspicacity is a little scary,” Sdemir chuckled.

“I’m sure it was a surge,” the veil immediately clarified. “Even the Navi Mirror is not capable of providing such accurate information all the time.

- Hope…

Sdemir was the only man in the room - it just so happened that Vseved was the only one who managed to involve him in her plot - but this circumstance did not bother the young warrior at all. He did not hesitate in the presence of experienced witches, he behaved, though not cheekily, but freely, and looked at the fair-haired interlocutors appraisingly, hinting that each of them could become interesting to him not only as a "comrade in arms." So it turned out that it was the witches who felt a slight embarrassment in the presence of a handsome young man. And this despite the fact that Sdemir, like all the men of the Green House, did not have magical abilities.

- Within an hour we

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we will know exactly who took Vseslav away, and then we will think over the next steps, - Vseved regained her word. - Now about the good: the House calmed down. People generally accepted our explanations, and so far no one is going to take up arms.

“We are no longer troublemakers,” Vseved smiled barely perceptibly in response. “We are the legitimate government now. And you need to behave accordingly.

“Good,” the young man did not resist. - We will.

His remarks did not always sound out of place, but Vseved, to some surprise of the other witches, did not scold Sdemir and allowed him to get into the conversation when he pleased. And now she only glanced at the young man, and then looked at Gradislava.

“Everything is calm in the squad of the Daughters of the Crane,” the veil immediately answered. - Even the most loyal supporters of Yarina are silent - they are embarrassed by the accusations against her. There is nothing to say about the rest. Fata smiled. - The squad, of course, is nervous, as it always happens in such cases, but no one is going to fight - they are afraid to harm the House.

“And there are no leaders,” the veil nodded. - You're right about that.

“I didn’t doubt you,” Vseved smiled, wanting to personally summarize Gradislava’s report. - The team is in safe hands.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.

There was silence in the room for a few moments, after which the priestess shook her head.

“Here you can,” Gradislava answered instantly. Fata knew how Vseved would react and prepared a response. “We know what it's all about.

- Thank you. The omniscient smiled again. But let's get on with the meeting...

- It will be necessary to choose one of the obvious supporters of Yarina and Vseslava and buy her with the title of priestess, - Sdemir said in a loud but slightly viscous tone, as if thinking aloud. “This will show the House that we are acting for the good of the People, and not pursuing petty vested interests.

- Uh ... - All-knowing tried to find the right words, but the young impudent did not stop, but continued in the same tone: - One of Yarina's friends should be put in the place of the lucky woman, of course, having previously taken an oath of allegiance from her. And after a couple of days, kill one of the dissatisfied. - In the next moment, he raised his eyebrows, pretending to come to his senses, and smiled charmingly: - Sorry, I just thought ...

“I thought it was very… sensible,” Vsevedda squeezed out through her strength. “But not in time.

“Excuse me, your majesty.

“It's all right, Semir.

- Thank you.

The priestess paused, waiting to see if the wayward youth wanted to say anything else, but he defiantly remained silent, and the woman continued:

“I want to remind you that we haven’t won yet. Now our rivals are in shock, but they will soon come to their senses and will definitely go on the counterattack.

“Parasha and Snezhana are demoralized,” Sdemir grimaced.

But this time his remark was ill-conceived.

- Parasha and Snezhana were dangerous only as Vseslava's reckless assistants. They voted for any of her proposals, supported any decision, and completely forgot how to act independently,” Vseved said. - Ruzhen worries me much more - she has been dreaming of the crown for a long time and showed herself well in the confrontation with the Falcons.

It was the priestess Ruzhena and Baron Bakula who led the warriors to the fortress of the Sokolniki domain - they were provoked by the secret actions of Vseved, but there was no bloodshed, which allowed Ruzhena to increase her authority among the people.

“It's all Bakula,” Sdemir couldn't resist another remark. - Ruzhena is quick-tempered and would definitely get into a fight, but the baron is smart and careful. He did not allow bloodshed.

“Be that as it may, Ruzhena will not sit idle,” Wanda grumbled.

“Luckily for us, Ruzhena will not support Vseslava for anything, she will rather try to seize the moment and throw her off, in the hope of defeating me in the elections ...” Vseveda smiled thinly: “And this, in turn, means that Parasha and Snezhana will not support Ruzhena until Vseslava’s fate becomes clear.

“And we have time to maneuver,” Sdemir finished.

Even though everyone knew it.

The young man began to annoy the witches, but Vseved had long ago realized that he was deliberately impudent, and with all her appearance showed the assistants that one should not respond to provocations. Priestess didn't know why Sdemir was trying to piss her off, but she wasn't about to play along with the puppy.

In addition, the telephone rang, Vsevedda gestured to the interlocutors to be silent, listened attentively to the report, briefly summed up: “I understand,” put the phone away and sighed:

- Unfortunately, bad news again: Yarina managed to get away ...

- How? Gradislava couldn't resist.

- Got off? – with understanding inquired Sdemir.

Wanda just raised her eyebrows, silently waiting for the details.

“The operators figured out the direction of the portal that Yarina used to escape from the fortress of the Falcons, but there our girls were met by a Hyperborean creature,” the priestess said.

- Yana Mannerheim?

- Damn.

“That means that Santiaga is helping Yarina,” Sdemir screwed up his eyes. “Can we use this fact against the Dark Court?”

“Only if we capture and interrogate Yana,” Vseved sighed.

“Everyone knows that Cortes most often works for the commissar.

“Without proof, the dark ones will ridicule us.

“I agree,” Gradislava nodded.

- Has anyone survived? Wanda asked sullenly.

- Only a combatant named Vidana. - All-knowing was silent. She came to her senses and called.

- Let's accuse the mercenaries of murder and put them on the wanted list?

“Unfortunately, it won’t work,” the priestess shook her head. - Vidana reported that Yarina was ready to surrender, but Sobislav ordered to attack. The mercenaries have video footage.

- Providently.

“Not prudently, but badly…” Vseved corrected Wanda. “Worse yet, Santiaga apparently gave the mercenaries the Ring of Elusiveness—none of Cortez's team is responding to the genetic code search.

“And this indirectly indicates that they also have Vseslav,” Gradislava added. And she explained: “She doesn’t respond either.

- And Ozhega? Wanda immediately asked. Is she with them?

- On Ozhega "Bee Swarm" for a hundred thousand responses, - said Gradislava.

“The fact that Ozhega is still hiding says everything about her,” Sdemir said.

"True," Wanda agreed.

- Now the most important thing. - All-knowing looked at the assistants attentively. – I ask you to try to finish today without bloodshed. Enough death. The house must calm down, so we kill only as a last resort and as quietly as possible. No big promotions.

“It will be so,” Semir nodded.

– Are you up to something? the priestess understood.

“My father is dead, and I need to take over,” the young man replied casually. “Today I will become acting baron.

- Sure?

– Absolutely.

- Do you need help?

- Moral.

- You have it

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will, - promised Vseved. But only moral.

In the Green House, not only queens were elected, but also rulers of domains, and the fact that Sdemir was the son of a baron did not give him guarantees for receiving the title. Quite the contrary: now his competitors are probably telling the subjects of the domain about all the mistakes that the late Baron Viteneg made, and urging them not to vote for the son of "such a loser and mediocrity." Moreover, such a young son ...

“I can handle it,” Semir chuckled. “But you have to kill someone.

“Quietly kill,” said Vseved with pressure.

- I promised.

- Agreed. – Priestess shifted her gaze to Gradislava: – Continue to work with the squad of the Daughters of the Crane and the “secret” regiment. I need them to stay calm.

“Yes, your majesty.

– Wanda! Now All-Knowing was looking at the third witch. “Think about how you can find Vseslava or the mercenaries. We must not lose the initiative and wait for them to make a move.

“Yes, your majesty.

- Fine. - All-knowing drummed her fingers on the table. “We have to wait until tomorrow. After I become Bereginya, I will have power. Still not absolute, but already serious.

“A strange incident in Izmailovsky Park. This afternoon, the townspeople walking along the alleys were agitated by suspicious sounds and sharp pops coming from one of the clearings. Subsequently, passers-by reported that they distinctly heard the noise of firecrackers, shots, loud voices and curses. Some even claimed to have seen ghostly figures of people fighting with melee weapons. The police officers who arrived carefully examined the clearing pointed out by the citizens, but did not find anything suspicious ... "

"Urgent message! The scandal flares up, and how it will end is unknown. The press service of the Green House has just issued an official announcement of a reward for the capture of Yarina, the former governor of the Crane's Daughters squad, accused of conspiring to kill the priestesses of Lyubava and Miroslava, as well as the barons Godun, Viteneg and Svetilyub. Recall that all the listed hierarchs of the Great House of Man were killed during a meeting at the base of the squad of the Izmailovo domain. The golem Ardolo is accused of the crime, shortly before that he had escaped from the “Mushy Cellar”, which was considered super-reliable ... "

(Tigradkom)

Shop "Not Simple Gifts"

To be frank, the small, single-window shop "Uncommon Gifts" didn't particularly attract the attention of the public. Yes, her showcase was tempting, the rarities displayed in it were quite drawn to the exposition of a provincial museum, but cunning Muscovites were mainly interested in souvenirs before the New Year, sweeping away images of the patron of the next three hundred and sixty-five days from the shelves, and the rest of the time the owner of the shop was not particularly pleased. As for the tourists, they did not wander into this area often, preferring proven routes, and it turned out that the store was doomed to ruin, but ...

But its owner was not an ordinary person, but an old shas named Ezher Khamzi, and therefore the price of many “trinkets” put up for sale depended not on the materials of manufacture or the craftsman’s skill, but on the magical lasso embedded in these artifacts, which determined their real purpose.

On the shelves of the store were rings that could shoot a white-hot "Elven Arrow" at the enemy, gloves reinforced with the "Blacksmith's Hammer" - their owner could effortlessly break through a brick wall, and earrings that allowed him to hear at a distance of two or three miles. There were also wooden frogs, next to which all mosquitoes and flies fell dead, marble dragons, at the sight of which the mood improved, and sad thoughts hid in the far corners of the soul, and clay worms that could cause heavy rain even in the Sahara. Weapons lay and hung, in appearance - almost like a real one, in reality - a very real one. There were jugs with magical energy and ordinary vases for flowers. And among the wonderful artifacts, caps and T-shirts “I love Moscow!”, postcards, coins, stamps, badges and magnets with views of the capital were proudly resting. And also - soldiers, models of sailboats and airplanes, cars and many other amazing little things that can light up the eyes of not only a child, but also an adult.

In the Secret City, Yezher Khamzi’s shop was known, welcomed, the old man did not complain about the lack of customers, but he had a lot of free time, and Yezher whiled away him watching TV, which hung between a shelf with old guidebooks to Moscow and an engraving “Grand Master de Pung burns the rebellious Kiekvis”, which for people had to be converted into “Charlemagne on the ruins of Cordoba”, not particularly bothering with historical credibility.

And in front of the TV there were two armchairs, in which Yezher Khamzi and his guest, private detective Yuri Fedra, settled down. They were accompanied by two analysts on a slightly curved screen, called to the Tigradcom studio for a detailed explanation of current events: in a plaid jacket and bald.

- Palace coup! – categorically declared the owner of the jacket. “There is no doubt that we are seeing a struggle for power within the Great House of Man. The priestesses took advantage of the queen's weakness and started a civil strife.

“This is a very serious accusation,” the bald man mumbled.

- Do you have another explanation?

“Perhaps we are dealing with a crime…”

Why would Yarina kill the priestesses?

“Her involvement has not been proven.

- And I will answer why: Yarina found out that Lyubava, Miroslava and the barons were planning a coup, and decided to take preventive measures - to set Ardolo on them.

- You are retelling word for word the official version of the press service of the Green House.

- But it was compiled by those who removed Vseslav from power and are pursuing Yarina ...

“Who would have thought that the governor of the squad of the Daughters of the Crane would be put on the wanted list,” Yezher said contritely, turning off the sound. “I would have understood if Yarina had been put on the wanted list by the Dark Court or the Order, but the people themselves…” Hamzi shook his head. - You can not do it this way.

- Why? Phaedra didn't understand.

“Because such issues need to be resolved among themselves and not to wash dirty linen in public,” Shas answered sternly. - Their own should not be afraid of their own and hide from them, their own should know that the most terrible does not threaten them from their own ...

“It’s called impunity,” Phaedra blurted out.

“You didn’t listen to me again,” Yezher frowned.

- Sorry.

Oh, youth, youth...

Like all Shases, Hamzi was cunning, dark-eyed and nosy. He was also black-haired, but time washed away the tar, making the hair completely gray, which is uncharacteristic for Shases, but sometimes occurred.

Yezher knew Phaedra from childhood and considered her to be something like a son, especially after Yuri learned about the Secret City - the magical side of Moscow. Since then, they have had many additional topics for conversation, and Hamzi willingly told the young brow about the intricacies of life in the world of the Great Houses, about family relationships, as well as written and unwritten rules.

“This is not impunity, but responsibility,” Shas continued sternly. - Each of us should absorb a simple truth with mother's milk: you can’t behave with your

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so they want to kill you. It's a shame. And if this rule is observed, then the need to threaten one's death disappears.

What if this rule is broken?

“Then the monolith of the Great House cracks. Is that bad.

“If there really is a coup in the Green House, then it is not the first and not the last in its history,” Yuri chuckled. “And they happen in the Order.

“Therefore, Man and Chud will never be compared in greatness with the Dark Court,” Ezher said as a matter of course.

“Perhaps,” said Phaedra shortly, knowing that it was impossible to dispute this statement.

The Shases were notorious for their quarrelsomeness and bad temper, but with regard to their Great House, they showed exceptional patriotism. According to rumors, the big-nosed swindlers pretty much got on the nerves of the Nava, allowed themselves to argue with the prince and even insist on their own, but thousands of years of living together taught the Shases to think that no one but the dark ones would protect them from the hardships of the cruel world. And the navas, in turn, realized that they would have to carry this cross until the Sleeper awakened, and resigned themselves. For the first and last time in its history.

“Still, I don’t understand why it’s impossible to threaten Yarina with death,” Yuri continued, taking a sip of cognac. “It was she who freed Ardolo and sent him to Izmailovo to kill priestesses and barons.

“The only thing known for certain is that Yarina freed Ardolo,” the old man clarified. - It's proven.

Doesn't the second follow from the first? Phaedra was surprised. - We turn on the logic: Yarina is Vseslava's closest assistant, her faithful protector, Vseslava is going through a difficult time, she is giving birth, and old opponents are trying to take advantage of the opportunity and seize power. Upon learning of this, Yarina frees the golem and in return demands that the conspirators be removed. As you can see, Yezher, all events fit into a chain.

- Not all.

- What's wrong?

“Something has not been proven.

- Of course, it has not been proven, - Yuri did not argue. “We're dealing with experienced intriguers who are great at covering their tracks. There are things that we can never prove, but they are obvious if you analyze ...

- With your permission, I will consider the facts, and not the conclusions that they are trying to slip us, - Hamzi grinned.

– What confuses you? the man asked. What doesn't fit in the chain?

“An attack on the palace,” the old man immediately answered, as if he had been waiting for this question for a long time. Or deliberately brought the interlocutor to him. - There is still no clear answer to the question: who attacked the Green House.

And it was very strange, because it was as a result of an unknown attack by whom the queen disappeared from the palace.

“Perhaps the attack was part of the plan of the rebellious priestesses?” - After a pause, Yuri suggested.

- So they say.

“That makes sense,” said the detective. - The priestesses were preparing to remove Vseslava, and in case she learns about the conspiracy or starts to win the fight, they provided a way to eliminate her. I understand that this sounds cruel, especially in relation to a pregnant woman, but you yourself have said more than once that the struggle for power is conducted without any pity. I think Lyubava or Miroslava set up bookmarks with battle golems in the palace in advance, and the artifacts were automatically activated after their death.

- Did Lyubava and Miroslava create the Dead Hand system?

- Exactly! Phaedra exclaimed, confident that he had succeeded in convincing the old man.

However, he rejoiced early.

- Do you see what's happening? Hamzi asked.

– You interpret events according to the desired, pre-selected answer.

- You accepted the proposed version and follow it, adjusting the facts to fit it.

- If the facts fit into the version, this does not mean that they are "adjusted", - Yuri retorted. “That means they confirm it.

“It means you refuse to interpret them any other way.

“Hm…” Phaedra made a short pause, after which he inquired: “Ezher, I have a feeling that you are trying to find out something.

And he smiled, making it clear that he would not be offended by a truthful answer.

And the answer, frankly, could be only one: “Yes, I’m trying,” since Yuri Fedra gained wide popularity in the Secret City thanks to a very close relationship with Vseved. With the same one. To the credit of the detective, it should be noted that their relationship began a long time ago, when Phaedra just got to the Secret City, and no one expected that the veil of the All-Knower would really claim the crown. But what happened happened: the All-Knower was at the pinnacle of power, received the title of priestess, and the detective barely survived the assassination of Ardolo, and now he is accompanied everywhere by two Daughters of the Crane in full combat attire. Now they were waiting outside, since Hamzi had categorically forbidden the vigilantes to hang around the store.

“Yura, it would be absurd to lie in such a situation,” Yezher laughed. “Naturally, I would not mind asking you for some exclusive details of what is happening in the Green House, but I swear that I do this out of innate curiosity, and not on the orders of Santiaga. Frankly, he somehow hinted that our conversations were of interest to him, but I replied that we were friends, and the commissioner accepted my answer.

- Did you take it? The man squinted incredulously.

“I don't have to do what I hate.

“I believe you, Yezher,” Yuri answered slowly.

- Thank you. More cognac?

- Willingly.

Phaedra watched the Shas fill the glasses and said in a low voice:

– In fact, I don’t know much more than you, Ezher: Vseved is careful, she’s a professional counterintelligence agent and leaves secrets outside of our relationship.

- This is right.

- But she sincerely believes in the guilt of Yarina. And…” The detective took a sip of brandy. “You know that Ardolo tried to kill me twice, and believe me, it was very scary. The second time we were saved only thanks to Vseved, who entered the battle with the golem and won.

- And while running away, Ardolo lost his backpack, in which evidence against Yarina turned out to be very handy.

- You do not believe me? Yuri raised his eyebrows.

- I want to hear your word.

“I dare to hope that I know Omniscient enough, and I give you my word that she fought for me for real. And her anger was genuine.

- I believe you.

“You see,” Phaedra laughed with relief.

- I believe you, but...

However, the old man did not have time to finish: from the back room there was a characteristic noise of the portal and soft voices, it seems, female.

Just like any shop of the Commerce Guild and most other establishments of the Secret City, the shop "Uncommon Gifts" was equipped with stationary portal beacons. They were rarely used, since instantaneous magical movement required a large number energy and cost, by the standards of the City, insanely expensive, but nevertheless they used it: when speed or stealth turned out to be more important than money.

- Whom did they bring? – grumbling asked Hamzi, turning to the doors to the back room. - Hey, don't break the crystal!

- They didn’t beat me, dear Yezher, the dishes are in perfect order.

So not elephants.

- Not elephants at all, dear Yezher, do not offend us.

The door swung open, and a slender girl in black combat attire entered the trading floor. The girl was completely bald, her head was decorated with an intricate tattoo, and her eyes were dark yellow, as if filled with molten

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gold. And from this meager description, any inhabitant of the Secret City could recognize the girl.

– Yana? Hamzi raised his eyebrows in surprise.

- Good evening, Yezher, sorry for using your lighthouse, but we had no other choice. The girl saw Phaedra and stopped. Apparently, having lost confidence that the store is safe. But nevertheless she continued: – We directed the portal hastily.

“I am always glad to see you, Yana,” the old man came to his senses, rising to his feet. – Allow me to introduce my old friend Yuri Fedra.

“Very nice,” Yuri sighed, also getting up. “It’s even strange that we haven’t been represented yet.

“Do not consider me impolite, but it would be better if we didn’t meet today,” the girl answered him in tone.

- I remember. But we needed to be exactly in the Navi sector ... - Yana looked at the detective again, and he shuddered, faced with the famous "golden" look of the Hyperborean witch. - I heard that you are accompanied by combatants?

"They're outside," Hamzi interjected again. - And they won’t go inside - I forbade it.

“Very well,” the girl said, continuing to look at the detective.

- Am I interfering? he guessed.

“Just a little bit,” Mannerheim did not deny.

- I can leave.

“Now it’s not necessary anymore ... I just ask you to give your word that you will be silent about what you see.

Is my word enough? Yuri was surprised.

“Yes,” Yana confirmed seriously. “Moreover, if you break your word, you will first of all harm your friend Yezher.

“I give you my word,” the detective said immediately.

- Agreed.

Mannerheim took a step forward, and two more girls came out of the back room: a thin red-haired woman in the same black outfit as Yana - Fedra guessed that it was Inga Volkova, and a thin blond girl in a dirty green jumpsuit of the Daughter of the Crane.

- Yarina? the detective hesitated.

The warlord stopped.

“You gave your word,” Mannerheim reminded.

“I gave my word and I will be silent,” Yuri confirmed after a short pause. But he could not resist adding briefly: “Although she tried to kill me.”

Phaedra did not want to be heard, said this phrase to himself, with a bitter smile, but did not calculate the strength of the battle mage's hearing. As soon as the detective finished, Yarina stopped, turned around and answered firmly:

“I didn't try to kill you.

- What? Yuri was confused.

- What did you hear, man, - Yarina threw angrily. “If Ardolo had received the order to kill, you and Klopitsky would not have left the workshop. You were the bait, man, I needed Allknow, not you. Nothing threatened you personally: the pawns in this game are immortal.

"And you muster up the nerve and say it to my face?" Phaedra didn't hesitate. “Are you not shy about specifying that you were going to kill the All-Knowing, and not me?” You're talking about the woman I love!

“I'm talking about a woman who kills without hesitation,” the governor chuckled. - Everyone who has already died: Lyubava, Miroslava, Godun, Viteneg, "falcons" - everything is on her conscience. And she will kill you too...

- Shut up!

- All-knowing will kill you, man, - Yarina snarled in response. “You messed with the wrong woman and you are going to die. You will definitely take a breath.

Run away from her before it's too late.

- You'll die sooner!

“I know,” the voevoda replied, and went to the far display window.

Inga and Yana, not daring to interfere in their fascinating dialogue, went after her, and Yezher sighed and said apologetically:

“I didn't know they were coming.

- I understand.

- Sorry.

- Ezher, I will be silent, I promised.

- Thank you.

Phaedra defiantly turned away, and Shas hurried to unexpected and unexpected customers who were already versed in the artifacts for sale. More precisely, Yarina was just about to deal with artifacts, but Yana distracted her by holding out her phone:

“This is our first gift, voivode: the number is not determined even by magical methods, and the pipe itself cannot be traced. You will be connected and safe.

“Thank you,” Yarina replied dryly, taking the device. What else will you do for me?

“We will pay for everything you get from Yezher,” Yana continued. “And we’ll open a loan at the Merchant Guild: come to any establishment at any time and take whatever you need.”

“I'm not sure I'll live that long.

- Let's not talk about sad things? Inga suggested. - The word is material.

“Like steel,” the governor chuckled, removing a dagger made of black Nava steel from the wall. - Is Santiaga not afraid to help a wanted criminal? I'm accused of killing priestesses.

“We help you,” Yana answered calmly. “We are not afraid of anything.

- In vain. - Yarina handed the dagger to the silent Ezher, indicating that she would buy it, and sighed: - One should be afraid of omniscience.

“We don’t have time,” Inga snapped. - We are working.

“Be it so,” the warlord nodded. I need five to ten minutes to come up with a shopping list.

- Fine.

“And…” Yarina squinted at Phaedra, who had returned to his chair, paused, and finished: “I didn’t lie to him. I wanted to kill Vseved, not him, but I failed. And then I lost control of Ardolo.

- Who intercepted him?

- I think Sharge. And it so happened that the beast released from the cage to kill Vsevedy, on her orders, killed the priestesses ... And will kill me. - Another pause and a sad smile: - One way or another.

“You can still fix it,” the redhead said quietly.

“You can help the queen,” Yarina clarified. – I, at best, face exile. Or "Mshy cellar."

Base squads of the Kuzminki domain

The base of the squad was considered the center of each domain of the Green House. A fortress, behind the walls of which you can hide during the war of the Great Houses and even withstand a small siege. As a rule, it was here that the headquarters of the baron was located, the services of the domain were located, but rarely, very rarely, the residence of the priestess of the domain was located on the territory of the fortress. And this was the ancient wisdom: the supreme power in the Great House belonged to women with magical abilities, but, not wanting to create internal tension, they decided to give domains to men, and so a balance was born that allowed the House of Man to become Great. The priestesses had great authority and influence, but none of them wiped their baron from power, and if any tried, they immediately got “on a pencil” to the queen and took a second course in the basics domestic policy Green House - for closed doors and in the harshest terms.

The domains belonged to the barons.

And the fortresses were their favorite toys, on which they did not spare money and whose equipment they boasted to each other. The base of the squad of the Sokolniki domain was deservedly considered the most powerful and fortified, which was lovingly strengthened by the great dock in terms of military art, Baron Mecheslav. Fortress Kuzminok in the "unofficial standings" was given only the third place, but Sdemir was determined to change the situation and bring the family nest into the lead. However, for this he needed to maintain power over him, and for a start - to become the Keeper of the domain, that is, to get a temporary baronial

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By tradition, one of the oldest warriors of the squad was elected as the Guardian, who was guaranteed not to take part in the election of a new ruler and use the “administrative resource” to his advantage, but the uncertainty in the position of Vsevedy forced Sdemir to take extreme measures. The young warrior spoke before the domain, recalled the difficult situation in which the Great House found itself, declared that under these conditions he considered the appointment of a deliberately weak figure to be inappropriate, and announced a claim to the title of Guardian.

Everyone understood that if the young man fulfilled his plan, he would become the next baron, his rivals in the upcoming elections tried to challenge Sdemir's desire, but he offered to hold a general meeting, and in the evening the squad and all subjects of the domain gathered on the parade ground in order to decide what to do next.

Gathered in a crowd, without rank and ranking, demonstrating that today the votes will be valued, regardless of the position in the hierarchy of the domain. And only three stood out: Sdemir, standing at the unfurled flag, the headquarters centurion Loban, a faithful friend of Viteneg and the young man's closest assistant, and the priestess of Vseved, who now claimed the title of Protector of the Throne. Her appearance, the fact that Vseved left the palace in the midst of a crisis, clearly showed who the future queen wants to see as a future baron, and made the young man's rivals sad.

And there were two serious contenders.

To the right of the flag, just a few steps from the young man, stood the most experienced chief voivode Golub, an eighty-year-old man in his prime, bright and charismatic, a great favorite of the squad and women. Old Baron Viteneg warned his son that it was Golub who would become his main rival in the elections, but so far the chief voivode kept quiet, looking at Sdemir with a smile, and was in no hurry to accuse him of violating traditions. However, the friends crowding around Golub showed with all their appearance that they were ready to defend the interests of the leader in any way.

The second dangerous contender, centurion Zlat, who came from an old and highly respected family, stood with his friends quite far away, on the left edge of the crowd. His supporters were much quieter than Golub's friends, but not because they were more modest, no. Studying his opponents, Sdemir drew attention to the fact that Zlat was unable to make quick decisions, and this, among other things, explained the swiftness of the young man's actions: Sdemir considered that in this way he could stun the slow-witted, and his calculation was fully justified. If the death of Baron Viteneg had been announced in advance, Zlat would have been able to speak as he should, but now he was simply at a loss.

Looking around at his rivals, Sdemir turned his gaze to Dalina, who was standing opposite him, and smiled reassuringly. The girl realized that he was worried, and put her hand to her chest, showing that her heart was with her beloved.

And Sdemir became warmer.

- Kuzminka's domain! Loban shouted, making sure that the people were ready to listen. “You all already know about the tragedy: the glorious Viteneg, our baron and patron, was killed by a vile stab in the back…

Several women began to sob, but the rest took the words of the headquarters centurion calmly enough.

– And today we must elect the one who, at this difficult moment for the entire Great House, will take responsibility for the domain.

We need an experienced ruler! shouted Dynko, one of Golub's assistants, loudly.

Sdemir answered him with an attentive and not very kind look.

The chief voivode's support group began to chatter, intending to make a noisy performance, and possibly a squabble, Loban glanced at the priestess, who barely perceptibly nodded and stepped forward:

- Domain! I was not your priestess for long, but I managed to understand that I ended up in a very friendly, very kind family. It is in a family where everyone will support everyone, and not push them into the abyss, in a family where all of you are relatives and feel each other like brothers and sisters. I managed to understand that our baron…” Vsevedda broke off, skillfully demonstrating grief. And only Sdemir realized that the priestess was playing. She plays excellently, considering that it was she who ordered Ardolo to carry out a massacre in Izmailovo, including killing the old man. However, the young man himself played no worse, given that he knew about the upcoming murder of his father. “Our baron was strong and courageous, he was respected not only by the warriors, but also by the priestesses. Respected and loved. And I know that Viteneg raised a good son, worthy of becoming both the Custodian of the Kuzminka domain and the new baron!

Experienced Loban gave his fellow tribesmen a few seconds to hastily digest the proposal, and immediately asked:

“If anyone knows a more worthy contender for the title of Guardian of the Domain, let him say so now!”

The headquarters centurion hoped that the cunningly composed proposal would stop possible competitors, because they were actually offered to challenge not only Sdemir, but also Vseved, who had proposed his candidacy, but these hopes did not come true.

- I see Chief Voivode Golub as the Keeper! shouted foreman Osmol.

And his friends immediately supported him:

Golub is bold and determined!

“He has led us into battle more than once and deserves the title!” Dynko yelled.

Only he deserves it!

- Dove is worthy!

- Pigeon to barons!

“Let Golub be the Guardian!”

– We are for Sdemir! the young man's supporters came to their senses.

- Semir! Sdemir!

Long live Dove!

All-knowing glanced at the young people, but he, despite the rage raging inside, smiled with the corners of his lips, showing that everything was under control.

And in the next moment, Golub stepped out of the crowd and raised his hand, calling the domain to silence. And they obeyed him much faster than the exhortations of the chief centurion Loban.

“Sdemir is still too young,” Vseved thought bitterly. “He is smart, cunning, resourceful, strong, but outwardly he looks like a boy and loses to the mighty Golub ...”

And he, realizing that the domain was beginning to sympathize with him, began to speak loudly:

- Brothers and sisters! You know me and you know my word - it is strong. My whole life has been subordinated to the service of the domain. I have fought alongside you, I have shed blood, and I have done everything to make the domain and our Great House prosper. I think of you more than myself, and no one will dare to doubt these words.

The soldiers answered the chief voivode with an approving grunt. Even those warriors who had just been shouting Sdemir's name.

“I would never deviate from the ancient tradition of appointing a Guardian, but if it is already violated, then I will not stand aside,” Golub continued. - I agree with the son of Viteneg that the Great House is going through a difficult time. The queen has disappeared. Our baron is dead, and the investigation into his murder has not even begun. We are told that Yarina is to blame, but we do not know this for sure ...

“If he says anything else, he will become a Guardian,” Sedemir hissed at Loban, still smiling. - Why are you silent?

- Great candidate! the headquarters centurion came to his senses, interrupting Golub's ardent speech. - And if there are no other proposals, then let's choose a Guardian from two wonderful warriors: Sdemir and Golub!

There was a short pause: the eyes of the people turned to the left flank, they looked out for Zlata, but he did not dare to offer himself, and after a few seconds Loban repeated:

- Out of two candidates!

Golub, who managed to stand next to Sdemir, grimaced,

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but he had nowhere to go: everything must be decided here and now. The young man could hardly suppress a smile: he understood that many of those who would vote for Golub would not dare to do so in front of the future queen.

The omniscient has spoken. It was as strong as Golub's word, and to be honest, much stronger. Many times stronger. And worth the baronial crown.

“Let those who want to see Sdemir as the Keeper raise their blades!” Loban announced.

And when a whole forest of swords and daggers shot up, it became clear that the chief voivode had lost.

The defeat was so obvious and devastating that Golub even asked the headquarters centurion to stop counting the votes, loudly congratulated Sdemir on his victory and returned to the hushed comrades-in-arms.

The deed was done.

Sdemir took the baron's sword from Loban's hands, knelt before the banner and swore "by blood and honor" to keep the domain until the appearance of a legitimate patron. This ended the ceremony. People went about their business, excitedly discussing the youngster's deft blow and Golub's chances of winning the elections, and Sdemir retired with Vseved in his father's office.

Congratulations, my baron.

- Not yet.

We both know that almost yes.

- Lots of work ahead.

– Worried about Dove?

“Then about what?”

“I’m worried that I won thanks to you, Your Majesty.

- Is it bad? the priestess was surprised.

- There is nothing wrong with the fact that I won, but I would like more independence.

“Then, Your Majesty, that you have not received the crown yet.

“But I already helped, my baron, and you need to help me in everything. – All-knowing smiled. “We are bound, my young Baron, we are more bound than you think.

Demir narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.

And Vseved withstood a few seconds and said in a businesslike tone:

“You look too young compared to Golub.

“I know,” the young man grimaced. “But in the next ten years, I won’t be able to do anything about it.

- You can.

“Do you want to give me a terrible scar?”

“You need to get married,” explained Vseved. - Do you have a suitable girl in mind? Preferably from a noble family and not from Kuzminki.

“I have Dalina,” Sedemir muttered, knowing that Vseved was waiting for this answer.

“Dahlin doesn’t fit,” the priestess shook her head.

- It's my business.

“We are too tightly bound, my young baron,” repeated Vseved. And your mistakes become my mistakes. So this is our common cause.

“There are boundaries beyond which you better not go,” the young man said coldly.

But he couldn't stop the priestess.

“Dalina doesn’t fit.

Ambitious, selfish, stubbornly going to the goal, smart, cunning - they were like each other like brother and sister, or, given the difference in age, like mother and son. And a strange craving for misalliances brought them together just like everything else. Vseved had Phaedra, Sdemir had Dalina, a young and not very strong sorceress who managed to be both a widow and a “merry widow”. Since Dalina found herself in Sdemir's bed, she had remained faithful to him, but in the eyes of the domain she was considered a "woman with a past", and therefore a bad match for the baron.

However, if desired, a way out can be found from any, even a very delicate situation.

“I am noble and rich enough not to look for settlement in a wedding,” Sdemir said slowly, looking into the eyes of the priestess. - As for the patriarchal views of my subjects, this circumstance can be corrected.

- How?

“I killed almost all of Dalina's former lovers,” the young man replied calmly. - There are two left. After their death, my bride will get rid of the past, and no one can blame her for anything.

- Did you propose to Dalina?

- Congratulations.

- Thank you.

This was the only weakness of the cunning, cynical and ruthless Sdemir - a fairy named Dalina. A misalliance that can ruin a career.

On the other hand, Vsevedy herself had exactly the same situation on the personal front, and therefore she could neither straighten up the youngster nor read him a moral.

“We are more connected than you think,” she sighed. We are equally stupid.

“Sometimes it seems to me that we are hiding in true love from ourselves.

- Do you hate yourself?

- I'm afraid of myself.

And Vseved suddenly realized that she was not talking to a youth. Not with a youngster. Sdemir looked like a sucker, but had the wisdom of an old man. In any case, he understood it well.

All-knowing understood and smiled weakly:

Let's try to save our feelings.

“Otherwise, Your Majesty, even a cage of Nava steel will not hold us back.” Without feelings, we are too dangerous.

“I know,” Vseved agreed after a pause. Without love, you and I are just animals.

Private residential building

Being well-known and highly demanded specialists in solving “delicate issues”, Artyom and Cortes, of course, could not limit themselves to only one base, even if it was as well-protected as an office in the building of the Trade Guild. Professional duties dictated their conditions, and therefore the team had at its disposal several apartments and even houses for all occasions. These “points” were located in different parts of the Secret City and in the Moscow region, including very distant ones, were deeply conspiratorial, had no official relation to mercenaries and were perfectly equipped bases where one could sit out and replenish supplies.

In other words, Cortez had somewhere to go, and naturally he chose the house furthest from Moscow - on the banks of the Volga, in a small cottage village near Dubna. The cargo portal moved the mercenaries' SUV to a secluded forest corner, after which they quickly reached the village and hid from prying eyes behind a high fence - all the gates on their way were automatic, so none of the travelers had to leave the car. Then the car was driven into the garage and engaged in the arrangement.

We started by putting the queen in the largest bedroom on the ground floor. Since Vseslava was still unconscious, Aerba carried the woman in his arms to the bed and left it in the care of Zagoska. Then he went to the kitchen - to conduct an audit. Artyom went to the office to check the security systems at home, and Cortez took up the phone. He really wanted to discuss one delicate moment with an old friend.

- Commissioner?

- Cortez? - Nav responded amiably. - Glad to hear you.

- Mutually.

“I don't want to sound too perceptive, but I can guess why you're calling.

– To a certain extent, I’m even offended that I’m so predictable.

- It's okay, Cortez, there are worse situations in life.

Considering that Santiaga had lived much longer than the mercenary and much longer than most of the inhabitants of the Secret City, it made sense to listen to his opinion.

“Commissioner, if I didn’t know you as much as I know you, I would definitely think that you set me up,” Cortez said, making it clear that he had moved on to business.

“I thought it might happen, but I give you my word, I didn’t know for sure.

They spoke on a secure line, but still tried to be careful not to call a spade a spade.

- To help.

- How long?

“As many as you can, Cortez, as much as you can…”

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Santiaga made a short pause. - You are a mercenary, Cortes, and you yourself determine the line that you will not cross. I understand that in this case you hardly see the need to risk your life, and I ask you to hold out as long as you can. - Another pause. In this situation, I have no one to rely on but you.

“You do understand that this is the hottest pie that is now in the Secret City, don’t you?” the mercenary asked quietly.

“I understand, Cortez,” Nav confirmed. – I will say more: this pie is too hot for both the Order and the Dark Court. Only you can keep it. But if you don't, I'll understand.

“I need to talk to the team again.

“Do whatever you see fit, and be sure to keep me posted on what’s going on.

- Of course.

The men were silent again, knowing that the conversation was coming to an end, but before saying goodbye, Cortez suddenly asked:

- You said that she had only us left ... Is this a turn of speech or a bitter truth? Does she have friends we can turn to for support?

Translated into normal language, the phrase meant that Queen Vseslava had lost almost all of her allies and the likelihood of her returning to the throne was decreasing every second. And with it, the chances of survival disappear. And not only for the queen, but also for the baby.

The smartest thing would be to drop everything and run, trying to be as far away from the "hot pie" as possible, but Cortez could not leave a woman, especially a woman with a baby. However, I had to ask:

- What do you think, Commissioner, Vseslava can be saved by signing the act of renunciation?

- Vseslav - no, - the nav answered harshly. - I admit: I was mistaken in assessing Vseveda at the first meeting, but now I figured it out and can predict how she will behave. I'm sorry, Cortez, but Vseved will pursue Vseslav and the child until she kills her.

Or until she dies.

“She has enemies within the Great House of Man,” Santiaga smiled. And maybe they think the same.

Do you offer to help them? the mercenary asked.

- It's up to you, Cortez, - Nav avoided a direct answer. - Dark Court...

“It has nothing to do with what is happening,” Cortez finished for the commissar.

- Quite right. Call when there's news.

The mercenary turned off the phone and looked at Artyom, who entered the room.

“It was quiet and calm here, even hares didn’t run into the site, not to mention thieves,” he said, correctly interpreting the questioning look. Boring, in a word.

“That’s what a decent village means,” Cortez grumbled good-naturedly. - And you wanted a detached house.

“No one would have climbed into our detached house either,” the young mercenary grinned, emphasizing the word “ours” in his voice. - I wanted fewer extra eyes around. You never know what could happen.

- It must not happen.

“It doesn’t depend on me,” Artyom grinned.

- And from whom?

- From the one who will look for us. The young mercenary sat down in a chair next to Cortez. “You might think you don’t understand that you can find anyone.

- Understand.

- And they will find us, because they will really search, using all possible resources.

- I know. - Cortez ran his finger along the arm of the chair and repeated: - I know ...

They would certainly be found, and the only question was whether the mercenaries could fight back. Do not withstand a short siege while waiting for help - there will be no help, namely to fight back, repel the assault and quickly move to another point, saving the queen and the baby.

And the answer to this question was positive.

The ordinary-looking cottage was securely protected by magical security systems. The outer circuit consisted of "Silver Bells" - a signal spell that warns of intruders, and a spell so simple that even the strongest magicians of the Secret City could not remove it. Together with the “bells” along the fence, the second famous lasso worked - “Nothing special”, which is a light hypnotic spell that gently hints to potential thieves and hooligans that there is nothing interesting inside and you should go away. I mean, mind your own business. A well-placed "Nothing Special" drove away unwanted guests ninety percent of the time, and if the thieves did not obey, then the "bells" worked and the mercenaries' phones received an intrusion warning.

As for protection, completely different arcana were provided for it.

Firstly, in the "Fortress" mode, a distorting contour was turned on, which did not allow building magical portals on the territory of the site. Secondly, an elastic "shield" was formed, blocking physical blows. Thirdly, the “Ring of the Salamander” was activated, burning into fine ashes everything that tried to get inside without permission, and at the same time the “Navsky Arcana” was launched, sucking energy from magicians and artifacts.

The only drawback of the defense was that for the purposes of conspiracy, the cottage could not be connected directly to the Source of magical energy, the arcana worked on existing reserves, and in the "Fortress" mode, the house could not last more than two or three hours.

Artyom wanted to continue the conversation - he guessed that Cortez was calling Santiaga and wanted to find out the details - but then Airba dragged himself into the living room, and it immediately became a little noisy and a little crowded.

“The baby is sleeping, the midwife is looking after him,” the giant announced loudly, falling on the sofa. “I fed her and told her not to cry.

- Which of them?

- Zagoska.

- What did you feed? Artem asked. - I'm kinda hungry too.

“I found biscuits and jam in the kitchen,” the captain grinned. But this is not enough for a fulfilling life.

- The pantry is full of canned goods ...

- I have seen.

“But it’s better to go to the store and buy normal food,” Cortez finished, throwing a displeased look at the Serb who interrupted him. “By the way, is the queen able to feed the baby?”

"Then what shall we do?"

– A baby should not only be fed, – Artyom said in a mentor tone. “As far as I remember, it takes a lot of everything, from diapers to butt powder.

“I talked to Zagoska and made a list of the things I needed for the first time,” Aerba said.

- Well done.

- This is the list. The captain handed the mercenaries a sheet of paper filled with neat handwriting and grinned as he saw their faces stretch.

“Food, water, diapers…” Artyom scratched his head and sighed: “We won’t get off at the nearest store, we’ll have to go to the city.”

“Just take the local car and try not to shine your face in front of the cameras,” Cortez ordered. And he looked at Aerba: - What is the queen?

- Everything is fine: still unconscious.

- Do you think this is normal?

“This is much better than if she ran around and yelled, periodically wringing her hands and cursing everything in the world,” the Serb explained his position.

“That’s also true,” the mercenary agreed after thinking.

Artyom pricked up his ears, but heard something cautious and expected:

“Honestly, no,” Cortez sighed. Let's wait for the girls and arrange a meeting.

- What did your

Page 18 of 18

a wonderful but non-Orthodox friend in a white suit?

- Asks to protect the queen as long as there is such an opportunity.

“So you won’t die for her?”

- I wouldn't want to.

- Understand. - Aerba paused, chewed his lips, after which he asked again: - And your friend in white does not want to take Vseslav under protection?

"He can't for political reasons," Cortez explained. - If Santiaga supports Vseslav, Vseved will accuse him of interfering in the internal affairs of the Green House and will try to inflate the scandal before the war.

“To distract the people and prevent the Great Houses from putting up a united front against the Yarga.

The cunning Cortes was waiting for a clarifying question or several clarifying questions, but Huerbo only nodded:

- Sad.

And it became clear that he understands what is happening no worse, and maybe even better than the mercenaries.

“Such is life,” grumbled Artyom.

“Yes, she is cruel,” Airba agreed, unexpectedly serious. And then he returned to his usual cheerful tone: - We need to think of something, Orthodox brothers. If we just sit and wait, sooner or later they will come to kill us.

Base team domain Sokolniki

The base of the squad of the Sokolniki domain was deservedly considered one of the most protected fortresses of the Green House and the second most important stronghold in the People sector. Both the legendary Baron Mecheslav himself and many of his ancestors spared no effort and means to strengthen the stronghold, were proud of it, more than once withstood the attacks of navs and miracles in it, not to mention the raids of the rebellious Masans, but, no matter how insulting it is to admit, quite recently the fortress was taken. True, from within, thanks to betrayal, but still it was taken. Which, of course, somewhat tarnished her impeccable reputation.

To the honor of the winners, they did not offend the “falcons” with the occupation, and even more so bring the stronghold into disrepair. The capture turned out to be bloody, but quick, Yarina, for whom, in fact, the attackers were hunting, managed to escape, which forced the participants in the assault to immediately leave the base. And, frankly, a little blood was shed, despite the burning desire of Vsevedy to inflict a full-fledged civil strife. Baron Bakula stood between the angry warriors and resolved the most difficult conflict in peace. And all the dead were on the conscience of Sdemir, who carried disguised battle golems into the fortress.

Sdemir was the only one who shed brotherly blood.

Everyone knew about it.

But so far they have kept quiet about it.

Ordinary people waited for what the higher hierarchs would say, that is, those of them who survived the dizzying events of Saturday and were not accused of treason. The hierarchs, on the other hand, got off with general phrases about “the need to remain calm”, but “not for the record”, making sure that there were no extra ears around, they allowed themselves to openly name the main instigators of the coup.

- It's all the fault of the All-Knowing! Ruzhena snapped sharply.

“Perhaps we are getting ahead of ourselves,” Parasha tried to reason with her. We don't have proof.

The three priestesses gathered in a back room on the second underground level of the fortress. They arrived here secretly and hoped that their enemies would not find out about their meeting. Three fair-haired women in the same strict green dresses - Parasha, Ruzhena and Snezhana, without saying a word, chose the official everyday attire of the highest hierarchs of the Great House of Man.

“We have the most important proof: Vseved got everything,” Ruzhena continued to press. - In a couple of months, the old purse has risen so high that she has only one step left to reach the throne. One step! Who else could be responsible for what happened? Lyubava, whose head was cut off? Or me being pushed aside? Who?

“You have excellent chances in the elections,” said the priestess Snezhana.

- If I live to see them.

- And you try, - advised Parasha. “Be cool and be careful.

The hint turned out to be so transparent that Snezhana turned away, hiding her smile, and Ruzhena took a deep breath, paused and slowly said:

- I'm trying.

And she also turned away, not sure that she could "keep face."

Ruzhena got excited for the simple reason that she herself dreamed of putting on a crown. The career of the young priestess was not as fast as the rise of Vseved, but also very, very fast: at one time, Ruzhena and Snezhana became Vseslava's favorites, they supported her in everything and received titles in gratitude. But if Snezhana remained faithful to her friend and was completely satisfied with the position of the priestess, then Ruzhena immediately began to intrigue against the benefactress and quarreled with Vseslava to the nines. And now she was furious that the cunning Vseved was luckier and managed to come much closer to the coveted throne.

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Title: Kiss of Ouroboros
Writer: Vadim Panov
Year: 2017
Publisher: Eksmo
Age limit: 16+
Genres: Urban fantasy, Fighting fantasy

About the book "The Kiss of Ouroboros" Vadim Panov

Vadim Panov is a famous Russian science fiction writer. He created a whole series of works called " secret city". The action takes place in Moscow, but in its "secret" side. Representatives of civilizations that were considered extinct for a very long time live here. This includes all kinds of evil spirits, like vampires, werewolves. You can read books both separately and starting from the very first part.

The cycle includes many works, including collections of short stories. Vadim Panov created it on his own, however, some works were written in collaboration with other famous writers, such as Igor Pronin, Daria Zarubina, and others. Vadim Panov wrote the book "The Kiss of Ouroboros" on his own and it was published in 2017.

The plot of the book, as always, captures with its dynamic development. It all starts with the fact that the revolutionary Nikolai Morozov learned the secret of immortality. He managed to do this in the Shlisselburg Fortress, where he spent 20 years in prison for an attempt on the life of the Russian Tsar Alexander II. He entered all his knowledge in a diary, which turned out to be already in the modern world.

In many books, the secret of immortality is raised, and many are ready to commit the most terrible crimes for this knowledge. It was for the possession of Morozov's diary that a war unfolded not only

among some residents of Moscow, but also among the inhabitants of the Secret City.

In the book "The Kiss of Ouroboros" there are again many characters. The author united two worlds - the world of magic and our world, namely the inhabitants of the city of Moscow. IN real world there are those who know about the Secret City and even work there as mercenaries. These people are sent to the most responsible and difficult missions, where they have to face the villains and fight not for life, but for death.

The plot in the book develops not only around Morozov's diary. There will also be confrontations between two queens - the new and the old. And one of them has to hide and always run away from the chase. The theme of the time machine is also raised in the work, which

always very exciting and interesting, and adds some zest to the whole work.

Reading a book by Vadim Panov will appeal to all fans of his work. Many noted that his works in collaboration with other writers are less successful than those that he wrote himself. However, it is worth paying tribute to the fact that the entire cycle, which includes several dozen books, is in great demand and success among readers of different ages.

On our literary site books2you.ru you can download Vadim Panov's book "The Kiss of Ouroboros" for free in formats suitable for different devices - epub, fb2, txt, rtf. Do you like to read books and always follow the release of new products? We have a large selection of books of various genres: classics, modern science fiction, literature on psychology and children's editions. In addition, we offer interesting and informative articles for beginner writers and all those who want to learn how to write beautifully. Each of our visitors will be able to find something useful and exciting.

Despite the increased role of the Internet, books do not lose popularity. Knigov.ru has combined the achievements of the IT industry and the usual process of reading books. Now it is much more convenient to get acquainted with the works of your favorite authors. We read online and without registration. The book is easy to find by title, author or keyword. You can read from any electronic device - the weakest Internet connection is enough.

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You save money on shopping printed books. Our online books are free.
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By giving preference to online books, you contribute to the preservation of the environment, because the production of traditional books takes a lot of paper and resources.

August 26th, 2017, 09:05 pm

Is there anything else that can surprise me? Three days of reading and a very strong desire to "Give me more right now!"

Vadim Panov, known from the "Secret City" series and some others, has finally returned to his native book house. Urban fantasy about an alternative Moscow has been popular for a long time. They even filmed a TV series based on it, but Russian TV shows are not at all what you want to see. Books are different!

Volume 32 of Secret City! What made me read this book so quickly? Let's try to figure it out.

Not every quality writer makes it to 32 volumes. Other authors also worked for Panov in this regard. A dozen works by other authors on this world can be safely crossed out. There were also collections of short stories. The number of books "Secret City" in every bookstore that respects the reader is large, but the novelty from the creator of the world has not been released for a long time.

"The Kiss of Ouroboros" welcomes the reader with a baby and witches on the cover for a reason. The main storyline screams to us: "All the troubles are because of women!". Queen Vseslava is weak after giving birth. The Priestess of the All-Knower is trying to take advantage of her weakness and stage a palace coup. There are several priestesses and smaller representatives of the house around at once. Some friends. other enemies. third defectors. And all women! That's real! All women! There is no need to complain about the number of male characters in the plot, but they all manage to be so insignificant even in the main roles. what a wonder. Apparently, his wife and daughters influenced Vadim Panov very much.

I really missed the classic multi-linear plot that connects the characters with a single thread. The classic beginning: a group of mercenaries and witches as part of Artyom. Cortes, Yana and Inga; commissioner Santiaga with an unusual case; all standard characters in their places. Only Uerba ... Ourba ... Aebra stands out for its activity! No. Airba. It looks like it's spelled correctly. And I took a peck at this classic bait with such pleasure! I immediately remembered my first attempts to start the cycle from the middle, and my re-reading of all the books from the very beginning, and how I spat from the series. Everything immediately came to mind. A new book in the first chapter is filled with brief reminder descriptions for old readers. New ones, on the other hand, will be able to understand the main motives of the main characters.

There is no fly in the ointment in a book of honey. There is a passing first impression of a pleasant return to the past with great characters. I still finished the book in 2 days (to be completely accurate, in two days), but she will receive a couple of critical words. First, it's not that deep. A huge amount of dialogue very well shows the behavior of all the characters, but nothing special. If the character is dumb, he doesn't get smarter. if the character is smart, he will give advice. It seems to be nothing special, but I want even more. The second negative is that the book is unlikely to appeal to new readers. You need to enter the Secret City from the very beginning, but a lot of time has already passed here. All character descriptions are minimal, which does not make reading comfortable for an outside reader.

Good or bad - you decide! And I thank