I shook my hands and shaken my hands.
- Dismissed!
And she turned to the door. I didn't want to go. The beast was going inside. It was an incredible waste of energy. I wanted to fall to the floor, to relax - and that nobody, and never... and in general...
I barely got past the vampire. For a moment, our eyes met.
It was only then that Mecislav decided to hug me at the waist.
* * *
Julia was mad. Mechislav could feel it. But there was nothing he could do. It was like Alfonso was getting into trouble on purpose. But when he pressed Julia's brother into the wall, Miecislav understood - it's the last straw. He jerked to his last name, but he couldn't stop it.
It's like a hot wind from Julie. Her power swirled, burning everyone present, and she slipped towards Alfonso. Along the way she did something, as if shaking her hand, but Mieczysław did not understand - what. His attention was completely fixed on the expression of the girl's face. He wouldn't be surprised at the fangs that grew from under Julien's lips.
Julia stepped up to Alfonso da Silva - and elusively changed. The vampire could not understand what the change was, but suddenly he was afraid.
The face of a beautiful woman suddenly dimmed, as if he was wearing a translucent mask. It was the same, but the mist turned, blurred out, and the beastly features glanced over. The same eyes, forehead, nose, but from above it was like a predatory animal face. Not a werewolf, no. But... something like an obsession. The madness of rage. Beast rage and madness.
Wouldn't Mecislav be so scared of a complete transformation, or even a partial one, that he didn't see any werewolves? But this - floating, distorted, fierce - scared him, as in his childhood, a terrible beech. And the scariest thing on that mask were the human - Julie, damn it! - the eyes.
He tried to stop the woman, even tried to order her through the connection, but where is it! Imagine you're connected to somebody with a fat rope. And at any moment you can pull it on yourself, forcing the other in the bundle to follow you. That's the way it was supposed to be. And the truth is...
The rope is ringing with a thin hemp rope - pulls and breaks. And then it was as if it had been picked up by claws, and animal yellow eyes looked at the vampire.
- Break it off?
The voice of Julie? Or that monster that owned her now? He whispered that word to the vampire so gently that Mecislav understood - she'll cut it short. In a minute. Now her strength and rage are so great that she can do anything. And everyone will regret it. And he relied on fate. What will be - it will be. If it weren't for Valentine, there'd be an Alfonso kebab. But thank the gods - Julie's brother was alive! And that girl, whatever her name is, too. How did they stay alive, though? The werewolves of the creature are alive, they are. But Alfonso's curse wasn't breaking! Mila had to be dead within five minutes. What the hell are you doing?
What other abilities are hidden behind the innocent eyes of Julie Leoverenskaya? And where did this beast come from? Mecislav once saw Daniel's drawing too, but assumed it was only a metaphor. A game of the artist's imagination. But not Julia herself. And it turns out it's her inner essence? But - how!? She's never a werewolf! And she can't be! She is a vampire's surname. She'll never be a werewolf, even if all the beasts in the room are snacking on her! The flies are separate, the cutlets are separate. Vampires and werewolves are two different branches of the paranorms. And cooperation does not mean genetic similarity or even compatibility of werewolf and vampire viruses! For that matter, a werewolf can be a family name, only in one case - if he was already a werewolf, before the first seal. Otherwise, the train has left.
- What's Charles for?! - He was amazed when Julia demanded the ransom. But he didn't dare to argue. What is a woman in a rage? Well... a couple or three demons of hell was clearly preferable. At least they'd just kill them, and Julia was determined to play. To torture. Mocking like a cat over a caught mouse. And Alfonso understood that very well. But sadists aren't masochists. And he didn't want to be slowly skinned. For some reason.
So she got Charles easily.
She threw Alfonso away, shaken her hands squeamishly, and as if pulled a hot vortex inside her. And after the vortex, the half-mask that looked over her face disappeared.
She turned around and went to the door. And only after looking into her eyes, Mechislav understood - she holds on to only one pride. Well, let's not ruin the game for our family.
He hugged the girl behind the waist with a relaxed gesture and nodded to Valentina.
- The lady's brother to his room. Get someone to take care of him. Madam's property - a nod to silent Charles, who hasn't even raised his head - is in the car, wash him, put him on and look after. Execute!
- Yes, sir," Valentin said.
He got ten points on a five-point system. He was scared of the hiccups. And the hiccups would be scary. If you hiccup, you will attract attention, and the Beast, who looked under the girl's face, will pay attention to you. And... what happens then, it's scary to even think. And the Beast is scary, too. And werewolves are sensitive creatures. Especially to someone else's power. Yulia is very strong. She'll tear it up on purpose, and she won't notice.
- Vadim! Help Mr. da Silva! Medical help, all that... Now!
Vadim rushed to perform.
The vampire was holding Julia by the waist. From the side - beautiful, in fact - the girl literally hung on it, through the force of moving his legs.
Mieczyslaw took the girl to his office, sat down on the sofa and, threateningly hovering over her, asked about the last remnants of his composure:
- Tea, coffee, juice, vodka!?
He'll clean her up first, and then he'll rip her head off.
- You're letting yourself pour the lady a vodka? - I'm sorry, but his nutty surname isn't. - Fi, sir! Where's your pure alcohol?
Mieczyslaw understood that she was quite adequate, controlling herself - and everything passed without consequences for her and her strength.
And the next thing you know, it's backing off at the vampire's.
He'll... he'll... he'll rip her head off!!!
He grabbed the girl by the shoulders and shaken her hard.
It's been enough. The girl rolled her eyes and fainted deeply.
The rabies attack went away, just like it never did.
Mecislav carefully lowered the fragile figure on the sofa and went to get ammonia.
He felt like a fool for some reason. Why wouldn't he?
* * *
I wasn't there. I mean, I was, but I felt so good...
I swam in a cool greenish stream of power. Not in my beloved glade yet, but somewhere very close. The trees' crowns were buzzing. And sunlight was pouring from somewhere.
I wasn't trying to think. I wasn't trying to figure anything out. I couldn't even swear at myself for being indiscreet, either. I was just sailing to a beautiful distance. And it was... amazingly calm.
And then a terrible sharp smell invaded my idyll.
"Nashatyrny liquor," I thought. And I opened my eyes.
I was lying on the couch. Fully buttoned up and not even naked. Next to me stood Mecislav and drove a vial of alcohol by my nose.
- Put the filth away, I asked for vodka," I whispered.
Is that my voice? The kitten is beeping louder too. But the vampire had enough.
- Are you thirsty? What would you prefer, Fluffy?
- Orange juice," I asked. - I have no strength...
Mecislav opened the door and gave orders to someone. He heard a fractional stomping of his legs - to perform literally flew. And the vampire himself came back to me - and knelt down next to the sofa. I was so tired, I didn't even want to talk. And I watched in silence as Mechislav knelt down in front of me - and began to stretch my legs.
- Relax. You'll feel a little better now. Spot massage is a great thing.
I listened, and I relaxed. About five minutes. Then there was a knock on the door. A vampire got away from me for a minute, yelled at someone and clos
ed the door again.
The massage continued. I don't know what - five minutes, ten, hour - I just fell out of reality. And I went back into it when I was gently stroked on the cheek.
- Wake up, honey. It's time.
I didn't want to open my eyes. You should.
- Go back to consciousness, or I'll kiss you.
- Threaten for what?
- And to act hopelessly tired? You've been taking a nap for almost an hour. It's time for you to wake up.
- If you say so.
I was expecting a vampire to question me now. But instead, I was given a healthy glass of freshly squeezed juice.
- Drink.
The sour taste of orange drove the remnants of mist out of my head. And I winked at the vampire.
- How are we doing? Did you get a report yet?
Mecislav didn't think to deny it.
- Better than we were. Now that you've shown Alfonso power, he'll be afraid to press us. But he'll definitely want to talk to you. And now you can't pretend to be a fool. Gloriana's gonna have to be a little harder, you plowed her face and part of her neck too, but she'll heal in two days. Especially with the right food.
- And there's no sign of it?
- No. It shouldn't. Do you mind?
- No. Let it be. It's too bad we can't pretend anymore. - I sighed. - The fool I played with Ivan and Ramirez came out very convincing.
- I liked it, too. Can you tell me what you did?
I smiled. The forces were coming back. And Mecislav was very human, I didn't even want to pull out all his teeth without anesthesia. Why can't he always act like a human being?
It's a stupid question, though. He's a vampire...
- I can try. If you pour any more juice.
The vampire obediently poured me another glass of juice, I drank it in a volley and nodded.
- You know, I've been pushed around enough as it is. Alfonso, his victim, what's his name?
- Charles.
- Here you go. Charles, this is today's murder, I've been all nervous, and the emissary's a lousy wrecker. And he started hitting me. I put up with it as much as I could, but when Slava fell - my mind was blown clean. I don't remember much of anything myself. All I remember is feeling as if I was not me, but some monster. And it wants to eat. And it doesn't want to eat anybody, it wants to eat one particular Alphonse.
- Don't call him that in public - there wasn't much reproach in Mieczysław's voice - and I didn't mug the guilty face.
- I'll try.
- Well, do your best. Where did this monster come from? Has your face even changed?
- It lives in me. - For a moment, it became difficult for me to speak. My throat was intercepted by an unexpected spasm. - Do you remember what Danielle painted me?
- Hardly. A woman in red and opposite in the mirror, her reflection as a beast?
I nodded.
And I remembered. Here I am on the bed. And Danielle is there. She's alive. Honey. Sweetheart. Flips her hair back. Pulls out the pictures. Looking at my face, waiting for praise or contempt. There were two portraits. Naduški - and mine.
The second portrait depicted me, but not at all the same as in life. The mirror. And it's kind of the same me. Also worth half a turn to the viewer. For some reason, I was dressed as a Cardinal's Guardsman. A scarlet cloak with a golden cross waved in the wind. Next to me, on a light blue background, there was a hat with a feather. In my left hand I was clutching the dagger, lifting it like a cross. In my right hand I held a long sword with the book down. The outward resemblance was undeniable. But not internal! I wasn't like that. I only dreamed. But I could never do it. There was love in my eyes painted by a brilliant artist, but quite different. Fun, crazy, predatory. My painted doppelganger rocked his teeth with a bold smile. The woman in the portrait offered - everything. Friendship, love, partnership, sex, epee duels, moonlight walks on rooftops, dinner at a Chinese restaurant and a bottle of vodka, drunk from under the floor in the men's room - everything that a woman could offer. And at the same time, she looked at it with a challenge: "I'm offering! But will you be able to take what I offer and how I offer it to you? If you can, we will be together. If you can't, get out of here! We do not hold or hold weaklings! "Something gave the portrait that look. And something in it was wrong, but one that wanted to look and see. And trying to figure out what was wrong. The woman held her gaze - and you did not immediately look in the mirror on the portrait.
It reflected a monster. Scary and somehow disgusting. A lion mane, horns, mouth full of sharp teeth in three rows, a predatory and impetuous body - a mixture of a lion with a dragon's tail and eagle's wings, partly covered with wool and partly with scales. If I had seen such a terrible thing in my childhood, I would have had nightmares for a week at night. And now...
The monster had my eyes. It stood on its feet in a fit of rage, roaring and pounding its front paws in the mirror, as if trying to reach a woman in a portrait, and she smiled. It was only then that it became clear to me what was wrong with the drawing. The woman, in turn, had monster eyes - too big and with vertical pupils. Predictive yellow.
- That's right. So he looked out today. The same beast. From that very mirror.
- This isn't happening.
- Really? How do you know you left me Danielle before he died?
Mechislav is silent.
Really, what could a lover have given me. I thought until this moment that it was just a gift to paint. And just like him, to reflect a person's soul in a drawing.
But his gift could have initiated a change in me. I once thought I would be like the woman in the picture. But if... the beast was reflected in the mirror... isn't it possible that in the moments of danger this beast will be climbing out of me?
I don't know.
Danielle saw him.
I felt it today.
Mieczyslaw will relax the results of his actions.
Tell me after that it's not real!?
- You think this is some kind of werewolf thing?
No. I knew that for sure. This isn't werewolfing. But not telling a vampire absolutely everything?
- I don't know. I didn't feel like walking on all fours or busting meat and blood.
- And change your body shape?
- No. Just the claws.
- What?
- Right. Not the whole shape, not the body, the claws. It's like my fingers have been sucked into something twenty times as long as regular nails. Only they're immaterial. I can't even slice cucumbers into salad with them. I can't do anything. I can't do anything but one. Damage the aura of any creature on earth. A human being. A vampire. Werewolf. What the hell, if a hell has an aura. I used to just see a human aura. And these claws are a tool to manipulate it. It's a crude manipulation. Well, there you go. But they didn't add strength or anything else. I don't know how that can be better explained. But before, I just saw it, and now I can act. Bad, inept, and only for evil.
- It's no wonder. Sooner or later, anyway... you're making progress. And very quickly. Did you feel them - as an extension of your hands?
- In absolutes. That was mine. Like a leg, an ear or an eye.
- Didn't you feel like your beast was controlling you?
I was thinking. Which one of us was in control? Was he controlling me? Am I his? The woman with the eyes of the beast - both of us?
It's hard to say.
It's more like...
- He is me. I am him. My beast and I are the two halves of my soul. So I can't say for sure. I took everything quite adequately. And I'd say that it was me. Only the dark part of my soul came out. And so I remember everything. I took it all quite clearly. By the way! I also remember what Valentin told me - Slava is alive. Is he alive?
- Does it bother you?
I answered with all due honesty. You can lie. But not when I'm so tired.
- I don't know. But this is my brother. If I want to, I'll kill myself. Not some Spanish asshole on the outside.
Mecislav was laughing.
- Yulia, I adore you.
- I love you, I love you... even if I hurt you, I sang. - That's where the sadist and the masochist buried themselves. Just keep in mind, I don't approve of such entertainment.
- Have you tried it yet?
- And what happened to Alfonso? Pure sadism! If you knew how much I wanted to tear it up!
- When's that?
- That's when I cut off a piece of his aura. Is he even alive?
- Dead. For several millennia.
- But not definitively yet? - hopefully, I've clarified. I don't think we'll forgive the murder of a Councilman. The Emissary, and the ignorance of how much to spare!
- I don't think so. Could you have nailed him?
- With this exotic manicure? Easy!
- You've never had this before. I wonder what triggered it?
I had one idea. I mean, a guess. Once I got angry, I did something that didn't adorn any woman. Hardly scared or angry, and here it is, a step up. Andre got hysterical, and I wasn't taken by any vampire hypnosis. I got mad when I saw Vadim and Boris under torture - and managed to poison the rats. I was scared when Diego tried to capture me - and here you are, the curse is broken from Peter. Rhinestone or fright, that's the key. But if you tell a vampire...
He's not going to let me die in peace!!! The coffin will make me angry so I can grow and develop!!!
I shaken my head with the most innocent view.
- I never had a damn breakthrough before. And I didn't believe in vampires either. Happy time! Where would we get a magic theorist!?
Mechislav looked at me with a little squint in his eyes. He didn't believe me. But he also understands that the truth cannot be achieved.
- There's nowhere yet. Although... You can ask about your new acquisition.
- What's that?
- Charles!
Your genetics! Semi-dragon!
- Too bad!
- Have you forgotten about him?
- Yeah, well...
- Oh, women, the impermanence itself...
Mechislav grinned frankly. And he looked like a boy who threw a big beetle at the neighbor's girl. Charming, funny, nice. The emerald eyes were dancing with sparks. A strand of black hair fell on his high forehead. And I reached out to take her aside. I reached out for a second. And immediately I remembered everything and I pulled myself over. You can't!!!
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