- But you two have already had holidays recently! – El slowly sat down in a chair.

- Yes, Christmas holidays and now we have Sports holidays! – Sam was trying to prove to the witch that the twins didn’t have to go to school.

- My God… How many holidays do you even have? – the redhead raised her eyebrows – Ada and you?

- Oh, the Academy is anyway closed today after yesterday’s attack, so… - the girl shrugged.

- Wonderful. This nursery group is going to stay here? As if I haven’t suffered enough in my life… - Deas angrily huffed.

- I am sure, you two can look after three kids for few hours. I will be back as soon as the council’s meeting is over. – Arcada stood up from the table.

- Oh actually… D, bad news. I will go to the legion. We still need to trace one of those creatures. – El smiled at the necromancer.

- Are you sure, you feel well enough? – Nick looked at the woman with sympathy.

- More or less. I will just ask about any new attack reports.

- Are you kidding me? Do I, the one who is called The Monster above all monsters, look like a babysitter? – Deas stared at the redhead and her teacher.

- Don’t be so dramatic. It won’t last long. – El tried to calm him down.

- Can I lock them in the dungeon?

- No!

- Lethargic sleep spell?

- No!

- Souleaters?

- No! Deas it’s just for few hours. – the redhead stood up and moved heavily towards a portal Arcada opened. - You can deal with it. Just don’t be yourself.

Two magicians left. The kids and the necromancer remained silent for some time.

- So… - started Sam.

- No!

- But?

- Don’t! – Deas raised his forefinger – Don’t talk. Preferably don’t even breathe.

- What are we supposed to do then? – huffed Sam.

- You want to study magic? Great! Go to the library, read something and sit there. I have the whole Terra full of blood-thirsty monsters, I don’t have time for dealing with kids.

Deas stood up and hurried to leave the room. He obviously didn’t feel comfortable around children.

The trio finished their small breakfast and went in search of the library. The kids explored several floors of the castle before finding what they were looking for. Their little sightseeing tour proved that the library was indeed the only appropriate place for children in this castle. Most other rooms were filled with weapons of all kinds, torture machines, skeletons, and stuffed bodies of the unfortunate souls, who once used to be D’s enemies. All those exhibits were interesting in a way, but Nick still preferred to drag his brother away from the scaring rooms.

Contrasting to all other places in the castle, a spacious bright room, furnished with antique, elegant bookcases and sofas was allocated for the library. It was surprisingly quiet and peaceful there and the kids could see a small blossoming garden from the windows.

- I swear, sometimes this guy seems to be not that bad, but then he starts talking and next second I already want to kill him! – Sam frowned looking through an ancient book.

- I’m very sorry to disappoint you, but it feels like you would need at least the whole eternity of practicing to be able to kill him. – laughed Nick.

- Sometimes this man is just too arrogant… - added Ada.

- Oh really? – laughed Sam – Should I remind you, that you yourself sometimes make 6 mistakes in the word “please”, spelling it as “obey!”?

- Indeed… - the second boy nodded and smiled.

- At least I always think properly before doing something! – the girl huffed and gazed angrily at Sam.

- Right. That’s why I am the only truly adequate person in here. – concluded Nick.

- Yes, that’s another way to say “irritating”. – his twin chuckled.

- I prefer “careful”.

The limping old man entered the library, interrupting children’s conversation. Tarnan was rolling a little cart.

- My Lord asked Tarnan to find something proper for you to eat! Something proper! Here is a rabbit. Almost not mutated! – the man smiled happily.

- What do you mean by “almost not mutated”? – Nick seemed to be a little scared.

- Well… The friends of My Lord maybe know, our Terra still suffers from ancient dark magic… Dark magic… - Tarnan’s eyes filled with sadness for a moment – Try the rabbit! It is good! Is good!

The kids hesitated but they didn’t want to upset the poor butler, who seemed to be very proud of finding an “almost not mutated” rabbit. The meat was chewy and way too salty.

- Do the friends of My Lord like it? – Tarnan shook his head smiling happily.

- Yes. It is… interesting. Thank you. – Nick tried his best to sound honest.

Sam and Ada also nodded. The butler seemed to be very satisfied with the answer.

- My Lord asks if his friends have all they need?

- Yes, the library is very nice. He has some rare books, and the view is also great. – the girl replied.

- Ah! The garden? My Lord planted it all himself! All himself!

- Really? The Monster above all monsters loves flowers? – Sam raised his eyebrow.

- No-No. My Lord hates flowers. He says they are senseless. Senseless. But My Lady loves flowers a lot!

The old man placed a teller with the rabbit on a small table and shook his head.

- Tarnan must go! Must go! Much work to do! – he quickly limped away.

The trio looked doomedly at the rabbit. Now they all understood, why El always took her own food to Terra Terrorem. Big, ugly birds were circling over the garden, so the kids slightly opened one of the windows and threw the poor little animal to them. Apparently, the birds didn’t have anything against its horrible taste.

It took much longer than just a couple of hours for Arcada and El to return. Deas was obviously very irritated by this fact. He walked past the library few times, but the kids didn’t know if he was checking on them or that they didn’t break anything.

The trio indeed broke a beautiful porcelain vase as they tried some of the telekinesis spells from the books. Fortunately, Ada quickly found a spell of invisibility, and after hearing Nick’s victorious “I told you so”, Sam hid the invisible shards under a bookcase.

- How do you think, will he notice? – asked the boy.

- Of course, he will. I think this guy is familiar with every speck of dust in this castle, not to mention the porcelain… - the older twin answered.

- I will be right back. – mumbled Ada and left the room.

She found D as he was walking through a long open gallery. One could perfectly see the wastelands around the castle from there.

- Deas!

- No! – the necromancer raised his forefinger.

- I wanted to say…

- I already disregard this intention.

- If there is something I could do for this Terra…

- Yes, you could leave its ruler in peace! – Deas turned his annoyed face to the girl.

- I am serious! – Ada insisted – If I can somehow fix at least something from what my grandmother has done.

- I’ve been trying to fix it for the past three ages. – the man huffed angrily – As you may see, not very successfully!

- That’s why I want to help…

- Why don’t you help your grandmother? The great philanthropist and peacekeeper! She has done so much to silence her own conscience!

- I know, she made a mistake…

- A mistake!? – the man neared Ada and stared at her with his completely black eyes – A mistake? I am a necromancer and a master of dark magic. How do you think, child, would it be difficult for me to return my family back? I know nothing about dignity and mercy, so I wouldn’t mind sacrificing even hundreds of people for that. Do you know why I haven’t done it? Because their last moments were so horrible that they would never be able to return the way they are… That’s not a mistake, that’s ruthless that is beyond even my standards.

- I… I am… very sorry… - the witch tried not to fall into tears.

Deas stepped away, closed his eyes, and clenched his fists. For a second it looked like he regretted scaring the little girl that much.

- None of this is your fault. You didn’t choose to be born in that family, but you are free to choose your own path, so choose it wisely, child. – he said calmly – I can tolerate your pitiful attempts to help if you want. But remember, once I face those who are guilty, I will punish them cruelly. So, think twice, if you really want to help the biggest threat for your grandmother.