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Being like hypnotized Victoria opened her mouth and started speaking. The things she was speaking made already surprised Kharon sit up and take notice. Fortunately for him, Akton had been still in artificial deafness created by Lucifer and he saw and heard nothing but the moves of the mouth.
Victoria was speaking in Latin. With each word her voice became more confident and stronger. Her speech didn’t stammer a word like if the girl came out of the Era of Caesar, from the Senate, filled with incomparable eloquence and metaphors. Kharon heard just stunningly beautiful Latin speech, understanding every word like it had been before in the days of Caesar when the demon had lived also, but he wasn’t able to catch the meaning. Lucifer, having frozen smile on his lips, realized that the witch was plotting one of the most powerful, ancient spell-protection against him. He was more fascinated with the way Victoria made the spell: her eyes didn’t blink and move but looked straight into Lucifer’s ones; they knew no fear in contrast to the whole body; her lips were whispering the endless text; her voice like a voice of a nightingale was so feminine and magnetic.
‘Lucifer…’ Kharon called softly.
In reply The Fallen Angel waved his hand, intently watching her whispering lips. Then he lifted up his hand and turned his palm up to Victoria. On his open palm a ball burning with fire was born, having inside lightings fulgurated. With admire and inspiration Lucifer was looking at the lighting ball and the whispering lips. Nobody in the cafе seemed to be noticing anything unusual. All were busy with their own business. Maybe Lucifer didn’t want them to notice…
Suddenly Victoria stopped speaking, took a deep breath, blinked her eyes, trying to see something through a veil before her eyes.
‘I can’t anymore…’ she said barely above a whisper.
‘Goo try, Sunshine!’ Lucifer blew out the fire-ball on his palm and flicked the ashes. ‘I’d have been to be covered with fire, haven’t I? Next time, dear, next time.’
Victoria breathed hard, still experienced worry and fear of The Lord of Hell. But she had no strength to be consumed fully by panic.
‘I’ve been glad to see you, Kharon.’ Lucifer waved at the frozen demon. ‘And you, Sunshine,’ he came closer to the girl. ‘You’ve seen nothing. We haven’t met today. You’ve just come in and seen Kharon. See you.’
He looked mockingly round the girl, snapped his fingers before her nose and having grabbed Akton, disappeared.
‘Kharon!’ Victoria exclaimed, having seen the man.
The demon was totally frustrated. The thing he had seen made him be speechless. Honestly, he got nervous. While he was looking at Victoria his seriousness didn’t face any limits. The true witch was before him and five minutes ago she had tried to set fire on Lucifer.
The evening was brooding. For a long time the girl tried to find out what was wrong with the man, but he made excuses too skilfully use them in response.
Victoria told him nothing about her work, Gregory and his too frequent appearance in her life. She was still na?ve to think that Kharon would be nervous because of another man in the girl’s life. Partially she connected the demon’s decadent mood with it. She was unaware that demons couldn’t love, feel and they didn’t know what jealousy meant. They knew nothing about those emotions in relation to a human. Between them they could plunge themselves into argument whom this victim belonged. But to plunge into people’s emotions was no way for them. Lowest, primitive, knowing and seeing nothing creatures that was most of the demons thought of people. But who could explain it to the girl in love? She wanted to get mutual feelings. But she didn’t get them. She had to compensate for missing with her fantasy about that the demon would be angry if he had found out his rivals in love was coming.
In his turn Kharon tried to get all that human grab bag of feelings. But that night he studied the girl who had been spelling. After it he had a pull of questions. Kharon was patient to wait for Victoria to fall asleep and she didn’t make him wait for a long time. The girl quickly went to Morpheus, as she was unbelievably tired as if she had been working for a month with no weekends, waking up at 4 am every day. Of course, it was stupid for her to vie with Lucifer himself. But that was just desperate desire of the witch’s spirit whom Victoria knew still nothing. She didn’t even guess about it. Thanks to sagacious Lucifer she didn’t still understand anything.
‘What the hell was that?’ Kharon unceremoniously burst into his Lord’s apartment.
The Morning Star was sitting near the window with a mysterious smile looking at the silent valleys behind the horizon. It was night. There was a bloody big moon on the sky. There were no stars but only one too far from the Moon. It was the Sun with its solar system. There was the Earth. It was so far that the dim light could hardly be seen in the black canvas of the sky.
There were the highest grey mountaintops on the horizon. They seemed to be so whitish because of the fallen night. Kharon was sure that in ancient times the scene from Lucifer’s apartments had been always fascinating.
‘I’ve been waiting for you, my friend.’ The Lord was still looking at the window. ‘I felt you thinking and raving about the meeting with me, while for the whole evening your Sun was dreaming not to provoke you to be jealous. Well, you’re here and I’m listening to you.’ Lucifer turned away from the window and looked at Kharon.
‘I wanna know what it was in the cafе?’
‘This could not be much clearer. Want some coffee?’ he poured coffee for Kharon and him. ‘Look. There’s a girl and a gift that she got from the witch. As the girl and the gift are coexisting separately the thing that has happened today can happen. Victoria as a human feels a great fear for our world. Actually, for me. Certainly, it’s ok! I’d have been surprised if she doesn’t. Her gift activated defence reaction. Instinctively. It has no brain and doesn’t understand that any enchantment on me… is just nothing but funny.’
‘Lucifer, your palm was in fire. What’s funny?’ Kharon took his cup.
‘It was a defence spell. I was supposed to be fully covered with fire. Like in a cupola. For this time the witch would have a chance to run away and fire and smoke smell would hide her tracks. There would be nothing I can do, I wouldn’t be able to retrace her.’
Lucifer shrugged his shoulders and smiled. He obviously liked playing with witches, which was certainly not the case of Kharon. He was suspicious as he had met witches only in beds while they had been sleeping. And he had never met a witch to be in love with him.’
‘Do you think it’s safe to provoke the witch in such a way?’
‘I do, it is. Moreover, it’s very alluring. You shouldn’t be worrying as this girl loves you more than her own life.’
‘What’s your interest in it?’
‘I’m always glad to have fun with people. They’re so funny and like babies. You can say them whatever you want and having added the miracle item – it’s beneficial, we get their souls. And people in love are indescribable miracle. I had no need to speak about benefits to Victoria. She didn’t care about it. She just wanted to get you. And she did it. You’re like a rainbow for her.’
Kharon was carefully listening to Lucifer, drinking his coffee, grown up in his place of his own birth, with different taste.
‘Honestly I don’t remember any witch to be in love with you.’ The demon said. ‘How can you be so sure about Victoria?’
‘You’re right, my friend. I have never had a witch who was really in love with me, but I have had women. Women and witches are almost the same. I got on the right side of them and I think you’ll do, too. If you need my help, remember I’m at your disposal.’
‘Of course, I do, Lucifer. How does Akton feel about what he’s seen?’
‘He remembers nothing but one of my most perfect lectures about why he’s forbidden to leave our world.’
‘What if he disobeys again?’
‘Again?’ Lucifer gave Kharon a serious look. ‘I’ll have to divest him of his wings. You know what it means as he does. Certainly, he knows about sanctions, if he dares dispense with my law. Don’t worry Kharon, I’m not a tyrant. I just want my orders to be executed. I’ll let Akton walk in human world definitely as soon as he is ready for it. But it’s not now.’
‘Lucifer,’ the demon said dully, ‘can I ask you a question, away from the certain subject?’
‘I’m listening.’
Lucifer was sitting at the living wooden table, legs of which rooted into the ground from the many-thousands-old oak. The table top was a perfectly turned marble slab of rich black colour. Kharon was sitting opposite on the same chair stylized like the table.
‘Am I able to fall in love?’
The smile quickly faded away from Lucifer’s face. He frowned, rose from the chair and walked about the huge room.
‘I’ve confused you, I’m sorry!’ Kharon rose too.
‘Don’t be, my friend, but your question really made me upset. I’m sorry but I want to know the reason of this question. Can you answer me?’
‘Yes. I’m living with people and many of them are in love with each other. So, this feeling… I wonder if I am able to feel it on my own not on Victoria and having felt her love?’
‘Actually, I’ve never met myself any incubus in love. And I’ve never heard of any…’
Lucifer’s answer surprised Kharon a bit: it was too simple. His Lord never answered like this.
‘Never?’
‘Never. But it means nothing. It doesn’t mean there are no any of them. I can’t meet and know everything what happened before! In our world there’s a definition of love and I know it exactly but I’m not sure that all our habitants are able to be in love. At least I didn’t give love to everyone. It’s the same about people. Not all of them can love and they take a one-sided view that’s gonna be differ from the view of those who faced love before.’
‘Have you ever been in love?’ Kharon asked.
‘I’ll not play cunning, my friend!’ The Lord smiled. ‘Once I face love. She was very beautiful girl. She died. For a long time I couldn’t get over her disappearance, I annoyed to magicians and witched asking them for help. Alas, there are no winners against the death neither here nor by my father. The death makes all be equal.’
‘How did you get that you were in love?’ Kharon was very interested in how that pathetic feeling could be born.
‘Kharon,’ The Fallen Angel smiled and came up to the demon. ‘If you are in love, you’ll get it. It’s a dawn in the human world. You should go back to your Sun.’
‘You’re right.’
Kharon got up, thanked his friend for his treatment and Lucifer called him when the demon was near the doors.
‘You’ve been in the cinema. How did you like it?’
‘It’s the best I have ever seen.’ The demon smiled and disappeared.
Victoria was sleeping like a log with no moves for the whole night. Kharon had time to get to bed in second when the alarm clock went off.
‘Jesus…’ Victoria whispered through the cooling down dream. ‘This is the latest day…’
Kharon was lying with his eyes closed, pretended to be sleeping. The girl started being ready for work, having left the sleeping man in lulling cosiness of the morning obelisk.
The demon was thinking about Lucifer’s words for a long time, analysing all people in love whom he had seen. He was too interested in how love worked. With his arguments he didn’t notice him fall asleep. Through his dream Kharon felt the warm lips, gently kissing his cheek, his should and the pleasant whisper, telling about love. Still glowing in his endless dreams beyond human’s control, Kharon took the morning kiss of Victoria.
25
October 2013 (Friday)
That was the end of the second month of the girl’s unlikely love and the demon. Victoria fell in love more and more and was only glad that the man allowed to love himself, and sometimes he even very well played.
Everyday Victoria worked, trying to avoid her persevering manager, soothing her memories and imagination with recent pictures of being together with Kharon.
The demon with all his might hanged out with girls. He studied Moscow quickly and well. He had favourite places where he could have time. He had places which he hated and nothing in the world would make him be there. He sometimes was bored: Victoria worked all days long.
Kharon decided to meet a girl and contribute his energy store. He loved Vic… in the bed. He loved her madly. He believed in this love. The problem was that Victoria needed more time to recover strength. That was the reason why they didn’t sleep in bed only three times in a month. For Kharon who got from women everything he wanted and not once, to fornicate three times in a month wasn’t a few it was nothing. And if his hungry thoughts were covered by the first month of being with people then by the end of the second month his nature gained the upper hand. He gave the look at other girls more often.
It was almost afternoon when the demon opened his eyes. The sun was shining through the window, the world seemed to be so warm that the demon smiled, looking at the window.
Drinking hot flavoured coffee, the man was near the window and examining how Moscow was getting ready for lunch. He took his cell waiting to see some beautiful pictures and nice message from Victoria. Every morning on her way to work the girl took pictures of something interesting and sent it to Kharon with the next confession under. That afternoon the demon studied the smartphone but there was nothing. The absence of a picture confused him a bit but not enough to make him panic.
Kharon slowly buttoned his shirt, looking at his unshaven face in the mirror. He didn’t like shaving so much! He considered it a very serious punishment for a human and couldn’t understand what for. There could be only two days without shaving and it was not much! But there was bristle on his face again.
A music which the demon didn’t know to exist made him distract from looking, touching and rethinking of his life. Having frowned Kharon studied Victoria’s phone and an incoming call on the display.
‘Victoria’s phone!’ he took the call, listening to the answer.
‘Thanks God!’ a happy sigh and chuckle were heard. ‘I thought I’ve lost my phone. Kharon, what a happiness that I’ve left it at home.’
‘Hello, dear.’ Kharon was serious.
He was confused as usual with Victoria’s wordings. What a bag of words “Thanks God” in relation to the demon! It made him angry and he couldn’t and didn’t want to calm down.
‘What’s wrong with your voice?’ Vic immediately understood only by his intonation that something went wrong.
‘Honestly Vic, I don’t still understand why I’m supposed to listen to it.’
‘What’s it?’ the girl got confused, digging in her mind, remembering what an insult she said.
‘Heh, dear, same old Vic.’ the man smiled being upset.
‘Are you about “Thanks God”?’ Vic spluttered with laughter. ‘This is just a parenthesis. It has no meaning. All people say it independently on their being of passionate believer or atheist. You shouldn’t pay attention. If you’re upset with it, I’ll certainly exclude it out of my lexicon. Don’t worry…’
‘Where shall I meet you?’ Kharon ignored all the girl’s arguments and excuses.
‘Umph… At 7 pm at Kuznetsky Most metro station. If something changes, I’ll call you… But if you have something changed, I’ll not know about it… Oh, my god! Put down my work phone number.’
‘Don’t worry nothing’s gonna be changed. I’ll be waiting for you at Kuznetsky Most at 7. I know your work phone number.’
‘I love you…’ Victoria smiled.
There was silence in respond. As usual Kharon didn’t know what to say.
‘Fine,’ the girl grinned, ‘I’m not gonna torture you. Don’t make up what to say. I just love you.’
Victoria hanged up and looked at the window with the smile on her lips.
‘Victoria!’
The girl gave a shiver and turned around. Gregory was near her.
‘You’ve scared me.’ Vic lowered her eyes and got up.
‘Let’s go to my office. Take your laptop.’
Gregory ordered and went ahead. Vic walked behind him already hating next two hours…
Kharon fingered Victoria’s phone, looking through the photos. All her phone was full of his photos: he slept, his eyelashes, his eyes, he smiled, mysteriously looked at the window, wet after being in the rain, with tea at the kitchen. Mostly Kharon didn’t see Victoria take pictures of him. He was tired to scroll up volumes of his photos.
The display turned on with bright colours and Vasilisa’s picture appeared on it. The demon smiled and accepted the call.
‘Victoria’s phone.’
There was silence on the phone and quiet sighs of breathing of surprise.
‘Kharon?’ Vasilisa finally started speaking.
‘Good morning, Vasilisa.’
‘Hi… Is Vic there?’
‘She’s at work and has left her phone at home. What can I do for you?’ Kharon closed his eyes and the imagine of the girl came into his mind.
The wild lock or ponytail of chestnut hair, oversized sweatshirt, running down her shoulder, the strap of which was on her wrist; leggings cut up like shirts… Her eyes were filled with happiness and satisfaction.
‘Yes… I’m just gonna have a walk with her in the evening, we’ve not seen for a long time.’
