The Mist and the Lightning. Part I

"A lot but they won't suit you." He screwed his eyes shut and rubbed his face with his palms. Tol moved the light on the table away from him, just in case.

"Good morning, my dear," Orel said, "are you going to wake up at last?"

"I have, I have," Nikto leaned at the back of the chair.

"Is your stuff knocking you out seriously?" Enriki asked watching him with interest.

"It doesn't knock me out. But you'll think I'm drunk if I don't take it."

"Ooh. Nikto must have some free men at his disposal," Tol said with a brightened face.

"No men among them," Nikto said very calmly.

Lis looked at him with a fixed stare. "But you do have someone, don't you?"

"As many as you want," Nikto smiled.

"No, we can't do that," Enriki said.

"Why, for fuck's sake?" Tol yelled.

"We can add them to our men, half by half," Orel said, "everyone in the Lower City does that."

"Perhaps we can use half-bloods," Enriki mused. "Otherwise our people desert even sooner."

"They are not my servants, I can only hire them," Nikto said. "But it'll be cheap. Maybe you won't have to pay them at all, just give them some human females, for example."

"That's it. Now we're trapped," Lis said.

"You want to keep your hands clean, Lis," Orel exclaimed. "It won't work, you have to choose."

"You make such a choice once, you'll never have your hands clean again."

"I don't like it either," Enriki said carefully.

"Two of you, three of us," Orel cut him off. "We'll get a break, then come up with something better, maybe."

"We have already lost," Lis said, "and we won't ever win again."

"It's decided then," Orel summarized. "Life makes us change our tactics, we have so few people and they are so expensive that we can't afford it any more."

"Bey has more half-bloods and Uncleans than you can imagine," Nikto said, "that's why he's crushing you."

"And he will keep crushing us," Tol added. "It's time to put the end to it. I personally don't mind Unclean half-bloods, they sometimes look so much like humans you can't tell the difference."

"How many people do we need? Let's decide quickly. Can you find two hundred of them?"

"Two hundred, three hundred – easily, Arel."

"How much time do you need?"

"Two hours."

"Wha..?"

"If you want to choose them yourselves, it'll take more time."

"Oh gods, it sounds so easy!" Tol sighed. "Nikto, I love you!"

"I'll hire them from the Lower City, from the borders with the Unclean District, so you won't have anyone from the Unclean District itself."

"Thank gods," Enriki whispered.

"You could have done that yourselves," Nikto said, "you'd just need a little more time," he paused, "…and a little less pride."

Nikto takes Tol and goes to find mercenaries at the borders of the Lower City and the Unclean District.

Orel talks to the traders of the third street who waited for him in the restaurant downstairs and promises them a quick victory over Bey. He convinces them not to leave his domain. Later he goes back to his castle.

Enriki and Lis gather Orel's soldiers and prepare them to the fact that they will be joined by Unclean half-bloods soon. Commanders start preparing to accept new warriors.

As soon as Tol brings the first party, Lis goes to Orel's castle to report.

Chapter 9

Lis and Orel

Lis entered Orel's room.

"Couldn't you do anything better than sleep right now?" he said in annoyance.

"I needed a little rest." Orel sat up in bed and yawned. "I've drunk too much and you guys really loaded me with all that shit."

Lis came up to the mirror, tried to smoothen his disheveled hair but without much result.

"I'm riding like mad, driving my horse breathless, it’s been galloping the whole day, and you're asleep! Maybe you don't care at all how the things are going?"

"I do, I do." Orel got up heavily and stretched. "Have a drink." He came up to the bar and poured himself a drink.

Lis sat down in the armchair.

"Tol brought the first hundred of mercenaries," he said.

Orel's face lit up with a smile, he gulped the content of his glass and filled it again.

"I knew it!" he said. "I knew Nikto would save us!"

Lis reached his hand and Orel gave him a glass.