by Ervin Agayan
“Well, it’s true of both of us!” Zens said through his teeth either with fury or with pain. “I’ll make sure to get back at her! Damn, it hurts so bad!”
“Don’t worry,” promised Arsy, with his eyes glaring somewhat unkindly. “We’ll take revenge on her. But first and foremost, we need to get out of here in one piece.”
“We’ll leave once the pain in my neck is gone.” Zens attempted to rise from the couch with little success.
“I am afraid I’m also unable to go anywhere at this moment.” Arsy took a seat on the couch leisurely and stretched his legs. “It seems like I’ve lost control of my feet.”
“But we can’t stay here any longer.” Zens inspected the room with his eyes, as though expecting a stumbling block from all sides. “It’s too dangerous here. Only God knows what they are going to feed us to.”
“For some reason, I assumed they’d show us a warm welcome,” mumbled Arsy.
“You thought that you would be united by a common enemy.”
Arsy nodded silently. The next second, his expression reflected that very resolute and even spiteful sparkle.
“Never mind, the last word is mine,” said Arsy with an obviously menacing voice.
“Personally, I can only think about the ways to revenge on that sneaky toad, but nothing practical comes to my mind,” Zens uttered through the agonizing moaning. “What if I formally get on her good side for a few days and then break her heart? What do you think?”
“You shouldn’t lower yourself to her level.” Arsy waved his hand. “I’ll get back at her with my methods!”
Silence fell over the room; Zens was so weak he couldn’t even speak, whereas Arsy had no desire to, for he had plunged into reflections, and judging by his sparkling eyes, he was not thinking about butterflies in paradise.
In twenty minutes, someone knocked at the door, and Nihena’s disgruntled voice was heard from the other side.
“Why did you lock the door? Open it right now!”
“What do you want?” snapped Arsy.
“I’ll tell you if you open the door!”
“You can tell us perfectly well through the door.”
Nihena was silent for a while, perhaps waiting for them to open the door after all. Making sure no one intended to do it, she said at last.
“Your presence here is extremely disrespectful. I believed you would understand and finally leave.”
“Thank you for the explanation,” Arsy snapped angrily. “Don’t worry. We will leave you today.”
“Not today but right now!” Nihena started pounding at the door again.
“We are not in a fit state at the moment, which is your merit, by the way!” Arsy cried aggrievedly.
“Open the door!” demanded Nihena.
“We’ll leave in an hour,” promised Arsy. “We need to rest. Leave us alone!”
“I'll see you damned first!” the savage girl snapped back. “Open the door; I’ll wait that hour in the room with you.”
“Will you leave us alone for a minute!?” exclaimed Arsy.
“Open the door!” Nihena wouldn’t let up.
Arsy closed his ears with his palms, but that was pointless. Nihena was pounding at the door with such vigor that the noise was heard throughout the entire house. It seemed like she’d wrench the door off the hinges. The truth is the girl never lacked self-assertiveness; she kept drumming at the door for about ten minutes, and Zens’s nerves finally gave way. Turning his head cautiously, he made sure the effect of the drug had significantly subsided, so he stood up slowly, walked to the door, and opened it. In an instant, Nihena rushed into the room with a spiteful smirk.
“Finally! I bruised my hands!”
“Come on, Arsy. We have to go.” Zens turned to his friend, still glaring at Nihena ferociously.
“You don’t look very good,” sneered the wild girl. “Are you okay?”
“I couldn’t feel better,” snapped Zens in a small voice, noticing certain changes in her appearance. “You don’t have ribbons in your hair, or do my eyes deceive me? Maybe, the world’s coming to an end?!”
“Right, I am also shocked!” The girl jerked her head discontentedly. “I was freshening up in my room when I suddenly remembered about a pair of rats scurrying about in the castle that need to be kicked out immediately. I rushed here at full fling, and on my way, I noticed that something was missing. I even screamed with annoyance!”
“I wonder how your parents tolerate your tricks…” Zens said, astonished. “I am sorry for them will all my heart! You are not a daughter but a true nightmare.”
“You seem to be quite brave!” sneered Nihena, tapping Zens on the shoulder. “Only a brave person would tell me such a thing to my face! I definitely like you; therefore, the next time you visit us, give me a notice in advance so that I can prepare.”
“Even if you see me here in your dreams, do not believe your eyes!” said Zens.
“You’ll be sure to come back some day,” Nihena said confidently, looking into his eyes.
“To fall target to your mockery again?”
“To ask my father for my hand,” Nihena corrected him coquettishly.
“Such stupid jokes!” Zens burst out laughing.
“I am absolutely serious. I am sure you took a liking to me. You are literally devouring me with your eyes,” Nihena responded laughing. “This very moment!”
“What a load of rubbish!” Zens sneered. “You know very well that I used to be married. I am not going to make the same mistake twice, all the more so by marrying someone like you!”
“Love is cruel.” Nihena’s smile was more than sympathetic. “And like they say, the heart wants what it wants.”
“I’d choose to marry a disgusting toad rather than you,” Zens said with a grimace.
“No problem. Then I’ll turn into a disgusting toad,” Nihena cracked a joke and added with a serious intonation, “but I should warn you, if that day does actually come and you come here to ask for my hand, you need to realize, winning my heart is not easy.”
“Oh, really?” Zens exclaimed ironically. “And what trials should I go through for it?”
“First, you’ll need to punish my brother’s murderer.” Nihena started folding her fingers. “It would be good if you personally do it. On top of it, as I already told Arsy, you must overcome me in a battle, which is no laughing matter.”
“I’d rather find myself a less demanding girl,” smirked Zens. “I’m not keen on such challenges.”
“But if you fall in love with me, you won’t need anyone else,” Nihena kept joking.
“You may not worry about me; I’ll settle my personal life pretty well.”
“I can see how you settled it! You don’t even have a opportunity to see your son!”
“That’s none of your business!” Zens said loudly and more severely than he intended.
“And why am I surprised? Your ex-wife did the right thing to leave a person like you.” Nihena kept pouring salt over the wound.
“Once again, it’s none of your business!” Zens said with frustration. “You have no idea why we actually divorced.”
Nihena succeeded in touching Zens’s buttons, which he avoided in every way he could but which constantly made their presence felt. It was extremely difficult to think about his son, whom he couldn’t even meet with. The worst part was that he might not have a chance to see him.
“Then, tell me the reason!”
“I am repeating it for the last time; it’s none of your business.”
“Never mind, I’ll find it out some day,” promised Nihena with a devious smile.
Zens glared at her fiercely then turned to his friend, who was still sitting on the couch with his eyes closed.
“Arsy, are you sleeping? For heaven’s sake, let’s get out of here.”
“I’m not sleeping,” he said drowsily, opening his eyes.
“Let’s go. The quicker we get out of here, the sooner we’ll get home. It’s simply unsafe
to stay here.” Zens looked at Nihena awry, as if expecting her to rush at him at any moment.
“I’d prefer to spend the night here, but as long as they are kicking us out... let’s go.” Arsy stood up and took his bag. “Hey, Nihena, the planet is round. We’ll meet some day! One fine day, you will knock at my door.”
“With great pleasure. And let's see afterwards how you'll drive the poor girl out of the house,” Nihena made a miserable grimace.
“I have no intention of kicking you out; on the contrary, I’ll throw a roaring party for you, so that you sink through the ground with shame,” said Arsy, pointing in her direction with his finger.
“Shame and I are incompatible,” Nihena cracked a joke. “You’ll have to think of another method of revenge.”
“Fate will take revenge on you for what you did to us,” promised Zens.
“What do you mean?”
“Not a single man in the world will want to marry you, and you’ll be alone to the end of your days.”
“Hardly so,” the girl answered with a confident smile. “I’ll find myself a suitor when it’s the right time, while the latter will be begging for my consent on his knees. He will be the most dignified person in Agastan.”
“I already feel sorry for that guy,” Zens remarked mischievously.
“Well, you shouldn’t. I am not that bad. Have you any idea about the number of my admirers?” Nihena wasn’t joking. Despite her tough personality, many young men were crazy about her.
“Those must be the couple of beggars, who live nearby!” Zens cracked a joke to hurt Nihena’s feelings.
“What is this war of words about?” Arsy cut up. “Her personal life shouldn’t matter to you, should it?”
“You are right.” He nodded and walked to the door. “It absolutely doesn’t matter to me. Let’s go.”
“I’ll see you off.” Nihena immediately tagged along.
“You needn’t bother.” Zens was eager to see the back of her as soon as possible.
“No, I need to in case you decide to steal something precious on your way. One should beware of criminals like you!”
“Compared to you, we are feathered angels,” Zens bit back.
“Who do you want to cheat? I am well-informed about you, or rather about Arsy. He’s a next to none bandit in Agastan. They promise loads of money for his head, but I'm so generous that I don't betray you. But you don't appreciate that at all!”
“Oh, thank you very much!” Arsy snapped ironically.
“You are so irked at me as though it’s my fault that your fates have gone awry,” sneered Nihena.
At that moment, Arsy seemed to remember something. He stopped sharply, so that Nihena, who was behind him, bumped into him.
“Hold on. I nearly forgot.” Arsy turned to face her. “Give me my money back, right now!”
“What money?” Nihena artfully pretended to be surprised.
“Don’t pretend to be naïve,” said Zens. “He speaks about the money you stole from Arsy’s wallet.”
“Stole?” exclaimed the girl. “But you saw with your eyes how I took it! That fact doesn’t make it a robbery. I simply took it!”
“But you personally said you stole it,” recalled Zens. “‘Stealing a thief’s money is a sign of luck!’ Weren’t those your words?”
“Okay, let’s assume I stole it,” Nihena confessed reluctantly but then went into an assault again, “so what?”
“Give it back!” ordered Arsy.
“How can one give back something that is already spent?” Nihena said with a smile of joy.
Arsy’s eyebrows crawled upwards; Zens couldn’t believe his ears.
“You…you… Are you crazy? How could you spend 300.000 lesos in one day?” Arsy exclaimed, astonished.
“Quite easily! I spent a part of the money on fashionable clothes,” the girl said, showing her tight-fitting pants. “As for the rest, I gave it out to poor people. After all, you made that money robbing them!”
Nihena wasn’t keen on wearing dresses; instead she adored jewelry and accessories. She could change the color of her nails and lips several times a day, matching them with jewelry and hair ribbons.
“I don’t believe you spent it all.” Arsy shook his head. “Give me back my money!”
“Instead of thinking about money, you should thank God for getting out of here in one piece,” snapped Nihena, crossing her hands over her chest.
“But we don’t have a single leso,” Arsy said with a softer voice. “Give me a part of it at least, so that we get home.”
“You won’t get a single leso,” Nihena was uncompromising, “unless you try to get the money by force.”
“Thank you, I’m not a fool.” Arsy remembered her fighting skills and a treacherous chill ran along his spine. “Give us at least one thousand lesos for food. We’ve been starving all day because of you. We didn’t have anything other than the disgusting porridge you gave us.”
“Oh, stop whining!” Nihena waved her hand. “You are by far the best thieves in Agastan; starving to death is definitely not your case!”
For a few seconds, Arsy was looking daggers at her, hoping she’d change her mind. That didn’t work.
“You’ll regret it,” threatened Arsy, glaring at her.
“Oh, really? I feel my knees are quaking,” Nihena quipped in response.
Zens and Arsy left the room, went down to the yard, and walked towards the main gates of Mozakon, where they had left their horses. The sun had long ago hidden behind the horizon, and the night was quiet and amazingly windless. Arsy had grabbed a lamp from the living room, so he went first, lighting their way. Nihena kept pace with them. All along the way to the yard, she was persuading them to go through her room, so that she could pick her favorite hair ribbons, explaining that she felt “naked” without them. It goes without saying that neither of them had a slightest intention of complying with her request. Zens was trying to get rid of her in any way he could, but that was pointless. She kept mocking and stinging him from behind, and he had no other choice but to sting her back.
Passing through the city’s main square, they took a second to admire the magnificent fountain in the center of it. Three stone-made girls with snakes around their waists were holding a large bowl above their heads. Thin streams of water were cascading from the bowl, filling the basin of the fountain.
Nihena crawled under the bowl skillfully, and standing next to the girls, made of stone, she touched the bowl. Proud of her joke, she giggled and looked at the guys playfully. Zens didn’t miss the chance to have a dig at her.
“Such a good composition: three stone-made maidens and a snake!”
“You bet!” Nihena didn’t take any offence at such a comparison and dashed water on Zens.
“But you said you were a cat!” the latter remarked with a smirk.
“For some I am a cat, but for criminals like you, I am a poisonous snake. If everyone in Agastan treated you like this, you’d be dead now! Or at least you’d think twice before breaking the law!”
Due to the roughness of the mountain area, the city had a multi-tiered structure. Tall, thin towers rose among an abundance of low-standing residential districts, interspersed with elegant bridges and aqueducts. The city gates were located at the lowest altitude, which made it easy for the young men to go down, so that they walked quite fast.
Seeing this fantastically beautiful city at a distance, the guys were thrilled to plunge into the city bustle, full of citizens, running around for their affairs, loud noises, and redolent fragrances. However, they were quickly faced with disappointment, since Mozakon looked half-deserted day and night. Being a city of mercenaries, Mozakon sheltered residents from among them, and since the city could perfectly protect itself due to its location, the majority of mercenaries could leave for extended periods with their minds at ease, engaging in intelligence or their primary occupation, namely searching for and catching criminals. In recent times, many mercenaries were hunting the devil
. Thus, half of the residents were almost always absent, leaving entire districts in Mozakon empty and creating an impression of a ghost town.
“I’ll be missing you, guys.” Nihena’s derisive voice was heard behind Arsy’s back.
“Really?” Judging by Zens’s ironic tone, he certainly didn’t believe her.
“Absolutely! I had a lot of fun. Outside these walls, you feel like masters of the universe, whereas here, you looked like wretched dogs.”
“For heaven’s sake, don’t argue with her,” asked Arsy.
“Okay, but she must know that he who laughs last, laughs best,” Zens wouldn’t let up.
“You’re right, but I have a final word,” was heard from behind.
When they took the street leading to the gates, Nihena spoke again: “Make sure not to take the lamp with you. I took a very important mission upon my fragile shoulders: not to let you steal anything! I’ll die of shame if you manage to do it after all!”
The redemptive gates were just a few steps away from the young men when Nihena dexterously outran them and stood in their way with such a menacing expression that Zens stood petrified. What else did she want?
“Everything is said. There’s nothing else to add,” Arsy said calmly. “I don’t want to stay here another second. Get out of our way.”
“I wonder are you really giving in so easily?” Nihena asked with a shade of disappointment, glaring at him. “You must accept that you don’t deserve and are simply incapable of mastering cathastu.”
“What else could I do,” Arsy exclaimed with surprise, “beg Sensei Farin for mercy on my knees?”
“Yes!” Nihena answered absolutely seriously.
“What about pride?” Arsy sneered arrogantly.
“Pride will never let you become a cathastuist,” Nihena snapped with a certain deal of contempt.
Arsy didn’t respond. For some reason, the phrase that she threw so easily in his face had a sobering effect on him. She might be right. Arsy nodded silently and, pushing her aside, walked towards the gates. Hardly had he passed a few steps when he was stopped by the same voice that, however, was completely free of taunts and contempt.
“Sensei Farin isn’t the only master of cathastu in the world.”
