The Mist and the Lightning. Part 11

“Ver! Ver!” He shouted, and Verniy, oddly enough, appeared on the threshold.

“Ver, I ask you, if you truly love your master, help him get out of this state,” Lis pleaded.

Ver gazed dispassionately at the stoned Nikto, as if he had not seen his sunken dull eyes, festering scar and tangled hair.

“He, along the way, can't wait for you to die,” said Lis disappointedly, “only I don't like it. Only I am worried about you.”

“Ver,” said Nikto aloud, “stir up something from the stomach for Lis. He's bleeding inside there.”

“Fuck,” drawled Lis. Nikto knocked Arel over on his back, lay down on top of him with his whole body, kissing with cracked lips, Arel was moaning, arching towards him.

“Animals, you are animals!” Lis stood up. “I'm leaving. I'll be back tomorrow morning.”

“Ver will bring you the medicine,” Nikto said without turning around.

“Nik, I ask you…” began Lis.

Nikto put his fingers into Arel's tight mouth, making him moan in pain.

Lis went out.

When he returned to the room the next morning, he saw that nothing had changed. The shutters were still tightly closed, a candle barely glowed in the twilight, the sharp chemical smell of drugs tickled his nose so that his eyes began to water. Nikto was lying prone on the bed, his blond hair sweeping away. Arel sat tied by his wrists to the headboard, the rope still gripping his mouth. He opened his eyelids hard, looking at Lis with a dull look.

“You motherfuckers!” Lis opened the shutters and the window with a crash, bright light and fresh wind burst into the room. Lis, confidently walking up to the bed, untied Arel and cut the rope that tightened his mouth from behind. He didn’t even try to untie the knots which Nikto made. On the prince's face, where the rope cut into the skin, a dark purple stripe from ear to ear remained.

Nikto got up:

“What?” He barely uttered.

“Come to your senses, Kors is coming!”

“No,” Nikto murmured, “I know when. Not today.”

“Get up, let's go to the river. You need to refresh yourself. You need a brainwash!”

“Did the medicine help you?”

“Yes, thanks, get up, Arel!”

“Not on a horse,” he murmured in horror, “no, no,” he whined.

“Get it out, get it out of him!” Lis said in an orderly tone and turned to Nikto.

“No, “ he threw sharply, still rising from the bed.

“Pull it out, you will play with him at the waterfalls, drown him there to hell!”

This idea seemed to interest Nikto.

“Ver,” he called, “bring the mask, Arel's clothes, dress him.”

“Dress him up and get the bump out of his ass, I don’t want him to whine on the way,” said Lis.

“He will ride with me on the same horse.”

“Damn, you don’t unstuck even for a second!”

Ver returned to the room with a bunch of some kind of leather harness, treating Arel like a big doll, and began to busily tighten his body, black with bruises, with belts. Nikto nevertheless pulled out a large ribbed dildo from Arel.

“I’ll put on him a mask myself,” he said to Ver with unhealthy passion and love in his eyes, covering Arel’s face with a crust of hard black skin.

“And don’t forget to put on a mask onto yourself,” said Lis gloomily. “How I hate you, you are burnt out, Nikto!”

“I won't forget,” Nikto said, and Lis watched with disgust as he tightened all the belts on his beloved Arel for a long time and thoroughly.

Covered with leather clothing like with a shell, Arel moved stiffly, he was shaking. Ver covered his hair with a hood.

“Dress your second slave soon,” urged Lis. And Nikto dressed and covered his face with a black mask too. “Don’t you also want to shove anything into yourself?” Lis grimaced, seeing that completely collected Nikto and Arel differed little from each other, except for the color of their hair. “Two slaves of the Demon,” Lis said caustically.

“Lis, you are my slave too. Don’t forget it!” Nikto answered sharply.

And Lis silently grinned angrily.

“Want a bell in your nose? Fuck, you will get it instead of the throne!”

“I already somehow don’t even doubt,” Lis snapped again, “it looks like this is all you can do!”

Nikto, a moment ago so lethargic, suddenly came up sharply to Lis and grabbed him by the hair from behind, squeezing with a death grip, lifting his face up.

“Can't you see the limits, Lis?!” He hissed and threw Lis away from him with such force that he, flying half the room, slammed sideways into the wall, slid down, instinctively covering his head with his hands.

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry,” Lis hastened to say, “now I see the Demon.”

“What a fool.”

“Sorry.”

“I'll break your head off, Lis, I'll print your fucking redhead into the wall if you don't shut up.”

Lis knelt down.

“Do you want me to order Ver to piss in your mouth now for your words? And you will swallow, I swear I will train you!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, don't,” Lis was tense. “I have understood everything, I will no longer say that, please.”

“Come on,” Nikto passed him, “for the last time, Lis, I don't touch you. Remember. There won't be a second time.”

They drove to the river, and Nikto put Arel on the Unclean Power in front of him, hugging all the way. Khabir Verniy stayed behind to guard the path, and they, leaving their horses, went down through the grotto to the lake. Lis told Nikto that he had already drowned the prince.

“Do you know how his ass shrinks when he starts to choke?!” He laughed.

And in the eyes of Arel, whom Nikto freed from the mask, a sincere fear was reflected and he began to whisper:

“No, no, please…”

But, of course, his pleas, like all the previous ones before, were completely in vain. And at first they mocked him for a long time, forcing him to walk along the water's edge on all fours. Nikto drove him back and forth like a dog by the chain in his nose, sometimes faster, sometimes slower. Then he blindfolded Arel with a leather bandage. And having allowed him to get up, he transferred him to the opposite bank of the creek. There they began to dip Arel into the water and fucked him in turns. While one fucked, the other kept the prince's head under the water, lowered. Several times the poor man choked, and Nikto rudely brought him to his senses, pressing on the chest with his knee. Arel vomited water and was in a semi-faint state. With threats, they forced him to try to hold his breath as long as possible. And if he began to sip water too quickly, earlier than needed, as they thought, they pulled him to the beach and kicked him a little, but perceptibly, rolling on the sand. They poked his face in the sand. Then, at last, they played enough, nearly drowning the poor prince four times. Returning to the grass, they sat down to eat. Nikto gave a piece of bread with cheese in Arel’s hand:

“Eat!”

He watched with satisfaction as Arel awkwardly held the sandwich with his hand in a wet leather glove, how he tried to eat, how helplessly he turned his head to the voice of Nikto. Blind, wet, submissive.

“Drink some wine too,” Nikto thrust a glass into his hands, “refresh yourself.”

He finally untied the tight bandage that held Arel's head and allowed him to open his eyes. Arel blinked often, squinting, his eyes were watering from the daylight. Nikto was clearly in a blissful mood:

“Tell me, slave, what do you want to ask? Ask!”

Arel in fright almost choked on a piece of bread and barely uttered:

“Can I please give a pee?”

Nikto, smiling, nodded and, holding out his hand, opened the faucet in Arel's chastity belt.

“Just step away, over there to the bushes. But so that I can see you! He and Lis watched as Arel was awkwardly trying to cope with a small need: so that urine from the small hole in his chastity belt didn’t flow down his legs, he had to squat down.

“He can't pee standing now, Nikto, what are you doing to him?” Lis laughed. Arel returned to them, sat down without looking up.

Nikto reached out and stroked his nose ring:

“Look at me!” He ordered.

Arel immediately looked up, frightened and resigned. Nikto looked at him, not looking up, intently, while continuing to play with the ring with his fingers, then sipping it from side to side, then clicking on it:

“I allow you to cum!” Nikto suddenly said very clearly.

And Arel began to thrash, tremble, Nikto continued to firmly hold him by the ring hanging from his nose, forcing Arel slightly lifting his head up, wriggle, writhe in his hands, making whining, completely inhuman sounds. White liquid spurted from the hole in the chastity belt.

“I've never seen anything more disgusting!” Lis said, turning away.

And when Arel's body finally stopped contracting convulsively, Nikto let go of the ring, and Arel immediately fell on its side. With his gloved hands, he began to scratch the metal chastity belt, as if trying to rip it off, not realizing that this was a pointless attempt. Nikto watched as Arel, in a hopeless fit, tried to tear off his belt and leather straps, digging into the body.

“In the morning I'll give you to Ver,” he said, “it's time to heal you.”

Nikto pulled Arel to him and turned off the tap. Arel howled in frustration and pain. Nikto fastened the chain to the nose ring and pulled on it again.

“Calm down, calm down,” he ordered, “if you try to take something off, rip off or at least weaken, I will cut off your fucking hands! All the same, they are unnecessary to you.” Arel looked at him with such indescribable horror that Nikto laughed. “Calm down, I'm kidding, it amuses me how you scratch yourself and you still can't do anything. Are the straps too tight? Everything hurts, right? Ver will heal you. Because things still need to be done here!” He nodded at Lis. “There, he’s sitting, worried. So I'll release you soon.”

Arel leaned towards Nikto, trying to kiss his hands.

“Stop it already!” Lis couldn’t stand it.

“Stop standing over me like a brood hen and clucking,” Nikto said to Lis.

“We will not have time to do anything!”

“We will have time for everything.”

Towards evening, they returned to the Estate and continued.

“I'm tired, please,” Arel barely whispered, and his tear-filled eyes glittered.

“I'll let you rest, but later. I said in the morning,” Nikto answered.

“Why are you even letting him open his mouth for nothing,” said Lis. “Come on, fasten his tongue, and let him hum.” Lis grinned and snapped hard on the metal ring sticking out in the corner of Arel's lips. He twitched, clinking chains, shrank:

“Please give me a little rest! Get these rings out of my mouth, please, at least for a little while!”

“They are small,” Nikto was sincerely surprised, “how can they bother you? What, Lis, do you like the way he whines?”

“I like it,” agreed Lis, “let him whine, as you say, let him plead.”

Arel closed his eyes. Nikto unhooked his hands from the headboard, and Arel awkwardly covered his mouth with numb hands.

“Yes, you're right,” Lis smiled, “he twitches funny. I didn't think he would beg after what you did to him.”

“He doesn’t remember much and is really tired,” Nikto explained, “and he begs from time to time, I like it. I allow him to do it sometimes. Now I keep him in chains for a long time and rarely let him cum. He can get relief now only after I give permission and utter the necessary words. He was exhausted.”

Lis looked at Arel's solid steel chastity belt.

“When was the last time he touched his cock?”

“It doesn't matter now,” Nikto shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. His cock no longer belongs to him. He no longer has a cock.”

“Arel, do you feel this tube that Nikto put into your cock?”

Arel raised his bright brown eyes, outlined in black tattoo, at him.

“Yes, get it out, at least for a while! Get some rest! Nik, get it out, please! It’s tearing me apart!”

“He asks to get everything out today,” said Lis.

Nikto again fixed Arel's hands, lifting them strongly up and twisting them a little. Now, any movement caused Arel pain in the twisted joints.

“Please, stop!”

“Calm down!” Lis shouted at him. “Be patient, since he himself wanted it! All of us were in chains for some periods of our lives.”

“Arel, on the whole, withstands movement restrictions very well,” said Nikto. “I’ll weaken you in the morning, maybe not for long. Now, slave, don't even hope! But you can still beg! I love listening to your pleas. The way I bind you, and you pray for the relaxation of trials. Pray to me, Arel, as to your gods, and maybe I will be more merciful. Or maybe I'll make it even more painful so that your current position seems to you happiness. And you begged for it back to you. I can do better, or I can do even worse!”

“You are my God! You are my God!” Arel whispered, crucified on the bed. “I beg you, give me a little rest! Let me breathe a little free.”

“I'll let you rest tomorrow morning! And now you will stay tied up and keep whining how it hurts! Even kids prefer toys that squeak.”

Lis laughed.

“And yet, Arel, remember, if a man did it with you, it would be bad! But I am not a man – I am your God! And that means everything that I do with you is good! Good for you!”

Chapter three

The guest

Nikto still forced himself to return to business. They had to travel a little to the east, to the nearest river, in order to find a good, not deep place for the army to cross the river.

“Will you comb me?” Nikto asked Karina. “Ver doesn't know how to braid all those kinds of braids.”

Karina smiled:

“Do you like them?”

“Well, they get tangled less and you don't need to comb it for a long time.”

“Ah,” Karina held out and took the comb handed to her.

“And I will thank you,” Nikto promised.

“How?”

“Do you want me to fuck you?”

At these words of Nikto, Arel, who was sitting on the floor by the bed, raised his head and looked at Karina with a look full of jealousy.

“No, thanks,” Karina answered quickly and tried to concentrate on untangling the old braids at the temples of Nikto. “Let's do without gratitude.”

“Why?”

“I don’t want it.”

“You want it,” Nikto smiled.

“Why do you think so? I love Lis.”

“So what?”

“I want to marry him!”

Nikto laughed:

“All girls are different, but they always want the same thing! You are already the third in my memory.”

Karina thought about Dony, who helped Nikto, and then married successfully. Did she ask the Demon for this?

“Are you talking about Dony? And who else?”

“Never mind. I have understood you.”

“I was joking!” Karina was scared. “I hope you won’t order him?!”

“No, don't worry. And think about my first proposal, you liked it before.”

Karina's cheeks flushed:

“Is Arel not enough for you? Can you explain to me your relationship? You touch him and do what you want with him, but he doesn't. What is the pleasure of such a relationship? That you won't even let him touch you. He doesn't hug you, doesn't stroke you, doesn't kiss you. Only you do everything. Don't you want him to hug you, stroke you with his hands without gloves? And you don't even let him touch you with gloves on. Shouldn't pleasure be mutual?”

“You don’t understand anything,” Nikto said, “hug and kiss Lis as long as you like.”

“But this is a manifestation of love! Did you do the same with your girlfriend?”

“Who are you talking about now?”

“About Rosa.”

“Oh! You have found a worthy one to remember!” Nikto chuckled. “She's your brother's girlfriend, not mine.”

“If you, if you would really find a way to go into your world…”

“I will find it!” Nikto reacted too harshly. And Karina, frightened, tried to calm him down and somehow smooth out her unpleasant words:

“I believe it! I sincerely believe in this, which is why I say when you leave for your world.”

“Well, then?” He pulled himself together.

“And if you left my brother’s body, I would hire the best doctors,” Karina said, “including doctor Balthazar.”

“What?! Don't remind me of that old asshole!”

“Sorry. He's a good doctor in fact, it just didn't work out for you. And he would have cured my brother. We would find Rosa and they would be happy.”

“What?! You're nuts! Your brother is blind and dumb. What Rosa? How much time has passed?”

“Well, not so much, in fact,” Karina objected, “you know, I haven't seen Lis for many years either. And when we met again, it was as if those years had never happened.”

“Do you think she is still sitting and waiting for him at the portal?”

“For some reason I believe in it. And besides, it's so easy to check.”

“No!” Nikto answered. “When I leave, do what you want with your crazy brother. But only if I can leave. Look for Rosa. I won't care anymore.”

“Can he open a portal to the Upper World without your help?”

“He can, and he opened it. Only he won't, I'm sure. After all that he did to himself. Why does she need a cripple, Karina? Your fantasies will kill me!”

“Me and the doctors, we will cure him!”

“Nonsense!”

“Is it impossible to restore the ligaments? Well? Answer the truth.”

“Maybe. Would you get the tattoos off him too?”

“Yes!”

Nikto laughed:

“How long will you have to mess around! And the scar?”

“We'll come up with something! And in the Upper World, doctors work miracles!”

“She’s just the forester’s daughter.”

“Yes, she is. But I'll become a queen! Do you think I won’t write out the best red, and white, if necessary, doctors for my beloved brother?”

“And he will become as good as new and then open the portal, and Rosa will be sitting there and waiting, huh?” Nikto finished for Karina.

“Yes,” said Karina, “she is waiting for him. I believe it! And my brother, so handsome, healthy, without tattoos and scars, and sighted. He will embrace her, they will hold each other, and he will say, “I promised I wouldn’t leave you and would come back!” And she will cry with happiness. And she will say, “Could you? The demon is no longer in you?” And she will run her fingers over the barely visible scar on his face.”

“And he will say: “My sister Karina helped me! My savior! I couldn't have done it without her!” Nikto said. “Karina, just don't cry, okay?”

“I won’t cry, you can scoff as much as you want!”

“And they will live happily, there, in the forest hut. Quiet and secluded. Well, and you, you will live happily in the palace, be a queen. You're crazy?”

“Say what you want! Only she is a quiet and modest daughter of a forester, and she is twenty-five years old, and every day she sits at the portal and waits and believes. And I believe! And you! You know it!”

“No,” Nikto shook his head, “I don't know it. The Upper world is not in my power.”

“If my brother managed to escape then, he would be free,” Karina said.

“But he failed.”

“At least he managed to save his Rosa. Poor, poor brother of mine. I will help him!”

“Arel, what will you say?” Nikto tugged slightly on the chain, fastened with one side to the ring in the prince’s nose, the other end was wrapped around Nikto’s wrist.

“She will forget about her brother as soon as she drives into the Red Royal Palace,” Arel said, “then it would be safer to leave him to my idiot Vil Luven. He will really take care of the cripple.”

“Do you hear?” Nikto tried to turn his head to Karina.

“You say as if I hadn’t taken you out of prison!” She said indignantly, and she really wanted to pull his hair with force.

“Wow! Yes! It was a real feat!”

“Are you kidding? I won’t comb your hair again then!”

“Yes, come on really, get finished, I'm tired of it. And it's time to go.”

Valentine, who timidly entered the room, froze on the threshold, the lower part of his face was covered with an iron strip of the muzzle, but the frightened eyes spoke for themselves.

“Is everything ready?” Lis asked sharply, he finished the wine from the glass in a couple of sips and got up from the table.

“I… yes… there…” Valentine began to stutter, trembling.

“What the fuck is it?!” Lis swore.

“A sir has come to you… he said that his name was V… Vitor… Kors!”

“WHAT?!”

Karina jumped up:

“Father?!”

“Damn it,” Lis shouted in annoyance, “he came when we need to leave! We didn't have enough time!”

He jabbed his finger towards Nikto:

“I said that we would not be in time!” Lis began to swear.

“Calm down!” Nikto payed back in his own coin. “We will have time for everything!”

“We didn’t make it in time because of your pranks and that,” Lis nodded contemptuously at Arel.

“Close your mouth!” Nikto swore too hard.

Their conversation in a raised voice sounded something like this:

“Damn, we're going to fuck it all up because of you! Instead of shoving your dick in the ass of this goner…”

“Lis, shut up your fucking mouth…”

And at that moment Vitor Kors entered the room.

“Good evening,” he said. And they fell silent, staring blankly at him.

“I realized that I couldn't wait for your servant to take me into the house and introduce me officially. I don’t want to offend anyone, but he looked somewhat mentally retarded, so I had the courage to go in myself, as it’s cold outside. And I thought that not observing official decency in your hospitable home would not be perceived as a violation of etiquette or disrespect.”

“Wh …wh… What?” Lis barely uttered, starting to stutter the same way as Valentine. And Karina rushed to her father.

“Father!” She hugged him. “I am insanely glad for your arrival!”

In response, he also hugged her tightly, and then pushed her aside, looking at her:

“I'm glad you're alive,” he said quietly.

“Everything is fine with me!” She assured him fervently, realizing that he was looking at her short hair that barely reached her shoulders.

“Sit down, Vitor Kors,” said Nikto at last. “Yes, you're right, everything is simple with us.” Because of the mask, the expression of his face was not visible.

They sat down at the table, silently and with some tension, looking at each other. The pause dragged on.

“Hm,” Kors cleared his throat, “I see you are packed, there are saddled horses in the yard, were you going somewhere? Am I in the way?”

“Did you come alone?” Lis answered impatiently with a question.

“Yes.” And seeing the obvious disappointment and annoyance in the eyes of the Fox, Kors smiled with a token smile and added: “I left my people in the town near the fair.”

“And you were not afraid to come here like this? Alone?” Lis grimaced.

“I have told you,” Kors stressed the last word, “I left a regiment of my soldiers in the town.”

“How many?! A regiment?!” Lis shook his head, as if driving away the obsession. He could not hide his emotions.

“Three battalions of three hundred men each, not counting the servicemen.”

“Where did you get so many warriors?” Lis was stunned.

And Kors laughed:

“Well… I'm pretty rich, Lis. Lis? Is that what I should call you? We never communicated closely, unfortunately, the military department for some reason believed that you were in their competence.”

“Indeed, unfortunately,” Lis smiled his trademark grin, he looked pleased and no longer so dumbfounded. “But no matter what is being done, everything is for the best! But now, I'm sure we'll make wonderful friends.”

Kors raised an eyebrow.

“I thought so too. And so I came alone, as if I were visiting friends.” He turned his gaze to Nikto and Arel.

“Make yourself at home!” Nikto said.

And Karina looked at him gratefully.

“Valentine,” Nikto ordered, “bring food and wine for our guest.”

Kors relaxed a little.

“Let's forget the old times!”

“Yes of course!”

Nikto raised a glass:

“Let's drink to the meeting!”

“For the meeting!” Kors agreed, and they drank wine. Everyone, except for Arel, who still didn’t know how to eat and drink, without removing the mask, but lifting only its lower part. Kors noticed this: “You don't take off your masks? I would like to chat with you, Nikto, seeing your face.”

“I beg your pardon,” Nikto said, and it was clear that this was not for real, “but, unfortunately, I can't take it off now, since we were going on the road, and I glue it along the edge to my face and now you fucking won’t pull it off… that is… it is no longer possible to take off.”

“Yes! I'm delaying you!” Kors stood up.

“No, no, not at all,” Lis also jumped up, “we were just going to get to the river and find a good place for crossing.”

“So far?”

“Yes.”

“But why?”

“To go further.”

“Further, as far as I know, is the village of Riverside, the territory of the Reds and the border fortress.”

“Exactly. We're going to take this fortress.”

“I saw that you have soldiers, but are they enough?”

“Yes, there are few of them, but why not try?”

“I'm afraid that this is too tough nut to crack, and maybe it was worth training your army,” Kors chuckled, at these words, “on smaller goals at first?”

Nikto turned to Lis:

“Lis, show him the map and tell everything.”

Lis spread a map of the area on the table and began to explain. He very quickly, competently and clearly outlined all positions and cleared areas.

And Kors was impressed, the grin left his face. Karina, watching her father, saw this and was proud of Lis. He was a born warrior and now he was in his element, communication with Nikto and Arel clearly led him to degradation, and now he seemed to have perked up.

“I'm impressed,” Kors said. “It's fair. Handsomely. No unnecessary movements, everything is very economical and at the same time productive.”

“Yes, we are not as stupid as you thought,” Nikto answered, and Lis looked at him condemningly, just as before, Arel always looked at Tol when he blurted out something out of place.

“I beg your pardon, I probably just judged the people of the prince by their master,” Kors answered with his own coin, and poor Arel, who had not said a word during all this time, again remained silent.

Kors no longer looked at him and at Nikto either, he asked Lis a few clarifying questions and received comprehensive answers. Karina saw that her father and her fiancé clearly found a common language, meanwhile as two warriors, but still.

“So how many soldiers do you have now? I didn't understand how you separate them, to be honest, you have non-standard platoons and squads.”

“Lis divided Arel’s militiamen into the red manner,” said Nikto, “the red ones form the units a little differently, you should know, Kors?”

“Yes, I know, of course, it's just that it's black.”

“Well, they are black, and our commander is red, and he is more used to it.”

“It's more convenient for me to command,” said Lis. “I'm used to the scheme of reds. What difference does it make that they are black?”

“I see,” it was obvious that Kors was a little stunned by such a blatant disposition, “and the unclean ones?”

“The unclean ones are mine,” and Nikto named the number of the unclean ones, and how they were divided.

“Are you joking? Such inconsistency?! If I bring my warriors, who are formed according to the classical scheme and the rules of the black army, how will we bring all this to a common denominator?”

“Let's figure it out,” Lis smiled, “I also know the charter of blacks.”

“So, if you don’t go into details, you have two detachments of militias, a little more than a hundred people. And about three hundred unclean half-bloods, which are divided into three companies, and in one company there are fifty unclean, and in the other more than a hundred, and each with its own commander.”

“Yes,” Nikto answered him, “Nija has few soldiers, and Zaf has more. I cannot divide them equally and give Zaf's warriors under the command of Nija or Tazh.”

“That is, each commander has his own soldiers as property, this is not a very suitable alignment. Soldiers should be assigned depending on the task at hand, and not on who their commander is.”

Nikto shrugged his shoulders:

“Nothing can be done here, they are unclean.”

“You also have red ones, I noticed, in the yard?”

“Yes, the red warriors who went over to our side. There are sixty of them.”

“But they are red!”

“Every warrior is dear to us. They went over to our side.”

“But they will betray as soon as the opportunity presents itself!”

“Let them try, and half of them are former deserters of the Red Army who fled from the Red order. Ordinary guys in bad circumstances will come in handy,” Lis interjected.

“And many people know and remember Lis, have heard about him and want to be in the army of the legendary Sigmer.”

“Come on, Nik,” Lis was a little embarrassed, “they just like the local peasant women.”

“What are you doing?! Why do you mix black with red, however… more on that later… and you really count every warrior.”

“Father, reds are people too!” Karina intervened, fearing that now talk about the purity of blood, race and human waste might begin. It's a good thing that they didn't say that soon several half-breeds will be born from the red and unclean!

“Yes,” Kors shook his head, “let's leave this topic, you are not noble blacks and just don’t understand the meaning of the true code of purity. Let's go back to the territories. This area would also be worth checking out,” he said, bending over the map,

“Yes, but it is on the maps and it will be possible to draw up a plan here, focusing on them and not wasting time on exploration. Not to attract the attention of the enemy,” answered Lis, and Karina noticed with relief that he didn’t attach any importance to the hints that were offensive to every black, and as if nothing had happened continued the conversation. “How is he used to all this pretentious husk of blacks,” Karina thought with some regret, “he doesn’t react at all and doesn’t hear. How many times have they said this to him?” Nikto didn’t react either. Poor half-breeds, they are so accustomed that they don’t even hear that they are being insulted. And Karina, for the umpteenth time, mentally thanked the Gods for being born with dark eyes and hair, like all black ones.

“We will drive only to the crossing and will return within a couple of days.”

“Yes, yes, of course. I don't want to detain you now, you could go, and I would stay with my daughter and wait for you,” said Kors.

“We cannot leave Karina,” Nikto objected, “she knows the river well, since she was already there. But I would be glad if you stayed and waited for us. We will leave you all the maps of the area and leave Prince Arel, he will give you all the materials you want. Is it possible?”

“All right,” said Kors, “I'll wait for you. You are planning a very risky business, and I want to understand better and decide everything for myself. And I also want to talk on your return without masks, seriously and in a more frank manner.”

Chapter four

Kors and Arel

Vitor Kors knocked on the door of the prince’s room and entered it. Arel raised his face, still covered with a mask, from the sheet of paper lying on the table in front of him. Kors looked around the room with some surprise. It was perfectly cleaned: the bed was neatly covered with a fur blanket made from the skins of the fluffy gray foxes that were found at the North Sea and here in the South were a rarity, sheer luxury. There were scraper marks on the clean wooden floor, not a single drop of wax. In the far corner of the room, on a chair, was khabir Verniy, he was without a mask, and perhaps this confused Kors. Verniy was sitting on a chair, bent over an iron bucket, in one paw he held a shiny, ornate candlestick for seven candles, but now empty, in the other – a thick wax candle. The candle burned brightly, and Ver led the flame along the curls of the candlestick. Wax adhered to complex patterns melted from the fire and dripped into the bucket. Thus, the candlestick was quickly cleared. All that was left was to wipe it down with a cloth, and it glittered again like new with gold. The second candlestick, perfectly cleaned, was already standing on the bedside table. Verniy only raised his eyes and again began to slowly move the candle over the candlestick.