The Mist and the Lightning. Part I - стр. 16

"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!"