The Mist and the Lightning. Part III. Ви Корс
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Lis if you don't believe me, but I don't hide anything from you, I'm telling the truth."
Tol looked at Lis questioningly, and Lis nodded at him silently.
"And when the downfall comes – he won't die, will he?" Tol still was in doubt.
"When the downfall comes, he'll be strong enough to survive it on usual restorers or strong alcohol, and that's all."
"Then I'm for it," Tol decided at last. "The main thing is for Enriki to live, and we'll help him to quit the drugs!"
"Well said," Squint-Eye smiled.
"Help Nikto or Squint-Eye to quit, and Squint-Eye doesn't even use 'water', just normal restorers, as he calls them," Lis shook his head.
"But you did quit? If Squint-Eye tells the truth and you used 'water' – you did quit?"
"You're a fool," Lis said bitterly.
"Can I vote?" Vil asked gingerly.
"Yes. Don't ask silly questions. Since Orel made you his, you're one of us."
"I'm against 'black water'," Vil said. "It's a sin, and Enriki will never be able to go to gods. We cannot take this opportunity away from him. He was lethally wounded in a battle, and the gods wait for him in heaven. Although I love Enriki very much and he is very dear to me… It is because he always treated me kindly, we should pray for him and let gods decide whether to let him stay with us or not. I also was lethally wounded," Vil glanced at Lis quickly – Lis sat frozen, like a stone figure, "but I survived without 'black water'. It was gods' will! Listen to me, they saved me…"
"They?" Squint-Eye asked ironically. "Maybe, someone just the opposite?"
"I will pray for Enriki," Vil said and lowered his head.
"So, we can't decide anything," Tol summarized. "Two against two. We need to ask Arel and Nikto."
"Orel said he doesn't care and won't participate in anything." Squint-Eye lit a cigarette.
"Did he say exactly something like that?" Vil asked doubtfully.
"Noo," Squint-Eye drawled, smirking. "He said much worse, cursed me all over, and Enriki, too, by the way. He thinks we are to blame for everything. Me, Enriki and you."
"If Orel doesn't want to," Tol said, "let's leave him alone. Then we need to ask Nikto."
"No!" Lis got up abruptly. "It will mean his choice will be decisive!"
"Don't jerk so, Lis," Squint-Eye sat in the armchair and looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"I don't understand, Lis, do you want to take away his right to vote?" Tol was exasperated. "He is one of us!"
"Lis, perhaps Nikto will support us," Vil said.
"Yeah right," Lis laughed mirthlessly.
"I'm against deciding it without Nikto," Tol continued. "Besides, he has some experience in it."
"I'm also against deciding without Nikto," Vil added. "We cannot decide for him."
"But we can decide for Enriki, right?" Lis shouted. 'I'm against the 'water' and Nikto there!"
"Then we'll never come to anything," Tol got angry. "I'm going to bring Nikto and, maybe, Orel will come, too."
"I hope they're fucking each other and won't come," Squint-Eye hissed. "I'm sure, Lis, sooner or later you and I would come to an agreement."
"No, we wouldn’t! But it doesn't matter, everything will be as the Devil wants!" Lis fell into the armchair and unclasped the foxtail hair clip, letting his wavy reddish hair fall over his shoulders. He looked tired.
For a while they sat silently and waited for Tol and Nikto. Suddenly Lis raised his head.
"I've changed my mind. I'm for it. Squint-Eye, do it!"
"What?!" Squint-Eye didn't understand.
"Do what you wanted to! Do it now and let's be done with it!"
Squint-Eye didn't ask anything, got up quickly taking a small black bottle out of his secret pocket.
"You cannot!" Vil screamed seeing Squint-Eye's preparations. "Lis, what's going on?"
"Shut up, we're tired of you!" Lis got up and punched Vil's jaw. Vil didn't expect it, waved his hands losing balance – and another immediate blow made him fall on the floor. The third blow – a shattering kick of an iron-heeled boot – followed, and Vil lost consciousness.
Squint-Eye didn't even look back.
"I don't want him to interfere at the most important moment," Lis explained.
Squint-Eye walked up to Enriki and without a moment of hesitation, the way only he could do it – it was his special talent – quickly and calmly injected him 'black water'.
It was all they had time to do.
When Tol and Nikto entered the room, they understood everything at once.
"I've changed my mind, Tol," Lis said calmly; his eyes glittered again.
"What a shit you are!" Tol was infuriated. "You did it on purpose, just not to let Nikto vote!"
"What if I agreed with you, Lis?" Nikto asked. He stood in the doorway, leaning against the doorjamb, stood and looked at Lis. And Lis looked at him, at his face crossed by a scar, a scar that disfigured him so much, at his tousled fair hair.
"I don't want to trust you," Lis whispered.
"Why? You and I, we both went through it, we know…"
"I don't know anything!" Lis screamed.
"And who knows? The first and the best warrior of the Red – Sigmer?"
Lis started back.
"You're a traitor, Lis! A traitor!" Vil got up from the floor heavily. "You betrayed Enriki! I hate you! I don't know what kind of a man you were when you were called Sigmer but I know that now, when you're called Atley Alis, you're a real shit!"
* * *
Thick shining candles lit the room pleasantly making it warm and cozy. Obeying this soft play of shadows, the furs with animal heads didn't just bare their teeth but smiled. Leaning over an unconscious slave, Orel said:
"Come round, you dumb bitch!" and punched her belly again trying to make her regain consciousness. The slave didn't move.
Nikto who sat on the bed yawned. His arms were fully unwrapped and smeared with healing ointment from wrist to elbow.
"Are you going to come round, bitch?" Orel slapped the girl's cheek with such force that her head jerked aside unnaturally. "Shit! She's got on my nerves, Nik!"
"What do you want?"
"I want to love her! And she doesn't come round!"
"Fuck her."
"It's boring like that!"
"Really?"
"Don't laugh at me! Or you'll join her!"
"I'm so scared." Nikto reached for his precious lacquered box.
"No," there was plea in Orel's voice, "don't leave me! You're just sleeping and taking drugs, nothing else! I'm all alone! I don't want to get used to being alone! Do you hear me? Do you understand me?"
Nikto raised his grey eyes, looked at Orel somewhat questioningly.
"You don't need to answer," Orel turned away.
He leaned to the slave again, didn't find any changes and yanked her by the hair abruptly, raising her like a big doll. He slammed her head against the back of the bed. The massive bed shook and Nikto froze with a needle in his hand.
"Arel, move away from the bed," he said very quietly.
"She'd dead," Orel said watching blood leaking from the slave's nose.
"She is the fourth this week, Arel."
Orel kept silent.
"You didn't fuck any of them, you just kill them. Do you hate women?"
"I love them."
"Leave