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Firstly, she was scared as she understood the words “I can take your life in one millisecond”. The creature that appeared in her flat was capable of everything. He was unpredictable and whatever he would do nobody would be to blame but herself… if life stayed near.
Then she was suffering from curiosity. She wanted to know everything that was left naked after lifting the curtains for a half of an inch. Victoria craved to open it fully, go backstage and find out ins and outs. But Kharon didn’t come.
‘Where’ve you been?’ her mum was standing in the hall, hands akimbo. ‘I’ve been up half of the night, waiting for you to come back! What’s the matter, Vic?’
‘Mum…’ Victoria unlaced her gumshoes. ‘I’ve been cycling, thinking that you’re sleeping already’
‘Vic!’ her mum said in a severe voice.
‘Mum, I’ve got it. I’m sorry that I made you worry; I didn’t mean to.’
‘What time do you get up?’
‘At 7 am… I’ve got a preparatory meeting before the exam. You?’
‘At 6 am. I’ll be out at 7 am. Shall I call you or you’ll get up?’ the woman softened.
‘I’ll get up. Don’t worry, mum. Go back to bed’
“Why? What did I do wrong? I did the same process exactly to a T, but the place was changed… I don’t believe that he can appear only inside houses! I’m sure that a place doesn’t matter… Then what?”
Almost about an hour Vic was thinking of her actions, trying to find a mistake until she fell asleep. She dreamt about nothing but blackness and silence.
In the morning, Victoria felt low as she didn’t get enough sleep. Of course, night races through the park had taken much strength and time.
She took off the house like a shot from a gun and headed towards Ulitsa 1905 metro station. The weather was good. The sun was behind the clouds and the warm wind was blowing.
Vic was going with half-closed eyes, trying to catch a little sleep. Her subconsciousness convinced her that she was mentally deficient. Being in a depressed state the girl was thinking only of the previous night. She was afraid for her mental state – whether she was healthy? Maybe there was no demon there? Maybe everything that she saw, felt and heard was just a mind game? A dream? Maybe she made up everything and didn’t know how to forget it?
Vic got into the underground, crowded into the third train. It was too crowded, and she couldn’t turn out to be in the carriage without making an effort. Vic held on the hand-rail and closed her eyes, setting her mind on three-hours preparatory meeting before the exam.
‘How’s your finger?’ suddenly a quite whisper penetrated her ear.
It gave her a pretty good jump. Of course, she guessed who was behind her. Her guesses were confirmed when his hands embraced her, giving no chance to turn to him.
‘Hash, don’t be nervous’ Kharon swarmed in her hair with his nose.
Victoria didn’t breathe. Fear conquered her completely. She glimpsed angry faces: nobody paid attention neither to the strong hands, firmly holding the girl nor to her sudden fright, solemnly walking in her eyes.
‘You were summoning me yesterday evening’ the man whispered, holding her tightly. ‘I heard you saying the spell… Blood was on the ground… Fear of cutting your little finger was within you. Schizophrenia diagnoses… Melancholy’
Victoria didn’t blink. Dream, slumber, wish to close hey eyes and all other physical desires disappeared. She got awaken but her mind was glassed. Vic got who was near her and that was all. She couldn’t say a single word, a lump of nerves was in her throat, passion started getting into mind slowly. Through the fear and consternation Vic felt enjoyment. Jesus, she waited for his embrace so much and she feared to confess it.
‘I was busy. Too busy. Victoria, it is Kuznetsky Most station. Shall we go? Here’s a change of line…’
Kharon took her by the hand and led her to the crossing passage.
‘Wait’ Vic finally said something.
‘I am listening to you’ Kharon had a firm hold over her hand and looked into her eyes. ‘Your eyes are of very beautiful olive green. Intense. There is so much life in your eyes’
‘That’s not what I mean!’ Vic interrupted him without expecting such severity from herself, ‘What’s going on?’
The demon withed his head down but kept his eyes on the girl, still holding her hand. They were standing in the middle of Kuznetsky Most metro station. It was rush hour. People hated them. They were pushed and called bad names. They were an obstacle for everyone, but she didn’t care neither did he.
‘Fine,’ Vic insisted, ‘Let’s go’
They left the metro and went to a cafе. Victoria decided to speak to the man… the demon.
‘Two coffees, please’ Kharon said to the first waiter he came upon and went to the table, leading the girl.
‘But…’ the waiter tried to explain something, and nothing came out of that.
Kharon stood up, looked at the man and repeated his order again, added compulsion into his voice.
Vic was at the table, staring at the man in front of her. His amber-brown eyes opalesced and it didn’t matter, that surrounding colour was dull; dark-brown, almost black, hair covered his forehead, he had thick black eyelashes…
Five minutes passed before Vic started speaking.
‘Okay. That’s okay, isn’t it? Is it okay that we’re here just like nothing has happened? Is that okay that some creature from hell is gonna drink a cup of coffee? Would you like a cigarette, maybe?’
‘With pleasure’, Kharon smiled, ‘but no smoking is allowed in the cafе’
‘How do you know? Oh, what a nonsense I’m talking… you know everything!’
‘You know, Victoria, I’m glad that today I’m in Russia, in Moscow. I’m glad that no smoking is allowed in the cafе’
‘What does that mean?’
‘You have to understand you aren’t the first woman in my arms for all these centuries that I have been living’
‘And I do’
‘I heard your voice yesterday, but I couldn’t have dropped everything and run to you… I was adorning a dream of a very sweet madam’
‘You couldn’t have dropped everything?’ Vic grabbed the cup of coffee, hoping that caffeine would wake her wisdom up. ‘I suppose demons must show up as they’ve been summoned.’
‘Oh, no, Dear. We show up to whom we want to. If I’m in a bad mood or busy, or have no desire, I won’t come even if you cut a head of a black rooster’
‘Why did you come to me?’ Vic smiled.
It was her first smile for the last two days. The first smile was in the seducer’s presence from tartar.
Kharon grinned, took the chair and sat closer to the girl. He embraced her a little bit, kissed her lips unceremoniously and smiled again. The demon behaved as if they had been married for a long time already.
Victoria was sitting without moving. The man’s effrontery astounded her as well as her behaviour: why didn’t she put off his hands? Why did she allow him to kiss her? What was going on with her mind?
‘You’re a great interest for me. Your diffident voice, disgusting Latin, cut leg… It has been a while since I saw such an awkward magician’
‘I’m not a magician!’
‘I know. You are a nice, red-haired girl, last-year student. You have got a boy whom you don’t love. You live with your mother and that was the reason why you went to the park yesterday…’
‘So does a demon control his presence? If he wants, he comes, if he doesn’t then he won’t come?
‘Absolutely’
‘Why did you come to me again? I told you I don’t agree to the deal’
‘That remains to be seen. Hm, I am glad that you have stopped being afraid of me, finally’
‘Damn it all!’ Vic couldn’t take it anymore, ‘How’s it possible?!’
‘By the way, every time when you say damn it all, a deuce takes three days out of your life. Be careful with what you’re saying, Babe’
She had a lump in the throat again. Deuces? Were they real?
‘You see, Victoria, deuces don’t take the highest hierarchy step of Hell and do thankless job. They have to please themselves at least’
‘Kharon… Honestly I’m out of sorts. It seemed to me just an illusion, a hallucination. It can’t be. There are no demons and deuces! You’re just kidding me’
‘Oh, really? Then I shall show you what an illusion is’
Kharon took her hand and whispered: ‘Close your eyes’. Vic did and silently was sitting with her eyes closed.
There was a noise of wind. The air was warm. Waves were crushing against the rocks. Victoria opened her eyes. A scared scream came out of her because there was a beautiful sheer drop under her feet, the sea was beneath, maybe it was an ocean, crashing against the highest rock bottom on the top of which the girl was staying.
‘Oh my God!’ Vic screamed, staggering and grabbing Kharon, ‘What the hell, Kharon! I’d have fallen down!’
‘Yes, you would, but you didn’t. Do not forget, it is an illusion. Everything you are looking at, doesn’t exist! All of these is my imagination’s projection. These lovely, ominous waves, churly blasts, messing up your hair, seagulls, a heart-rending screaming and floating in the sky do not exist! Give me your hand’
Kharon smiled and jumped down, dragging the shrieking girl. Vic was considerably scared with her fellow-traveller’s actions. She was afraid of falling, tried to realize that everything was an illusion, but her mind refused to believe in it. Everything looked so real and could be felt. What kind of illusion could it be if there was a salty air in her nose and sounds of nature in her ears and bared feet felt exactly sharp stones of the rock…?
Suddenly Victoria felt her feet buried in burning sand like if she had been put on a spit. Having looked around Vic saw a desert flooded with the sunlight.
‘Ah!’ she cried, shifting her feet.
It was hot. Too hot. Victoria burst herself into Kharon’s arms, stepped on his feet.
‘Hm’, he grinned, embracing and supporting the girl. ‘An illusive desert full of mirages, doubled illusion… Let’s go further!’
Milliards of needles pierced her skin, pain locked her body, fading away, fog was before her eyes. She didn’t feel any life. It was cold. An unbearable cold. There was snow, snowdrifts and ices everywhere and no living soul. It was frozen emptiness…
‘I can’t bear it!’ Vic said chattering, ‘Kharon, please…’
Suddenly they turned out to be in the cafе again. There were no unpleasant physical feelings left but only discrete reminiscence.
‘Now, Dear, you understand what an illusion is, don’t you?’ Kharon hugged the girl and smiled.
Victoria looked at him seriously, studying his extra-terrestrial beauty. He smelled of passion, she wanted to embrace him, she wanted him to embrace her. She was drunk with his charming gaze, gentle lips, velvet voice. Victoria was melting near him.
‘I suggest a deal’ she whispered to him, staring into his amber eyes.
‘A deal? I like it’
‘Yes, you, diabolic dregs, are able to do anything according to a deal…’
‘Diabolic dregs?’ Kharon frowned.
Victoria looked at him being seriously afraid of his next actions. She didn’t know what could happen next, what Antarctica he would throw her in. But Vic was insanely interested in how he would react and what he would do.
Kharon kept on frowning, incinerated the girl with the sly look. Finally, he just smiled.
‘What kind of deal?’ he asked.
‘I want to know what women give their lives for. What do you give them in return?’ the girl’s eyes were burning. ‘I can suggest you live a human life’
‘What does that mean?’ Kharon was looking at the girl imperturbably.
‘That means you will understand what to be a human means’
‘Should I be interested in it? What can be interesting about a human life? Instincts and a couple of clever phrases said for the whole life? A couple of love adventures? Crocodile tears?’
‘Well, you will have a chance to find out.’
‘No, Dear. You cannot have a deal in such a way. I named the price and gave you a right to choose. For the thing that you suggest I can give only platonic love. You will be able to feel body physics only after deal is concluded’
‘You’re so stubborn’ Vic smiled.
‘No, that’s not the point. This is a law and I must follow it. I do my job’
‘Even now?’
‘No, we are drinking coffee now not lying in bed’
‘I saw a spell which could tether you to me…’ Vic gave a hint and scarcely smiled.
The demon smiled, too and a burning flame appeared in his eyes. Kharon squeezed her hand and couldn’t take his eyes off her.
‘A spell which can tether me, right?
‘Yeah’ the girl answered shyly.
‘There are no such spells, dear. Everything that you find in books, internet, in manuscripts is just a described collaboration between the human world and ours. If a demon is in love with an earthborn woman then he certainly can be tethered to her. If he is bored and suddenly hears a tethered spell, he can pretend to be tethered just for fun. But when a demon is tired of the game, human dies. Mostly such kind of spells are executed for boredom. Believe me: it is not always possible to get a demon interested in you’
‘Does it mean that I have no chance to get you to experiment?’
‘There is always a chance. Get me. By the way, your preparatory meeting is over in 15 minutes. The professor has been asked the last question’
