– To go down? he seized on the word. – I thought hell was below.
– Up, down… – I waved. – Outside of your reality, these concepts completely lose their meaning. But the fact remains that in order to destroy the world, the brothers must come to an agreement.
I did not specify, but Eitan, of course, understood without explanation that the brothers are the Prince of Darkness and the Prince of Light.
– Can they? Come to an agreement?
– Well, they have a complicated relationship… In principle, they can. But the land will not be destroyed.
– It’s calming.
– You will calm down after death, – I snapped, once again laying down comfortably and looking up.
During our conversation, the clouds managed to move, and the picture of the starry sky changed.
– Why are you so mean? Eitan complained and immediately slapped his forehead, realizing that the answer was obvious.
– Ha-ha-ha! I deliberately laughed. – I’m supposed to. And with what pleasure I drink the blood of the righteous! Mmmm… yummy!
– I do not believe.
– And rightly so. Blood tastes bad. Too salty.
It seemed that the conversation managed to be diverted away from slippery moments, but my companion turned out to be a tough nut to crack.
Have you come to bring destruction? – he asked in the forehead, leaning forward.
I glanced at him with disapproval.
– Naturally. What did you think? Without destruction, you know, there will be no place for new life. And then, you people love to look for the guilty. First, do something that even the most painstaking work cannot fix. And then you wonder: “Like a global flood? For what?” Yes, for nothing! Global warming should not have been arranged.
– What kind of warming?
– Forget. This is what I got into. The bottom line is that sometimes you can’t do without destruction, and you won’t be able to shift all the blame on the Prince of Darkness. So what are you going to do now, righteous with tasteless blood? Will you run home in the morning? The bride isn’t as scary as a demon, is she? Or do we still stop at the option with an aspen stake?
Something subtly similar to regret scratched the soul. The wind blew soothingly across his face and palms.
– I am not my own enemy, – Eitan reasonably objected.
Covered his eyes. And pretended to fall asleep.
All clear. Run away. Maybe tonight, maybe later. Yes, and no wonder. Any mortal will be frightened when they realize who they are facing. It’s like a ladybug making friends with an elephant that comes and doesn’t notice. And for a long time he will be surprised: where did the new friend go? Creeping away slowly, then spreading your wings and flying away is the most reasonable act in such a situation. And for the most part, I shouldn’t care.
But regret continued to scratch from somewhere inside. And it was wrong.
Chapter 6
Eitan did not escape during the night. However, he spent her without sleep, it was clear from the reddened eyes, which he began to rub every now and then, when he thought that I was looking the other way. The disappearance of a satellite is a matter of time. Most likely, he was simply afraid that I would consider such an act a betrayal, I would catch up with him and punish him somehow. Ridiculous thought, really: do I really have nothing better to do than run after… ladybugs? At first I even wanted to tell him directly about it, but changed my mind. Conducting conversations with ladybugs was also outside the scope of my official duties.
Another town, which we soon reached, Ir, differed from the others in especially narrow streets. Often, with arms stretched out to the sides, one could easily touch both walls. Driving here was problematic, so the chariot had to be left on the outskirts, since the distances were ridiculous – we reached the center in just half an hour. We passed, bowing our heads and turning up our collars, under clotheslines stretched between the windows (it was always dripping from poorly wrung out clothes), admired the abandoned church, lopsided from time to time, and went down the stairs to one of the taverns.
The local chef lacked stars from the sky, but the food was quite tolerable. Customers willingly cleaned their plates, soaking slices of freshly baked bread in the sauce from the roast. Even Eitan cheered up a little, though he continued to furtively cast ambiguous glances at me. It was annoying, even depressing. I would have run away as soon as possible. However, soon I was not up to it.
The air suddenly seemed to thicken around me. Sounds and sights barely reached my attention, as if breaking through stone walls. In fact, I barely reacted to the world around me, suddenly completely focusing on inner sensations. Internal, but imposed from the outside. And I could not understand what kind of force was grabbing me and pulling me, when I myself did not know where. At first I thought that it makes sense to figure out, to check where such a strange state came from. But soon she just got up and walked away. I pushed the table away, left the tavern, completely concentrated on the goal, not at all caring that my companion, albeit a short one, remained there, albeit a short one, as well as that it is customary to pay for food in such establishments.
I was drawn forward, desperately, swiftly, demanding to quickly overcome all obstacles. The rest didn’t matter. Just be in time for the call. Be where you need to be. And then you can think about the next one.
I don’t like the situation at all. I am my own mistress. I obey only the Prince of Darkness, but he definitely has nothing to do with what is happening to me now. We know him too well. Too long by any reckoning. Something incomprehensible, alien, carrying a threat pulls me along, as if I had suddenly turned into a puppet. And I like this comparison even less.
I’m in a hurry. I move swiftly, much faster than ordinary people walk, almost without touching the ground with their feet. Out of the corner of my eye, seeing my own arms and legs, I understand that my outlines have become blurry. I have not lost my body, but a little more – and I will take on a completely different image, dark, blurry, huge by human standards. I begin to grit my teeth in displeasure. I have nothing against this image, but I want to control everything that happens to me. Besides, handing over myself like this with giblets is absolutely not included in my plans.
Here it is, the old rickety temple. It is here that an unknown force draws me. I don’t even go in – I penetrate – inside. Unexpectedly spacious. From the outside, the building seemed small, but no, the dimensions are quite traditional. What can you say about the situation. An intricate polygon is drawn in chalk on the floor. On its sides are laid out objects that seem to have nothing to do with each other, but all powerful, exuding remarkable strength. An ancient crooked dagger, long rusted, completely useless today, but knowing a lot of the most diverse blood. A bunch of uprooted grass, fresh, keeping life. A human skull, most likely dug up in some ancient cemetery. And much more.
And some man in a dark cloak, frozen at the opposite end of the temple, devours me with a greedy, frightened, but at the same time enthusiastic look.
Now I understand. Sliding like a shadow inside the polygon, trapping myself in the grip of its edges, I finally realized the truth. This idiot decided to summon a demon! I read the rules – and where did I get them?.. Collected