Part 6. The act of true love.
Sofia gently folded the lid down. Inside the coffin with the most serious face, even now as a minister, Steve slept. Succubus once again read the instructions and slapped him loudly.
- It was like a kiss," Forlie said.
- It said, "The act of true love" was a slap in the face of true love. With all my heart.
It really worked. Steve suddenly took a deep breath and sat down. For a while he was turning his eyes madly and finally said:
- I fell... near some castle, and then I got stabbed with something," he said.
- Calm down, they were local doctors. Apparently, they were looking for someone to help," Forlie said, "to help him get out.
- Are we already in the book? - Looking back, Steve asked. His gaze noticed a change in Sofia. - What happened to you?
- Come on, I'll tell you what else to look for," Forlie said.
The way down the mountain was much easier than climbing. The harmful and spiky wind disappeared, and the road became comfortable and almost flat. Steve, Forlie and Sofia seemed to be going down a fairly winding staircase. At the next turn the trio noticed a dark failure of the cave.
- Can you help us? - called out their unpleasant voice.
He belonged to a very skinny old man, whose hands were chained to the rock by chains.
- Who are you? - looking at the old man in surprise, Steve asked.
- What, many options? - The old man was nagging.
- At least three. Did you happen to give birth to a horse, a snake and a wolf? - a meticulous Forlie intervened in the conversation.
- What?! Boy, you can say a lot of nasty things about me, but I'm not one of them! I'm an immortal guy.
- And how did you end up in a rock? It's pretty easy to kill you: a needle in an egg... - the magician wasn't wearing it down.
- It's the last century, man. My death is in a diamond, and the diamond is in the deepest point of the ocean. At least they can be searched.
- Apparently, they didn't look for it," Forlie noticed while examining the chain. - Maybe we will break the chains, but it is unlikely that we will extract them from the stone.
- Find me waves! They're handy guys, they'll definitely free me! I'll sprinkle you with gold four times as much as you weigh! Or... - Koschei winked - I'll tell you the secret of immortality!
- To be rolled up in stone too? No, thank you," Steve said with a smile, and he was about to leave.
Forlie shrugged his shoulders, as if apologizing, and went back to his brother. Sophia was the only one left next to Koshchei.
- All you want, beautiful, all yours! - he said.
- A diamond with your death," the Succubus stretched out her hand demanding.
- What?" the old man did not understand. - I said...
- It's either a diamond or you sit here.
- Release your hands.
Solifileset easily broke the chains. Koshchei, having curved, has read the spell, and has taken out from air a huge jewel. It was absolutely transparent, the size of a large apple, and inside you could see a black pearl. Sophia freed the old man from the rock like it was made of foil and strictly said:
- Try to think about how to hurt me or my friends - I'll hit you with this - she cleverly threw the diamond from hand to hand - until I can get to your death. Did you understand?
I shuddered, puked up something, and took a run and ran down the mountain. Sophia called out to the brothers, calling out to the cave.
- That's where we're going," she said, looking with disgust at the steps carved into the stone.
- Do you know why demons steal into slavery? - asked Soliphileset as they slowly went down the dark stairs.
- Hard work, servant? - suggested Steve.
- No. We don't need that. All we need to do is make magic out of it, and lower demons are the perfect servants.
- Then why?
- The best of the best are taken into slavery. Genius artists, musicians, writers, tailors and so on. They are provided with everything necessary, up to and including personal palaces. All for the sake of their continued creation. I have already told you that in the magical world, the most valuable things are the things that have nothing to do with magic.
- And they agree? - Forlie doubted.
- Not everything at once," Sofia replied.
- And no one tried to escape? - Forlie doubtfully asked.
- That's the trick. They all make a contract.
Steve squinted and pretended to be passionate about studying the stairs.
- It's strictly forbidden to terminate such a contract and release the mortals," Sofia continued. - This is, in fact, our only prohibition.