Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
THE MYSTERY CITY CHAPTER 116
In the center was the flowerbed that Lis had seen in Claudia's memories. Phytolamps hung over the flowerbed, powered by ordinary batteries standing nearby. The bright purple light of the lamps contrasted frighteningly with the amber glow of the crystals, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere that made the Foxes' skin goosebumps. This place caused a very disturbing feeling from the inside. Something carefully hidden in memory. Not even scary, but very annoying...The small buds of the Black Hellebore stretching out of the ground were not yet ready for use in rituals, but they were in no way inferior to the flowers growing on the territory of the Circus. The fox gently touched the fleshy petal and squeezed it. As if in response to her action, the gray smoke began to move, imperceptibly rising from two narrow corridors of entrance and exit to the center of the cave. The "barrier" holding him receded. A thick purple juice with a familiar sugary-sweet aroma remained on the pale fingers. The
THE MYSTERY CITY CHAPTER 117
The sound of footsteps became louder and more distinct. So even the Fox, immersed in the drama of the last coven of witches, paid attention to him. Tea Witch? No. The steps are familiar, but it's definitely not her. Like a small forest animal, she rose warily to her feet, ready to cling to anyone who came in, even if she didn't carry any weapons. The sound of footsteps got louder. But the steps themselves slowed down. The visitor was in no hurry to show himself. Alice cautiously took a few steps along the wall. Convenient to keep your distance, but free to see anyone who is about to emerge from the narrowed part of the catacombs.Step. No one is visible. Another step. Nothing again. Unable to resist, Alice took a small step forward. In the part of the "corridor" immersed in darkness, a dark silhouette became visible. As soon as she took a step towards him, he also took a step towards her. It doesn't look like the Tea Witch at all. Lis ventured to take another step. The Visitor followe
THE MYSTERY CITY CHAPTER 118
— Hello, Gray Cardinal! - from the smile of Alex, the soul of the Foxes almost left the mortal body.My heart sank painfully. His last words began to jump in my head over and over again. Closing everything that exists, a poisonous hot lump grew in the throat.Alive, real and fully tangible. Ghosts cannot cast shadows. There is no echo from the footsteps of the ghosts in the cave. The legs of the ghosts do not push the earth scattered by the hands of the girl on the floor of the cave when walking."Magic? Hallucination? Ghost? Zombie?" - she mentally went over in her head the possible answers to the question “who is in front of her?”.A red flask slipped from his soil-stained fingers. Alice took a timid step towards her dead friend, whom she could not keep on the roof of the ill-fated hotel. After the meeting with the "coven" there was no room for tears anymore, deep sorrow was reflected in dry emerald eyes.— How is this possible? she whispered, touching the warm hand of a friend who
THE MYSTERY CITY CHAPTER 119
- Useless! the voice of “Annette” rang like a bell, keeping up with the Man. “It was enough for me that you were distracted just for a moment to take her away. And you provided so much more! You can stop your useless search! Let this divination of mine be worse in quality, but you will not meet! Never again. It's a pity that I won't be able to personally kill her, The City will wall me up here in revenge! But there are other ways to get rid of ..."You still don't believe I'm real?" - Alex tried to touch the pale hand, but she stopped all attempts with tears, exhaling painfully every time the rebellious thoughts fought again in the unanswered question: who is in front of her?Guilt, however, was equivalent to the ghost conjured up by the witch in front of her, the revitalization of the City's cave, or the cruel hallucination of Claudia's authorship. It was enough to hear his voice, and the inner executioner slowly cut off thin layers from her heart. The torture promised to be long. Pe
THE MYSTERY CITY CHAPTER 120
Alice stood up resolutely. Friends continued to look at her with anger and resentment. Her impulse was not interpreted as something serious. The last push of a useless creature. And it was that spark in their eyes that helped her see the hidden truth. Even at the worst of times, they would never look at her like that . She is a gray cardinal, not a spineless snail torn from its shell!— CLAUDIA! she barked, looking slightly to the right of the trio. - Stop it immediately! Let them disappear!The trio of friends fell silent in puzzlement. They did not expect a rebuff, seeing how Alice's scrap was growing more and more with every second. Clamped in a corner, she seemed to hold on for her last seconds before finally falling into the abyss of despair. And to exist for her in this abyss, until madness completely consumes the mind of a worthless witch. And then the kind Madame Claudia will step out of the shadows, hand her a cup of soothing tea to create a man-made dummy. The puppeteer and
THE MYSTERY CITY CHAPTER 121
She began to doubt. The trinity of friends at the cliff looked at her in such a way that uncertainty appeared in their illusory nature. Zoey smiled and waved to join, Alex playfully shook his finger, and Charlie opened his arms for her, resembling a teddy bear. Grass rustled underfoot. Everything was more reliable than reality itself, and Claudia's proposal even more so.“I can do a lot here, my dear! the witch purred, but her voice sent goosebumps down her spine. Trying to seem kind, she was intimidating in earnest. Are you ready for the most desperate adventure? Or do friends not deserve an attempt to save them from the terrible fate that has befallen you?There was falseness in her ostentatious pity, but she remained absolutely confident in her abilities.— And the Man?“What to do,” the witch spread her hands, “in such deals, something will have to be sacrificed.” Is he that much better than the three good people? Almost innocent compared to the inhabitants of the city! On one sid
THE MYSTERY CITY CHAPTER 122
“ My little fragile beast with an unbending will! My unbroken Man! He gazed at his beloved with admiration.Alice carefully held the mask in her hands, like a fragile sacrificial bowl. Carefully covering every millimeter of its inner side with a dense layer of viscous juice, she held out the mask to the Man, like an offering to a deity.- My love, this is your night! You judge her! Demon answered her in a voice that made Claudia shudder. For the last time in my life.Lis, however, didn't even flinch. On the contrary, desperate for his support, she almost weightlessly touched his shoulder with her cheek. For a moment, under the mask of forced ice, a meek tenderness, belonging only to him, appeared.She glanced at Claudia. No, not on her, but on the dry, terrible Ancient Witch. A woman who destroyed her whole world with her own hands. She sawed all the branches holding her universe. Impatient and cruel. Did she think that a slightly stronger tea for the Foxes would have crossed out all
THE MYSTERY CITY CHAPTER 123
The morning of the last day of October, almost until breakfast, Lis spent in tears. The whole "raw period" Man did not leave her a single step. As in the case of her exhaustion after the first merger with the City, he could not influence the girl. All that was left was to watch helplessly. In the end, poured into the girl by hook or by crook, a transparent liquid with a cloyingly sweet and sour taste managed to stop the endless stream of tears. However, this author's sedative lasted only a couple of hours.Upon awakening, she wanted only one thing - to fall into a dream and not wake up for at least a week. However, the dream waved its tail and left the Fox, gloatingly endowing her consciousness with crystal vigor, with which it became impossible even to doze off. It was comforting that the tears had ended, and clarity appeared in my thoughts, albeit a sad one. Under the soothing roar of the Human's heart, she opened her eyes. Feeling the weightless movements of his fingers on her shou