10

— Bjoorn!—Stefan called his father.— Dad...—

— Let's go down.—Callum decided.

Everyone grabbed the rope and one by one began to go down there.

Long corridors of stone filled with knee-deep water. Or is it...

Vegard's shoe has sunk deeply into the muddy muck.

— It's blood...— he said softly.

— Let's go on, we need to find him!—Maria said a little louder.

Creatures that look like disgusting bunches of dough come out. Like leeches, they stuck to the walls, to the ceiling and slid forward, moving the stinking mass of the body.

— This...— Maria shuddered, but did not step back.

— These are Trojan leeches. Hit them in the head and make sure they don't touch the body!— Callum cut down part of one leech.

Another wave and the iron deeply pierced this muck.

When this stuff is hit, a hiss is heard, an unpleasant slush splashes on the floor. From it, the boots and boots of those who came here, corrodes slowly.

— Let's go ahead.—Callum listened.

— I hear a knock!—

Stefan and Maria immediately tensed up.

— It's the father, for sure.— said the blond.— Step aside, Callum, it's under you!—

He reacted in time: Bjorn was in the pipe right under the secret hatch.

He was all beaten up, blood was pouring out of his eyes and mouth. It was obvious that he crawled here with difficulty and

barely held on.

—Stefan,—Maria said to her non—blood brother.—can you carry Bjorn? You fight worse, if anything, I'll cover for you. And it

will be disproportionate for me to carry Bjorn...—

A guy with hair like snow threw his father on his back, Bjorn in a semi-conscious state grabbed his son by the neck.

— Let's go upstairs!— Callum turned around and barely managed to hit some reptile.

With a nasty squelch, a severed piece falls into a puddle.

Olga shoots at these creatures on the run with two large pistols, one was hers, and the other was Vegard's.

This almost perfectly round tunnel was slippery, but holding on with one hand to the rope and the other to the hand of the

one going ahead, everyone got out into the corridor.

Callum pulled the rope, wound it up and attached it to his belt.

— Since we have such a burden now, we will act more quietly.—Olga commanded.— Stefan, how's Bjorn? —

— Weak, but he'll make it to the car. I can't go down through the window, so I'm going with you.—Stefan said firmly.

— Well... okay...— Maria came over and stroked the unconscious maker's hair.

The door flies out, knocked out by two or three pairs of legs.

Maria cut down the ball hanging over the door and it fell to the floor, splitting into pieces.

— They probably wanted to slap us...— she said.

Bjorn whispered something. His words were almost inaudible, and the pronunciation was distorted by the flow of blood from his

mouth.

— What? What did he say?—Olga turned around.

— Wolves... Wolves! Here come the wolves!— said the Swede a little louder.

Olga sniffed the air. Indeed, everyone already felt the presence of someone else here. Other people's wolves...

— There are other carpets and the air is warm...—she said softly.—There's someone here! There's someone here...—

Everyone put their weapons forward and took turns stepping forward.

Stefan's shoulder was stained with blood. The guy looked sideways and felt a wave of cold go through his body. The spray

resembled some kind of rune...

— Go away!—someone shouted in the dark.

Christophe saw who was there before anyone else.

There are a lot of people: girls, old women and sometimes boys, from five to seventeen years old.

— You don't have to sit here anymore. Your usurper will die soon, it's time for you to get out from under his wing before you

are accidentally killed.—Christophe said, looking around.— There are a lot of you here, you can give the guards a fight.—

— Give a fight? What for? Only madmen can get out from under the hands of the king who has seized everything!— someone said

loudly in a nasty voice saturated with some snake features and intonations.

— Come on, guys...— Christophe turns to the company.— Let's leave them here to die...—

Strong hands of the werewolf took a chain lying on the floor nearby and pulled off the door handles.

— Try to get out now...— he croaked in some more changed, almost lifeless voice.

A burnt corpse was running down the corridor towards them. He was trying to say something... or are they? The corpse was so

mutilated that nothing was clear.

The screaming and squelching sounds were muffled and completely froze - the corpse, still running here, was cut into pieces

by huge sharp pendulums.

Maria made an inarticulate sound, a kind of muffled cry.

— Lottie...—She whispered weakly.

— Step back...—Callum said.— Pendulums are such a thing that will come out of nowhere!—

— How are we going to carry Bjorn?—Olga asked.

— Since the smell of wolves does not make vampires very pleasant, we will lower our Swede on a rope...— Callum checked the

cable.— I don't carry a rope with me for nothing...—

— I hope it will work out...—Maria gasped.— I'll pull him out, give me a rope and I'll tie him up...—

She had never allowed herself too much and unnecessary touches before. But now it seemed to Maria that this was superfluous.

Despite how huge Bjorn seemed to her, now it seemed to her that he weighed less than a kitten.

— Let me tie it, thanks to your knot I once broke my neck.— Stefan took the rope from the necroblood sister.

— It wasn't my fault there, but the monkeys!— the brunette raised her voice.

Stefan was the first to slide down the first rope, and on the second Maria began to slowly lower Bjorn to him.

Everyone else began to descend, for safety Vegard stayed with his daughter.

Maria did not take her eyes off the maker, she literally lowered the Swede down by centimeter.

— I got it!—Stefan shouted, and Vegard and Maria quickly descended.

— It's better to run faster, I feel that there is someone else here...— Christophe took out a small box and threw it out the

window.— Now we are definitely need to run!—

Vampires weren't needed as a push this time.

Maria saw how wolves, turning, ran along with vampires.

The horses whinnied angrily when Friedrich whipped them hard on their backs.

The platinum of Bjorn's hair was covered in blood.

— Vampires, better get under the tarp!—Friedrich shouted.

Maria felt the sun burn her face and screamed.

— We will go non-stop!—Olga ordered Friedrich.

He nodded in agreement and only whipped the horse even harder.

***

Trailer.

It's not exactly cold here, but it's almost like a house. Even though he doesn't smell like a house.

Maria ran a wet towel over Bjorn's face, stroked the cool soft skin.

Her plump lips were almost blue now.

The vampire removed the bowl of water and the cloth, finishing her work. She seems to have knocked down the fever.

Maria put the kitten on her lap. It calmed her down in a human way and gave her a sense of life.

— We still have as many as seven places in Finland, my wolves scattered along the border, so this guy won't jump out of here!—Callum said, examining the map.—And if he does, we'll know where he's going...—

— It would be better not to leave... too much strength... All this takes too much effort...—Olga peered at the map.— Where did you get it?—

— By myself, all by myself! Such cards are not printed...—Callum turned around. He felt Stefan following them.— How is your Swede?—

— I'll catch a couple of people in town and then he'll be fine... That's just this fever...—The bowl fell out of the blond man's hands.—What or who the hell did he drink?—

His hands were shaking. Nerves were also undermined by such a pure moral being as Stefan Martensson...

Olga could even see the boy's inflamed eyes from here.

— Did you eat?—She asked Stefan.

— Then there will be rest and food ... —

***

Olga Karsten now often felt something hostile nearby.

It's like Wentworth is around, like some kind of fever.

A couple of branches, which the wolf brushed away with a sword, fell to the ground.

The dress was soaked with snow.

— Let's rest and practice together.—Vegard came out of the trailer.

— No! I want to share my burden a little with myself alone.—

— Maybe it's better to learn from each other? It's better if we know the weaknesses, the whole company is better than when the enemy knows the weaknesses.—Vegard waved his axe.— Each of us will have the same skills, isn't that good?—

Olga nodded and suddenly a series of sneezes erupted from her.

Vegard hugged and hugged his wife to him.

— Even wolves get sick! Come on, my love, we'll treat you properly.— stroking his wife's red hair, Vegard swept the snow from the fiery curls and took her to the trailer to warm up after a silly one-man workout ...

***

—Stefan, I've heard that every vampire has some kind of ability. Can you tell me about it?—Callum asked the blond man, who was clinging to a bottle of cow's blood.

— Well, they can be different. But I do not know my father's... I don't know much about it at all! And there are few of us left... Of Bjorn's children, only Maria and I are left...—The blond man wiped his mouth.— But there are others... That's just I do not know if they will help on the neck of a strange company...—

— Maybe you and Maria will find those who will be agree working with werewolves?—

— It will take forever!—

***

Bjorn did not come to his senses. It was as if he was asleep and couldn't wake up.

— I've already tried everything!—Stefan dug his fingers into his hair.

— I'll check on him...—Maria took the maker's hand in hers and concentrated, straining her telepathic abilities.

Olga, just warmed up, put her hand on her sword.

— A stranger.— she whispered, immediately jumping up from her seat.

A jump, a pull-up, and she climbed out through the sunroof.

Here the smell even hurts the nose more.

Wolf. Just a huge wolf.

The hammer casually went through the ribs. The pain flares up.

There can only be one chance.

Olga jumps off the trailer, finding herself almost half of the enemy's bottom.

Hit.

The slope.

Olga's sword cuts through the wool. Blood, hot and odorous, drips on the snow.

She bounces...

A blow...