Сергей Редькин – The Queen of the Two Moons (страница 5)

Marco

The night was confusing, magical, and painful. It seemed to last forever but ended too soon. We belong to each other now.

She entered the place that their contact had given them and saw him sitting alone at a table near a window. He was a broad-shouldered, heavyset, middle-aged man in dark clothes with a massive gold watch on his left wrist. The sunrays through the window made the top of his balding sweaty head shine like a silver coffee pot. She smiled when that comparison occurred to her.

He felt confident enough not to have his bodyguards with him inside. They were waiting for his signal in a van outside, ready to transport the blood from this soon-to-be-leaving-this-world young woman.

She came to his table and sat down.

“I don’t think it was a smart move but say what you have to and let’s do the inevitable149,” he said. “All I need is one kiss,” she said, hardly opening her mouth.

“What?” he asked.

She sprang up150, grabbed his head, and pulled it to her face. “What the…?” he began, trying to push her away.

She pressed her lips to his mouth. He groaned151 with pain and a tiny stream of blood trickled152 down his chin. He started to gasp153 for air and tried to spit out154 the blood, but she was holding him tightly.

At last, he could get away from her. He frantically155 wiped his mouth and spit. “You cut me!” he shrieked.

She spit something out on the floor and smiled, licking her lips with her bleeding tongue.

Dolion

It’s not over yet. It’ll be over when I say it is. She may have ruined the virus, but she didn’t eliminate my plan. I’ll find the way. I wish I had killed her before she opened her foul mouth. I just need some rest. I’m tired.

Lizzy

Marco’s idea of hiding a tiny razor in my mouth was brilliant. I couldn’t carry any weapons because I could have been searched on the way. Besides, I am no Lara Croft156 and wouldn’t know how to use them anyway. It took me awhile to learn how to handle the razor, and I was still afraid that I would cut my tongue in half before making an incision157 or, worse, I would swallow that steel thing accidentally.

Marco

I still can’t believe she made it out alive and safe. Blood is an amazing substance. It keeps us alive, transports oxygen, carries antibodies that fight infections, and it can also destroy you.

Lizzy

We’ve just heard that Dolion succumbed158 to the aftereffects of our intense159 “rendezvous.” My blood did the trick160 after all. We won’t rest on our laurels161 just yet though. We have a few more things to do. Dolion’s minions162 are still out there.

Marco

We didn’t really expect that to happen that soon, but somehow Lizzy’s blood was more powerful than we thought. She is special.

It was a beautiful summer day. The sun was shining, and the sky was clear. “I’m ready,” Lizzy said, taking Marco’s hand.

“Me too,” he said, and smiled.

“Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?” she asked. “Leaving this world for another?” he asked.

“Yeah, that,” she said smiling.

“Just clarifying, in case you meant something else,” he said and winked at her. “You’re such a smarty-pants163!” She gently164 hit him on the shoulder.

“I don’t know what that means but it sounds a bit aggressive,” he said laughing.

“So many things you still need to learn,” she said. “I’m serious though. It’s a big step.” He hugged her.

“It doesn’t matter where I am, as long as I’m with you,” he said and kissed her on the lips. She smiled.

They both looked at the green flash appearing in front of them. He squeezed165 her hand and they both took a step.

Part 2: The Perfect Match

Prologue

He was sitting on the stone floor in the Hall of Prayer with his mind focused on the future and the worlds that he was going to create. He was about thirty-five, his head was shaved, and he was wearing a black kimono beneath black robes held shut in the front with a sash166. It was quite chilly for August, but his body did not feel the cool wind that was coming through the open windows of the ancient167 pagoda nor the coldness of the old stones he was sitting on. He could feel that soon he would be able to project his power to the real world around him. The monks in the temple knew better than168 to disturb him during his meditations. For the past five years, his power had been constantly enhancing169, and the monks could feel that too.

There were three steps in his process of achieving Control, where the power of his thought could make things move and bend170 other people’s ability to think and overpower171 their emotions. Before getting to Control, however, there were Calmness and Detachment172. He was in the process of getting calm when a bright lightning of a sharp emotion pierced173 through his mind. He saw the image of his father. He frowned174 at this unexpected occurrence175 and opened his eyes.

“He’s dead,” he whispered.

He sat in silence for another minute. His face relaxed and a smile appeared. “At last.”

Chapter 1: Back to Business (Present Time)

“Look at the moon,” Lizzy said, pointing to the bright big blueish176 circle in the sky. “It looks lonely,” Marco said.

They were sitting outside a country cottage that used to belong to Lizzy’s late mother. There was no way for her to go back to the apartment she had shared with her dead boyfriend. The police were still looking for her in connection with the dead body that her neighbors started to smell and called the authorities to investigate. Her cousin Anastasia, her closest friend and next of kin177, put away some of her stuff in storage after the police had cleared the crime scene. When Lizzy reached out to Anastasia, it took a lot of effort to convince her cousin that she was fine and not brainwashed by some cult. She explained to her that there was a reason she could not contact the police just yet. Lizzy also could not reveal178 why she was absent for more than two months and tried not to see any other friends to avoid interrogation179. Everything had to be done discreetly180. The less people knew she was back the better. Anastasia arranged for them to move into the cottage only after the police searched the place.

“It’s not lonely, it has the Earth,” she said and put her head on Marco’s shoulder. “Tonight, it’s called a blue moon.”

It was a bit cold outside, and they were wrapped in a quilt181 that Lizzy’s mother had bought in some mountain village in Thailand where she went with her father, Peter, before they got married.

“Is it always blue here?” he asked.

“It’s not blue at all. It’s just a name for the second full moon in a month, I think.” “How many full moons do you usually get?”

“I think there are twelve, but occasionally you get a thirteenth. That’s a blue moon.”

“I don’t think our moons get to be called anything. They’re just moons. Boring. I like your blue moon, even though it still looks lonely to me.”

“Tell me more about your world,” she said, getting cozier by his side.

“I need to learn more about yours to know the differences better, don’t I?” “True.”

“Will we have time to do that?” “I hope we will.”

She kissed him on the lips and stood up.

“We have a long day tomorrow,” she said, offering him her hand and pulling him to his feet.

The next day they were supposed to meet with their contact person – Peter’s acquaintance182 – who had promised to introduce them to a group called the Committee. The group was secretly working on eliminating the threat that was coming from the late Dolion’s supporters. There were three ladies – the group’s leaders – who held high positions in the medical research industry in three different countries, the US, Russia, and China. They knew about Lizzy’s role in eradicating183 Dolion and about the unique qualities of her blood. They were eager184 to meet her. The man – whom they were meeting – had called the cottage landline two days ago and introduced himself as Aaron. Marco was the one who talked to him and agreed on the details for the meeting.

Lizzy woke up early and watched Marco sleeping for a few minutes before jumping in the shower and starting breakfast. He walked in the kitchen, still slumberous185, while she was making eggs, and hugged her from behind.

“Good morning,” he said and kissed her on the neck. “Hi, sleepyhead186.”

“How’d you sleep?”

She had not been sleeping well ever since she was violently introduced to the other world. She did not want to bother Marco with her insomnia187 and never woke him up. She could fall asleep for a brief time, but that didn’t bring much relaxation. She would wake up and silently lie in bed, trying not to think about the dead people she knew or was about to get to know – Mark, Peter, and Beth. Despite the horrendous images of what she had witnessed or what her imagination had created in those nightmares, there was one more thing that bothered her. After they came back, among the flashbacks of the past two months, she started to see a person who stood at a distance looking at her. He was present in almost all her dreams. The image was not clear, just a male silhouette wearing a long coat.

“Ok, let’s eat and be on our way188. What time are we meeting the man?” Lizzy asked. “Ten a.m. sharp, so we still have some time.”