The Mist and the Lightning. Part 10

He walked over and took her hand and led her towards the barn. And Karina went. And she went with him into the barn like a pretty one, and bent down the way he bent her businesslikely on some kind of workbench, feeling his strong arms, his confident movements. He leaned on her from behind and at some point almost lay down, his long hair tickling her ear and cheek. The workbench staggered, Karina wanted to moan loudly under Arel, but she was afraid that they would hear her in the yard. And then she still couldn’t resist and groaned, because she even more wanted him to understand how good she felt and as if to thank him. Arel, coming, groaned too, she went crazy from such sincere direct groans. The prince was very strange, he loved guys, but he also enjoyed women. He could take pleasure and give it in any interaction. And now he fucked her with pleasure, apparently, understanding for himself her smile in that way. It was like it was an invitation, and he accepted it. And Karina didn't want it to end. She then despised him, then pitied him, then adored him, and it was not clear how to combine all this. And now, he dominated her much more than when he used force. Then Karina resisted inside and was angry. And now she was simply angry with herself – for being a whore, for being wet under the prince, and for betraying Lis. Arel let her go and, zipping up his fly, left as if nothing had happened. And she, all in languor, suddenly decided to conduct a stupid experiment. Apparently, what she had drunk in the morning already affected her actions.

Karina took the cat (he absolutely didn’t resist) and went with him to Lis’ room. Lis was counting something, bending over some report, he turned his head when she entered, and… immediately saw the cat.

And he, to her surprise, laughed and said:

“Well, why the hell did you bring him?”

“Just for no reason,” she replied, not knowing what to say.

Karina put the cat on the floor, he went up to Lis and began to sniff his boots. Lis, reaching out his hand, stroked his head, scratched behind his ear.

He stood up, collecting the papers:

“I have plenty to do.”

“What about the cat?”

“You can leave him here if you want.”

Lis left the room. He drew attention to the cat and even stroked him, but Karina thought that she didn’t regret at all that Lis had left now. And nothing happened between them, she didn't want him.

Continuing her research, Karina again took the cat in her arms and went into the room to Nikto. Nikto, fully assembled, lay on the bed. Was he sleeping? There was a sharp, specific smell of chemistry in the room, and Karina realized that Nikto had switched from the “restorative” to very heavy drugs, which she was terrified of and which she had never taken at all. He raised his head and, narrowing his eyes strongly, looked at her (apparently, the room was too light for him). Karina was at a loss, she put the cat right on the bed, and Nikto noticed him right away and didn't drive him away either, but stroked him. The cat purred.

“He’s good, isn’t he?” Karina asked; in fact, she didn't care anymore. She thought about the creepy stimulants he was using.

“Do you know what beautiful cats I have in the limit?” Nikto said. “And a bunch of other beautiful animals. I'll show you when we get there.”

Karina took the cat in her arms:

“Forgive me for interrupting you, have a rest”.

“No, it's ok. I have to work.” He shook his head. “Are Arel and Lis already downstairs?”

“Yes. And I have just finished training with the peasants. And Lis made an estimate.”

“Okay.”

Nikto got up, and they left with Karina. Now on his chest was always a mask that their father had given him back. And out on the street, Nikto always put it on. Moreover, in the narrow slits for the eyes, through which, in Karina's opinion, it was already impossible to see normally, he additionally inserted black glass, probably so the bright southern sun blinded his converted eyes less.

They returned to the backyard and Karina put the cat on the porch. He raised his paw and began to lick himself. Arel and Lis approached them. And she and Nikto began to discuss some economic issues, Karina didn’t listen to them. She thought that she was horny and wanted a man who was the only one of all three to shit on a cat, and he didn’t even notice him. And she also thought she was stupid and worthy to be fucked in the barn.

Chapter four. News from Tol

They gathered at a common table, although no one wanted this. Lis was distracted from the construction of the barracks and was clearly nervous, because he had a lot of things to do on the construction. Arel looked exhausted, and they knew that Nikto tormented him every night until dawn, and during the day, Arel also did a lot of things, taking care of the servants and soldiers from the Estate and nearby villages. Karina was amazed at his endurance, he was really chosen, not like other people, not a single ordinary person could bear the Demon's “love”, and the prince endured and did routine things during the day: watched the servants and peasants, trained the militia soldiers. Now she respected him. Because she felt completely exhausted herself; the presence of Nikto, who every day developed more and more active activity, literally sucked her out, and this despite the fact that, fortunately, he hardly touched her. He didn’t tug her with constant reports and questions, like he did with Lis, much less mocked her as he did with the prince. Otherwise, she would have simply died, so it seemed to her. But Arel was alive, he was haggard, and bruises appeared on his face, but he walked, sat and was still thinking about solving some endless economic issues. Now Karina understood that being a master and having soldiers, servants and slaves under his command was not at all easy, and it was boring and daily work. But Arel seemed to have been trained to do this, trained to watch and deal with them; of course, he often went too far, using his whip on every occasion, and more often, as it seemed to Karina, for no reason at all. But he worked, took it for granted and did not shirk. And he was not so bad, the discipline was iron. And he didn't complain either. And she respected him more and more every day.

Now he was sincerely delighted with the letter from Tol. Probably, yet, unlike Karina, the prince believed that everything was in order with them and he was living a good life, maybe because he didn’t know another.

“Finally! He has given a birth to a report. The very last! Even Kors has already noted, and Tol, as always, is fucking slow!”

“Not the last, my Ver has not arrived yet,” said Nikto.

“And the soldiers?” Arel started at once. “Does he have soldiers behind?”

Nikto nodded.

“Yes. And more will come.”

“We will win! We will win!” Arel didn’t hide his joy.

“Are they unclean?” Lis asked.

“Half-breeds, unclean, everyone I have, Lis. You know, only you are my people.”

“What's the difference, Lis! They are soldiers! This is power!!!”

“Absolutely none,” agreed Lis with the prince. “I'm glad about it too.”

“You will have an army! Your army, Lis!” Arel said. “Right, Nik?”

Nikto nodded.

“Yes,” he smiled at Lis.

And he was embarrassed:

“Okay, Arel, let's open the envelope.”

Arel opened the envelope and took out a small cardboard with a colored picture painted on it.

They froze. Arel twirled the cardboard rectangle in his hands.

“Tol sent a greeting card?” With some surprise, he asked a little dumbfounded.

“Fucking shit…” Lis drawled. “He's hopeless. It's good that there are Borgan and Coal, otherwise I would have worried about Lower.”

Arel turned the card over and read:

“Hi everyone! You, prince, red-haired half-breed (I have forgiven you, Lis), Karina (I dream to drink with her again) and Nikto.”

Hearing that Tol dreamed of drinking with her, Karina blushed, she hoped that he had forgotten that shameful evening.

“We are great!” continued to read Arel in syllables. “And I invite you to the wedding, I will marry Lila. Come, my dear friends!”

And then the date of the wedding was indicated.

That was all. Arel tossed the message away from him.

“Is he mad? He's getting married! Again, Tol, damn him! We need soldiers! Get your ass up and come here with the army! What an idiot! What a moron?!” Arel clasped his head in his hands.

Lis took the discarded postcard and read it too. He saw nothing new there, turned it over in confusion, and suddenly his face stretched out:

“Arel! This is our street. Exactly, Rat Dead End, where we somehow lost fifty soldiers, remember?”

“Come on?” Arel didn’t believe. “I remember very well, but…”

He began to examine the drawing too:

“Now this place is unrecognizable. Is it a fountain?”

Arel passed the message on. Karina saw that the picture depicted beautiful tall houses, all in patterns and decorations, painted in light pastel colors: pink, yellow, blue. The trees were green. There was a fountain. Smartly dressed people were walking around. It was written in gold lettering at the top: “Congratulations! We wish you happiness!” And at the bottom, smaller – the name of the street.

“It looks like Upper,” said Karina in surprise. “These postcards with the beautiful streets of the Upper Town are sold at fairs and bookstores.”

“This is our Rat Dead End,” Arel said. “It’s on postcards now too.”

“No, Arel, this is no longer Rat Dead End,” said Lis, grinning. “Read the street name. Now it is Asa street.”

And his grin came out bitter.

“What does it mean?” Karina didn’t understand. And jealousy sounded in her voice. “Why was the street named after her?!”

Lis was silent, and Karina turned to Arel:

“What for does Tol forgive him?”

Arel nodded towards Lis:

“Let him tell you.”

“Do you have any pretensions to me now?” Lis said defiantly, he tensed, and his face became angry.

“What are you saying,” Arel said indifferently. “Nobody gives a shit.”

Lis looked at Nikto.

And Nikto smiled at him, he held a postcard in his hands and looked at the smart Lower. And he smiled.

“Let’s write to Tol, let him take as many soldiers as possible and come here for a honeymoon. It will be an unforgettable honeymoon trip, he will love it!” Nikto said.

“I’ll write a letter to my father,” Karina suddenly interrupted their blissful state. “I will explain the situation and ask to help you. To send everyone who stayed with him too.”

Arel looked at her in surprise:

“But…”

“I want to contribute to the common cause. Arel, is this a common cause? I'm on the team, right? And I sit and do nothing!”

“Karina! For the fact that you didn’t give up Lis at the trial and pulled Nik out of the cell, for this I will be grateful to you for the rest of my life!” Arel said quite sincerely, and she felt very good from these words.

“This is Nik…” She hesitated. “It was he who taught me not to give up and bring things to the end.”

Karina thought that even if Lis did something to Asa (and it looked like it was), she didn’t care about it. Surely this aggressive and arrogant creature itself asked for it. And yet, when they were alone in the room, she could not resist and asked:

“So what happened to Asa?”

And Lis looked at her, straight in the eyes, without a shadow of embarrassment or remorse, and answered with a challenge:

“I killed her.”

“Oh! Wow! But why?”

“She talked too much shit.”

“Yes, that's for sure. Well, since Tol has forgiven you, it means that he himself understands that Asa provoked you.”

“Yes. And so it was. She provoked me. I wouldn't do that now. I was just… at that moment acting under the influence of emotion.” Some unspoken bitterness was reflected on his face, and he stubbornly shook his head so sharply that the bells tinkled. “And this bitch… she laughed at me, she brought me out.”

He ran his hands over his face as if tired, and smoothed his hair.

“Dumb unclean! She messed up the banks of the river?” Karina said, repeating Arel’s expression. The prince spoke like this when one of his servants did not follow the order well. “There she goes! How did you kill her?”

“With a knife. In the chest.”

Karina came up, hugging him, embracing him:

“Let her go to hell! You did everything right.”

Lis hugged her too.

“Just, you know,” he said very frankly, “I felt so offended. Tol told everyone how you asked him about me. And how he told you about the fact that they humiliated me, put a shameful strip with bells on my face. I realized that you know about it. Imagined how you made fun of me with Tol.”

“Fun?! I was shocked by his story! It didn't make me laugh at all.”

“And they laughed. And Asa laughed. I asked them to stop, but they continued. I asked twice in an amicable way. I said, “Tol, tell her to shut up.” But he laughed and said: “She will do what she wants!”

Karina felt cold inside, because she knew, knew and felt that this conversation with Tol would sooner or later emerge and not end with good. She knew and still asked him about Lis. She shouldn't have asked about Lis! And she is indirectly to blame for Asa’s death.”

“Forgive me, please,” she whispered. “You always suffer because of me.”

She involuntarily squeezed his crippled right hand. Squeezing, she brought it to her face, pressing against her cheek. She began to kiss her fingers. He didn’t take it away.

“Why did they cut off your finger?”

Lis easily pulled his hand without the little finger out of her palm, looked indifferently at the crippled hand.

“I failed the whole military operation when you left me and ran away. I was tried. Military tribunal. Sentence.”

Karina cried:

“You will never forgive me!”

“Fuck, I have forgiven you long ago! A was a fool myself.” He smiled. “I shouldn't have fallen in love with you so much and then suffered so much.”

“I was not happy even for a minute when I ran away, I realized that I had made a terrible mistake and I couldn’t forget you! I love you!”

“I know. You didn’t love me, you loved the commander of the Reds, Sigmer. And now I'm a slave, a jerk for fun.”

“Are you really a fool?! You are the most beautiful in the world, I love you, I love you and will never stop loving you. You are not nothing! You are the smartest and the best!”

“Of course,” Lis shook his head.

“Do you think I love you because Nik promotes you and promised to make you king?”

“No.”

“I loved you when I knew nothing about it. I loved it anyway! I don't care if you are a commander or a slave.”

She stroked his bright hair, smoothing out unruly wavy strands. He was very handsome, in fact, with beautiful features, and the remnants of the dye hid a thin scar from the shameful strip under the eyes and on the bridge of the nose. He didn’t pull away, and she pressed closer and closer to him, she was seized by such tenderness for him, such love. Karina approached him and gently blew into his ear. He shuddered, closing his ear, and then abruptly grabbed her, knocking her over onto her back, pressing, hanging from above, catching her lips. She hugged him with all her passion. They felt very good together.

Chapter five. The arrival of Verniy

The noise in the street, in the courtyard, was getting stronger. Lis looked up from plans to build barracks.

“What's that there late at night?

“This is my loyal khabir,” Nikto said slowly, as if listening, and his face lit up. “My Ver!” he jumped up, hurrying to the exit, and friends rushed after him.

A truly pompous action appeared to their gaze: an army was crawling up the hill where the mansion stood, like a dense black snake, led by his unclean Verniy, as always completely closed from the eyes of people by leather clothes and a helmet in the form of a dog's head. The peasants, the militias, all the slaves and residents of the Estate also fled. And they looked at this army with indescribable horror and delight.

Nikto roused himself:

“My horse!” He went to meet the army as fast as the limp would allow. And the horse – the Unclean Power – which was being led without a rider, tied, growled, flaring its nostrils, danced, snorting, a large shiver ran through its body. Verniy quickly untied him, allowing him to gallop forward. And the horse rushed to Nikto standing in the middle of the road. At a trot he ran up to the owner, stopping, enduring waves of trembling and excitement, gently touched his black muzzle to the outstretched hand, burying his nose in his palm. Nikto pressed his hand to his face, and then, no longer tormenting, because standing now so calmly for this unclean horse was simply an unbearable ordeal, Nikto jumped on him, and the horse, sensing the rider, his master, danced under him, stunning neighing, from which peasant children and girls screeched in fright. They looked with their eyes from a bowl at how the Son of the Devil pranks on his horse, smiling, and his scar in the gloom was like a black stripe.

Nikto drove up to the porch, looking down happily at the stunned friends.

“Does anyone want?” He stretched out his hand towards them, as if inviting to join, the horse continued to dance under him.

“You are mad!” Lis shouted to him. “Get off already! What a show is it?”

But Nikto just laughed in response, and suddenly, striking the steep black sides with all his might, he reared up and, seeing how the servants rushed to the door, involuntarily closing their heads, and dashed in different directions Lis, Karina and Arel, he shouted on unclean some team, the horse galloped down the hill along the marching soldiers, carts and following the host of curious peasants from other villages. The unclean warriors, seeing Nikto galloping towards them, raised their arms with weapons and began to sharply and abruptly raise and lower their swords, shouting a greeting to their white-haired master, and their cry was like a rockfall, sharp and booming.

“I'm not sure if it was worth placing the Unclean right in the house,” Lis said doubtfully, pouring wine for everyone. “We managed to build enough barracks, and they have tents.”

“This is the command staff,” Nikto objected, “my colonels cannot live in barracks with soldiers, these are noble Unclean. They are very cool commanders, Lis. And they came here for you!”

“All right,” Lis humbly raised the goblet. “For your soldiers, Nik!”

“For our soldiers, Lis!” Nikto corrected him. “For good luck!”

They clinked glasses happily, drinking sweet fresh wine from the Arel vineyards.

From the courtyard, the sounds of musical instruments were heard, there, right under the open sky, tables were laid and the newly arrived soldiers were already feasting with might and main and getting to know the local militias and peasant women.

“Will you go to them?” Arel asked Nikto with a little jealousy in his voice.

“No, I wasn't going to. But if you want, we can go and have some fun.”

“We clearly miss Tol,” Lis laughed, “and Vil, these lovers of folk holidays.”

“Well, yes,” Nikto said. “I actually still need to resolve many issues with Ver.”

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