- No one else in the apartment?
I asked more for a proforma. If there was someone, they'd have shown up by now.
- I can't feel anybody.
- Well, that's great. You didn't hit him too hard?
- No way! It's about to wake up!
On closer inspection the werewolf turned out to be a man of medium height, but very good build, medium age, with the right features and thick brown hair. A gray sweater and black jeans beautifully fitted a strong sports figure. Women should have liked it. Although I have different tastes. Better. I went to the bathroom, brought a bucket of water and spit it out on Pyotr Sergeyevich.
- Danielle, can't you feel it? He's not a werewolf?
- I can feel it. Can't you? You touched him!
- So what?
The vampire frowned.
- Touch it again. To the bare skin. Now you must feel his beast.
I shrugged my shoulders, and then I hesitantly took a werewolf (or not a werewolf?) by the hand.
- Close your eyes. Focus," Danielle ordered.
I obeyed.
Something warm touched my skin. For a moment I felt like I was ironing my mother's fur coat on my own brush, immersing my fingers in thick pile. In the dark, under the closed eyelids, yellow eyes and red fur shone. I hurried to open them.
- Fox! Fox werewolf!
- Did you feel it?
- Absolutely! How do they dare to shake hands with people?!
- You wouldn't have understood anything before. You'd think it was just a normal person.
- Is this about the Seal? - I was intentionally speaking in the singular.
- It's possible.
- Or...?
Danielle wasn't saying anything. What?!
- Or you're awake. A vampire bite sometimes stimulates psychic powers.
- Are you saying that after your bite, the process went on?
- More than that. Or not after my bite. You do realize...
The vampire pointed his eyes at the werewolf. I knew it. And I wanted to talk about my abilities.
But there was no time or place. I looked a werewolf in the eye.
- Peter Sergeyevich, I haven't met you. But you heard my voice. And you gave me this phone. Now I'm going to pull the Band-Aid. Try not to yell and answer me clearly and clearly. Otherwise, I'm gonna glue it back on and start asking you different methods.
I ripped the scotch off the werewolf's lips abruptly.
- Me?! - The unhappy one woke up. - What are you...!!!!!!!!!!!
I ignored his statements about my family, my origins and my... sexual habits. I'm so kind today!
- You're a werewolf. There's no denying it.
- I won't," our prisoner calmed down a little bit. - What's the point in lying to a vampire?!
- Nothing. My name is Julia Yevgenyevna Leoverenskaya. Have you heard of me?
- Yes!
Now you can hear wild hatred in the werewolf's voice. I was confused. Is that what I've been getting at? I guess we didn't even get to see each other, and he's already so rattled! I usually get people to this point in two days, at least!
- Haven't we talked to you before?
- No!
- He's not lying, baby.
I was surprised to see Daniel.
- But somebody gave us his phone number?!
- To you. Not us.
I sighed. We, not us, I won't, I won't... Whatever! We've got that phone number - good! We hit a werewolf, that's good! We're gonna take every opportunity! Even an ordinary enemy soldier can know something. I was hoping for voluntary cooperation, but this is where we get the fuck out. We'll have to use other methods of persuasion. Fortunately, a vampire has no prejudice in this regard. In three hundred years, anything will be out of my mind. And you won't be a humanist anymore. And as for me, it's about my life now. If I'm the surname of one green-eyed vampire, then I may not survive his death. And I'm still gonna have a ceremony with somebody like that?! Yeah, whizz-z-z-z! I'll pet my shoelaces and curtsy!
- Look after him," I ordered.
- What if he starts flipping?
I didn't see that coming, but should we be afraid of such little things?
- Is that theoretically possible in daylight hours?
- It's practically possible at any time of day or night.
I went to the kitchen and got the biggest knife in the kit. Not even a knife, a cleaver. It's wide, with a wooden handle. I went back to the living room and gave it to a vampire.
- If he moves, he slices without regrets.
- As you command," Danielle said. And he looked at the werewolf with his gray, evil eyes.
- I suppose you shouldn't flip over and try to get out," I smiled at the prisoner. - And don't yell, either. I'll tape it to your mouth. Maybe along with the nose.
The shape-shifter gleamed at me with his eyes, but he tried nothing. He hasn't had enough of life yet.
I went up and walked up to the apartment. First, show me your house, and I'll tell you who you are. And second, I had to think about it. Calm down, alone. A werewolf lived alone in a three-room apartment, equipped with a bedroom, a living room and a gym. Petr Sergeyevich's taste, let Petr for short, was excellent. The red-brown tones of the carpets and chair upholstery, the orange shade of the wallpaper... It's a bit gloomy, but it suits the owner. Here's a picture of him on the wall. And everywhere he is in proud solitude. No wife, no children. I stayed a little longer at the gym. Most of the shells were completely unfamiliar to me. But the gym was kept in perfect order. And a huge mirror wrapped in the wall was worth a lot of money. I'm sure it was. And what does the owner do with this? I went back into the living room and took off the scotch again. This time, the werewolf wasn't screaming. But his eyes sparkled at me so I had to burn myself out. Ha! A naive chukchi beast!
- Peter Sergeyevich, what do you do? Who are you in life?
- I have my own cafe," the werewolf filtered through. - What do you want from me?
I sat next to him and stretched my legs.
- Really, what do I want from you? Look, I recognized your phone from somewhere, right?
- Where from, by the way?
- They gave it to me. And they said you were a werewolf.
- And who gave it to you?
- He didn't introduce himself," I remembered that conversation. And I lied. The name resurfaced in my memory almost instantly. Kazachev Valentin Dmitrievich. That's right! How good it is to have such a memory as mine. Nothing stays on the surface, and everything is sent to the shelf, where it is extracted as needed.
- You're lying to me," the werewolf spotted me.
- Well, lying, I easily agreed. - And who says I have to share information with you?
- Who said I'd tell you something?
- You'll say," I promised, looking at him with a bad look. - Yes, you will," I promised to look at him in a bad way. What do you think, moral principles will stop me now?! Well, I don't have them! It's simple for me. You are the enemy. And you have to be decisive with the enemy. Destroy. You can do it slowly and painfully, you can do it quickly. I'll just put you in the bathtub and torture you.
- Jane!
- What?!
Two votes merged into one. I looked Danielle in the eye.
- You don't think I'm evil, do you?! I'm not evil, but Andre is torturing Boris and Vadim now. And if I don't do anything, he'll take Medislav too! I can't let that happen! I can't let it happen!
- Do you care about him that much?
I gleamed at the vampire with my eyes. Got the time!
- I care about my life! Or have you forgotten already?! You know what I care about Mecislav! Not by any means his outstanding abilities and merits!
Daniel had the conscience to put his eyes down.
- I'm sorry. But still, torture...
- Suggest another way.
- We can talk nicely.
- Yes, you can. Petr Sergeyevich, will you let me just call you by your name?
- This is the first t
ime I've seen a polite executioner! - A werewolf snapped at me.
- And I'm a biologist by profession. It wouldn't occur to you to apologize to an ascarid, would it? Or a frog? Or get mad at them? You're gonna gut both of them in complete peace.
I managed to surprise the werewolf.
- Call it what you want.
- Okay, great. Petya, do you know a vampire named Andre? The Prince of the City.
- No.
- Lying," Danielle immediately identified.
I took a staring at the werewolf.
- Petya, shame on you! You know that vampires easily determine whether you lie or tell the truth! By the way, how exactly? Danielle, can you explain it to me?
- It's simple, baby. Vampires, like werewolves, are very sensitive to smell. As soon as a human lies, his temperature rises, his heartbeat gets faster, hormones spurt out into his blood and the smell from his skin changes. That's how I determined that our friend was lying. As far as I know, werewolves are a little less sensitive, but it's not hard for a strong lycanthrope to tell when they're lying.
- Is he a strong lycanthropist?
- The fact that you felt his beast so easily is not in his favor. But you're very strong at all. And your abilities are still a mystery to me.
- Can't you tell what I'm capable of through Printing?
- I can't. I don't have the strength for this.
- Oh, I see.
I smiled charmingly at a werewolf.
- Let's continue our question and answer game. Andre, you know. Okay. And how do you feel about him? You're a fox werewolf. Do you have to obey him?
- You should.
- He's not lying.
- And you like to obey him? Yes or no?
- No!
- Lying again," Danielle sighed.
- Are you lying again? What should we do with you?! Danielle, get him in the tub.
- As you command.
The vampire cozily intercepted the tied werewolf and the wolf in the bath, warning him on the way:
- You try twitching or flipping, I'll break your throat. And then we'll get to your friends. One of them won't play communist. And we'll get the information. One way or another. You're not the only one in town running around in red fur!
The phone was beeping suddenly. I twitched.
- Should I pick up the phone?
- Don't, - Danielle was looking at the phone closely. - There's an answering machine. And your voice is known to many people.
Something clicked on the tube.
- This is Kovalkov. I'm not home right now. Leave a message after the tone.
The tube squeaked, and I heard a man's voice.
- Hello, Petya, the chief told me to drive the Carnival by eight. We'll take some girl. They say she's cool, like three vampires at once! So get ready as if you're going to war.
The pipe clicked and shut down. I threw my head down and laughed.
- Petya, imagine the injustice! You're just gonna take me, and I'm already here! And I won't just go away!
- What do you want from me?! - A werewolf went off. Danielle immediately smashed them on the floor and put a knife to the fox's throat.
- Don't twitch, or my hand won't shake. I'm not Jane. She's still young and kind, and I've already gotten rid of my illusions. In three hundred years, it's all gone.
The Lycanthrope shone with his eyes, but he didn't dare to twitch. That's right.
- Andre, you know. And now you know me in absentia, too. I'm the one who's supposed to be at Carnival around 10:00 at night. I'm not going, though. So, how do you feel about Andre?
- He is my master.
- Oh, I see.
- He was taking blood from you? - Danielle asked.
- Bral.
The vampire dropped his eyelashes as if his suspicions had been confirmed. Or was it like that?
- Well, then I see.
- What - okay? - I didn't move in.
- If a vampire takes blood from someone, it's a very trusting relationship," Danielle explained to me. - It's almost like between lovers.
- Yeah?!
That's the news. So I have one real lover and two almost? If I'd known that beforehand, I'd have given someone else but Daniel blood.
- Take your word for it.
- So bloodsucking for vampires equals sex? - I decided to be more specific.
- Practically. Although orgasm is experienced by the one who drinks blood, but for a vampire it is very close to sexual intercourse. Under certain conditions... Jane, let me explain this to you later!
- I didn't... - I remembered one time when Danielle took blood from my neck and flashed, but then I finished the sentence. - I didn't have an orgasm the first and second time you took blood from me, and it didn't happen with Mecislav, nor with Boris.
- I did not subjugate your mind for the first time or second time. And as for Mieczysław, you refused and resisted yourself. Otherwise, you would have understood how a man feels when he is bitten.
- And good thing I refused, my ears were burning. - Are you telling me...
- You guessed it. This guy is loyal to his master. He'll cut himself into pieces so he doesn't hurt Andre.
- Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya-two? It needs to be checked," I decided. - Take him to the bathtub.
Danielle obeyed and threw a werewolf in a pink hot tub. I leaned over him.
- So where do they keep my vampires?
- You'll die," the prisoner spit in my face.
- It's possible. But you'll die sooner. For the last time, where are Mechislav, Vadim and Boris?
The answer to me was a stream of thick mats. I smiled. It's crooked, bad...
- You know, now I'm gonna ask Daniel to hold you, and I'm gonna cut you myself. Slowly and hard. First, I'm gonna take all the bones out of your fingers. First, just on your hands. Then the brushes, forearms, shoulders... And then I'll take the legs. You're a werewolf, you can stand and heal a lot. But can you grow a bone taken from you again? Danielle's gonna look after you, and I'm gonna go in the kitchen and get a couple of handy knives. And I'm gonna do the left pinkie. I'll cut him like this," I ran my finger over his hand, "first along the line, then again along the line, but already so that the cut turns out to be crosswise. And then I'll take a hammer and break your bone at the base so it's easier to take it out. Of course, I'm not gonna be able to do it right away. I'm not a surgeon. And I only cut frogs and fish. But sooner or later, even sooner... A man only has two hundred and more bones. And I can learn.
- You can't," the werewolf said firmly.
- Really? Danielle, watch him!
I went to the kitchen, but instead of looking for knives, I sat down in a chair and stared into the space. Right. Easier to kill than to torture. I could have killed. I already did, but then I was shocked, hating the executioners worked like a drug. Will I be able to kill now? And torture before that?
What would Grandpa say? Although I already know what he would say. He'd sit across the street, look me in the eye and ask: "Jane, is this really necessary? Is there no other way? And would it bring the desired result? If this is the case, you should not doubt your actions. You're at a war, not a ball."
I wasn't sure of myself. I had to find out where my vampires were being held. And a werewolf could know that. Or it could have known who I was going to turn to with this question. I guess there's another way. But how?! I didn't know. But I knew what my grandfather would have told me. "Jane, if you've made up your mind, you don't have to worry about doubts. Enemies are always enemies. When your life is at stake, don't be shy about means. If I was shy, you'd be gone." That's it! But will I be able to?! Now, let's see. There's no choice anyway! One of us two has to torture, and one of us has to keep the knife at the werewolf's throat so it doesn't spill over. That's how the roles were distributed. It's the other way around. Danielle will torture, and I will hold the knife. Yes, you can.
But I'm the one who talked about torture. I'm the one who swore I'd do anything for my friends. And if I refu
se now, I'll break something inside me that won't fit together. I will lose respect for my word. And if I torture him? I'd be a different person. What's that? Cold, cruel, evil - I don't know! That we'll stump an owl, that we'll have to bury the bird anyway. So I'm going to bury something in me. In both cases. But I have no choice. And there's nobody around. I don't have someone so big, strong, smart to put his hands on my shoulders and say: "Honey, all your problems aren't worth a dime. I'll solve them now. While you sit in the corner, get some rest..." But he's gone. And he may never be.
Danielle, though a vampire, he's not feeling well, and in three hundred years he couldn't even get used to it. If you're being tortured yourself, is it possible to keep kindness and softness in yourself? I couldn't. Danielle could. And I don't want to force him to break something in himself. I'm a nobody. He is a brilliant artist. It's his job to create, not to pile up corpses. And he can't. He won't. It's easier to take the knife yourself than to bust it. Nobody's gonna do my job for me. It's like Atlanta. And it's hard to hold, and it rubs my shoulders, and I'm sick and tired of it, but there's nobody else in the goddamn sky to hold it.
I took off the stand all the knives that were there. Six grand. And I headed to the bathroom. Danielle sat on the edge of the bathtub and played with a knife in the dangerous vicinity of a lycanthrope's throat.
- Jane?
I looked at him. Poor vampire.
- Will you help me?
Daniel had his eyes on his forehead.
- Jane, are you serious?! You're going to torture him?!
- What makes you think I'm kidding? They have three of my friends in their hands. And this... Oh! You were involved in a raid on Snowgirev's dacha?!
- None of your business! - A werewolf barked.
I didn't even know how or what happened. My hands worked faster than my head. I stabbed a werewolf across my chest.
- Don't you dare yell at me, you beast! - I'm whispering.
Danielle looked at me with terror. A pretty werewolf sweater had a pretty red stripe on it. And I was like under anesthesia. The only thing left of all my feelings was rage. That JUSTICE dared to raise her voice at me?!
Ring of Madness Page 55
