After a strong push, Khani lost his footing and tumbled down the steep, slippery steps. He hit the stone floor hard and groaned involuntarily. The Ice Ones responded with a contented hoot. The thick iron door slammed shut with a screech, cutting off the last rays of light that were making their way into the dungeon, the rusty bolt creaked, and everything went quiet. Khani groped for a skinny bundle of wet straw that was supposed to serve as his bed and huddled on it, hugging his knees.
What awaited him? No one knew anything about the Sea King's dungeons for a very simple reason - no one talked about them, there was no one to tell about them, and no one had ever been lucky enough to get out of them. And the ice guards were not the talkative kind.
Night had fallen. Or maybe it just seemed to him that the dungeon had become even darker. Although, could there be different shades of darkness? Probably, there could… Khani's thoughts were interrupted by an incomprehensible knocking and grinding. As if someone was tearing off long-rusted iron bars that had already grown together. He raised his head and looked closely. And to his surprise, he saw that a piece of the wall had given way and moved aside, revealing a low corridor. Bending over, otherwise he could not pass, General-Captain Frozen himself entered, accompanied by two soldiers carrying smoking torches. Stopping next to Khani, he seemed to pierce him with his eyes. The bottomless blackness of the empty gaze frightened and oppressed, involuntarily he wanted to turn away or close his eyes. But Khani forced himself to look straight into the hollows of Frozen's eye sockets. The long, thin figure gave off a chill, but Khani stood there, clenching his fists and not shaking.
How long did this silent duel last? Khani could not say. Then Frozen's white face twisted into an angry grimace, he turned his head slightly and, no longer looking at Khani, croaked:
- Went.
"What's that for?" Khani asked, not moving from his spot. He had rightly decided that it wouldn't be any worse for him anyway, so he had to at least show this frozen idol that he wasn't afraid of him in the least. However, Frozen was not inclined to engage in discussions.
- Went.
He waved his hand, the soldiers jumped up and grabbed him with an icy grip above the elbows.
Without another word, Frozen turned and, bending almost double, stepped through the door. The warriors roughly dragged Khani after him. The narrow, dark corridors seemed endless to Khani. They climbed spiral staircases and descended, seemingly back into the Dungeons of Night… But in the end they found themselves in a small, windowless room, lit only by the flickering light of the torches held by the Ice Men. The Sea King was waiting.
"They brought the darling, they brought him," he muttered affectionately, rubbing his dry yellow hands.
Frozen muttered something unintelligible.
- No, dear, no need. We can always do that. What a big deal - chopping off a head. Any fool can do that. I've thought of something better, my dear. Oh, it's all me and me... As smart as you are, you're not capable of anything without me.
The king approached the small door, which Khani had not noticed at first in the semi-darkness, and with visible effort pulled back the thick bronze bolt that locked it. He took hold of the handle, but, realizing what he had done, stopped.
- I almost forgot... Well, well... I'm getting old, old... And no one will remind me, will tell me, will help. I was going to show him the Reverse Mirror, and I didn't even remember about the soldiers. That would have been a shame. Hey, who's there!
He waved his hand. A third guard emerged from the darkness, holding two iron helmets. Khani was surprised - the helmets had no visors or eye slits, more like two iron pots. Catching Khani's puzzled look, the King chuckled happily.
- There's no need for them to look where they're taking you. But you look, look with all your eyes, my darling. Look in a good way. All you have to do is look in the mirror - that's all. Nothing more is required of you, we'll talk about it later.
Obeying his gesture, the Icemen removed their winged helmets, adorned with the Ice Star forged from silver, and put on their blind "pots". The King stroked the hammered bronze masks that dotted the door, depicting faces distorted by screams, and opened it a crack.
- Forward, my dears. And don't forget to open the window. May the West Wind help.
- What kind of mirror is this? - asked Khani. - It's interesting! Even those sentenced to death are told...
- Oh, my dear, - the King threw up his hands. - Who talks about death... No one will lay a finger on you. And the mirror... A simple, ordinary Reverse Mirror.
- Which?
- You don't know? Ah, the darkness, the darkness... - The King clicked his tongue regretfully. - You do good to people, you do it, but no one knows about it, they won't thank you, they won't say thank you... After all, I haven't killed anyone for a long time. These are tales and malicious slander, vile slander of envious people and vile ill-wishers. It's just that everyone who comes to me goes into this room and looks into the Reverse Mirror. It's magical. What's in an ordinary mirror? Where the right used to be, the left becomes, where the left was, the right is visible. Well, my Mirror is almost the same. Only it won't change your appearance, but your soul. - The King even grunted with pleasure. - It's very simple. If you were brave before, you will become a coward. Were honest - you will turn into a liar. The noble will become a scoundrel. - He sighed admiringly. - A treasure, not a mirror. A treasure. And why should I kill someone... I really don't like you now, so after the Mirror we'll get along great.
"But it doesn't work the other way around?" asked Khani.
The king nodded sadly.
- Unfortunately. A mirror is just that - a mirror. A soulless, meaningless piece of glass. It turns everything upside down. We had one unfortunate incident here. Our treasurer once looked into the Mirror, completely by accident, may his gills dry up, he was taking inventory, he climbed into something he shouldn't have. He became honest. He returned everything he had stolen from our treasury himself, himself. Well, I was going to reward him, but he gave half the treasure away to the poor. And he told me I was a robber. As for me... An old, sick King... Oh-oh-oh... That's not good... They made me look again, let him steal better, everything will be cheaper. So he didn't have time to give it away, the next day he stole it. And he ran away. He's still hiding somewhere... Since then, we've been using helmets like these, - he flicked the head of the nearest guard.
- But I've had enough of talking to you. It's time to get down to business. Lead the way! Happy reflection, - the King waved his hand.
Frozen let out a loud hoot and laugh.
The warriors dragged Khani through the door, and he involuntarily closed his eyes. Both from fear and from the suddenly sharp light - there were several large lancet windows in the room, through which the sun was lashing wildly. And Khani had become unaccustomed to it lately. Tears even came to his eyes.
But the King's voice came from the door:
- If he doesn't want to watch, stab him! Stab him! But not to death. I'll tear out his gills if he dies.
Khani opened his eyes.
The large, bright hall was finished in white and blue marble. On a low stand directly opposite the door stood a large plate of black matte glass without a frame, without any decorations. But it was not a mirror - nothing was reflected in it, even the sun's rays disappeared without a trace, barely touching it, as if they were drowning in a pool. There was no glass in the windows, and a cold wind rushed into the hall, whistling maliciously.
Walking confidently - apparently this path was familiar to them, and although their eyes were closed, they did not stray from the path - the Ice Ones dragged Khani close to the Mirror. He looked away, but there was something enchanting, attractive in this glass, it had the magical power of a snake's gaze, forcing him to look...
Waves seemed to run across the smooth black surface, it even seemed that the Mirror was bending, writhing. Then, in its depths, a sparkling silver point flared up, it grew, throwing out sparkling rays to the sides. Khani recognized it - it was the Ice Star again. It was everywhere! The star suddenly began to spin, turning into a silver whirlwind. Growing, it filled the entire mirror, the flickering of shiny sparks made Khani jerk back, but the guards' hands held him tightly.
Gradually the surface of the Mirror became lighter, and Khani began to be reflected in it, frightened and pale. But there were no guards in the Mirror. Khani immediately guessed that since they did not see the Mirror, the Mirror did not see them.
Then the image became cloudy and rippled, and there was a ringing in Khani's ears. A gust of wind went straight to the bone, and Khani began to tremble, his head began to spin, everything swam before his eyes, and when Khani's ability to distinguish his surroundings returned, the Mirror reflected a hunched old man, vile and disgusting, unkempt, with long greasy hair, skinny arms, red, watery eyes, dressed in some indescribable rags.
Khani was horrified. Is this what the Sea King has in store for him?! No, it can't be!
The old man winked at him and chuckled - Khani clearly heard it. Or did the chuckle come from behind the door? A shaking hand reached out from the glass and touched him. Khani recoiled. But again the mocking chuckle sounded. And strangely enough, it gave Khani strength. He looked straight into the eyes of the grimacing and dancing reflection and said firmly:
- No!
A crackling echo rolled through the hall. The reflection froze, then tried to stretch out its hand again, but an invisible barrier prevented it from doing so. The old man began to thrash about, waving his fists, shouting something, but now not a sound reached Khani. He felt confident and repeated:
- No!
The reflection twitched. Waves of gray fog ran across the Mirror, for a moment it became opaque again, matte black. A reflection appeared, this time completely incredible: a black-faced savage was looking at Khani. Then a red star flared in the bottomless depths of the Mirror, from which flickering red rings ran. The Mirror trembled, jumped on its stand, a shrill roar was heard. Khani and his guards were doused with unbearable heat, they involuntarily retreated.
The mirror writhed and twisted, emitting piercing screams, blood-red drops appeared on it, gradually turning black, and then again began to glow pink. The mirror somehow settled, turning into a hot glowing puddle, splashing drops of red-hot liquid glass. The puddle quickly cooled and brightened. A little more - and on the stand lay an uneven pancake of the most ordinary glass.
There was a noise, a knock, a stamping sound behind the door, it swung open with a crash, and the Sea King flew into the hall, waving his arms like a windmill with its wings.
- Scoundrel! Swindler! - he screamed. - How dare you! Do you understand what you've done! You ruined me! Robbed me! Insulted me! I'll drown you! I'll stab you! I'll crush you! Aren't you ashamed!
He ran around the room for a long time, shouting something inarticulately, spitting and trying to hit Khani on the head with his small but strong fist. Finally, he calmed down a little.
"Aren't you ashamed?" he asked, sighing with self-pity. "What have I done to you, my dear? Why did you do this to me? The old man had one joy – and you took that away. It's not good. It's not nice."
He wrinkled his forehead, thinking about something, then shouted:
— Frozen!
The captain-general burst into the hall, shaking the marble slabs, and froze, awaiting orders.
- So, then. This one, - the King poked a bony finger almost into Khani's eye, who dodged it with difficulty, - is to be shackled again and guarded like the apple of his eye. He will be our hostage. In the meantime, prepare your troops, we are moving out, and very soon. We must hurry. If we couldn't take them from the sea, we'll take them from the land.
"My lord thinks they should all be killed," Frozen hooted. "And this one, too. First."
- I don't care what your master thinks. I care what I think. And anyway, you were ordered to obey me, so do it, obey.
"I dare to remind your majesty," Frozen bowed reluctantly, "that my soldiers are in the palace.
The king turned even yellower and grabbed the blue pearl hanging on his chest with both hands, rubbed it and whispered something. He listened to the vague rustling that was heard in the hall and raised his head, smiling maliciously.
- Are you thinking of rebelling, my dear? It won't work, my dear. You are mistaken, very mistaken. My Pearl Guard is in the palace, not just your soldiers.
He whistled shrilly.
Four warriors in fancy armor, richly decorated with gold inlay, ran into the hall. The armor seemed to be made of separate steel strips, the warriors' faces were covered with grinning masks, their helmets with large backplates were decorated with pearls. Long, slightly curved swords, almost as tall as a man, sparkled in their hands. Frozen turned pale, although this seemed completely impossible, hissed something fiercely through his teeth and bowed again. The king, looking at him triumphantly, repeated:
- Get your soldiers ready, we're leaving in a week.
Khani was sadly reflecting on the vicissitudes of fate when something scraped and rustled behind the wall. He decided that they had come for him again, but the door of the secret passage remained motionless. A quiet knock was heard behind the walls of the dungeon. Khani became wary. The scraping of steel on stone became clearly distinguishable. An undermining? But who? And why? His friends could not be here, Khani knew that for sure. No one had ever been rescued from these dungeons.
However, the stone in the wall began to wobble, crumbling. The stone turned and, breaking into several pieces, fell out. A familiar bird's head, adorned with a red cap, stuck out of the hole, and a hoarse voice said incredulously:
- Something is wrong here.
"Welcome," Khani couldn't help but smile.
The blows rang out again, the beak, sparkling even in the darkness of the dungeon, confidently crushed the neighboring stone, and a bird fell out of the wall into the dungeon.
"Old friend," Khani greeted her.
"Stone Woodpecker, if you please," the bird introduced itself. "I didn't expect to meet you again. By the way, would you be so kind as to tell me where I ended up?"
- You have ended up in the Sea King's prison.
- Yes, that's about what I expected. But what are you doing here?
- Sitting.
"I think you're deceiving me again." Woodpecker looked at Khani suspiciously, tilting his head to the side. "If my eyesight doesn't fail me, you're lying down."
- And I'm sitting.
- Ah, so that's it... - The Woodpecker thought and agreed. - True, true. How could I not have guessed it right away. And I was wandering underground, traveling, and that's how I ended up in these parts. I ended up in some nasty oven... - The Woodpecker showed his soot-stained wings with chagrin. - I heard all sorts of things there. Some ill-mannered individuals chased me. Do you hear them? They're still running.
Khani listened. Indeed, throughout the underground prison there was the sound of slamming doors, strange shouts, stamping feet, and the hubbub of guards. He yawned and asked:
- What have you been listening to?
- Well, just various things...
- Tell me, it's boring to sit here in the dark and damp.
And Woodpecker began to tell his story. Khani listened to him, holding his breath, his mouth hanging open in surprise.
"But this is very important!" he shouted, jumping up when the bird finished her story.
- Really? Then these Ice Ones have reasons to chase me. And very serious ones, too.
- And what kind! But I have a small favor to ask of you.
- What? If it's not too much trouble, I'm happy to help you.
— Pass on everything you heard to my friends.
- Are they sitting somewhere nearby?
Khani couldn't help but laugh.
- No. They are upstairs.
The woodpecker was shaken.
- But you can't live there! It's death! Go up?! No way!
- Have you ever tried it?
- No. The Master of the Fog told me what horrors were happening.
Now Khani began to tell his story. He spoke long and beautifully about the blue sky and the sparkling sun, about the green grass and the bright flowers, about the wild gusts of wind and the gentle sound of the rain.
"I think you're deceiving me," Woodpecker said in disbelief.
- But you yourself say that you never looked up.
- Yeah. What if...
- Try it, at least for a second.
- But I was told...
- You were deceived.
"But what if I'm being deceived now?" Woodpecker thought. "Okay," he finally decided. "I'll try. But if you lied to me, then naturally I won't carry out any of your orders."
"Of course," Khani agreed. "But you take a chance."
- Oh, something's wrong here...