The Mist and the Lightning. Part 10 - стр. 5

“Like you fell asleep on Friday and woke up on Monday?”

He turned away, he didn't want to talk about it. I didn't want to listen to her. And she only had an hour. What to do?

She sat in confusion, and her brother also sat with his back against the wall, and was silent. It looked like this was his favorite pastime. Maybe he really was mentally retarded, as Arel said. Arel knew him better than anyone, now she understood it. And now she respected the prince for that. For insight and fearlessness.

“Nik?” She called, finally realizing that he didn’t intend to continue the conversation and fell into his favorite stupor. He shuddered, he responded to Nik.

“Nik, he left for only an hour. Do you want a cigarette? Or wine? Feel the taste for yourself.”

He shook his head.

“Maybe… “restorative”?” She asked carefully. And he again shook his head negatively, then he thought about it and wrote: “Water.”

She got up and poured water from a jug, gave it to him, put it in his hand, he took a few sips, and the water ran down his chin. The paralyzed side of his face didn’t move. He wiped the water off with his hand. The hand also moved badly.

“Why are you so opposed to him? Do you know something more? About his plans? What else does he have to do here? You know?”

“He spoils the souls of people. Now he is collecting them. He has collected a lot. You gave him a lot of strength.”

“Let him collect them! What does it matter to us? Think about yourself!”

“I think. He didn't take mine. I will not obey. I will not submit.”

“Then he will just smear you!!!”

“You have already been smeared,” her brother Nikto wrote.

“You are crazy! He will make Lis the king of the Reds in this world and, perhaps, he will help me too, so that I become his queen, I will ask him about it, why not? And you… will you continue to interfere with him like a ram?”

Nikto wrote, “Yes.”

And Karina, no longer able to stand it, shouted:

“Arel! Lis! Come here!”

She noticed how he tensed as they entered the room, responding instantly to her call. She silently handed them the notebook.

“Hi Karina. Please leave. Go away. Get out of here. Save yourself! He's fooling you! He's fooling you. He fooled you. Run before it's too late. He took your souls. I'm sorry. What's the date today? Nothing. Water. He spoils the souls of people. Now he is collecting them. He has collected a lot. You gave him a lot of strength. I think. He didn't take mine. I will not obey. I will not submit. You have already been smeared. Yes.”

“You see what he writes,” she complained to them.

“Can I hit him?” Arel said when he finally read what he had written. Lis had read it earlier and turned away.

“No, though,” Arel changed his mind. “I'll give him a duel! Hey bro, can you fight?”

Nikto nodded.

“He’s blind,” said Lis.

“He seems to know how to fight blind,” said Karina. “I saw it in prison.”

“Then let's go! Where is Nik’s sword? Come out into the yard!”

“Let's go,” said Karina, slightly pulling her brother's hand, and he got up. Without resisting, he followed her.

They went out into the courtyard, Lis put a sword in his hand, with which Nikto-Demon fought.

“And if he kills you, Arel?” He asked suddenly. Because the blind Nikto took the sword very confidently, as if he himself wanted it.