Chapter Thirty Four. Andras.
We stayed in bed all night and most of the morning, making love and talking in between. I dozed off a few times now and then. Sytrius brought me yogurt, fresh berries and coffee in bed for breakfast and made sure I ate everything before climbing under the covers with me again, making us lose another couple of hours inside our happy, sweet, hot and sweaty bubble. Away from the rest of the world.
Finally, it was time for Sytrius to untangle himself from me and to bring us back to reality. He had some appointments to sort out his European finances, he explained, and I was to spend the afternoon in the company of Andras.
I couldn’t say I liked Andras very much, but despite his visibly cool relationship with Andras, Sytrius seemed to trust him explicitly. The trust that even the incident with Lucius did not break completely.
“I’ll have lunch for you before I go,” Sytrius assured me before he left, as if lunch was really what I would be worried about while staying without him. “Andras is not as good a cook as me,” he said not without a certain pride, “but he can bake rather well. I’ll ask him to make his famous pflaumen kuchen for you after lunch. It means ‘plum pie’ or ‘plum tart’ in German.”
“Why do either of you even know how to cook or bake if you don’t care for human food?” I asked absentmindedly, watching him getting dressed after the shower, wishing he would just undress instead and stay with me, relieving Andras of his “babysitting duties” with me.
“Oh, but humans do,” he said slowly in a low seductive voice, with mischief twinkling in his eyes making the corners of his lips curl up higher. “I wish I could be here when you’re eating that delectable tart of his! I would love to show you just how much pleasure a well-made tart can bring to the woman eating it, and to the demon eating her.”
“Now you managed to make a plum tart sound dirty!” I laughed before he kissed me deeply, making my head spin. “I’ll miss you,” I said when he let me come up for air finally.
“Be careful. No more favours for anyone. I’ll be back before you know it,” he said, letting me go before heading downstairs and adding playfully with a wink, “Make sure to save a slice of tart for dessert for me.”
“Andras. When can Sytrius expect to be summoned by the Council, do you know?”
It was a very mild day in Munich again, and the two of us were sitting outside on the patio, enjoying the afternoon sun and the truly delicious plum tart that Andras made.
Well, I was actually the only one eating. Andras had the plate with a small slice in front of him, but he barely touched it. Instead, he had been drawing wide circles in the whipped cream on top of it with his fork. He hadn’t touched the tea in the mug in front of him either.
“Would you come with him?” he asked instead of answering.
“I was planning to go to Belarus with him, yes. Do you think I should go to the Council hearing too?”
To be honest, I hated the idea of coming anywhere near any incubi base. However, I didn’t think that I could be sitting somewhere in a hotel room, knowing that Sytrius was being tried and sentenced without me and may never return to me…
“Ultimately it is up to you to decide, but I do think that your presence at the hearing may help Sytrius.”
“How?” If there was a slightest possibility for me to help…
“Actually. I hate to pressure you, Alyssa. But I think your presence at the hearing may be crucial.” He gave up pretending to eat and put his fork down, finally, before leaning towards me across the table.
His hands were placed on the table in front of him. The sleeves of his robe slid up, revealing the bronzed skin of his muscular forearms. His hair was not tied back today; instead, it was cascading down his shoulders in glossy waves of dark mahogany, framing his stern face. The warm rays of the afternoon sun made his whiskey-coloured eyes sparkle with gold flecks and softened the rugged appearance of his hunger-ridden face.
“Why, Andras? Please, if there were any way I could help Sytrius… You know that by helping him I would be helping myself at this point.” I still would prefer not to discuss my love to Sytrius with Andras, but he may need to know how I felt about Sytrius in order to advise me correctly.
“Why do you say that?” He narrowed his brilliant golden eyes, looking at me with intensity that reminded me of a large cat watching his prey. I inhaled deeply.
“I love Sytrius. There is no separating my fate from his at this point,” I explained. Andras leaned back in his seat, with a barely-noticeable smile curving his lips. He looked relaxed and even satisfied, like he finally got an answer to the question that bothered him for a very long time.
“So, it is possible,” he whispered to himself.
“What is possible?” I asked, confused. He seemed to be ignoring me now, looking somewhere past my shoulder, his eyes unfocused. “Andras?”
“Sorry.” He focused his attention on me again. “I meant it could be helpful for the Council to meet you in order to confirm that you indeed wish to be with Sytrius. They need to see for themselves that a mutually beneficial relationship between a human and an incubus is possible.”
“Is that why Western Council was hunting us?” I scoffed with sarcasm. “To see for themselves?”
“No, the hunt seemed to be more personal.” Andras ignored my sarcasm and continued. “It looks like Raim is afraid and is pulling all the stops including hiring a succubus to separate you.”
“Sytrius told you about her?”
“Yes. God only knows what it must have cost him to hire her. Succubae need nothing from incubi and rarely interact with us other than occasional fights. Raim seemed to be desperate to stop you from leaving the continent.”
“Why? Sytrius told me that they must have replaced me by now…”
“Oh, Alyssa, it looks like no one can replace you in Sytrius’s heart, and that is what matters most. Raim fears exactly the same thing that I hope for: the two of you can facilitate the changes that I have been looking for, the changes that ultimately could also weaken Raim’s power. Incubi are too individualistic and independent by nature to form a close-knit, centrally governed society, like humans do. The only reason that we are as centralized around the two Councils as we are now is because of the feedings. If each of us got a separate source of sustenance in abundance, the power of Councils over each individual incubus would diminish significantly.”
“So, he would continue hunting us, even here?”
“No, he has to stop for now. Sytrius submitted a formal request for a hearing as soon as you got here. He put your name along with his, so Raim is no longer able to touch either one of you until the official sentencing. It wouldn’t hurt for the two of you to stay cautious, though. I wouldn’t entirely trust Raim to play by the rules. You and Sytrius are the first human-incubi couple in centuries! No one can fully comprehend what it can mean for the future of incubi!”
The passion in his voice betrayed him. It was more than a concern for the future of incubi; for Andras, it was personal, I was sure of it, but I had another point to clarify first.
“The first couple in centuries? Were there others? Centuries ago?” I told Andras the truth: as of last night, there was no longer separating my future from the future of Sytrius. I was his and he was mine for as long as we had. But if there were others, other couples like us… What wouldn’t I give to know more about them! I needed to know what to expect from our future together, if we ever got to have one.
Despite my affinity for planning everything in advance, I was too afraid to even think about the life after the Council hearing. Even if it was decided in our favour, and Sytrius and I truly had a chance to build a future together, what was it that I had to look forward to? Aging on my own while the love of my life remained as youthful as ever? Would I have to introduce him to people as my son, eventually, and then as my grandson? Would he still be with me when my hair turned grey and I needed a walker to get around? Would I even want him still to be with me then? Didn’t it mean
that no matter what, we would still have to part our ways one day?
“I believe there were other couples,” Andras replied carefully. “I remember seeing some records in archives.”
“Archives? There are archives?”
“Yes. I was in charge of moving the archives from what is known as the Middle East now to Belarus centuries ago. I was on Eastern Council when the base was moved. Unfortunately, my memory of it is a little vague… but I remember reading about at least one long-term relationship between an incubus and a human. These types of relationships were never approved by either human society or the incubi and have officially become illegal since the treaty.”
“You still think this can be changed?”
“Well, the benefits to the incubus in such a relationship are obvious, and I hope would be easily seen and appreciated by all at the hearing. One look at Sytrius’s smug happy face would make any incubus jealous!” He laughed and then added more seriously, “The benefits to humans, however, would be debated fiercely. That’s why I would advise you to come to the hearing, to provide your opinion from the perspective of a human woman.”
“Would there be other humans present? You know, the ones who oversee the compliance with the treaty terms and stuff…” The ones who turned me over to the incubi in the first place, I meant, but didn’t say it. It was better to forgive in order to move on. Besides as twisted as it was, I did meet Sytrius as a result of it. Try as I may, I could never regret this!
“Not at this hearing. Remember this is just to decide on Sytrius’s punishment for the crime of desertion and, most importantly, for the kidnapping of a Source, or you. However, if he can prove that the existing laws and policies need revisions, they wouldn’t be able to use them anymore to sentence him and will have to leave him and you in peace, at least until the policies have been revised, which can take decades and even centuries. And yes, there would be many more meetings and discussions in the process then, some with human representatives present.”
“There shouldn’t even be a charge of Source kidnapping against Sytrius!” I couldn’t hold it back any longer. “He didn’t kidnap me. He rescued me. The Council was who kidnapped me!”
“Unfortunately, that kidnapping was sanctioned by both humans and incubi, which makes it legal in accordance with the terms of the peace treaty. The hearing is your chance to make them listen to your point of view, Alyssa. No one has ever heard from a Source before, unless Sources choose to talk during Feedings, in which cases they are ignored as I’m sure you know yourself.”
I nodded slowly, looking at my now empty plate.
“Could Sytrius still be sentenced for desertion even if the rules about human-incubi interactions were deemed to be in need of revisions?”
“Yes. It is possible,” Andras replied honestly and added, “it would be unlikely though, as the desertion and the kidnapping in his case are closely related, and he should be sentenced for both of them together.”
“Okay,” I nodded again, not being okay with any of it, really, and repeated my first question, “When do you think they would summon Sytrius?”
The Belorussian visas in our passports were valid for six months, and as much as I dreaded the hearing, part of me was wishing to get it over with rather sooner than later. The uncertainty was more unsettling than the fear of the outcome at times.
“No one knows. Could be days, could be months. You are on demon time now,” he shrugged.
“Except that I don’t have as much time as demons do,” I pointed out with a sad smile. “How long can we stay here?”
“As long as you want. I will be leaving for Minsk in a couple of days myself, but you and Sytrius can stay here with the others.”
“Why are you going to Minsk? I thought you are no longer on the Council.”
“I am not,” he replied but didn’t elaborate, his guarded manner returning.
“Did you leave or were you dismissed?” I asked, my previous suspicions rising again. The question was direct and a rather rude one, but I found that due to the incubi inherent honesty, I was more likely to get a direct answer to a direct question, whereas my more polite and tactful questions were more likely to go unanswered.
Andras narrowed his eyes at me as if assessing if I was worthy of the answer. He seemed to have made a decision when he replied.
“I was sentenced to a century in Inferno.”
“What? You spent a century there?” My eyes went wide. I heard of Inferno from Sytrius before, but it still remained a rather abstract place in my mind. Here was somebody who actually was there? For a century?
“Yes,” Andras answered. His voice was calm, and his facial expression remained unchanged. It shouldn’t have surprised me. I had learned from interacting with Sytrius that incubi accepted pain and suffering as a natural part of their existence. What seemed unacceptable to me – what was too difficult even to hear about – was their everyday life.
“I did. I was released about 50 years ago and made a decision not to return to the Council as one of the members afterwards. I still work with them on some assignments, though, as an independent consultant.” He smiled as he put air quotes with his fingers around “independent consultant”.
“What were you sentenced for? What was your crime?” I asked quietly without returning his smile. His face darkened, and he replied solemnly.
“Disobedience. I defied Council.”
Once again he didn’t elaborate, but I was not going to let him stop now. I tilted my head to the side keeping my eyes fixed on his face and remained silent, giving him a chance to continue. After a small pause, he did.
“The Council was already in Belarus by that time. The treaty had been signed and mostly implemented. I was on the Council and was fed better than most.”
I shuddered internally, trying not to let him see the reaction his words caused in me, hoping he wouldn’t stop to scan my emotions. He would have been the one reclining in a chair, watching women on a cross, feeding…
“It was summer,” he continued, “the time of the pagan holiday Kupala that humans in Belarus still celebrate in villages now. A century and a half ago, however, it was the biggest celebration of the summer all over the region.
“I remember walking through the woods at night, hiding behind the tree trunks and bushes, watching girls dressed in white with flowers in their hair dancing around bonfires lit along the river bank. I listened to their songs and to the laughter of people playing in the water… It has always amazed me, you know, how humans can give all of themselves to positive emotions, like joy and happiness and forget for a while anything bad and miserable that might be in their lives.”
He shook his head, remembering, and the persistent thought came into my head again about how clear this memory of his was and how well he expressed himself.
“She snuck on me from behind. I don’t know how I did not hear her. I must have been too distracted…
“I heard her voice behind my back, ‘Why are you here alone? Come dance with me.’ And I turned around. She wore the same long, white shift dress like the rest of the girls. Her light brown hair was unbraided but retained the light wave from the braid it must have been in earlier. It draped down her shoulders and along her back all the way to her hips, like a light soft blanket. A wreath of white, wild flowers was on her head. Her cheeks were rosy; her eyes sparkled in the moonlight, and she smiled at me, just for me.
“She must have been still in her late teens. Even though people back then matured early and aged faster than they do now, she still had that fresh wide-eyed innocence about her. No lines of worry had marred her face yet. And there, in the night, at the edge of the woods by the river, she looked like a ray of sunshine to me. Happy, sweet and pure, calling me to go with her to share her happiness, as if it could be possible for the likes of me…
“I would have followed her anywhere, just for the chance to stay near her a little longer, just for the promise to be the part of her light, but I knew I could not. I couldn’t s
hare the light inside of her. If I tasted it, I would consume it, take it all and destroy her… So I remained standing where I was, just looking at her. My silence or maybe the severe look on my face chased the smile off her face in a moment. She didn’t say anything else, just backed away from me towards the river slowly then turned around and ran back towards the bonfires and people, towards safety.
“I went back to the base and thought about her every time I lay down to rest, every time I saw the moon at night or spotted wild flowers in the forest, thinking what would have been if I allowed myself to accept her invitation, if I surrendered to her innocence, if I danced with her, tested her joy, her sweetness… I fantasized that I could stop in time and avoid killing her, that she wouldn’t hate me at the end, that there could be some light in my life after all…”
His voice trailed off, and Andras lowered his head, rubbing his forehead with one hand. I noticed that his hand was trembling slightly. He had become more emotional as his story went on, more than I had ever seen him before.
“Have you seen her again?” I asked quietly, urging him to continue. He inhaled deeply and raised his head meeting my eyes.
“I have…” he replied softly, looking at me from behind the few dark strands of hair that fell over his forehead in front of his eyes. “A few weeks later, I walked into the meeting room for the regular Council Feeding… she was on the cross, naked, in restraints… She didn’t scream or call for help, but her eyes were wild, and she was so scared… terrified. Her eyes roamed through the room, searching the faces of everyone present until she saw me. She recognized me immediately, her eyes fixed on me, and she mouthed one word soundlessly, ‘please’, pleading with me, asking me for compassion. She asked me as if I was a friend, just because she recognized me. I was only a familiar face to her, but to me it was as if she believed in me, believed that I was capable of compassion and that I could help her.
Demon Mine Page 27