The container of the soul - Part Two
Levi put the glass of wine on the table, waiting for any reaction from his brother who, after all the chatter, had looked away, thus interrupting eye contact.
Despite having known him for centuries, for the first time he found himself not understanding his gesture: was he weighing his words seriously? Or had he already decreed its improbability?
With Zenas, he had to admit, dealing with the matter had not been as easy as with Alexandria. Talking about what had happened in Prague had appeared as an almost insurmountable obstacle, but after a long silence, full of concern, the words had finally managed to pour out from the lips. He had told it all, perhaps even in more detail than the first time, and probably because of the fact that Akràv was not at all inclined to hope - after what he had seen in his almost two thousand years of life, he had learned to go easy on such things, because giving too much trust, unconditionally believing on the positive side, had broken his heart several times. His brother would have demanded a guarantee: he would not have granted him the benefit of the doubt like Z'év, he was aware of it, especially now that Solomon's absence threatened every aspect of their lives.
«Do you really think it's him?» taking away the remains of the wine from his lips, the landlord returned to stare at him, investigating every facet of his expression. He seemed to be looking for a loophole in him, a crack from which to make his story collapse - even the tone in which he asked that question seemed to cast doubt on the truth of the matter.
Nakhaš felt a bitter taste in his mouth, very different from that of the alcohol he was drinking, and wondered why he had believed so firmly to find, with some ease, the support of his brother: Zenas seemed anything but inclined to follow them in that extravagant search - and yet, if even Alexandria had put her pain aside, perhaps there was something in him too to cling to. The problem would have been to discover it.
Without realizing it, in evaluating those thoughts, his gaze slid near the window, where their sister was trying to relax between a mouthful of nicotine and the other.
She was not looking at them, so the General could allow himself the luxury of lingering on the line of her pale neck, the trapezius of the shoulders and the back which for three quarters was facing in their direction. Staring at her calmed him, eased his every tension, even if he didn't know the reason - but it was a condition he had discovered already at their first meeting.
The voice of the Countess, throughout the evening, had never peeped between his sentences. Z'év had let him speak like a little girl listening to the bedtime story and, now, peering at her from the narrow sitting room table, Levi wondered if she too, after hearing his story again, was wondering how much that madness could really lead to some result. Biting one of the tips of his tongue he realized that he could not lose her trust, not at that point, and would do anything to keep her close to himself and be accompanied on that last trip.
He knew he could not prove to her or Akràv what had happened in Prague, all he had was the memories of that day and his body, the reaction he had had to the passage of the stranger, the Hagufah; and neither could be shared. They had to try it in turn. They must meet Solomon.
«And you? Do you really believe in the fantasies of a madman?» suddenly, interrupting the flow of thoughts in which the General had found himself immersed, Zenas' voice turned towards the window, making him stiffen on the chair. Levi watched the Greek leaning his head slightly towards the sister, still motionless. His worries were now about to be revealed, based on what she would have answered, the outcome of his adventure would have been decided.
Alexandria, however, did not answer immediately, for a moment she made believe that she had not heard, but then, pulling one last time through the filter, she turned her face towards them. While the world's oldest chimeras had talked about the possibility of finding their creator, she had remained alert to peer into the first shadows of the twilight, perhaps fearful of the idea that Cultus' alchemists could interrupt their small meeting, but not for this her ears had become deaf and, only then, turning around, did Nakhaš see a kind of indecision in her expression - and he didn't like it at all. Who knows which, of his brother's doubts, was tormenting her.
Zenas had certainly made the right observations, he could not deny it, but in such a situation relying on logic was not the correct choice. Since when did alchemy, Ars, follow the rules of rationality? Were the three of them not proof that the limit to the possible bordered on the infinite?
Of course, even he could not understand why Solomon had not sought them in those years, why he had abandoned his best friend without even a word, just as his survival was not explained: how he had managed to make a transmutation, if he had been hit from a bullet? His physical condition must have been close to pain, any magic should have killed him, yet, after almost three decades, he had plowed Charles Bridge.
Suddenly, blinking, Levi realized how Alex was looking at him, the way her crimson eyes had focused on him. He knew he looked nervous and didn't even want to try to hide it. Unlike the man sitting at the other end of the table, he wanted to remain attached to that hope, he would have stuck his nails in the substance of that belief until he tore them; and she had to know it, she had to understand how much it was important that she stayed with him.
After all, there was still a firm belief in him that behind all those subterfuges, to the emptiness that had separated that day from the exact moment they were now, there was a perfect plan, conceived by the mind of the most acclaimed Israeli King, as well as the most powerful alchemist ever known. It could not be otherwise and, for this, Nakhaš prayed that she would not back down.
Alexandria took a deep breath, then narrowed her eyes, hiding her emotions from the sight of him. It was almost painful to feel her gaze go away, the General could feel the pain caused by that gesture becoming increasingly annoying.
He could not bear losing her.
«Honestly?» Nakhaš felt his stomach tighten and the nausea mount. «I prefer to go with Levi and look for him, rather than die with the doubt of having lost him forever». And when their eyes returned to tie, the man felt relieved. Alexandria was giving him her last years of life, she was entrusting herself to him as one relies on the current when floating aimlessly. She was supporting him, silently shouting that she would be the blade of his sword once again, in one last battle - and he was grateful to her; with her at his side he could have defied any enemy.
Zenas, however, did not seem so happy to hear such statements.
«I thought I knew you enough, but I realize only now that I am dealing with two fools. Apparently age doesn't help the mind!» With one hand, the big man began to massage his eyelids, trying to maintain a calm that surely must have been about to collapse. «Didn't you even go tought that perhaps, if it really is Solomon, he does not want to be found?»
Suddenly, the room plunged back into tense silence.
Yes, Levi had asked himself on several occasions in the nights he spent in solitude in Prague, waiting for news from his informants, but he wanted to believe that his best friend had simply moved away to safeguard them from the Cultus, even if the real reasons could be multiple.
Would their King have been willing to return to that life if they had come before him, ruining his plan? Selfishly he would have said yes, and yet, like his younger sister, he took a few seconds to ponder the different answers.
In that silence, observing Alex, the General was sure that she wanted to see him as much as he did; that she wanted to embrace him again with the same longing; who wanted to talk to him, tell him everything that had been kept silent over the years, but what about him? Would the Sovereign of Israel have wanted it too?
Again, she too sought his face and, with a shy smile, spoke for both: «We will find him, akh. We will find him and at that point he will tell us whether to go away or stay. It doesn't matter how long it will take».