The illusory fur coat does not warm, but you look not so miserable in it, and if you also cover your red nose with magic, then you get a very decent look.

That is exactly what I thought when, when leaving the portal, I caught a couple of snowflakes in my palm. Now I sported the black and white fur of an animal unknown to nature. The girls followed my example and conjured luxurious sheepskin coats. Only Aria did not freeze. She took my advice: "What you put on is yours," literally even now it resembled a woolen ball on legs.

— Yes, what's the matter? It's almost summer now! - Voisky was loudly indignant.

In an attempt to keep warm, he jumped high like a kangaroo, pulling his knees to his chest. The rest of the guys looked enviously at the jumping Georg, but could only portray sluggish twitching on one leg.

“This is such a lousy summer here,” I muttered, rubbing my chilled palms.

No, guys, I can't! Compassionate Aria threw up her hands, and the grass turned green under our feet and snowdrops began to bloom.

- Burn it hot!

Voisky's call had an inspiring effect on the adept, and now cacti and unknown thorns were timidly peeking out from under the snow. Georg leaned over, poked one of them with his finger and bared his teeth in a smile:

- Invigorates!

“Aria, did you create a material illusion?” Miss Orton was horrified.

- Yes, that's how it turned out. The girl fluttered her eyelashes guiltily. Don't worry, she won't last long.

“But it doesn’t take long…” I thought gloomily.

Officer Royce, who had gone to report our arrival, was just leaving the building. Noticing what we had turned the courtyard of the garrison into, he froze in half a step, and then angrily kicked the nearest cactus and… howled! It was in vain that the teachers considered Aria a completely unpromising magician. Maybe when you want!

— Adept Lasart!!! roared the incubus.

And why does he always cling to you? Tiana was outraged.

“He just didn’t remember the other names… Poor thing,” I almost sincerely sympathized with Nathan Royce, who had stepped on a camel’s thorn.

The further advance of the officer through the yard resembled maneuvers through a minefield, but when he got to us, Aria lost her nerve:

— Sorry, officer, it's an accident. Usually material illusions do not work for me. I got the credit for them only with the help of…” Here Aria bit her tongue and looked warily at the professor of everyday illusions.

Here Madame Orton was not cold. Her coat was real. In general, there is no justice in this world!

- Can you unlock it? the incubus asked darkly.

“No, no,” the completely unhappy Aria murmured and sniffed loudly.

“Don’t worry, it will dissipate by itself in the morning,” I reassured. “Tell me, do we have to hang around in the cold for a long time?” We might as well freeze.

"And your parents won't like it either?" - Officer Royce clarified caustically and, without waiting for an answer, headed towards a long one-story building: - Why did you freeze? Already frozen? Mind you, snotty, little blue adepts are out of fashion. They don't get married like that.

The very poor man was flattened because of a hint of a possible marriage!

- So we are not eager to go down the aisle right now. We should first get to the local academy. There's more choice!

The officer stumbled out of the blue. An no. I didn't notice the camel thorn again.

Despite the fact that there was not a soul in the garrison courtyard, I had no doubt that we were being watched. The rumor about adepts preoccupied with matrimonial plans will surely scatter around Karagat. Male solidarity compared to female - so, amateur art. Horror to what predictable!

"Officer Royce, bother to explain what's going on!" “It was Mrs. Orton who remembered that she was in charge here. “Wagons and griffins from the academy should have been sent for us.

- No one will come. Overnight at the barracks. Tomorrow we will take you to your destination. Officer Royce turned to us and added with obvious pleasure, “It was proposed to take you to the city and put you up in a hotel, but I cannot allow such pure, gentle and noble creatures to be left unattended. Move or stay without dinner!

The guys picked up things and trudged behind the ghar incubus.

- Dinara, why is he like that? It would be more convenient for all of us in the hotel,” Tiana lamented quietly.

I didn't say that men's logic is sometimes worse than women's. I didn't want to offend my classmates.

I was awakened at night. I was just beginning to fall asleep when I felt something cool, slippery wrapping around my left ankle and pulling insistently. My heart skipped a few beats, and an icy paw of horror tightened my throat, until it dawned on me that this was just a material illusion.

- For weaving the highest score, for the suddenness of the ladies in the eye. Military, you are completely crazy ... - I hissed angrily, trying to regain my breath.

His heart was pounding in his chest, and streams of cold sweat were running down his back. In normal magical schools, boys put screech buttons on girls' chairs and smear them with coloring paste at night, and these stutterers will be made even before they receive a diploma!

Icarus is bad.

Just two words made me jump in bed.

Why didn't you say it right away?

- So you figs get. She lay as if lifeless, only reacted to magic, - Georg smiled guiltily. - Strongly scared?

"You'll find out tomorrow night," I promised vindictively.

The girls and Mrs. Orton were sound asleep, so I wrapped myself in the bedspread, slipped my feet into my shoes, and hurried over to the velvet screen that divided the barracks' sleeping quarters in two. The illusory curtain before going to bed was conjured by Mrs. Orton. At least she was of some use.

Who is this time? I asked in a whisper.

— Nightmares.

- I already understood that, who did he create?

- I already answered. You just don't scream. George handed me a handkerchief.

I nodded in understanding and nibbled on the corner. Better to be safe than to wake up the whole neighborhood with your scream.

In vain, illusionists are considered sissies. Our magic can bring the wildest and most terrifying creatures of the mind to life. Icarus created the nightmares, black balls of smoke from which writhing tentacles protruded. I counted seven, but I knew that this was only the beginning. The deeper the magician's consciousness fell into sleep, the more terrible and numerous his creations became.

Have you tried to wake up? I asked the adepts.

They clustered in a far corner, fenced off by a fiery line. This border was woven from pure power. A normal illusion wouldn't be able to stop the monsters. Nightmares wandered along it, but did not try to cross. They seemed to know that their victims would not be able to hold the barrier indefinitely.

Icarus sat on the bed with his eyes wide open and stared unseeingly ahead of him. The first time I saw him like this for the first time, the guys barely managed to convince me not to rush to the school infirmary. Now, a year later, I knew that the doctors were powerless here. Not a single elixir, even magical, can heal the soul.

“On the count of three,” I warned Voisky. - One, two ... let's go!

I bravely rushed to Icarus, praying that his creations would be intangible. Bright sparks flared at the tips of his fingers. The creatures swirling at my feet became agitated and retreated, they did not like bright light, but he could not drive them away for a long time. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that Georg had managed to get over the luminous line and now, together with everyone else, was feeding it with his magic. I approached Icarus. For some reason, his nightmares, even the most terrible ones, never tried to harm me.

Sitting on the bed, she gently shook the adept. It was completely icy to the touch. With every minute, plunging deeper into sleep, Icarus increasingly lost touch with reality. He was not allowed to move to Karagat at all!

We knew that Icarus was a deserter, but we had no idea why he had fled the army, nor his real name. The guys said that nightmares had plagued Icarus since the first day in the THORN, but before they were harmless shadows slithering in the dark. Over the years of training, the strength of the adept has increased, and the illusions created have improved. Icarus was an extremely talented magician.

Icarus, can you hear me?

I had already seen him plunged into a nightmare more than once, so I knew for sure that neither physical strength nor cold water would help now. I had to talk and persuade Icarus to wake up.

As I touched the guy's face, I was again struck by how cold his skin was. Having spat on decency, she unwound the coverlet and covered us both. Now we were in a dense cocoon, and nightmares wriggled around us like predatory octopuses. One of the tentacles smacked my face. Illusions became material!

There was a muffled scolding from behind, and bright flashes lit up the room - the guys were trying to stop the material nightmares with illusory fireflies.

“Icarus, please don’t set yourself up. If the military of the garrison sees your pets, they will drag them to the magician. I know the cockroaches in your head almost by name, while others simply will not understand.

“Dinara…” A quiet moan escaped his lips.

Next, I caught a noise behind me - the nightmares left the room.

— Yes to you! I hugged Icarus tightly and kissed him.

The method was controversial, but last time it worked with a bang. True, Icarus then shied away from me for two weeks as if I had been told. Thanks to dad for giving birth to such an ugly illusory me.

— Dinara? — The muffled voice of Icarus announced that he was with us again. What are you doing in my bed?

- Fuf! It worked out ... - I muttered into the neck of the adept.

I would gladly crawl away if he finally stopped hugging me. A huge plus that we have a veil, a minus - all illusionists have a great imagination.

“Adept Lasart, when you were concerned about the preservation of your reputation, I could not even imagine that the adherents of the SHIP would have to be rescued first of all.

Icarus finally stopped pretending to be a sticky fish. I rolled clumsily out of bed, wrapped myself in the covers again, and muttered:

- There was nothing. You're an incubus, and you can tell exactly...

“That you were the only one who didn’t have anything,” Officer Royce said tartly.

I looked at Icarus in confusion, but he just looked away. Okay, I'll find out everything tomorrow, and I won't get away!

“Adept Lasart, get dressed and follow me,” Officer Royce ordered in a tone that did not imply objection.

Why is this? Voisky asked menacingly.

- We will deal with the lack of reaction to male hugs.

— Ha-ha! Very funny. Trooper, don't move. He mocks. Icarus, how are you? Everything is fine?

Instead of answering, the guy fell on the bed, and covered himself with a pillow. Ungrateful. I could at least say thank you.

Officer Royce invited me to the garrison commander's office. He was in the next building. When she heard that she would have to go out into the cold of the night, she almost gritted her teeth with anger. So what was it that they were going to tell me that they could not endure until the morning? Icarus' illusions were shattered as soon as the adept awoke, so that Nathan Royce called me obviously not because of them, but the thorns were still pleasing to the eye and feet of those who dared to cross the garrison yard. It's good that I felt the magic from a distance and would not have gotten into it even with my eyes closed. The incubus, who went through this business, ordered to stomp first "out to that porch."

“You know, this is somehow ungentlemanly,” I told him coquettishly.

The man glanced around.

“Do you see a gentleman around here somewhere?”

To spite him, I trudged along the barracks. Although longer, you won't have to serve as a guide for the ghara incubus. While I was wondering how dishonorable it would be to quickly conjure a couple of thorns behind me, a man's hand rested on my shoulder.

- Stop.

- What else?!

- Look under your feet.

It was only then that I noticed that I almost ran into subjects crawling in the dark. They moved slowly along the wall and whispered the name of some potter. An offering had already been prepared for the mysterious creature: a piece of raw meat and a saucer of milk.

“Watchmen Thorn and Lekas, bother explaining what’s going on here!” Nathan Royce barked.

I felt sorry for the commoners. I found something to yell about, and next to the windows of the barracks. Wake up more girls. Despite the harsh cry of the incubus, the rank and file were in no hurry to be horrified and did not rise from the ground. Maybe this Nathan Royce is not the boss at all?

“The spirits of the earth are raging. It would be necessary to appease, ”explained the one holding the saucer of milk in his hands.

“Officer, Lekas is telling the truth. We were just going around the territory, so one of them crawled out from under the barracks and grabbed my leg, then jerked and almost knocked me down!

OU! So, Icarus' nightmares still managed to seep out.

- Got up. Breathe,” the incubus ordered irritably.

- So he will leave without taking a bite. Evil will.

- Do you think I'm kind?

“Yes, you, Essir Royce, are angry as a ghar since you were not taken on patrol, but instead left to look after recruits,” the man grumbled, and then with obvious regret put down the saucer and rose to his feet.

Bending down quickly, Private Thorne exhaled noisily and sharply into the face of the incubus. The onion amber even reached me.

Now Lekas.

- Haven't you sniffed yet? I groaned, pinching my nose. They ate in the same dining room.

“But they didn’t drink ...” Officer Royce announced thoughtfully, as if to himself, as soon as the second private breathed on him.

“Either pour it already, or let it go. And I went. It's cold here. And I rushed to the porch. It's a good thing the private didn't see the grip of the creature that grabbed him by the ankle.

The office of the head of the garrison was locked, so I had to wait for Nathan Royce in the vestibule. At the same time, she threw an illusion suitable for her face. No matter what they told me, I was going to show complete indifference.

"Then why did you warn me?"

I don't know what pissed me off more, the characterization that Ms. Orton wrote out, or the fact that the professor managed to completely ruin my plans for the summer.

- Yes, I noticed a discrepancy and decided to make sure the suspicions were true. You see, Lasart, I have a flair for malicious slobs and violators of discipline. Himself the same.

“And you are not the bosses here,” I dropped, deciding to finally find out the position of Nathan Royce in the Karagat garrison.

- Right. Just a junior essay.

- Who was entrusted with the delivery of adherents of the School of Illusions and Transformation.

- Rather, imposed.

— And for what? I looked inquisitively into the eyes of the incubus.

Will he answer or not?

“Unsuccessfully drove one lady on a service gryphon,” he smiled.

And I knew that smile well. Members of the castle guard exchanged similar items during evening gatherings. Not just a movement of the lips, but a kind of sign indicating a joke for their own. Essier Nathan Royce considered me, if not equal, then at least worthy of his attention.

Was the girl hurt?

The girl turned out to be the daughter of the city treasurer. The incubus couldn't help but smirk. Apparently, the memories of the flight were the most pleasant.

While Essier Royce was in the clouds, I again dived into the depths of my personal file, and the more I read it, the more clearly I saw a way out of this situation.

Gentlemen, battle mages want to see a neat, pedantic crammer? They will get it!

Closing her eyes, she mentally weaved her new image. Before applying an illusion, you need to clearly understand what you want to get as a result. I imagined it one hundred percent, so when I removed the folder from my face, Essier Royce flinched noticeably, and then delivered a verdict:

- Bust. Yes, as soon as they see you, they will finish you out of pity so that you don’t suffer.

I smiled.

— No, Lasart, I'm serious, the local dead are more beautiful than you are now.

“It’s just that I’ve been doing a lot… a lot of work!”