Tribute to Elegba... chapter five...

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Far, far away from Riddlehill, in cold Russia, in her country house, a girl named Rania woke up in a cold sweat. She opened her eyes abruptly and looked around fearfully. However, her natural gift in a matter of seconds suggested what the matter was. Trying to calm down, the girl got up and, throwing on a dressing gown, came into the next room.

The family of witches and magicians Vasilevsky was one of the most ancient and entangled in secrets. Moreover, the magical power inherited from the ancestors was so great that stories about its power, comparable only to the power of nature, have long circulated around the world. Rumors were born a very, very long time ago, when, according to legend, at the beginning of the fifteenth century, the first of the Vasilevsky family, the witch Zirunderel, received her power, which with each generation took root more and more in the offspring of this family. Five centuries later, only Rania remained, the last of the witches of her kind, and her brother, Dmitry, who received the path of elegba, a gift that is transmitted only through the male line and bestows rare and powerful power. Rania saw her brother extremely rarely, and for the last two hundred years - almost never. However, the girl did not stop worrying about the condition of the only surviving blood relative, so she monitored the only threat to his existence. And for a very long time there was no such threat, and the serenity of Rania's existence, it would seem, had no end. Yet that serenity was interrupted this morning.

Rania and Dmitry were born in the east into a Moroccan family, where their mother, Khadija, taught children the basics of magic. By the way, Rania and Dmitry were born on the same day with a slight difference in time - these children were twins. When the young brother and sister were ten years old, their mother died and their father, Salazar Vasilevsky, moved the children to England. Therefore, for some time Rania and Dmitry lived in London with their not entirely caring and categorically unkind father, who hardly cared about anyone but himself. And after the tragic death of the last ancestor, Dmitry and Rania were left to their own devices, found their first powerful connection with nature and learned to use magic to the fullest, which turned the twenty-year-old girl and guy into real powerful sorcerers. Three generations have given Rania unthinkable magical powers, and for the first time a witch from the Vasilevsky family has created a magical shell that gave her invulnerability and eternal youth. As for Dmitry, the young man discovered in himself the gift of elegba. It took more than one decade to figure out the essence of such unusual possibilities, and this was precisely the period when brother and sister maintained at least some connection. However, at the moment of truth, when Dmitry fully realized what it was like to be an elegba, he simply disappeared and all that remained for Rania from past family relationships was the connection of twins, which was indestructible from birth. Rania could feel whether her brother was alive, whether he was at peace or in danger, she could feel this very danger. And since the strength and power of Dmitry could only be threatened by the birth of a child, which was the consequence of his gift, namely the child, or rather his existence in this world, which suddenly appeared like a flash in the dead of night, the witch felt early this morning, waking up from an anxious dream.

After leaving London, Rania lived as a nomad, constantly changing places of residence, feeling perpetually uninvolved and as if unable to find her place under the sun. And perhaps most of all, she wanted to reunite with her brother and try to restore what was still to be restored. Family.

Rania lived now in the northern capital of Russia, St. Petersburg, an hour's drive from the city in a small two-story house. She woke up tonight with a frenzy of anxiety that filled her heart and made it beat at a frantic pace. The last time the witch experienced this feeling was a very long time ago, on the evening of the death of her foster father. At that moment, Dmitry was in danger, but in the end, he was able to avoid it, but Salazar was unlucky, so to speak. Rania quite distinctly felt the child. He was born, the witch was sure. The same child who could threaten the existence of Dmitry in the full sense of the word. Rania could feel this anxiety before, but usually this feeling faded quickly. But not today. Rania tried not to panic, but the feeling of a fateful child became stronger and stronger.

The spacious room looked, as usual, very comfortable. Red burgundy curtains covered the windows, behind which the first rays of the rising sun were already peeking out from behind the horizon, and a round wall clock showed a quarter to eight. A fire was lit in the fireplace, and this indicated that Rania's roommate, her great friend Alexei, had already woken up. He sat in one of the high-backed chairs with large armrests and suede upholstery and drank hot chocolate with milk.

"Good morning, Rania," he said, seeing the girl on the threshold of the living room, and smiled. "You got up early today. Anyway, I made chocolate. I will share. Have a seat."

Rania thanked Alexei and sat down in the second chair, taking a mug in her hand and looking at the flames in the fireplace. The girl was still nervous, but the chocolate helped her focus a little and recover from such a disturbing awakening.

Alexei was a native of St. Petersburg and had lived with Rania in a country house for five years. He did not have any extraordinary abilities, but the guy knew about the magical powers of his cohabitant and tried to help her in any endeavors. Alexey had warm feelings for Rania, perhaps he was even in love with her, but this question was hardly ever raised. Friendship seemed much stronger than any other relationship. Rania also appreciated Alexei as a friend, of course, knowing about his affection, but she was not at all afraid of this. Alexei was a very smart twenty-five-year-old man, his reasoning and outlook on life showed that, despite his relatively young age, he already understands a lot and knows what is solid and what is unsteady.

Aleksey was a simple Russian guy, tall and broad-shouldered, physically developed, but recently a little thinner. He had brown eyes, thin lips, high cheekbones, and slightly sunken cheeks. His dark hair shone reddish in the rays of the rising sun. Rania really liked Alexei's eyes: she found them to have some sort of monstrous attraction, in a certain sense soothing. And this guy was the most reliable person for her: Rania knew that Alexei would never betray her and would always come to the rescue. He was her best friend at this stage of her life.

"What are you planning today?" the guy asked.

"You won't believe it, but last night my plans were different. This morning everything has changed..." the girl answered quietly, not taking her eyes off the fire. Only half of her was now in the living room in the company of Alexei, the other part of her was completely immersed in anxious thoughts about the tasks ahead.

"I have to leave. Indefinitely. Today," continued Rania, deliberately dividing her phrase into fragments. She was uncomfortable talking about having to leave a friend for a long time.

"I can help you pack your suitcase. Unless, of course, you ask me to come with you, which I would gladly accept."

Rania sighed. Alexey understood what the girl was getting at, and took it calmly.

"I can't let you travel with me. On top of that, I still don’t even know in which direction to move. Everything is so chaotic that I myself still cannot understand anything. This trip can be dangerous. Extremely dangerous. Even for me... Therefore, I hope you will stay here and continue to guard this house, as I taught you. Maybe I'll be back very soon, but that's unlikely. Just please don't doubt my promise. I'll be back anyway, and you'll wait for me, okay? I wouldn't be in such a hurry, but it's really urgent."

"I'm worried," the boy frowned. “If you are determined to do something, then I hope you have a plan. At least you have a plan to create a plan. I don’t know what kind of danger threatens you now, but I would not like to realize that you’re going on a dangerous adventure..."

"Was it ever different?” the girl chuckled as she finished her chocolate and placed the mug on the round glass table. ЭI know that any outcome is possible, but something happened that I was afraid of almost all my life ... Which is why, under no circumstances should we delay now, you know?"

Rania thought. She never seriously wondered why she cared about her brother, who had disappeared from her life and had shown no interest for two centuries. But this responsibility for the family, for her brother, was dictated by her upbringing: Rania never for a second forgot the words that her mother told her while she was alive: there is nothing more important than family, blood or non-blood ties, and it doesn’t matter what crossroads are destined to go. Rania could not betray this simple truth under any circumstances. Alexey saw that the interlocutor was not all right, and, getting up, sat down on the arm of her chair, hugging his friend tightly, which made her feel noticeably better.

" ... and I have to leave. Must... That's my brother. He is wasteful in his power. He seems to be in danger. If I can…. Well, you see... If I could save him from death, perhaps he would understand the importance of life, the value of his existence. Perhaps he would return to something more human. Would remember at last that he still has ..." Rania sighed and added "... still has a family."

"So the baby was born?" Alexei asked.

Rania told her friend a lot about her past. Alexei knew perfectly well who Rania's brother was, so he did not ask any extra questions. Elegba possessed invulnerability, could incarnate and disincarnate, take on the appearance of other people or remain invisible at all, and immortality was also characteristic of Elegba. But, what is most interesting, Dmitry could share immortality and magical abilities with any of the mortals, although he demanded an exorbitant price in return for this. And it was this tribute that brought a lot of troubles and misfortunes, destroyed people's lives, which is why sooner or later all this evil had to return to Dmitry like a boomerang. But what could be dangerous for such an invulnerable creature as the elegba? The fruit of the very price of a gift shared with a mortal, the embodiment of the suffering and grief that was brought through the fault of Dmitry. It is a child marked by a curse and misfortune from birth. Moreover, it was this child that could become the reason of death for elegba.

Rania told Aleksey about all this a long time ago, as well as the fact that such children did not live long, since the premonitions of danger each time after their appearance dried up after a few hours: either because the damned children had birth defects, that they did not allow the newborn to survive after birth, or Dmitry himself knew about such a threat and destroyed it with his own hands, clearly and quickly. Of course, Rania hoped that her anxiety would disappear, as always, and this time would not be an exception, but for a different outcome one had to remain prepared.

"It's been so long," the girl nodded. “But I felt, I knew that the child would appear again. I don't know where he is. And I have no idea where my brother is now. But I will find them. I've been a witch for more than one century and I can do a lot."

Rania knew how she would miss Alexei and these moments of friendly tenderness. The guy's hugs, the look of his brown eyes, his smile and deep baritone calmed the girl like nothing else, gave her the lion's share of self-confidence and inner strength. Rania knew that perhaps this was the last morning she spent with Alexei, although she was afraid to admit it, which made her sad. For a few seconds, forgetting about fear and excitement, the girl just enjoyed the strong hugs.

"Well, I'm sure that you're doing everything right," the guy smiled, stroking Rania's head. "As, in fact and always. You are strong and you know it."

"Thank you, Lyosha," Rania whispered. She did not begin to say that the danger of the trip could be fatal, but it was difficult to suppress human feelings in herself, and the girl wiped a tear from her cheek with her fingers.

"Do you want me to cook breakfast?" politely offered guy. "Scrambled eggs with cheese. As you like…"

A positive attitude was an integral and best feature of Alexei's character. Rania caught herself on this thought once again and nodded, saying:

"Yes, I would really appreciate it..."

Alexey smiled and went to the kitchen, where, a minute later, oil rustled in the pan. Rania also got up from her chair and, parting the curtains, opened the window. The autumn morning cold broke into the living room, and the girl took a warm white coat from the chest of drawers. It was one of the few beginnings of the day when the sky was clear and the mist was not over the ground, when one wanted to believe in the remaining grains of calm that eluded from the fingers and hold them with all his might.

Of course, Rania wasn't the only one whose soul was enslaved by the heavy commotion this morning. Aywa simply could not find a place for herself, she was exhausted and even somehow managed to miss three calls from Hermia, which greatly frightened her. After yesterday's accident, everyone was on pins and needles: for the first time in a very long time, trouble came to Riddlehill. Yesterday, at the end of the holiday in honor of the founder of the city, a very strange and at the same time tragic event took place: Uther Klein fell from a height of at least a couple of hundred meters, having received very severe injuries, and was now in a local hospital. No one understood how the young guy ended up in the air: his body literally flew up for no reason at all, and then the events swept by so inexplicably that this accident began to acquire all sorts of legends and fables in just one night. For example, Aywa's father was sure that nothing of the kind had happened, and that alcohol, which someone illegally brought to the party, was the cause of the hallucinations. Old Selena said that young people should not get involved in this matter, as something happened that not every person is able to understand. This statement made even more mystical in this already strange event: obviously, Selena knew something and did not want to share. Victoria suggested that it was such a tornado, and to the objections why only Uther was thrown into the air, she only added that the tornado option was certainly more plausible than the assumptions about the capture of the earth by aliens or about the appearance of supernatural forces on earth.

Nevertheless, not all these judgments helped Aywa in any way, because this completely strange situation happened in front of her eyes. And although friends were nearby at that moment next to Aywa, for some reason they vaguely remembered the events of that evening. However, Aywa remembered everything clearly. Something threw Uther into the air, and then Tristan, this strange stranger, rushed to the crowd and disappeared into it. Not figuratively speaking, but quite literally. Aywa was practically sure that the tragedy had something to do with Tristan's appearance in Riddlehill, all she had to do was ask him and make this point clear, but where could this guy be found now? It's like he's gone to ground, disappeared. Aywa was afraid to share her insights with her father, so she simply decided after class - and today was the first day of school - to ask Mr. Parish, head of studies, about the new student. Tristan had said that he was going to study at the local Riddlehill School, and this was already the necessary lead. Aywa firmly decided that she would not let the whole thing go on the brakes, because, after all, Uther was the brother of Kelvin, far from the last person in the girl’s life, that’s where, probably, this strong sense of belonging came from in Aywa’s soul.

Without really even having full breakfast, the girl kissed her father on the cheek and hurriedly ran out of the house, quickly heading along the street to the house where, as usual, she met with Hermia, and the girls went to school together. Victoria met them already at the gates of the school, as she lived on the opposite side of the city. Hermia tightly hugged Aywa, noting the sleepy look of her friend. Aywa, indeed, did not close her eyes almost all night. Maybe because she returned home late and spent a couple of hours with Kelvin in the hospital, and upon returning she was so excited and anxious that it was not possible to relax and fall asleep. Or maybe because the father returned only in the morning - the investigation dragged on, as it was in hot pursuit. Aywa got herself so nervous in her head that she began to fear that something dangerous might happen to her father. She even wanted to return to the park in the middle of the night, but Charlie forbade her to do this, ordering her to immediately lie down and rest. But was that order obeyed?

Aywa immediately shared with Hermia the conclusions she had come to that morning. The girl felt like from the mere words that Tristan could be involved in the incident, she covered with goose skin. Words kept pouring and pouring, and Aywa could not stop this flow, which accumulated like a boil, all morning, until Hermia made an attempt to insert a word.

"Are you sure what you're saying?" Hermia said seriously, but without a shadow of disbelief. “So this Tristan just vanished into thin air? Here's the hell. You can't tell the police or a psychiatrist about this. No one will take such testimony seriously. Do you want us to figure everything out ourselves?"

Aywa breathed a sigh of relief. That's why she always loved and appreciated Hermia, because this girl unquestioningly believed her friends and always took their words at face value, even when the conclusions were like complete nonsense. So here it is now. Aywa felt better, as if a huge stone had fallen from her soul.

"Just don't be in a hurry to accuse anyone of anything, please," Hermia added after Aywa's nod of approval. "You have to watch first. Let Mr. Atlantis do his job, your father’s a professional. Maybe there's nothing wrong here. And if you are sure that Tristan will appear at school, then it is better to just continue to communicate with him and become his friend."

"Is it like keeping friends close and enemies even closer?" Aywa said.

"Slow down, friend. He is not your enemy. Not yet. You don't really know him at all. And you can't know for sure if it's related to the accident in the park. So relax. Let’s have our first day of school, and after class, you, me, and Victoria go to the hospital. Poor Calvin spent the whole night there. He needs our support now. Better think about it. What's the latest news there? Kelvin didn't message anything?"

"At five in the morning he wrote that Uther was in a very serious condition and..." Aywa exhaled heavily. "The doctors are predicting the worst. Kelvin is angry. He wrote that in small towns medicine is very weak. He even thought of transporting him to a bigger city, but the doctors said that it was impossible: too serious injuries, you know ..."

“It’s even a little strange, don’t you think…” Hermia muttered. “He was always so unflattering about Uther. But when trouble came, he showed himself as a real and loving brother."

"Indeed," Aywa nodded. “I have never seen Kelvin so depressed. Probably, no matter what our relatives and loved ones are, we will love them at all costs. The only pity is that sometimes we remember this at the last moment."

Aywa decided to text Calvin again, realizing that perhaps now this message would express more intrusiveness than concern, and then texted her father something like "I hope you are well." To be honest, the girl was simply killed by the fact that despite the sea of problems she had to go to school as if nothing had happened.

"I'll write to Mrs. Klein. Perhaps we can do something to help. Maybe something to buy or bring," Hermia said, pulling a flip phone out of her jeans pocket.

Victoria met the girls at the school. She was standing at the metal mesh that served as a fence around the school grounds, and when she saw her friends heading towards her, she was ending a phone conversation with someone. Victoria's gaze was gloomy. She put her cell phone in her pocket and hugged her friends.

"Rick has disappeared…" without waiting for a second, Victoria reported.

"Where disappeared? In what sense?" Hermia asked. She and Aywa exchanged disturbing views.

"In the most direct," answered Victoria. "Nobody has seen him since last night. I got a call from his mother, Mrs. McGruder. She was sure Rick was in the hospital with Calvin, or with us. But, as you can see, she was wrong. As I understand it, they went to the sheriff now. Yes, Aywa. Your father has a lot of work to do."

Aywa winced. Also Rick's disappearance. What's next? Certainly, this morning, Riddlehill's life was divided into before and after.

"Terrible. Uther is in the hospital, Rick is gone. However, they will find him, right? It's not so easy to disappear without a trace in our little town,” said Hermia, reassuring both herself and her friends.

"The beginning of the year is so-so, I agree ..." Victoria nodded. “I'm in touch with Mrs. McGruder. She promised to let me know if there was news. Let's go to the school now. It was not enough to be late on the first day..."

“Well, that would be the lesser of the evils…” Hermia remarked.

The girls began to actively discuss the beginning of the school year and plan how to help the Uther family. But Aywa could not join the conversation in any way and felt extremely absent-minded. She caught herself thinking that her eyes were constantly running from side to side, trying to find one particular face. Nevertheless, Tristan was not among the crowd of schoolchildren. Finally, Aywa tried to focus on her studies and distract herself from her obsessive thoughts about the mysterious guy who most likely would not show up.

Literature was the first lesson in the schedule, and all the students discussed basically one topic: who will teach this discipline in the new academic year. Mrs. Hermentrude Finnegan, who taught literature last year, passed away at the end of the summer, and it was impossible to find a new teacher in such a short time. Ava’s ear caught the conversation of her classmates that the first lesson would probably be canceled, and, to be honest, this alignment would be good, because there would be time to talk with the head teacher, and then visit Calvin and his brother in the hospital, which was nearby from the school, ten to fifteen minutes on foot.

The student tables where Calvin and Rick usually sat were empty. Aywa was afraid that her classmates would start asking her about uncomfortable topics and silently prayed that at least one of the teachers would quickly enter the classroom and start the lesson or cancel it. While there was noise and din. There were only fifteen students in the group, thirteen of whom were present that morning, and there was so much noise that it would have been enough for a hundred fans of a sports team. Jessica Simpson, the captain of the cheerleading team, sat down at her desk and discussed with her friends about the training plan for the coming week. She was, in general, a pleasant and harmless girl, only a little obsessed with her "exceptional" role and with a lot of responsibility for community service and extracurricular life of the school in general. Yes, Jessica was, what is it called, the most popular girl in school, but this was one of the rare cases when nobody wanted to put a bullet in such person's forehead. Jessica did a lot for school life: she was the editor-in-chief of the school website for two years, participated in cleaning days and organized events with and without cause, and last year she and her cheerleading team won the championship cup at regional competitions and this award took pride of place at the school trophy stand. In addition, although Aywa was never particularly friendly and often did not communicate with Jessica, she respected her classmate and always showed restrained good nature to her. Jessica saw Aywa out of the corner of her eye and, jumping off the table, walked towards her, smiling affably.

“Happy new school year,” she said in a strange and even coquettish way. "Aywa, I wanted to express my condolences to you about your boyfriend's brother. I didn’t see anything myself, but they say it was a real nightmare…"

"I'm fine, thank you. Hello, Jessica," Aywa said quickly, pulling a book out of her bag, wishing to occupy her hands with something right now.

"I’m actually here with what," Jessica chattered, looking back at her friends and letting them know with a gesture that she was about to return to them soon.
 "Liana Travers no longer lives in Riddlehill: her parents have moved to Europe. And one place was vacated in the team. You, as I remember, used to do gymnastics and, I must admit, you are in good shape. Therefore, the girls and I have talked it over and decided to invite you to the team. You can skip the selection phase. Just come to the training in the evening, we will show you everything and teach you everything. The program is difficult, but I am absolutely sure that you will cope with everything. Well, what can you say? Will you come?"

Aywa didn't know what to say. The proposal came so unexpectedly that the girl was simply taken aback, but after a few moments she nodded, although girl herself did not understand why she did so. Jessica Simpson smiled contentedly, as if she didn't expect any other answer.

“I’ll be glad to see you, Aywa, and all the girls too,” she said in the end and, turning around, returned to her friends with the good news.

Aywa, in turn, in horror, began to understand what she had doomed herself to just now. Of course, cheerleading is many help, and it could bring Ava the opportunity to positively influence her school record.  Now, the last thing the girl would like to do is jump to the music, waving colored pompoms. Aywa was lost in her own thoughts again and didn't even notice Mrs. Selena Gomez enter the classroom, an elderly woman whom almost everyone knew well, but was not at all expected to see in the classroom this morning. It was the same old Selena, a close friend of the late Hermentrude Finnegan. Moreover, her sullen, alarmed appearance today was very much anticipated, although its very appearance is not. The woman entered the classroom, clutching a stack of sheets of paper with her hands to her chest, and coughed loudly, thus asking the children to be quiet and sit down at their desks.

"Good morning!" Mrs. Gomez said loudly and clearly, putting the brought sheets on the teacher's table. She glanced at the students over her glasses as if she were counting them briefly, and then sat down in a soft chair.

Selena was a small, one might even say petite old woman, looking very good for her age, but the woman preferred to dress very simply: today Selena was wearing a brown baggy cardigan over a white blouse and a loose black skirt that covered her legs to the very shoes with low heels. Her gray hair was gathered into a slightly careless knot at the back of her head. Actually, it is in this image that the inhabitants of Riddlehill are accustomed to seeing the good old Selena Gomez. She, after waiting until the schoolchildren calmed down and fell silent, patiently looked at each of them, either trying to find someone specific, or, indeed, scrupulously keeping count.

“As you know,” Selena continued, “your literature teacher and my friend, Hermentrude Finnegan, are no longer with us. But it was not possible to find a good replacement for her position. Therefore, until a worthy candidate fills the vacancy, I’ll be your substitute teacher. Despite the fact that I won’t be able to fully guide you through the curriculum, this does not mean that literature lessons will become an abode of relaxation, entertainment and laziness. Anyone who intends to violate discipline and the educational process will be removed from the lesson, and returning to the classroom will be a great test. Do not forget, my dear students, this year of graduation. It is crucial. Remember also about the school characteristic, which will directly affect your entire future destiny. That is why I sincerely hope for your prudence and diligence. Hopefully I won't have to revisit this issue."

In fact, no one thought to rowdy or annoy Mrs. Gomez. This old woman, on the contrary, was loved and respected by everyone, so they treated her threats as a school formality. Selena changed from a menacing look to a friendly one, smiled and, taking the sheets she brought, walked past the desks, laying out one sheet for each.

"Let's start with a small and, I would even say, indecently easy test. This is just a test of your residual knowledge after the summer holidays. The questions are easy. I'm sure each of you can do it. The test consists of twenty questions. You have half an hour for the whole job. If you have received your form, please start. Thanks a lot."

At that moment, the classroom door opened and a young man appeared on the threshold. Ava recognized him immediately. It was Tristan Daveraux. Aywa's heart began to beat like a frightened rabbit's. The girl pulled the sleeve of Hermia sitting at the next table. Tristan looked only at Mrs. Gomez, who was also numb with surprise. Realizing that the pause was already longer than acceptable, the guy politely said:

-Good morning. I am a new student. Mr. Parish told me that I would be in this class. My name is Tristan Daveraux...

Without a doubt, none of the students understood the reasons for such a strange reaction of Mrs. Gomez, who froze as if rooted to the spot, and only her gaze now changed: from surprise, he moved on to suppressed, but obvious irritated one and even anger. Therefore, without waiting for any words from the teacher, Tristan took the situation into his own hands and, passing by Selena, sat down at a free table, feeling neither constraint nor embarrassment. The boy also threw his glimpse at Aywa, smiling and nodding.

"It's him?" Hermia hissed towards Aywa.

Aywa seemed to be numb and could not take her eyes off the guy.

"Yes," answered Victoria instead of Aywa, at the same time trying to stir up her friend. "Hey, wake up already. The earth calls..."

“Remember what I told you on the way to school,” Hermia hissed again, picking up the form with the assignment. "Let's do the test. Still a lesson."

Aywa looked from Tristan to those notorious twenty questions, trying to read them, or at least understand what their meaning is. Selena walked past the table where Tristan placed, and, holding her withering eyes on it, put down the form of test and went back to the teacher's table.

"Starting now!" she said loudly.

The lesson seemed like an eternity. Especially this half-hour, while Aywa was trying to figure out some questions about the work of English classics.  It is good that the girl remembered what she read last year, but even this did not alleviate her condition. Aywa's thoughts were on the opposite side of the class. She was waiting for the lesson to end and it would be possible to approach Tristan and try to talk. What can be said to him? Ask directly, or is it better to follow Hermia's advice and stay out of trouble?

After half an hour, Mrs. Gomez collected the forms, and then began to speak about the work of Russian literature, which started the school year. The class took the news without much enthusiasm: the work of Leo Tolstoy, already covered last year, created a stereotype in the minds of students about the glut of Russian classical literature with suffering and boring endless descriptions. However, noticing this, Mrs. Gomez assured the children that Fyodor Dostoevsky was in many ways superior to Leo Tolstoy in the dynamism of the plot. Whether this was true or just a teacher's trick remained a mystery. Nevertheless, it was necessary to start reading "Crime and Punishment" already this week.

At the end of the lesson, Mrs. Gomez announced plans to open a literature club this year and asked those who wished to apply through a special form that could be taken in the teachers' room. And Jessica Simpson immediately volunteered to be not only a member of this club, but also its head. “And when will her batteries run out?” - thought Aywa, exchanging glances with her friends. They, judging by the slight chuckle, thought about the same thing.

When the bell rang and the students began to fussily pack up and rush to the exit, Selena loudly asked the newcomer, Tristan Daveraux, to linger, to which he reacted as if he had not expected otherwise. Aywa exchanged glances with her friends again. She should not miss the opportunity to chat with Tristan. The next lesson was gym class, and the girls and boys were going to be engaged in separately. Wait another hour? Victoria gave Aywa a little nudge to pull her out of class. When the girls finally found themselves in the corridor, Victoria said in bewilderment:

"What's going on here anyway? Can you please explain right now?"

Of course, Aywa and Hermia briefly, but to the point, told Victoria the whole essence of the matter. She, in turn, answered in a stunned voice:

"What makes you think that this guy is guilty of something? Girls, you yourself came up with a completely fantastic story. I'm pretty sure that there was just a very strange situation with Uther, the essence of which none of us understood, I'm sure that Rick will be found safe and sound. Also, I'm sure your suspicion, Aywa, is nothing more than a simple undercover liking. You spent some time with him yesterday, and I bet that a spark was between you both."

Well, Aywa did not expect such a comment and did not even find something to object to. However, Hermia didn’t keep quiet.

"Vic, what are you talking about? Have you forgotten that Aywa is in a relationship with Calvin? In serious, I emphasize this word, relationship," Hermia minted, looking disapprovingly at her friend. “Besides, if Aywa had liked him in the sense that you had in mind, she would have honestly told us right away, wouldn’t she?"

Hermia gave her friend a hard questioning look.

“I don’t feel crush on him,” Aywa murmured uncertainly, trying to see at least something through the thick glass inserted into the small window on the classroom door. "I'm afraid of him for some reason."

“Well, if you’re scared, wouldn’t it be logical to just stay away from him?” Victoria offered her own version.

“As soon as I find out the truth, I’ll do like you said,” Aywa muttered, as if her eye was glued to the glass.

“You think too much, friend,” Victoria concluded. "Let's go to the dressing room. You need to get ready for exercise. I hope we play volleyball well today."

"I have to wait for Tristan," Aywa said firmly. "You go, and I will catch up with you. Mrs. Gomez wouldn't keep him in class the whole recess. Go ahead, don't worry about me."

"Are you sure?" Hermia sighed. Her friend's obsession worried Hermia more and more.

"Yes," Aywa nodded, although her words were obviously a hundred percent lie.
"Be delicate and diplomatic," Hermia added, and she and Victoria retired down the corridor to the right, towards the gyms.

Be delicate. The monstrous curiosity bursting from within Aywa did not agree with this advice. The girl pressed her ear to the door, trying to hear what Selena and Tristan were talking about. But everything was muffled, as if there was no one at all in the classroom. However, this was not the case.

With a slight movement of his hand, Tristan made a gesture, as if drawing a circle in the air. At the same time, he pulled a handkerchief out of his jacket pocket, wiping the blood that had come out of his nostrils.

"You make me do magic where it shouldn't," he said, putting the handkerchief back in his pocket. "Now speak. Nobody will hear us."

"Shouldn't?" Selena retorted, shaking with anger. “What the hell brought you to school?! Are you completely out of your mind?! Wasn’t it enough what you did last night? Wasn’t it enough what you did to Trudy?"

"Listen, Selena ..." Tristan tried to insert the word, but she, with the appearance of a formidable Cerberus, rose from her chair and left the table, standing in front of the young man, looking him straight in the eyes.

 "I don't want to listen!" she hissed. "All your words are either half-truths or dirty lies! You apparently did not fully understand what I told you on the day of Trudy's funeral! I give you time until the evening! Get out of Riddlehill! You already brought a sea of tears and grief ..."

"The boy didn't get hurt because of me!" Tristan interrupted Selena harshly. "Riddlehill is in danger, and this schoolboy is only the first to get in the middle of it! I came back here to protect all of you! And if you drive me away, that the city will lose the ability to defend itself, since I am the only one who has the strength to resist the enemy! But you, Selena, are certainly smarter than everyone else, for you all this is not important! After all, you remember only the grievances of ancient times that filled your head and heart! Or am I wrong?"

Selena was breathing heavily. She looked at Tristan for a few moments silently and intently, as if she wanted to try to look into his dark soul.

"And you want me to believe in this nonsense?" she said with obvious confusion. “Well, for more than half a century you didn’t care about Riddlehill and all its inhabitants. And you think that..."

"I do not think anything!" Tristan snapped, again not allowing Selena to finish the sentence. "I'm just telling it the way it is! I would not have returned here if it were not for the danger that threatens you all! If I had not intervened yesterday, Vasilevsky would not have spared either that schoolboy or anyone else who would have fallen under his arm!"

Selena seemed like to have been hit on the head with something heavy. Her eyes swelled with horror.

"Vasilevsky?" she whispered. "He ... The same Vasilevsky? He was here yesterday?"

Selena was almost certain that she understood what was being said. The woman plunged into the depths of her memory, catching fragments of phrases and vague images. She could not believe that someday she would hear the name of Dmitry Vasilevsky again. Didn't want to believe it. Tristan nodded. His gloomy serious look was very convincing: the guy was telling the truth.

"But what does he want? Has it been so long? Why Riddlehill again?" Selena collapsed into a chair, leaning her hands on the edge of the table: her strength abruptly left her, and there was no trace of her former confidence.

“Honestly, when I talked to him, he was in no hurry to explain his motives to me,” Tristan replied, shaking his head ironically. “But I know how to end it once and for all. After all, our life began to collapse totally because of Vasilevsky: yours, mine, Hermentrude's. I want to destroy him. By the way, you can help me."

Selena didn't know what to say to that. She hated Tristan Daveraux with every fiber of her soul, but Dmitry Vasilevsky is another matter. It was much more scary and dangerous one. She remembered what he had done during her youth, and now the woman felt an icy fear that filled her completely. Selena gave Tristan a very disturbing look.

"I don't understand why Vasilevsky returned to Riddlehill after so many years? I can't understand why he would terrorize our city. The only possible reason is you, Tristan. And you know, frankly, I'm far from the person who would trust your words just like that, from scratch."

"Reasonably," Tristan suddenly smiled, not hiding the irony. “But still you will help me, Selena. Whether you like it or not."

"This is a threat?" asked the old woman, being in a depressed state: she no longer exuded confidence, as she was at the beginning of the conversation.

"Threat," the guy nodded, heading for the exit, and, showing with all his appearance that the conversation was over, added, "but that's just not for you and not from me. A threat that hangs over all of us who are in Riddlehill. And if this city is dear to you, you won’t get in my way. It would be stupid. And you're far from stupid, my dear Selena."

At the door, Tristan suddenly stopped, looking at it directly, then suddenly changed his mind, quickly crossed the classroom and opened the window. It was the first floor, and outside the window was the schoolyard and the car park.

"Are you leaving through the window?" Selena was surprised.

"The students of your school are too curious. Someone is now standing outside the door and trying to eavesdrop on our conversation," Tristan answered, then waved his hand, making the same gesture as at the beginning of the conversation: the spell was removed.

"See you, Selena," Tristan winked at last and disappeared into the window opening, leaving the woman alone with restless thoughts.

The day was sunny. The morning chill was already fading away, and the senior class students poured into the school stadium. Tristan was not at all worried about the fact that he was skipping a physical education lesson on the very first day of study, because the guy had returned to school everyday life not at all to improve academic performance. The meeting with Selena went better than he expected, and the guy was quite pleased with the result. Tristan was sure that Selena would not bear against him, so now he was ready to leave the school grounds for a while. He, making sure that the lesson began, slipped through the school gates. At that moment, he took out his mobile phone from his pocket and dialed the desired number. The person at the other end of the line seemed to be waiting for this call, as he answered immediately, before the first dial tone had yet sounded.

"Hi. As you like - immediately and to the point: Selena is aware of the situation, I just talked to her. She won't get in our way, I bet. Now I'm heading to the hospital, to the guy who was injured yesterday."

"You're doing well, you work cleanly," a voice was heard in the phone. “Very soon we will finally unravel this tangle. By the way, I'm already in the city. I won't spoil our meeting, but you're in for a surprise very soon."

"Surprise? What's the surprise? You know how I feel about all sorts of surprises!" Tristan chirped.

"Don't worry, it won't interfere with our plans, it will even help a lot. I found something that will solve the lion's share of our problems," the man said enthusiastically in the telephone speaker.

"Well, if everything is as you say, then I will have to pray for you for the rest of my life," said Tristan, turning into an alley leading to the main street of Riddlehill, where the hospital was located.

"Perhaps it will. Until then, do what you have to. And most importantly, remember - no one should see you in the hospital when you do this trick with Uther!"

"I get it, you've said it a hundred times already. I end the conversation. See you!" Tristan said.

"I'd say see you later," came the reply before the guy hit the red button to end the call.

Aywa was a very observant girl: she noticed how Tristan slipped out of school. She was stretching her muscles before she ran. Mrs. Kerabina began each PE class with a two-kilometer run around the school stadium, and apparently, this year she was not going to renounce this tradition. Therefore, for Aywa, two kilometers was not much of a problem. The girl ran every morning and was in good shape. After jogging barely ended, Aywa walked up to Victoria lying on the grass, which was apparently squeezed like a lemon at the twentieth minute of class. The girl was breathing heavily, and when she saw Aywa, she laughed a little audibly and said:

"It's just tin, friend. And is it really like this three times a week? Oh Gosh!"

Aywa nodded as she sat down next to her. Mrs. Kerabina gave the high school students five minutes to rest, and then they were waiting for the exercises with the ball.

"Why do we need physical education at all? These lessons are just terribly pointless," Victoria continued with obvious shortness of breath. “It’s like we’re all planning to be professional athletes here…”

“I didn’t recognize anything, he seemed to have evaporated from the classroom. Stood there and waited like an idiot. Moreover, ten minutes ago, he ran away from school altogether. I noticed how he..."

"Wait, are you talking about Tristan now?" Victoria interrupted her friend and got up from the grass, sitting next to her. "God, you're really obsessed with him."

"It's strange. I don't understand why he showed up here. Is it really to write a test, and then disappear again?" Aywa shrugged. “Also, Kelvin doesn’t respond to messages at all. And all this just freaks me out. Is it normal that I can't concentrate in any way?"

"Well, it depends on you. As for Kelvin, he didn't sleep all night and didn't show up at school. I think he's just resting now. Probably fell asleep in the hospital corridor. Don't worry, the first day of school isn't that difficult, you, me and Hermia will head straight there. I'm sure this whole story will end better than you think right now. So for heaven's sake, Ava, please stop beating yourself up and try to at least relax a little."

"Well, are you alive?" Hermia approached the girls, holding a volleyball in her hands. She loved volleyball game and did well in this activity.

"Aywa - yes. But me - hardly. I'm not sure I can handle any more physical activity today," Victoria honestly admitted.

"I have a plan," Aywa suddenly said, jumping to her feet. "Victoria, keep pretending to be a dying swan. And verbally confirm it. I’ll be right back!"

The girl rushed off at the speed of a bullet to the physical education teacher, and returned with her. Aywa explained to Mrs. Kerabina quite persuasively that Victoria was not feeling well enough to continue this lesson, and that she needed chaperones. However, Mrs. Kerabina did not want to let Hermia go under any circumstances.

“By the way, I have high hopes for you this year, my dear,” she turned to Hermia, looking at her frowningly. "This year I want to finally form a decent team. And you, Atlantis, can escort a friend. If Robert asks, tell me I gave you both permission to leave the stadium."

This arrangement suited everyone, and Aywa and Victoria went to the locker room. Robert - it was Mr. Parish, the head teacher, and Mrs. Kerabina called him by name not because of careless familiarity, but because once these two were spouses long ago and still called each other, let's say, not quite officially.

“You are a good actress,” Aywa remarked when the girls were already in the locker room.

“But I really feel bad,” Victoria said. "I didn’t even suspect that a physical education lesson could make me so sick. Last year, I somehow passed all these exercises at the stadium easier."

"Well, we're going to the hospital anyway. Perhaps this is another reason why we should do this. I need to get dressed quickly."

Victoria's nausea increased, but she tried not to show it and didn't complain anymore. The girls changed their clothes and left the school in the backyard to avoid meeting Mrs. Kerabina, who, of course, did not approve of skipping classes and considered all truants to be true simulators. In the backyard there was a barrier for transport, bypassing which Ava and Victoria left the school grounds and hurried to the hospital.

"I'm absolutely sure he's there now!" Aywa kept saying all along.

"Well, of course, he's there," Victoria agreed. "Kelvin, of course, does not get tired of scolding Uther at any opportunity, but still he is his brother..."

"No, no," Aywa objected. “I'm not talking about Kelvin. I'm talking about Tristan. I'm sure he went there. Just as sure of his involvement..."

"Listen. You're paranoid, you know?" with apprehension declared Victoria. “Of course, I agree that this story is stinky, but I’m also sure that you are escalating the situation. We are not Sherlocks, and it seems that we are certainly not great detectives. And you'd rather be worried about the Klein family right now than about a guy you don't even really know."

"You'll see that I was right. I'll get to the bottom of the truth," Aywa muttered under her breath, quickening her pace.

"Whatever you say, friend. Whatever you say," said Victoria, hurried after her friend, with whom it was now inappropriate to argue.

Morning Riddlehill was gradually waking up: cafes with empty verandas were already starting to work, a large flower shop looked especially bright against the background of early autumn: the florist decorated the window of his shop so that it literally looked like a bright point among other establishments along the street. From the bakery nearby stretched along the street a trail of attractive aroma of fresh pastries.  And the moment Aywa smelled it, she wished she’d had breakfast at home. Victoria also gradually awakened her appetite, and this was a good sign: the girl's nausea no longer made itself felt, but her stomach began to growl loudly enough. They walked almost silently, which made the procession tense.

In the hospital, Aywa and Victoria tried for a very long time to persuade the receptionist to let them go to Uther's room, but only relatives were allowed to do this, so no persuasion and explanations bore fruit. Aywa decided to try another way by calling Calvin and Mrs. Klein again. Calvin's mother was not in the hospital at the time. It seemed to Aywa that this woman was not aware of what was going on at all, since at first she did not understand what is the point of the phone talking, and then she clearly made it clear that she was not particularly worried about her eldest son, and she just told of Kelvin spent the whole night in the hospital and still while there, most likely in a deep sleep. Generally speaking, Aywa did not learn anything new from Mrs. Klein.

"And what, it turns out that we came here for nothing?" Victoria asked slouching.

She was extremely uncomfortable in hospitals. Eight years ago, while still a child, Victoria underwent an extremely difficult operation, and despite the successful outcome, the girl forever began to experience some even animal fear of hospital corridors and people in white gowns. But for the sake of her friend, Victoria tried to control and hide this unpleasant feeling.

Victoria was distracted only for a moment: she received a message that the second lesson was canceled and Hermia was heading to the hospital. With her finger up in message, Victoria returned to reality, but Aywa was no longer there.

Aywa caught up with a young guy in a leather jacket and roughly grabbed him by the shoulder, turning him around to face her. Tristan seemed not at all surprised to see Ava here, and even smiled even before she said anything. Oddly enough, the girl did not stand on ceremony, but quite tactlessly laid everything out.

"I know what happened yesterday. And I know that you have a lot to do with the Uther tragedy and Rick's disappearance! I know everything!"

Tristan looked at Aywa with a slightly surprised look, raising a thin eyebrow.

"And what exactly do you know?" with the same strange smile asked guy. Aywa was even a little annoyed by that smile. Aywa admitted to herself that she was overreacting: she didn’t really know anything.

"When everyone was looking at Uther, you just vanished into thin air. And then Rick disappeared. You recently arrived in the city, and these strange things happened right away," the girl explained. "I thought that if you are not involved in these events, then you know the reasons, at least."

"Well, not that much, you know," said Tristan. "It sounds, frankly, like an excerpt from a not very high-quality detective story."

"Are you kidding me?" Aywa asked sourly. "But you’re still gonna tell me what’s going on. What did you even forget here? You should be in school now."

"Like you should," added Tristan.

"I came to visit Calvin. He's been here with his brother since last night. And they don’t let us in, we are not relatives," the girl admitted in frustration, holding her forehead with her palm.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine," Tristan suddenly said, and then added. “And Kelvin and his brother."

Despite Aywa's pressure and her obviously hostile attitude, Tristan remained quite good-natured and condescending to such behavior. But the girl was not at all able to appreciate the guy's patience: she felt like an extremely helpless neurotic.

"What do you mean?" Aywa asked with a start. Tristan was starting to really scare Aywa. She even took a few steps away from him. "Who the hell are you?"

"Listen," calmly answered Tristan. “I wish no harm on anyone in this city. Riddlehill is my home. And it's my home to a much greater extent than you might think. Even if it doesn’t seem that way. I understand that you are worried, but do not worry so much and don't blame me for no reason. After all, I'm sure you have more important and real things to do now. Look…"

"So you won't say anything?" disappointedly summed up the girl. Tristan for some reason pointed his hand towards the reception.

"Aywa! Aywa!" Victoria's voice was heard. She walked to her friend, beaming with a smile, and a sleepy, tired Kelvin trudged along next to her.

Calvin Klein looked, to put it mildly, very bad. There were dark blue circles under his eyes, his hair was disheveled, and he seemed to limp a little on his left foot. As it turned out later, he just laid on it wrong when he fell asleep in an uncomfortable position. However, Kelvin also smiled. As it turned out, the reason for this was unexpectedly good news.

"Can you imagine, Uther’s fine!" Victoria exclaimed.

Aywa didn't understand. She threw a bewildered look at Tristan, who smiled oddly and nodded. The girl waited for an explanation, being at a loss. It seems that the news was so good that neither Calvin nor Victoria at first even noticed the presence of Tristan, who moved a little to the side against the wall. Kelvin walked up to Aywa and hugged her tightly.

"Sorry, sweetheart," he said in a hoarse voice. "I just passed out. And when I woke up, I saw more than a dozen missed calls. Imagine, before I passed out, Uther was in critical condition. The doctors said he had a one in a million chance of getting well. And ten minutes ago, these same doctors woke me up and said that Uther had come to his senses. I can't believe..."

Aywa couldn't say anything. She was looking from friends to Tristan and back.

"We tried to get through, to find you, but they refused to let us in," Victoria said, noticing Tristan out of the corner of her eye and turning her questioning look to her friend. Aywa's anxious look puzzled her: in such a situation, one should rejoice, but her friend did not even smile.

"I know. Real Cerberus sit in the local reception," Kelvin agreed, covering his yawn with his hand. "But what can we do, it's their job."

"So Uther is okay?" Aywa muttered, finally coming out of a kind of trance. "But how, how did it happen? Did the doctors say why did it happen so suddenly?"

"Actually, what's the difference?" joyfully, like a child, answered Kelvin. “The main thing is that Uther is fine. And it really looks like a miracle. Let's all go to his room together. I'll take you girls."

"Of course, let's go now," Victoria agreed, grabbing her friend by the hand.

Aywa looked at Tristan for the last time, helplessly realizing that she had not found out anything. But here was the strangest thing: the guy standing against the wall suddenly changed his face, and there was no trace of the mysterious smile. Something instantly stunned the calm and self-confident young man, so much so that real panic began to be read in his eyes. Tristan looked towards the main entrance of the hospital, where two people appeared: Max, Uther's friend, and a strange young man, standing next to him with a very bewildered look. This stranger didn’t just look strikingly like Tristan Grantchester. He was an exact copy of him, except for the strange triangular growths on his face.