Nome was known as the magician killer. In the temple of Mashun, the priests did not have unity, and the Order of Dogs was not inclined to share its secrets with the Temple, so the priests of the Temple had to study magic on their own. The dogs attacked the masters with great force and even used the king's soldiers. The stolen books were delivered to the Temple, where the base of the Order was located, but initially the priests were not allowed to access the acquired knowledge.

  Only after the battle priests of the Order began to die while studying books, the master ordered that some of the books be transferred to the Temple. Mashun's servants could not fully master the knowledge of the masters, but they still mastered part of the higher magic. It was enough to move on.

  The masters exchanged the spells they received, but each family kept certain knowledge secret and did not reveal it to others. After receiving these secrets, the priests were able to improve their skills in magic. Since there were few strong magicians, the main focus was on creating amulets that allowed ordinary people to compete with magicians.

  Nome came to the Temple as a child. It was a long time ago, forty years ago, when some families of masters still lived in the kingdom, without leaving their fortified abodes. They hoped to escape through the portal if something happened. However, the dogs had already learned to prevent the formation of portals, captured the masters and destroyed them after torture. At the same time, the priests of the Temple were looking for children with a magical gift in the villages.

  Nome had a gift, but not too much at that time, and it was acquired from the family. The ordeal began for the boy. His mentors cruelly trained him to develop his abilities: "You are still nobody" Said one of the mentors: "And so far there is no point in calling you anything. To succeed, you need to follow the instructions without complaining".

  Nome showed incredible abilities, becoming one of the leading performers of tasks. Over the past ten years, he has not failed a single mission, which has strengthened his reputation as the best of the students. Despite his reputation as a killer of magicians, Nome carried out a wide variety of assignments for the Temple. Three years ago, he destroyed the master in neighboring Kiwan, and after that his success only strengthened.

  As soon as the other master escaped from Carson, he realized that he had made a big mistake by not learning a lesson from the tragic death of his family. Soon, however, Noma easily tracked him down, ended his life, and brought his magic books to the Temple.

  The new assignment did not cause Nome any particular difficulties, but he approached it very seriously. For two days, he observed the mansion and its inhabitants before devising an infiltration plan. He learned that once every three days the horses of the estate are provided with oats by an old man named Hasd, who buys feed from a local trader. Nome received this information from the groom who delivered the feed to the mansion.

  When the next day of Hasd's arrival arrived, Nome was ready for it. Early in the morning, he went to the merchant's house with the necessary plan of action. After waiting for the old man's arrival, the Nome burst into the stable, knocked out the groom with his fist and dragged him to the hayloft so that he would not interfere. The groom would be unconscious for a couple of hours, and that was enough for him. Nome preferred to act without unnecessary violence, so he gave the groom time to recover.

  After the buyer arrived and ordered the purchases to be loaded, Nome went to the magician's mansion to unload the necessary materials at the stable. Upon meeting Gasd at the gate, Nome quickly used magic to convince him to let him inside. Leaving the cart to the groom to unload the food himself, Nome headed for the house and, using a magic amulet, found the landlady's room. A young girl opened the door to him, startled by the unexpected appearance of a strange guest.

  The touch of a finger on the right point - and he quickly caught the limp body, and immediately carried her to the back of the room. Nome listened and heard the creak of a bed in the next room. The old woman was apparently asleep, but since the Nome was protected by an amulet, Helena did not feel anyone else's presence. Grinning unkindly, he opened the door to the old woman's bedroom.

  *****

  Linda received a new batch of weapons, paid in gold and was going to talk to the king, but She was suddenly seized with incomprehensible pain and fear. She felt that these feelings were coming from Helena, and, opening a portal directly into the hallway of the mansion, ruShed to her teacher's room. Dina was crouched against the wall in the living room, and the door to the bedroom was slightly open. Assessing the situation with one glance, Linda realized what was happening.

  Helena was still alive, but noticeably weaker. Lying on the bed, She was gasping for breath, and next to her stood an inconspicuous man in the clothes of a commoner, collecting magic books in a backpack. Hearing the creak of the door behind him, he turned around and saw Linda, as if by magic he literally pulled out small daggers from the air. The girl pulled out a pistol with a practiced movement and fired twice. The stranger flew off onto the table, and then tipped over on the floor, and lost consciousness.

  Linda ruShed to Helena, examined her and began to treat her. Her heart was filled with fear, but She still struggled with panic. There were no visible injuries on the mentor's body, but the red spot above her heart, visible only with the help of magic, was slowly expanding. Not knowing what kind of attack it was, Linda decided to share her power with Helena. The stain stopped growing so fast, but the fear and hopelessness remained. Her only family member was dying right in front of her eyes.

  "Mom, I'm begging you, don't leave! What is the best thing for me to do? I don't understand how to help you!"

  Helena opened her eyes with a visible effort. Linda immediately bent down to her lips to hear her whisper.

  And finally, I barely heard the whisper of graying lips: "I thought I would never hear these words from you. I'm dying, and to my great regret, I'm leaving you alone, without any support. Don't worry. If it wasn't for the "help" of this priest, I would have lasted only a couple of days anyway. Take care of yourself, daughter, now everything depends on you".

  A short shudder ran through Helena's body, and the time of her life was over. Linda wiped her tears and turned to the door to the room where all the residents of the mansion had gathered, who had come running to the sound of gunfire.

  "What's up with Dina?" She asked.

  "She lost consciousness, Golder has already helped her recover" Fancore replied: "Do you need our help?"

  At the mansion, Jenson became known as Golder.

  "No, I'll manage on my own, disperse and close the door".

  She returned to the wounded priest lying on the floor. Trouble and fear gave way to hatred. The examination showed that the bullets had destroyed only the killer's shoulder joints, as She had hoped. The sudden and sharp pain knocked him unconscious, but in just those few minutes, a sufficient pool of blood had formed under his body. Linda quickly bandaged the wounds to prevent excessive blood loss, relieved the pain and gave her some healing powers.

  "Stop lying around, open your eyes quickly" She ordered: "I can't feel you because of your protective amulets, but I know you're conscious. If you keep pretending, and I'll give you back the pain".

  The priest gave a sign of life and opened his eyes.

  "You killed a man very close to me, and now you will pay for it" Linda promised him: "No further explanation is required. Choose how you want to die - peacefully or in pain. You will not escape pain with the help of your amulets - you don't have to hope for that!"

  "What do you want from me?"

  "Truthful answers to my questions".

  "Will you give me a peaceful death?"

  “yeah. After all, you're just a performer. But to the one who sent you, I will cause unbearable suffering".

  "I'll talk".

  "Wait a minute!" Linda pulled the amulets hanging on a string from the priest's neck: "Now I can feel you and find out if you're lying to me or not. Tell the truth".

  "I am a priest at the main temple of Mashun. Our high priest ordered me to kill Master Helena Aquani".

  "What about me?"

  "There were no orders regarding you".

  "Can I get into your temple through the portal?"

  "No, there are powerful defenses and magical barriers installed there. You won't be able to keep the gate open for too long, and the protective barriers will raise the alarm during that time".

  "Tell me, in as much detail as possible, how to get from the central entrance to the sacred chambers of the high priest as quickly as possible. He's going to live there, isn't he?"

  "No, not there. After the high priests elect the abbot of the main temple, Delius Dart will move into the supreme's chambers, and now he lives in his own".

  "Okay, tell me how to get there, and don't forget to tell me about the passage to the master's chambers. And also, tell me where and how the security is located".

  After listening carefully to the priest's instructions, Linda nodded, grabbed the pistol lying on the bed, and, as promised, shot the spy in the heart.

  "Take the body somewhere" She said to Fancore, who entered the bedroom: "I'm going to enter the castle through the portal and bury my mother myself. I don't need an escort".

  She opened the portal, lifted Helena's body in her arms and went to her chambers. After putting the mentor on the bed, Linda went out into the corridor again and after some searching found the manager.

  "Dicter, I need help" She replied to his greeting: "My mentor and my foster mother passed away and is now in the castle. We need to arrange her funeral, and I do not know how it is done in this world. Can you help me with that?"

  "Of course I will help you and fulfill your duty to Lady Helen" Dicter bowed in a bow: "Will you not be present yourself?"

  “No. Then you will show me the burial place, and together we will discuss what needs to be done there. Take people with you to carry out the mother's body. It's in my rooms, and I have to get ready. I can't leave the portal open for long-now it's doubly unsafe for us".

  "We'll do it now, my lady" The manager hurried: "Shall we move the lady to her rooms while we arrange everything?"

  "Yes, of course" Linda massaged her forehead: "Something got mixed up in my head. I'll move Mom and leave you the keys. Later, you will close the doors to her room, and I will go to the tower".

  The girl used her keys to open Helena's rooms and move the body there. After returning to her room, Linda opened the trunk, took out two spare clips for the pistol and a couple of boxes of cartridges. She laid out the cartridges, filled the clips with them, and reloaded the gun to capacity. To avoid the darkness and avoid using torches, She decided to spend one of the balls with rainbow demons in them.

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  Linda found a dagger in another chest, attached it to her belt, left the ball on the tower stand, found a leather purse with Worg stones and placed them in the right order according to the pattern. After that, She began the summoning ritual, presenting the Scarecrow in front of her. Flames flared up and flowed through the drawing, the wind howled, and the gate swung open.

  "Scarecrow, come to me!" Linda screamed, bending under the lashing wind. The ball, so far without demons, was blown off the rack, smashing it against the wall.

  "I did something wrong!" A thought flaShed through, and the portal closed, the hurricane immediately subsided. In the dark tower, right in the middle of the magic leaf with the drawing, there was a Beast.

  "Scarecrow, is that you?" Linda asked incredulously.

  "Of course, who were you waiting for?" The answer sounded in her head: "You've grown up noticeably and you feel strong. How can I help you?"

  "What kind of hurricane was that?" She asked: "I already thought it would blow up the whole tower. This has never happened before".

  "The Storm" Explained The Scarecrow: "You're just doing the ritual at the wrong time. In such weather, it is better to stay in hiding. So what do you need?"

  "The priests who worship one of the many gods killed my mother and mentor. I want to take revenge on their high priest, but I can't get to them alone. Helena told me that any walls are not a hindrance to you. Help me get into their temple, and I can take revenge there myself".

  "They have their own magic the fastest. How are you going to fight them alone?"

  "Now I have a very effective weapon from my world. I'm not stupid enough to rely on magic alone in such a matter".

  "This is really interesting. I'll accompany you and follow you. Let's see what you're going to do there, and in case of danger, I'll help you out of trouble. All I need to do is take me to their temple. Can you imagine his appearance?"

  "Yes, I've already seen him".

  "Okay, I remember. Are you ready?"

  "For what?"

  "Get ready, now I'll take us to the temple and go inside. People on the streets won't notice anything. You should be ready to face the enemy right away".

  "Now, a couple of minutes!" Linda took out her pistol, switched the safety to single mode, clicked the shutter and said: "Now I'm ready!"

  "Close your eyes. Even if we are in sunlight for a short time, after the darkness of the tower, it may seem too bright to your eyes. Open them when it gets darker".

  Even through her closed eyelids, Linda was blinded by a flash of light, then She saw the flickering lamps in the corridor of the temple. She could barely see the Beast, but She was clearly visible in a light dress.

  "Damn, and why didn't I remember about this uncomfortable outfit" Linda thought: "I could have dressed more carefully!"

  Realizing that they were in the central corridor of the temple, Linda quickly chose a direction.

  "Let's move faster" She told the Beast: "I've already found out where to go. We need to hurry up before we meet anyone".

  "There are living creatures here, I can feel them" Said the Beast: "But they've just had enough and are resting".

  Noticing a ledge in the wall, Linda found a third turn from it and turned into a side passage that led to the chambers of the supreme master of the Order. They had managed to escape from the central corridor, from where the sounds of conversations and footsteps were now coming. The girl ran down the aisle to the right door and abruptly opened it. A priest was sitting in an armchair in the middle of the room, he turned around and hissed contemptuously:

  "You've got the wrong door, whore! This is the Grand Master's quarters. Get out, you bastard!"

  With an accelerated movement, Linda jumped up to the priest and stabbed him in the throat with a dagger.

  "Is this the weapon you were bragging about?" The Beast asked with obvious disappointment.

  "It's just a dagger. My main one is too noisy. If I use it, we'll have to get out of here right away, and I still have things to do. Please don't interfere. This priest is not a magister at all, the older one..."

  "There's something in the next room, some kind of person..."

  "Why didn't you feel those in the hallway?" Linda opened the next door a crack and asked a question.

  "To be honest, I don't even know... i just didn't feel them, that's all" The interlocutor replied doubtfully: "Are you sure you want to go to kill this one?" The beast pointed with his paw at an old man who looked like a mummy sitting in an armchair by the fireplace.

  "My duty is to fulfill my promise to my mother" Linda replied decisively.

  "In this way, you will only ease his suffering".

  "Maybe" Linda admitted: "But promises have to be kept. And a lesson will be given to whoever comes in his place".

  When the girl with the dagger in her hand and the huge Beast entered the room, the old man squeaked thinly and tried to leave, but Linda came up to him and with a blow of the dagger chained him to a chair.

  "Now we can continue using the weapon I told you about" Linda said, taking her pistol out of its holster.

  Suddenly, two priests appeared from a side corridor. When they saw Linda and the Beast in front of them, they froze in surprise on the spot, becoming vulnerable to Linda's shots. The next shot hit the priest, who bravely opened the door to the sound of gunfire. He fell out of the door into the room, but suddenly, in the corridor behind Linda, doors began to open one after another, from which other priests jumped out, and one of them was already beginning to cast a spell.

  Linda did not hesitate and opened fire, destroying most of the priests, forcing the rest to retreat to their rooms. Suddenly, the Scarecrow intervened, smashing the doors and hitting two priests with his tail, who decided to find out the cause of the noise. Both fell dead, smashing their heads against the wall.

  The door to the second room opened, and a young priest jumped out of it, holding two swords at once. When he saw the Beast, he dropped his weapon and ran away, but the Scarecrow knocked him to the ground with a clawed paw, thereby depriving him of life. At this time, Linda burst into the room and froze in place, finding not far from her an unfamiliar man armed with a sword and smiling at her.

  "So it was you who caused so much noise?" He asked: "Your name is Master Rinda, right? You made a mistake when you came in here. There is no magic in this room, but there is no substitute for me in the martial arts. I have been developing my skills for almost a century. They tried to use you against me, now I have to kill you".

  With the first shot, Linda severed the fingers on the priest's hand holding the sword. The next two shots pierced his knees, causing him to scream at the top of his voice and fall to the floor.

  "I'm sorry I don't have much time, I'd love to talk to you" Linda said, pointing the gun at him.: "I would love to pull out your nails or torture you with fire, but in any case you will suffer".

  With three shots, She turned the head of the high priest into a terrible mess, from which Linda quickly turned away herself.

  "It's time to get out of here" She told the Scarecrow: "Now we're going to be dealt with seriously".

  A moment later, She found herself in another world, standing on a sand dune, almost knee-deep in sand. In front of her stretched a desert as black as coal, through which a terrible wind carried dark streams of sand. The sky was shrouded in furiously billowing red clouds. The wind beat her face with large grains of sand, forcing her to bend and close her eyes. The Scarecrow was standing next to her.

  "What's going on here?" Linda screamed through the wind with difficulty: "Where did you bring me?"

  The air was hot, dry, and suffocating.

  "You and I are in my world now. I helped you deal with your enemies, now you have to help me".

  "How can I help you?"

  "I have a problem with a relative who prevents me from advancing in power. I need to eliminate him, but I can't do it myself because I'm bound by a promise. Do you understand?"

  "It's unworthy to doubt my ability to eliminate someone like you, isn't it?"

  "In a typical situation, of course, you cannot cope with him, but even he understands this and does not worry. Therefore, I will take you as close to him as possible, and you can use your magic weapon".

  "And if I say no?"

  "You can't refuse me. First of all, our relationship is based on friendship, and I have already helped you once, and secondly, you need it more than me. If you kill him, you can taste our blood. Without it, you're doomed, even if you go back right now. The sands of our world are deadly to people like you, and our blood is the best antidote. And besides, it contains a very powerful force. After drinking our blood, the wizard from your world will become much stronger. You will be ten times stronger. This is considered the limit, because the human body cannot withstand more. After that, you will have no equal in your world".

  "Is there really no one at all?"

  "If you're going to stand against someone alone. But of course the crowd will just crush you".

  "You sneaky liar! Wait, let me at least reload my gun and set it to automatic mode. Shooting at people like you in single player mode is just suicide. What about the sand in my shoes?"

  "It is taken into account. We'll move as close to his house as possible, and then you'll manage somehow. I wouldn't advise you to take off your shoes. If anything, I can let you down a little on my back, even though it's embarrassing for me".

  The world flaShed again, but in general nothing changed, only a pile of stones appeared in the distance.

  "Here is his house, which we need to visit" Explained the Scarecrow: "Can you walk by yourself?"

  "I'll try. It seems that the wind has become a little weaker" Linda was approaching the rocks, constantly sinking deep into the sand: "It's good that I have low heels, otherwise I would have been forced to walk barefoot! And how do you survive here?"

  "Our eyes see this world differently. What seems gloomy to you is bright and colorful for us. Besides, how can you not love your own house?"

  "And what do you eat for lunch here? Not sand, by any chance?"

  "When we are very young, our diet consists of sandworms. It's because of them that I warned you: it's better not to go barefoot, so as not to risk losing your legs or even everything else. When we grow up, we start hunting in completely different worlds".

  "What do your worms eat when they don't see girls without shoes in front of them?" Linda asked with some concern, now cautiously looking at her feet.

  "These deserts are full of life. Stop talking to me, we're getting close to the goal. The connection between us will allow you to understand our conversation with him. Start shooting when he opens his mouth, then you will have a chance to kill him" Advised her interlocutor.

  The owner noticed them from afar and came out to meet them, stopping a hundred paces from his house. He opened his mouth slightly and a loud and low roar was heard. At the same time, his question rang in the girl's mind, intended for the Scarecrow:

  "What do you want, the youngest of my people? And why did you bring this sandworm lunch with you?"

  The beast was about a meter and a half taller than the Scarecrow, its scales shimmering with red reflected light. Seeing such a monster, Linda's knees almost buckled.

  "This beautiful lady is thirsting for your blood, senior" Replied the Scarecrow with respect, but, in Linda's opinion, with a hint of gloating.

  "You!" The Beast screamed, spreading its mouth as wide as possible: "Do you hear what you just said?! I can do anyone you want..."

  "Linda, shoot!" The Scarecrow growled.

  Stunned by the scream in her head and overcome with fear, Linda raised her pistol and fired all the cartridges into the grinning mouth. Without looking at the result, She quickly reloaded her weapon and only then looked at the Beast. He was lying on the sand, his torn muzzle turned to the side. Due to the recoil at the end, Linda's gun turned slightly and the last bullets hit the monster's left eye.

  "A powerful weapon!" The Scarecrow was delighted: "It's good that you and I are friends! Hurry up, don't waste your time! Blood is flowing into the sand in vain, soon there will be hundreds of worms here. Drink faster, you don't need much, half a mug is enough. Faster! Or are you tired of living?"

  Linda put the gun back in its holster, ran to the gaping mouth of the Beast and, feeling inner disgust, pressed herself against the bullet hole, from which dark, almost black blood was flowing the most. The taste of blood turned out to be salty, like people's. During her stay at the castle, Linda took so many strange substances that She quickly overcame her disgust and took several sips from the wound. Remembering that the blood of the Beast was the antidote, She drank some more.

  "Stop drinking!" The Scarecrow shouted at her: "How many times have I told you? And you're just like a barrel. Do you want to be torn up by an overabundance of strength? Let's get out of here, the sandworms are already very close!"

  "But you said you were eating them!" Linda shouted, running after the Scarecrow: "Why are you running away from them?"

  "Look for yourself, and everything will become clear!" He replied, pointing with his paw at the corpse of a colleague: "One worm is not a problem, but when there are hundreds of them, it is already dangerous. And you better remember that".

  Linda looked at the dead Animal and almost threw up. The creature's body writhed, the sand rippled under the blows of worms tearing huge chunks of meat from the corpse with their whips. The flesh was flying in all directions, the vultures were already feasting on the body. The monster seemed to have gained fur, fluttering in the wind.

  "Let's move into my world as soon as possible" Linda asked: "I'm sick here, and I don't want to throw up all the blood I've drunk. Please!"

  "All right" The Scarecrow agreed, and they were instantly inside the tower.

  "How dark it is here!" Linda complained: "I had a balloon that time and I didn't prepare matches".

  "Don't know how to handle this?" The Scarecrow was surprised: "Open your mind, I will teach you. This spell will help you see in the dark. Not exactly like me, but still... and you can also shine with any part of your body. The demons you catch glow in much the same way. Do you understand? Then I'm leaving. Remember that the blood will be bad at first, but it will pass, and a little later all the magicians around you will kiss your ass".

  "Or they'll all get together and decide to kill me out of harm's way!" Linda replied sadly.

  "Perhaps it will be so!" The Scarecrow said with a laugh: "But I believe in your intelligence and innate caution. You will be a very useful friend to me! And remember that I'm always ready to help you when you need me, too. When you gain full strength, you won't need any rituals to summon, just call me. Be healthy!"

  And with that, he disappeared. Linda decided to try one of the spells given to her by the Beast and found herself outside the tower. After that, She moved forward, holding out her glowing palms in front of her. Approaching the residential part of the castle, She was again overcome by longing and pain from the loss of her named mother. Despite the perfect revenge, She realized that now She was completely alone in this world.