The Castrator by Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov (short books for teens txt) 📕

I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAY TO PERSUADE HIM OR WHAT TO OFFER - HE OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T WANT MONEY OR ANYTHING ELSE IN RETURN.

AS I PONDERED, TIME WAS RUNNING OUT AND DIEGO COULD VERY WELL HAVE DIED. YES, THE DEMON WAS DRAWING ON HIS LIFE FORCE, AND THERE WAS NO WAY THAT WASN'T GOING TO BE FATAL.

I HEARD A VOICE IN MY HEAD AGAIN - "WHEN A PERSON DIES, IT'S ACTUALLY GOOD NEWS FROM THE OTHER WORLD![1]"

IN OUR CASE, HOWEVER, THE DEATH WOULD HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY A DEMON. THE HEALER EXPLAINED SOMETHING ELSE TO ME, NAMELY THAT A PERSON WHO MERGED WITH THE ENERGY FROM THE OTHER WORLD WOULD SIMPLY BE CROSSED OUT. SHAMANS USED SPELLS AND HEALERS HEALED - IT WAS THAT SIMPLE.

EVENTUALLY HE AGREED TO COME WITH ME, BUT HE SET A SERIOUS CONDITION THAT I WAS OBLIGATED TO MEET IF I WANTED TO SAVE DIEGO.

- "YOU MUSTN'T SAY ANYTHING TO THE DEMON ABOUT ME," THE MAN REPLIED. "NEGATIVE ENTITIES ARE VERY CUNNING, AND SO IT WILL BE MUCH HARDER TO DESTROY OR EXPEL IT, AND WE CAN HARM THE DIEGO AS WELL."

THE TWO OF US CLIMBED INTO THE VEHICLE WE'D BOUGHT WITH ARLO AND ZONARA, WHICH WAS A RICKETY FORD RANGER THAT, IN ADDITION TO ITS LARGE TRAILER, BOASTED A FAIR AMOUNT OF OFF-ROAD CAPABILITY. THE SNOW CONTINUED TO PILE UP, AND THE SITUATION COULD HAVE BECOME CRITICAL TOMORROW MORNING, BUT AT THE MOMENT IT WAS AS IF SOME UNSEEN FORCE WAS MAKING IT RAIN A LITTLE MORE MODERATELY.

THE STRANGER, FOR SOME REASON, SHOWED NO DESIRE TO RIDE BESIDE ME, BUT THREW HIMSELF INTO THE BACK OF THE TRAILER, BUT NOT BEFORE TELLING ME FOR THE FIRST TIME:

- JUST AS THE ALMIGHTY HAS MANY NAMES, BUT BEHIND EACH OF THEM THE SAME ESSENCE, SO WE HEALERS KEEP THE COVENANTS OF OUR ART, AND THE PRINCIPLES OF OUR WORK, REGARDLESS OF CULTURE OR GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION, DO NOT DIFFER MUCH. WE MUST NOT FORGET THAT HEALING IS MAINLY DONE ON AN ENERGETIC LEVEL, AS THE DAMAGE IS ALSO DONE ON AN ENERGETIC LEVEL. THINGS HAVE NOT CHANGED MUCH OR HARDLY AT ALL EVEN THOUGH WE ARE IN 2045.

I NOTICED THAT YOU SPOKE OF TIME WITH SOME PARTICULAR DISREGARD - AS IF IT DIDN'T EXIST OR WASN'T THAT IMPORTANT. OR MAYBE IT WAS JUST A PRODUCT OF OUR CONSCIOUSNESS MAKING CONTACT WITH ...

WE CONTINUED ON OUR WAY, DRIVING VERY SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY SO AS NOT TO ENCOUNTER AN UNEXPECTED OBSTACLE.

- THERE IS THAT EGO-DEATH, THAT PARTICULAR FORM OF MADNESS THAT IS NECESSARY FOR US TO GO BEYOND THE NORMAL WORLD IN ORDER TO EXPERIENCE REALITY MORE BEAUTIFULLY, MORE EXQUISITELY AND MORE DEEPLY - SO ITS CONTOURS TAKE ON DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS AND EVERYTHING SEEMS SOMEHOW MORE TIMELESS. OF COURSE THIS IS AS TRUE AS IT IS NOT, FOR IN GUIDING THEIR OWN LIVES AND THE LIVES OF OTHERS, THEY WILL INEVITABLY HAVE TO GO THROUGH CERTAIN TRIALS OF VARIOUS KINDS - THAT IS, THEY WILL PAY THE PRICE FOR THEIR KNOWLEDGE. WE HEALERS, ON THE OTHER HAND, ACT DIFFERENTLY BUT NO LESS EFFECTIVELY.

I DIDN'T WANT TO ASK HIM WHERE THE DIFFERENCE WAS MAINLY BECAUSE DRIVING IN SUCH EXTREME CONDITIONS WAS QUITE DIFFICULT - YES WE ONLY HAD ABOUT TWO MILES, BUT FRANKLY THEY SEEMED LIKE TWO HUNDRED.

WHEN A SNOWSTORM WAS OF VERY HIGH INTENSITY, LIKE THE ONE THAT HIT US THEN, AND MADE EVEN DRIVING ON THE STREETS OF MILTON DIFFICULT ENOUGH, AND ON THE OTHER HAND THE AMBIENT TEMPERATURES WERE BELOW FREEZING, ONE COULD EASILY BECOME DISORIENTED - YOU MAY NOT BELIEVE ME, BUT UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS ONE LOST THE ABILITY TO PERCEIVE ONESELF AS A SOCIAL PERSON. THERE WERE ALSO SIDE SYMPTOMS, SUCH AS LOSS OF SENSE OF SPACE AND TIME, BUT THE KEY POINT WAS THAT THERE WAS A TEMPORARY AND ACTUAL DISORIENTATION - AND THAT TOO WAS PART OF THE LAWS OF THE UNIVERSE AND OF TRUE MAGIC. SNOW ALSO HAD A CERTAIN SYMBOLISM THAT WAS SUFFICIENTLY AMBIGUOUS AND SUBJECT TO CERTAIN INTERPRETATIONS, BUT IN THIS CASE IT SIGNIFIED AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION WITH A LOVED ONE.

I CAST A FLEETING GLANCE AT THE STRANGER - I DON'T KNOW IF I WAS LIVING IN AN ILLUSION, ALTHOUGH I KNEW EXACTLY WHERE WE WERE GOING, BUT THE STRANGER SEEMED TO HAVE HIS FEET VERY FIRMLY PLANTED ON THE GROUND.

THE SNOW CONTINUED TO POUR DOWN IN SHREDS THAT HAD FILLED ALMOST A QUARTER OF OUR PICKUP TRAILER, BUT HE STOOD THERE LIKE AN IDOL - BUT NOT OUT OF PRIDE - AS IF HE DIDN'T CARE AND WASN'T OF THIS WORLD AT ALL.

WE'D LEFT THE OUTLINE OF MILTON AND DAMN OUR ROUTE LOOKED LIKE A CIRCLE - SO WE HAD SOME MAGICAL PROTECTION AFTER ALL - I WASN'T AWARE TO WHAT HEIGHTS THE STRANGER'S POWERS WERE, BUT I ASSUMED HE WAS ON THE LEVEL - IF HE COULD MAINTAIN THE ILLUSION OF INVISIBILITY. INCIDENTALLY, MOST PEOPLE DIDN'T EVEN REALISE THAT COMPLETE INVISIBILITY, WAS POINTLESS AND UNNECESSARY, AND COULD CAUSE A LOT MORE TROUBLE THAN GOOD, BUT I DIGRESS.

- THAT ECSTASY THAT ALLOWS SHAMANS TO ACHIEVE SUCH STATES, AND WHICH HAS TO BE MANAGED ON A MUCH DEEPER LEVEL, AND AT THE SAME TIME IS THE KEY TO

THE BLIZZARD MUFFLED HIS LAST WORDS. I COULD SEE HIM STANDING UNMOVED, FIRMLY GRIPPING WHAT PART OF THE BODY THAT COULD BE HIS SUPPORT AND KEEP HIM FROM FLYING OFF INTO TRAFFIC, GETTING STUCK UPSIDE DOWN IN ONE OF THE HUGE ROADSIDE DRIFTS.

I HARDLY DROVE AT MORE THAN THIRTY MILES AN HOUR, BUT IN THESE CONDITIONS IT COULD HAVE BEEN TANTAMOUNT TO DEATH, OR AT LEAST PERMANENT BRAIN DAMAGE.

YES, IF ONE WAS HAPPY WITH WHAT ONE SAW IN ONE'S DREAMS, ONE'S WISHES WOULD MOST LIKELY COME TRUE, BUT THERE WERE SOME LIMITATIONS, OR MORE ACCURATELY ADJUSTMENTS, BUT ONE ALSO HAD TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT HOW WELL THOSE ADJUSTMENTS FIT WITH REALITY.

AFTER ALL, ALL SUPERNATURAL INTERVENTION MEANT WAS AN ADJUSTMENT TO REALITY - THERE WERE MANY LITTLE TRICKS TO BE USED TO BUILD UP SOME MAGICAL PROTECTION UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES. LET'S NOT FORGET THAT THE GOD OF DREAMS IN ANCIENT TIMES WAS A MESSENGER OF TRUTH - ONLY NOW EVERYTHING WAS REAL AND WE WEREN'T DREAMING AT ALL. YES, ONE OF THE SIMPLE MAGICAL TECHNIQUES TO PROTECT OURSELVES FROM EVIL EYES AND POSSIBLE INTERFERENCE OF SOMEONE ELSE IN OUR ENERGY FIELD WAS TO SIMPLY CLOSE OUR EYES AND IMAGINE, VISUALIZING CLEARLY ENOUGH A MASSIVE BRICK WALL THAT WAS LIT BY THE SUN. I KNOW, IT SOUNDED CRAZY - ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE CLIMATE OUTSIDE.

HONESTLY - I THINK ONLY LACY HELL COULD BE MORE FREEZING THAN WHAT WAS RAMPANT AROUND US - THAT'S HOW DIRE THE SITUATION WAS.

FINALLY, WE APPROACHED THE CEMETERY. I HAD TO MANEUVER VERY SKILLFULLY TO AVOID GETTING THE TIRES OF THE VEHICLE STUCK IN THE BRUTALLY DANGEROUS SNOW BANKS, AND IT WAS POSSIBLE THAT I MIGHT HOOK A STUCK ROCK OR BOULDER THAT WOULD ONLY CAUSE SOME ACCIDENT - WASN'T THIS A LIFE AND DEATH DILEMMA OF WHO WOULD BE SAVED?

THE CEMETERY WAS ENTERED VIA A SIDE TURNOFF FROM THE MAIN ROAD, AND INTERNALLY I HOPED THAT ARLO AND THE ZONKER HADN'T FROZEN TO DEATH. IN ADDITION TO THE AFOREMENTIONED PICKUP TRUCK, WE'D BOUGHT SPECIAL CLOTHES - SOMETHING BETWEEN A JACKET AND A RAINCOAT.

AND WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE TRIP NEVER ENDED? OR WAS IT OVER BEFORE IT EVEN STARTED? AND WHAT WAS THE POINT OF IT AT ALL?

WE FOUND ZONARA AND ARLO HIDDEN UNDER A TREE AND SURROUNDED BY SNOW DRIFTS. THE SNOW PROVIDED THEM WITH EXCELLENT COVER, BUT THEY HAD BUILT A SMALL FIRE IN SECRET AND HAD PREPARED A GREEN TEA SCENTED WITH MOWN HAY AND WERE DRINKING IT NEAT. THEY HAD EVEN PREPARED A SMALL SHELTER, STRETCHING THE PICKUP'S AWNING TO PROTECT THEM FROM THE SNOW. IT WAS A BIT OF AN ODD QUIRK THAT STILL PROVIDED THEM WITH PARTIAL SHELTER.

THE TWO OF THEM WERE OBVIOUSLY DISCUSSING SOMETHING, AND NOT FAR AWAY WE SAW DIEGO PICKING UP A SOUL - I EVEN WONDERED IF HE WAS STILL ALIVE.

- "HIS CASE SEEMS GRAVE INDEED!," THE STRANGER SPOKE QUIETLY. "THE DEMONIC INTERFERENCE SEEMS TO HAVE ENTERED ITS FINAL STAGES, WHICH WILL MAKE OUR TASK MORE DIFFICULT. BUT WE MAY AS WELL TRY."

- "CLOSE YOUR EYES!," ORDERED THE HEALER, "FOR THAT WAY THE DEMON WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ENTER. THEY USUALLY ENTER THROUGH THE EYES! INCIDENTALLY, THE INTENSIFICATION OF THIS STATE IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE INITIATION OF AN INNER DIALOGUE REGARDING VARIOUS MATTERS CONCERNING US. THIS RENEGOTIATION IN THE MIND PRACTICALLY PLACES SOME OTHERWORLDLY INTERLOCUTOR, WHICH GRADUALLY BECOMES PART OF THE MIND ITSELF AND THUS OPENS THE WAY FOR ATTACK AND ONE BECOMES HELLISHLY DEFENSELESS. OF COURSE, NOT EVERYTHING IS THE FAULT OF THE OBJECT OF THE ATTACK IN THE CONVENTIONAL CASE, SOMETIMES THE GENERIC CURSE ALSO HAS AN INFLUENCE. BUT I DON'T WANT TO WASTE YOUR TIME WITH PLATITUDES, BECAUSE THE CASE IS SERIOUS. AS IN THAT OLD SAYING THAT IN ALL MADNESS THERE IS CONSISTENCY. HERE ARE SOME OF THE POSSIBLE CAUSES OR CONSEQUENCES. BUT DID GOOD MADNESS EXIST?"

WAS NOT THIS DOOMED LONER A SAINT? THE SILENCE AROUND WAS LIKE MUSIC-THE SOUND OF THE DEAD. BUT IN SPITE OF THE STRANGE THOUGHTS THAT CROSSED MY MIND, I KNEW IT WAS NOT SO. AND YET WHAT ARE YOU WHEN YOU BELONG TO NO ONE? AND THAT WAS THE SAD THING. AS IF EVERYTHING BELONGED TO A BYGONE TIME!

WE HASTENED TO DO HIS BIDDING. DIEGO WAS NOT HIMSELF AT ALL, AND A PECULIAR DEMONIC OBSESSION HAD EVIDENTLY SEIZED HIM, WHICH WOULD SOON DESTROY HIM. WE HAD TO BE CAREFUL, BECAUSE HE WAS REALLY OUR LAST CHANCE TO UNRAVEL THE STORY COMPLETELY, AND IN HIS PRESENT STATE HE COULD HARDLY EVEN REMEMBER HIS OWN NAME.

I HOPED SOMEONE FROM AFAR WOULDN'T NOTICE THE STRANGE RITUAL AND INTERRUPT US BEFORE WE SAVED HIM. THERE WAS NOTHING AROUND THE CEMETERY PARK FOR AT LEAST TWO HUNDRED YARDS. EVERYTHING AROUND LOOKED PRETTY BLEAK AND CRAMPED. THE CADAVERINE AND PUTRESCINE SMELLED OF DECAYED FLESH, AND THE SCATOL ADDED THE SCENT OF FECES. THE TOMBSTONES HAD THOSE BEAUTIFUL HEXAFOIL[2], WHICH SYMBOLIZED MAGICAL PROTECTION FOR THE DEAD. THIS SIGN DATED BACK A LONG TIME AND WAS QUITE TYPICAL EVEN IN BRITISH COLUMBIA IN CANADA. IT WAS DIFFICULT TO BUILD PERSONAL MAGICAL PROTECTION FOR THE UNINITIATED AND FOR THIS REASON THESE HEXAPHOILES WERE A STANDARD TOOL IN THIS REGARD. I GOT INTO THIS REASONING MOSTLY DUE TO THE FACT THAT IT WAS DIFFICULT TO BUILD LASTING ADDITIONAL DEFENSES ON THE GROUNDS OF THE CEMETERY AND WITH A DEMON ON ITS GROUNDS - SO WE DECIDED TO RELY ON THE ONES ALREADY IN PLACE - NO MATTER HOW STRONG OR WEAK THEY WERE. AS A RULE, CEMETERIES WERE A PLACE WITH A HEIGHTENED LEVEL OF NEGATIVE ENERGY, FROM WHICH PERHAPS THIS DEMON WAS ALSO ABLE TO DRAW STRENGTH, BUT WHAT I KNEW FOR SURE WAS...

THE RITUAL SEEMED DANGEROUS INDEED, AND THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO GUARANTEE THAT IT WOULD BE SUCCESSFUL, MUCH LESS THAT DIEGO WOULD SURVIVE. I ALSO KNEW THAT THE VICTIM HAD TO BE APPROACHED CAREFULLY IN THIS REGARD AND THEIR SINS HAD TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT, WHICH COULD ALSO BE THE CAUSE OF FURTHER ATTACK FROM THE DEMON[3].

DIEGO WAS DEFINITELY ACTING PECULIAR, BUT SOME OF HIS SYMPTOMS WERE ALL TOO OBVIOUS AND CONSISTED OF FEELING COLD - YES, IT WAS INDEED FREEZING COLD IN MARCH ALL AROUND, BUT NOTHING IN THE SURROUNDINGS COULD BE THE CAUSE, AS DIEGO WAS PLACED NEAR THE FIRE, BUT WAS CLOSELY GUARDED BY ARLO AND ZONAR LEST HE JUMP INTO IT, SPURRED ON BY THE DEMONIC PRESENCE.

- "OPEN YOUR EYES, DIEGO," THE HEALER CLAPPED HIS HANDS AND BEGAN THE PROCEDURE OF FREEING HIM FROM THE DEMON.

HIS WHOLE BODY WAS SHAKING LIKE THAT OF A FEVER PATIENT AND HE HAD GLAZED HIS EYES - IN THEIR MIRRORED SURFACE