Lica woke up because a fresh breeze was cooling a skin on her ear. The girl opened her eyes and looked around. She saw Arthur beside her, leaning on a pillow and slowly blowing on her.
"Prince?" Angelica surprised. "What are you doing?"
"I'm trying to wake you up. But you enjoyed a balmy sleep so much that I would not risk just call you. It's time to meet with your friends."
"Okay," nodded Lica. "I am ready, so we can go right now."
"Would you like to have breakfast?"
"Oh, no! Yesterday I ate so much that I wouldn't be hungry for a long time."
"Well, let's go downstairs. Our horses are waiting for us!"
Angelica got up, shook the hair and went after Arthur.
While they were coming, the Prince gave final instructions to his servants. In the yard he helped Lica to climb on the horse, and after that jumped on his horse.
"Well, come on!" he said, and pulled the reins.
The riders left the yard and raced toward Sleepy Lake. The Vampire's Prince's face became cold again. Angelica felt as if all that happened in Arthur's room at night was only her dream! Suddenly the girl's horse neighed and she heard neighing ahead.
"They have been already waiting for us," said the Prince.
Indeed, soon they saw the silhouettes of two riders under a tall spreading tree. Shortly afterwards Angelica and Arthur came up to them. It was Swein and Edward.
"Hello, Prince, and thank you for having saved my soul from the Well of Oppression," said Prince Night.
"Do not thank me, but my lovely companion," the Lord of Vampires said coldly.
"Of course," Edward smiled.
He came closer to the girl and said:
"And thank you, my lovely Angelica!"
With these words, the Prince kissed Lica's hand. Arthur's eyes glared unkindly and Swein only screwed his face into a smile.
"Prince, I think we are not here to exchange pleasantries," the Vampire said coldly.
"Yes, Prince! The circumstances are such that we are forced to ask your help. I think Angelica has already put you in the swing of things, and it is not necessary to explain you everything in details."
"Of course!" the Vampire nodded. "But you and the Goblins' King haven't known yet where I and Angelica had been. We went into the Well of Oppression, to find the answer for the question - how to get the evil back into the abyss? The result was very disappointing... Our armies can fight with the evil in the form of monsters endlessly, but we will never overcome them. In order to lock the evil spirits in the abyss, you need to find the sorcerer who will agree to seal the way from the other world into ours with his soul. He must be a pagan, capable to control the elements. Usual people here are helpless in this case."
"We didn't know that," Swein said slowly.
"Yes..." the Prince Edward said. "It significantly changes our plans. We have already been ready to attack and were only waiting for your decision, Prince."
"I will agree to join your army, if only you find a sorcerer! Otherwise, I see no reason to settle my men hash."
"Gentlemen, I'm sorry, that I am chopping into men's conversation," loudly said Angelica, "but I can see only one way out – we should first go to Margo!"
Men looked at each other.
"But Margo is not a pagan!" said Swein.
"Wait, she is right," said Edward. "The main thing is that Margo is the witch. Who, if not her, knows all the sorcerers?"
"Margo?" the Vampires' Prince Surprised. "Are you talking about the witch who lives on the other side of the kingdom?"
"Yes, we are, Prince!" Angelica smiled. "She has known you as well and told me a lot of good things about you."
The Lord looked at Lica and grinned.
"Well, gentlemen! We need to make a decision!" the Prince Edward said. "Prince, why don't we go all together to the witch right now?"
"No, save me from that," the Vampire smiled. "We have already met once, and we had a little misunderstanding. So ride to the witch without me. And I will go back to the castle to prepare for the war. When you find the sorcerer and specify the war date, send me a messenger. I will join your army. Just hurry up! The old evil will not wait long."
"Of course, Prince. It is in our common interest," said Edward. "We are leaving immediately."
"Prince, I'll go with you! I need to talk to Margo!" Lica said quickly.
The Vampires' Prince approached the girl, kissed her hand and said quietly:
"Goodbye, Angelica! I hope you will not forget about our conversation?"
"No!" the girl promised him.
The Vampire said goodbye to the Goblins' King and Prince Edward, turned his horse and rode away.
"If it is not a secret, what conversation?" asked Swein riding closer.
"And that's really personal!" Lica retorted.
"I see you are too independent," continued speaking maliciously Swein. "Did not even afraid to go out of the cave at night..."
The girl blushed, but said nothing.
"Okay, Swein, enough!" the Prince Edward laughed. "And you, Angelica, I want to say that we were worried about you, when you suddenly disappeared from Margo's house."
"I had a reason, Prince," said Lica and stared at Swein.
He did not look away. So they looked at each other for a long time. She could not understand what now prevails in her heart for Swein - love or hatred?!
"Stop it!" the Prince Night said loudly. "We do not have time for sorting your relationships out now. Swein, show us the way to Margo!"
The Goblins' King nodded and silently turned his horse. He rode along the Sleepy Lake and Prince with the girl followed him. Edward caught up with Lica and remarked:
"We are lucky! Swein has found a new enchanted path that will lead us straight into the mountains. And the cave of the sorcerer is at hand."
"Brilliant! Frankly, I'm awfully tired these days, especially the trip into the Well of Oppression."
"But why did you go there? Didn't the Lord stop you?"
"On the contrary, he insisted that I followed him. The fact is that there is Hell Valley in the Well."
"Oh yes, I remember this place!" the Prince smiled. "It's the most wonderful place in the whole of the Underworld. There you can meet the Viatores."
"Do you know about them?" Angelica amazed.
"Of course! After all, I have spent a lot of time in the Well... Unfortunately; the Viatores do not contact with the restless souls."
"And neither do they with heartless creatures, like the Prince of Vampires," said Lica. "That is why the Prince insisted on my presence there."
"Are you saying you have talked to the Viatore?" the Prince Night surprised.
Swein heard Edward and Angelica's conversation and slightly slowed his horse.
"I tried to persuade them to help us."
"I have also heard about the Viatores," chimed in the Goblins' King. "They said to watch the play between good and evil and never interfere."
"That's true," Lica agreed. "But I managed to convince one of them that now the superiority on the side of the evil. He promised to come to the battlefield and balance our forces."
"Wow!" even more astonished the Prince. "I just admire your intelligence and courage!"
He approached Lica and kissed her hand again. At this time, a thick fog enveloped the riders.
"We are in the enchanted path," said Swein.
For some time they were riding in silence. Soon the fog got dissipating and the riders came to the mountains.
"Excellent!" Edward exclaimed. "It looks like the path has not changed its direction yet, and we are exactly where we need."
"Yes," the Goblins' King nodded. "We only need to go down and around this mountain."
He dismounted and took the horse by the bridle.
"Angelica, get down!" Swein grinned. "You cannot ride here."
Edward and Lica got down from horses and also walked leading their horses. The slope was quite steep. Horses were neighing and setting their hooves against. Here and there small stones were rolling down. Finally, the Goblins' King showed them out to a narrow footpath. They were going much easier now and the animals calmed down a bit. Our heroes were rounded the mountain and came straight to the cave of the sorcerer.