NIGHT by I Rin (best books to read .TXT) 📕

table next to the brightly burning fireplace. He was reading carefully the thick tome, which they had brought from the caves of dead Wizard.

“Swein!” she called him quietly.

The Prince raised his head and having seen Angelica smiled.

“I'm glad to see you!” he said. “If you are here then it means that you have made a decision!”

“Yes,” Lica agreed. “And I want to talk about it with you.”

“Why with me?” Swein surprised raising his left eyebrow.

“I've been thinking a lot about you, Edward and me...” Angelica began to speak. “I really like you, Swein! Despite all your ridicule and sarcasm! You are brave, honest, and...”

Then she paused and looked at the Prince. She expected her speech would make a splash and Swein would be moved and would embrace declaring his love but she saw only the usual grin on his face.

“You are... you are!” Lica flushed. “Even now you are grinning! Ii is impossible to talk to you! So you must know that I have chosen Edward! He's not a cad like you!”

“You have just appeared and so much insult!” the Prince burst of laughing. “Well, let it be Edward! I am truly happy for him!”

“And you do not want to say anything else?” she was disappointed.

“What did you expect to hear? ‘Oh, Angelica, stay with me! I cannot live without you!?’” Swein said snidely.

“You know!” Lica was furious.

She turned around and ran away from the Prince’s room. In the hall, where she ran in, the witch had been waiting for her patiently.

“Margo, I have made a decision!” Angelica said firmly. “I have chosen Edward! What do I have to do to give his soul back?”

“Excellent!” the witch shouted.

The "wrong" path

Margo rose from the chair and began to pace up and down.

“You have to go to the Ghosts fields,” she finally said. “In order to find the soul of the Prince among the undead, you must become like them. So I am giving you a potion, which you drink as soon as you get there. When you drink it, you will fall into lethargic and your soul can get out of your body. After that you will go to the Fields to look for the Prince’s soul. You'll have to entice his soul into the bottle, which I will give, and bring it to me. As you cannot do it yourself, then you will have to go with Swein!”

“Never!” Lica refused.

At this moment the Prince entered the room. Apparently, he had heard their conversation because he was smiling and said:

“But, Angelica, you want to bring Edward’s soul back to his body, don’t you? Then do what Margo said!”

The girl blushed, but just kept silence.

“Swein is right!” the witch remarked. “When you are in a state of lethargy, you'll be vulnerable to any danger. Any vampire or werewolf can easily kill you. And besides that how you can come back to your body yourself? To do this, you need to have someone who will give you another potion - otherwise you'll stay in the Ghosts Fields forever.”

“All right!” the girl agreed.

She shot an evil look at Swein. He noticed that and burst of laughing.

“Damn, what a scratch-cat you are!” he said laughing.

Margo pretended not to notice that and turned to Angelica said:

“Have a rest here, the Prince will go to his room and I need to make something for your trip!”

She took Swein's hand and led him out of the hall.

Being frustrated, Lica sat on the sofa, staring at the burning candles. Her eyes started to droop of fatigue and she did not notice that fell asleep, leaning on the pillows.

She woke up because someone was shaking her shoulder.

“Angelica, wake up!” she heard Margo’s voice. “You have been sleeping for six hours. I hope you have had a good sleep. I have made a potion and a bottle for Edward’s soul.”

The girl shook her head to wake herself up.

“Tell me where that is!” she said.

The witch showed her a small clay amphora with various cabalistic signs on its sides.

“This is the bottle in which you will keep the soul of the Prince!” she said. “As soon as you are close enough, at least a couple of meters, the magic bottle will suck his soul inside. But be attentive, do not make a mistake! Because only one soul can be in the amphora!”

“What if it sucked me inside?” Lica said.

“It’s possible,” Margo smiled. “That is why do not fly up to the amphora closer than I told you! Now the potion... You will drink from this green bottle to fall into a lethargic sleep and this red one Swein will give you after three hours and you will be able to get back into your body.”

“But if I do not have time to do everything in three hours?”

“You have to do all your best! It is very dangerous to stay in lethargy too long, you may not wake up!”

“But the Ghosts Fields are huge! What about the distance?”

“Do not worry about it! The distance for a soul is a loose concept! At any time you could be anywhere you wish. The only thing I have to warn you about is that you should stay away from the creatures that are from other world - vampires and werewolves. You know that they live in the Ghosts Fields too. And even if you have the etheric body, for them you will be real as you are now. They cannot kill you, of course, but they can put a crimp you!”

Suddenly the Prince came into the room.

“Margo, could you repeat everything again for me, please!” he said.

“So...” the witch started, referring to the King of Goblins. “You are going to the Ghosts Fields. There you should find a place and put the amphora but it should be away from your camp - the soul of Prince must not see Swein in his body! Then Angelica drinks the potion and her soul leaves her body for a while. She then goes to look for the soul of Edward and when find, she should try to lead him to the amphora, which will sucked it up. You have three hours to do that. You Swein, all the time should keep a sharp eye so that werewolves or vampires cannot attack you. And after three hours time you must give Angelica to drink from the red bottle to return her life back. Then you take the amphora with the soul of Prince Night and bring it to me. Clear?”

“Absolutely!” Swein chuckled. “Well, let’s go!”

“Good luck!” Margo said.

Lica gave the amphora and the red bottle to Swein and the green one put into her jeans pocket. After that she came out of the cave and sat on the horse. The Prince appeared a minute later. He put the amphora into the bag, tied to the saddle, and the bottle into his traveling cloak pocket.

“Do not lose them!” the girl said sharply. “I do not want to become a ghost with your help!”

Swein said nothing, but just smiled again. He climbed into the saddle, patted his horse’s mane and pulled the reins. Two riders raced forward under the bright moon to the Ghosts fields. For some time they were riding in complete silence. Finally, they saw the tomb of Swein.

“Now we must turn!” said the Prince abruptly. “Here the enchanted path to the Ghosts Fields begins. Follow me!”

He turned his horse, and Lica followed him. They were riding for another few minutes and then the dense fog surrounded them.

“It is always the same here...” Angelica remembered. “Soon the fog clears and we will come to the Fields!”

But the fog did not dissipate. They were riding in a fog for about half an hour.

“Well I do not like it!” Swein said. “We have already had to get out of the fog!”

“We have got lost, haven’t we?” Lica quipped. “What about your boasted experience of the enchanted paths?”

“One more word, beautiful Angelica, and then you will go only accompanied by your horse!” the Prince retorted.

She realized he was serious and decided to keep quiet. Twenty minutes later the fog finally began to dissipate.

“Where are we?” Lica marveled.

The girl and her companion were on a narrow path and everywhere around they see swamps with the old rotten roods.

“It looks like the lair of the werewolves,” Swein said quietly. “How it could happen - I'll never know! Listen to me carefully, Angelica! Now your wariness can save your life. Follow me around, keeping a step. And take my second sword! I remember you said that you had learned how to use it, didn’t you? Wonderful! Now your skill can come in handy.”

He got to Lica and handed her the sharpened sword. The girl was horrified but she did not show that she was scared. Taking the blade, Angelica said quietly:

“The most important is not to break the amphora!”

“I'll try,” the Prince nodded.

He jumped quickly from his horse and put his ear to the ground. Having listened, he jumped into the saddle and said:

“We must go that way!”

Riders went on a narrow path forward. They were going making as little noise as possible. Soon the swamp finished and they felt more solid ground under their horses’ hoofs. Suddenly, they heard a rustle of fallen trees behind. Swein instantly tensed and drew his sword out. After a moment, something huge jumped out of the bushes. Lica did not have time to understand anything. Only what she saw was the Prince barred her and met this ‘something’ with his sword. In one stroke he cut it in half and the lifeless body fell down to the grass. The girl came closer to look at the monster.

It was half - beast, half - man. Long sharp teeth were sticking from the huge mouth. Giant claws were growing in the hands.

“Is it the werewolf?” Angelica whispered.

“Yes, my dear!” Swein chuckled. “You do not have a quick reaction! Learn to be quick or you will be eaten by someone!”

“Thank you for saving me from a werewolf again!” the girl thanked him sincerely.

The Prince dismounted again and began to listen. He was moving quickly and silently as a cat and then climbed into his saddle.

“I can hear something,” he said. “And these are not the werewolves!”

“So it's good!” Lica was relieved.

“No, it is bad!” Swein said grimly. “It is not just bad, but is also deadly dangerous! Now we have to go as fast as possible!”

And he spurred his horse.

“What happened?” Angelica shouted behind him.

But the Prince did not answer and she had no choice and followed him. Swein was racing like the wind. The girl barely had time to catch him.

“Faster, faster!” Swein shouted.

Suddenly Lica began to hear something too. Some nasty sound was heard behind. As if someone was walking by and chomping loudly. Angelica looked back and what she saw, threw her to the horror! Something huge and black was getting nearer behind them. It was so enormous, that rose high into the night sky. It seemed that the darkness is haunting them.

“What is it?” Lica cried.

“Not now!” the Prince said. “There must be one more enchanted path near here. Hurry up! Otherwise, nothing can save us!”

He turned his horse to the side and Angelica hurried after him. Suddenly, the dense fog enveloped them.

“Hooray!” Lica exclaimed. “I think we could get away!”

“Do not rejoice too soon!” the Prince said. “Something has happened to the enchanted paths and they have changed their direction. Now I do not know where this path will lead us.”

About twenty minutes later the fog lifted and Swein with Angelica were in the dark forest.

“An hour from bad to worse,” the Prince said quietly. “This is Nightmare Forest! Be alert and keep the sword ready! Although the sword would be a weak defense against the local inhabitants!”

“And what was there behind us? Something we were running away from…”

“Something looked like the Golem! But, please, do not talk, we may be heard!”

Swein moved forward again and Lica had to go to his horse's hooves. She could