A demon’s rival. Natalie Yacobson

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СКАЧАТЬ the fields of Ivilor, and look what happened to the crops. Since their arrival, there’s been barrenness everywhere. Nothing else will sprout from this land but magical grains and trees.»

      «It’s a shame. I love watching the harvest and then separating the grain from the chaff. I would have helped with the farming myself, but my mother forbade me to do simple labor. She thinks ladies are only entitled to embroidery and music.»

      «And she’s right!» The scarecrow nodded thoughtfully.

      «How is it so?» Samantha didn’t expect the scarecrow to be so prim.

      «But no one can see you now, and you can try to plant something in this field.»

      «But I don’t have any seeds with me.»

      «You dig a hole and put one of your amber earrings in it, and then see what sprouts from it,» the scarecrow’s amber eyes sparkled slyly.

      «It is some other time. Thanks for the advice!»

      Samantha was already regretting that she had spoken to the strange creature, which had been a scarecrow a minute ago and now looked strangely like a man crucified on a pole. She was not going to sacrifice her earring to please her companion. She had to leave before the creature on the pole demanded something even more absurd from her.

      «Don’t be greedy!» The scarecrow said. «I, too, came here because I was greedy. I refused to give my diamond cufflinks to the new royal advisor, and he turned out to be a demon. And now I’m hanging here like a sack of straw! I’m pecked by crows and my arms and legs don’t move as if they were straw. Greed leads to disaster, but generosity, you’ll see, will be rewarded. I’ll let you in on a secret. On this field, even the smallest gemstone will grow a whole tree with gems on its branches.»

      «Is it really?» Samantha didn’t believe it. «Tell me, where did those strange creatures come from in the fields? Has hell opened up beneath the fields?»

      «The new royal advisor let them in here,» the scarecrow explained kindly.

      «The royal advisor is tangling with the evil spirits! I can’t believe it. My mother would say you’re slandering an honorable man.»

      «It’s not slander! The king’s new counselor is a demon himself!»

      The scarecrow must have been speaking figuratively. Samantha couldn’t believe that the king’s advisor had been turned into a talking scarecrow by magic and replaced by a dexterous demon.

      She wouldn’t have believed in talking scarecrows before, but now she saw one right under her nose. What should she believe now?

      As Samantha thought, there was a rustle in the sky. Three beauties in black mourning dresses and with black wings descended to the edge of the field, but they did not dare to move forward, although they were obviously curious about what was going on. For some reason they were afraid to fly further over the field.

      «They are grave fairies,» said the creature from the pole.

      Samantha was surprised. She had heard of grave fairies. They usually lived in graveyards and sang funeral hymns at night. Whoever hears their voice will die soon, so travelers are wary of passing cemetery fences at night. For behind them dwell grave fairies. But what are grave fairies doing in an arable field? Are there corpses beneath the barren field? Otherwise the grave fairies wouldn’t have come here. They only come to graves or funerals, and sometimes to wakes.

      The fairies were whispering like conspirators:

      «These are the demon’s dead fields. He sows seeds of death or raises the dead to become his dead army,» the black fairies whispered. «One day they will go to war on the world of the living. And then Queen Luciferina will return!»

      Samantha shuddered when she heard the name. Wasn’t it derived from Lucifer? If there is a female version of his name, then she guessed so. In this case, only the queen of hell could be called Luciferina. Looking out over the barren field, Samantha was ready to believe that hell was right underneath it. Better get out of here. What if the earth opened up right now?

      «Wait, where are you going?» The tiny creature said. It had crawled out of the hole under the pole. «Will you donate us a coin for the advice of the scarecrow?»

      «But it was it that gave me the advice, not you. By the way, how many of you are there in this field?»

      «There’s a hell of a lot of us here, and if we don’t pretend to let our guard down, no local scarecrow will talk to you.»

      «That is going to cost me a little.»

      «Wait, I’ll let you in on a secret! If you plant a coin in this field, it will grow into a coin tree.»

      Samantha wanted to test it. She found one coin in her pocket. She put it in the claws of the strange creature. It jumped for joy. Probably now its words would be a lie and it would run away, but the creature actually threw the coin on the ground. The coin immediately passed through the ground like a seed thrown into a hole. The ground shook, and the fairies became wary.

      Under Samantha’s feet there was a tremor, and cracks ran through the ground. Was a giant about to crawl out of the ground and crush everyone? Instead, a black sprout appeared. It reached upward and grew into a tree.

      «But it had no coins!» Samantha thought she’d been fooled. What if the branches were about to grow dragon teeth? But there was a soft clinking sound, and the black branches were covered with gold coins. Samantha didn’t look surprised, but picked as many as she could. Even if the coins turned into clods of earth or leaves along the way, at least she had tried to get rich.

      The fairies flew to the tree.

      «Stop it! You are thieves!» The inhabitant of the field screamed, but the fairies stripped the whole tree and flew away. Only one coin remained shining on the black branches.

      «Perhaps I should share it with you,» Samantha decided. She offered the creature the apron in which she had placed the coins, but it waved it away. Why was it so proud? Had the coins in her hands gotten leprosy, or was the immortal creature afraid that the Earth girl might infect it with mortality?

      After a moment, the ringing sounded again, and the tree again gave golden fruit, that is, coins. This is the thing! It is inexhaustible. The dweller of the fields didn’t want to share the gold only with the fairies. Apparently, those cheeky little things had been flying around the field for a long time, looking for an easy profit.

      The creature jumped to the top of the tree and began stripping the coins from it, and Samantha hurried back to the carriage. She took off the apron full of coins and tied the ends into a knot, hiding the knot under the seat. Now she had funds for emergencies. Thanks to the black fields and their inhabitants!

      Fairy’s dresses

      Samantha arrived in Ivilor at sunset. The guards at the entrance to the palace let her through, but the ladies of the court laughed at her.

      Such a turn of events was to be expected. The socialites saw a disheveled Samantha perched on the rumps, holding the reins ineffectively. The gossip became as loud as a choir. The hillbilly had come in a carriage that she drove herself, and she was humming along the way.

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