Unlimited

‘Sure, Victoria!’ Gregory shook her hand and came up to the doors with her.

Kharon was in the centre of Moscow, with no tiredness watched people whom he had never been interested before. In fact, he had despised and mocked them. He beguiled his pride. But it changed now. Funny things were over.

‘It’s been so difficult to find you!’ a man appeared near Kharon. ‘You smell of people totally, you have no yours own. We’re gonna lose you.’

Kharon folded his hands on the chest and pretended to be mean after he had stared at the man.

‘Does Lucifer know you to be here, Akton?’

‘No. I didn’t tell him. I don’t think he notices my absence. I’m here for little, for two hours. I’m fed up with people’s ribs and waists!’

Kharon silently smiled in reply. He couldn’t be said he was too glad to see his compatriot, but he was ok with it.

‘I wonder… Is that the truth what they gossip about behind Lucifer’s castle walls?’ Akton whispered in mystical voice.

‘What do they gossip about?’ Kharon raised up the big cup of coffee demonstratively.

‘Well… about your exile to earth. What did you do to enrage Lucifer so much?’

‘It’s just gossiping.’ Kharon was confused. ‘You shouldn’t believe in what they tell you. I’m tired of so many years work with no stop… I decided to take… vacation.’

‘A vacation?’ Akton looked at the demon suspiciously.

‘A time when you can have a rest.’ Kharon explained. ‘I studied it here. By people. They are always on their vacations when they’re tired. We didn’t even know that it was possible’

‘Did Lucifer just let you go?’

‘Not just but he did.’ Kharon smiled again. ‘How do you like people outside?’

Akton looked around. What could he say about people having glanced at them? People were beautiful. They were proportionated and well-built. They talked a lot and listened less. They thought a lot of themselves in general. They didn’t smile and they weren’t friendly actually at the first sight. Women. They wanted to be more beautiful than they were. People walked quickly. They walked on roads without looking at sides. They laughed a lot and had many cries in their minds which were firmly closed from others. Their thoughts were something personal that shouldn’t be shown to society. They got angry when someone pushed them or walked slowly before them.

That was all that Akton could say about people having been with them only an hour.

‘I had the same thoughts of people… But after I lived with them, I started accepting them different. I understood them very sensitive. They can experience true emotions which we will hardly be able to get through. So, if you think to have a rest somewhere, with no thinking go to the human world. You’ll have no regret. There’s nothing in common with being in their ribs. Yes, dear!’ Kharon interrupted his story with the call. ‘Where? Just a second… In the café not far from Patriarshy Prudy. Shall I be waiting for you here? Are you sure? Ok. I got you.’

‘And… who’s it?’ Akton didn’t missed a word.

‘This one? It’s a cell.’ The demon stretched his cell out.

‘You will show me this stuff later. I want to know whom you were speaking with. That wasn’t Lucifer, was that?’

‘Why can’t he speak with me on the phone?’

Suddenly a man appeared at the table. He seemed to be airy and light but to have so deep bass voice and stony stare. Then his stare became stonier. It had burgundy tone in his pupils. You could hardly notice it, but it was charming, attractive… forbidding. The both demons stopped speaking and looked at their Lord. If Kharon was ok, then Akton was noticeably nervous.

‘Why are you here, Akton?’ Lucifer wondered looking at Akton’s troubled face.

‘I… I wanted to see Kharon.’

‘Why do I know it at the time you’re seeing him?’

‘Lucifer…’ Kharon tried to speak.

The light elegant but powerful gesture turning into an obvious “stop” forbad him to speak. Lucifer didn’t take his eyes off Akton. There was a mocking and manneredly arrogant smile frozen on the lips.

‘Akton,’ the Lord kept speaking after he had understood nobody was going to answer him. ‘Why do I have to look after this, my dear friend? You do know better than I that you’re forbidden to appear in human world. Why did you break my order?’

The smile faded away from Lucifer’s face. Having settled in the cosy arm-chair, the wrathful man with his menacing look was creeping over the scared demon’s face. It had passed more than just several minutes before Lucifer started speaking again.

‘Heh, Akton… My silent friend, you’re coming with me to my private room, we’re gonna have a very serious talk. As I have a feeling you stopped understanding me and my language. And now…’

Lucifer snapped his fingers and the world became deaf for Akton. He was unable to hear neither a single sound nor rustle, there was vacuum emptiness in his ears.

‘What’s he done? What’s wrong with him?’ Kharon finally caught the possibility to speak.

‘Nothing. Akton is a good demon but stupid and naïve. If he comes to earth, he’s in a strict sense he will have a mash on human life. Then I have to annihilate his painful memories about earth life. Do I really need it, Kharon? I’m worried that I can lose such a good demon in love for humanity. I don’t want it. Being aware of your unsociability, my conscience was clear when I sent you here.’

Akton was sitting with no move and looking at Lucifer’s mouth opening without sound, he was trying to guess what the Lord was speaking about. There was a smile on Kharon’s face, and he kindly looked at Akton.

‘I see, Lucifer. You’re always considered being the Lord worried about your subordinates.’

‘I’m glad to hear it. What’s up, Kharon? It’s been long time I came to you, forgive me please. I had a lot of things to do quickly and that made me put off our meeting.’

‘You don’t have to answer to me…’

‘No, Kharon. Primarily you’re my friend. I want my friend to know me not to have forgotten about you. I was busy but in my mind I’m always with you. I’m acutely aware of your so-called wedding night in the human bed… Unfortunately, I can’t see your emotion at all that you got through that night. Tell me, Kharon.’ Lucifer glanced and smiled at almost dead Akton.

‘It is a kind of challenge.’ Kharon confessed, ‘feelings are different from I used to have in dreams. Her performance made me wild. Everything I use to have in dreams now is just a dream. I know what I’m able for now. I wiped away my self-confidence with a more powerful one. I’m so proud of myself… And it was the first time I stayed with a woman in bed after. I slept with her, Lucifer. She was lying nearby, with no life and move because I took all her energies. I felt her have peacefulness… Until now I haven’t regretted about your decision to send me on earth.’

‘I hope your efficiency isn’t going to be worse after you tried a woman in your hands in reality?’

‘Of course, it’s not, you have nothing to be worried about. I like Moscow, people but I miss my home. I miss my work. After coition Victoria is recovering within a week. She gives herself to me till the last drop and I certainly take her last drop.’

‘I would do the same… and I did the same.’ Lucifer still glanced at Akton with mysterious eyes.

‘Did you?’ Kharon surprised.

‘My friend,’ the Lord smiled. ‘I’m a man. I like women. This is normal natural law. I want to touch them, feel their gentle bodies in my arms, hear their languishing breath and feel their sharp nails tearing off my back… I understand all that you felt that night.’

‘Oh, Lucifer…’ Kharon wiped his forehead, puzzlingly looked at the table. ‘You know I couldn’t even think you relate to women… with human ones in reality.’

‘What’s wrong with you, Kharon?’ Lucifer looked at the waitress. ‘Any male creature in our place looks for sex with women. It’s not a surprise and new. Not only incubi come down in human world, do they, Akton?’

The demon was enjoying unbearable scared silence and dumbness, which he had been rewarded by Lucifer.

‘You know the worst thing is that girls of my choice turned into dust at the last second. It’s black, loose dust. My energy, my sudden light that I can’t hold inside anymore, bursts out of me and as you know it’s not for human eyes. So, we all are connected with one female vice on the earth. But I can’t give such possibility to someone like Akton. I see you want to ask something else. Come on, my friend, don’t be shy.’

‘I… can’t read her mind after that night. I don’t know what she thinks about. I can see only empty halls and stream of them. But there are no thoughts. I can still read her subconsciousness stream when I touch her head. Every time to read her mind is more difficult for me. She’s difficult to be with her.’

Lucifer cocked his head to the left and regarded a girl at the next table with his fond eyes. He seemed not to be listening to Kharon after having been totally preoccupied with the view of the lone girl.

‘She’s a witch, Kharon.’ He answered suddenly. ‘That’s ok that she doesn’t want anyone to dig in her mind. You’re not an exception. She’s getting stronger and she doesn’t understand it. She unconsciously prevents you from accessing to her thoughts. Don’t worry, you’ll do it. I shall warn you that the witch might is still sleeping in her. All she does now is just a game. It’ll be interesting to look when she realizes who she is.’

‘She sees spirits, she doesn’t allow me to read her mind, her energy is gargantuan, and all of these is just a game? She’s unusual… Why can’t I see ghosts, by the way?’

‘Shall I give you this ability?’ Lucifer smiled at the very girl and confused her after with his smiling. ‘Why do you need to see ghosts when you’re surrounded by people, Kharon? You’re being irrational today. I don’t like it. I don’t advise you to see ghosts. There’s no point in it but you will see more people. Forget about it. By the way I can feel my part at the girl’s place… I can’t understand what’s it?’

‘Oh, Lucifer, I should have told you, but I forgot. The very feather that led you to me the last time is at Victoria’s home.’

‘That’s interesting.’ The Lord smile and cocked his head. ‘Well, let it be. I don’t mind. Why didn’t she become blind?’

Lucifer looked at the ceiling. Then his eyes without blinking, like a black shadow creeped to the that girl he had looked at before. He liked her. He did like her.

‘Victoria’s gonna be here in ten minutes. Have you missed?’

‘Me what?’ the demon surprised.

‘Nothing, my friend, nothing. I think you should know the poor guy, Gregory to have decided to hit on your ginger witch. What do you think about it?’

Kharon was calmly finishing his coffee with a sidelong look at the surroundings. Lucifer was smiling from ear to ear, snapping eyes at that girl.

‘Gregory?’ Kharon asked. ‘The man she had lunch with?’

‘Oh, yeas!’ The Fallen Angel flickered with his burgundy eyes and finally stared at his friend. ‘He wanted his touches under the table to be never ended. He was so stupid to touch her knee and study her reaction, if she liked it or not. With boasting he examined her ring finger with no ring, dreaming about dull, dead-alive, human sex. He has already splashed her with his saliva… while you’re amusing Akton now.’

Lucifer carefully put the cup on the table and smiled. He was amusing. Yes, Kharon was his friend but Lucifer couldn’t help having fun. Even he was shocked how much uncaring his subordinates could be. At this time, he was slightly jealous of them.

‘You don’t know how happy you are, my friend. You’re not spoiled with human feelings as I’m, thanks to my father. Nothing can throw you off your stride, you have no morality to be ready for. There are two absolutely different ways. Ones want to be uncaring pieces of iron, others want to be caring. Don’t make for this temptation, don’t, Kharon. You’ll never know what a loss means… Now. Just two seconds and the door’s opened.’

Kharon looked at the door and in a second he saw Victoria enter. She glanced curiously at the tables looking for the lovely face. The girl well knew what to miss and heavy emotions meant.

‘My love,’ she whispered after she had seen the demon at the table.

She burst herself into his arms but faced an unexpected obstacle. In a matter of seconds Vic almost ran into Lucifer who appeared on her way.

‘Oh, dear God…’ Victoria stepped back at once.

Of course, she recognized the Lord of Hell and she felt terrible because of unplanned meeting. The girl stepped back, spellbind looking into the romantic eyes where the devil fire of burgundy colour was flaming up.

‘Good evening, Sunshine!’ Lucifer smiled, barring the way.

Victoria had no desire to get through. For the first time ever, the girl remembered the mark on her shoulder blade. She felt it like an unhealed cut,       tightened with new skin. There was no pain. Vic was paralyzed. She saw neither Kharon nor his grin being rather kind, nor Akton who greedily studied her like a hungry dog, dreaming about a bone with meat. A posthumous silence marked Lucifer’s appearance. Everything around stopped existing, moving, breathing. All was still.

‘How do you do….’ She stammered.

The creaking of the chair was heard behind: Kharon rose up and wanted to come up to the girl. He felt her wild fear and heard her tongue whisper a single prayer frantically and silently in her mind, constantly crossing in tumultuous imagination. In reality the girl couldn’t still move.

He hadn’t got far when he met the Lord’s hand with a gesture making him stop. The demon obeyed and stopped. Lucifer didn’t even look at his friend. He held an invisible thread between him and the girl. Lucifer moved closer to Victoria’s face and with self-confident smile said:

‘What, Sunshine? I can’t hear you… Say it aloud!’

Being like hypnotized Victoria opened her mouth and started speaking. The things she was speaking made already surprised Kharon sit up and take notice. Fortunately for him, Akton had been still in artificial deafness created by Lucifer and he saw and heard nothing but the moves of the mouth.

Victoria was speaking in Latin. With each word her voice became more confident and stronger. Her speech didn’t stammer a word like if the girl came out of the Era of Caesar, from the Senate, filled with incomparable eloquence and metaphors. Kharon heard just stunningly beautiful Latin speech, understanding every word like it had been before in the days of Caesar when the demon had lived also, but he wasn’t able to catch the meaning. Lucifer, having frozen smile on his lips, realized that the witch was plotting one of the most powerful, ancient spell-protection against him. He was more fascinated with the way Victoria made the spell: her eyes didn’t blink and move but looked straight into Lucifer’s ones; they knew no fear in contrast to the whole body; her lips were whispering the endless text; her voice like a voice of a nightingale was so feminine and magnetic.

‘Lucifer…’ Kharon called softly.

In reply The Fallen Angel waved his hand, intently watching her whispering lips. Then he lifted up his hand and turned his palm up to Victoria. On his open palm a ball burning with fire was born, having inside lightings fulgurated. With admire and inspiration Lucifer was looking at the lighting ball and the whispering lips. Nobody in the café seemed to be noticing anything unusual. All were busy with their own business. Maybe Lucifer didn’t want them to notice…

Suddenly Victoria stopped speaking, took a deep breath, blinked her eyes, trying to see something through a veil before her eyes.

‘I can’t anymore…’ she said barely above a whisper.

‘Goo try, Sunshine!’ Lucifer blew out the fire-ball on his palm and flicked the ashes. ‘I’d have been to be covered with fire, haven’t I? Next time, dear, next time.’

Victoria breathed hard, still experienced worry and fear of The Lord of Hell. But she had no strength to be consumed fully by panic.

‘I’ve been glad to see you, Kharon.’ Lucifer waved at the frozen demon. ‘And you, Sunshine,’ he came closer to the girl. ‘You’ve seen nothing. We haven’t met today. You’ve just come in and seen Kharon. See you.’

He looked mockingly round the girl, snapped his fingers before her nose and having grabbed Akton, disappeared.

‘Kharon!’ Victoria exclaimed, having seen the man.

The demon was totally frustrated. The thing he had seen made him be speechless. Honestly, he got nervous. While he was looking at Victoria his seriousness didn’t face any limits. The true witch was before him and five minutes ago she had tried to set fire on Lucifer.

The evening was brooding. For a long time the girl tried to find out what was wrong with the man, but he made excuses too skilfully use them in response.

Victoria told him nothing about her work, Gregory and his too frequent appearance in her life. She was still naïve to think that Kharon would be nervous because of another man in the girl’s life. Partially she connected the demon’s decadent mood with it. She was unaware that demons couldn’t love, feel and they didn’t know what jealousy meant. They knew nothing about those emotions in relation to a human. Between them they could plunge themselves into argument whom this victim belonged. But to plunge into people’s emotions was no way for them. Lowest, primitive, knowing and seeing nothing creatures that was most of the demons thought of people. But who could explain it to the girl in love? She wanted to get mutual feelings. But she didn’t get them. She had to compensate for missing with her fantasy about that the demon would be angry if he had found out his rivals in love was coming.

In his turn Kharon tried to get all that human grab bag of feelings. But that night he studied the girl who had been spelling. After it he had a pull of questions. Kharon was patient to wait for Victoria to fall asleep and she didn’t make him wait for a long time. The girl quickly went to Morpheus, as she was unbelievably tired as if she had been working for a month with no weekends, waking up at 4 am every day. Of course, it was stupid for her to vie with Lucifer himself. But that was just desperate desire of the witch’s spirit whom Victoria knew still nothing. She didn’t even guess about it. Thanks to sagacious Lucifer she didn’t still understand anything.

‘What the hell was that?’ Kharon unceremoniously burst into his Lord’s apartment.

The Morning Star was sitting near the window with a mysterious smile looking at the silent valleys behind the horizon. It was night. There was a bloody big moon on the sky. There were no stars but only one too far from the Moon. It was the Sun with its solar system. There was the Earth. It was so far that the dim light could hardly be seen in the black canvas of the sky.

There were the highest grey mountaintops on the horizon. They seemed to be so whitish because of the fallen night. Kharon was sure that in ancient times the scene from Lucifer’s apartments had been always fascinating.

‘I’ve been waiting for you, my friend.’ The Lord was still looking at the window. ‘I felt you thinking and raving about the meeting with me, while for the whole evening your Sun was dreaming not to provoke you to be jealous. Well, you’re here and I’m listening to you.’ Lucifer turned away from the window and looked at Kharon.

‘I wanna know what it was in the café?’

‘This could not be much clearer. Want some coffee?’ he poured coffee for Kharon and him. ‘Look. There’s a girl and a gift that she got from the witch. As the girl and the gift are coexisting separately the thing that has happened today can happen. Victoria as a human feels a great fear for our world. Actually, for me. Certainly, it’s ok! I’d have been surprised if she doesn’t. Her gift activated defence reaction. Instinctively. It has no brain and doesn’t understand that any enchantment on me… is just nothing but funny.’

‘Lucifer, your palm was in fire. What’s funny?’ Kharon took his cup.

‘It was a defence spell. I was supposed to be fully covered with fire. Like in a cupola. For this time the witch would have a chance to run away and fire and smoke smell would hide her tracks. There would be nothing I can do, I wouldn’t be able to retrace her.’

Lucifer shrugged his shoulders and smiled. He obviously liked playing with witches, which was certainly not the case of Kharon. He was suspicious as he had met witches only in beds while they had been sleeping. And he had never met a witch to be in love with him.’

‘Do you think it’s safe to provoke the witch in such a way?’

‘I do, it is. Moreover, it’s very alluring. You shouldn’t be worrying as this girl loves you more than her own life.’

‘What’s your interest in it?’

‘I’m always glad to have fun with people. They’re so funny and like babies. You can say them whatever you want and having added the miracle item – it’s beneficial, we get their souls. And people in love are indescribable miracle. I had no need to speak about benefits to Victoria. She didn’t care about it. She just wanted to get you. And she did it. You’re like a rainbow for her.’

Kharon was carefully listening to Lucifer, drinking his coffee, grown up in his place of his own birth, with different taste.

‘Honestly I don’t remember any witch to be in love with you.’ The demon said. ‘How can you be so sure about Victoria?’

‘You’re right, my friend. I have never had a witch who was really in love with me, but I have had women. Women and witches are almost the same. I got on the right side of them and I think you’ll do, too. If you need my help, remember I’m at your disposal.’

‘Of course, I do, Lucifer. How does Akton feel about what he’s seen?’

‘He remembers nothing but one of my most perfect lectures about why he’s forbidden to leave our world.’

‘What if he disobeys again?’

‘Again?’ Lucifer gave Kharon a serious look. ‘I’ll have to divest him of his wings. You know what it means as he does. Certainly, he knows about sanctions, if he dares dispense with my law. Don’t worry Kharon, I’m not a tyrant. I just want my orders to be executed. I’ll let Akton walk in human world definitely as soon as he is ready for it. But it’s not now.’

‘Lucifer,’ the demon said dully, ‘can I ask you a question, away from the certain subject?’

‘I’m listening.’

Lucifer was sitting at the living wooden table, legs of which rooted into the ground from the many-thousands-old oak. The table top was a perfectly turned marble slab of rich black colour. Kharon was sitting opposite on the same chair stylized like the table.

‘Am I able to fall in love?’

The smile quickly faded away from Lucifer’s face. He frowned, rose from the chair and walked about the huge room.

‘I’ve confused you, I’m sorry!’ Kharon rose too.

‘Don’t be, my friend, but your question really made me upset. I’m sorry but I want to know the reason of this question. Can you answer me?’

‘Yes. I’m living with people and many of them are in love with each other. So, this feeling… I wonder if I am able to feel it on my own not on Victoria and having felt her love?’

‘Actually, I’ve never met myself any incubus in love. And I’ve never heard of any…’

Lucifer’s answer surprised Kharon a bit: it was too simple. His Lord never answered like this.

‘Never?’

‘Never. But it means nothing. It doesn’t mean there are no any of them. I can’t meet and know everything what happened before! In our world there’s a definition of love and I know it exactly but I’m not sure that all our habitants are able to be in love. At least I didn’t give love to everyone. It’s the same about people. Not all of them can love and they       take a one-sided view that’s gonna be differ from the view of those who faced love before.’

‘Have you ever been in love?’ Kharon asked.

‘I’ll not play cunning, my friend!’ The Lord smiled. ‘Once I face love. She was very beautiful girl. She died. For a long time I couldn’t get over her disappearance, I annoyed to magicians and witched asking them for help. Alas, there are no winners against the death neither here nor by my father. The death makes all be equal.’

‘How did you get that you were in love?’ Kharon was very interested in how that pathetic feeling could be born.

‘Kharon,’ The Fallen Angel smiled and came up to the demon. ‘If you are in love, you’ll get it. It’s a dawn in the human world. You should go back to your Sun.’

‘You’re right.’

Kharon got up, thanked his friend for his treatment and Lucifer called him when the demon was near the doors.