"And me being a slave myself doesn't trouble you, does it?"
"You're not born a slave, it means you're not a slave."
"But other people don't think so, they will despise you for associating with me. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. The Upper City is closed for me."
"Well, as you see we're opening it for you. Now it depends on you if you have enough courage to enter it."
"I do. But if you decide everything together, I would like to know what Lis, Enriki and Tol think of me. I know you've discussed it and decided – and yet."
"All right, Enriki, what will you say?"
"I'll say we need an experienced man, and you suit us."
"And I'll say," Lis sighed, "that I was against you but I'm in a minority. But as for the opinion of the society, I don't care, for sure."
"Me too," Orel said.
Nikto laughed. "Oh well, I see you don't care about anything but Tol doesn't think so, it seems."
"No, I don't!"
"To-o-ol!"
"No, Orel, wait. I want to have a say, too. I care! I hate it when people laugh at my face and say that Orel's group is a pathetic bunch of idiots and it's just a matter of time to finish them off. I'm going to return us our former respect. And Nikto will help us to scare them all shitless!"
"Ooh. Tol! What are you thinking? What is this trash in your head?" Orel sighed hopelessly.
"Just forbid him to open his mouth at all," Lis said, annoyed.
"You keep your mouth shut, you redhead half-blood!" Tol retorted.
"How can I scare them?" Nikto asked. "Can you explain me?"
"Yes, I can!" Tol said defiantly. "And stop confusing me, shut your mouth, shut your mouth! Everyone knows WHO his father is!"
Everyone froze but Nikto stayed sitting calmly and his expression didn't change.
"You're gonna to get bitten," Lis said.
"Damn you," Nikto said and then looked at Tol with a smirk. "And you are not afraid, are you?"
"I am," Tol said. "But now you're our friend, so, he won't harm us."
"But maybe it's better to stay away from such friends?"
"Maybe it's better – but I like to risk, and it's a good chance to test my luck! And I'm sure you won't be at disadvantage either. You have to join us. I'm speaking straight, I can't come up with clever speeches like Orel. Will you join us?"
"I will," Nikto said.
"Well, Tol, today is your day," Lis said.
"Let's toast. For all of us!" Enriki raised his glass.
They drank some wine and lit cigarettes.
"Can you read and write?" Tol asked Nikto after a while.
"Yes," Nikto said; he smoked leaning against the back of the chair, as usual. The scar crossing his face seemed black in the dim light.
"Human language? Or Unclean?"
"Both. And Red too."
"Cool!" Tol was surprised. "But do you write like you speak?"
"What do you mean?"
"Hmm, a little incorrectly, you're speaking not quite like we do. Same words but somehow another feeling."
"I think Tol means accent," Lis said. "You speak with an accent yourself, Tol."
"Me? You're kidding."
Everyone laughed.
"Do I write with an accent?" Nikto smiled. "No, Tol, I write better than I speak."
"And I speak better," Tol said and everyone laughed again. "Lis is lying about me having an accent! Do you see me having an accent, Nikto?"
"No, I don't."
"See?" he turned to Lis showing him a fist. "Don't you dare kid me."
"You have a south-western accent," Lis said. "Don't you remember where you're from?"
"Okay, I remember but you also remember watching your mouth."
"All right, all right," Lis shook his head.
"And can you count, do you know book-keeping?" Tol asked Nikto again.
"I can."
"Look at him, he can do anything!"
"I heard you're good with maps," Lis said.
Nikto glanced at him.
"Yes, quite so," he said slowly, his eyes not leaving Lis's face.
"And you can even draw them," Lis said standing Nikto's gaze.
"Hey, Lis," Orel said, "do you need a map?"
"No," Lis lowered his gaze obeying Orel's words.
"And can you play cards?" Tol brightened. "Like Snap, or Rummy, or…"
Nikto looked at Tol.
"I can. I can play cards, Tol. I'll leave you broke in a moment."
"We'll see!" Tol bellowed. It looked like he enjoyed this little quarrel to no end.
"And do you like human women?" he asked Nikto again. Nikto looked at Orel who was smiling.
"I like women," Nikto said.
"Me too," Tol said happily. "Do you prefer blondes or brunettes?"
"Oh, I don’t know, I like them all."
"Yes! Me too. But Orel says it can't be, that one has to have, what's that called, preferences."
"Maybe but I don't care."
"Obviously," Lis muttered. But Nikto didn't answer his dig.
"You're really a cool guy!" Tol slapped Nikto's shoulder. "Not a shithead as I thought at first!"
"To-o-ol!" Orel moaned, for the countless time this night, and everyone laughed.
Chapter 4
In the Castle
They left through the backdoor of 'Backara' and walked straight to the backyard, five dark figures blending into the darkness of the night.
Slaves guarding the horses rushed to them and bowed. The slaves were not deceived with thick black leather of the cloaks, they knew who was coming. Horses snorted, stepping from one hoof to the other, sensing their masters' approach.
Orel tossed a small coin to the chief of the slaves who knelt bowing in gratitude. Other slaves also knelt following his lead. They knew it was not just any customers but their masters.
"Get off!" Orel waved his hand impatiently.
The slave grabbed the coin and backed away without raising his head, to his shelter behind the stables. Others followed him soundlessly.
Orel walked up to the horses and untied his beautiful horse.
"Are you astride?" he asked Nikto.
"Yes, of course. It would've taken me three hours to walk here from the Unclean District."
"Where did you leave it?"
"Nearby. Two quarters away from here."
"Did you leave it alone?" Tol asked.
"Him. I have a stallion. No, of course not. My servant is watching over him."
"Is your servant one of the Unclean?"
"Yes."
"Can I look at him?"
"Tol, don't you have anything better to do?" Orel asked. He patted his horse, pressed his mask to its nose. "Let's go, my dear."
Holding their horses by the bridle they walked to the place where Nikto left his stallion. It was quiet around, just from 'Backara' one could hear soft music and sometimes bursts of female laughter.
Despite limping, Nikto walked quickly and with confidence, easily finding his way in the dark streets. Suddenly he stopped. Orel nearly ran into him from behind.
"Fuck, Nikto!" he growled softly. Nikto looked back quickly, laughed glancing at Orel.
"I left my stallion here."
And at once there was soft clattering from the darkness, and the horse came up straight to Nikto.
"Where is the Unclean?" Tol asked.
Nikto made a hissing sound. A black silhouette emerged from the darkness near the wall, approached his master.
"What do you want from him?" Nikto asked Tol.
"I want him to show his face."
"No," Orel said. "It's just unhealthy curiosity. You're not a child, Tol. Nikto, I order you to send your slave away."
Nikto quietly said a few words in the language of the Unclean and the servant again disappeared in the darkness without saying a word.
"I know what you said to him," Lis said. "You told him to go home, right?"
"Yes, something like that."
"You were not speaking 'true' Unclean to him but some adapted version."
"The Unclean in the city understand only it." Nikto mounted his stallion making him rear.
"Let's go," Orel commanded spurring his beautiful horse and led the way along the street. The others followed him.
They had to take a roundabout way to reach the gates of the Upper City that were always opened for Orel. The Upper City was full of lights and people as always, they had to slow down a little but Orel knew how to avoid the most crowded streets and squares.
He directed the horse into narrow, empty streets and soon they were ascending the city tier after tier.
It was quiet around Orel's castle. He looked back, the riders stopped and turned their horses.
A beautiful and sublime view lay in front of them.
Far below, the night city spread in its magnitude, piercing the sky with spears of sharp towers that lined the fortress wall looking like a thin snake. The downtown sparkled with colorful lights, life there didn't stop for a moment, unlike in the Lower City that had only its main streets lit. Torch fires glimmered over the Coliseum but farther the city was drowning in the dark, its contours merging into blackness. One couldn't see where it ended; just separate, distant lights flickering here and there proved that there was a city somewhere in this night, this quietness. The city that was not asleep.
"I hate this city," Orel said. "It's too small for me!"
Everyone laughed because the city in front of them was enormous.
"I see the lights in the quarters of the Unclean. What are they doing now?" he asked Nikto.
"Some dirty things, likely," Nikto said. "Can they even do anything but dirty things?"
The group of friends laughed again.
"No, I mean it. Many times I looked at their neighborhoods from here and they always have lights at night. I thought the Unclean didn't need so much light."
"They don't need light at all. They work," Nikto said, "and they will be working throughout the night, in their workshops and forges. It's the light of their ovens."
"Let's go," Orel said, turning his horse and riding to the castle.
The bridge was down, a servant was hastily opening the gates. The watchman on the tower had given him a signal that the master was coming. The square in front of the main entrance was lit brightly.
"Orel, why do you never raise your bridge?" Enriki asked.
"What for?" Orel said. "Let anyone who cares come, and we'll deal with them."
Tol cackled in approval.
"Wow! What a horse you have!" Orel was looking at Nikto's stallion in the bright light of torches. The stallion stepped from one hoof to another impatiently and snorted: he wanted to continue his gallop. Nikto pushed off the hood of his cloak and took off his mask. He smiled from his horse barely keeping the stallion in place.
Orel dismounted and passed his beautiful horse to the servant, then reached his hand to the muzzle of Nikto's black stallion. The horse raised its lip and bared its teeth, growling and showing sharp fangs.
Orel withdrew his hand quickly.
"Is he Unclean?"
"Yes."
The stallion reared and Nikto shouted at him in the language of the Unclean, striking him with a lash. The stallion danced under him.
"He is wild," Lis said. "He won't tear our horses, will he?"
"And our servants as well," Enriki said.
"Is he eating meat?" Tol asked.
Nikto tossed his head pushing away his hair.
"Yes."
He jumped down quickly, put his palm onto the stallion's muzzle and whispered a few words. The horse calmed down immediately, as if falling asleep. Nikto turned to the group of friends, they took off their masks and watched him with interest.
"Here, he won't harm anyone now."
"He's out of it! Just like that! I can't believe my eyes," Tol said.
"I'll have him kept separately from others and locked up, just in case," Orel said.
The servant was afraid to come up.
"Hey, what are you standing there?" Orel said. "Take the horse, do you have any shame left?"
The servant, paper-white, slowly pulled the Unclean horse who obediently followed him.
"How much does such a beast cost?" Orel asked. "Thirty thousand, I bet."
"Why are you so rich?" Tol got curious.
"I'm fighting for money," Nikto said. "And the stallion is a gift."
"Welcome to the castle of the prince Arel Chig!" Orel made an inviting gesture.
They walked up the stairs and the servants opened massive carved doors for them.
"Not like the first time, is it?" Orel said to Nikto. Nikto glanced at him.
"Yes," he said simply.
"Hey, Nikto, can you make someone else's horse fall asleep?" Lis asked. Nikto stopped at the entrance.
"Lis, what's bugging you?"
"Tell me." Lis met Nikto's grey eyes with his yellow eyes and didn't look away.
"Yes, I can pacify a horse."
"Only your own horse? Or any horse? Or maybe not only a horse?"
"No." Nikto almost hissed it. He was speaking slowly, carefully choosing every word, and because of it his accent and a distorted timbre of his voice were even more pronounced, revealing his alien nature.
"No. It is only my horse I can pacify. I trained him like that. No one else."
Servants were pressing to the walls in terror, and the friends were silent and looked at Nikto.
"What's wrong, Lis?" Now Nikto was talking calmly. "Two hours ago you were sure I could read someone else's thoughts and you were not afraid of it. And now you're implying that I'm going to hypnotize you. Why didn't I hypnotize you when you killed my friend Lamy then? When you were beating and abusing my Unclean? When you nearly killed me!"
"Why indeed," Lis said; he was very pale.
Nikto squeezed his temples with his palms.
"Enough of it, enough," he whispered. "You wanted me to be with you, you voted, you came to an agreement with me. I am what I am, and if you're going to suspect me in every little thing, I'd better leave now."
"No!" Orel exclaimed. "You're not leaving! Lis will leave if he decides to say anything else."
He gave Lis an expressive look.
"I don't like magic tricks,” Lis said. "If he is a warlock, I'd like him to admit it now."
"Lis, he lived among the Unclean, his horse is an Unclean, he hangs around with them, he's used to it. No magic here," Enriki said.
"Do you even care how Nikto talks to his horse," Tol said.
"If you're going to pick on Nikto because of small things, you'd better leave, Lis," Orel said.
"I won't say another word," Lis promised. "What are we standing here for?"
He turned away and started climbing the stairs. Orel touched Nikto's hand.
"Let's go," he smiled. "You've scared my servants shitless."
Nikto didn't answer. He walked up to the wide stairs and followed Orel holding the rails. They entered the central hall of the castle, huge, gloomy and empty. Servants rushed around to aid them.
"Welcome to the table," Orel said, "the dinner will be ready in a moment."
He pointed at the big table in the left, higher part of the hall. A few steep stairs led to the table.
Nikto took out his sword and walked up the stairs leaning onto it. Orel looked at him in surprise.
"Do you always do it like that?"
"Sometimes."
Orel sat at the table and pointed at the chair on the left of him. "You're sitting here." Nikto sat down silently.
"Can't you walk up the stairs without a prop?" Orel asked.
"I can't – now."
"And what if we have to fight on the stairs…" Orel started but kept silent after looking at Nikto's face.
They sat down, everyone taking his place. Enriki and Lis sat on the right from Orel, on the left side, opposite to them, Nikto and Tol were sitting. Behind Orel's back there was a narrow stairs going to the second floor.
Servants were laying the table hastily.
"Enough, enough of it!" Orel snapped at them. "Get out! And don't you hang around here or on the arcade!"
They stayed alone in the huge hall.
"Treat yourself, Nikto," Orel said. "You'll like what my cooks do. Everyone likes."
"But Nikto is not everyone," Enriki said.
"Ooh, I've just realized how hungry I am," Tol said grabbing his plate. The friends laughed.
"Don't pay attention," Orel said. "We're laughing because he always says that, no matter how many times a day he eats."
"He is always hungry," Enriki said.
"Yeah, that's true," Tol said with his mouth stuffed.
"Hey, Tol, we haven't had a drink for our new agreement yet," Orel raised his goblet.
"Huh? I think we have, when we agreed," Tol said without blinking.
"Fine, stop eating, let's drink for the beginning of our joint business," Orel reached his goblet over the table and everyone joined him raising their goblets.
"Now, pour yourself what you want, without servants. We are of easy manners here, even though I am a prince," Orel said. "What do you think about telling us a little of yourself?" he asked Nikto.
Nikto who didn't expect this question clasped his throat choking and barely managed to swallow.
"Oh gods, you'll kill him with your questions!" Tol said chuckling. The others laughed, too.
"Aah, he's really feeling bad, poor guy."
Nikto rose from the table, sat down on the stairs and coughed, turning away from them.
"Orel, slap his back!" They were dying with laughter. Finally, after clearing his throat, Nikto came back to them. Orel looked at him smiling.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, sorry."
"No, I'm sorry, I chose a bad time for asking, you didn't expect it…"
"You're fucking bonkers, man!" Tol said.
"Fuck off."
"What?"
"You heard what! Fuck off of me."
"Do you hear, Orel, he's telling me to fuck off!" Tol was laughing.
"Enough! You're a bunch of idiots!" Orel yelled making a strict face. "Stop laughing and eat!"
He didn’t pull it off though, started laughing, too, and the others followed his example.
"I'd like to talk about business," Orel said at last.
Tol hiccupped. Nikto lit a cigarette leaning against the back of the chair.
"What we told each other before was not true or partly true. What we learned about you from others needs to be confirmed," Orel said. "I don't want to go deeper into it but there are some things we need to clarify here and now."
"I can tell of myself," Nikto said, "if you tell me of yourselves. And if you are honest about it."
"All right, what do you want to know?" Orel said. "We have nothing to hide."
"You start."
"What is your real name?"
"Not again," Enriki moaned. "Aren't you tired of it, Orel?"
Orel glanced at him in annoyance. "Shut up."
"Orel, it's silly."
"Shut. Up."
"My name is really Nikto1, as funny as it sounds. I have a nickname instead of a name. There was time when it angered me deeply but then I got used to it. I don't have a family name or father's name either."
"No name, no family name, are you a commoner?"
"I don't know my real parents."
"Who named you then?"
"My foster mother."
"She was a jolly woman, it seems," Enriki said.
"She was a witch."
It was Lis's turn to choke. He whispered shaking his head. "A foster mother, indeed."
"Lis, I've had enough of you," Nikto said.
"What do you think, Nikto can't have a mother?" Tol said digging with a fork in his teeth.
"He can," Lis said in an icy voice.
"That's enough about me," Nikto said, "now you tell me of yourselves."
"You can ask." Orel smoothened his long dark hair.
"Why are you called Orel2?"
"Ha." Orel laughed. "I don't even remember that, my ancestors thought an eagle was their forebear, something like that. I'm the last scion of that ancient, formerly royal family. Prince Arel Chig from the family of Eagle."
"Cool," Nikto said. "Now Lis."
"My name is Atley Alis," Lis said without enthusiasm. "Atley son of Alis."
"Why Lis3?"
"Can you guess it?" Lis tossed his dark-red hair gathered in a ponytail on his nape. Nikto smiled.
"You can guess," Lis stated. "No more questions then?"
"You're not a Black, are you?"
"No. I'm a Red half-blood." Lis winced. "My father was a Red. Something else?"
"Your teeth, they are filed in the way only Red warriors file them. Are you one of them?"
"In the past I was," Lis smirked. "I betrayed them and joined our side."
"Cool, too," Nikto said. "Now Tol."
"At last! My name is Ram Murh! These bastards call me Tolsty4 just because I'm taller and stronger than them! And then they got tired of saying such a long word and they started calling me Tol! I'm not a commoner or a half-blood! I'm a true Black, a native citizen of this damned world! My father owns huge lands in the southwest, only I don't like it there, it's boring."
"As far as I remember, there are only forests."
"Yep."
"And you're the owner of those forests."
"Not yet," Tol laughed. "In ten years, maybe."
"Enriki, now it's your turn."
"I'm from the city and my family lives here. And I'm the only one Orel didn't come up with a nickname for. My name is Enriki Galas and I'm a former investigator, eight years worked for the secret police."
"I think I want to be your friend!"
"Do you like my people, Nikto?" Orel smiled.
"Chosen with a great taste, I'd say."
"Then a question for you," Orel paused. "Is it true what the Unclean say? There is a creature from another world behind you."
"If I say there is a part of the truth in these words, will it be enough?"
"Yes," Orel said. He was looking at Nikto as if he saw him for the first time.
"Do you meet with *him*?" Tol asked; he seemed careless as always.
"What?"
"You know, I've decided I'll take back all the bad words I said to you," Tol laughed. But the others didn't feel like laughing.
"Fine," Orel said at last. "We've cleared it and won't talk of it again."
"So, you're an Unclean, aren't you?" Enriki asked.
"Not at all."
"You look like an Unclean."
"He looks like a half-blood," Tol said.
"The Black have dark hair and eyes," Orel said. "The Red have red hair and yellow eyes. Nikto has blonde hair and light eyes, he looks like someone from the White world."
"I spent my childhood in the southeast near to the entrance to their world," Nikto said.
"Have you been there?"
"Yes."
"Have you seen the sky?"
"Yes."
"How does it look?"
"When it is covered with clouds it looks just like ours."
"So, what are you? Are you a White half-blood?"
"Yes."
"You still look like an Unclean to me," Enriki said.
"I've lived among them a lifetime."
"Oh, Orel, you have a knack for making pleasant acquaintances," Lis said.
"Now we have two half-bloods," Tol said. "Lis is a Black-Red and Nikto is a Black-White."
"Rather Unclean-White," Enriki corrected him.
"The Red and the White races belong to the upper world," Lis said, "they cannot have children from the Unclean, you should know that. Only the Black race that belongs to the lower world can interbreed with the Unclean, and even then not with any Unclean."
"Nikto, can you make a baby to your Unclean girlfriend?" Tol asked.
Nikto laughed. "No, Tol. She is too alien. I think I can't have children at all, as many half-bloods can't."
"How old are you?"
"I don't know exactly. Same age as you are, I think."
"I'm twenty-one and Lis is twenty-nine."
"And I'm probably somewhere between you."
"You look cool," Tol said. "You would be handsome if not for the scar."
"And tattoos," Enriki added. Nikto lowered his head and kept silent.
"Stop embarrassing him," Orel said somewhat nervously. "Enough of your questions, let's have a drink!"
Chapter 5
In the Morning
"Orel, do you understand what you dragged us into?" Enriki said. "Didn't you reassure us saying that the Unclean were lying?"
"Didn't you say you'd never believe that bullshit of the Unclean?!" Lis added.
"I still can't quite believe it myself." Orel spread his arms.
"Are you mad? He said it yesterday himself, literally: my mother is a witch, my father is a devil!" Lis hissed at him.
"He didn't say his father was a devil… literally," Orel muttered in annoyance.
"What are you trying to achieve? Orel, think who you want to have business with!"
"Do you mean 'who you want to have'!" Orel shouted.
"You said that, not me," Lis said.
"Tol is on my side. Tol isn't afraid of him."
"Tol is an idiot," Lis said.
"Tol wouldn't like you saying that," Enriki interfered.
"And I shit care if he wouldn't! Everything's going to hell and I don't care what Tol likes or not," Lis raised his voice.
"You're panicking because of nothing."
"Yes. Sure."
"What can he do to us?" Orel leaned over the table to Lis. "Kill us and start living in my castle? Take away our streets? It's ridiculous, Lis."
"He can take away you power."
"Oh really? And become a prince? Prince Nobody! I don't have so much power to tempt anyone to take it."
"We will become his puppets. And you have already become one."
"So far he's obeying me."
"Such hubris! He's a wolf in a sheep's skin. Yes, that's true, he pretends to be a misfortunate cripple but his eyes give him away. His cold calculating stare. In his heart he's laughing at us. He's so confident that he doesn't even mind me, my digs only amuse him, I feel that!"
"Lis, you've lost your mind," Orel said slowly; he looked at Lis in surprise and with some sympathy.
"Don't look at me like that, Arel, do you hear me?"
"Sit down," Orel snapped. Lis obeyed hugging his head.
"Oh gods, what's going to happen to us!"
"Why do you keep silent, Enriki?"
"I don't know, Arel. I don't think Nikto wants your castle. I'm more concerned with your intentions. Arel, forget your plans."
"But I fell in love with him! I need him, I want him, want him every minute! The more I look at him, the more I want him!"
"So, who's losing his mind?" Lis said skeptically.
"Orel, leave everything as is, let him stay with us. But for gods' sake, don't touch him – I'm afraid for you," Enriki said.
"Easier said than done! I can't. I want to touch his hair. I can't stand it any more!"
"You're a pervert," Lis winced, "thinking with your ass, not with your head. But if you get together with him, you won't break away from him easily. He's not Toby who was your toy and then you dropped him. Nikto is different – do you understand you want to fuck the son of the Devil? It's the worst thing one can come up with."
"It excites me even more."
"Orel, I beg you, stop," Enriki moaned. "What do you like about him? His hair? He's probably never combed it. It's dirty and twisted. And his hands – fingers black with tattoos! And what about his face – one has to be totally crazy to tattoo his face!"
"Orel doesn't see it," Lis interrupted. "He's got into a trap. I bet you even like his tattoos. He looks like a painted jug but it arouses you, doesn't it?"
"No," Orel snapped. "Enough. Lis, you belong to me and you know you can't just leave me: either you obey me or one of us dies. Do you want that?"
"I won't fight you," Lis said. "You'll kill me and I want to keep living to see how it ends. I obey your will. Cherish your cripple."
"Don't call him a cripple!"
"Your wish is my command, my lord."
"I order you to become his friend as soon as possible, do you hear?"
"Yes, my lord."
"Right. Enriki, I'm talking to you, too."
Enriki bowed his head. "Yes, my lord."
"Uugh, I'm so hungry!" Tol tumbled into the hall loudly and stopped, looking at everyone in surprise. "Are you praying or what? Ooh, buns for breakfast…" He froze catching Orel's burning stare. "All right, all right, I'm not saying a word."
"By the way," he said a little later when noticing that Orel had calmed down, "where is Nikto? Doesn't he have breakfast with us?"
"I sent a servant to bring him half an hour ago," Orel said. He rang the bell.
"Did you wake up the master?" he asked a shaking servant.
"Yes."
"What did he say?"
"He said," the servant started shaking even more, "…'go to hell!' I was afraid and left. I'm very afraid of him." The servant sobbed and fell onto his knees. "I thought he'd kill me! He looked at me – like I wasn't there – and said: 'Go to hell!' and my legs seemed to carry me to the door by themselves," the servant cried.
"All right, you idiot, you can go. I'll wake him up myself," Orel said.
"Yeah, you try," Tol winked at him.
Orel walked up the stairs and quietly entered the room that had been offered to Nikto yesterday. It was one of the best rooms in the castle.
A splendid bed with a canopy was located on the dais near the wall. The floor was covered with expensive furs. They were littered with Nikto's weapons, his clothes and bag.
Orel approached soundlessly.
Nikto lay in bed on his side, covered with a fur layer up to his waist. He was asleep. Orel stopped and looked at him. Nikto didn't move. Orel smiled and slowly reached to his belt. Carefully, he took out his knife without taking his gaze away from the sleeping man. He raised the knife aiming at Nikto's closed eye. His muscles were taut, he was ready for Nikto to wake up any moment. But Nikto kept breathing evenly and Orel relaxed his hand, lowered it slowly, nearly touching Nikto's eye with the tip of the knife.
"Bingo," he said quietly, then took the knife away. "Lis is just an idiot."
Something crunched under his boot and he jumped back, frightened. Looking down he saw it was just one of the pills that fell out of Nikto's carelessly tossed bag. He picked up a few smooth white capsules.
"What could it be?" He dropped them back on the floor. "Hey, Nikto, wake up!"
Nikto stirred, opened his eyes slowly. He looked at Orel as if he was seeing him for the first time in his life. Orel felt uneasy.
"Hey, come round," he said apprehensively.
"Aah," Nikto drawled. "Prince Arel Chig." He turned to his back, stretched his arms, then covered his face with his palms. "All right, all right, I'm getting up." He took his hands away from his face. "Shit, it's too light here!"
Orel watched him silently.
Nikto sat up in bed shaking his shaggy head. He raised his face looking straight ahead of him with a strange, empty look.
Orel who stood at the side backed away in fear.
"Nikto, stop fooling around," he said.
Nikto turned to him looking through him.
"Orel," he said, "leave now, please. I'm coming down in a moment."
Orel recoiled, then left the room. He walked down to his friends.
"What happened?" A chorus of questions met him.
"Nothing." Orel managed to regain control.
"You look even worse than the servant did!"
"I said everything's all right. Tol, pour me some coffee," he ordered in annoyance.
Gulping his coffee, he looked at Lis.
"Lis," he said quietly, "I could've killed him ten times right now, do you hear me? Ten times! And I'll spit at your face if you say he was giving in to me on purpose."
"Is it true?"
"Yes!"
"I don't know," Lis said shakily, "I don't know."
"I know," Orel interrupted him. "He trusts me and he isn't dangerous to us."
Nikto slowly walked down the stairs and approached the company.
"Hello," he said.
"Good morning," Tol waved to him. "You don't look good, you know."
"Orel, may I sit with my back to the window?" Nikto asked.
"Fine," Orel said. "Enriki, let him sit in your place."
Enriki exchanged places with Nikto in surprise. Now Nikto was sitting on the right from Orel, next to Lis. He took a cup silently and started drinking.
"Nikto, you didn't warn me the daylight caused you such problems," Orel said, "and today isn't even sunny."
"I'm okay," Nikto said, "I've just forgotten when I got up in the morning for the last time."