Unconquered Sun

by Philipp Bogachev

  by equal voice the Fairy as though they were threatened not by monsters called Animals,

  and just it was time to have breakfast. - Hide for me, for a back and do not lean out!

  Dozing Animals, without understanding anything yet, hid for the Fairy, and the Fairy

  prepared for fight. The fairy wanted to kill nobody, even these vile creatures, despite the terrible state, they were only animals! And therefore she just decided to frighten them.

  She aimed, and branchy blue lightnings struck the first two beings. The fairy saw how the sparing jolts of electricity ran on their black bodies. Force of a spell was sufficient to frighten an animal and to force to escape. Even volkolak because of the Limit would not be solved on attack after such blow …

  But what surprise of the Fairy when these creatures only sniffed was, frowned and continued to go down further indifferently!

  Then the Fairy increased charge power, then also

  still, but all was vain! And such categories would be enough in order that monsters of the Limit would lose an opportunity to move, not to mention less large animals. But for these creatures, probably, the law was not pisan. On the contrary, after each blow they, let and screwing up the face, increased descent speed. The impression was made that the energy which is let out by the Fairy just was absorbed by them and did them even stronger!

  At first the Fairy could understand nothing, and then

  the cold needle of fear pierced her heart: "Here silly, without stick

  all my sorcery is just harmless fokusnichestvo, and these monsters

  probably are very steady against magic! But, - the Fairy stopped herself, - unless there can be animals steady against magic? Same it is impossible! Means, these are not animals, and …"

  But to finish thinking about thought was once, creatures dispersed outright and were all in one hundred steps from the Fairy.

  - So, Zveryatki, seemingly, to us is time to clear out! - the Fairy tried to joke. And having taken them under pads, dragged far away from a wall. But also other party of monsters went down from an opposite wall of the gorge!

  The fairy picked up Animals under mice and departed forward as soon as possible. It was inconvenient to fly with two Animals, and therefore it was not succeeded to gain big height, but it left the dangerous place quickly enough. Pauko-skorpiony remained somewhere away behind, and the Fairy sighed with relief. But, as it became clear, too early …

  When, a little later, it reached the narrowest part of the gorge as a neck of the bottle locking an exit to the mountain valley, she disappointedly screamed. This place was partitioned by some sticky network from whitish threads. It was the trap!

  The fairy struck a web with a liquid flame with which even the wet tree will be burned completely, but the network did not even smoke.

  - Proklyatye! It would be necessary to guess that it not a biological origin …

  - Hostess! Look! Look! - in eager rivalry Animals screeched.

  The fairy it is disturbing looked round - creatures went down from both walls of the gorge, and the way back was barred. It was necessary or accept battle here, having put a magic board, or to try to fly up higher than the level of rocks. Other exit was not.

  To accept battle with such number of enemies, especially so steady against magic, it was fraught. Well, and board … How many it will keep it? Hour, two, five? It is necessary to break, and immediately!

  - So, Zveryatki, strong we hold me, we fly up! - and itself for fidelity clasped Animals more strong and, having loudly buzzed wings, began to gain height promptly.

  But there was what she did not expect at all. One

  from those creatures that went down on the right side of the gorge and was closest to the Fairy, suddenly very much made a start from the rock and at once jumped directly on the flying-up Fairy. The fairy instantly began to lose height as the creature stepped it the pads directly on wings, and plummeted to earth. The benefit, rather highly she did not manage to rise! But the blow all the same turned out such force that she fainted.

  Animals dropped out of hands of the Fairy and head over heels swept on the ground. When they jumped on back pads, with horror saw how this disgusting creature saddled the fainted Fairy as all six thin and dexterous pads stuck into her gentle handles and shoulders, twisted a body, the long scorpion tail pierced in the right leg slightly above a knee...

  Animals, having screamed for horror and loathing, rushed on a creature, but at this time the others followed the example of the first - making a start from the rock, they landed directly on backs of the Kitten and Puppy. The kitten and the Puppy and to peep not

  were in time as everything was over. Though poison did not act on them, but sticky jellylike whitish swill entangled their top and lower pads and they appeared in absolutely motionless state as the fly entangled by a web. And then both Zverenk fainted for horror and loathing …

  2.

  The kitten regained consciousness from cold and from the fact that something

  beat him the head. He hardly opened the eyes which are closed up with some sticky muck and thanks to the cat's ability to see in darkness, was convinced that

  really something beats him the head. More definitely not something beats, but it

  itself the head fights about a wall! It hung head over heels, attached by something sticky to the cave arch, and cold wind from its dark belly strongly shook a rope, as led to the fact that it hit against a wall the head.

  - "Where I?" - the Kitten puzzly thought.

  - Where where, at us on a visit, a fluffy creature, - odious began to grind

  vile golosochek.

  The kitten bewildered looked to the right and saw that on a ceiling, also "head over heels", one of the creatures attacking them sits and vile whitish eyes of an insect looks at it with some mean desire.

  - You what - you can read my mind, perhaps? - the Kitten thought again.

  - And as, and not only thoughts … You that thought, we are insects perhaps

  what? Ha! Yes we it is more reasonable than you, moustached creatures, we not only thoughts

  we can read...

  - Why you then captured us? - drowsily the Kitten thought about himself what, however, did not prevent it to include "logic" (this word Kitten somehow overheard, being present at a meeting of Council of fairies). - If you are reasonable beings, then why you attacked us? And if you such angry what attacked, then why you did not gobble up us? Not logically somehow …

  - Curiosity killed the cat, - spitefully prosipet golosochek. -

  The order for you is, and that you would be gobbled up for a long time with giblets and much for

  you it is promised.

  - And - and-and! - with relief the Kitten thought, - means, us will redeem... - And here he remembered that the Fairy told it. Once very long time ago, in Dark centuries when there was no Commonwealth yet, human kingdoms often arranged among themselves wars which target as much as possible captured knights that then it was possible to receive for them this repayment were to lock on. The truth many millennia passed since then and during an era of the Order and Prosperity of war stopped. All fighters were lulled in the Flowers of Oblivion and re-educated. But all the same at thought of "repayment" to it calmed down somehow, and he fell asleep again.

  … The consciousness to the Fairy came back pushes - she saw a piece of the cloudy sky over the head, felt whiff of an easy breeze, heard scraps of some voices, again fainted and some terrible sticky vile beings with feelers, zhvala and whitish nasekomy eyes seemed to it.

  How many these transitions lasted there and back, she did not remember, but suddenly the strong blow in a temple brought her consciousness into clarity. She opened eyes and saw that she shakes here and there, attached by something sticky for legs to a cave ceiling. The cold draft which escaped from the chasms hidden by eternal darkness shook it, forcing to be up against a blank wall.

  The fairy tried to stop rocking, but could not - hands were strong pasted (yes, are pasted) to a tors
o by some mucous and whitish nasty thing. The head terribly hurt. Blood flowed to temples. It was intolerable!

  - Hey, somebody, untie me, to me it is painful!

  The voice turned out unexpectedly silent, forces to shout were not. The echo picked up and repeatedly strengthened a sound. But the answer did not follow.

  - Somebody hears me, a-a-a?

  But also now the death silence was the answer it.

  To the fairy it became insufferably sad and lonely. To die here it is so silly, in some filthy dark cold hole with disgusting draft, two steps away from Prinze - what can be worse?

  Tears - tears of despair and disappointment gathered in the eyes of the Fairy. She looked back on the parties and saw that near it two more "paper bags" - her plush friends wound by mucous rubbish shake. "And them did not rescue …" - with bitterness the Fairy thought, having remembered yesterday's fight with arachnoid creatures. "Now they will come here - and all will be over" …

  "Stop!" - suddenly herself was mentally stopped by the Fairy. - "But animals do not act this way! Why they kept to us life? Why did not gobble up there, below? Even spiders, - the Fairy remembered the knowledge of a paleobiology, - though do not eat the victim at once, nevertheless, kill her, injecting into it the poisonous gastric juice which slowly decomposes the victim!"

  Here she remembered also strange property of these creatures - to resist blows of magic energy and even to absorb it in itself, and also full immunity of their "web" to magic liquid fire. It is obvious not in power to any of Tselestiya's animals!

  "Means, these are after all not the animal, but some reasonable creatures familiar with magic. And if they are reasonable, so it is possible to agree with them. The name of Triune Knowledge has to be familiar to any inhabitant Tselestiya!"

  - Hey, you, a name of Triune Knowledge, immediately release us! If you make it, big repayment will be paid for us - what only want! And if you do not make, we will be found all the same. We are followed by group of "STING". And if it arrives here, then to you to nesdobrovat! - as it is possible more loudly and more accurately the Fairy tried to cry out, but from her throat only the squeezed rattle or groan escaped. Forces absolutely ran low, the breast was pressed by some weight, before eyes some red circles floated.

  The fairy already despaired to receive the answer as suddenly in the depth of a cave some sheburshaniye and the squeezed grunting was heard. And in consciousness of the Fairy suddenly there was some groaning and hissing most disgusting voice:

  - Davnenko-sss, oh, as very long ago-sss not slysh-sh-sh-shal I this merz-s-s-s-skogo of a name, kha, kha! Oh, as very long ago-sss! Lyubopytnenko, och - h - chen it is curious, however!

  And with these words from darkness the yesterday's arachnoid insect who crept to the Fairy directly on a ceiling seemed. It stopped near the Fairy who from loathing and horror nearly fainted consciousness again, and began to rub forward pads as it was done far back in the past by flies. And the glazishcha, huge whitish facet nasekom of a glazishch and stuck into the person Fei, greedy examining it with some inexpressibly repugnant desire …

  - Davnenko-sss, oh, as very long ago-sss I did not see such s-s-s-simpatichnenkikh of mordash-sh-sh-shek, darlings-sh-sha! Not slysh-sh-sh-shal I such golos-s-s-sochkov, such s-s-s-s-lovechek, oh, very long ago-sss! - again the voice zashepelyavit and began to play up.

  - Who are you, whether a reasonable creature? I see, reasonable, - the Fairy thought because forces to speak was not at all, and the creature, apparently, owned ultraboundary art of telepathy. - If you reasonable and you familiarly sacred name of Triune Knowledge and the Sacred Principles of the Order and Prosperity - so release me! And you will be generously rewarded. What do you want - gold, jewels, precious fabrics? Speak, you will receive everything!

  - Khe-khe-khe, - began to cough, and then disgustingly started giggling rather the creature began to grind. - You sh - sh - sh, belobrys - with - with - saya letunye, for fools of nas-s-s-s derzhish-sh-sh, a-a-a? Khe-khe-khe … Whether for stupid karlikov-s-s-s sh-sh-sh-shto or for flying an obez-z-z-zyan, a-a-a? Khe-khe-khe … Malysh-sh-sh-shka, m-m-m and we to you to s-s-s-sami, a kha, will give this good of s-s-s-stolko, sh - sh - sh there will be no place to put, yes-sss!

  - What then it is necessary for you, and? Answer! - the Fairy thought, itself intuitively guessing THAT to them from them can be necessary and having shuddered from this thought.

  - It is not yours z-z-z-z-zzabota, belobrys - with - with - saya, a kha, not yours z-z-z-zzabotka … Vis-s-s-si, will not come for you yet, dorogush-sh-sh-sha, s-s-s-s-ladenkaya, vkus-s-s-s-nenkaya as grush-sh-sh-sha, khe-khe-khe, - the vile ugly mug happy probably with the ridiculous pun began to cough and having turned the back to the Fairy, began to mince on a ceiling to an opposite wall that there, in a dark corner to disappear and become invisible as earlier.

  But did not smile to the Fairy again at all to remain one. Though the creature was extremely vile, but it was reasonable and not simply reasonable, and is extremely clever and splendidly informed, and the thought that "someone will come" for them, frightened her by the uncertainty. The fairy did not sustain and mentally called creeping-away "interlocutor":

  - Hey, you how you are called there? Return, do not leave! Tell better me who you are and why you hold me here? Well, please, I nothing is perfect I know about you, and to me to be executed ten thousand years soon and I am a fairy of the 3rd rank and I studied at School of fairies always naotlichno!

  The creature stopped, and at the word "fairy of the third rank" and "School of Fairies" even somehow shuddered all over. It was developed by a muzzle to the Fairy and again began to rub forward pads (probably, this gesture meant at them expression of pleasure, - the Fairy guessed):

  - Akhkhkh, miraculously, chudes-s-s-snenko, raschudes - with - with - snenko! Akhkhkh-s-s-s, very long ago we not slysh - sh - such chudes-s-s-s-snenkikh s-s-s-s-slovechek shawls!!! Mmmm, how many vos - with - with - with - spominany, yes-sss, how many chudnenky vos - with - spominanyits, yes-sss!!!! "Shsh-sh-sh-shkola", "r-r-r-ranks", "f-f-f-fairy" … Chudes-s-s-snenkiye vos - with - with - spominanyitsa, yes-sss!

  - You did not answer my question, wonderful yudo who you are such? Why I know nothing about you?

  - Khe, a kha, a kha, and from where, s-s-s-ssprashivayetsya, beles - with - with - with - soy to the little girl about nas-s-s-s the nobility, yes-ssss? Belobryss-s-s-sye always all s-s-s-sskryvayut, never tell anybody the truth, unless not so, yes-sss? They always-sss were such, I them remember-sss s-s-s-s-skolko, yes-sss, always-sss, khe-khe-khe! Vsegda-ssss!

  With these words the creature crept up directly to the person Fei and the stream of fetid breath from open reached it zhvat creatures. The fine face of the Fairy was distorted by a disgust grimace. On white cheeks of the Fairy spread, feeling skin, thin nasekom short moustaches-vibrissy.

  - That hide, tell, I want to know! - hardly overcoming an emetic desire, the Fairy mentally demanded.

  - Also s-s-s-s-skazh-zh-zh-zhem to it is so direct, da-a-a-ssss? Also s-s-s-skazh-zh-zh-zh-em-sss is so direct … Da-sss, s-s-s-sskazhem-sss, let belobrys - with - with - with - sye burst from zlos - with - with - with - sti. Pus-s-s-st! - And even closer having drawn near the person Fei, the creature suddenly the sharp movement thrust the long thin sensitive short moustaches directly in her ears and that cried rather from disgust, than from pain. But pain right there ceased, and the Fairy suddenly felt how some never-ending stream of images began to get into her consciousness.

  Consciousness of the Fairy, having come off a body as the dry leaf driven by wind, suddenly rushed somewhere deep into caves, in the depth. On dark narrow holes, tunnels, passes, all down, down and down.

  "Creator! Yes it is some huge underground ant hill!" - the Fairy thought with horror.

  Long curved dark transitions in the depth of rocks, deeply underground swarmed the arachnoid creatures running on them. One ran up, others down - nobody did not stand still. Sometimes, however, they stopped, but only in order that having adjoined short mou
staches to transfer something each other by means of telepathy. And then ran up again.

  But than below the consciousness of the Fairy deep into of "Ant hill" (so about herself she decided to call this place) fell, to a zhutcha to her became that. Now tunnels often came to an end with the spacious dark caves filled with arachnoid. But it were not just caves. Creator! It was … something average between torture chambers and gloomy pagan temples of some awful black religion!

  Everywhere there were blood-stained tables reminding operating rooms, the filled sharp, made of black steel, surgical tools - saws, lancets, drills … Among them also other tables, black stone altars "decorated" with ugly bas-reliefs came across: awful muzzles with red eyes, black horns and oshcherenny sharp-toothed mouths with the black snake languages which are put out outside. On altars the carcasses of animals blood-stained, still twitching in agonal convulsions, and mainly young - puppies lay, oslit, kittens … And these creatures scurry about in the middle of them, cut something, drink something, pour something on them, feel something …

  "Something painfully familiar", - the Fairy thought, - "somewhere I already saw it …"

  There were "altars" with other cubs further - karlichy, monkey and even … HUMAN! It were the real human babies, their blood-stained little bodies still moved, their mouths revealed even in crying, and all felt creatures, all poured, all cut, all measured …

  The fairy wanted to cry, switch off consciousness, but could not - her consciousness was conducted by some force external, alien to it and it could not curtail from this way any more.

  Further - further - further …

  Now she saw other caves filled with retorts, flasks, racks with books. Creatures pour something, observe something, calculate something …

  Further, further, further. It is a lot of, it is a lot of rooms, it is a lot of laboratories, it is a lot of operating rooms, it is a lot of altars, it is a lot of blood, it is a lot of creatures, it is a lot of unfortunate suffering victims. The head is turned, to look there is no urine.