The Mist and the Lightning. Part 19. Ви Корс

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СКАЧАТЬ was sitting at the table. He took off his cloak, but his face was still masked. Kors saw that Nik’s hair was tangled and uncombed, he didn’t do it without his father, and it was killing Kors, but he couldn’t tell him anymore.

      “Take off your cloak,” Nik said, obviously addressing Kors, “water flows from you in a stream.”

      Kors immediately took off his cloak and tried to carefully hang it at the entrance so as not to wet everything around.

      “On your knees,” Nik ordered.

      “Gods, what was I hoping for?!” flashed through Kors’ head. He silently knelt down. He ALREADY wanted to call Zaf.

      Nik came over and handed Kors a towel.

      “Wipe your face, it’s wet from the rain.”

      Kors glanced at him quickly, trying to determine the mood, but what was the point? The mask reliably hid facial expressions, and black glass hid the expression of the eyes. Kors looked down, took the offered towel and dried himself with it.

      “Raise your head,” Nik ordered again, “raise, throw back your face and close your eyes.”

      Kors obeyed, suddenly feeling something sticky touch his eyes, pressed against his eyelids and skin. It was plaster!

      “Aaah!”

      “Don’t yell! It’s just plaster.”

      “But why?” Kors shouted, clutching at his plastered eyes.

      "I’m going to take off my mask,” Nik explained calmly, “you won’t see my human face again.”

      “What?!”

      “Now remember my black scaly face. Both me and Arel are no longer people for you.”

      “A snake and a bat?” Kors chuckled, but his grin was unconvincing. Inside, he was frightened and disoriented by being blinded.

      “Not a snake and not a bat, but okay, so be it,” Nik agreed, “you are approximately right.”

      “But I’m the same as you!” Kors exclaimed desperately. “You said I had horns.”

      “Yes.”

      “So, it turns out, I’m a goat?!”

      “A goat, a snake, and a bat,” Nik summed up, and Kors heard him and Arel laugh softly, “take off your wet clothes,” Nik ordered, and his voice became serious again, “it needs to be hung out to dry.”

      “How can I hang my clothes to dry if I can’t see anything!” Kors was outraged.

      “Ver will take care of your clothes.”

      “Well, of course! He doesn’t understand anything! He will hang it too close to the fire. He will ruin expensive leather. My clothes require special care!”

      Kors received a blow to the head, unexpected and so strong that he flew against the wall and fell on his side. He didn’t even understand who hit him, Nik or Arel, but it was very painful. There was ringing in his ears, and he just by some miracle didn’t lose consciousness.

      “Please, don’t do it!” He shouted humiliated. Kors was afraid of them and knew that they felt his fear. “I’m worse than Adrian, I’m just as much of a coward!”

      “Take off your wet clothes, Ver will take care of them,” Nick repeated without much intonation.

      Kors wanted to think that Prince Arel had hit him after all, but he couldn’t know for sure, and their thoughts were hidden from him. He began to undress, afraid of getting another blow. Maybe you should have taken your clothes off faster?

      Having completely undressed, he remained on his knees. They didn’t hurry him, didn’t hit him, and didn’t tell him anything. Kors heard Verniy approach him. He recognized him by his breath, by the way Ver sniffed like a dog, and now by the disgusting smell of a wet dog. Kors was cold, his skin was covered with goosebumps, he was shivering slightly, the air in the tent had not yet warmed up at all. “Gods, if only they didn’t leave me to sleep like this at the entrance, or at least give me some kind of skin, or rather a blanket.” He felt a chain being fastened to his golden collar. Nik did it, Kors was not mistaken, because Nik told him:

      “Get on all fours and crawl after me,” and he pulled on the chain.

      Kors slowly moved forward, afraid to hit the trestle bed or the table. Now he understood Nik very well with his poor eyesight and involuntarily thought: “Gods, how did he endure all this throughout his life?”

      Stretching out his hand a little, Kors helplessly explored the space in front of him and stumbled upon a wooden leg.

      “Lie down on the bed,” Nik said, “cover yourself, get warm, I don’t wish you harm.” There will be dinner soon.

      “Thank you,” Kors barely whispered. Feeling the surface of the trestle bed with his hand, he got up from his knees and carefully lay down on it, wrapping himself in a blanket, feeling how big and soft it was. “It’s their duvet covered in gold satin and brocade! They slept under him in the palace of Ore Town. So, Nik ordered to pull an expensive thing out of the wagon, like this, right on the march, in the middle of the road? He ordered to cover a camp bed with a luxurious blanket? However, what was the difference now? The main thing was that it was warm. Kors covered even his head and lay there, trying to stop trembling and not think about anything, not analyze anything. Someday Nik will change his anger for mercy, Kors believed in it. In the end, Kors himself is to blame. He dimly heard their movements around the tent, but they said nothing.

      “Vitor. Get up! Hold it, put it on.”

      Nik pushed him in the chest with something soft, Kors realized that it was his white cambric shirt with layered lace on the collar and cuffs and a velvet camisole with gold embroidery on the lapels, his suede pants. All these things didn’t fit together, and moreover, wearing them now, in a camping tent, was absurd, but Kors didn’t object. Without saying a word, he put on what he was offered. He imagined how stupid he looked with plastered eyes, disheveled wet ponytail, chain hanging down from the collar, and at the same time in expensive lace. Nik gave him his most beautiful clothes, well, in Nik’s opinion, of course, but it was respectful, maybe… or vice versa, it was a mockery, Kors didn’t understand.

      “Let’s go to the table,” Nik said and pulled the chain.

      “Should I crawl on all fours again?” Kors said.

      “No, just follow me carefully.”

      On a chain, like a dog, making very small steps, Kors obediently followed Nik. Nik led him slowly, not hurrying, only guiding him with the tension of the chain.

      Finally, touching the edge of the table with his slightly outstretched hand, Kors asked:

      “Can I sit down?”

      “Yes, of course,” Nik replied, “daddy, I’m not punishing you, understand it.”

      And Kors heard him pull a chair close to him.

      Kors sat down neatly, and Nik placed his hand on the wooden table top. Kors immediately stumbled upon the fork, felt the edge of the dinner bowl. By the sharp specific smell, he realized that there was lamb СКАЧАТЬ