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Meanwhile, the flame crackled satiated, unobtrusively illuminating the companion’s face and his naked torso. Instincts stirred again in the body, but I did not have time to figure out what was happening when the male lips touched mine. However, whether Eitan himself understood anything is also a question. Recent worries, a nightly vigil, the excitement of a chase, the euphoria of a dropped spell – such an explosive mixture will confuse anyone. In addition, the closeness of people like me weakens the framework in which people push themselves to meet the requirements of society. True, I tried to keep my natural abilities in check – I put my own limits on myself, so to speak – but maybe I let go for a while.
I didn’t return the kiss. I had not been on earth for too long, and out of habit this occupation seemed strange to me. But Eitana’s neck was wrapped around willingly. He looked into my eyes, apparently trying to figure out this discrepancy and determine the degree of my favor. And, probably, he saw something that allowed him to continue. However, he did not repeat the bad experience. Gently, like a puppy looking for milk, his lips touched my forehead, temple, crown. The body responded with sweet languor. I inhaled deeply the disturbing, stupefying smell of a male body, purred contentedly and, slightly arching, greedily licked his skin.
If I told him now who he really is, Eitan would probably run as fast as he could in horror, deciding that they were going to feast on his flesh. But the guy had no idea who he was contacting, and therefore, exhaling noisily, he took my chin, forcing me to raise my head. The vicious half-smile seemed to please him. He rubbed his earlobe a little with his lips, gradually descended lower and clung to his neck, like a vampire. Of course, I would have felt a real vampire, and this guy had other goals, but the comparison still seemed appropriate. A wave of trembling ran through my body, a sense of anticipation bubbling over like waves at high tide. I did not deny myself a long sweet moan. There is no reason for me to adhere to anyone else’s framework and ideas of decency.
Of course, such a reaction only provoked the man, he began to pave the path of greedy kisses lower and lower, lowered his dress, dug his lips into his bare shoulder and made an attempt to get to his chest. Sweet anticipation mixed with irritation: if he starts treating all parts of my body so carefully, we won’t be able to manage it until morning! I wanted to grab him by the collar, shake him a couple of times and force him to proceed to the main thing, even if he refuses. It’s strange, I’ve never been so impatient before. It seems that the long absence on earth and the new shell had an effect.
Of course, I didn’t shake the poor fellow, but I realized that I had to take matters into my own hands, and, resolutely pulling off my dress, threw it onto the nearest branch. It seems that it turned out to be farther than an ordinary woman could throw, but, thank the prince of Darkness, Eitan did not pay attention to such trifles now. For some time I let him play with my breasts, ready to howl like a wolf from the delay, but at the same time receiving from it an incomprehensible, not otherwise masochistic, pleasure. Feeling his body, she scratched her back with her claws, raised her finger to her mouth, licked a drop of warm blood, and her eyes were literally covered with a veil of fog. Fortunately, the partner himself was not going to hesitate.
At the moment of penetration, I almost rolled my eyes in pleasure. The tension began to rise again. I wrapped my legs around the man’s hips, wrapped my arms around my back, where new scratches were likely to appear. The pace intensified, the sharpness of feelings reached its highest point, it was no longer waves, but a tsunami, a powerful barrier from the outside world, depriving everything that was going on there, beyond it, of meaning. And then, as if abruptly, the spring compressed to the limit was released, releasing the accumulated tension. Our bodies shook with trembling, and then came a blissful peace. And the dream came very quickly.
When I woke up, the disk of the sun had risen high enough to lose the redness of dawn. Rashtang stood nearby and pretended to nibble grass, as befits a decent horse. In fact, he continually sniffed and flared his nostrils, as if he smelled the smell of blood.
I jumped up, because it was not very pleasant to lie on the thorny grass. She dusted herself off and only then noticed Eitan. He froze a few yards away from me, his eyes flashing with anger, as if he had identified the criminal. Really guessed about my demonic origin?
– Are you a virgin! He breathed accusatory in response to my questioning look.
Oh you… Now something became clear. And increased interest in rashtanga, and reddish spots on the grass. Needless to say, I didn’t feel anything. And completely forgot about it. But, if you think about it, in this particular body I have never dealt with men – until last night.
– Not anymore, – I shrugged nonchalantly.
– And what did it all mean? – the guy breathed out. From my point of view, much more emotional than it should be. Did you set everything up from the very beginning? What do you want? For me to marry you? I, as an honest person, now have to do this, right?
– Uuu, it seems someone has developed a fad after yesterday, – I drawled knowingly. – Don’t worry, honest man, not all the women of this world are tempted to take you as their husband. So don’t suffer.
Now he looked at me less confidently, but still extremely suspicious. I stepped forward, still naked, and held out my hand in his direction.
– Do you have a sword? Or at least something more or less spicy?
– Why?
Eitan seemed desperate to guess what actions to expect from my person.
– I want to kill you so that no one gets it, – in the tone -What is incomprehensible here? – I responded.
He pursed his lips in displeasure: who would like it when they laugh at him?
– The sword was left with my dear failed father-in-law. It was not to be dragged with him to the wedding. There is a dagger.
The sword, then, is not allowed at the wedding, but the blade is shorter – please? Another incomprehensible human invention. But in principle, I didn’t care: a dagger would do, even more convenient.
– Come here.
Eitan, for the sake of order, drilled me a little more with his eyes, but then he nevertheless bent down to his belt, which was still lying on the ground, pulled the weapon from its scabbard and handed it to me. Without thinking or hesitating, I made a rather deep cut on my wrist. Rashtang snorted, blood streamed profusely down his arm and dripped onto the grass. Red on green is a beautiful combination, especially when both symbolize life. No, not even that: it is life itself.
– I swear before the Prince of Darkness that I will not marry you, – I announced solemnly. – Let the scar that will remain on my arm be evidence of this. – Then she went up to the stunned Eitan and, putting the hilt into his palm, inquired in a casual tone: – Will it fit?
– You’re definitely not normal, – he shook his head, looking at my back as I pushed the muzzle of the rashtang away and walked towards my dress.
I snorted, not much quieter than my imaginary horse had just before.
– It seems to me that you are all crazy here.
– Who are we? Eitan asked in bewilderment and even looked around just in case. Couldn’t find anyone but a rashtang, and summed it up with conviction: “You’re strange.”
Chapter 4
Town was the next town we passed through. I had to lay a decent hook to get there. Yesterday we took a major detour as we focused on getting away from the chase and then on the feeling of driving fast. As for me, everything is fine, but now I had to make up for lost time, returning to civilized places. My companion, who had an unplanned escape from the wedding, needed some things. I also didn’t mind buying something (for example, getting a change of clothes), but, most importantly, I needed to hone my skills in communicating with people and living in a human settlement in general. I hoped not to draw attention to myself by the strangeness and inadequacy of actions (from the perspective of the natives) by the time we got to Thornfolk.
Town was not much different from Ville, except that it was a little larger. The same narrow streets, only a few of which were honored to be paved with uneven stones. The same arcs of wooden bridges over small rivers. The same area in front of the central city temple with a high black spire that cut into the sky like a sharp spear. True, here, in addition, there was a small fountain depicting a strange pyramid of fish, which for some reason took it into their head to jump one on top of the other. A thin trickle of water flowed from the upper mouth.
– Maybe I’ll wait here, – I said cheerfully, dipping my hand into the pool to wash my face after the dusty drive.
My companion was impatient to go to the local church. He explained the reason: they say, he wants to thank the Prince of Light for his happy salvation from marriage. For my part, I did not understand two things: firstly, what did the Prince of Light have to do with it, and secondly, why it was necessary to drag oneself to the temple for this. Well, I would say “Thank you!” in his heart – and that’s it, he went to do urgent business. So no, Eitan insisted, moreover, he got it into his head to invite me with him.
– Why? he asked in bewilderment. A naive reaction that made me irritably raise my eyes to the sky. – This is not for long, and in the local temple, they say, there are very beautiful frescoes. And it seems that some kind of relic is kept, I don’t remember exactly, it seems, something related to the prophet Jokin.
I burst out laughing. I remember this prophet, he was still a bore. I wonder what they have here and whether it is genuine.
– And besides, there are not so many visitors here, everyone will stare at you, – Eitan gave another argument.
All the arguments together made me reluctantly agree. But I approached the church slowly and reluctantly. The companion kept turning around, stopping, waiting for me to catch up with him, and frowned in surprise. However, he did not attach much importance to my slowness: he must have decided that I was tired from the road.
Fortunately, when we crossed the threshold (an act that was not easy for me), he went about his business: he went to one of the places reserved for prayer, drew an invisible circle with his index finger in the center of his forehead, and knelt down. I began to slowly inspect the interior. I felt extremely tense. No, there was no threat to me here. I could not crumble into dust, take the form of a wild beast, or squeal from the unbearable simultaneous prayer of dozens of the righteous. All this is nothing more than fiction and superstition. I just felt uncomfortable – as a guest who entered a house without asking, where he was not welcome.
I cautiously glanced at the statue of another angel. I hope the one on it is not looking at me now with a malicious smile. They say that, Arafel, you can’t cope without us, even showed up here? I had to tighten my lips, take a deep breath and walk past. Well, where are the relics of Yokin distributed here? I have to look at them, since that’s the way it is.
Suddenly, one of the old women praying quietly to the side, short, hunched over and, it seemed, barely moving, started up and pulled away from me with an expression of horror and at the same time determination on her wrinkled face.
– Get lost, you filthy one! she exclaimed, and began to furiously draw circles with her finger. First on her forehead, which would have been fine, but then she reached for mine.
The circle, the perfect form, was considered the symbol of the Prince of Light. By itself, the sign did not bother me, but the introduction into my personal space – very much so. It’s good that we were in a dark corner, the temple was generally rather poorly lit: the effect of narrow windows with colored stained-glass windows.
– What’s the matter with you, auntie? – I asked irritably, deviating and at the same time trying to unravel the reason for such a peculiar reaction.
She has no way of knowing who I am, so why…
And then my eyes fell on another element of the church interior, a rectangular mirror, divided into four equal multi-colored squares – green, yellow, red and blue. This combination also contained some kind of symbolism, but since colors are an illusory concept and exist exclusively in the perception of individual living organisms, I understood this issue poorly. Another thing is important: even if colored, the glasses have not lost their usual properties. And I, here’s the trouble, I’m not reflected in the mirrors.
Of course, when I went to earth, the master and I took care of this: thanks to my physical shell, I could be seen in an ordinary mirror. But in the church, in the house of the Prince of Light, our tricks did not work. And what kind of angel drew me to come here?! And, most importantly, how observant the old woman got!
– Get lost, dirty, get lost! – she did not let up at all.
I looked around warily, not wanting to attract everyone’s attention.
– Which of us is cleaner is still unknown, – I muttered in response.
– Get out! Scatter!
The old woman drew circles so desperately that I wondered how her finger hadn’t fallen off yet. It seems to be much stronger than it seems at first glance. Suddenly, she seemed to have a brilliant idea. Digging into her purse, she pulled out nothing less than a pre-peeled head of garlic.
– Wonderful! Do you have rye bread in there too? I asked, but the woman did not even think to listen.
Instead, she shoved a whole clove into her mouth – and did not even wince! – the rest began to wave in front of my very nose.
– Garlic will drive out all the evil spirits from the holy temple! she hissed with conviction.
– You will expel everyone from the temple with such a smell, including the priest, – I retorted with no less conviction.
I got tired of all these dancing and waving in order, so, unable to stand it, I grabbed the old hag by the scruff of the neck and dragged me to the exit. She did not weigh too much, and I have plenty of strength, if I do not deliberately restrain myself within the limits of human capabilities. Once on the street and briefly looking around, I considered that the square was too close to the temple, and, therefore, it would be more correct to transport the ardent zealot of the faith somewhere far away so that she probably would not dash back.
Suddenly, someone grabbed my shoulder.
– Hey, Arafel, what are you doing?!
– What you need! I said through my teeth. – I’m moving the old woman to the other side of the street. It seems that you consider it a good deed!
– But not when she’s holding back! – Eitan was outraged.
– Yes? OK. Maybe you’re right somewhere, – I admitted, thoughtfully watching how the released old woman fled with all her might. She doesn’t seem to need help. Runs good! I think she looks ten years younger.
– What’s wrong with her?
My companion, frowning, looked after the receding supplicant.
I shrugged vaguely.
– Looks like I’m a good influence on people. Well, did you finish your communication with the prince? Can we keep going?
– Yes. Of course.
Eitan threw a last glance in the direction where the old woman had already disappeared from sight, and followed me to the waiting rashtang.
The monastery walls – stone, massive, in places overgrown with moss, obviously built a long time ago and ready to be tortured not only by a siege, but also by time – met us surprisingly friendly. The sun was setting, there were no other places to sleep in the area, and we decided to knock here. It was generally accepted that in such places they are always happy to feed the traveler and provide him with an overnight stay.
The gate was indeed opened quickly. The nun, a woman of forty or forty-five years old, in a traditional black dress with white inserts and a matching black and white apostle, greeted us very kindly, invited us inside and promised peace and shelter. We didn’t ask for the first one, but the second one came in handy, so in general I was satisfied.
In the monastery, unlike the church, I felt comfortable. The temple is the home of the Prince of Light, while the monastery, for all its importance for religion, is the home of the people. Monasteries are different (female or male – only the smallest of differences): bright, giving human souls a sense of peace, or harsh, instilling fear of the afterlife; islands of true piety or a cover for a world of intrigue and violent power struggles. The people who lived in the monasteries were also very different, as well as the reasons that brought them there. It was this aspect that aroused my liveliest interest at the moment.
Inside we had to split up. Male travelers were allowed outside the gates, but they were not allowed to enter the living quarters, so Eitan had to eat and spend the night in some kind of military tent, spread out for such purposes in a wide courtyard. Either a local watchman or a woodworker was called in to help him, I didn’t really figure it out. I was taken along the stairs to the second floor located on the street. First, I ended up on a terrace covered from the rain by a wide canopy, and then in a room of an incomprehensible purpose: it was too large for a cell, too small for a refectory. Judging by the wooden table, it was still meant for eating, perhaps in cases where several nuns happened to have breakfast or dinner separately from the rest.
There were six of us in the room: four novices, one nun and myself. The menu consisted of a cup of water, a slice of black bread and… several heads of garlic. Either this vegetable became a favorite dish on earth, or it was used with might and main as a means of detecting demons. If the goal of the hospitable hostesses was the latter, we can say that it was achieved: I did not touch the garlic. I can’t stand his smell, and it has nothing to do with my, without a doubt, demonic essence.
However, to the credit of the local inhabitants, it must be said that they did not raise a fuss about this, and did not try to feed me by force. The atmosphere was quite friendly. Novices – they generally burned with curiosity, wanting to learn more from a person from the outside, and at the same time just chat about this and that. The presence of a nun was a hindrance: you can’t say everything you want in front of her. I had to limit myself to general, meaningless and “politically seasoned” phrases. But such a problem (as, indeed, any) had a solution.
– Sister Keminya! It’s really embarrassing for me to ask you about this … – I said, nervously fiddling with my fingers, – but my companion, the one who remained below… You see, he injured his leg during the journey: either twisted, or dislocated, or just hit. Hard to say. It’s definitely not a fracture, but maybe he still needs help.
My words, of course, were lies from beginning to end, but I suppose it is superfluous to explain that I did not worry about this.
– Don’t worry ma’am, we’ll check it out. The monastery will never turn a blind eye to human suffering. I’ll go down and ask him how he’s feeling. And, if necessary, I will send our healer. She’s great at this kind of work.
– Thank you, Sister Keminya, – I replied, looking down modestly.
It was fortunate that the nun left herself, and did not send one of the novices on an errand. Now it was possible to communicate, so to speak, without constraining factors.
– Well, – I perked up, – how is life in the monastery now?
And she winked encouragingly, making it clear that everyone is here.
– Quietly, calmly, without fuss, – answered the girl of strong constitution, who seemed plump because of her wide bones.
The apostle reliably hid her hair, but I was convinced that she wore a braid – at least until she was removed to the monastery.
My face took on an extremely sour expression: the novice expressed herself as if the nun had not left at all. Or, for example, remained standing outside the door. However, I have a flair for human presence, and therefore I had no doubt: no one outside was eavesdropping.
– Benevolently, – said the second with a peaceful smile, from under the scarf of which the edge of a black strand inadvertently peeked out.
No, they deliberately decided to kill me here! Directly not people, but angels in the flesh! I wanted to go outside and unwind, at least in a figurative sense, and maybe literally.
– It’s boring, – the third novice unexpectedly replied, literally bringing me back to life. – Nothing happens, every day is like the previous one.
– Not just boring, sickening! – picked up the last, the shortest, but no less lively. – You ask how life is, but there is no life here! The longing is hopeless.
The big girl looked at her disapprovingly, although now this disapproval seemed feigned. The novice with the stray lock smiled without a hint of judgment.
– You came to the monastery recently, – she turned to those who dared to express their displeasure. – We haven’t gotten used to it yet. Here life is completely different. Such changes, yes, in two or three weeks, it is impossible to accept. Here you need to get used to, feel, comprehend. In the meantime, of course, it’s not easy, – she sighed sympathetically.
Well, here’s the sermon. Complete steadfastness in the look, combined with sincere concern for others. Killer combination.
I turned away, preferring to focus on the other acolytes.
– And how did you get here?
– I am the youngest daughter of four, – the short one replied. – The dowry for the sisters was somehow scraped together, but it wasn’t enough for me. So they gave it here to somehow attach it. – She shrugged her thin shoulders, spread her hands, they say, such a story, whether you want to condemn, or not.
– And I’m the eldest, – the one who was built stronger than the rest smiled sadly. – But the end is the same. The other novices nodded sympathetically, apparently already knowing the story. But I didn’t know the continuation, so the girl explained: “Until our eldest daughter gets married, the rest can’t either.” Not to go to the ball, not to get acquainted, and even more so to sweeten the engagement. And I was born ugly, no one wanted to marry me. Here, so that the younger ones do not stay too long in the brides, they sent me here.
– What kind of parents are these? I squinted angrily.
The maternal instinct is alien to me, and I do not fully understand people who voluntarily doom themselves to many years of torment, which I imagine the care of a child and his upbringing. However, if you don’t want children, don’t have them, live for your own pleasure. And if you started, if you please, drink your cup to the bottom. It is not good to throw out of the life of someone who in this world cannot really stand up for himself. For such actions in the afterlife it is very unpleasant. I already know. However, is it worth waiting for death?
– What are the parents’ names? – as if in between times I was curious. – Do they live far away?
– Far, close, it doesn’t matter anymore, – the short woman waved her hand. – Behind these walls is like distant lands.
Her intervention diverted the conversation from my question and thereby saved the family of the eldest daughter from major troubles, such as fire, hurricane or earthquake, which I would not have failed to arrange for them.
– They are hyenas, not parents, – the novice declared with conviction, having previously admitted that living in the monastery is boring. – However, Barbara is no better.
