- Yeah. And we're not gonna contribute to their extinction. Kedar wants a harness, especially a saddle with pouches. I don't know what the late princess hid there. And he was ready to pay for the unicorn three more times, but I refused.
Dil nodded grimly. In his memory, Lane didn't kill any animal, preferring to defend himself more gently if necessary - magically deafening or drowsing in his sleep.
- Okay, let's say you found her. What's next? As far as I know, unicorns are practically immune to magic. Only a virgin can catch them. And where will we find a virgin after the war? Except that a girl of about ten or twelve years of age to look for.
- The unicorn girl will tear up. They hunt children. Actually, that's why Kedar came to us. He does not know about the roads, but he knows about the existence of other worlds.
Dil missed this blatant "to us". It was much more outrageous than that.
- Do you suggest running around the neighboring worlds in search of an untouched girl?
- You'll have to run," Lane sighed sympathetically. - I can't leave Lagorre until I pay you back.
Dil choked on the last piece of ham. Not because of the injustice of what was happening, but because he looked in as Lane licked a drop of honey from the edge of a mug. No, we have to do something about it... They'll finish this stupid order, and he'll confess. Otherwise, you can go mad.
* * *
The nun was sixteen years old. She was constantly trying out simple beads of fine pebbles and silently whispered something. Lane examined her with squeamish dislike, the reason for which Dil did not understand. Shapeless sweatshirt indefinitely hid the figure, but the girl's face was pleasant, though simple. And her hair was beautiful - black, smooth, tightly braided in a long braid.
- Where did she come from? - Lane sizzled through.
- From Earth," Dil chose to act for sure. Only on Earth was it guaranteed to be possible to find nuns practicing strict chastity novices.
- And what did you promise her?
- Make a generous donation to her monastery. She collected alms.
- Are you sure she is a virgin?
- She said so.
- For the sake of money, she'd say her grandmother was Queen Annuina!
- I'm a bastard, but I'm still a demon," said Dil with dignity. - And I can smell a blatant lie.
Lane stopped talking, and they walked to the woods in intense silence. The girl was living in the cold. The morning was so early that even the birds had not yet woken up.
- Your task is simple," Lane sifted through his teeth without looking at the nun.
- Sitting on this clearing by the creek. The unicorn comes here at dawn. Can you sing lullabies?
- No, - she confusedly froze long eyelashes. - But I know spiritual verses. They are beautiful.
Lane was crooked.
- Okay, but sing slowly and sing slowly. When the unicorn lies beside you, take off your frenzy and saddle, gently and slowly. Can you do that?
The girl nodded.
- Fine," Lane looked around and pointed to Dila's huge, sprawling tree on the edge of the clearing. - Get in higher and spray yourself with this," he handed him a bottle. - I'll be around.
And he disappeared silently into the thickets. Dil smiled at the girl with an encouraging smile, put a bottle behind his sinus and climbed onto the tree. Settling on the last reliable branch, he carefully opened the bottle. The greenish liquid did not smell anything special. Only leaves. Well, that's right, it's for disguise.
While he was spinning on a branch, carefully spraying himself, the girl sat on a stone near a spring and sang sadly. Dil didn't understand the words and was even glad to hear them. He missed the appearance of the unicorn. It's just that the morning mist suddenly became dense, and here on the opposite side of the clearing is a shaggy white horse with a shiny twisted horn. The unicorn resembled a mixture of pony and goat. But the tail, nervously whipping on the sides, was a lion's tail, and the gritty teeth clearly testified - this creature, if consumes grass, it is only in the form of a garnish for meat dishes.
The unicorn stomped with its foot and rusted, but not bursting. Dil clearly understood that now she would rush at the girl.
- Run, you fool! - He shouted and went downstairs.
But before he came down, there was Lane between the girl, who had been stunned by terror, and the unicorn. Singing something quiet and melodic, the elf slowly went to the ready to attack the creature. Dil froze, not knowing what to do - jump and distract the unicorn on himself or let a friend create some completely incomprehensible magic?
to be continued...