Бесплатный фрагмент - A little time to enjoy eternity

The night is dark and hides a lot from people’s eyes. If

there are no lights nearby, if the moon and stars are hidden behind clouds, then the

darkness falls so thick and

impenetrable that it begins to seem as if you are in a closed

room without windows and doors, frightening

in its obscurity. Therefore, at night it is necessary to dream, hiding

from all the fears of this world with a soft blanket. The only person who blesses

the darkness is the one who wants to be hidden, carries the tai-

nu, and wants to keep something out of sight.

This September night was particularly dark. The weather

was warm, but it was going to rain, and clouds covered the sky.

In the fields beyond the village, near the forest, there was not a light,

and in the darkness, without a lantern, it would have been impossible to distinguish whether it was a field

or a road, a forest or a clearing, and therefore no one would

have seen that the figure of a man was moving across the field.

The stiff posts of straw sticking out of the ground

made it difficult for him to walk quickly. He walked smoothly and confidently

on the ground, as if there was no impenetrable darkness around him, as if he

saw every step, every piece of the mown field.

When the man was well away from the road,

he stopped. Taking a small object out of his pocket, he said:

I squatted down, put it in front of me, and

walked quickly back. And then from a strange object with a hiss

3

a column of steam whistled out. The ground around him glowed with an

orange light, and it looked like it wasn’t just

light. The hay poles nearby began to burn and charred, everything

around them began to turn black, to sink down, and

a scaly, clawed paw appeared from the pit. As soon

as the column of steam disappeared, the man came closer. The light from the fire

pit revealed what he looked like. It was a man

in his thirties, wearing a black business suit. When he saw the paw, he

rolled his eyes and made a face of displeasure, but he didn

’t move again.

The pit stopped burning, the smoldering pieces of earth no longer

glowed so brightly. Following the paw

,the rest of the strange creature’s body appeared. It is difficult to describe what

it looked like — whether it was a baby dragon, or

an overgrown winged lizard. The thin

leather wings on the skeletal carcasses looked lifeless and hung

like rags on stakes, torn in places, cracked

and crumpled in places. The creature’s face was still more like

a dragon’s, its nostrils steaming, and its eyes glittering with fire,

silver runes with strange markings were woven into the mane

,and they tinkled melodiously as they clashed together. The creature

sighed heavily, let out a large stream of

steam from its mouth, and shook itself, saying —

«That’s it, Keijigen, you can’t even shake hands with an old

friend!

«

The man in the black suit said in a tired

voice.

«Keiji, you can greet me

normally, I’m having a hard time breathing, I need more time.»

I didn’t come for a minute. Give me permission, «the dragon

lizard croaked.

Keijigen ran a hand over his disgruntled face and

beard, closed his eyes for a moment, then took a deep breath

and said, «I’m not sure.:

4

— Arfimaino Arbaham, fiery guardian of the ninth

Wall and the sealed gate of the ninth Vale, imperishable

protector of the abyss of despair and hopelessness, knight of the black

cauldron of the 12th rank, I welcome you to this land.

Immediately after that, the dragon lizard

let out a sigh of relief and looked down at its paws. The scales

stopped glowing, and the entire body gradually took on a silvery-

bluish hue. His nostrils stopped steaming, and

a half-smile appeared on his face.

— Well, that’s better. It’s good for you, go back and forth

as you want, and we have such a burden on us…

But before he could finish, Sobesednik interrupted

him:

«I wouldn’t have done this if it wasn’t for the request from below,

which I can’t ignore. What’s wrong, why are you

here? I don’t have to go back yet, «Keijigen

put his hand to his face, mimicking a facepalm. —

After all, this is a blatant violation, what the fuck are you doing there

?he raised his voice. — Why the fuck did you get out on your own,

Arfimaino?

Then both of them started shouting.

«I wouldn’t if it wasn’t about you, you idiot,

and it wasn’t really important,» the lizardman croaked, shaking

his paws in the air, and his eyes glinted with a golden light.

5

CHAPTER 2. ESCAPE

As is often the case with teenagers, Lina

was sick of everything again. I got a school that didn’t have anything

interesting, I got a younger brother who always wanted something

,I got a mother who came home from work in the evening

and showered her with criticism and complaints. I forgot this, didn’t do that, didn’t think about it.

And so on, day after day,

really sick of it. With my friend Mara, of course, it was at-

Coldly, she couldn’t go out with her as often as

she used to. Strict parents, foreign language tutors

,music school and other «joys» of teenage

life left her too little free

time, and so Lina just went out alone in the evening

to wander around the neighborhood, to distract herself from her

thoughts, from noisy home and from endless school

lessons. Today, she decided that she would leave the house

earlier because Michael was due to arrive.

Michael was not her mother’s new husband, but he often

spent time with their family. This plump, red — faced man

with piggy eyes and a guilty smile made

Lina feel sorry for him. She couldn’t understand why her mother

had chosen such a ridiculous friend. He did not help

them materially, as he earned quite little,

and never bought them gifts or food. He was just lonely,

6

just like their mother, and maybe that’s why they enjoyed

spending time together.

Lina didn’t want to have dinner in this

company tonight. They made her feel like a ten

— year-old girl again, being poked around and lectured.

So she called out that she wouldn’t be home for dinner and would spend the night

at Mara’s, she slammed the door and stormed out of the house.

My mother wasn’t up to it — my younger brother spent half the day crying

over a B in physics, and then to top it off

,he was bitten by a wasp. When his mother came home from work, she wiped away his snot

and tears, calmed him down as best she could, prepared dinner for meeting

Michael, and was generally tired after the day’s work, so she was

even glad that there would be no youthful

maximalism and arguments about nothing at the table.

They lived almost at the very edge of the village, two houses away from the fields and the road, then a thin forest.

Lina had explored the area up and down the rivers.

She liked the small hunting lodges

that kept coming across her way as she walked along the forest.

Cool but dry inside, they seemed very cozy —

you can lie down, listen to music, dream about your own things, and no

one will bother you.

Reaching one of them, the girl easily climbed

up the wooden steps and settled on the floor. She

pulled a thin blanket out of her backpack, wrapped

herself up, put her headphones in her ears, and lost herself in thought.

Finally, the long-awaited freedom! Brief as it was,

it made her feel like the queen of the world.

She wanted to breathe in that freedom and feel like she was on her own.

strong and confident. She enjoyed the fresh

air, the gusts of wind, the sky that peeked

through a crack in the roof, the music that made you feel like you

could do anything, and her fantasies about how she

would go to the city after graduation, to a model casting, how

she would be noticed by leading fashion designers, and her life would change, everything

7

will it be cool or even cooler… Such average

dreams, but for Lina they were an outlet and the most favorite

pastime.

When it started to get dark, she dozed off. The music

was still playing in her headphones, but she couldn’t hear it anymore.

After sleeping for a few hours, she woke up

to another loud musical splash in her ears. Lina idly

scooped up the wireless headphones in her hand and emptied them

into the pocket of her backpack. She turned off the music and adjusted

her backpack under her head, making herself more comfortable so that she could sleep farther

away, but then through the cracks in the wall of the house she saw a light, some

lights about a hundred meters away, almost in the middle of a mown field.

Lina got up, crawled to the wall on her knees

,and peered through the crack. «Damn, is there a fire or something? The field is burning for ho-

do! «was her first thought. Then she looked closer

then she saw the man in black. She didn’t

even have time to get scared, it all happened so fast —

an incomprehensible creature crawled out of the burning pit and spoke to the stranger.

From this distance, she could barely hear them, and the language

seemed incomprehensible, some seething and hissing sounds,

unpleasant, blocking her ears, getting stuck in her head…

The girl stopped listening, but

she couldn’t take her eyes off it. I kept thinking, Am I dreaming? Is this movie being filmed

?The creature was half a meter taller,

thicker and more massive than a human, its tail was constantly hitting

the ground with small pellets, it was fascinating to look at, and Lina

first looked at this tail for a long time, silvery-blue,

with iridescence, but then she began to wonder what was going on there in

general. It looks like the odd couple was fighting.

Here the creature swung its heavy paw to

strike the man. The blow should have hit him on the head,

but he caught the paw in his hand and jerked it away. The

creature was supposed to swat him into a flatbread,

but he pushed it away as if it were made of cotton wool. And then

an even stranger thing happened: a shiny blue tail,

8

and the paws, and the long ears — all this began to retract

in a monster, and here he is no longer a monster, but an intelligent

middle-aged man with glasses and a gray business suit. He

straightened his jacket, smoothed his hair, and continued to say

something. The man in black responded

by gesturing violently, showing his displeasure with

everything that was happening. Then the gray suit turned and walked toward

the road, and the other man, hands down, remained standing on the

floor. The grass and ground beneath him were almost extinguished, and it was dark again

,but he couldn’t see anything around him.

Lina backed away from the wall, her heart pounding.

She sat down in the corner, pulled the blanket up to her chin, and tried

to convince herself that this was a dream. She remembered that she and co —

boy had a smartphone, and she began to blame herself for stepping

out without filming the strange couple on it. «Yes, that would solve it

my problem, she thought. «Then it would be immediately

clear whether it was a dream or not.» With these thoughts, she

calmed down a little, reached into her backpack for her smartphone — just

in case, as if she really was recording

something on it, when suddenly she was blinded by an unexpected light — someone

was standing next to the entrance.

9

CHAPTER 3. THEY

Five hours earlier, a few kilometers south

.

The light of the setting sun shone through the small

basement window. It moved to the floor and moved smoothly

along, illuminating everything in its path:

white walls, simple wooden shelves. And on them —

beauty. Lots of beauty. A lot of work. Tools, brushes

,and paints.

The workshop was a creative mess, but the work was still going on

they were laid out on shelves in

a certain sequence, depending on the stage of production and the degree

of readiness. Some were drying up, some were

at the stage of creating sketches, and some were almost finished.

A lot of boxes of materials, bottles of

special solutions and pigments were here and there,

a hundred different tiny and larger jars and

special shapes — all this gave the workshop the appearance of a

fancy alchemical laboratory with modern

trends from IKEA.

The workshop seemed to be permeated by the spirit of creativity, the energy

of inspiration invisibly bubbled in the air, thin streams

oozed up from almost finished paintings, panels,

tables and decorative dishes. Most of them were

10

they are decorated and painted with natural ornaments:

bizarre plants, animals and birds, mosses and lichens, fungi

and the berries lived their lives on them. All this energy»

lit up» the room, making it stand out from hundreds of others. It was

a feast, not for humans, of course — just for him.

A ray of sunlight touched the angel statue, reflected

off its crystalline texture, and a slight ripple of space, barely visible

to the human eye, began to spread

across the room.

The angel did many righteous things today. The angel can

rest. The invisible essence of warmth and light that he

remained floated in the workshop. He found this place

a few years ago. Well, as soon as I found it, you can see it right away.

There was little creativity or inspiration in his area

,and this kind of energy was always attractive.

Against the gray background of everyday life, this island simply shone

a bluish alluring light. This was how he saw the world,

this was how he saw this place. It gave the angel so much strength, so

much faith, that it allowed him to do things that

many of his colleagues would not have dared to do.

He was sated, blissful, and calm, but it was

too early to leave. He was waiting for her. The lock at the top clicked. A girl came into the house

,put her grocery bags on the floor, sat

down on a bench in the hallway and buried her face in the phone. She’s on-

Her hair was unruly, and her long, thin fingers

tapped on the touch screen. The new car was sold

,which was very useful, because soon the rent would be paid,

and there was only money left for food. Reana is a master, Reana is

an artist. But what doesn’t stick together in your own

life? She went into the kitchen, washed the vegetables, and made a

light salad for dinner.

Creativity has always saved. This was her life. All

the failures she «stuck» with creativity. She had it, and

he had her. And nothing else. The profit was always enough

only for the most necessary things. Reana never took out a loan

11

to buy a house. I didn’t start a family either. I met and met many people, but no one stayed long.

Only the best friend remained unchanged,

with which you could get out to hang out somewhere and still

listen to whining about how everyone around you is a bastard and how

expensive everything has become.

Such a strange life, both monotonous and completely

different every day, because every creation that came out

from under her hand was different from others, with its

own character, even copies were somewhat different. And she

liked that. And he liked it. The angel called. Inaudible.

Invisibly. Touching without touching. Today, new

workpieces are being filled in. A play of substances and forms, liquid and solid,

colorless and colored, a boundless field for

phantasms, a flight over a world frozen in its beauty for

eternity.

And she went to work, putting on a light shirt and a work

apron.

And he assisted her. I wish I could say that,

but no. He wasn’t helping, he was present. And it gave

something more. He needed her. Not that slim

and regular figure, not those hands, not that sweet

,kind face with big brown eyes. He needed

her light — that fountain of blue light of creativity,

inspiration, and fantasy. The same delicious light

that permeated the workshop, only stronger, fresher. When

she was away for a long time, or in close contact

with other people, that light faded. It weakened even when

the works sold out well and there was no need to

create new ones. Therefore, he helped as much as he could:

he took unnecessary people away from her, recognition and success. And he

made her happy, creating happiness out of nothing. The artist

must be hungry. Well, even if not quite hungry,

of course, but a certain creativity is

a certain sacrifice.

12

� So today we did both. And

they both enjoyed the process, too.

What a wonderful end to the day, an-

gel thought. He felt more powerful than ever, his light

encompassed all corners of his lands, he felt everything,

every being, every blade of grass, every good and evil, and he,

of course, with all his being, wanted every evil

to go out of this world, wanted people to be happy and quiet

life. But sometimes they themselves cause trouble to themselves and others

,create so many problems that

no one can cope with all this. He was already doing everything he could,

and more. And the angel was indulging in pleasant memories

of today’s good deeds that he had done, when

suddenly it was as if boiling water was thrown over him, as if an invisible siren

screamed in his ears, and a red flashing light, deafening

howling, sparkled before his eyes. The spirit leapt up and flew

out of the window.

13

chapter 4. TRAPPED

Lina’s heart sank with fright, and her breath caught in her throat.

This strange man in a black suit was standing in front of her

,shining a flashlight in her face.

«Well, hello,» he said in a pleasant, almost too

pleasant voice. «Who do we have here?»

Lina began to shield herself from the glare with her hands, and he

dimmed the lantern.

— So what am I supposed to do with you?»»

What is it?» the stranger asked her, his face breaking into a smile or

a grin.

Lina looked up at him. The first

thing she noticed were the eyes. Brown

eyes, the irises of which glowed with yellow-red sparks at the edges

.

Those aren’t lenses, Lina thought.»

Blah, I got it.»

When suddenly everything rang and then froze,

and it became difficult to breathe, difficult to move, difficult to speak…

A voice was heard from Sleep — ruzhi, and the man in black

came down like lightning and disappeared from sight. Li-

na exhaled, the feeling of suffocation and helplessness

gone. She scooped up her backpack and went down the

stairs. And finally, with just one glance over his shoulder

14

�At what was happening nearby, I ran

home as fast as I could.

She saw something even more incredible. It was as if an-

gel was descending from the sky, shining with divine light, holding

a silver sword, but she couldn

’t see it anymore. Fear took over her completely, the instinct of self —

preservation took up all the space that was in her head. Other capes-

Lina had no choice but to run far and fast, and in a

few moments there

were only two people left at the hunter’s cabin.

Damiel appeared in all his glory, in

all his beauty — blinding light and snow-white wings. He rarely took the form of a spirit and appeared in the human world in the form of an angel

only in exceptional cases, when the instructions required

it, and this was just such a case.

«Let the horned one tremble, he will know who will be disturbed-

he lived. They came up with me here again — on my land to play

their dirty games. Unheard of!

There hasn’t been such a blatant lack of balance

in decades. That’s why we need to scare the devil’s spawn as

it should, «the angel thought as he descended to the ground. «It’s a good thing I

brought a sword, I look great.»

The demon was really impressed.

He bent over, shielding his arms from the glare,

wobbling like a blade of grass in the wind before a helicopter came down

.

Damiel touched the ground, retracted his wings, and began his

edifying speech.

And Keijigen stood there thinking, «Arfimaino, the son of a bitch,

set me up, got out without proper permission

,and left.» The angel’s words were jarring,

and his proximity was searing, but Keijigen didn’t budge

.He was sorry — his peaceful life on Earth began

to flash before his eyes. «I’m about to be sent away

15

Down to the trial before the council, then the soul mines, the guardians…

Or maybe run away? You can’t get away from this… it’s a pain

,but they sent a tough guy to pick me up… In general, it’s strange that

the archangel came to deal with such trifles…

Wait a minute… I’m wrong… this is not an archangel. I’m an idiot!

No, it’s definitely not an archangel, but where does the supreme

glow come from…?»

Keijigen’s thoughts stopped racing

and he calmed down a bit. I even came up with something.

He straightened up, straightened his jacket, and said,

«Don’t panic, you just misunderstood, I

’ll explain everything in a moment. The charming smile was back

on his face, and his eyes glittered with devilish fire.

Suddenly-a second later-he’s flying… or falling. Opening

his eyes, Keijigen couldn’t understand what had happened. He thought

he was caught in a tornado. A hellish pain shot through his right

thigh. «Pain? What? Still not sure which

is heaven and which is earth, the demon tried to put his hand to his leg,

to the source of the pain, and felt something hard there. Gradually

,he began to distinguish objects around him. He looked down

at his hand, which was feeling his leg, and it was

covered in blood. «How? Gathering his strength, he tilted

his head and saw that his thigh was pierced

through by a black stick that looked like a piece of rebar.

Panic seized him, and he reached for the stick to pull

it out quickly, but as soon as he touched it, he screamed — the burn on his arm

burned unbearably, causing even more

pain than the injured leg. Keijigen cupped his burned

palm with his other hand and looked around.

Some kind of air current was carrying him. It was moving at an

incredible speed, constantly changing direction. It was

hard to keep track of what was spinning around him, but when

he looked closely, he could make out leaves,

branches, scraps of newspaper, and black sticks like the one

stuck in his leg. Any change in flow direction

16

it could easily cause one of them to stab him

right through. The blood began to pound in his temples, and fear came over him again,

and then he saw bodies flying in the distance, just as he was.

All of them were scratched and wounded, punctured

black sticks, large and small, seemed

lifeless and flew motionless, caught

up in the current.

Looking at the bodies, the open empty eyes, the terrible

wounds, Keijigen realized that the sticks were not rebar,

but spears and arrows and their fragments. They were such a deep

black color that it was as if the void itself had taken

shape. It was cold and hard to breathe. Was

the flow really running out of oxygen? Or maybe he didn’t notice and was

poked by another piece of black arrow? Keijigen

tried not to move, trying to figure out what he could

do to get out of the vortex, but his thoughts were slow

and nothing came to mind.

Another change in the flow direction significantly changed

the positions of flying objects. It hit him on the head

some newspaper. He decided not to take it off, because the extra

movement caused pain. But then something soft bumped into him

.

«Green Alley, find Reana,»

a low voice told him.

With his good hand, Keijigen tore the newspaper off his face

and saw the angel that Milo had been

talking to outside the hunting lodge a few minutes ago.

He smiled to himself. Yeah, compared

to what was happening right now, the conversation was very nice.

Keijigen tilted his head and looked at him.

It was difficult to call him an angel now:

a black arrow was running through his chest from right to left, and his left arm, broken

in the shoulder and forearm, hung unnaturally down. His face

was scratched and covered with blood, and his white clothes were no

longer white, covered with dirt, blood, and dirt.

17

«This is a meeting,» Keijigen said softly.

Without opening his eyes, the angel repeated in a barely audible voice, «Find

Reana.» Return stone… around your neck…

It was hard for him to speak, the black

arrow in his chest moved with every word, something gurgled, and

blood came out of his mouth. He hung up. Or died.

Keijigen struggled to think through his words. His thoughts flowed

like jelly, and he didn’t know if seconds or minutes were passing

,hours or days. «On the neck… what’s on the neck, what’s on the neck?…»

As luck would have it, the angel landed on the side of the burned

palm, and Keijigen had to roll

over to reach the unfortunate man with his good hand. A groan escaped

his mouth as he grazed a piece of black spear sticking

out of his leg, and for a second he lost consciousness. «Where am I? Who am I?»

When he came back to himself, he remembered why he had rolled over.

«Come on! he groaned, holding out his good hand

.«Got it!»

Keijigen found the chain around the angel’s neck. It was rather

thin and cold, and it slid between his fingers, and he

turned it over and over until he found a small

,rounded object in his hand.

— And what’s your activation code, light ones?».. he

sighed. «I hope you don’t

change the factory settings either…» and pressed a certain

sequence of runes located on the stone.

At the same time, a blue beam from somewhere below caught

the angel, and Keijigen wrapped his arms around him as best he could, and an unknown

force pulled them out of the stream, and everything around them flashed

like rainbow sparks, and they plopped down on the grass, wet

from the recent rain.

Keijigen fainted again from the pain, and a piece of the black

spear clattered and almost flew out of his leg. Opening his eyes at

last, he got up, took off his half-torn

jacket, wrapped it around his arm, and pulled out the hated fragment.

18

Blood immediately filled the wound. He tied it up with the same

piece of jacket and got to his feet.

It was dark and quiet. People were sleeping. Next to it was a white

two-story house, surrounded by bushes and flowers, smelling

of roses. A dim streetlamp illuminated the street. In the dark sky

there was a moon and a few stars. Keijigen took a deep

breath. Life seems to be getting better, he thought,

but then he remembered his companion, who was lying

unconscious on the bed. His chest was slightly raised,

which made him assume that he was alive, and decided to walk around the house

to see where they were.

A few meters to their left,

a gate and porch with a white wooden door appeared behind a large rose bush

.On the mailbox, Keijigen read: Green

Alley, 7, Reana Dammer. «Oh,» he said, «it looks

like we’re here.» Then there was a commotion and he hurried

back.

On the other side of the house, there was a glass-enclosed

porch and another door that Keijigen hadn

’t noticed at first. It opened and a girl ran out

He was wearing bare-footed sneakers, casual clothes, and a striped

zip-up jacket.

19

CHAPTER 5. THE FIND

Lina ran as fast as she could without stopping until

she was almost out of breath from running. «It seems to be over… Today

this is clearly the most unusual day of my life,

she thought. She’d never wanted

to be home again so badly. With your own people. It was as if she had looked at the whole picture.

your life on the other side. There was a desire

to spend time with my younger brother, help him with his lessons,

come to my mother’s shop after school, do something

useful, and in general, hug her and whisper in her ear that

she was doing great. Sit down to dinner with them, listen

to Michael’s ridiculous stories, and have a nice chat with him, too

.She switched from running to walking. It suddenly became

very important for her to tell her friends that they were wonderful and loved

.Tears welled up in her eyes. «Probably everyone

is asleep right now, and I will have to go quietly and unnoticed into the house

and wait until morning until everyone wakes up to remind

them how much I love them!» -some wave of kindness and tenderness washed

over her.

She thought of Mara, and she wanted to hug

her friend and tell her everything, all the strange things that had happened

today, but then something tinkled behind her. The girl looked around.

A few feet away from her was a broken mirror,

which reflected the moon brightly.

20

When she came closer, she was very surprised to see that it

was not a mirror at all, but a sword lying in front of her. Her heart

began to pound again, and Lina recognized it, for it was in the hands of an-

gel, who had descended from heaven. The girl looked around —

no one. She looked up at the sky and shouted:

— You’re lost here…

But her voice broke, and she didn’t repeat it.

No one responded.

Lina crouched down. She’d watched a lot of movies and decided not to touch such things with her bare hands.

With one finger, through a three-fold

handkerchief, she touched the sword — nothing happened. Then,

without letting go of her handkerchief, she took

hold of her hand with two fingers. The cloth slipped, and Lina almost dropped the sword, but

when she reached out with all her hands, she caught it — again, nothing.

«Ugh,» she breathed out in relief, and took a

more comfortable grip on the hilt, twirling the sword in the air.

It was small and very light, but it still

felt balanced. The girl felt the handle

shake, changing its shape, and now

lay as comfortably as possible in her hand. It didn’t seem cold, even though

it looked like the sword was made of a solid piece

of metal. And the metal was strange, unknown. Silvery

as a mirror, it reflected everything around it. The blade was very sharp.

The handle on top was quite

simple: a slight bend and curl to the right and left.

It ended in a curve at the bottom, a strange head

with open, empty eyes. Nothing more to note-

It was empty, and Lina hurried to put it

back in her backpack, but the sword fell out immediately, cutting a small hole in the bottom

.Then the girl wrapped it in a jacket and, having already

stuffed this bag into her backpack, went to the house.

In front of the house, Lina checked to

make sure the sword was wrapped up well, to see if there was a glint anywhere. She

didn’t want to tell anyone about the strange find just yet.

21

� Everyone was asleep at home. The girl tiptoed

into her room, kicked off her shoes, flopped down on the bed

,and fell asleep.

22

CHAPTER 6. THE AWAKENING

Inhale and exhale, inhale and exhale, then faster, faster, even

faster. Reana woke up and sat up in bed. It wasn

’t bad, but it was also restless. It seemed that something was wrong. The girl

got up, went to the kitchen and drank cold water. I lay

back down. I couldn’t sleep. Hot. Opened — cold. I rolled

over on my pillow — it was hot. I slid down to the floor — ho-

lodno. She sat up, leaning her back against the bed. Sleep was gone with

everything, I wanted to get up and run somewhere far away, right

into the night haze.

Reana threw on a long button-down shirt and

went downstairs. Turning on the TV, she quickly ran through 25

channels and, not finding anything interesting for herself, turned it off.-

I found him and stood by the window. She was always drawn somewhere, always

feeling that she had to do something

important and necessary right now, but what exactly —

did not occur to her.

She was looking up at the dark sky, trying to remember

if she had forgotten something, when she saw

that a meteorite had fallen into the garden. Or a comet. Or something else.

It gave off a bluish light, but she couldn’t see

what it was. There was only a flash, and then she

heard a thud. Right in her garden, just a few

steps away.

23

� Reana had always wanted to find a meteorite, so her

first thought was to find it. And the fact that he fell very

close to her made her so happy that she forgot about everything:»

This is such an incredible event! I will have my own space kuso-

check! I can go to exhibitions with it if it

’s big enough. Running,

knocking over a stool that got in her way, she rushed into the

corridor, pulled on her sneakers and jacket, and ran out through the veranda

into the garden.

When she opened the door and jumped down two steps

at a time, the girl suddenly stopped. Exiting the do-

As she stared into the darkness, for a few moments she could see

nothing but the foliage of the lush garden shrubs.

«And why didn’t I bring a flashlight or smartphone to

dedicate? I won’t find anything, she thought.

But his eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness.

She saw a man lying on the lawn and froze.

There was a rustle to the right as another one came around the corner. A dark-

haired man in a light shirt was dragging his right leg

and holding on to the fence. It was hard to see the details in the moonlight and

the dim streetlamp, but it was pretty

creepy.

The man was getting closer and closer, about three meters away,

and then he said her name and some words. At first Reana

didn’t understand, but he repeated it again, and it seemed to her that it

was a request for help. The last words began to echo strangely

in my head, then all over my body. The hands

rose of their own accord and stretched out, and

streams of glowing green smoke flew from the tips of the fingers

,flew to the stranger, wrapped around him, and then disappeared.

Her hands were obedient again. Reana

looked at them in surprise, as if hoping to read an explanation

for what had happened, but there was nothing there. Ordinary palms

with a nearly healed cut from a stationery knife and a smudge

of ink.

24

The man looked up from the fence and patted his right

leg.

He was no longer limping, but walked over to the ground

and looked at Reana:

— I actually thought you’d start with him.»

After a few seconds of stupor, the girl also went to the second one.

She had never seen

so much blood near him in her life.

What should I do? — What is it? «she asked

in an agitated voice.

«I don’t know,» the stranger said, and spread his hands. —

Cure him. And preferably as soon as possible!

Reana crouched down to examine the wounded man and thought that

she should probably run to call an ambulance, but suddenly her hand was

drawn like a magnet to the spot just above where

the black arrow had pierced her chest. Once again, the greenish light

began to sparkle and sparkle around the

unconscious man. His broken arm

took shape, something snapped, the bone snapped

back into place, the blood and scratches disappeared from his face and clothes,

and he breathed more deeply and evenly, but the arrow remained

where it was. Reana snatched her hand away.

— It doesn’t work! — No, «she said. «We need to remove this!» she

gripped the black shaft with both hands.

«Wait!» The stranger shouted at her, but it was

too late.

Reana couldn’t help but scream. She jumped

back and looked at her hands — which were covered with red blisters

,as if she had grabbed a pot of boiling water. But then

green light streamed out of her hands, illuminating the garden, and the

burn marks disappeared as if nothing had happened, except for the strip of old

cut that continued to turn pink on the side.

Reana ran back to the wounded man. As luck would have it, it started

to rain.

25

«We should probably take him inside,»

she said.

«No, we can’t go to the hospital,» the stranger told her,»

at least not until we have a chance

to sort this out.»

He picked up

the man lying on the ground with no effort at all, carried him across the verandah into the house

,and laid him on the sofa.

— At least there’s something left, «he muttered under

his breath as he passed the veranda, and then said to Reana,

«I’ll put the arrow away, don’t touch it.»

He picked up a cloth napkin from the table, wrapped it around his arm

,and snapped off the back of the arrow. Then

he lifted the wounded man off the pillow, yanked the arrow

out of his body, and threw it far into the corner of the room. The wreckage

they hissed and melted away. Blood spurted from the hole in his chest

,and Reana ran to him, putting her hand on his arm.

above the wound and closed her eyes.

A queasy, unpleasant feeling

came over her, as if she had been seasick on a train. It seemed that she herself

was being dragged down by an unknown force, pulled

inside this man, and that there was no air to breathe

,but after a couple of minutes it was all over. She let out an exhausted sigh

and lowered her head. The man on the couch took a deep breath.

He was asleep. Not a trace

of the terrible wound remained on his chest.

— Are you all right?» The dark — haired stranger

nudged Reana’s shoulder.

«Yes, yes, I’m fine,» she said, looking up

. — Or rather, what is in order there! her voice grew louder

. — What’s going on?» Who are you? What am I doing?

This is some kind of nonsense, I don’t understand!

The man took a few steps back

and forth across the room.

26

«You know,» he said pointedly,»I

don’t understand it myself yet. But all that’s clear is that

the three of us» — and he pointed to Reana, the sleeping man, and himself-

«are in some terrible and dangerous scrape, and we

’d better stick together and keep a low profile.

We’ll wait until this one wakes up — " the stranger pointed with some

hostility at the man lying on the sofa. —

Maybe he knows what’s going on…

The guest tore the remnants of his torn tie from his neck and

tossed them on the floor, then continued to pace

thoughtfully.

Reana stared at him, batting her

lashes. «I got into trouble. It’s scary, it’s very scary

.I’m stupid, I can’t get into trouble. It’s not going to end

well.»

The stranger suddenly saw the bottle

through the transparent door of the sideboard. «May I?» —

What is it? «he asked, pointing to it.

«Yes, of course,» Reana said. «Please don’t

get too drunk, because I don’t know what to do,»

and I thought,«What nonsense I’m talking.»

Mentally berating herself for being naive, she went to kuh-

nu for a drink.

— I don’t get drunk at all!» A voice answered

as Reana entered the kitchen. «Alcohol just

calms me down. A little bit.

When she returned with a shot glass, she saw that the guest had already

settled into a chair, his feet propped up on the coffee table,

right on the white lace napkins, sipping cognac

from his throat. He took the proffered glass and set

it on the table beside him. Then he patted his chest.

«Holy shit, I lost my phone,» he said, and smiled.

She forced a smile in return:

27

— Can I give you mine? If you need

to make a phone call somewhere…

— Not yet, thank you. I need to think about it,»

the visitor said, and took another swig from the bottle.

28

CHAPTER 7. AT BREAKFAST

Birds were singing in the garden. Dawn began to break.

Reana made herself a cheese sandwich and

sat down in the chair opposite. She offered a boo-

terbrod to her guest, who declined and sat lost

in thought.

Deciding not to press him with questions, she simply

watched, hoping that something might become clearer.

Who is sitting in front of her with their booted feet unceremoniously propped up

on her coffee table?

The stranger’s hair was tousled, as if he

had been in a strong wind. His black eyes

were fixed on a single point, and he held his hand thoughtfully

near his cheek, where a light stubble was growing on it.

An expensive watch glinted from under the sleeve of his white shirt, which was torn and stained

in several places.

Probably, dear ones. Reana didn’t know much about it, but the cha-

si caught her eye, and they looked interesting,

inside, there were many mechanisms that

constantly spun, and all this resembled a kaleidoscope

of parts, arrows and gears. On the belt of his trousers, she

noticed a metal buckle with a picture of the head of

an angry bull, which, as it seemed to

her, did not match the classic trousers.

29

The guest had already finished the rest of his brandy. Indeed, it

looked as if he hadn’t been drunk at all. His eyes

remained focused.

He swirled the empty bottle in his hand, set it

on the table, and finally looked at Reana. She had already finished her bread

and was also looking at him in silence.

«I didn’t introduce myself,» he said suddenly. «My name is

Keijigen.

«Nice to meet you, and I’m Reana.»

— I know…

She pointed

to the pool of blood that had dripped from the sofa to the floor when they

had taken out the arrow.

— Yes, of course…

«It’s a pity, the sofa is light,» Reana said, wiping

the floor, «I’ll probably have to take it to the dry cleaners,»

and again she thought to herself that she had said something stupid or at

least something inappropriate. — Are you sure we

don’t need to take him to the hospital?» She asked about

the other one.

The man seemed to hear, stirred, gave a heavy gasp, and

opened his eyes, startling Reana.

The second guest turned out to be quite different from the first:

large curls of blond hair falling almost to

his shoulders, a manly face with expressive eyebrows

and a strong chin, blue eyes. He probably

would have looked like a movie star if he hadn’t been wearing a strange baggy

hoodie that had once been white,

but was now completely rumpled and dirty, giving him the

appearance of a ragamuffin.

he felt the

spot where the arrow used to stick out, then looked at Reana

and smiled a snow-white smile. — I had no doubt

you could do it!» He exclaimed happily, and snatched it up.

Reanu in his arms.

31

She tried to pull away from him, but

it was absolutely impossible. After a few seconds, he

released her himself, got up from the couch, and looked around.

«So that’s what it’s like to be a mortal! — What is it? «he shouted loudly

.«Stand up, demon, when he’s talking to you…

«You’ll be fine,» Keijigen interrupted. «You

owe me one, light one. If it wasn’t for me, black arrow would have already killed you.

finished it off, «he muttered in a disgruntled voice.

— I’m not that easy to kill!» — raising a finger up,

the blonde retorted. — Even in a human body,

as it turns out, I’m incredibly resilient and strong! —

he concluded. Then he added — " I don’t feel very well… I

can’t understand… it’s like something’s missing… my mouth is

too dry…

Reana poured him some water from a decanter and handed him a glass.

«Here, take this, please.

He gently took the glass from her.

— What’s that?“ — What is it? „he asked softly.

«It’s water, you drink it,» Keiji —

kyung explained with a sigh and covered his face with his hand.

«Drinking?» Oh, yes, of course! Since I am now a mortal,

enjoy all the delights of being human. So? and he

gulped down the water, spilling the rest out of carelessness. — From-

in person! Invigorates!

— Maybe you’re hungry.» Ryo-

ana asked quietly.

— I want to! Of course I do! the visitor exclaimed.

«At least introduce yourself, angel,» Keijigen drawled with boredom in his voice

and without removing his hand from his face.

«Call me Damiel.» I’ve

had that name for thousands of years, even though it doesn’t matter in our world, but it’s true.

As I labored here on Earth, the elder brotherhood

gave me the name Damiel-the lightbringer, «waving the ru-

kami, the guest said as he followed Ryoana into

the kitchen.

32

— Eat rice, pasta and fried chicken. What do you need?

Reana asked.

«To your taste!» Damiel replied. — How

unusual it is that I can see you the way people see you!»

This whole world-it looks different, plays with completely

different colors! It’s such an incredible experience! — What is it?»

he raved.

— Do you know me?» Reana asked. From all these

conversations, she got a bit of a sense of what was going on, deciding that

her guests before were probably not people, but

someone else.

She warmed up the food in the microwave and set it in front of the table.

Damiel brought a cup and cutlery, poured herself and him

orange juice, and sat down on the stool opposite.

He examined the fork, then began

to thread chicken and macaroni slices on it and put them in his mouth.

«Mmm, this is a wonderful dish,»

he purred with his mouth full. «Yes, of course I do! I

’ve been protecting you since you were a child! I helped you when it was difficult

and not very much, I was present in your studio when

masterpieces were born. Do you remember when you were laying out a mosaic

of rose petals and decided to add

cornflowers at the last minute? I suggested it. It was wonderful,

wasn’t it?

When Reana heard about the cornflowers, she choked on her orange

juice.

— That’s impossible! How can you possibly know? — What is it?»

she whispered.

«Oh, I know so much! I used to be a disembodied

spirit, I was everywhere. He swirled his fork in the air

.«But something’s happened — » —

I became a human being for some reason. They tried to kill me.

But you saved me, and I’m fine now —

«he said, chewing again.

Keijigen entered the kitchen.

33

— Will you have chicken and pasta? I asked him

Reana.

«No, no, thank you, I don’t need anything,» he waved at ru —

kami, then pulled up a chair and turned to Damiel: —

So… We became mortals. What happened? «No,» he said, spreading out his hands.

«Absolutely

not. The last thing I remember was a call about

border violations. I rushed there, and there you are, a small demon,

playing tricks, «his voice took on a serious note. —

I decided to make a proper impression, I even took out my sword,

read out my rights, everything is as it should be… You should have seen your

face then… " Damiel smiled, but then his gaze returned

he became serious. — And then there’s a terrible pain in my chest, and we -» —

Tim. I don’t see how this is possible. It turns out that

in that second I became a mortal. My powers were gone. I couldn’t

do anything. He

paused for a moment, took a sip of his juice, and then continued: —

I’ve been working on Earth for a long time. That’s how I felt,

as a last resort, I found myself a battery and made

a portal to it. But I couldn’t activate it there, couldn

’t move.

Damiel slapped the man next to him on the shoulder and

nearly knocked him off his chair. «Oh, I’m sorry!»

Hey

,hey, what are you doing?» Keep it down, big guy!

Xia Keijigen snapped, rubbing his shoulder. — Our forces are gone, but there

is still something left.

I wouldn’t call us ordinary mortals.

— So you were an angel?» Reana asked.

«Yes,» Damiel said. — Still, I’d say I still am,

to a certain extent, «he

said, and then turned to Keijigen.

Reane, who are you, I think she should know who

she’s dealing with.

34

— I am a demon of the fifth circle, the 12th cauldron…»

«Or rather, I was, and now I don’t even know… a de-

mon of greed and despair… was… now I don’t feel that

he’s capable of drawing out people’s baser passions, and I

don’t understand why. What could have happened? I can’t

even imagine! He got up and began pacing the kitchen

. — Do you know that there is a meridian elevator on your land

?

«… It was through him that you brought another

demon into the world… by the way, that’s when it all started… who

was it?

«Arfimaino?» No, he’s hardly connected with it, I’m his ho-

I know Rosho, he’s a guardian.

«Why did he get out?» You risked a lot for

him, you know, illegal immigrants and other violations…

Keijigen didn’t mention that Arfimaino had

cheated on him like a schoolboy.

— I think we can ask him about it ourselves.» He

didn’t really explain anything to me. He’s in Frankfurt,

staying in a hotel somewhere. In general, you can use the Internet

to break through and visit him.

«Can’t you talk on the phone?» Reana asked.

«No, you don’t discuss such things over the phone,»

Keijigen explained.

«It’s a four-hour drive to Frankfurt!» Reana gasped.

«We must go!» Definitely! Damiel said. —

He seems to know something! More than we do.

— great! Keijigen agreed. — But

we’re not going anywhere in this state!» He pointed to the sack

Damiel was wearing and looked at Reana. — I do not know what

Arfimaino will think if he sees me in his company,

but if he does, I will be ashamed of myself.»

«I probably don’t have these sizes of do —

ma clothes,» Reana said. — And even close to… shops

they will open in a few hours.

35

«This is Hoverstein, isn’t it?» Gorodok

near Mapples? The ex-demon asked.

«Yes,» Reana said.

«Okay, I must have left my car nearby…

what luck! I think I’ll just get her back and we’ll go to my place.»

To me, at the Grand Paradise. We’re just on our way.» I have

My own casino, I didn’t tell you right away… I also work part

— time here…

Damiel leaned back in his chair

and frowned. «Grand Paradise!» You’re kidding me, roga-

ty!

— Just don’t applaud! he quipped back

Keijigen. «Okay, I’ll be quick. Don’t be naughty here, guys.

And ignoring Da-miel’s disapproving looks

,he left the house, whistling

to himself.

36

CHAPTER 8. TOWARDS
ENJOY YOUR ADVENTURES

Closing the door, Reana returned to the kitchen. The visitor

looked out of the window that overlooked the part of the garden where

the cabin was visible. So strange. It was the first time she had ever seen this man

,and he claimed to know everything about her. And indeed,

he said things that she

had never told anyone before.

— Do you really know all about me?“ — What is it? „she ventured

to ask, to break the silence.

«I think so,» he said. — At least all of them

until last night. I knew everything about everyone within

sixty kilometers… I think so. But you

don’t like these roses, and you want to dig them up in the fall.

«Exactly…» said Reana sadly. «How

strange… living like this, living like this, and then it turns out that someone is

watching you all the time…

«Hey, no, I didn’t mean to upset you!

Damiel started to hug her, but she

took a couple of quick steps back. He looked at his empty hands and didn’t

come any closer. «I’m sorry. I can’t believe

this is happening. You weren’t supposed to find out. And I

wasn’t watching. I just existed, and if I existed,

I knew everything about everyone, such a job, or something… I don’t know how

37

�He sat down on a chair near the window and

stared thoughtfully into the distance. Then he got up abruptly and went into the room. —

To be honest, I am very concerned about what is happening. I

’ve lost my sword, and I can’t feel my brothers. It looks like

something serious has happened.

Moving to the spot on the parquet floor left by the wreckage

of the black arrow, he added —

«And this is… It’s not from Earth. And not from heaven. He looked

at Reana excitedly. —

It seems that everything that is happening now is somehow connected. Will you

help us?»

«Yes, of course… I’ll help you in any way I can. But what can I

even do? I’m a small person, I

have nothing. «Reana sat down in a chair and hugged a pillow. — I don’t know how I

cured you. I couldn’t do it before.

And she held out her hand and showed me the half — healed

cut. «I was the one who swung the knife badly the day before yesterday… and it didn

’t heal at all! There was a lot of blood…

«Reana,» Damiel began to explain. — You are a creative

person, your inspiration and talent have always replenished

my strength, expanded my opportunities, this is a special energy,

in your world you do not see it, but we, energy,

if you can say so, entities, perceive it

differently. I’m stronger around you. I was hoping you could help

I need to get better, and that’s what happened. But there were no such

precedents before. I also don’t know how it all

works now.

«I see…» said Reana, although it wasn’t entirely

clear, what was happening just didn’t fit in her

head. — As always, everything is complicated. Does this

energy also strengthen Keijigen?

— Perhaps… you were able to heal him, too, as I

understand?

— Yes… but he wasn’t as seriously injured as you… Oh,

Is it okay that I call you «you»?

38

— Nothing! This is definitely better. I

don’t even feel comfortable — " Damiel smiled.

Reana thought again that these strange

adventures that had found her so unexpectedly were probably

dangerous and could cause a lot of trouble. But in the soul

of settled some joy because it is boring and not enough

someone’s life has changed, that someone needs her

help, and this time she is really able

to do something, perhaps important and necessary. It was as if she had been asleep

all her life, and this night she woke up full of energy

and the desire to do something absolutely out of the ordinary

,exceptional.

— I want to understand how I can be useful,

and I probably need to train myself somehow, «she said to Dami-

el.

«I just need you to be around.»

— I’m close enough as it is.

Damiel stood up, put his right hand on the bottom of the sofa

,and lifted it as easily as if it were made of styrofoam.

«But people can’t, can they?» — he asked.

Reana rolled her eyes and shook her head.

At least I’ve never seen anything like this before!

— Go out to the garden, let’s see if something changes.

The girl ran into the garden, right up to the gate.

Damiel came out a moment later.

«Nothing’s changed,» he said, and

looked down thoughtfully. — I do not know what to say and how it should

be…

— What if it is?» Reana touched a finger to his

arm, and then a light flickered around him.

«Oh, it seems to be working! Reana said happily, and lowered

her finger.

The glow was gone.

39

— Well? — What is it? «she asked happily. — Something to the feeling-

eat?

Damiel looked perplexed.

«No,» he said, sighing sadly. — I don’t know, I don

’t feel anything.

Reana poked him in the shoulder again

,and he glowed again. She removed her finger and the glow disappeared.

At that moment, a car approached the house from the front entrance

.Keijigen stepped out of it. He got

a pair of dark glasses from somewhere and, without taking them off, opened the gate and said

,« Oh, we have a Christmas tree here?» Have you ever met Santa

Claus? The team is ready, please sit down!

Damiel sighed and went to the car, while Reana

hurried inside to change into something more suitable for

the trip.

«That’s it, I’m ready!» Where should I sit? —

Stop it! «she shouted as she ran out into the street.

Keijigen reached across his right si-

denier and opened the front door for her.

She sat up and buckled her seat belt. The leather seat was

cold, but very comfortable.

— All right, let’s go. The ex-demon switched on the radio and

stepped smoothly on the gas.

41

CHAPTER 9. ZERO

«Our world… our home… our cosmos… our light… our

darkness… our glory… our world…» whispers sounded everywhere.

The large circular room was dimly lit. Its

uneven walls looked like a tangle of vines,

so thick and dense that it was impossible to

see what was behind them. But these were not

plants, but the proper structure of these walls.

The «creepers» were gathering in the center of the room, where a

huge red crystal, as if made of a single ruby,

was hanging as big as a man. «Vines» wrapped around it

from above and below and held it so that it hung exactly

in the middle, between the floor and ceiling. The crystal gave off a

slight glow, and if it wasn’t for that, the room would have been completely

dark. Standing next to him was a two-meter-tall creature

that vaguely resembled a huge black Gothic

gargoyle. It was looking at the crystal.

«Our cosmos… our light… our darkness… our glory…

our world… we are emptiness, we are abundance, we are nothing and

everything is different… we are others…» the monster whispered, and the whisper carried

on the walls, carried on in all directions.

One of the walls opened, and another similar creature entered the room

.It knelt and bowed

its head.

42

— The Great Swarm, — the words echoed around the room

and dissolved in it. — We continue to register

minimal traces of divine energy activity

on Earth, in various parts of it. A few, but they are there.

— Find and collect everything…

The creature rose from its knee and walked away.

— …We will destroy them all… in the name of life… in the name of

prosperity… in the name of perfection… for the sake of a great goal…

43

CHAPTER 10. " GRAND

PARADISE»

At first we rode in silence. Everyone was thinking about their own things. Damiel

struggled to remember what had become of the silver sword. Kei-

jigen was trying to figure out the best way to talk to Arfi-

mino. Reana began to wonder if she

was doing the right thing by jumping into such an adventure — going

off somewhere with strange strangers. After all, if

something happens, she will not be able to stand up for herself, and no one will look for her

will not be. The enthusiasm has passed, the desire to perform feats

has become dull. Despite the cheerful music, I felt a little

sad and restless.

Keijigen was driving very fast, exceeding all

possible limits. Reana couldn’t stand it:

«Is it okay that this is the fifth time you’ve flown here?»

How many penalties have you already collected…

He grinned:

— It’s all small things, I can afford!

«Uh, look at the road, please,» she said worriedly.

Reana. — It’s already too fast…

«I’m a pro,» the ex — demon grinned. — Tell

us better, did you learn anything new?

«We didn’t understand it ourselves,» Reana began.

44

«Yes, yes,» Damiel nodded from behind. — It is not known what

it did. I didn’t feel that anything had changed.

Try it out, «he suggested, pointing at Keijigen.

«Is it okay that he’s driving?» —

Reana decided to rebuild.

«Nothing,» the ex-demon said cheerfully. «Come on, just

gently.

Reana didn’t appreciate the joke. She silently touched ru-

ki, who was holding the steering wheel. And nothing happened. That one didn

’t even light up.

«Do you feel anything?» Reana asked.

Keijigen wanted to joke again, but held back.

«I don’t think so,» he said honestly.

Reana took her hand away.

«Maybe I broke down?» — What is it? «she asked. — Or a charge

is it over? Or I do not know how it is at all… sorry, of course

…sorry…

«By the way,» Keijigen said suddenly, meaningfully

,and turned to face Damiel for a few seconds. —

It doesn’t look like a battery.» I just remembered that we had some cases with canaries

,everything is banal there… Well, a surge of strength and all that

…but to treat-not once.

Damiel clasped his hands together and said thoughtfully —

«That place has always been a battery… always… but

something strange is happening right now… I agree that the treatment is

too much, but I do not know how to explain it. Previously, everything was

simple. Now I can’t get any advice and I’m at a loss

to guess… what other energy substances

on Earth do we know?

— We recall the textbook for the tenth grade… — smiled-

Xia Keijigen. — Vorman?

— No! they both answered in unison.

— Svetoch?

— Nothing at all…

«I agree!

45

� — Limiantis?

— It doesn’t look like it, and the ocean is far away…

— Excelsior?

— What do you mean?

— Ingentusa, of course!

— The last call was almost a hundred years ago…

Reana listened to their conversation and had absolutely no idea

what these unfamiliar words meant, it was all very

mysterious and interesting, but she did not

dare to ask. The fast ride rocked her, and soon her eyes began

to droop — because she hadn’t

had much sleep that night. Reana stopped struggling with herself and

dozed off.

«We’re here!» A voice roused her.

The car stopped near a massive building that glowed with a bunch of different —

colored light bulbs and other illumination

.The main part of it was circular,

with many large and small turrets with

sharp pyramidal roofs at the edges, people crowded at the entrance

,and a huge sign above the doors with an even greater variety of lights

and neon tubes: Grand

Paradise.

«Good afternoon, Mr. Oxenhorn,» he blurted,

and took the keys from Keijigen.

They got out of the car.

«Follow me,» he said to his companions

Keijigen pushed his way through the crowd.

«Max, hi, these two are with me,» he said to the guard

.

«Yes, sir,» he said, and his eyes widened

in surprise. He’d never seen the chief look like this before

in poor condition: the right leg hung

in tatters, soiled and torn in several places.-

46

ka, the strange satellites — it all looked incomprehensible,

strange, but Max, of course, did not dare to ask about what had happened

.

They passed through the vending machine room and went upstairs. The

main elevator was surrounded by mirrors in beautiful gold

frames with intricate patterns, flowers, and birds. Ryo-

ana started to stare at them, but after a few seconds

the sound of a bell announced that they had arrived.

Keijigen strode confidently down a narrow

corridor with many closed mahogany doors.

There were paintings on the walls, and electric

candelabra decorated with intricate designs glowed.

Suddenly, a small bald man

with thick glasses came out of one of the doors. He ran

a few steps behind Keijigen and called out,

«Mr. Oxenhorn, I’ve been calling you all morning, where did you

go?» You should definitely take a look…

Keijigen stopped and asked him,

«Tommy, have you seen Oksana and Liliana?

«No, sir… not since last night, which is very

strange — neither you, nor Mrs. Wizzle, nor Mrs. Tarden-

I’m sick, and the phones aren’t available. I was afraid

you’d all gone somewhere…

Keijigen frowned, a faint

trace of sadness showing on his face.

«What have you got there?» he said softly.

Tommy glanced at his companions.

«Speak in front of them,» the chief said.

«Mr. Oxenhorn,» Tommy

said, opening the folder and pulling out some papers. «The IRS

requires us to -" he began running his finger down the page. —

Keijigen snatched the paper out of Tommy’s hand and quickly scanned

the page with his eyes.

47

— Pick up the documentation for the last five years,

do everything the same as we did then. Tommy, I’m going to be

very busy for now — " he pointed at Damiel and Reana.»

Family problems,» he added with a sigh. — I believe

in you, you can do it, «and, patting the employee on the shoulder,

he went further down the corridor. «The seal is in the big safe.

Then you can sign for me.

After a couple of steps, he opened the right-hand door and

nodded for his companions to enter.

Tommy watched them go with a sympathetic look.

The place they were in was more like

the museum. Reana immediately had associations with the castle of the vo-

seventeenth century: the interior was made in the style of such

a lush Baroque in red, black and gold tones, which

at the same time caused both admiration and bewilderment.

Thick curtains covered the windows, creating a dimness

that faded into the silence of the room. Keijigen turned

on the light, opened a cabinet that ran along one wall, and silently

looked at the contents.

Damiel suddenly broke the silence:

«Guys, I think I have a problem! The lower

abdomen is so heavy! This is getting very uncomfortable…

Is this normal? He looked at them with surprised eyes

and batted his eyelashes.

The ex-demon rolled his eyes. — Let’s go quickly… and then there’s a Persian carpet.

He tugged on

Damiel’s arm and led him out of the room, grumbling, «I hope it’s just

a little thing… tell anyone else, because they won’t believe me-

so I can… teach them.»…

The door closed, and Reana didn’t hear the rest of the sentence.

But I just realized what had happened. Poor Damiel.

She felt sorry for him. Everything is new to him, probably

harder and scarier than everyone else, but he just doesn’t show it…

Reana sat down on a gilded chair next

to a huge writing table and examined the items on it.

48

�things. Almost every one seemed to be a work

of art: an incredibly beautiful vase, as if with a lively frozen

composition of flowers, a clock with a Roman dial,

which looked like a small palace with towers

and the finest details — they could be

viewed for hours. Table lamp in the form of a wave and a ball —

lamp hanging from it, various figurines…

The largest of them, a golden — colored thirty-

centimeter-tall figure with wings, seemed, on the one hand,

very majestic and refined, on the other hand,

there was something frightening, repulsive about it, as if it

looked through you, looked into your soul. Reana rez-

ko looked away. The only thing that didn’t fit in

was the monitor screen on the desk in the corner. A huge silver

macintosh covered about a third of the work surface.

But then the companions returned. Noticeably cheered up, Da-

miel announced from the doorway,

«We’re doing fine!

«Oh, shut up! Keijigen said softly. —

No one thought to worry…

He went back to the closet.

«Well, that’s not it — » he said, quickly sorting through the hangers,»

that’s for me,» and tossed one of the suits onto a chair.

«Here! I think you’ll fit in. — Ex-demon got it

a large black bag off one of the shelves.

«Should I go out?» Reana asked.

«Not necessarily,» Keijigen said, unbuttoning

his shirt. «Just don’t peek,» he added

,smiling.

Reana turned away and could only hear her sniffling and groaning

Damiel.

«That’s a devilish outfit,» he lamented.

«You just don’t understand,» Keiji —

kyung replied cheerfully. «Everyone goes like this now — very fashionable, ksta —

ti clothes, expensive, designer! At one time, a lot of money for them

49

fuck off. And that’s probably the only thing I’ve got on you right now.

You know, I don’t want to go

to Magazin and waste my time on it.

After a few minutes, Keijigen called out cheerfully,

«Ryoana, look!

She turned impatiently and smiled,

covering her mouth with her hand.

biker in a very cool black motorcycle suit.

The trousers and jacket were sewn with gray protective inserts,

the sleeves and shins were painted with stars and some

inscriptions. Athletic boots matched the suit.

Damiel lowered his chin.

«Laugh, laugh! — with a sad voice, he said

«But I won’t stand for it!» He tore off

the goat’s skull and horns patch on the left side of his jacket

and tossed it aside.

«For God’s sake! Keijigen spread his hands. —

I don’t remember where the helmet is… but I probably don’t need it.»

Reana gathered her thoughts and words, and she really

wanted to cheer Damiel up, to say something nice,

because he really looked cool in this suit,

and many ladies would find him very attractive.

She stepped closer and zipped up the straps of her jacket

.

— Great! — No, «she said. «It suits you very well!»

«It doesn’t matter,» he said. «It’s all

material and empty…» But it was clear from his tone

that the kind words pleased him.

Keijigen, meanwhile, dressed to perfection in a new

three-piece suit, was already sitting at his computer, scribbling

an address on a piece of paper.

«Here,» he said, waving a piece of paper in the air. — Let’s go!

While that rascal is still out there…

They hurried out.

50

CHAPTER 11. GIRLFRIENDS

How reluctant I was to get up! But a school is a school.

The alarm went off at six-thirty, and Lina trudged off, half asleep,

to wash her face.

My mother was already busy in the kitchen.

«Oh, I thought you were at Mara’s,» she said, surprised,

seeing Lina make her way to the bathroom.

The little girl ran to her and hugged her:

«Mummy, I love you so much!» I’m going to wash up and still

make you breakfast.»

The surprised woman smiled:

— I love you too, my daughter. What’s the matter with you today

?

At school, Lina approached her friend during recess:

«I need to tell you something! You won’t believe

what happened yesterday! I saw an angel. And probably a demon.

— what? Are you stoned?» Mara expected anything

but words about angels and demons.

«No,» Lina continued in a half — whisper. «Seriously!

I freaked out yesterday and left home — " and she began her

story.

Slowly, from recess to recess, she told me

Mare explained everything in detail and embellished her impressions.-

51

�when school was over, they went home together

,discussing what had happened.

«Well, tell me that you’re kidding me, that you

’re making this up.» Mara asked for the tenth time that day

.

— No way! Come to my place now, and I’ll show you this

sword.» You have to believe me, it’s true!

Lina was very afraid that Mara would not want to support her

she hoped that her friend would advise her on what to do, that

from now on it would not be her, but their concern. I really wanted

to share a strange problem with someone-someone who

really believes and will help me do the right thing.

At Lina’s house, they went up to her room, and the girl

crawled under the bed.

She pulled out a dusty boot box and opened the lid. Mara sat down on the floor in front

of the box and took out a bundle.

«Careful, it’s very sharp!» Li-

na warned. «Let me help you!» she began to unroll

the sheet-wrapped object.

A silver sword flashed in front of them, its edges

reflecting everything around them. Mara took it by the hilt. Her intelligent

eyes carefully examined

the find with a penetrating gaze.

He and Lina had been friends since first grade. They both

studied well and got along well, trusted each other with

their secrets, and even called themselves sisters. In the

last year, Mara prepared hard with her parents ' encouragement

By the time she was ready to enter the language institute, Lina

had a hard time growing up and slowed down her studies. All this

led to the fact that they began to see each other less often, and

they had fewer topics for talking. Still, ask any of them

if asked who her best friend was, they would not hesitate to name

each other.

— Have you figured out what to do with it yet?» Mara asked

.

52

— No, I just started to come

to myself and calmed down a little after all these adventures, —

Lina answered and added: — And what would you do?

Mara, who always reasoned sensibly, answered:

— I think we should take it to the church — " she said, and

put the sword back in the box. — Since it was lost, as you

say, by a real angel, it is logical to assume

that there he can easily find it and take it away, and

there are also his assistants — priests who can give it

to him… well, at least they probably

know better what is wrong with it to do.

«Great idea! Lina beamed with joy and hugged

her friend, who hugged her back.

Lina was especially pleased when she said «we». It

meant a lot, and Lina silently thanked her

for it. After wrapping the sword back in the sheet and stuffing the bundle

into their backpack, the girls headed for the center of town.

The church was completely silent and there wasn’t a soul in sight. Soft

,warm light streamed in from the windows. It smelled of wax and wood.

They walked along the benches to the altar and looked at the painted walls.

the figures of the saints raised their heads, looking at the high

carved arches of the cathedral. Wooden angels hovered there,

and painted skies decorated the ceilings —

Lina and Mara felt so small and inconspicuous in this huge room

…

A man in a black robe came out of a side door. He

was middle-aged, with a curly white beard that reached almost

to his chest, and a round belly that heaved with every

loud exhalation.

«I’m sorry, please! Lina asked him. —

We need your help!

— What, what is it? «What is it?» he asked anxiously.

— We really need to talk to the priest, this

is very serious!

«He pointed with his palm at the first row of benches:

53

— Have a seat, what’s your emergency?»

Lina sat down

next to him, and Mara sat down in the second row next to them.

In her story, Lina decided to omit the first part

about demons, so as not to shock an adult

and not immediately create the impression of a madwoman. She

only talked about the angel and how she had found his sword, and

now she asked for advice on what to do. How do I return this

probably very important item to its owner? She even once-

she returned the bundle and showed the sword to the priest. He listened

in silence, nodding frequently, swaying his body back and forth,

and refused to pick it up. When Lina

finished speaking, he nodded again, stroking his beard, and answered:

— I’ll tell you what, my daughter, whatever happens» — he held up a

finger — " I think the angel

gave it to you for a reason.

He sighed and continued —

«We have an image here. Come on, I’ll show you.» —

He got up heavily and walked slowly along the benches

to the opposite wall.

At the end of the room, in a recess, stood

a human-sized wooden statue of an angel, painted with paint — the

work of a master, a true work of art.

«Here,» said the priest. — I think that you should

pray and tell God about all the issues that

concern you. And I am sure that sooner or later you will get

answers to them. I’ll leave you to it. If anything, come back again,

do not hesitate. I’m here almost always.

When the priest had gone, Mara touched the statue.

— You’ve seen this one?“ — What is it? „she asked.

— No, not really… In general, of course, it looks similar, but that

one was in pure white, and this one in blue… and the wings are different…

that one was much bigger and not as straight… I don’t know,

it probably doesn’t matter now, because we’re in church, won’t he

hear us if we pray? Let’s go together?

54

«Come on,» Mara said.

And Lina, closing her eyes, began to say in her mind::

«I have your sword, it is safe and sound, I really want

to return it to you. I understand that this is a very important thing.

How do you get it back? Please take the sword, I’m Lina, I

found your sword… " she kept repeating, and she

believed with all her heart that someone up there would hear her.

Mara was standing next to him. She didn’t pray or try to

speak to the angels; she was already longing to get

outside and get some fresh air. She couldn’t

quite decide whether it was all a game or

something else.

55

� CHAPTER 12. another one

demon

It was going to be a long trip. Yandex. Navigator predicted

three and a half hours, but traffic jams increased and the projected

travel time grew.

— I take it your succubi are missing?» — asked

Damiel Keijigena. Then, for Reana’s benefit, he explained, «The highest

demons of vice usually come to Earth with their own weapons.» —

Toy, I think our friend is no exception.

«Yes,

yes, you’re right,» Keijigen replied. — Oksana and Li-

liana. And I’m worried as hell about them. Given the mess

you and I are in, I can’t even begin to imagine where

they might be right now. I really hope that my old

friend and colleague will explain something to us, because then,

on the field, he tried to warn me about something. But then

he must have changed his mind when I saw his fake

passport and tried to shove him back to Hell. In general, then

the conversation failed, and it ended in very raised

tones. So there may not be a warm welcome.

— What did you say about the sword?» Reana asked suddenly.

«A sword?» asked Keijigen.

«A sword? Damiel asked, startled. «No one said

anything about the sword!»

56

— Wait! Reana curled up and

poked her ears. «Turn off the radio,» she said.

«What’s the matter with you?» Damiel was startled and reached for her

from the backseat.

— I hear something, very indistinct and quiet, like a

child’s voice. A girl, she’s asking for something. Reana

tensed and squeezed her eyes shut. — She says

she found a silver sword and wants to give it to the owner-

tsu-angelu.

«Oh, my God! Keijigen couldn’t resist asking. — Miracles

continue! A girl, you say? Can you see her face?

Something tells me she has a piercing

in her right nostril.

Reana cringed as she tried very hard to make

contact with this girl, but she didn’t know what to do. She

tried as hard as she could, and finally managed to see

the eyes — unremarkable gray eyes. When she

stopped talking, the vision disappeared, and then it was

difficult to restore it.

«Come on,» Reana said automatically

,her ears still closed. «Don’t stop, talk

to me!»

And the girl spoke, repeating the same thing over and

over again, and Reana could finally make out her pale

face, full lips, and thin blond hair.

— yes! Reana shouted. «So it is!

There’s something glistening on the right side of the bow!

Too much

stress, it was incredibly difficult to keep my concentration.

She leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes, trying to catch her

breath.

— Hey, angel, rejoice, the sword is found! — shouted out

Keijigen. «And I know who has it!

«Damiel was really happy, he straightened up

and he seemed very enthusiastic.

57

«I already understand,» he said. «This is wonderful news!

With the sword, we are power!

«We’re already a force!» Look, our girl communicates

with the help of divine energy, and you say, bata-

reika! Looks like the adventure is just beginning!

Keijigen shouted, slamming the gas pedal to the floor.

By the time they reached Frankfurt, the weather had completely

deteriorated. The leaden clouds drifted along, driven by a strong

wind, and there was no end to them. Large drops of rain pattered

on the windshield. The car’s wipers were running

at full speed, but even that didn’t help much, as the rain was pouring down

like a bucket.

— Wow, it’s been a long time since this happened! Keiji-

kyung was surprised.

«Rain is beautiful! Damiel said suddenly.

He was glued to the car window, watching

the weather with interest. «What a beauty! — What is it? «he said. «What

power! Through the eyes of a person, all this looks simply

unbelievable, I never cease to be surprised how rich, how real

,how bright… a wall of rain, a wall of water from the sky, and people

run away, hiding behind umbrellas that do no good,

and no one looks up.

«Should I drop you off?» Will you look up?» «sehid,»

Keijigen said.

«No, thank you,» Damiel said seriously.»

Next time.» There’s no time right now.

«I love the rain,» Re —

ana said. — I like to stay at home, warm and cozy, drink hot

tea and look out the window.

«I guess it’s really wonderful,»

Damiel said, sounding inspired. «Now I love the rain, too!»

The car pulled into the hotel’s underground parking lot.

«According to my data, our friend is currently living in no —

mera 305,» Keijigen said.

58

— If only he didn’t go anywhere! «We’ll have to hurry, so we can pick up the girl as soon as possible.»

the sword, it might be a danger to her!

When he reached room 305, Keijigen didn’t knock,

but just lightly pressed the door handle and it opened.

Arfimaino, still dressed in the same gray suit, was sitting

on the sofa with his legs crossed.

«Come on in, Keiji. I was worried. But recently I

felt that you were fine and that you would be back soon.

Arfimaino was pouring the alcohol when he saw

Damiel and Reana enter the room.

He jumped up from the sofa and waved his hands.

I didn’t expect

you to… why did you bring him here?» «But then he calmed down.» —

I stopped and sniffed. — And our girl, or what, or not?..

I don’t understand, here are miracles, I’ve become quite old!

— Hello! Reana said, but

no one paid any attention, and Damiel remained standing

silently by the door, arms crossed, looking

down on Arfimaino.

«No, not ours,» Keijigen said. «But they

’re with me. I’m sorry, I can’t help it. He sat

down in the chair opposite the sofa and sipped his drink. — I

probably shouldn’t have listened to you out there on the field, old friend,

something unimaginable is happening in the world. Who could

have suggested it.

«Yes,» said Arfimaino thoughtfully. He reached

for a cigar. — We have become mortals. All of us. Even

them! he nodded at Damiel.

— How is that possible?»»

Ah, my dear Keijigen, it all happened so fast

,so fast… Three days ago, rumors began to spread through Hell that

everything would soon end, that the X-hour was coming, and if anyone

wanted to continue their existence, they had to pass the ora-

59

�and bow down to a certain black messenger.

It was all very strange. I do not know if

any of our people bowed down, but I was whispered in time to get out-

I thought there would be a big massacre… and I did… you know,

I’m already old, I’ve served Hell a hundred times, and I want

to live a little for myself, see the world…

Keijigen was perplexed, he was very surprised and

charmed.

«Brother, what about your fellows? I don’t believe you could

leave like this…

— And I didn’t believe until the last

moment that something serious could happen. You didn’t believe me then, either! I thought

I’d run away just in case, hang out here

on Earth for a couple of days, and then come back. He buried his face in his hands

and sobbed. «We can’t go back now,»

he wailed. «There’s nowhere to go back… And not to anyone…

— Do you know what happened there?» You can feel

everyone, right? Keijigen asked.

Arfimaino looked up.

«I’m a mortal, Keiji, I’m a human now…» He patted

his chest. — I can’t even light a cigar with my finger!

I didn’t think this would happen on my bike.

Now I don’t know how I feel. Almost nothing, I’m afraid,

just the remnants of the old power floating around. I couldn’t get in touch with any of

our people here, but I saw you this morning…

He took a drag on his cigarette and continued,

«Some third force that lives by completely different

laws, spitting on both Hell and Heaven. Keiji, they, they-

but, caught us off guard, but we didn’t last an hour!

And it looks like Paradise also fell pretty quickly. I’m afraid it

’s something that was written in the Crimson Book…»

— I studied hidden knowledge a long time ago and read

a book. There were a lot of things written there, about different things. I tried

,I remembered, but the human body leaves its

mark. I do not remember. Almost nothing.

60

— I did not pass the electives. Keijigen took a sip

from his glass, he turned his head. «Damiel, do you have something in there

was it about this?

He shook his head.

«There are some torn pages in the Book of Light,»

he said. — They were always kept separate, and it was

about the last days of divine energy. This scared a

lot of people, so they were taken out and forgotten. We are not familiar with their content.

Only the archangels would know, I do-

mayu… but they didn’t care, probably because

no one would believe that anything could happen to Paradise.

«That’s what I mean! Arfimaino poured himself

another drink. — We didn’t believe in all these fairy tales, we forgot everything. And the time has come.

I want to go to Proxima, because soon

there will be nothing left alive on Earth.

— So, in more detail, please! Keiji-

kyung asked.

— Yes, I found a little man here, for a round sum, of course,

but with comfort. He promises to help you get settled there for the first time

…

«No,» Keijigen interrupted. — Learn more about

«

Well, don’t you understand,» Ar — fimaino said, throwing up

his hands. — Hell is frozen, Heaven is empty, there is no more

divine energy in the world, there are no angels, no demons, the Earth

will not last long. I think that in two or three weeks people,

animals, and birds will start to go crazy. Then it will wither

away. The divine core of the planet will split,

and that’s it, bang… I don’t know exactly what will happen, but I can

assume that nothing good will happen.

— I’m not used to giving up quickly. Keijigen shook his

head and looked at the other man questioningly

. — Is there anything we can do?» How to save

the Earth? Reheat Hell and Heaven? I honestly like my