Unlimited. Darina Grotto
with fire, haven’t I? Next time, dear, next time.’
Victoria breathed hard, still experienced worry and fear of The Lord of Hell. But she had no strength to be consumed fully by panic.
‘I’ve been glad to see you, Kharon.’ Lucifer waved at the frozen demon. ‘And you, Sunshine,’ he came closer to the girl. ‘You’ve seen nothing. We haven’t met today. You’ve just come in and seen Kharon. See you.’
He looked mockingly round the girl, snapped his fingers before her nose and having grabbed Akton, disappeared.
‘Kharon!’ Victoria exclaimed, having seen the man.
The demon was totally frustrated. The thing he had seen made him be speechless. Honestly, he got nervous. While he was looking at Victoria his seriousness didn’t face any limits. The true witch was before him and five minutes ago she had tried to set fire on Lucifer.
The evening was brooding. For a long time the girl tried to find out what was wrong with the man, but he made excuses too skilfully use them in response.
Victoria told him nothing about her work, Gregory and his too frequent appearance in her life. She was still naïve to think that Kharon would be nervous because of another man in the girl’s life. Partially she connected the demon’s decadent mood with it. She was unaware that demons couldn’t love, feel and they didn’t know what jealousy meant. They knew nothing about those emotions in relation to a human. Between them they could plunge themselves into argument whom this victim belonged. But to plunge into people’s emotions was no way for them. Lowest, primitive, knowing and seeing nothing creatures that was most of the demons thought of people. But who could explain it to the girl in love? She wanted to get mutual feelings. But she didn’t get them. She had to compensate for missing with her fantasy about that the demon would be angry if he had found out his rivals in love was coming.
In his turn Kharon tried to get all that human grab bag of feelings. But that night he studied the girl who had been spelling. After it he had a pull of questions. Kharon was patient to wait for Victoria to fall asleep and she didn’t make him wait for a long time. The girl quickly went to Morpheus, as she was unbelievably tired as if she had been working for a month with no weekends, waking up at 4 am every day. Of course, it was stupid for her to vie with Lucifer himself. But that was just desperate desire of the witch’s spirit whom Victoria knew still nothing. She didn’t even guess about it. Thanks to sagacious Lucifer she didn’t still understand anything.
‘What the hell was that?’ Kharon unceremoniously burst into his Lord’s apartment.
The Morning Star was sitting near the window with a mysterious smile looking at the silent valleys behind the horizon. It was night. There was a bloody big moon on the sky. There were no stars but only one too far from the Moon. It was the Sun with its solar system. There was the Earth. It was so far that the dim light could hardly be seen in the black canvas of the sky.
There were the highest grey mountaintops on the horizon. They seemed to be so whitish because of the fallen night. Kharon was sure that in ancient times the scene from Lucifer’s apartments had been always fascinating.
‘I’ve been waiting for you, my friend.’ The Lord was still looking at the window. ‘I felt you thinking and raving about the meeting with me, while for the whole evening your Sun was dreaming not to provoke you to be jealous. Well, you’re here and I’m listening to you.’ Lucifer turned away from the window and looked at Kharon.
‘I wanna know what it was in the café?’
‘This could not be much clearer. Want some coffee?’ he poured coffee for Kharon and him. ‘Look. There’s a girl and a gift that she got from the witch. As the girl and the gift are coexisting separately the thing that has happened today can happen. Victoria as a human feels a great fear for our world. Actually, for me. Certainly, it’s ok! I’d have been surprised if she doesn’t. Her gift activated defence reaction. Instinctively. It has no brain and doesn’t understand that any enchantment on me… is just nothing but funny.’
‘Lucifer, your palm was in fire. What’s funny?’ Kharon took his cup.
‘It was a defence spell. I was supposed to be fully covered with fire. Like in a cupola. For this time the witch would have a chance to run away and fire and smoke smell would hide her tracks. There would be nothing I can do, I wouldn’t be able to retrace her.’
Lucifer shrugged his shoulders and smiled. He obviously liked playing with witches, which was certainly not the case of Kharon. He was suspicious as he had met witches only in beds while they had been sleeping. And he had never met a witch to be in love with him.’
‘Do you think it’s safe to provoke the witch in such a way?’
‘I do, it is. Moreover, it’s very alluring. You shouldn’t be worrying as this girl loves you more than her own life.’
‘What’s your interest in it?’
‘I’m always glad to have fun with people. They’re so funny and like babies. You can say them whatever you want and having added the miracle item – it’s beneficial, we get their souls. And people in love are indescribable miracle. I had no need to speak about benefits to Victoria. She didn’t care about it. She just wanted to get you. And she did it. You’re like a rainbow for her.’
Kharon was carefully listening to Lucifer, drinking his coffee, grown up in his place of his own birth, with different taste.
‘Honestly I don’t remember any witch to be in love with you.’ The demon said. ‘How can you be so sure about Victoria?’
‘You’re right, my friend. I have never had a witch who was really in love with me, but I have had women. Women and witches are almost the same. I got on the right side of them and I think you’ll do, too. If you need my help, remember I’m at your disposal.’
‘Of course, I do, Lucifer. How does Akton feel about what he’s seen?’
‘He remembers nothing but one of my most perfect lectures about why he’s forbidden to leave our world.’
‘What if he disobeys again?’
‘Again?’ Lucifer gave Kharon a serious look. ‘I’ll have to divest him of his wings. You know what it means as he does. Certainly, he knows about sanctions, if he dares dispense with my law. Don’t worry Kharon, I’m not a tyrant. I just want my orders to be executed. I’ll let Akton walk in human world definitely as soon as he is ready for it. But it’s not now.’
‘Lucifer,’ the demon said dully, ‘can I ask you a question, away from the certain subject?’
‘I’m listening.’
Lucifer was sitting at the living wooden table, legs of which rooted into the ground from the many-thousands-old oak. The table top was a perfectly turned marble slab of rich black colour. Kharon was sitting opposite on the same chair stylized like the table.
‘Am I able to fall in love?’
The smile quickly faded away from Lucifer’s face. He frowned, rose from the chair and walked about the huge room.
‘I’ve confused you, I’m sorry!’ Kharon rose too.
‘Don’t be, my friend, but your question really made me upset. I’m sorry but I want to know the reason of this question. Can you answer me?’
‘Yes. I’m living with people and many of them are in love with each other. So, this feeling… I wonder if I am able to feel it on my own not on Victoria and having felt her love?’
‘Actually, I’ve never met myself any incubus in love. And I’ve never heard of any…’
Lucifer’s answer surprised Kharon a bit: it was too simple. His Lord never answered like this.
‘Never?’
‘Never. But it means nothing. It doesn’t mean there are no any of them. I can’t meet and know everything what happened before! In our world there’s a definition of love and I know it exactly but I’m not sure that all our habitants are able to be in love. At least I didn’t give love