When her gaze met Emil’s, everything stilled. Even the first morning birds went silent in respect of the wondrous moment taking place in front of their Lord.
“It’s your grandmother,” Adam said.
Emil wouldn’t blink, staring at the stranger without a single thought in his head. He remembered the young woman his grandmother had been in the old photos, and the resemblance was undeniable. Taking into account that his grandmother also dabbled in magic, or that Chort existed, Emil couldn’t find it in him to question what he was seeing.
“Is… is that true? I’m Emil Słowik.” He held his hand out to her, but quickly flinched and took off Adam’s coat, which he wore for warmth over his own.
She accepted the woolen garment, but her gaze wouldn’t leave the brown leather jacket covering Emil’s chest. “It’s Zenon’s.”
Emil gave a choked exhale and rubbed his face, overcome with emotions he couldn’t identify. This woman, while undoubtedly a stranger to him, was also the grandmother, who’d been such an important presence in his life even without being there. “It was. But he… Grandpa gave it to me,” he whispered, leaning into Adam, who pulled him close with one of those strong arms he was learning to love.
She lowered her gaze, contemplating his words for several moments. “I hoped I’d see him again, but it all took so much longer than I’d expected. How old are you?”
“Thirty.”
Grandma frowned, clenching her hands on the coat she still hadn’t put on. “Didn’t you get my letter? I thought… I thought that if it didn’t happen before you were twenty-one, bringing Chort back would be a lost cause. And too dangerous for you.”
Emil shook his head, filled with sudden anger. “Only then would it be too dangerous? Do you have any idea what I’ve been through?”
Her lips paled when she pressed them together, but she finally covered her nakedness with the coat. “The valley was suffering. We had to do something, and to whom should I have offered all that power if not to my own grandchild?” she asked, briefly settling her gaze on Adam. “I assumed your grandfather would have protected you from the anger of other believers until Chort came back. Had he really died so young?”
Emil swallowed and cupped his head, his throat full of the anger he longed to express yet couldn’t make himself, because this was still his grandmother.
“Emil, please,” she whispered, taking a step closer, her features twisted with pain. “I know this must have been hard on you but we all make sacrifices.”
That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. “What? No one asked if I wanted to make one! I lost my home, my life’s been a streak of shitty events, and now my boyfriend is literally the devil, so don’t talk to me about fucking sacrifices!”
Grandmother pursed her full lips, scanning Adam from horn to hoof. “Your boyfriend?”
The fact that she hadn’t been secretly following every minute of Emil’s private life as Jinx was actually a relief.
“Yes. I’m gay. It means homosexual, if I’m not being clear enough. And Adam is my partner.”
She took a deep breath, watching them both for the longest time. “Adam will be fine.”
Adam growled, but it was Emil who spread his arms in growing frustration. “Fine? Look at him!”
She exhaled, standing in the bloody mud that stained her feet a deep red every time she moved her toes. “Like Sister Teodora used to, he will only take on this form after sunset.”
“Only?” Emil snarled, but anger was slowly leaving his body, replaced by a sense of joy. He squeezed Adam’s hand and looked at him with a tear-filled smile. “Only at night.”
Adam gave a choked grunt and pulled him into a hug so abrupt Emil lost the ground under his feet. He pressed his soft muzzle to Emil’s face several times before placing him back down. His mismatched gaze betrayed relief, even though he’d seemed so accepting of his fate only moments prior. It would still be a strain on Adam to turn into this creature every night, but at least during the day he could live a normal life among people. They both could.
Grandma sighed, watching them with sadness clouding her eyes. “Those mountains needed him back, Emil. I did what I felt was necessary. But I didn’t think you’d suffer so much. I believed you’d lure him back, and that the two of you would share one body. That you’d be powerful, and safe, and one with nature. I am so sorry, Emil…”
“So you risked all our lives, playing with magic you didn’t even fully understand?” Emil shook his head in disbelief, but his heart softened when he saw tears roll down her bloodstained cheeks.
“I’m sorry. I thought I knew, but when your parents died in the fire, I realized I had no control over any of this. You would have died waiting for Chort’s return, so I made a pact with the forest, and gave you the horse for protection.”
Emil pulled out of Adam’s arms to hug her the moment he heard the tremor in her voice. He was still angry at her, and he hadn’t seen her for over twenty years, but no matter how he looked at it, she was the only family he had left. Maybe it was naive of him, but he wanted to believe her misguided actions had been based on love.
“I wanted this for the sake of your future. The modern world was encroaching on ours, and people have turned away from the old gods. We needed our protector back. But if you’ve been hit so hard by misfortune despite having your stallion, the others must have abused the spell that made you into the lure to gain blessings as you suffered. I’m so sorry, Emil.” She tightened her arms around Emil, and he didn’t even have the strength to argue anymore, no matter how strongly opposed he was to someone else making decisions about his future. That milk had been spilled so long ago it had soured.
“It’s not fine, but we will find a way to move on from this.”
She stayed in his embrace for long seconds, but the family reunion was over when she pulled away to face Adam, who sat cross-legged, with his massive hooves digging into the dirt. It was still strange to see him like this, but the sun would soon rise, and if Grandma was correct they could then both return to the warmth and safety of the parsonage.
“You’re back,” Grandmother said, sinking to her knees in front of Adam’s majestic form.
Adam’s gaze met Emil’s, but he reached out and for a few seconds held his hand on her head. “Thank you, Wanda. I missed my home and my people.”
A shudder speared through Emil when he realized it wasn’t just something Adam said to meet Grandma’s expectations. He actually knew her given name, and the strange, neutral tone was back in his voice, signifying that despite Adam still being here, his soul was entwined with Chort’s forever.
Grandma rose and bowed her head to Adam before turning to look at Emil again. “I can’t return to the village with you. The pact I made with the forest binds me to it, but I will be here when you need me. You can visit. Chort will show you the way.”
“A-are you sure?” Emil asked, but she was already turning away, with a small smile tugging at her mouth as she pushed back her long mane.
Emil couldn’t help but think that it reminded him of Jinx’s. She had been with him all this time, in the flesh even if not with her mind, and while he still hated the way she’d interfered with his life, he also knew she cared for him, or else she wouldn’t have offered her life to the forest so that Jinx could come alive and protect Emil from fatal misfortune.
He was on the fence whether he shouldn’t follow her, but Adam took hold of Emil’s forearm and tugged on it.
“We will see her soon. Maybe it’s best if you gather your thoughts first.”
Emil fell into Adam’s arms, and his body instantly relaxed into their warmth. “At least there was a point to everything I’ve been through. And what you’ve been through. I don’t know if her magic was what brought us together, but it doesn’t matter. My life finally feels whole.”
Adam picked him up with arms as solid as branches of an ancient tree and pressed his forehead to Emil’s in a tender gesture that sent the butterflies inside Emil’s
stomach into a frantic dance. “Maybe this was why I could never find peace? Something was always calling me back home. To you.”
Emil shut his eyes as Adam carried him between the trees, his warmth chasing away the autumn cold. Birds sang louder than ever, and when he looked around, marveling at the bright rays transforming the woods into a golden palace, he saw that Chort’s subjects had come to welcome their king back.
Deer, rabbits, badgers, wolves, bison, and bears watched them from all the side naves of Chort’s glorious home. And crows. Oh, so many crows they resembled black tinsel draped along their way home.
“You will have to stay here forever,” Emil said, no longer worried or weirded out by the strangeness of his situation. Whether he liked it or not, Chort was his lover, and this was their reality.
Adam smiled and playfully nuzzled Emil’s cheek, as if he no longer feared the creature who shared his flesh. They reached the edge of the woods just in time to see the sun emerge from beyond the mountains and reflect off the lake. Adam placed Emil back on the ground, stepping closer to the water, which shimmered like a whole pond full of golden diamonds. Two wolves sat on either side of his giant form like personal guards and gave short howls, announcing his return.
“There’s no place like home,” Adam said when Emil entwined their fingers.
They faced the rising sun together.
Epilogue – Adam
Eight months later
The afternoon sun sizzled the skin of Adam’s nape. Emil had finished looking through the wood delivered for their new home earlier and was walking past Adam with a gait so delicious resisting the pull was futile. Adam grabbed his wrist and pulled him close.
“I love it when you walk around topless,” he said, pressing their bare chests together.
Emil’s mouth curved in a smile, and he slid his arms around Adam’s neck, leaning into the softest of kisses. “Careful. You don’t want to get too excited. We have guests soon,” Emil stated but wouldn’t pull away yet, enjoying the hug as much as Adam.
Someone might see them. Emil’s property was quite remote, but it was summer, and tourists walked by occasionally. Still, Adam no longer cared. And neither did Emil. Bringing their relationship into the open had been the natural thing to do, and while there were those opposed to a gay couple living in their village, Adam wouldn’t let anyone encroach on his life. Not now. Not ever again.
Because this valley was his.
“Do you want something to drink? So hot out here,” Emil said as he stepped away, adjusting the band holding up his long mane.
Adam gently twisted Emil’s nipple piercing. “Yes, please.”
Emil winked at him and walked off toward the small wooden shack they’d call home until the main house was finished. There was still a long way to go, but since the lottery win—courtesy of divine good fortune—they could employ a team of professionals, and the speed of construction had picked up.
Everything was going Adam’s way for once, and while he missed the possibility of travelling, since his nightly transformation forbade him from leaving the valley for more than a couple of hours at a time, he was genuinely happy in his home.
Jinx, the wolf Adam kept as a pet, suddenly rose, its nose picking up an unfamiliar scent. Adam scratched it behind the ear, but when crows rose in a cloud above the nearby woods, he gestured for Jinx to hide close by.
The wolf dashed for the trees while Adam wiped sweat off his body with a small towel and put on his T-shirt. He managed to cover himself just in time before hit parents’ red Toyota came into view.
He approached the dirt road between the property and a wheat field belonging to the neighbor who’d taken in Emil’s horse after the fire and waved at the approaching car, though he already knew there was only one person coming his way.
Dad parked the vehicle on the side of the road and left it as soon as the engine died. They hadn’t seen one another for over a year, and he pulled Adam into a firm hug, bringing with him the familiar scent of old-fashioned cologne.
“You look good son!”
“Mom couldn’t make it?”
Dad’s body faltered, and he pulled away, resting his hands on his hips as he watched Adam with obvious discomfort. “She’ll come around eventually. You know she will.”
Adam wasn’t entirely sure that would be the case, but he still smiled back and gave Dad one more pat on the back. “Here’s to hoping.”
Dad rubbed his moustache, looking at the building site. “Maybe… if you came home for a few days, she’d find it easier to accept all the changes. You could bring Emil with you, stay at that little bed and breakfast close by, and show him where you’ve grown up—“
Adam’s heart squeezed with longing. There was nothing he’d want more, but the truth was that being a prisoner in this valley was a small price to pay for all the good fortune in his life.
“We shall see,” he lied.
Dad licked his lips, once again glancing at the building materials and the foundations. “Wouldn’t it be easier for both of you to live in a bigger city? Or maybe even somewhere people didn’t know you… you know, before.”
Before Adam left priesthood and became the next incarnation of a pagan god. But Dad knew nothing of the truth behind Adam’s change of heart, and he never would.
“It’s really fine. Most people here are more tolerant than they’re given credit for. We take care of our own in this valley,” Adam said and glanced toward the shack. Emil was taking a suspiciously long time with the drinks.
Dad’s cheeks flushed, but he met Adam’s eyes, suddenly tense. “I’m sorry.”
“About what?”
“That I let you become a priest. I knew you weren’t really happy, but I didn’t want to pry.”
It was one of the sweetest, most considerate things Adam had ever heard from anyone, and he pulled his dad into a tight hug that expressed the depth of his gratitude. For his presence here. For his acceptance. For being the best father Adam could have had.
“It’s all right. I think I needed to go through all that to understand myself better. I’d like you to meet him.”
Dad’s throat twitched as he swallowed, but he followed Adam’s lead toward the open door of the shack.
Emil must have understood there was no point in hiding anymore, because he stepped outside in a fresh T-shirt and with shiny hair that had just been combed. There was no hiding his tattoos, though.
“Mr. Kwiatkowski. It’s a pleasure to finally see you in person,” he said but only shook Dad’s hand when it was offered. The exchange of greetings was hilariously awkward, but it warmed Adam’s heart to finally have the two most important men in his life meet. Even if the most important woman wasn’t ready to accept him for who he was.
“Are you ready for Kupala Night?” Emil asked in the end and walked back into the tiny cabin before emerging with glasses of fresh lemonade. They’d picked the mint for it in the woods just this morning.
***
The folk instruments were in such beautiful disharmony it bordered on perfection. Adam leaned back against Emil and listened to the music while his teeth sank into a delicious piece of plum cake one of his new converts had offered him at the beginning of the evening.
Dad had been too tired to stay up in the end, but he wasn’t leaving Dybukowo for a week, and Adam was already looking forward to catching up with him. Now though, he was planning to enjoy the one night of the year he could spend in his own flesh.
Emil’s arm was sturdy behind his back, and as they watched their people gather around the huge bonfire, Adam couldn’t help but wonder at how drastically his life had changed in a year’s time.
“Shall we look for the fern flower tonight?” he whispered, rolling his head over Emil’s shoulder, so they faced one another. Emil’s lips twitched.
“Are you saying you want to visit my Grandmother in the woods?”
Adam sighed and discreetly slid his fingers under Emil’s T-shirt, tickling warm skin. “Not exactly—”
“It’s a beautiful night.” Father Marek’s voice came as a surprise, and Adam noticed the priest approaching their blanket. He didn’t smile, but considering that this was the first time he had willingly approached Adam since the truth about his and Emil’s relationship had come out, it seemed he was ready to bury the hatchet at last.
“It is. How are things working out with your new housekeeper?”
The pastor shrugged and had a sip from a small bottle of vodka. “She’s a much nicer person, but no one can bake like Mrs. Janina used to. May God rest her soul.”
Adam’s stomach grumbled when he remembered the gamey flavor of her meat, so he pushed the remaining chunk of cake deep into his mouth. The pastor stared back at him, his brows rising, but he soon excused himself and walked off to chat with some of the older residents.
“No regrets?” Emil whispered into Adam’s ear, but there wasn’t a single regret in his heart about the night of Forefathers’s Eve.
“No. You foretold it all, remember?” he asked, rising from the blanket as the crowd around the bonfire thickened, about to proceed with the next part of the ceremony. And he wasn’t missing it this time, no longer a slave to fears.
“No, but I believe you,” Emil said, slotting his fingers between Adam’s as they walked toward the dancers. There were still those who looked at their relationship with unkind eyes, but no one could harm either of them while the crows stood watch in the trees.
Marzena, Mrs. Zofia’s daughter bowed her head as they passed, acknowledging Adam’s role in the valley. Since Chort had come back, prosperity stopped being a privilege of the few, and the people of Dybukowo were starting to take notice.
The chatter quieted as they approached the fire, but the moment music picked up, gaining intensity, Emil squeezed Adam’s hand and pulled him that bit closer. The flames reflected off his gaze, as if the forest hiding in his eyes was ablaze, but so was Adam’s heart. They moved in sync, running toward the fire. For the blink of an eye, old fears passed through Adam’s mind, but Emil held his hand, and they leapt together, passing above the flames that licked their bare feet.
Where the Devil Says Goodnight Page 35