"Mr. Knight..."

The speaker's voice came to me like through a thick layer of water, quietly, muffled. Eyesight did not return to normal immediately, but the blonde silhouette became clearer and clearer with every second. Someone other than the blonde was standing nearby. ​​

"Mr. Knight."

After blinking a couple of times, I was finally able to focus my vision and finally recover.

"Finally, you are with us, Mr. Knight," this time, the phrase sounded clear, and I recognize Lucius haughtily pulling the word. I must say that he does it infinitely better than the pathetic parody like Draco. A suspicious-looking man was standing next to him. Hunched over, stooped, with warts on his face. This second man created the most fabulous image of some wizard from the swamps.

Listening to my feelings, I noticed that I was lying on some kind of flat cold surface in a rather dark and gloomy room with uneven stone walls and a pair of dim magic lamps.

"I'll not say that I'm glad to see you," my voice was hoarse, and I clearly needed to wet my throat. But it looks like these gentlemen are not going to comply with this simple request.

"It's mutual, Mr. Knight," Lucius literally spat out the last words, although there was a suspiciously pleased light in his eyes.

"You probably want to say something?"

"Certainly, Mr. Knight," Lucius smiled wryly. "Let me be frank with you, Mr. Knight."

Lucius leaned over slightly and moved over. Oh, so he sits on a chair.

"You can't even imagine how disgusting even the fact of your existence is to me," Lucius uttered the words slowly, and especially slowly those that expressed his attitude.

"I would have been happy to get rid of you much sooner, but until recently, I thought there would be no need for that. And what was my surprise that you turned out to be ... a wizard. Although my son and I consider you only a squib with a wand, and I think we are not far from the truth. Isn't it?"

"Finish it already," the second man began to grunt in a hoarse voice. "Your pathological craving for soulful conversations in the style of a world villain will bring you to your grave one day."

Lucius looked at the second ... old man indifferently. Yes, after he spoke, I realized that he was far from young.

"You're right, my old friend. I'm expecting something new from you." Lucius stood up, leaning on his cane, and, without looking in my direction, said, "Goodbye, Mr. Knight."

Lucius left the room. The old man and I looked at each other for about ten minutes.

"Well, nothing personal, boy," the old man croaked in a hoarse voice, and I realized that it was time to run. Although I realized this a long time ago, there are some nuances. For example, I cannot use magic and hemomancy. I felt it clearly. Looks like my displeasure showed on my face.

"Hehe..." the old man walked around. - If you are chained, you will not be able to use magic. We don't want unexpected situations, do we?

The old man walked around, scattered some herbs and powders, and muttered something quietly under his breath. The only thing I can do is summon the sword. But my hands are shackled in such a position that I cannot really use them. So what should I do?

He made a few more circles, and on one of the "circles" below me, something dimly glowed red.

"Well."

The old man went somewhere out of sight and a minute later returned, weakly rattling chains.

"Uh...Heavy...Haa..." the old man puffed, dragging in his hands a huge thick book, tied and chained. It was the chains that rang. He held the book vertically above my chest, at a distance of thirty centimeters.

"Another piece of knowledge. How wonderful. How lovely..." the old man muttered to himself. "Also, I should share with the peacock ... But the peacock brought a sacrifice!"

The old man's eyes were clouded. He removed his hands from the book, but it remained in the air, and the chains were filled with a red light. The old man walked around me on the other side, to the right, and stood almost close. This is a chance.

The old man took out a dagger and, without preamble, brought it to my chest. I immediately materialized the sword in my hand, directing it so that the blade pierced the old man when it appeared. I felt a lightweight in my hand, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the stunned face of the old man. He stared into nowhere, a trickle of blood escaping from his mouth with a hoarse exhalation. Moving my gaze below, I realized that the blade pierced both the heart and the lungs at the same time.

The old man began to fall, but what a bastard! His dagger was incredibly sharp, no worse than my sword. A sharp, severe pain almost made me scream. Blood gushed from my chest.

Oh shit. He ripped my chest...