Silvia. Ive heard the story, too, even though it happened long before I was born. Everyones heard it. Demons are huge monsters and youre lucky if you can beat one, but two
To be honest, Daniel goes on, the stories that I loved the most were the ones about you and your sisters. I truly admired the last Maras and your bravery in the face of what happened to your sister Anna.
My cheerfulness is gone like it was never there. Thats what my sisters name does to me.
Theres nothing to admire, Your Highness, I say drily, there is nothing romantic about death.
Well, it may be small consolation, but then I believe you would agree that walking the earth again is quite an improvement on lying in it.
I turn my head a little to catch a glimpse of Morok, whos following us at a respectful distance. Hes sitting very straight on his black steed and looks straight ahead. He doesnt fidget or look around. He positively looks like a statue.
I lean sideways, a bit closer to Daniel so that my voice doesnt carry.
Your Highness, how come a Shadows servant is helping the Crown?
It is said that Moroks appear where and when they are needed, so it is useless to seek them out, the prince answers mysteriously. After Maras were gone, common people had it particularly bad and they hoped that Moroks would step in to do Maras job. But they just vanished. Some people say they left because of you, but no one knows the real reason. Now Daniel leans towards me. You cant really ask them, can you. Moroks are not really big on conversation.
I try to stifle a giggle and just nod in agreement.
Some say that Moroks are people too and they need to pay for their food. And who can pay more than the king himself?
Morok is working for you for gold? The idea seems ridiculous at first, but come to think of it, I can remember occasional stories about Moroks running errands for the Crown and not out of the goodness of their hearts. Maras see taking gold for their work as unbecoming. Weve never asked for pay, people used to make offerings of their own volition.
They are sometimes called hired shadows now, Daniels voice is no more than a whisper. Some people say that times have changed and the Shadow has lost the last shreds of its dignity.
I keep silent and contemplate his words.
The Shadows never had dignity. The flat but loud voice from behind startles us both. Morok must have come closer during my conversation with Daniel and overheard part of it, if not the whole thing.
He says no more but for a while. And Daniel keeps silent, too. I pull myself together and decide to ask him the last questions that have been on my mind since I was raised from the dead.
Does Serat still exist?
Unfortunately, it does.
Who is ruling it now?
The younger son of the late king Aleksey, Severin Lasnetsov. The prince looks almost pensive now. Actually, it should have been the eldest son, his name escapes me, but he died when he was still a child.
What are the relationships between the kingdoms?
Daniel cocks his head a little and gives me a searching look. I tried to keep my voice steady while asking the question but Im not so stupid as to believe he wont suspect the reason for my curiosity.
Araken and Serat are at war. After what they did, my ancestors had no choice. At the beginning, it was a full-fledged war, but now it has turned into a protracted conflict. There are occasional clashes on the border but no real battles. However, we keep a close eye on the enemy and shoot on sight whenever anyone crosses the border from Serat.
I can only nod as my voice fails me. I grit my teeth and tighten my grip on the reins. My leather gloves creak in protest.
Not to worry, my dear Agatha. One day, we will wipe Serat from the face of the earth. I will not rest easy till I do. And when I do it the prince waits for me to look up at him, it will be for you.
6
Anna, that is a pretty dress but it wont do for training. You should wear trousers and a shirt.
Its not the first time I have to tell my little sister off for wearing the wrong outfit for her training. She hates working out. Im not a big fan of running, push-ups and pull-ups myself, but its part of our job. Our duty is not only to worship and serve Morana, but also to look beautiful in our scarlet cloaks. Strangely enough, our looks play an important role, too, and there is a host of rules we must obey. But be that as it may, I still believe that our ability to kill evil spirits remains our main asset. Yes, we can see and sever threads of life but to be able to get to them we must fight, and for that we need training, just like common people.
I can understand my sister though, I loved pretty dresses too. I used to try to make myself more beautiful, wanted to draw admiring glances of both men and women, like the ones they cast at my sister now whenever we enter a town or a village. But soon enough, I abandoned those attempts and started dedicating more time to mastering the art of swordplay. So, my go-to outfit became figure-hugging trousers and shirts and caftans the color of blood. These are normally mens clothes, but a few sisters dress in a similar fashion, as it is more convenient for horseback-riding and for battle. The temple keepers sew more feminine fits for us so that we can wear them both at work and at court, if need be.
What help will your sword be if you get entangled in your own skirt?
Im chiding her right out in a light temple hall, where any Mara can see us, or hear us for that matter because Im making no effort to keep my voice low. Though my loud tirades may also be the reason other sisters prefer to steer clear of this particular hall. When I turned fifteen, other Maras re-assigned me the task of looking after Anna as they were eager to create the best possible conditions for her, the ones none of us could have. Ive always been nice to my baby sister, tried to protect her from any harm. I thought the transition to the life of a Mara was hard on her.
Anna is slim and delicate and every time shed told me she has trouble breathing after a few minutes of running or that she cant lift a sword (though she is pretty good with stilettoes, fighting knives with long thin blades), Ive believed her. When she came up with a hundred excuses for missing training and swore that shed never do it again, I believed her.
I believed everything she told me before I realized she was taking advantage of me.
My little sister knows she has a pretty face and those big eyes you cant say no to, so she very quickly learnt how to make the most of it by manipulating people and always getting her way. Even the eldest and strictest of sisters melt before her. I suspect they see a daughter in her rather than a younger sister. I know that Anna does not have ill intentions though, shes just being selfish. She doesnt want to do things she doesnt like.
In a month, Anna will turn seventeen. Her theoretical knowledge is excellent and shes diligent when it comes to study, but she still cant hold her own in a fight. And part of that is my fault, Ive been too lenient with her. So, I have dug myself into a hole, which almost consumed me half a year ago.
On that day, four sisters including me and Anna, were sent to one of the lakes to deal with the souls of drowned men. A few people from the nearby village thought theyd seen dead people walking near the lake. We found four of them.
These souls are disgusting but they arent as quick as the ghouls in the woods around the lakes. Nevertheless, even souls were too quick for Anna. Years of training didnt help much and she was standing there brandishing her sword without touching the dead. It was a sheer stroke of luck that I noticed just as a soul almost seized her. What I needed to do was to chop off its head but there was no time, so I just pushed Anna out of the way throwing myself in her stead. The creature sank its rotten teeth into my arm and dragged me off into the water. If it hadnt been for sister Yana, who saved me, I would have drowned.