For some reason, the white snake Hiyatu was not happy. And, not too happy. The statement of the guardian that the defense of the city has weakened, and everyone who is not lazy go there, she ignored. Attempts to jump on the snake body and yell could not be ignored, so she hissed that it was too early and threw Hiyata out of her world. The only thing left for the guy was to sit on the floor and blink in surprise.I had to return to the house of the guardian, to listen to her grumbling about the unrestrained and ungrateful boys who do not value their own health. But she fed Del these boys delicious homemade food, and all her punishment was washing dishes. Khiyat did not even immediately understand that the same assistant to Darine Atana demanded punishment.The night passed surprisingly calmly, part of the morning too, and then a small messenger bird appeared with the news that a red-haired candidate for guardianship was waiting for Ladai and Khiyat. Not only waiting for them, of course

Dorana woke up from the fact that someone knocked on her window.The girl lay down a little, hoping that it seemed or that the sound was a dream. But the knock was repeated. Persistent such knock, rhythmic.Dorana sat down and listened.There was another knock on the window.“All right,” said the girl. - Persuaded, I get up.She armed herself with a slipper, made sure that the amulet ring was in place and went to kill the crazy one who knocks on other people's windows at night.The moon shone outside the window. It was big and yellow, like a head of cheese. And against its background, a human head and a hand raised for the next knock were blackened like a stencil.— Eek! Dorana said in surprise.She still hoped it was a tree knocking on the window. Branch. True, the girl did not remember any trees growing close to the window, but you never know, suddenly they are there, and the fact that they are not there was just a dream. There are dreams that seem more real than real reality itself

Khiyat was lying on the floor. Eyes closed, arms outstretched, bliss on face.Liiran and Dorana sat in chairs. They sat with their feet without even taking off their shoes. Instinct kicked in as the floor lit up and strange patterns crawled across it. Neither he nor she wanted to accidentally step on something like that. You never know how it will react. This is Hiyata, it heals, but it can do with them exactly the opposite.They were frankly afraid to talk, it seemed that they would violate some kind of sacrament, or attract some kind of dirty trick with a loud sound. And what is there to talk about? It is better to wait until Khiyat gets up and finally tells what kind of nonsense is going on in the city, and why the candidates for the guardians have come to the fore. With these candidates, nothing is clear at all. Liiran, for example, studied well enough to know that any more or less close blood relative of a carnivore feels the presence of someone who has a similar gift nearby. Eve

The next three days were very fun. The brothers no longer pestered Dorana, they were not up to it. Nich did not appear at home at all, doing something mysterious and important. Kairan, along with his older brothers, came only to eat and show his mother, they say, they are all alive and well. Mom was happy, grumbled that at least one should get married, because she was tired of feeding all this crowd, and listened to the news.And the news was, though expected, but not very joyful.At night, spirits began to roam the city, frightening various overly impressionable passers-by. Someone there even had a heart attack, he did not expect that a long-dead great-grandmother would come out of the wall and begin to shake her fist. It was not possible to find out how he saw his great-grandmother in the formless ghost, for everyone else these spirits were on the same face, also an absent face, and they were frightened of them, rather, from surprise. It is unpleasant to fly into a ghost that has cr

“Not at all,” Ladai confirmed. “They didn't listen to her. They were more interested in throwing books. One hit me in the face.He touched the black eye and chuckled again.- Why are you giggling? – Khiyat asked and poured the powder into a cup.“Fun,” Ladai blurted into a smile. - Snowball game. Books.“One of them hit him over the head,” Liiran said. - We went to that drinking house to ask for ice to apply to the bump.“Yeah,” Khiyat said seriously and scratched the back of his head. “Did you get hit in the eye with a book too?”“No,” Liiran smiled sadly. “I got hit by the librarian's fist when I tried to explain why no one stopped Velda. Rough uncle.“Very severe,” Ladai confirmed.Dorana went up to him, looked into his eyes, grunted and demanded to show the bump. The boy bowed his head willingly, swaying forward and almost burying himself in her knees. The girl ran her hand along the back of his head, found a bump, gently felt it and, nodding to her thoughts, decided to treat him.