Rhianon-8. War and Magic. Natalie Yacobson

nothing compared to his tricks. A battle with him without the use of sorcery would be lost in an hour.»

      «I’m not against the protection of enchantments, believe me, but if you have to risk it…»

      «I’ve risked all my life,» she turned sharply, barely able to hold her blade, which was already hissing with temptation. «That’s what I am.»

      She was taking a risk even now. His unprotected throat was close at hand, and her fingers were struggling to hold the twisted, gilded hilt, which curved into the shape of a salamander with its outstretched wings forming a cross and a thin tail that curled into a hilt. The dwarf smith did his best, and she didn’t even thank him. After the sacrifices she had made, it was unnecessary. The steel had drunk their blood only recently, but its appetite had only grown.

      «I need the armor,» she only now noticed that Ferdinand had even noticed where his queen had gotten such a rare and unusual sword. Well, his lack of curiosity played right into her hands. To live in marriage with a fairy and not interfere with her affairs, the betrothed must be completely intoxicated by her.

      «Also my own camping tent and squires, my warhorse will be Noreus. That’s the name of the horse I was given,» she quickly explained, noticing his bewilderment. It’s a good thing he doesn’t ask whose gift it is. Such a question would have been more difficult to answer. She would have had to make something up as she went along, and Rhianon didn’t like to lie. It was better to keep silent about loving a fallen angel than to lie that you had never seen one. Lies had become disgusting to her as of late. Madael would say it was a purely angelic trait. A proud, exalted creature never lies, for it is above all and has no one to ingratiate itself to. To hide the fact that she opened her paradise in the arms of a demon, Rhianon was not going to. Everyone would see her worth in the war anyway. Soon her supernatural allies would join her army. All she has to do is click. The wise dragon in the tower gave her an unusual horn, trumpeting it to summon all the evil of Vinor and himself. The further she went, the more supporters she found. She is queen of the evil spirits, and soon her army will be innumerable.

      «And by the way,» she was about to leave, but she remembered on the way out. «I’ve tamed the little dragon, so no one can touch it.»

      Ferdinand gasped.

      «Don’t be worried, it won’t get any bigger while I’m around it. But keep the others away from it, especially Vivian, with his dragon-fighting instincts. I will not forgive anyone who touches my pets.»

      She had to hurry. The blade in her hands was becoming almost uncontrollable. It thirsted for blood, anyone’s blood, even that of Rhianon herself. And the scabbard of it remained in her bedroom. Never again would she leave them lying around. The feeling of holding a snake in her hand, ready to sting, grew stronger and stronger. On the way she couldn’t find a single mouse or rat to stab it, so she could temper its bloodthirstiness, at least for a while. And to kill a man in the castle she would not dare. She was still lucky that Gwendolyn and Ulrich’s disappearance went unnoticed by anyone. For that, the spirit had done its best. He advised her to use spells that took away the memory of everyone. Only astrologers could have suspected anything, but they were powerless. Rhianon was even glad now that she had broken their web. At least from then on they tried not to get in her way anymore. Their strength had been unequal in the beginning, and now she could easily destroy them all if she wanted to.

      The scabbard, made by the same dwarf, and covered with special runes that held back the power of the blade, remained where she had thrown it. She quickly hid the sword in them, and yet the blade managed to cut her. It hissed triumphantly, but only for a moment. A drop of blood immediately burst into flames on the carpet, reminding Rhianon that to wound her was to endanger one’s own life as well. Apparently, the wondrous sword was no exception. She clutched the hilt and felt that it would not dare to hurt her a second time. The enchanted sword, as if for the first time, became a natural extension of her hand, recognizing her as its true mistress. She was stronger than it, which meant that only she could wield it. Rhianon grinned. Everything was now falling into place. This weapon must obey her will, not the other way around. It can be difficult to wield a sword that pierces and slashes at will. It can want blood all it wants, but it must be guided by her.

      «Can I be the best knight I can be? Better than him?» She asked, but the spirit did not respond.

      He would not say a word. Rhianon grew furious at him, but quickly recovered her composure. For if she could not make all arrangements with Madael herself. She needed to know this. Would he bow to her, even if he were stronger himself? If he loves her, he must. And she needs at least one more look at him before the fight begins. She remembered the pendant she always carried with her now. It kept changing shape without end, so she hid it behind her corsage so it wouldn’t embarrass people with its changeability. Lately it had taken the form of a sword, a tower, or a salamander writhing in flames. She had grown weary of its endless transformations, but now, as she pulled it out into the light, she saw only a flat, golden blob. What could that mean? It looked like a drop of liquid gold, only it was solid and the flat droplet felt like there was no beginning or end. She squeezed the pendant in her hand.

      «What are you doing?»

      A nasal voice made her shudder. She hadn’t heard it in a long time, and she didn’t expect to hear it anymore. It made her dumbfounded for a moment. Rhianon had no idea the dwarf could be so far off the ground. Her tower was high above the sea that lapped at the rocks. Only an angel or a dragon could reach it, and only someone with wings. Fate, however, who had crawled out from behind a pedestal in the corner, was quite unlike either of them.

      Perhaps he had used the tunnels to get in here, Rhianon consoled herself, and then turned away from him. She tried not to see that the dwarf was acting as if this were his moment of triumph. He would never take anything from her again.

      He grinned, but she couldn’t even look at him.

      «Don’t disturb me to think.»

      «Thinking about where you’d like to go?» He suddenly became very wary. «I can see it in your mind. I couldn’t go there even with the pendant.»

      «Of course you wouldn’t. Now go away.»

      But he didn’t budge. She shrugged nonchalantly, ignoring his bad manners. When a lady demands, one must obey, but he evidently did not know that.

      «Well, you may remain, for in a moment I shall be gone anyway.»

      She looked at the pendant and mentally wished for one place, her bedroom in the celestial castle, the bed where Madael so often slept, his curls scattered on the pillows frolicking with leprechauns. He shook off strange insects and black fairies from his wings. She wanted to be where she saw him again, but the pendant didn’t seem to understand her until she imagined all the passages and galleries of the castle beyond the clouds. It was nothing again. Something wasn’t right. She’s not imagining things well, or the gnome’s presence is getting in her way. He lurked in a corner and waited. Rhianon chose to forget his presence and imagined the place even more clearly. Now that she concentrated on one object entirely, it should work. Her thoughts ran faster than the wind through balustrades of flowers, gardens of paradise, massive arcades, enfilades of gleaming halls, and even a bird house. Somehow, despite her flight of fancy, it all seemed terrifyingly empty, and yet she persisted in imagining the vaults of the grand heavenly structure.

      «I want to be there. Immediately,» she demanded.

      And the pendant was suddenly gone. She clutched it in her fingers, a hollow space.

      «What? What is it?» She stared at Fate, perplexed. The dwarf was clutching at his bubble-like belly and writhing in laughter. He looked as if he were going to burst.

      «You tricked me, didn’t you?» Rhianon stepped menacingly toward him and snapped her fingers together, sending out sparks.

      «It is not at all.» He moved swiftly out of her way. «You’re just forgetting something, aren’t you, my pretty?»

      «What’s