В«She wants toВ be with us, so she has toВ share our games.В»
She blindfolded Fiona, scratching her cheek lightly with her claw.
«Let’s start a regular game, and then a game of steel! If you don’t catch us, you’ll be sorry. No more than a minute to catch each one.»
Unusual game! AВ minute passed, and Fiona was scratched with aВ claw so that she screamed.
«Courage!» is the woman’s voice, but it is no longer her hand, but the wing of a huge bird. It is running across her elbows, and at the end of it is a claw! There is pain again! Fiona screamed at the top of her voice. She tried to remove the bandage, but it was as if it were glued to her eyelids. She couldn’t see anything under it. There was a reason it was black! It stuck to her skin like Velcro!»
«Stop it!» Fiona shouted, but the attacks didn’t stop. Someone was laughing in a corner in the distance. Something was being moved across the floor, obviously skulls. Then there was the crunch of bones breaking. Someone had stepped on the skulls on purpose. She tripped over one of them and almost fell.
Nearby, birds’ wings flapped, voices echoed in the distance. Where did people go when there were birds all around? There was a whole flock, and they were scratching at her with their claws.
«Stop it!» It was the Condor’s voice. He tore the blindfold off Fiona’s face. Birds were circling him. One wing hovered over his shoulder, hiding his arm. Or was it his arm that had become a wing? Fiona backed away from him, seeing his eyes redden.
В«Run for your life!В» He advised her hoarsely.
She ran as fast as she could, knowing that she would never have another chance toВ escape. But there was no escape. At the exit she slipped, fell, and rolled down the stones. Her dress caught on something and kept her from falling for aВ long time. Fiona had expected aВ sharp bough or rocky ledge toВ have pierced her skirt, but it was the claws ofВ aВ large bird. It was aВ gryphon! Fiona had never seen aВ real live gryphon inВ her life. It was only on aВ tapestry. But this gryphon was agile and alive. And it looked at her like aВ victim. One second its red eyes studied her with long gaze, and then suddenly its claws gripped her narrow waist and took off with the victim into free flight. The land and mountains remained far below. Fiona realized that there was no use inВ lashing out now. The gryphon soared so high that the surrounding world disappeared behind the clouds.
Dead Witnesses
She was looking for an unusual bird, and so she found it. The gryphon carried it in its talons like a toy. The feathers on the tips of its wings whipped across its face, and it was bright golden. So this was the bird she had naively pursued. She should have tempered her curiosity. Then she wouldn’t be dangling in the bird’s claws now, like a dolt. They were stuck somewhere between the celestial spheres and the tops of the snowy mountains. It was at the level of the pinnacle clouds.
It was cold and scary. It was as if gryphon had figured he had every right to her, for she was the one who had first started chasing him. She was mistaken! What could he do? If he’d known her to speak human, she’d have apologized. There they would have parted ways. But a gryphon didn’t know human speech. It was useless to ask him to go down and let her go free, so Fiona cried and kept silent.
You have played the game! Curious fool! Goes looking for an adventure on her head! She had her eye on a golden bird! It would have been better to find a dragon’s treasure. A bird of prey doesn’t have golden feathers. And they’re hardly made of pure gold. It is just the color of gold. Fiona scolded herself. She should have been more circumspect.
Ornella’s annoyed cries came from somewhere downstairs. She was not happy to have a toy taken away from her. Fiona was tired of feeling like a toy. Now it was scrapes and scratches, now it was flying in a bird’s claw! It’s an outrage! And the annoying shouts of the arrogant lady are cutting to the ear. How can she even hear the voices of people left far below? Not even the mountain tops can be seen anymore. They have disappeared below under the clouds.
The gryphon hugged her tighter. He was agitated for some reason and even looked back. Fiona screamed now. Its sharp claws pierced the fabric ofВ her dress and then sank into her skin. Somewhere behind her there was aВ sound. It was an overhead echo that picked up her cries. No, there is no echo inВ the clouds! Someone was flying behind them. Fiona tried toВ look back. There were many griffins there. AВ whole flock! They are catchingВ up.
The gryphon carrying her stirred and flew faster than the wind. Had he decided toВ take her only for himself, without sharing her with the others? Is she his dinner? What else would aВ large bird ofВ prey need herВ for?
The flapping ofВ wings behind him grew louder and louder. There was no escape now. One gryphon had already separated from the flock and was gaining on them. Fiona was frightened. If they fought over their prey right inВ the air, she would not escape the fall and death. She suddenly realized that her greatest fear was toВ crash toВ her death. Once she and aВ friend were taking sacks ofВ flour toВ aВ feudal castle, and she saw aВ noblewoman there who killed herself byВ throwing herself from the castle wall. Everyone said she had been driven mad byВ aВ coastal witch who had wandered into the castle, but that was not what struck Fiona, but the condition ofВ the fancy-dressed body, which had turned into aВ bloody puddle. Bundles ofВ feathers protruded from the torn flesh. So the griffin feathers tickling her cheeks at the moment reminded her involuntarily ofВ the shock she had experienced inВ the past. Was it aВ bad omen that she would end up like the lady who smashed her forehead on the blocks beneath the fortress wall?
Now the two griffins would collide inВ the sky, and there would be no fighting. But the griffin carrying her suddenly released one claw and golden lightning flashed through the clouds. The bird that had been chasing her screamed inВ frustration. The lightning struck it and ignited the plumage on its chest. The flock behind it also let out agitated shrieks. The lightning must have struck them,В too.
Fiona suspected something. The lightning was as golden as the gryphon’s claws. Could it be magic? And griffins themselves are widely regarded as magical birds. Fortune is said to smile on whoever sees one, at least from a distance. Fiona, on the other hand, has only grinned at the grim tragedy. Apparently she is a rare loser.
The gryphon broke away from the chase and began to descend. A green plain appeared below. Now he would land and feast. On Fiona’s flesh and bones! He wondered if there would even be bones left of her when he was sated. Though why bother? She hasn’t any kin who’d look for her. If she goes missing, no one will even notice. Except the farm boys who liked her would miss her. And it is not for long. After all, there were plenty of pretty girls in the village.
The valley below was not strewn with skeletons left over from the griffins’ meals, but Fiona was still worried. The gryphon carried her over the plain, the woods, and the marshy lowlands where the reeds rippled. The land approached menacingly. Now the gryphon would wire its prey over the great boulders. Fiona squinted in fear. Suddenly the claws around her waist loosened.
The gryphon threw her down onto a rough, moss-covered mound like a thick carpet. Fiona fumbled for the stones beneath her – these were steps! They were scratched and old. They looked like the carcass of a ladder.
Fiona looked around. Gryphon had carried her into the ruins. He had disappeared somewhere. She hadn’t even heard him fly away. The clapping of its enormous wings was like the sound of a whip. She could not help but hear them.
«She is one of ours! She’s definitely one of ours!» The voices echoed from everywhere, but who had said so?
Fiona looked around.
В«She is one ofВ us! She was just lost!В» The echoes inВ the ruins sounded like recitatives or prayerful chants. It was as if witchcraft had been wrought inВ the place. Echoes ofВ laughter and hymns toВ the darkness were heard.
It was getting dark. Fiona struggled toВ her feet and walked aВ little. Her whole body ached. Scratches and abrasions could not be counted. Yes, the griffins had taken their toll on her. She really did feel like aВ big rag doll, played with and discarded. Right on the road! Or rather, it was inВ the ruins.
Even to be in the ruins is dangerous. Everything here is fragile, already partially destroyed and ready to collapse again. The remains of walls and towers reminded her of the castles of feudal lords. Apparently it had once been a castle, but now there was moss between the stones. The ruins of the walls themselves were gnarled and crooked. What had happened here? Was it a earthquake or a war? Could cannons and battering ram have done such damage? In the village, they’d say witches and fairies had had a hand in it. But the village was so far away that no locals would get here. The ruins were in a deserted area.
«Don’t worry, they won’t get in here!»
Fiona turned around at the voice. Something motley was looming in the shadows of the ruins. The figure of a jester! What was the jester doing in the ruins of the castle? Is he a remnant of the old masters? The castle had been destroyed, the owners slaughtered, and somehow the jester survived. He must be a friend of the fairies, if that’s what happened. He has the face of an inhuman, like an elf or a nix. His cheekbones are pointed, and so are his ears. Silver bells were dangling from the horns of a jester’s cap.
В«Who are you?В» Fiona moved toward him and found that there were already several jester figures on the ruins. They were multiplying, like reflections inВ shards ofВ mirror.
Was this aВ mockery or some kind ofВ trick? Everywhere Fiona went, all she found was aВ void instead ofВ aВ jester. And the jester figures themselves were already multiplying inВ other places: on the walls, on the carcasses ofВ towers, on the scratched staircases. InВ general, it was away fromВ her.
«I don’t like jokes!» Fiona pouted angrily, stomping her foot. «If that’s the way you are, I’m going.»
Her stomping caused the ground toВ sink in, creating aВ hole. Inside the hole something sparkled enticingly. It looked like aВ jar ofВ gold pieces! Was it aВ fairy joke? Fiona was afraid toВ bend down and check. It might be some kind ofВ trap.
But aВ clear voice commanded:
«Take it now that you’ve found it!»
What was she to do? Fiona opened the hole with her bare hands and pulled out a pile of gold coins mixed with colored stones and jewelry. It looked like real gems! What luck! And there’s no one to thank. The jester figures had all disappeared, as if they had never existed.
Fiona was intrigued by one pendant in the shape of a sickle. It was certainly gold. A peasant girl would draw unnecessary attention to herself if she wore it around her neck, but Fiona couldn’t resist. The thing drew her like a magnet. She hated to part with the pendant now. Pity the chain was too short to hide it behind her corsage. The glitter of gold on a deserted road can only attract burglars.
«You’d be better off hiding in the ruins. No one will find you there,» the voices whispered in chorus. But since the voices were out of sight, Fiona decided they were not to be trusted. She could not trust the voices! To be alone in the ruins was frightening. She wondered if there were bandits nesting there at night. The jester costumes might be a good disguise for them. There’s a reason there’s gold hidden here. It could only come from the old owners of the castle or from the bandits who buried the treasure. But it was buried too shallow. But who knows, maybe if one dug a little deeper, one might find an entire gold mine under the ruins.
It was time toВ get out ofВ here. The ruins stretched like aВ labyrinth. It took some time toВ find the way out ofВ them. They were not too far from the road, as it turned out. If you look at them more closely, the ruins resembled aВ spiral with many twisted staircases, leading into the void and ending, as if they had been built on purpose into the sky. How convenient for those who want toВ land on the ruins from above. For the birds!
She shouldn’t have turned around before she left. Fiona noticed the brightly colored robes and bells again. There was a jester standing by the ruins, and in the ruins themselves there were many figures in motley jester outfits: both male and female. Are there women jesters and what are they called? If the jester’s outfit is the same cut as these, they could also be mistaken for colombina. She was not in the legendary Sickle of Mockingbirds, was she? It’s not in ruins, but in a closed ring of mountain ridge, and the way there can be found only at the full moon, and not everyone, but only those who are attracted to the spirits.
Motley figures soared over the ruins like aВ flock ofВ colorful ghosts. How silent they were! They were bright but ominous. It was time toВ run away from here. No one tried toВ detain or catch Fiona. Only an echo ofВ many voices echoed everything inВ her wake:
В«She is lost!В»
It was not until morning that she reached the road that led past the mountains to familiar places. Fiona was tired and out of breath. Her disheveled red hair was like flaming yarn, tangled with twigs and dry leaves. Her dress was torn, her skin scratched by bird claws. She looks like a beggar! But she had a pile of real gold coins with her! Fiona didn’t even know what she was going to spend them on. She had to put the coins in her pockets and throw the pile away. Carrying it was inconvenient.
At night Fiona snoozed by the side of the road and had a dream. The jester’s spirit assured her that the sickle around her neck and the month were almost the same thing, that it would always lead her to buried treasure. With the money she finds, she can buy an entire estate, not just a new mill or farm. And if she keeps looking for treasure, she could become queen herself.
«There is so much treasure hidden in the earth! Only spirits can see them, but they can’t use them, and you can! You have a special gift! We need you! But many others, alas, need you too!» The jester whispered. His face had a chalky hue, but his features were beautiful. It was only the laughing, snide eyes that spoiled the whole impression. They made it seem like he was mocking her.
The dream did not last long. Waking up, Fiona set off again. The road was dark, but she walked at random. Strangely, the pendant around her neck glowed like aВ yellow fire, helping her toВ navigate. Did gold have the property ofВ glowing inВ pitch-black darkness?
They say that in the big cities at night they fasten torches in brackets on the walls so that the noblemen can walk in peace. But on the country road at night, you can’t see anything further. You can’t see further than your nose. So Fiona didn’t walk at night. This was an exception, and it was only the fault of the griffin that had led her nowhere. Fortunately, at least the direction in which to go, she guessed correctly, or else she would go to another village or even in another country.
Seeing the luxurious carriage left byВ the mountains with no servants, no coachman, and even no horses, Fiona was wary. She even rubbed her eyes, just inВ case. The carriage had not disappeared. So she had not imaginedВ it!
Such fancy carriages she had only seen from afar. And here she could even touch it. Coats of arms gleam on the sides and top of the carriage. The frames of the doors and windows are gilded. The velvet curtains are purple to match the velvet upholstery of the carriage. On the fenders and inside the carriage were piled sacks of costly fabrics, or… Fiona was dumbfounded. Corpses! They were corpses! Brutally mutilated and even dismembered. From a distance they looked like large rag dolls, covered in red paint. Horse carcasses were lying in the mud on the road near the carriage. The human remains, judging by their clothing, belonged to noble and wealthy gentlemen, as well as their groomsmen.
One corpse appeared to be female. It was a girl. She was a redhead just like Fiona herself. Only, unlike Fiona, she was dressed in an expensive velvet gown. She could not be mistaken for a peasant girl. She was an aristocrat. Only her high position did not save her. Someone had strung her up like a puppet, placing her palms on sharp staples on the ceiling of the carriage. Her dainty hands were torn in places where there appeared to be jewelry. Her fingers were missing. They must have had rings on them, which could only be removed with the fingers themselves at the same time. If they were torn off by birds, those birds have the instincts of magpies. Except the magpies weren’t so big and their claws weren’t sharp enough to disfigure a corpse like that. It looked like it had been run through a grater. The eyes had been pecked out of the pretty maiden’s head. A necklace of scratches was left on her neck. There was a mark on her forehead, placed by a bird’s paw. Apparently it had been played with, too. The victim had simply been blinded.
Fiona shuddered involuntarily. The same thing could have been done toВ her, afterВ all.
No doubt the griffins had killed everyone in the carriage, and the bodies all bore the marks of birds’ claws. The bodies had been ripped to shreds. One man’s body was crucified at the milepost. Feathers had been thrust into the deep wounds. Fiona walked over and touched them with her fingertips. There was no golden feather among them. But the corpse bore a striking resemblance to the body of Lady Eveline de Joel, smashed against the castle walls. That was the name of the noblewoman who had jumped from the castle roof. Fiona already doubted that she had jumped by herself, not without the help of birds.
Her touch made the body on the pole twitch. The dead man’s eyes fluttered open. They were rotten, but not torn out.
В«You are the redheaded spirit!В» The dead lips whispered.
В«So you are not dead?В»
В«How could you tell?В» The empty eyes, without pupils, were dead for sure.
She wondered if the corpse had come back toВ life and spoke toВ her. More like another dream.
В«What happened toВ you all?В» She asked. It was foolish toВ speak toВ aВ dead man. She wondered what kind ofВ trouble it would lead to. That it would drag her back toВ the other world. But she was used toВ getting into trouble.
«The birds have flown in!» whispered the crucified corpse, whose hands and feet were pinned to the pole with what looked like shards of claws. «They were crowned birds! Run from them! And no, it’s too late to run! You have a mark on your forehead! They’ll find you anyway!»
Fiona touched her forehead. There was blood running down it. The bird’s claw had left a deep wound there. It was strange that the wound had opened now.
В«Get the witch!В» There was aВ shrill cry from behindВ her.
She turned around excitedly, and this time she didn’t think so. A group of men, including uniformed guardsmen and inquisitorial robes, were rushing toward the carriage. She was in trouble.
«Tell them that I am not a witch, but that you yourself have come back to life to denounce the culprits!» She turned to the dead man, but once again he was nothing but a silent corpse. No matter how much she shook him, he wouldn’t make a sound.
And if he had, it might not have saved her. There is aВ belief inВ the Inquisition that at the sight ofВ the culprit the corpse may come toВ life and reveal the name ofВ the murderer. Stop! It was at the sight ofВ the culprit. He did come toВ life at the sight ofВ her. OfВ course, she is byВ no means the culprit ofВ his death, but his gesture can be interpreted inВ two ways. Suddenly the witnesses did. At their head was aВ lady inВ aВ splendid gown and ermine robe, which only royalty have the right toВ wear. It was this very lady that Fiona had recently met inВ aВ cave high inВ the mountains and had almost fallen prey toВ her.
В«Seize her like aВ witch!В» Ornella commanded, pointing aВ finger inВ aВ gleaming ring at Fiona. В«It is her handiwork.В»
Does she believe it herself, or is she still expressing her displeasure that all her brothers have a crush on the village girl. Fiona heard something about not messing with powerful people or they’ll find a way to get even with you. You’ve annoyed them in a trifle you can’t punish, so they’ll accuse you of something serious later, and everyone will be on their side and not yours.
Ornella was clearly proving how true these warnings were. If you can’t feed Fiona to the griffins, you must accuse her of witchcraft.
«I’m not a witch!» Fiona screamed, but her shouts were as useful as the squeak of a caught sparrow. The guardsmen grabbed her tightly.
«Only a witch could have done such a thing,» Ornella nodded eloquently at the disemboweled corpses in the carriage. «We are fortunate that we caught her at the scene of the crime. The entire Marquis de Palette’ family will be avenged, including their unfortunate young apprentice. Look what she’s done to Claretta! She doesn’t even have eyes left.
Ornella unceremoniously tugged at the cassock ofВ one ofВ the inquisitors, obviously the head inquisitor.
«But she has no claws on her hands,» remarked the youngest of the inquisitors judiciously. «Let me examine her. She does not look like a witch. Not unless she’s a heretic.»
В«Or aВ harlot,В» added the black-clad companion inВ disgust. В«Look how red her hair is. It is aВ sign ofВ vice! It is the mark ofВ the devil.В»
В«Lady Claretta had red hair too,В» the young inquisitor intervened again. В«That is not yet proof.В»
He clearly wanted to help the unfortunate woman who was caught like a rabbit in a trap. Maybe someone close to him had also been the victim of an unjust massacre, which made him sympathetic to others now. But finding sand and earth residue under Fiona’s fingernails, even he suspected something was amiss. And then there was the sickle pendant that sparkled around her neck, catching their attention at just the wrong time.
It is the sign ofВ Satan,В» the Inquisitors murmured like aВ flock ofВ black crows.
В«Perhaps she herself has been bewitched,В» the young inquisitor tried once more toВ shield her. Apparently he had aВ crush on Fiona, though he was ashamed ofВ it. В«Look how badly she herself has been cut.В»
В«Witches often wound themselves toВ perform aВ ritual,В» Ornella protested bluntly.
«I’ve never heard of such a thing. I have questioned many witches.»
В«My servant girl saw her doing witchcraft inВ the mountains,В» Ornella insisted, that is, she lied shamelessly.
В«Is it the slave girl?В» Someone ofВ the inquisitors raised aВ doubtful eyebrow.
В«Charisi knows all about witch cults.В»
В«And how did she conjure?В» The young inquisitor asked.
В«She is dancing inВ aВ circle ofВ fire.В»
В«It is very doubtful.В»
«I am in charge here, not you!» Ornella was tired of playing, and she said her final word. After that, she was defied in a moment. The inquisitors were whispering excitedly. Obviously, they were discussing what to do next. Remembering Ornella’s status, they did not want to argue with her. And what was her status? She was definitely royalty, judging by the ermine robe and the jagged crown with rubies, almost lost in the intricate hair of lush auburn curls. Moreover, Ornella reeked of arrogance. Only people from the very top of society behaved like that. The rest of us have to fawn and grovel before them.
She wondered where her brothers were, and would they stand up for Fiona if they knew she was in trouble? Or would they and Ornella have conspired? Then it’s strange why they didn’t come with their sister. Maybe they would have felt sorry for their new girlfriend. But there was no time to ponder. The clear-cut verdict that she was a witch was more jarring to her ears than the claws of a gryphon.
Witch for griffins
«You’ve made a mistake!» Fiona tried to break free, and the gold in her pockets spilled out onto the road.
В«How could aВ simple peasant girl have so much gold?В» Ornella triumphed. В«She conjured it up. Everyone knows that witches can turn the blood ofВ their victims, tortured under the moon, into gold or silver.В»
В«She could have just stolen it,В» remarked someone sensible. He was so close!
В«IВ found it. It is treasure,В» protested Fiona, and Ornella suddenly looked at her with great interest.
В«She is aВ treasure-hunter!В» She murmured inВ amazement. She would have pouted aВ little more, but the verdict could not be reversed. Fiona was dragged away.
She could have sworn that Ornella smelled something in her to her advantage. Probably thought she would find her another treasure, since she had already found one. There were probably a lot of them in the ruins. But Fiona’s secret would die with her. She will not lead her executioners to enrich themselves. Though thanks to her awkwardness they have already had handfuls of gold and stones picked up right off the dusty road.
Ornella was the only one who didn’t pick them up. She must be from a rich family, after all. She’s got treasure enough. She’s got a crown to match! If robbers from the highways seize such a captive, she alone would be equal to the treasure found. That is probably why there are so many guards with her. And yet in the mountains Fiona had seen her with no escort at all. While her brothers were in the cave, Ornella was absent. And only then did she come. Alone! She hardly climbed the mountains like a simple villager. Maybe she flew in on a griffin. The birds certainly obeyed her. Take, for example, the game of snooker. Fiona was hurt by the birds, but Ornella was not, though they were both in a cave full of birds. Now the guards turned out to be more molesting than the birds. Fiona did not like their insistence on dragging her somewhere.
