The Mist and the Lightning. Part 14. Ви Корс

to Karina that a bottle of wine was thrust between her legs, and not a genital organ. Despite his bulkiness, Tol moved at a fast pace and was not bad at all. He bent over her, kissing on the lips, and then Karina dodged away, because Tol was kissing badly, he had too much saliva in his mouth and the kisses were slobbering.

      Later, Lis and Lila returned to their bed. And Tol’s wife looked at Karina’s body all with bruises and marks from a whip so that it seemed to Karina that Lila could barely restrain her exclamation, turned away, changing her face, and Karina quickly put on a dress. Lila’s reaction didn’t embarrass her or upset her. What was wrong? Sometimes it happened. Her husband was like that. He was a strict commander, and Karina had nothing to be ashamed of. This was their personal family life, Lis loved her, and these were just traces of the manifestation of his love and passion.

      And Tol noticed the scars on Lis’ thigh:

      “Hey bro, what is it? What happened to you?”

      “Never mind,” said Lis.

      But Tol continued to stare at three even, maroon stripes:

      “But how? Where did you get in again, sly beast?”

      “Tol, tell me better, how did you find us? You are whom I didn’t expect to see here!”

      “You sent me a letter!”

      “Have you started to read letters?”

      “Yeah,” Tol grinned contentedly, not noticing Lis’ trick and forgetting the previous topic of conversation about his scars.

      “We arrived at the Prince’s Estate,” Tol smiled slyly and looked like a contented cat, “but you were no longer there. There was no one there at all! And we decided to go after you. We followed in your footsteps.”

      “But why so long!” Lis couldn’t resist.

      “Why? We got lost! Lost a lot, buddy. At first we walked right up to the crossing. There your footbridge remained and everything that you did there. The carts left deep ruts… there were remnants of fire pit. It was easy to go. But after the crossing, the weather turned bad, fuck it! It rained for several days. And the river overflowed, and everything in the area was washed away, it became a continuous mess. It was not clear where to go. We went to the wrong field. Then we realized that we were going in the wrong direction and returned to the crossing. We couldn’t understand where to go. The land was large, fields and hills, even if you walk along it for a week, you will not find the right road. And there is no one to ask.”

      “Oh, Gods, Tol! And the map?”

      “Which map?”

      “Maybe you should have looked for maps of the area in the Estate?”

      “What for? Did you draw where you went?”

      “Okay… How did you find us?”

      Tol made a conspiratorial look:

      “And, brother, death helped us three times.”

      “What?!”

      “We accidentally stumbled upon a corpse. We got desperate and that was it… it was Dick Coal. He kept thinking and thinking. He recalled his childhood in these parts. How the reds attacked, how they burned down his house. How he saved Lila, and he almost burned out himself. He noticed a crow. And he said: “Since the crows fly there, there is something there.” We went there and saw a grave dug by animals. Not deep. And there was a dead man. Slave. The collar was tight on his neck, the skin was swollen around, it was horrible. And he himself was thin as a skeleton. We realized that he died of hunger, apparently, you dug him in. You know how happy we were! We found the right trail! We found our way. So they began to search the ground, and after a couple of days we found a new dead man, it was a red. You captured the red, we decided so. He still had some crap on his face. Broken. Dick said these were glasses, he saw, they red ones wear it from blindness. When they don’t see, but clothe, they begin to see through this glass. We were even more delighted when this blind man was found. At this point we completely understood that we were on the right track. And for sure! We passed the blind man, and there was a third, a girl. Beautiful. Only badly beaten, broken bones, they scoffed at her great, it seems. And her hair was cut off to her shoulders, and you know what her hair was?! I've never seen this! Pink like flowers! She was just lying in the ditch. Why did you kill her?”

      “This was a slave of the unclean,” said Lis, he sat in thought, his head bowed.

      “That's how we found you in three deaths, Al! Well, what about you? So what about your leg? What are these scars from? Who hurt you like that?”

      Lis looked at the three scars on his thigh:

      “I cut myself by accident. Tol, this is all nonsense. Irrelevant! The main thing is you found us! And we won!”

      “Yes!”

      “Now I'm sure we will capture Ore too! Do you need diamonds, Tol?”

      “Nope…”

      “Hey? What are you saying, dear!” Lila interrupted him indignantly. “We need them! We will build a Theater! Big, luxurious Theater! On Asa Street!”

      Tol’s face darkened:

      “I pity Asa, but I have forgiven you long, long ago, my friend.”

      “Sorry,” said Lis, “I didn't mean to. But she provoked me.”

      “Yes, she was a bad woman, but when her wish was fulfilled, and Borgan forced me to marry her for a gambling debt, she completely lost her head.”

      “Have you forgiven me?”

      “Yes, brother.”

      And Karina's head suddenly came up with a distinct picture:

      The prince's estate, and Nikto asks Karina to comb him.

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

      “Do you like them?”

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

      “Ah.”

      “And I will thank you.”

      “How?”

      “Do you want me to fuck you?”

      “No, thanks. Let's do without gratitude.”

      “Why?”

      “I don’t want it.”

      “You want it.”

      “Why do you think so? I love Lis.”

      “So what?”

      “I want to marry him!”

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

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

      “Never mind. I have understood you.”

      “All girls are different, but they dream about the same thing. You are already the third in my memory.” Here it is! First was Asa! First was Asa! She married Tol, who, unfortunately, lost at cards, her wish was fulfilled, but she was not happy for long. By an absurd accident due to a silly quarrel, Lis killed her. And the second, second was Nikto’s girlfriend, Dony. Dony, of course Dony, because she also married some rich landowner by the sea.

      Father ordered Karina to go to Dony, literally forced her, Karina remembered how she didn’t want to do this then, to find out who had hit Dony on the head, she didn’t give a shit. Now, she already knew that her beloved and best husband did it. She didn't give a damn about it then, and even more so now.

      Dony, in a hurry, is packing up her things, her fiancé should come for her at any minute.

      “Maybe you should, nevertheless, return to your female destiny, Karina, it seems to me that what you are doing doesn’t suit you at all. Before it's too late! Love someone in the end, and stop