- The sting? What about you?
- I somehow managed to defend myself. I don't know how.
I'm guessing. But I'm not sharing anyway.
- What you said is important. We'll make inquiries.
- Well, that's great. There's really nothing more to say to me. Except... I'm afraid it wasn't the last time.
- What makes you think that?
I shrugged my shoulders.
- I don't know how much you can get from a sacrifice. But Natasha is not a very strong creature. She was. - And neither was Lavrik. - No matter how much they pumped her out, there's just not enough for something serious. So there could be more victims. And I don't know how you can spot this comrade. Shouldn't we spread rumors about a maniac to make it harder for him to catch girls?
- Why the girls?
- I don't know. But women are weaker. Easier prey, anyway. You know that.
- I know. We'll take your recommendations into account. It's important, thank you.
- You're welcome. Oh, here's another one. This trap was designed for someone stronger than your sensors. This time. Next time, the enemy may consider their mistakes.
- So every body found is studied with extreme caution?
- Maximum!
Mikhail Batkovich was scattered in gratitude.
I reminded you of the legal fee. And I got an oath that it would be taken to my house tonight. At the same time, they'll tell me what they've learned about the incident in the square.
That's the deal.
Ten minutes later, Charles and I were on our way home.
And there was a very angry Valentine waiting for us at home.
- Julia, where the hell have you been!?
- In the swamp. Why? Do you want to, too? I'll give you a lift. I sprayed myself on a werewolf.
- I've been calling you all morning. Do you turn your answering machine on sometimes?
- When there's no light in the toilet. What do you want?
- Nastia. Have you forgotten?
I put my eyes down. I really forgot. We should go and see the girl and talk to her. So she can talk to the vampires on the "G's" tonight. I was already great last night, today you have to act like a teenage girl.
Who else would believe in my rebirth like this?
- Let's go. Charles, get in the car. I mean... get in, I got better fast, seeing a werewolf get together for a run. Shit! Alfonso has to pull his legs out after all.
And Mecislav to report the second sacrifice.
* * *
Nastia met me on the doorstep and slammed me around.
- Julia! Hello! How are you, how are you? You've started your studies, right? Tea, maybe? Or coffee?
I looked at a young woman and smiled. Nastia was all just glowing with happiness. The baby. So much and so little...
I mean, the kids. Twins. Boys.
Somebody's gonna say, so what? A woman isn't just a reproduction machine. Well, everyone has a right to their opinion.
And Nastya - on the children.
How many times she tried to give birth, how many times she lost the baby... another woman, not a werewolf, would have lost her ability to give birth or died long ago. And Nastia struggled.
- Nastyusha, you sit on the sofa and relax," I asked. - I don't want anything. And everything is fine with me.
Though it may not be true, why worry the poor girl with the news of Alfonso da Silva hanging over our heads with a sword of Damocles?
Well, you'll have to worry. I'm sorry.
- It's not like I just stopped by. I wanted to see the kids. This is the first one.
- Look, - immediately relaxed Nastia, falling on the sofa in the living room. Although now it was rather a branch of the nursery. That Konstantin, that Nastia was going to become completely crazy parents - and piled the house dowry for babies, toys, books ...
Okay. They deserve it.
I settled down next to a werewolf, and I used to slip into another type of vision.
What I saw, I liked it. Amazingly pure aura-- no diseases, no dirty divorces. Even the muddy yellow tones of neuroses didn't show up, either. The pattern that gives off the werewolf is securely closed. And it won't show up for sure in the next two weeks. But the children...
They already had their aura, too. It's still white and white. It's like a blank sheet of paper. But already with a silver pattern. That's right, there's gonna be little werewolves. And I think foxes, like Mom and Dad. Why am I surprised, though? A wasp doesn't give birth to tangerines.
I tried to see how Peter advised - dividing the aura into specific control zones. And it was easy enough, too. Now, I could have acted on that. To cause anger, anxiety, any emotion at all.
And not just emotion. Acting on the aura, it is easy to control any processes occurring in the human body.
But I won't do it. Or I will, but not with a pregnant woman who's due next month. Although I strongly suspect that even if something goes wrong somehow, her children, even when they are born this second, will still survive. I mean, they're werewolves underage. With great regeneration.
I got out of a trance and smiled.
- Everything's just fine, yuck, yuck... where's the nearest tree?
I knocked on the sofa armrest and smiled at Nastia again.
- You'll be fine. We'll survive this full moon, and until the next one, you'll give birth and raise your stumps.
- Julia!
- And who do you think they'll be? Mom's a werewolf, Dad's the same, if the kids don't start clicking their teeth on the first full moon, call me a pine cone.
Nastia frowned for a moment, and then she got it.
- Yulia, are they surely not...
- Not ghouls? No, they're not. The aura's good, normal foxes will be...
- Thank God.
Nastia took a breath.
- Unfortunately, that's not all," I moderate her joy.
- And what else?
- Two more vampires have arrived with our friend Alfonso.
- So what?
- They're werewolf specialists. And they'd really like to see you.
- Why!? - Nastya felt it.
- Don't you have any idea? Wait, if you give birth, this is a half-aisle courtyard with a holy place, and pilgrims will go in a joint.
- Pilgrims.
Nastia had already understood why she wanted to be examined by vampires, but she took it with no enthusiasm.
- Yulia, you have to...
- I'm afraid it's a dead end. And I'm really asking you to go to a club. If there's anything, I'll be there all the time. And there'll be at least two medics around. With a resuscitation vehicle on standby.
- The devils brought them," said Nastia. - Is there no way to turn around? Let them put their eyes on my ears after the birth, even if they're on duty...
I put my head down.
- Nastyusha, it was my fault.
And honestly, without hiding it, she told me about how Alfonso da Silva put it yesterday.
Nastia was listening without interrupting.
- So that's it. One hit him in the face, one hit him even harder, so if we say no to them, it's going to be really bad at all. They'll imagine it as our nerve, so I went to write the provinces.
Nastia nodded. She knew more about vampire politics than I did.
- Okay. But you and Mecislav will be there for me all the time. Okay?
You bet we did.
- I sure will. And Mechislav will try. If Alfonso doesn't bubble up. Okay?
- But you will?
- Absolutely. I'll pick you up tonight, and we'll go together. Okay?
- Yes... Oh! Yulka, I don't even have anything to wear!
I laughed with my heart.
- I'm gonna call Tanyushka now. And it won't be an hour before you're tortured with fitting! If all problems were so easily solved!
* * *
We spent the evening together with Charles.
After our visit to Nasta, we went home. I - cooked lunch. Yes, I know how
to cook! By the way, if you live alone, you learn quickly. I didn't want to run to my family all the time. So I had to get my hands on cookery books. It's hard to remember the first experiments without crying. And cranberry pie, which turned out as follows: stone hard cake, sour-liquid filling and curled squirrels from above. And exploded eclairs, which covered the whole oven (probably, you should have put less yeast...). And the soup, in which all the vegetables were woody tasty and just as soft, and for some reason the color was purple. And the meat that managed to burn on one side and on the other to stay perfectly raw.
There's one good thing about being alone. There was no one to criticize these cook's nightmares. You could just throw it away or throw it out and think about a slim figure.
That was in the past.
And now there was an ear boiling in one pot. The other was stewing vegetables. The meat was kneading deliciously in the frying pan. And I, changing spoons, with one hand stirred one, with the other, with the third dish, and the second leafed through the cookbook, pretending that it was better to bake - a charlotte or just buns? Or even pancakes with jam?
Turns out it's best to have a jam pie. And the fruit isn't cleaned and cooked more or less quickly. And I have puff pastry in my freezer. I'm gonna sink it in the microwave for five minutes...
Charles is on the computer. And by the time I called him to eat, he'd already been to three porn sites. Yeah, and I don't have to make excuses for being an accident. I know it was an accident!
It's also good if there's nothing in the screensavers. Or somewhere else! You'll have to clean the whole computer!
Lunch, by the way, was quite decent. And at the second plate of soup, we talked.
- How long have you been friends with the IPF?
I'm all over the place.
- I'm not friends with them. But I can't get away with it either. Well, unfortunately.
- How's that?
I had to tell the whole story of my relationship with the IPF. From that first meeting at Snegirev's - and ending with the last meeting at a lecture with Padre Miguel. Charles listened carefully and seriously.
In general, the dragonfly recovered from captivity very quickly. So the willow branch bent in a ring is straightened - sharply and strongly. And it didn't surprise me. It's a very strong character. Rarely a clear and pure aura. There's no evil or betrayal in a memorial. There's a chained dragon. And there's an aged pain. So that all Alfonso's efforts seem like a visit to the dentist. What is it, I don't know yet. But I suspect Charles will tell me all about it. He's got an aura of iridescence. Almost all the colors in the spectrum. Bright, pure, sparkling... no mutilations of betrayal, no black spots of death, but - who can live a thousand years and not kill anyone? It's the lawyers and courts we've had lately. It used to be easier.
You think I'm wrong? I have a longer sword and a cooler crew! Do you still think so?
Clearly, it's been a long time since the opponents have discussed it. Only one survived. So Charles had a few black spots on his aura. And I was terribly drawn to questioning him. But I didn't say anything.
He'll tell you.
Or he won't.
Trust is a feeling that has been gaining over the years. Charles has known me for a week without a year. So let's keep quiet. About his life. That's not what you can ask about. For example...
- I don't like their interest in you.
- Me, too. But I don't have a choice. There's no way out. All you have to do is clench your teeth and be patient. You know, they can still help me deal with my abilities.
Charles had a very rude sniff.
- I can do that, too. At least as a thank you. Just don't be offended, okay?
I wasn't offended. I liked this kind of gratitude much more than ahi, ohi and tearful praises of the wise and beautiful me.
- No offense. How's that? Your strength is sleeping, isn't it?
- Yeah. But I got a pretty good education. And I know the theory of magic very well.
I've eaten. That's what you want, but "magic theory" sounded kind of fantastic. And scary. I wanted to cling to someone and yell at them that I was normal! And there's no room in my life for magic and its theories!
Except who would ask me?
That's what Charles asked. Very businesslike, braiding a second plate of stew with vegetables.
- Will you tell me about the manifestations of your power? From the beginning? How did you realize it?
I rubbed my nose.
- Actually, when we met vampires, I thought I was just a magic donor. Just like I was a blood donor. Originally, when we met Daniel... - my throat was intercepted, but I ended up - my power gave him a chance to recover. And then, to Mieczysław, too. That's when I first felt it.
I was silent. I didn't know how to talk about it? About the crazy, unbelievable feeling of not having blood running through your veins. It's liquid fire. When every cell of your body burns, burns a small fire - and lives, lives much stronger than usual. When you feel almighty... And it's an incredible feeling of liberation, comparable only to what I felt in bed with the person I love. When the power leaves you - and you remain desolate for a moment - and you wait for it to come again and again, filling in the aura lines she is used to.
But Charles figured it out for himself.
- Feeling your power, huh?
- Yeah. You could say that. I thought I was just a power donor at the time.
- And then something else happened?
- Yeah. Happened. His name was Vlad, and he was a vampire.
I told you without hiding. About Vlad. The basement with the mutilated vampires and rats. About Ramirez. Peter. And then again, Clara and Diego.
The only thing I kept quiet about was my clearing. My favorite place to grow tall pines and yellow dandelions. This is mine. No matter how many centuries go by, this is mine. Forever. And I belong to this place.
Charles listened carefully. Sometimes he would ask questions. Sometimes he nodded silently, as if I were confirming his words. And then, when I was silent, he gave me something that almost choked on meat.
- What can I say? I know you're a rookie, but you're a vampire!?
- What do you mean? - I was worried.
- It's as simple as that. Yulia, do you realize that there are no power donors?
- What about me?
- Yulia, magic actually obeys about the same laws as physics. Of course, your blood tastes better to vampires. In fact, with a magician's blood, you can get some of his power. And the speed of its recovery is proportional to the magician's talent.
- Yeah. I mean, I just had abilities. But not to donate?
- Yulia, how can there be a talent for donation? Is this a dance? Singing? No, certainly, the blood of some people is stronger than that of others. Yes, it is. And vampires know very well about it. But - your abilities were originally for something else.
- So what's the point?
Charles shrugged his shoulders.
- Don't you know that? Well, think about it a little! You can influence the aura of any creature or thing. Living, undead...
- How does the shield work with that? And Vlad?
- And this is where the fun begins. What's going on? In Vlad's case, you break the curse on him. Is that it?
- Yes. I gave him freedom.
- Ramirez just got your power. We're not looking at that.
I snorted. I've already realized that one's blood is healthier than the other. Well, that's funny. One man's blood is broth. The other one's a sausage. The third is a chocolate bar with stuffing.
- Managing animals, especially rats, is what you get from a vampire.
- Okay. Copy that.
- Peter. You're lifting the curse on him, too.
- What's your point? - I was wondering about it grimly. - Have I taken anything off Alfonso? Not even my underwear and socks!
- And the principle is still the same. Exposure can be plus, maybe minus. But the principle is the same. A karate master can disperse hooligans, or he
can be a hooligan, you know?
I understood everything. Except for one thing. What do I have to do with anything?!
- You have rare enough abilities. And at the same time versatile. For example, you can inject your power by correcting other people's auras. And other people's roads.
- What do you mean?
- Look, what is a curse?
- What?
- The curse is an aura violation. Rupture. It's kind of an injury. If a man has strength, he'll fix it sooner or later. If you try to fix it from the outside, it's like knitting a torn macramé out of steel threads. It's hard, it hurts, you cut your fingers into blood. And you just see the trouble, you just pour in your power, and you do it naturally, like breathing. And your power finds the best way to realize it.
- Let's say. And the rest? Clara? Diego?
- If you can lift the curse on others, you can protect yourself. It's okay. In magic, oddly enough, a shoemaker can't be without boots! Especially a magician like you.
- Someone like me? Look, I was boiling quietly. - So what kind of ability do I have?
Charles had a big smile.
- Rare enough. And I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yourself yet. There are mages of the elements. There are mages of death. But there are also the magicians of life. And you are exactly what the magician of life is. That's why you're so strong. You love this world, and it loves you. And he generously shares his power. That's why you can lift curses. No curse can resist the power of life. That's why you see auras - how can you not understand what you're controlling? It's a very natural process. That's why...
- ...I'm going crazy, I meekly agreed. - How do the claws I almost shaved Alfonso with fit into this system? And the shield that covered us from the blot in the square?
- It's primitive. I'm surprised you didn't figure it out yourself. The magician of life must be able to protect this very life. Your claws are just a tool to manipulate the auras of life. Tell me, with a doctor's scalpel, what can you do?
- Heal.
- What if someone wants to cut off their neighbor's ear?
I snorted. But the point was clear. My claws were just like that scalpel. And - in the hands of idiots. And Charles, seeing the understanding on my face, continued:
- So no curse will settle on you, and you were able to shut yourself and others down. That's why that thing was afraid of your blood.
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