DEMON'S SOUL

chapter 1

The sun this year burned like never before, even the shadow of the palm trees did not save from the blazing rays. Nomads say that if the summer is hot, then the winter will be fruitful. All that remained was to wait. All that saved the locals was a cool lake, the sources of which came straight from the earth. Clean and possibly healthy due to some minerals. So four children found comfort and salvation in the lake. In the meantime, while the adults were working, the children frolicked and frightened all the local underwater inhabitants with their noise. But happiness did not last long for one of the boys.

“Agasto,” a woman came out of a small tent, she was unusual, but only because she did not fit the local climate. It seemed that she was the very rare snow that had fallen in the middle of the desert. Black hair, gray eyes and pale skin, while all the other locals were swarthy or even dark-skinned.

— Agasto! Let's run to eat!

She went to the shore and cast a displeased glance at one of the boys. Agasto, in fact, was also not like everyone else - silver hair and mother's eyes, that is, gray, but the skin was copper, tanned. Agasto was unhappy, he would have splashed with the guys in the water. Everyone noticed his displeasure, including a dark-skinned woman with dragon pigtails. She sat by the shore and washed clothes.

- Helda, let the boys play a little more, there is plenty of time, and he will have time to eat.

Agasto looked pleadingly at his mother, but she was adamant.

- No, Alsu. He hasn't eaten since yesterday's dinner, that's not going to work, I don't want him to drown in this lake due to lack of strength to swim to the shore.

Alsou did not argue, as Helda was right in her words. Agasto realized that there was no point in arguing, so with his head bowed, he swam to the shore. He believed that food was not required for him so often, there was weakness in the body, but not so strong, and he also did not really want to eat.

—By the way, you are a growing organism and you need food. Or do you want to stay small?

It's good to be small! - Agasto was wrong with his mother, because as a little eight-year-old boy, he was forgiven a lot, and was also allowed, of course, within reason.

—No, my dear, someday I will be gone, and how are you going to survive?

He did not like such a prospect, to be more precise, he did not like the fact that people are not eternal beings, sooner or later leaving for the stars. The boy did not want his mother to leave him. The sand underfoot was hot, but as you walked further, it became even hotter. There was no need to dress - all Agasto was wearing was wet pants. Many locals of their clan wear hidden clothing that protects from the dangerous rays of the sun, but Agasto, on the contrary, liked being under the rays of the sun, getting warm, albeit dangerous for the skin. It was surprisingly cold in the tent. It also smelled of food and some herbs. Agasto's mother was the doctor of their small clan. Of course, they rarely got sick, but the woman always had a large supply of medicinal herbs.

— I would like you to go and catch the snakes after dinner. - Helda sat on the floor and sorted through bottles with different contents.

- Why? - a wooden spoon was released into a thick soup, Agasto did not like food, he probably would have eaten meat better than herbal soup.

I want to cook snake meat for dinner.

Agasto nodded. Catching snakes was a familiar thing for him, but still interesting. It is a pity that the plans of peaceful people were violated. The last bowl of soup was thrown into his mouth, as screams and screams came from the street.

- Mother? Agasto threw an anxious look at his mother, he did not understand what was happening and it worried him.

The woman got to her feet and walked towards the exit.

- Sit still.

He nodded, and as soon as the woman disappeared, he quietly approached the gap to see what was happening. Men, women and strangers ran in the street. The strangers were armed, but did not attack. From another tent came an elderly man - their leader and head of the clan. He approached one of the strangers and spoke. The words came in fragments.

“But the tribute was paid… This is not your land,” he was angry, and this was evident from his facial expressions and hand gestures. You can't take people...

That was the last thing he said before one of the men burst into their tent. He grabbed the thrashing Agasto and dragged him to the exit.

—We will take five women, five men and all the children.

There were thirty of them. Thirty strangers, stronger than them, men. It was decided to pay tribute to the king of these lands, it would be better if ten people were taken away than all their lives. All the locals were divided into two groups, men and women. The elderly were not taken, and the children stood next to their mothers. Agasto's mother was also in this group of people, and soon Agasto himself joined his mother. One of the strangers, Agasto realized, was their leader. He approached women and examined their teeth, skin, hair. He took the strong and beautiful, Alsou was among the selected women. Soon it was Helda's turn.

- Pale, are you sick with something?

Helda nodded, she lied.

- It's a pity, beautiful, but we do not take patients. Let's take your boy. Such sparse silver hair, it will fetch a large amount in the market.

Horror immediately appeared in the woman's eyes, she grabbed Agasto by the shoulders.

- I cheated, I'm healthy.

—How do I know you're not lying now? - The stranger chuckled.

What do you have to lose if you take me?

—Hmm, let me think. Nothing. But in that case, we will take one more woman instead of five.

There were already few women in their clan, but now there are only a few left. More old people than young people. There were only four children, including Agasto. Men were also chosen strong, their beauty was not much looked at, rather endurance.

- Not bad, you have a good product. Several of the strangers chuckled, while the rest remained gloomy and serious.

Agasto knew that once a year ten people come to them, they take with them a few goats, wool and camels. This was the payment for the fact that they live in the lands of the eastern king. This year, they also paid tribute exactly on time, the reason for the strangers who came was unknown.

“You don't have to take another woman, I'm healthy and more resilient than the two men in your squad. “Helda didn’t want others to suffer because of her stupidity.

The leader gave her a curious and suspicious look.

—You are pale as a moth, I think you know what that means in our lands. It is strange why you are still standing on your feet, and not lying under the sands of these lands.

Held sighed.

—But I’m healthy, I just don’t come from these lands.

How can I understand that you are not lying?

She pulled Agasto behind her and stepped forward.

— I can fight any of your men, you must know for sure that in your lands women cannot hold weapons ...

— So, instead of showing off your fighting skills, you will please my warriors? -he laughed, followed by thirty more male gogots.

We are taking another woman, and this is not discussed. If you die on the way to the city, then I will lose the goods. He walked over to her and cupped her cheeks with dirty fingers, forcing her to look up. -Then I'll be angry and have to come back for your people.- We move out at dawn, but for now we rest.

The men exhaled happily and headed into the shade of the palm trees to part with their clothes and dive into the water.

—d**k and Fin, stay and shackle our merchandise.

Two men left the crowd and went to the "goods".

—I hope the leader of this clan will be prudent and receive the guests as required.

The leader nodded and directed the remaining clan members to prepare food and shelter.

The sun had already set below the horizon, and now stars were opening in the night sky like bouquets, showing the way home to lost travelers. It was decided to leave the "goods" in the largest tent. Because of the shackles bound together by chains, people had to sit unforgivably close.

— Mom, what's next? -Agasto raised his gray eyes to his mother. The woman sighed heavily.

- I do not know...

—They will take us to the city and sell us for a large sum, and those who are not sold will be sent to battles. - Held was interrupted by one of the men who sat at the very end of the chain.

Agasto pressed his whole body against his mother and rested his head on her shoulder.

Tell me the legend.

—Little Agasto can’t sleep again because of nightmares,” the voice belonged to a girl who was a year older than Agasto.

- I have not been small for a long time and, unlike some, I can sleep in the dark.

A friendly skirmish was interrupted by Alsou, the girl's mother.

—Now is not the time to swear, it’s time for you to sleep.-She stroked her daughter's hair and smiled warmly.

Helda began the story as men screamed and water splashed outside the walls.

—Three gods lived in peace until one beautiful maiden met on their way. Three mighty brothers were captivated by her beauty, three brothers were in love. But the maiden did not love any of them, she loved the demon, he was powerful like three brothers, he was bloodthirsty, like a predator on the hunt, but kind and gentle to his maiden. His love burned with tenderness and warmth, he was ready to destroy mountains for her sake, to dive into the abyss. He knew that the maiden loved him too, he knew that their feelings were mutual, and not a single creature would sow discord in their relationship. Three brothers fought for the maiden's heart, they brought hundreds of gifts to her feet, but her heart had long been stolen by the most beautiful of the terrible. The three brothers found out about this and opened the hunt for the demon, turning it into a beast, into a monster. But the maiden did not stop loving him, every night she healed his wounds, every night he was waiting for her like a fresh breath of air in the hot desert. Where his blood was shed, all living things disappeared, and where the feet of the three brothers stepped, life disappeared. One of the brothers took his brothers' powers and went on a wild hunt. One of the three brothers returned to the feet of the maiden in the skin of the beast. "Now you're free." The skin of the beast belonged to a demon, realizing this, the beautiful maiden cursed all three brothers and disappeared. Since that day, no one has seen the moon, the brothers quarreled among themselves, hated each other and left after the moon. And the demon disappeared, but not his essence...

In the middle of the story, Agasto fell asleep with tears on his cheeks - these were unconscious tears, and he never knew about it. Didn't know he was falling asleep with tears. He dreamed of the wild hunt, the gods and the beast in the blood. An animal that was a predator. He was trapped and couldn't do anything. “Someday I will return, and then you and your brothers will lie at my feet” - after that there was pain, from which Agasto screamed, and his mother whispered soothing words, and then instead of pain, only darkness and calmness came.

Morning.

— Give each slave a flask of water. The merchants gathered everyone from their camels.

Each was given a flask and a small package of food.

—This is your three-day ration, so take good care of it.

There were ten people at the end, five people on the sides and ten more in front, all of them watching their goods, which was in the middle. Although it was already clear that they had nowhere to run, and there was no way.

The road was long - two days' journey to the royal city, but since there was still live goods, the road lasted about three days. Everyone was terribly tired, especially those who were walking. Water, like food, soon ended, the sun with high dunes and hot sand made themselves felt. All this greatly exhausted people, each step was given with heaviness, but they were not allowed to fall. Each time they were whipped on their backs, forced to get up and follow the merchants. This was a plus and a minus, because a slow death is guaranteed in the desert, and the whip drove to life, but from wild fatigue and pain I wanted to end my life under the sands. Forget and get lost.

The nights were also not the most long-awaited - cold and fatigue did not allow to sleep peacefully, people had to gather in a dense pile in order not to freeze to death, while the merchants had fun around the warm fire.