Twins

As time passed, I continued flying for a couple of hours. Outside of Flir, the sun was still shining brightly, but the smoke from the fires behind me was still visible.

My heart still ached because of fool's energy, sometimes I heard someone's voices, as if they were familiar to me, sometimes fleeting scenes that I had once seen ran before my eyes. This is also the influence of darkness.

Very soon, a carriage came into my field of vision. I flew closer to it.

It was wooden, made of black oak, rectangular in shape with a covered roof. The windows were covered with curtains, and the coachman sat in silence, occasionally urging the horses, which kept a moderate pace.

On the surface of the carriage were unnecessary elements to make it look aesthetically pleasing, for example, on its upper corners protruded straight wooden spurs, something resembling horns.

I sat down on one of them with my paws, connecting them together with the structure with the help of magic. That way, if the coachman accelerates or the wheel hits a rock, then I won't fall.

At the same time, I strengthened my hearing, intending to hear from the passengers where the transport was going.

"Dylan, are you sure we can pass the exam?" a pompous and anxious boyish voice asked.

"Stop worrying, Charlie," the other boy's calmer voice replied, "we've been training so much for this day. We will definitely win."

"Yes, you're right," the other boy replied, calming down, "we won't lose."

After these words, a thin worm crawled down from the structure on which I was fixed to the window, at the end of which a human eye appeared, shielded from the wind by a created eyelid. The eye watched what was happening inside through the slit of the curtain in the window.

The center was occupied by a round table nailed to the floor. There were also two armchairs, more like short and small sofas, attached to the walls of the carriage, sitting on which you could look out the window.

There were half-eaten snacks and drinks on the table, and in the middle was a stick, on top of which was a crystal ball.

Two guys were chatting with each other, sitting on different chairs. They didn't pay attention to me.

The first boy looked aristocratic: he sat straight, kept his legs straight, and his hands were on his knees, his head was raised proudly up, although his expression was modest and even shy.

He looked like he was 16 or 17, maybe more. He was dressed in a black tuxedo, under which a white shirt, black satin trousers and black shoes were hidden, a cylinder was placed on his head, and he held a gold cane in his hands.

He had a straight and slightly pointed nose, blond hair peeking out from under his hat, one of his eyes was blue and the other was green. His facial features were sharp, but he still looked like an immature child.

The other guy was wearing a shirt with two buttons unfastened at the top, his tuxedo was carelessly lying around, as well as a cylinder with a vest. His blond hair was a little disheveled, so he ran his palm over it.

His face was rounder than his friend's, which only made the feeling of infantilism prevail. He was sitting impressively, almost sprawled out in armchair. One eye was blue and the other was green, just like his brother's, probably.

Intuitively, I realized that the first boy was Charlie, and the second was Dylan.

"All right," Dylan sighed, "what's the next city in line?"

"Baldem," Charlie replied, "this town is also part of the barony. After that, we will need to follow the southern road, so we will arrive at the gathering city of Distwem."

"I see, we'll need to stock up on provisions in Baldem."

Suddenly, the conversation between the two boys was interrupted by the light of a crystal ball on a stick in the center of the table.

Charlie touched it, activating it.

"Good afternoon, my children," said an aloof female voice from the ball.

"Good afternoon, Mother," both boys replied in unison. Dylan straightened up, as if he felt someone's invisible attention.

"In the next few days, a state of emergency will be declared throughout Reizin and the cities will not let anyone in and out, the borders of the barony will also be blocked, so you will not be able to leave there," the woman said.

"We understand you, Mother," Charlie replied, "but what is the reason for this?"

"There has been a disaster in the city of Flir, one of the largest cities in the barony. The city is in ruins, and many survivors may turn out to be something different from ordinary people," the woman said. "At least that's what I've been able to find out through my channels. Your father, Count Velgri, has been sent by His Majesty to resolve the situation, nevertheless even you will be denied an attempt to enter the cities or leave the barony, I hope you have enough provisions."

"We get you, mom," Charlie nodded. "Maybe we should go back to Flir and help dad?"

"Don't even think about it!" the woman suddenly screamed, surprising her sons. "Ahem, it's too dangerous for you. And besides, how long have you left Flir and how long have you been there?"

"We were there yesterday, but we left the city at dawn today. While we were there, we didn't find any signs of impending disaster at all," Charlie replied.

"I see," she replied aloofly. "Do not stray from the planned course. Even if you cannot get to the next city, then tell your name to the guards and ask them to buy provisions for you, they should not refuse. You can also go hunting or fishing, if the terrain allows. Think of it as a test of your independence."

"All right, Mother," Charlie replied.

"And remember," the woman's voice suddenly warmed up, "your parents love you very much, so don't disgrace the name and status of our family."

"We won't let you down, mom," Dylan already replied.

"I know," the woman replied with a smile, it seemed to me.

After that, the ball went out and the connection was cut off.

"What do you think happened?" Charlie asked.

"Really? Are you asking me that?" smiled Dylan. "If you were so interested, why didn't you ask mom?"

"Ahem, I was too worried talking to our Mother," the boy confessed.

"It's your fault," his brother shrugged. "I'm not really interested, the most important thing is that we managed to leave before all this started. But now I'm thinking about Father."

"Do you think something will happen to him?" Charlie asked.

"No, I think he can call us there at any moment to test our strength," Dylan frowned.

"Yes, he could easily ignore Mother's concerns and call us to Flir," nodded Charlie unhappily.

Suddenly, there was a knock in the carriage. Dylan opened the partition between the coachman and the passengers.

"My Lords, we have arrived at the town of Baldem, but there is a traffic jam here," said the coachman.

"Is there a forest or a river in the vicinity?" Dylan asked, pulling aside the curtain to look out the window. My eye returned closer to my body.

"Yes, as you can see, there is a forest to our right, but what about the city?"

"Turn into the woods," Dylan smiled.

I decided to stay with the offspring of the aristocrats for now, since I wasn't going anywhere anyway. Besides, it seemed to me that the persecution would begin soon, since Samuel can feel his power.

If there is a battle between us again, then the city would be the most terrible place for this. If things turn out as badly for it as they did for Flir, then really dangerous guys will start hunting for me. Although they may have already started, it is better to avoid unnecessary attention.

***

I entered a field tent built by the soldiers. There was only one person inside – Father Bill Nekanon.

"Greetings, Holy Father, I..."

"Shut up," Father said coldly, before I could finish.

I bowed my head, my gaze fell on my shaking knees.

"I felt the dark power in this creature, it was filled to the brim with it," Father said quietly, without taking off his red helmet and not even looking in my direction.

"This power... only you have it," he continued. "You should have been killed back then, Child of Darkness."

"Father, please..."

"Shut up!" he shouted loudly. "You've ruined thousands of lives and for what?!"

I tried to be confident and say bluntly that I needed new toys for my collection, but I couldn't get the words out.

"Come here," he said, but I kept standing. "Come here!"

When he shouted, I took a slow step without looking up, after which I finally had the spirit to carry out his order. I was standing next to him, but he towered over me by almost a head and a half.

Suddenly, I felt a rapid accumulation of energy, after which I tried to step back, but did not have time – Father hit me with a fist charged with the energy of light in the stomach.

Instead of flying away, I hung in the air, Father's hand came out through my back along with my intestines, piercing my spine.

I screamed in pain, after which Father took out his hand and let me go, which caused me to fall to the floor, not feeling my legs and screaming in pain.

"Seracin, help him," the Father said, leaving the tent.

"Yes, Father," replied Seracin, who appeared out of nowhere, coming up to me.

It was a man in a blue shirt and a white raincoat. He had a pale face with glasses and an unhealthy smile.

"It's not the first time," he said softly.

"Why do you keep doing this, every time you're on the verge of death? Do you like it? Are you a masochist?"

"Maybe next time you'll ask me to give you such a thrill instead of causing disasters?"

With these words, he sat down next to me, healing my wounds.

"A lot of people died today, but even more fell victim to the parasite that took over their bodies," Seracin said, restoring me.

"Today you surpassed yourself, what kind of creature became your target and caused such horrors?"

"The guy, he's 18, at least that's what he told me," I replied, feeling much better than I had since the blow.

"Well, then find him, you gave him your power, right?"

"Yes, Father will soon give the order to find the culprit himself, so I'll have to hit the road."

"That's great, because we're going to need it. You see, many people died, but even more were infected by the parasite, which forced them to attack others, transmitting the disease to them."

I looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"If things continue like this, the parasite will start acting more cautiously, leading to an epidemiologic threat."

"I'll be sure to kill him," I nodded.