The Mist and the Lightning. Part 18

Chapter 2

Their little world was fenced off only by unreliable rag walls, but it was warm and cozy in the tent. It smelled of aromatic resin that Valentine burned against insects, and tobacco. The floor was covered in several layers of soft skins. A small yellow-orange stone flower, suspended from the ceiling in a jar of thick glass, softly illuminated the surrounding space with a warm, dim light.

The wine in the jug ran out long ago, but they were not asleep.

“I'm going crazy with you! I’m going crazy! My little white boy, so fair! Gods, how I adore you! You are like a porcelain figurine, your hair is thick and as snow!” repeated Kors, tightly squeezing Nik in his arms, admiring his neat features, unable to calm down and fall asleep, despite the fact that it was already deep night:

“I love you with unconditional love, do you understand what it is?”

“Not really…”

“I'll explain it to you later. It is very rare in our life that someone loves us with unconditional love.”

“Does that mean just like that? Without conditions?”

“Yes! Put on your mask! Cover your face, I can no longer see such a sweet face of yours, otherwise I will now be torn apart!”

Nik immediately put on the mask, and Kors waited impatiently for him to do so, and again impulsively pulled him to himself. From the feelings that overwhelmed him and the constant fear of losing his boy, he started something like a hysteria, and tears flowed from his eyes:

“They will take you, take you from me! I know it!” He repeated, shuddering and sobbing.

“No, no, I'm not Iness, no one will steal me!”

“They will steal you! Leonardo will steal you from me! He will make you obey and serve him,” Kors didn’t let go of Nik, continuing to convulsively press his face to his chest, now covered by a mask of an unclean one convicted of murder.

“I won’t survive this!” Kors began to sway from side to side, tears continued to flow down his cheeks, he could not calm down.

Nik freed himself a little from his embrace.

“Eh, he doesn’t think about me! Leonardo doesn't know about me.”

“He will know! He will know everything, I won’t survive it!”

“Vitor, Vitor, please stop. Don’t cry, they won't take me away from you!”

“I can’t! I can't stand it!”

“Vitor, stop tearing your heart, it hurts me too! You're hurting me now too!”

“I'm afraid I won't be able to protect you!”

“I myself know how to defend myself.”

“Yes, I know how you can, I saw it…”

“There are three of us, and he is alone!”

And at the same instant Kors felt Arel’s invisible hand on his throat. The prince barely squeezed his neck and let go, as if demonstrating to Kors that he possessed the Power and could use it against their enemies. Kors looked up at him, and Arel grinned.

“Arel! Kill this black one with your touch immediately on the spot! To hell! Let's not stand on ceremony with him! Let's kill him now! Right now, Nik!”

“Vitor… you can't…”

“Are the Demons guarding him too? Eh? Order his Demon to serve you!”

“Not in this case. There are rules, and the first move must be made by a human, but he has not yet made it. And maybe he won't, he doesn't know about me. He doesn't care about me. I'm just a half-blood from Lower City, a commoner. I'm not interesting for Leonardo, not at all interesting! He doesn’t think about me and doesn’t perceive me as a person. I'm trash that he doesn't care about.”

“Okay. If you cannot do this due to the severe restrictions that have been imposed on you, let Arel do it! Leonardo is the main culprit of all his troubles! Arel, you don't have to follow the rules that Nik must obey, do you?”

“I don’t have to.”

“The High Demons haven’t punished you, so do it!”

“We are too far from the Black City…”

“Oh! Arel, develop your Gift more, damn it! Train! Learn!”

“I now have more strength and capabilities than before,” said Nik.

“This is wonderful, but somehow it doesn’t calm me down!” Kors wiped away his tears.

“Don’t be afraid of anything.”

“Nik…”

“Why are you so afraid of Leonardo?! He treats you quite well, you never interfered in his affairs, never entered into conflict with him. You see, he invited you to his secret meetings, which are only for the elite. He doesn’t consider you to be his enemy or competitor.”

“He will take you! He will make you fulfill his wishes!”

“He doesn't even think about me. Did you think about me a lot when you were given the assignment?”

“No… I didn't think at all…”

“You see…”

“But he will learn that you are not a man, not a commoner…”

“He won’t know. He will decide that these are stupid inventions.”

“He will know. When I retired, I put all papers in order and left them to my successor. I didn't expect it to be him! And I left your case too. What for! Why did I do it! Everything is described there! That's it, Nik, in detail! There are your data, signs, recorded interrogation, my questions and your answers, every word, and how you behaved. What substances and drugs Balthazar injected you with. Your diagnosis. My personal conclusions based on interrogation. My conclusion is that I completely agree with the royal sages and seers and, of course, consider it appropriate to get rid of the suspicious half-blood. But first I proposed to make a laughing stock out of you, humiliate you, make you look like a fool, in order to show everyone that you are not the Son of the Devil, but an ordinary miserable person. And everything that is said about you is just stupid inventions, thought of to intimidate fools, and only ignorant commoners from Lower City can believe in them. So that the sirs have fun at the ball, and laugh. Well, and then, without trial and investigation, I offered to quietly rot you in a stone sack, writing off death for natural causes. And the king’s permission. He liked this idea. And that's all… Leonardo will read it all!”

“He didn’t read anything. Didn’t even look at these papers. He is not interested in this. So he thinks exactly as you wanted, that I am an ordinary half-blood, and everything that is said about me is just stupid inventions of commoners. And he, just like you, considers the king to be an old senile.”

“We will return to the Black City, Leonardo will take an interest in you, take your case and read it! What have I done!”

“And what will he read? That I am a half-blood slave from the command of Prince Arel?”

“I described your criminal biography…”