Helena was buried next to the castle in an open space. Her small grave was slightly covered with needles on a low hillock.
"Something needs to be planted here" Linda thought: "Otherwise it will be too empty here".
"We didn't put stones on the grave" Said Dicter: "You said something like that, but I wanted to ask again. That's not how we do it. Why drown the body with stones? Usually a small slab with the name of the deceased carved on it is placed on the grave. The rich prefer to put up an arch. If you want, I can make an order".
"Yes, of course, order an arch for the grave. Do you need money?"
"Thank you, my lady, but I have spent no more than a third of the gold that I have left from your mother. Do you need a report?"
"Later. Please go away, Dicter, I want to be alone with her".
The manager nodded in agreement and left, and Linda sat down on the ground, hugged a pine-scented and sun-warmed hillock, and wept profusely, saying goodbye to the man who was like a mother to her.
Linda thought about it: "Why do we so often fail to appreciate what we have?" Remembering her departed mother, she realized how many missed opportunities there were: "I have never expressed enough tenderness to her, I have not shown her how much I need her. The last time I called her mom was when it was too late. And how sad her eyes were! It turns out that she needed my care so much! And I, an egoist, thought only of myself. I knew she didn't have much time left, but I pushed those thoughts away. Dad said that young people are too self-confident, not wanting to listen to their elders and use their experience, preferring to step on the rake on their own. Your experience is more valuable and remembered better, but sometimes it hurts to learn! This place will remain special to me for the rest of my life. I'll be here often, Mom!"
Mourning her loss, Linda pressed her cheek to the grave, and then stood up resolutely. The wind playing in her hair reminded her of Helena, who was doing the same thing. Wiping away her tears, she headed deeper into the forest, going deeper into it step by step. After looking around and making sure that no one was around, Linda took off her dress and began to beat it against the trunk of a tree, trying to get rid of the black sand that was still left in it.
She changed her clothes, took off her shoes and carefully began to shake the sand out of them. Although the antidote was taken, it was still wrong to leave this dirty mark on clothes and shoes. Even if it was no longer dangerous for her, Dina could get hurt. But the Scarecrow was a real scoundrel! The snake-like bastard! And in this, Helena had correctly warned her.
After finishing cleaning, Linda opened a portal to her rooms in the castle, lit the remaining ball with demons and sat down at the table. She began to disassemble and clean the gun, then loaded the cartridges again, regretting that one of them was left on the sand. There was a showdown with the priests, and it was necessary to prepare for it competently. Now they have patched up their wounds, and then, probably, they will begin to share the posts that were vacated after that... It was hard to predict what would happen next. It was obvious that of course she would not be forgiven for her actions, but it was possible that they could take revenge themselves or even go to the king for her head.
It was urgently necessary to return and warn Wadish about everything that had happened so that he would not face an unpleasant surprise for him. And such screams will begin in her world when they find out that she went to meet a crowd of enemies in their shelter with only a gun and a mysterious beast! No one knows about this at the moment, but Jenson will tell the management everything later. She knew perfectly well how important she was to the leadership of her country. Of course, she was offered protection from the very beginning, but she did not agree.
They had excellent specialists working for them, but in the world of magic here, they could be powerless and die. If they agreed, then they should have been given the same amulets as the Nome. Only then will the guards be able to compete with the magicians.
Now we need to deal with these amulets, although it is unknown whether we will be able to achieve anything. Helena didn't pay much attention to them and trained Linda to create them only as needed. But this is understandable: the masters did not have amulets similar to those of the Temple priests, because for strong magicians they did not matter. Although Linda herself would not have refused an amulet that could hide the presence of a magician.
Even the Scarecrow could not sense the presence of the priests who wore such amulets. Linda holstered the pistol, secured the spare clips on her belt, and opened a portal to her bedroom at the manor. She should have changed her dress for a more comfortable pantsuit, since there were traces of blood on her previous clothes from fights with priests. After changing her clothes, she went to her mother's room and met Dina on the way.
"Dear madam!" The girl was delighted: "You are finally home!"
When Linda saw Dina, her face was transformed with joy: "How are you feeling, let me check you out?" She asked Dina.
"I'm fine. This killer hit me and I lost consciousness. Then Golder shook me awake and put me on his bed" Dina replied.
"You don't seem to have any serious injuries. Dina, find Fancor, don't give him something to do. And where did the priest's body go?" Linda asked.
"I don't even know if the Fancore was carrying him away. I'm going to look for a Fancore, my lady!" Dina said and ran away. Linda went to Helena's bedroom. The old carpet has already been removed and a new one has been put in. She stopped at the table and picked up the amulets on a string. When she sensed the warrior's appearance, she turned to the door.
"Hello, Rinda, have you been looking for me?" Fancore asked her.
"Come on, Fancore, have a seat. I would like to ask you. Put this amulet around your neck... something is not working out".
"What exactly is not working?"
"Unfortunately, he doesn't work for you. This amulet helped the priest to remain unnoticed by the magicians, but it does not suit you. A thought occurred to me, Fancore, do you happen to know any of the robbers?"
"And why did you need robbers?" Asked Fancore, surprised.
"I thought it would be nice to capture one of the Temple priests without involving the king in this venture" Rinda replied.
"Are you crazy, Rinda? The priests will never forgive such an act!"
"Now I don't care" She retorted: "Today I killed several high priests with my Beast and everyone who got in our way. Now I have nothing to lose by kidnapping one of them".
"So tell me what happened there! I must inform the king of everything" Fancore insisted.
"Let's do it differently. You go to the king and arrange for me to come through my portal. After all, I can appear in any place of the palace that I know, so let him choose. I'll tell him all the details, and your curiosity can be satisfied later. Yes, I almost forgot, but where is the spy's body?"
"Royal investigators have seized the killer's body and the weapon he used. Killing a magician who served at court is a serious matter. They need to investigate and punish those who are guilty of this. I've kept the amulets for now".
"Thank you for the amulets. And I have already killed the guilty ones on my own. As for the robbers?"
"Let's talk about your idea with our king first, and then I'll decide who can be involved in this matter. Don't you need me at the moment? Then I'm going to the king".
Fancore quickly stormed out of the room, narrowly missing the door as Jenson was about to enter.
"Can I come in?" The instructor asked.
"Yes, of course, come in" The invitation sounded.
"Let's talk if we have time. How is the training of the soldiers going?"
"It is gradually progressing. I teach in groups of ten people. Linda, I'm really sorry that this bastard was able to get into the mansion and kill your foster mother. You've already been through a lot, and now there's this trouble".
"Thanks for the support. Helena didn't have much time. They made a serious mistake by killing a man who was going to die soon anyway, and now they have completely lost valuable guidance".
"What do you mean?" Jenson didn't understand.
"You'll find out anyway, so it's better if you're aware of what happened. I returned to my castle, summoned the Beast - I have such a "friend", and we took a short tour to the Temple of the priests of Mashun. I punished those responsible for the death of my mother and, by the way, I tested your "gift" in practice" Here she slapped her hand on the holster with a pistol: "You were right - a powerful weapon brings much more benefit than what I asked for from the very beginning".
"You shouldn't have risked it that way! You are the only link between our worlds. If you don't think about yourself or that if you have to die, I will stay here alone and stay here forever, then at least think about your country. Do you have any idea what plans my management is making to cooperate with you and with this world?"
"Well, of course! That's what I expected you to say. The only person who really loved me was killed, and now I'm completely alone. You call yourself my friend, but can we be friends if you always put your business interests first? I appreciate my country and am ready to help it, but I am not ready to sacrifice myself for it. I am no longer the naive girl I once was, and I understand perfectly well that for the country and its officials, an ordinary person does not matter. All that matters to them is what use it can be. Exceptions are extremely rare. Yes, a lot of good things are done for people, but most often it happens out of formal necessity. The attack on the Temple did not seem so dangerous to me, but it is impossible to live in this world without risk. I managed to get hold of the amulets of the priests. If I figure them out, I can protect ordinary people from magic. At this point, I may need a bodyguard, unless, of course, your management changes their mind".
"How many more weapons are you going to buy?"
"It is necessary to go four times for machine guns, then it will be necessary to transport grenades".
"Are you going to buy weapons later?"
"It will probably be enough for now. I ordered a lot of things and products for myself, but it will all be saved for another time. I was also asked to visit someone from your management for treatment".
"Do you agree?"
"It won't be difficult for me. I can find the right place from a photo, and the treatment procedure may not take that long".
"And what is Fancore going to do now?"
"He's arranging a meeting with the king for me. I want to discuss how he will behave in case of complaints from the priests".
"And if they don't complain?"
"Who knows? There will be changes in leadership in the Temple soon. The war with Vardia is on the way, and it is important for them to be informed, so it is somewhat risky to contact the king because of my affairs. Most likely, they will want to take revenge on me on the sly and on their own".
"Maybe it's better for you to stay in your old world for now?"
"Thank you for taking care of me, but I have a lot of things to do in this world right now. Hiding for the rest of your life is not an option. It's better to wait, find out what they came up with, and show that it was untenable. And it must be shown in such a way that it will be a lesson for those who will survive, so that they will never forget it".
"Do you think you have enough strength?"
"I haven't finished telling you yet. My Beast is fascinated by how the gun works and has pulled me into his world. He presents our friendship as a service: I helped you - complete my task as well. So I completed the task by shooting one of his relatives in the head with a pistol. They were at odds with each other. Then I had to drink dragon's blood to survive. My friend claims that this drink gives me ten times more strength and makes me the most powerful magician in this world".
"It was impossible to take the risk and go for all this!"
"As usual, he didn't ask my permission before transferring me to his world".
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"And what was the result, I mean, did you feel anything? Wasn't your Beast mistaken?"
"It is not profitable for him to lie, and power does not come immediately. Now that's enough. Would you rather tell me how it is with you and Dina? I'm interested in the basic information, the details are not important".
"You're always complicating things, and you're acting beyond your years" Jenson said thoughtfully.
"What's the difficulty? You know perfectly well that I'm fourteen and a half".
"You don't look your age. It's not just about looks. You talk and express your thoughts like an adult. Dina is two years older than you, but if you compare her to you, she looks like a child".
"I was smeared with a special ointment" Linda explained: "And then I began to look much more mature".
"Haha, funny ointment" Jenson laughed at how she reacted: "But I wanted to say that I'm more interested in the development of your brain, not your physical body. Your level of spoken language is adult, teenagers don't speak like that. They are less structured, jump from topic to topic and use a lot of unnecessary words. You tend to be more disciplined in conversation, for sure, it's not because of the ointment".
Linda wondered: "Maybe the reason is that I took a decoction for a long time to improve my memory, and it somehow affected my mental abilities?"
"Perhaps we should give the decoction to our doctors for analysis?" The interlocutor suggested.
"I've already done it. I had a flask with this drink in the orphanage, and I gave it as a sample of our silver, at the same time warning about the magical properties of the drink. By the way, why is everyone in your organization so evasive? I asked you about one thing, and our conversation turned into another channel" Linda asked.
"What did you want to hear from me? That I love Dina? Maybe, so what's next? We both know that there can only be a minor romance between us, and she deserves more!" The interlocutor noted.
"Your situation is also clear. You're acting exactly like Jonah. I'm not even going to recommend anything. You're a grown-up guy, and even though my brain has improved, I don't understand love at all. Father example once told mother that short-lived but vivid love is better than a long but empty relationship. Of course, I didn't listen on purpose, it just happens to hear something not for my ears. From the looks of it, it was a pretty serious conversation. If you react carelessly, unpleasant consequences may arise. We need to think about everything carefully. Listen, is that a Fancor coming? Maybe I should ask him a question. Do you have any other questions or suggestions for me?" Linda asked, ending the conversation.
"Fancore, you're back!" Linda was delighted: "Do you have anything for me?"
"My Lady, I have received an answer for you from the king" Fancore replied: "His Majesty wishes to speak with you in his pink drawing room".
An experienced warrior always adhered to palace etiquette in front of outsiders.
Linda smiled politely in response: "Would you like to keep me company?"
"Thank you, my lady, but His Majesty would like to meet with you alone" Fancore replied.
Linda nodded to both men and opened the portal.
"She got here fast!" The king noticed when he saw Linda in front of him: "Did you ride a horse like a madwoman all the time? Have a seat, Rinda. Tell me what happened in the Temple. I've ordered my guards not to let anyone in here, so we can talk quite frankly".
Linda sat down next to the king and briefly told him only about the events related to the Temple.
"What are you planning to do next?" Vadish asked.
"It depends on how the Temple administration behaves further. Or do you mean my action with the possible abduction of a priest?" Helena answered.
"That's exactly it. I understand how hard it was for you after losing your mother, but why didn't you come to me?" Vadish continued the conversation.
"What would you suggest? I didn't want you to have a conflict with the Temple because of me. We were not prepared for a possible war, and the priests are a powerful force that is supported not only in this kingdom, but also beyond its borders. They are not just a warring party, they are also a cult organization. In addition to the priests, there are many followers of Mashun in the kingdom, who will be outraged to learn that the king is persecuting their faith. But in another way, the persecution of priests will not be understood. Most likely, this will become a matter of principle for the priests. They attacked me, and I naturally responded in kind".
"And if they attack again?" Vadish continued to pry.
"I'm going to do the same thing again. They shouldn't underestimate me. They won't be able to handle my Beast so easily, and I've already proven my ability to defend myself more than once, remaining unharmed. They will probably want revenge through intermediaries. Perhaps they will contact you first, or they will immediately hire someone else".
"You're so calm about it!" Vadish was surprised.
"Absolutely not. But there's no point in panicking. I have defenders in my world-the strongest warriors who will protect me from any danger except magic, which they have no protection against. Moreover, I now have amulets that belonged to the murdered spy priest. This magician had a special power, and Helena did not notice her existence, not him. My Beast also didn't notice them in the temple. Everything indicates that the priests have learned to create the perfect amulets for disguise. In addition, the killer was wearing amulets, the functions of which are still unknown to me. Masters do not seek to create powerful amulets, as this weakens their control over people. The priests created something amazing, and I can't even imagine what kind of spells they put into these amulets" Explained Helena.
"What if we just make a copy?"
"This is unlikely to help. They are smart and have linked the amulets to the personality of the owner. They worked for Nome, but for Fancore, nothing worked anymore".
"Do you need a priest to help you in any way?"
"Yes, it would be nice! Your people are not suitable, but robbers would be ideal for dealing with the Temple. Or some criminals who don't care who they kill, as long as they get paid well".
"Will you give me amulets if I can help?"
"And who do I work for? Isn't it for you? Your soldiers will be fine with such amulets".
"Then I will discuss this issue with my chancellor. He has reliable people who belong to the guild of assassins. In the meantime, I have to wait to see who will be chosen as the supreme in the Temple and what they will come to tell me. And you need to be extremely careful! Completely eliminate horseback riding. If you need to contact me or the chancellor urgently, go through the portal to the room where the weapons are sent in the morning. It's always locked, but one key will be left inside for you. The guards are aware and will help you. By the way, my magic school is now under guard, and every teacher is secretly watched by guards. Are you going home now?"
"Yes, today was a hard day for me. I'm tired, I feel mentally exhausted, and I'm not feeling well at all. No, I don't need any help right now. I'm going to go home and try to get a good night's sleep".
"We'll have to increase the security of your mansion".
"Let's discuss this tomorrow. I have no meetings scheduled today, but for greater security, I will give Fancore and Magla machine guns, and Golder and I have personal weapons".
"I guessed that you would definitely buy a weapon for yourself".
"Most of it is intended for your army and guards. I have left very little for myself and I do not plan to give it to anyone".
A couple of days ago, Linda went to the castle and returned to the mansion with three machine guns and twenty filled magazines for them, so after talking with the king, she armed her guards. She refused to take the machine gun for herself, believing that a pistol would be enough. In addition to fatigue, she had a severe headache, and for some reason she began to feel very sick.
The desire to heal herself with magic only worsened her condition. Dina helped Linda back to bed and gave her water, as she was also very thirsty. The nausea became worse, and in the end, yes Linda began to spew out the contents of her stomach along with some dark lumps. It looked like sand from the Scarecrow's world.
"Don't touch it!" Linda shouted in a hoarse voice to the frightened Dinah, who was watching in fear: "This is a strong poison. Wrap a rag on some stick and put it away. Then throw the rag in the garbage pit".
After she threw up, Linda felt a little better. The temperature seemed to rise, and she began to shake in a fever, but she set herself to sleep and fell asleep, plunging into a dream full of some confusing nightmarish passages. In the morning, she woke up in a bad mood, and she didn't feel any better. She didn't want to get up at all, but she urgently needed to go get another batch of weapons.
Linda put on a pantsuit, drank only a glass of water for breakfast and went through the portal to the royal castle, to the room where the gold lay, which had to be paid. Deciding not to waste any time, she took the bags of gold with her and crossed the rainbow portal. Due to illness, she was somewhat delayed, and the people who gathered in the hangar greeted her appearance with obvious relief.
"Have a nice day, everyone!" Linda greeted, putting the bags on the floor of the hangar: "I need to get back urgently, so take my gold and move your cargo. Is everything ready? Then let the download begin".
Now the weapons were carried on specialized stretchers to avoid damage after falling when thrown through the portal.
"I don't feel well today, but I promise to be on time tomorrow" Linda reassured her superiors: "It would be nice to prepare four shipments at once tomorrow, and we will send them all at the same time. Take the gold in the same room".
Returning to the royal palace, Linda opened the door with the key that had been left for her and went to look for the king. On the way, she met a patrol and the senior informed her that the king and the chancellor were waiting for representatives of the Mashun Temple in the reception hall.
"Scoundrels!" Linda muttered when she found out about it: "They quickly got a new ruler".
She didn't want to appear at the meeting with the priests in such a state of hunting, so Linda went straight to her bedroom from the hallway. When she appeared in her room, she collapsed on the bed without undressing.
Lunch time had already flown by, but I just thought about food and it made my nausea worse. Linda, having suppressed her appetite, went to the table and drank water from the jug that Dina had thoughtfully left for her. Then she undressed and went back to sleep.
Waking up just before dinner, Linda felt that the fever had receded, her head did not hurt so much, and even the desire to eat appeared. After putting on the robe that she had asked to be sent to her from her world, she headed to the dining room through the hallway. Jenson, Fancore, and Dina were already having dinner in the refectory. Haya and Gasd usually sat down to eat after everyone else, and the Muggle, according to the laws of her world, ate separately.
"Is there anything left for me?" Linda asked: "Or did you happily eat everything while the hostess was ill?"
"Oh, mistress!" Dina exclaimed, throwing up her hands in resentment: "Thank the gods that you felt better!"
"Unfortunately, not quite yet, but it's already better. There is no time to get sick, you need to get back to normal. It's been a long time since this happened to me. And it's all my big friend's fault, you damn egoist! Would you serve me something to eat, or should I go ask Hai myself?"
"Of course, I'll bring it now! Would you like scrambled eggs with kefir?" Dina suggested.
"Exactly what you need! Bring it quickly".
After dinner, Linda felt better. There was only a slight weakness, and suddenly I felt very sleepy again, despite the fact that I had already slept for seventeen hours, taking into account the night hours. Realizing that the body knows better how it will be better, she returned to the bedroom and fell asleep.
The awakening happened mysteriously. There was a strange leak in the body... something. Something was moving, bubbling and expanding, but it clearly wasn't her blood. Once again remembering the Scarecrow with a bad word, Linda stood up, feeling an incomprehensible, but at the same time pleasant lightness inside. It seemed that she weighed practically nothing, but she did not float in the air, but walked as always, so the weight was normal, and something else caused a feeling of lightness.
It was eight in the morning on the alarm clock, and in order to arrive on time today, Linda undertook to put everything in order first, and only then to have breakfast, taking her time. After changing her clothes, she tried to create a gate to move to the exchange room of the castle, but suddenly discovered that she was already in it. Not understanding what had happened, she decided to light up the dim room with her palm to find the key. The ray of light that shot out of her hand hurt her eyes, even though she was holding her palm in a completely different direction.
Linda narrowed her eyes and found the key that unlocked the door. Yesterday, feeling unwell, she did not inform the king about the need to prepare gold to pay for four shipments of weapons, so there were only bags with the usual amount of gold in the room. This oversight should have been corrected.
Linda shouted when she saw a patrol in the corridor: "Where is your king now?"
"His Majesty has already gone to the refectory for lunch, Marquise!" The soldier replied, looking at her enthusiastically.
With a grateful nod of her head, Linda headed for the royal dining room, wondering what could have caused this guardsman such admiration. The performance with the portal and the ray of light from the palm of her hand, as if from a searchlight, were most likely related to the promised increase in strength, but what made the old soldier look at her so admiringly?
As usual, there was a guard of four guards near the dining room doors, who were armed with machine guns.
"I'm very sorry, Your Honor" The patrol sergeant told her: "But His Majesty does not wish to be distracted while eating. We had no orders regarding you".
Agreeing with him, Linda, ignoring them, calmly appeared in the refectory, passing through the portal. For the king, she appeared out of nowhere next to his table, even scaring him a little, and his brother and a beautifully dressed guest, absorbed in eating, did not notice her.
"The Marquise!" Vadish turned to her in surprise, looking askance at his guest: "Welcome to join us. Would you like to have breakfast with us?"
"With great pleasure, Your Majesty" Linda agreed, realizing that it was not worth being too familiar with the king in the presence of outsiders: "I only ask you to order the remaining gold to be brought, and I would have paid you right away".
"Horace, arrange this" Vadish turned to his brother: "Marquise, let me introduce you to the Duke of Varsky, Don Arjen. Whose duchy borders on Vardia, so I decided to introduce him to our affairs".
The Duke hurried to help Linda take a seat, pulled out a chair for her and helped her sit down.
"Thank you, Duke of Varsky" Linda said, and turned to the king: "Your Majesty, I hope that my question about yesterday's reception of the priests from the Temple will not spoil your appetite. Your guards are looking at me strangely all the time today, and the thought arises that this may be related to yesterday's reception of the priests. They didn't treat me like that before their visit".
Vadish laughed nonchalantly: "The priests came to me with a complaint about your unexpected visit to their Temple. If I were them, I would prefer a face-to-face conversation, but the priests came to a general reception and began to complain that you appeared in the Temple in the company of a Giant Beast and made a mess, killing about fifty priests, including the highest leaders of the Temple and the Order. They strongly demand justice and your punishment, and I promised them I would definitely look into it. The rumor about you spread throughout the capital within two hours, and the chancellor even added a story from home that your mother, who served the king and received security guarantees, was killed by a priest from the Temple who sneaked into your home".
"And what do the residents of the city say about this?" Linda asked, adding the snacks she liked last time to her plate.
"The reaction of the residents? Almost everyone is on your side, although there are certainly dissatisfied ones, but only because of the appearance of the Beast in the capital" The king replied, shrugging his shoulders.
"And the companions of the Mashun cult?" Linda asked, keeping her tone friendly.
"They differ little from the rest in their beliefs and rules, which may seem incomprehensible only to you, Marquise. Believers in this religion believe that force is always right, and your action in resolving the dispute confirms this principle. However, the priests, appealing to me with a complaint, will not remain inactive. The leadership of the Temple needs to find a way to save face and earn respect. Tomorrow, the priests will appear before me again, and I will announce the results of the investigation. My staff came to the conclusion that the killer was a priest of the main temple of Mashun, and further evidence of their guilt is no longer needed.
I hope that the priests will use their influence wisely and not turn to threats. In case of defeat, they will be the first in front of the Boers, whom they themselves had previously destroyed with even more zeal than the masters. And these bloodsuckers don't forget their grudges. So they're going to get another lesson in honor and dignity, this time from me. And you'd better hurry up with our business and get down to the tasks for which we hired your services, my faithful friend. And here comes the prince. The gold you mentioned has already been prepared. Have breakfast, and I'll see you off personally".