The Mist and the Lightning. Part 9

“Yes! Yes!”

Nikto entered him again. It seemed that Arel was about to lose consciousness. This went on for quite a long time. When Nikto finally released him, Arel lay for some time without moving, his eyes closed, and only later opened them. Finally he looked at Nikto knowingly, with recognition in the sight. Looking at him.

“It's you,” he said quietly, “you're back!

His look was full of love and adoration. He literally fell in front of Nikto sitting on the bed, prostrated before him, hugged his knees, kissing, spreading out in front of him, at his feet.

“I love you! I adore you! You are my God! My sir! My lord! Do with me whatever you want, whatever you want! I'm all yours! Do something with me! Do it! Do it!”

Nikto leaned back on the bed, lay on his back:

“Enough, Arel! You're too hungry. I'm tired.”

“Yes. Yes! I'm hungry for you. Hungry for my Demon Master!”

“Enough!” Nikto shouted.

Arel froze, offended, tears glistened in his eyes.

“I… I’ve just madly missed you, my beloved,” he drawled a little resentfully.

Nikto pulled him with his hand to him:

“Well, quietly, quietly, don’t start hysteria. Forgive me. I also really love you! Never again! Do you hear?! Never! I will not leave you anymore. And we will have a lot of time. I will screw you up and wipe you out so that you will even regret that I am back!”

“I will never regret! Even if you cut me to pieces!”

“I know you want it, but not all at once, okay? I didn't come alone, and I promised to protect her. You will call Karina and tell her that you will not do anything bad to her and let her go.”

“Well,” without hesitation, agreed Arel; it was clear that he absolutely didn’t care about Karina and anyone else, and he didn’t think about it at all. All his thoughts were only about Nikto.

“Give me my pants and cigarettes,” Nikto ordered him.

Arel rushed to obey the order.

“You have gained weight,” Nikto chuckled, lighting a cigarette, “got fatter.”

Arel froze:

“Yes, I have gained a little weight,” he said in horror, “is it too bad? Yes? Don't you want me anymore?”

“Don't talk nonsense! You just look healthy.”

“Really?”

“Yes!” Nikto took a deep drag, “you ate here, had fun with Lis.”

“No! No! I almost died without you! Don’t say that! What could I do?! It was necessary to live on somehow!”

“Well, of course…”

Arel again threw himself at the feet of Nikto. He raised him:

“What is it?” he pointed to the trail of a red-hot poker, an L-shaped burn on Arel’s chest.

“I got burned when I was drunk,” answered Arel quickly, “when I lit a cigarette from the fireplace poker.”

And although these words were spoken as if nothing had happened, in an indifferent voice, Arel still trembled under the gaze of Nikto, treacherously turned his eyes to the side.

“Burned,” repeated Nikto. Putting out his cigarette on the bottom of the ashtray, he somehow strangely kept his eyes on it, as if remembering something, then lay down on his side, turning away.

“Well,” Arel was clearly nervous, “but this is nonsense, Nik, I was drunk, I'm telling you.”

He tried to turn Nobody back to him. But he didn’t give in.

“Nik, don't you believe me?”

“You wanted to show off in front of Lis, you're lying to me…”

“Well, Nik!”

“And so neat!”

“What’s that? Are you jealous?! Nik, this is stupid!”

“Then why are you lying!” Nikto got up, sat on the bed, again looking at Arel point-blank. “Why do you lie to me?!”

Arel grabbed his head:

“I'm not lying!”

“Arel! Prince! Are you completely out of your mind?! Forgot who I am?!”

“Son of Devil?” Arel asked carefully.

“Yeah. And you are lying to me!”

“You are jealous! Nik! Nik, I just figured it wouldn't mean anything to you!”

“I'm unpleased,” Nikto lowered his tone and reached for cigarettes again:

“You pulled out the earrings, took off everything that I gave you.”

“Not everything,” somehow unconvincingly mumbled Arel. “I didn't get everything out.”

He pointed to his chest. The heavy nipple rings were removed. Although the holes left from them were still visible, they were half healed, and the nipples themselves, without heavy decorations, were not pulled back, they almost recovered. But the pins sticking out above and below the nipple halo remained.

“You didn’t pull it out simply because you couldn't,” said Nikto. “Inside,” he jabbed his finger into Arel’s chest, “there is another pin inserted into them. You pulled the top, but the horizontal stick stops you. That's why you didn't pull them out. It hurts you.”

“Yes, I realized that there is something like a cross inside me,” said Arel.

“You haven’t understand,” Nikto grinned skeptically, “anything! Lis explained it to you!”

“Well, that’s enough!” Arel shouted.

“Don't shout!” Nikto grabbed his face, closing his mouth, clutching his cheeks with his fingers:

“And you would have erased my brand if you could!”

He pulled back Arel’s cheek with the dragon depicted on it:

“You have erased my one, and stamped his one!”

“Nik… forgive me… I… I just… didn’t think it would be so important to you,” the poor Arel barely babbled. “I was very worried. I couldn't sleep from longing for you. I rolled from side to side every night, trying to sleep, even alcohol didn’t help much! And it seemed to me that they were interfering with me. Especially rings in the ears.”

Nikto let go of him roughly, pushing him away easily. He lit the thrown cigarette again:

“And you didn’t tell me: “It doesn’t mean anything to me, I was just fooled when I was drunk”. You haven’t betrayed Lis! You said, “I thought it wouldn't mean anything to you!” So it means nothing to me? And for you it really matters!”

Arel looked at him stunned:

“Are you having fun now? Nik? Are you portraying a scene of jealousy? Does it turn you on or what? You know perfectly well that I love only you! That I'm literally obsessed with you! You just want to fool me!”

“No,” Nikto shook his head, “I'm really jealous.”

“Really?! You… You love me so that you are jealous?! I can't believe my ears! And do you care?! But… but… you must not be jealous of Lis. You see, there are people with whom I am close, I don’t know why; I feel this closeness, as if I touch souls, and with Lis I feel this touch. I loved all my people, I talked a lot with Enriki, and I love Tol. But this recognition, unconditional acceptance, even if the mind doesn’t agree, I felt only for Lis and Squint-Eye. But don't look at me like that now! I still tried to suppress them, break them. And yet, I always feel superior. I'm a prince! I am true black! And Lis – well, Lis no matter what contact of souls I feel with him and towards him, I am still the chosen one, and he is a red-haired half-blood! He’s red, you know? He's no match for me anyway! No man is my equal! You have nothing to be jealous of.”

“Are only Demons equal to you?”

“Yes! If you want so!”

And seeing a little mocking look of Nikto, Arel got angry:

“And enough about that now! Did you tell me something about Karina? So dress up, I'll call her.”

“And feed us.”

“Yes of course! Forgive me!”

“Do you have clothes? My jacket is ruined, my boots are broken.”

“Your favorite new boots ?! Oh! What about the jacket? Have you been hurt? Gods! What an egoist I am! I didn't think about you!”

Nikto chuckled:

“It's all right, Arel, you see, I even had the strength to fuck you, even though I hung out in the woods for several months.”

“You came from the forest, and you smelled like from a perfume shop,” Arel laughed.

“Well, we spent half a day by the river,” Nikto explained. “We licked our wounds and washed ourselves. I perfumed myself with Karina’s perfume,” he laughed, “to come to my prince in full rig!”

“I would accept you in any rig! That’s silly! You spent there half a day, it would be better to come faster!”

“I needed to heal a wound on my arm.”

“Who hurt you?!”

“I'll tell you everything later, okay? We still have a lot of time ahead. We will discuss everything.”

With the phrase “we will discuss everything” Arel tensed again and therefore thought it best to say: “Well, I'll call Karina and Lis?”