The People of Siar finally dared to retake their daily routine after hiding for many days in the depths of their grotto, afraid that Yātrīkar will turn back and will hurt them because of their failure. Also, they were afraid that the other Samaya will find out about their den and that she’d tell Tenebre about it and, in the end, Yātrīkar will chase them forever.

  But even if they were happy to be out of the grotto again, they found that it was a strange sun in the sky, however, and namely this made Samaya stare at the sky for a long while.

  Yellen, who just turned back from the river, after washing the laundry, still with the basket with wet clothes in her hands, spotted the preoccupation on Samaya’s face and approached her. „Something happens?”

  „It seems so. The sun is so pale today, even if it seems to burn in all force.”

  „And… is this something bad? Sometimes is better to be pale. Thus, it allows us and nature to breathe. At least a little bit.”

  „No, Yellen. The sun must powerfully shine during this period of time, allowing the soil to prepare for the harsh winter. It's why the sun has been created. It must be pale only during the winter, and not in the middle of the summer when the sun rays must warm everything around.”

  „Then?”

  „I think that there is another sun in the sky. A black one.”

  Protecting her eyes with her palm, Samaya narrowed her eyes and tried to look at the pale sun rays and she finally saw what she was looking for: there was another sun behind the pale one, but the second sun wasn’t seen very well because it was just forming its shape and it was completely black.

  When a cold gust of wind started to blow around, making people slowly tingle, the others also looked in the same direction as Samaya did and they also saw the second sun in the sky.

  „What is this? What’s going on? Is this the end?” They were asking, but there wasn’t anybody able to answer.

  Yellen and Samaya glanced at each other, preoccupied, but they also didn’t know what to say. However, they winced, listening to Nathaniel’s voice behind them. „Master Dike, King Island, and God Boor are finally back,” he said and showed them to look in the distance.

  Dike, Island, and Boor were definitely approaching the Grotto of Siar People, and each of them was holding the bridle of a horse: black were those of Boor and Dike, and the one of Island was as the top of the milk.

  „Finally,” Samaya whispered. „If they are here, we still have a chance to succeed,” and she ran toward her father.

  Seeing her hurrying up toward them, Dike smiled because Samaya didn't show such joy seeing him since long ago.

  Actually, the last time when he saw her that happy has been long before to meet Mayar in the Glade of Shadows, and the Titan missed this so much.

  „Something happens, Samaya?” He asked, being only a few steps from each other.

  Taking the girdle from her father’s hand and caressing the horse’s snout, who stopped when he felt her next to him, Samaya said, avoiding Dike’s glance: „Yātrīkars! They crossed these lands… just a few days ago. Right in front of the grotto and heading North. It seems that something happens there, but I can’t use my power to reach those lands.”

  Boor and Island also stopped a few steps from them, not understanding what was happening.

  Eventually, Dike looked at them and said while the preoccupation has been felt in his voice: „It seems that Yātrīkars started to act at Tenebre’s command.”

  „It was something that we expected. Not for nothing, King Coallar was so sure of what he was doing,” Boor curtly said. „Where are my girls?”

  „They aren’t back yet,” Samaya looked at him, answering his question in a low voice. Suddenly she shuddered and looked elsewhere. „Don’t get me wrong, God Boor, but I see King Coallar in your glance and… I don’t know why, but I feel fear.”

  „It’s probably because he says something nice about me right now,” Boor tried to joke, and, spurring his horse, he passed by them.

  Island followed his son. But, while passing by Samaya, he stopped for a few moments, touched her shoulder, and smiled at her. „Don’t pay attention to my son’s words. He just looks black because he couldn’t end with Coallar. We only imprisoned him inside of a magic cube and it will take him a long while to get out of there. And... even if he uses his whole power, he’ll find it quite difficult to release himself. What I reck of is that Fenrir and the others aren’t back yet and… with this black sun in the sky… my black hunches are taking over me like the ravens, finding fresh meet,” and he moved forward.

  Dike and Samaya looked at the sky, both preoccupied. „I saw this black sun in the sky once,” the young girl said.

  „Did you see Upprisinn’s death?” Dike asked and Samaya just nodded.

  „The day Yātrīkars crossed these lands. It happened because a lot of Siar People were still out of the grotto, but Yātrīkars were close. So, I and Yellen have decided to delay them and we went deep into the forest. But I saw there a lot of weird things… events that I didn’t experience, but I felt as if they were mine. And… this sun was also illuminating in the sky then, father, and… it became even darker when someone took the dagger Lifid Ibloma from Upprisinn’s hand when she was dying.”

  „The Path of Death!” Dike whispered and he looked at the sky again. „This sun is Maranam, Samaya. The real Master of Death, but I never saw its physical shape here, on Earth and I think that nobody saw it ever. But it seems that it is written in stars to meet him… we all.”

  „Do you think it has something to do with Coallar and his people? There, in the forest, I met Mayar,” and, listening to the name of the other one, Dike winced and stared at his daughter. „Don’t worry, father. Nothing happened and it seems that she doesn’t look to continue the battle that started 13 years ago either. But yet… she knows about the daggers and… about the devil with the black diamond shining between his horns.”

  „About Mannar? But… how did she find out about this?”

  „I’m not that sure, but she entered Coallar’s den that day. I didn’t see if they met or not, but… she was there and… I lost my voice again. It has been so scary, father. So frightening. More with you and Fenrir far away from me.”

  Dike spotted tears in Samaya’s eyes, for the first time. That's why he stretched his hand and touched her cheek, trying to comfort her.

  But the girl simply laid her head on his palm and closed her eyes. And they stood like this for minutes, but when a sudden thunder has been heard piercing the sky, they both looked up and they saw Palar gathering black, heavy clouds around him.

  „Why is Palar here?” Dike asked and he saw Boor and Island hurrying up toward them.

  „Dike, it seems that something happened with our children. Not for nothing, Palar is here. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have left Sephir alone because he’s the only one capable to control Navarro and if Palar isn’t with Sephir they can’t turn back on the horse. We must do something!” Boor yelled.

  „No, wait!” Samaya said and she stretched her hand up, palm facing the cloud. „It seems that Palar wants to tell us something. Come on, Palar! Talk to us! We’re listening to you!”

  When she felt on her palm the first cold raindrops, she closed her eyes and vanished from next to Dike and Boor.

  „And this is something I don’t like!” Boor hissed the words between the teeth. Then, he whistled and his horse, black like the pitch, galloped toward them. Then, when the horse was just a step from Boor, he jumped in the air and landed on the horse’s back… the horse jerked in the air, stretching two huge, black wings at the side, raising them both in the air.

  „Let’s go too!” Dike told his horse, climbing on his back, and the horse flew behind the Boor’s horse.

  Getting between the mad clouds, Boor and Dike had to face first the black and heavy clouds and the storm wind, which were felt there.

  Yet, Boor could manage to protect them eventually from being hurt only by touching the whip at his girdle, forming a kind of path between the clouds, and they finally got not that far from Palar and they saw Samaya kneeling next to Marry’s body and her hand was slowly moving above the dead one’s body and that movement revealed, inside Marry, the Clock's needle.

  „The Clock of the Time!” Boor whispered. „But… how is this possible?”

  „It was between humans,” Dike calmly said because he had always known about this. „But it seems that Samaya hasn’t the power to take that needle out of the body, even if she can see the Clepsydra of the Time.”

  „It’s because the needle looks for a new master between the humans and the People of Siar must take the responsibility for this,” Samaya said.

  „But the curse of my mother pulls them back from having this power,” Boor added.

  „No, Boor. You are mistaken this time because the light of yesterday's sun has burned the thread of that curse and the People of Siar are free again. It’s why the Clepsydra of the Time sent the needle here… it seems that there is the small hand of the Clock and its mechanism are also between them.”

  Dike’s words made Samaya look toward the ground where the People of Siar were gathered in one place, in front of the grotto, looking at the sky and waiting for what was coming next.

  „Let’s go, Palar! It’s time to take this burden off your shoulders!” Samaya told the cloud.

  „It was already the time!” Palar murmured upset. „Not for nothing, but I have urgent things to do and Yātrīkars crabbed my game with their travel over here.”

  Ranting and raving, Palar approached Earth. Only about two meters from the ground, he stopped and slowly floated in the air.

  Dike and Boor descended from off the horses’back, approached the cloud, took Marry’s body from off the soft pillows of Palar’s body, and brought it into the grotto.

  „What’s happening here? Who’s this young woman?” Siar People asked again, gathering in one place to see better what was going on.

  After leaving Marry on clean bedding, prepared in a rush by the old ladies of the group, Samaya kneeled next to the body and, forming a cube in her hand, she managed to reflect on it the last moments of Marry’s life while moving the cube above her body.

  „Goyan!” Dike hissed the words through the teeth. „He’s doing bad things again!”

  „But, Dad, I feel Goyan’s presence so weak. It seems that he’s also dead,” and her words amazed Dike, Island, and Boor.

  While Samaya was moving her hand above the girl, the big hand of the Clock was seen clearer and clearer, but only Samaya could see it at first. Then, a kind of tictac was heard around and when they looked in the same direction where the sound was coming from, they all saw Nathaniel sitting on a sack and cleaning his sword.

  Yet, he looked so calm and at all surprised to hear that sound, and the same happened to Yellen that was not that far from her brother, touching one palm of the other and trying to calm the heartbeats from her chest this way.

  Namely this movement and the power of Samaya’s cube made the small hand of the Clock be seen inside Yellen’s left forearm and the mechanism of the clock was seen inside Nathaniel’s chest.

  „Did you know about this?” Samaya asked them in amazement.

  „Yes. But we didn’t have the right to tell this to you or to anybody else,” Yellen answered. „It’s a secret of our people.”

  „I found out about the existence of the mechanism of the Clock when I was 9 and I fell into the water,” Nathaniel whispered. „I was playing alone on the river shore that day and I saw something dreamy shining above the waters at a moment and I decided to get to it.

  I didn’t know what it was, but that shining was dragging me toward it and, even if I didn’t know to swim, I entered the water.

  Only a few meters from the shore, I got out of the river’s depth and it started to powerfully drag me underwater and it also forced me to fight against that current. But it was too much for a weak child like I was and, in the end, I gave up, convinced that I have no chance to survive.

  However, while still falling down and down the water, I saw something in front of my eyes - a shining Clepsydra and… behind it… it was reflected in the form of a big, golden Clock.”

  „The Clock of the Times!” Island whispered and Dike slowly nodded.

  „The same Clock Samaya sees, but… I thought that she was the only one seeing it. It seems that I was wrong.”

  „And… what happened next?” Samaya insisted to find out the rest of the story.

  „Nothing out of the ordinary. I just saw the Clock and I heard the mechanism ticking inside my chest. But... when I touched it, I also felt its movement and I understood that it was weird, but I didn’t know what it was. Then, it was the water that brought me back to the shore. When my parents and the rest of our people found me later, I was unconscious, and later, when I told them about what I saw, they considered it as being my imagination only… the ravings of a child that escaped death.”

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  „And… I found out about the needle when Nathaniel met Samaya,” Yellen said. „However, it wasn’t weird for me because I have always been weird, but… I could tell only Nathaniel about this and he decided to keep silent and wait to see what will happen.”

  „Come closer!” Samaya told Yellen and the girl obeyed.

  And... as Yellen got closer to Samaya and Marry, the needle from Marry’s body was exiting more and more. Then, it floated above her and nine beatings of the Clock had been heard around before the hand of the Clock vanished in the air and it has been seen later inside of Yellen’s arm, next to the smaller one.

  But only Samaya saw both needles together and, sadly smiling, she moved her palm above Marry’s face, finally closing her open eyes. „Rest in peace!” Samaya whispered and a total silence took over the grotto.

  Yet, Palar’s thundering chased that moment of silence away.

  That's why Boor turned feisty toward the cloud, intending to scold him for being disobedient, but he stared in amazement in front of him when he saw Navarro there.

  „Sephir!” He mumbled. „Sephir and the others are in danger! Let’s go, Dike!” He yelled and both ran toward the horses, climbed on their back, and spurred them to follow Navarro and Palar, which turned back to the sky to show them the way toward the place where Fenrir and the others were.

  Seeing them leaving again, Samaya turned her head and sadly watched behind them: „I wonder if we have peace one day,” she whispered, but nobody said anything because they were too immersed in thoughts, trying to figure out why a girl like Marry decided to end with her life just to protect others.

***

  A downfall was washing the forest in cold tears where Fenrir and the others spent the night. However, all around wasn’t heard only the noise of the raindrops or the silence as it was in the grotto of Siar People, but a deafening noise of a fierce battle between Sephir, Fenrir, Bestla, and Arion was also heard, and this was due to the fact that Arion and Bestla completely lost their minds and attacked the two spouses.

  It was still sunny when they hit the road and the sky was clear and wasn’t any trace that it’ll be stormy soon or that evil was lurking at them. However, Bestla suddenly jumped up, tightly grabbed the handle of the sword, and attacked Sephir.

  Listening to Bestla’s call to advance, Sephir managed to avoid the attack, but it didn’t make Bestla stop… she kept attacking, intending to kill her sister.

  „Arion, do something!” Sephir screamed, but when she looked at Arion, she saw his red, killing eyes as he had while fighting with Goyan and this scared her. „Maranam!” Sephir whispered afraid and she shuddered. „Fenrir, I finally found out who’s controlling them. It’s Maranam, the Sun of Death.”

  „This name seemed known to me, but I didn’t know that it had a face too,” Fenrir growled, suddenly taking his wolf shape. „Stay behind me, Sephir. If they want to hurt you, they first must pass by me.”

  Sephir approached him and grabbed him by the fur, squeezing it without hurting him. „It seems that I’m their target, but… I don’t understand why?! And… how the hell could Bestla fall right now?! And Arion… he was the one who told me that he better dies than hurt us. But… look at him now: he’s a perfect killing machine.”

  „You said that Maranam controls them, right?”

  „Yeah, why?”

  „Well, it stinks bad enough all around and I don’t know why I have the feeling that I smelled this stink before. Doesn’t it seem known to you too?”

  Sniffing the horizon, Sephir shuddered. „The snake Ian Gyar. But… how’s this possible? He’s dead.”

  „We’ll find out this soon because even if the Sun of Death is somewhere near us, it can’t control these two fools without controlling me first and this is weird.”

  „What do you mean, Fenrir?” And Sephir looked confused into the wolf’s eyes, who slowly turned toward her and grinned. „Don’t tell me that… are you the real Master of Death?”

  „At least this is what my dreams say. The rest… we’ll see it later. What do you say? Should I leave your little sister for you? Not for nothing, but I don’t want to stub my fangs in her pretty face or Arion kills me when he wakes up. I’ll take Arion: not just once I felt the sweet taste of his blue blood. Feeling it once again, it will be my pleasure.”

  „You and your jokes,” Sephir reproachfully shook her head and took a few steps aside from the wolf.

  Somewhere around him, Ian Gyar’s sarcastic voice has been heard:

„Kitty, kitty, where are you?

Come to mommy, to tell you the truth,

And if you are a good boy…

Maybe I’ll give you a soft toy…”

  But Ian Gyar couldn’t attack Fenrir, who jumped aside and the devil with smoke body went head over heels.

  Then it came Arion’s attack, who suddenly jumped over Fenrir, tightly holding him and the two rolled on the miry path, soaked by the heavy rain.

  „I told you that we’ll see each other again, my dear wife,” Bestla hissed the words thought by Ian Gyar and, as an answer, she has been punched by Sephir, who furiously stared at her.

  The punch made Bestla be wiser and she took a few steps back, grinning at Sephir that was happily smiling at her. „You dared to punch me,” Bestla yelled.

  „Let’s say that I did something that I always wanted to do,” Sephir said in mockery, slowly moving her hand in small circles, trying to feel weaker the pain in the wrist this way. „And… I have one more surprise prepared for you,” Sephir grinned.

  Not that far from her, between her and the wolf, that was still clutched in Arion, the smoky demon stood up and slowly turned to face Bestla and Sephir, that were ready for another attack.

  But he wasn’t looking as happy as he was expecting to be, feeling in a trace of mockery Sephir’s voice, something that he disliked. Then, he cracked his neck by moving his head while whispering. „A surprise, you say?! Well, surprise me then!”

  A sudden hit from Fenrir, who jumped above him from the aside, threw Ian Gyar up because even if he had only a body of smoke, his power was still felt by the wolf, and when their powers hit each other, Fenrir also went head over heels and powerfully hit a trunk.

  Standing up, the wolf shook his head, trying to chase the dizziness away. „Damn devil’s daughter,” the wolf murmured. „You couldn’t take another form, huh?! It was absolutely necessary to take an ashes body.”

  „A body of smoke!” Fenrir heard Ian Gyar’s hysterical yell in the left ear and the unpleasant buzzing in the ear made him shake his head again.

  Then, he turned toward the place where he heard the voice from and saw how Ian Gyar was gathering the smoke scattered all around and forming back his body.

  „Yeah, yeah, if you say so?!” The wolf said in mockery. „That’s a real shame that you didn’t choose another brain instead of a body. It’s even smaller than a chicken's. Wow, wait!!! If I’m not mistaken, the chickens are smarter than you.”

  „Are you trying to make me mad?”

  „No, I was just trying to tell you the good news.”

  „The good news? What news?” And, finishing to form back his body, he started to slowly walk toward the wolf, who didn’t bother at all to see him coming.

  Fenrir even yawned, a sign that he gets bored. Yet, Fenrir was also keeping an eye on Arion, who managed, in the end, to come to his senses after receiving a good pad in his head that left him unconscious, and, furious, he started to move toward the wolf again.

  „He never learns,” Fenrir reproachfully shook his head. „For so many times he felt my teeth biting from his flesh, but he’s still after this. Hey, Arion, try to use your senses too if your brain doesn’t work because of this idiot,” the wolf yelled at Arion, but this made Arion even more furious than before and he started to run toward the wolf. „Yeah, yeah, if you want this…,” Fenrir murmured, seeing Arion approaching at full speed. „I’ll tell you the news later when…,” but he couldn’t finish his speech because Arion jumped over him and the fight started again.

  Bestla and Sephir were also fighting, kicking, and punching each other. And, at a moment, Bestla jerked in the air and grabbed the dagger, but she right away released it because the handle started to burn, hurting her palm, because Fenrir was controlling the dagger even if he wasn’t focused on it.

  „Bestla, come on!” Sephir yelled at her sister, but Bestla only grinned satisfied. „Don’t be stubborn, Bestla! I know you are there! Even if you are scared you can’t stay hidden. Not now!”

  In fact, only Bestla’s body was fighting with Sephir while her mind and consciousness were closed in her world because when Ian Gyar took over her senses, she has been forced to hide because of fear and she was sitting, at that moment, next to Edda's River, squatted and squeezing her knees at her chest. And she was shaking like hell while her eyes were spying on the surroundings, frightened. Even so, she was listening to Sephir’s words, like in a dream, but she couldn’t listen to her sister's command and leave that world.

  Suddenly, the water of the Edda's River started to prattle:

„Waters that were born from waters,

Take the evil that is close,

And bring back the wish of life,

Listening to life's songs.

Chase away the pain that’s hurting,

Chase away the pain that kills,

Make me back the king of waters,

Make me back to be your queen.

Yes, I’m frightened, but I’m also smaller,

Than the wind and than the Earth,

And because of these evils,

Don’t allow me to be hurt.

Little dreams and sad dreaming,

That are controlling space and time,

Don’t allow the pain to take me,

In its kingdom, that lacks life.”

  „Mother,” Bestla suddenly whispered. „I can’t leave from here. It’s beyond my will.”

  „And… will you let your sister at the will of Fate then?” Edda’s words amazed Bestla, who raised her head and looked at the prattled waters. „Ian Gyar was reborn from ashes and his body is smoke now. He’s the one controlling your and Arion’s mind and forcing you to attack your dears.”

  „Arion too? But I thought that Arion is a Yātrīkar now. That the dagger Eftir Dauddan controls his power and that…”

  „No, my sweetheart. None of you two is the master of Eftir Dauddan as though not your hand killed king Goyan. Yes, it is how you think: it was Ian Gyar who took over your will when you, afraid for Arion’s life, hadn't been careful and left the door of your mind open. This way he managed to control you both.”

  „But… who’s the master of the dagger now? Sephir? Fenrir?”

  „None of them, even if both of them have the power to control it. Maranam is the master of the dagger, the sun of death, but it hasn’t an earthly shape. At least nobody saw it by now.”

  „But… mother, how do you know all these when you are closed inside my world for so long?”

  Edda’s laughter was heard slowly floating around. „It’s because the wind is whispering everything to me when it passes by your ears, even if you don’t hear its whispers. But Arion heard them, always, but he preferred to keep it secret from you.”

  „Why? Why did he do this?”

  „It’s because he loves you and he doesn’t want you to worry about me because I know that you are thinking now that Ahi can find me here and control me again. But Ahi doesn’t know where I am and even if he finds out this, he can’t control me anymore because you destroyed that bridge that was holding us together when you closed me here.”

  Bestla kept silent because her mother’s words were so wise. Then, she whispered: „Mother, I’m so scared because I don’t know how to get out of here. Even if I turn back, I won’t escape from Ian Gyar. I feel myself a captive of his cunningness.”

  „Patience, my dear. Patience. Your release will come soon and…,” suddenly, Bestla lost consciousness and fell next to the water.

  Then, Edda took shape from the water, forming a perfect body. Later, she approached Bestla and caressed her head, whispering: „it seems that your release is here now. You can have some rest till then, my child. The spell that takes power from you will vanish soon and the kindness will be back in your heart again.”

  Looking in the distance, as if she was looking at a screen seen in the sky, Edda saw Boor jumping off his horse, running toward Bestla that jumped over Sephir and powerfully hit with the sword above her.

  But Bestla couldn’t hurt her sister, because, at that moment, Boor got next to her, touched Bestla’s hand, and she lost consciousness because only the touch of her father could bring her back to her senses, no matter how strong wasn’t the spell.

  Then, Edda saw her husband carrying Bestla’s asleep body toward Navarro and how he climbed her on the horse’s back, also helping Sephir to climb on Navarro’s back, commanding her: „you must hide where Palar is. He and Navarro will protect you till we finish here.”

  „But, father, Fenrir…”

  „I and Dike will take care of him. Don’t be stubborn, Sephir, and at least once in your life listen to what I say.”

  Sephir knew that if her father said something, he won’t ever give up. So, she just held her sister to her chest, whistled, and made a harness appear on Navarro's back this way, that she tightly held later, and, spurring the horse, they raised in the air, up-up to the sky, till Palar’s paunchy body didn’t hide them, even if Palar was also fighting against the heavy clouds, brought there by Ian Gyar.

***

  Standing between Dike and Boor, that were holding swords in their hands, Fenrir suddenly shook his fur, trying to chase away the pain felt in his bones.

  „You are late, old men,” he tried to joke, but a nudge received from his father, that was also furiously staring at him, made the wolf look elsewhere, mumbling: „yeah, yeah, you are right: I’m always the one looking for troubles.”

  „And… do you want to say that I’m wrong? You always find the troubles no matter where you go, as if you are a groom,” Dike said, severe.

  „This didn’t sound very nice, to be honest,” the wolf growled.

  „Did he hurt your sensitive ego?” Boor tried to tease the wolf, but Fenrir showed him his fangs, a sign that he didn’t taste the joke. „If you say so,” Boor calmly said, at all bothered by his son-in-law's reaction. „Anyway, we leave Arion for you and you have my permission to tan his hide and very well for allowing him to be cheated by a snake. We’ll take the other one.”

  „Well, so nice of you,” the wolf said in mockery, happy to get revenge on Boor. „Anyway, it’s more than welcome your proposal: not for nothing, but I hate the stink of the snake. Sephir also hates it and I don’t want to carry it in my fur... it ruins my reputation,” and Fenrir unhappily grimaced and started to slowly walk toward Arion, trying to force the other one to attack him, knowing that Arion was damn good at defense but so bad of attacking others.

  Seeing his son’s confidence, Dike reproachfully shook his head: „remind me next time to buy him perfume… poor guy, he doesn’t realize it, but he also stinks,” and Dike sneezed so loudly that made even Ian Gyar laugh, who was standing not that far from them, waiting for Dike and Boor to approach him while he was supporting his body of a trunk.

  „Well, nice family reunion, by the way,” the demon tried to tease Dike. „I hope you finished comforting your baby boy, Titan. Not for nothing, but he complained all the time and looked for his daddy,” Ian Gyar said in mockery.

  „Something I doubt,” Dike confidently said. „Anyway, I see that you are happy for us, now that we are a family.”

  „A family? Do you mean that these two…,” Ian Gyar hissed through his teeth.

  „Exactly. Sephir is the wolf’s wife now. So, look for another wife, elsewhere, demon or…,” Boor yelled at Ian Gyar and jumped above him.

  Ian Gyar suddenly vanished somewhere, yelling like a crazy person to the four winds of Heaven.

  „Where did he go?” Boor asked.

  „It seems that he trotted away,” Boor and Dike heard Fenrir’s voice and when they looked at him, they spotted that he was sitting on the ground, in his human shape, next to Arion, that was lying unconscious.

  Fenrir slowly yawned, seeing Boor and Dike staring at Arion. „It seems that he hates my paws. Only two paws over his head had been enough to let him sweetly sleep on the ground. I wonder: what if to try my nails on his…,” and his human nails suddenly became the ones of a wolf, but they were in the fire.

  A powerful blowing behind him extinguished the fire of his nails and when Fenrir looked back, he saw Samaya happily grinning at him.

  „You never listen,” she said and a sudden slap over the back of his head was heard, making Fenrir grimace.

  „You could have used the simple way: hey, Fenrir, are you ok? But… it works this way too,” he whispered in mockery, and blowing once again over the sparkles that were seen on his palm, he extinguished them and a thin thread of smoke rose in the air.

  Samaya approached Dike that was kneeling next to Arion, trying to bring him back to his senses.

  „Why are you here?” He asked her.

  „Yellen had a presentiment about Bestla, but I see that Arion needs me more and this is thanks to my brother’s sweet caress,” Samaya said, grinning at Fenrir, who was showing her his fangs.

  Then she touched Arion’s chest with her palm and this made him painfully sigh. „We must bring them back to the grotto. There we’ll have more time to bring them back to their senses.”

  „And… who should carry Arion on his back then? I won’t force my horse,” Boor said, somehow upset.

  „Who let him dormant should also carry him on his back,” Dike said and looked at his son, waiting for his acceptance.

  „Why me? I just… put him down. And… it wasn’t hard… only one paw and…”

  „Should I carry him then?” Samaya asked, grinning at her brother. „If so, I must prepare my wolf back because he’s not that light and…,” she started to sweetly lament.

  This made Fenrir stand up in a jump, transforming back into a wolf, and while approaching them, Fenrir mumbled: „remind me to say thank you to you later, sister. I assure you that it won’t be that nice, because…,” but a sudden kiss of Samaya on his forehead made the wolf grin of pleasure and, closing his eyes, he whispered satisfied: „now we can talk! Climb that asleep idiot on my back. I’ll lace into his back later because…”

  The pleasant laughter of the four made the surroundings echo, and nature all around somehow return to life because the rain suddenly stopped, the birds started to sing again while the sun was powerfully shining all around, piercing the vault of the forest with its golden rays.