Wind in the Hands (14 page)

“How do you manage to persuade people,” the Soldier suddenly spoke peacefully and gently.

The Stranger smiled.

“I don’t persuade, but sometimes, when I’m speaking, the Power shows up and changes the creed of people and persuades them of the rightness of my words. No logical arguments are required anymore.”

“Maybe the Power shows when you are right and when you are wrong, you don’t have it, may this be true? No, you haven’t managed to really persuade me,” the Soldier grinned.

“That is not so,” the Stranger said sharply. “When are we getting off?”

“Get as close to the City as possible and then walk across the desert. If we reach the goal, they won’t risk chasing us. I don’t fear for myself, they won’t touch me, though I am not sure. If necessary, they won’t spare me. But I don’t know the instructions the Seer gave them with regard to you,” the Soldier said.

“I don’t believe the Seer wants my death. I don’t believe the Medium will intentionally act against me.”

“I don’t know, I don’t know,” the Soldier said quickly. “The Seer contacted the security service. He has exposed you to risk. Maybe he wanted to understand your power. He has never encountered anything of the sort earlier and you refused to talk with him. I don’t know. But the service will play its own game and by its rules. They can do anything needed to reach their goal and anything that will benefit them. They will step over not only me, but over you and the Seer and will enjoy that. I know many people who have a grudge against him. People will remember long his exposure of the provocations initiated by the security service broadcasted live. Have you seen the Masks Off talk show where he appeared once? However, that was the first and the last time when he interfered in a dangerous game. Do you remember someone from the audience asking him how one of rebel leaders, chased during many years, managed to escape the army cordon? Who provided him with a corridor, led through all posts and helped to cross to another country?”

“Yes,” the Stranger recollected that and nodded. “The Seer then thought several seconds and blurted out: people above the law, with a headphone in the ear.”

“And those people above the law did not suffer but a very competent person was fired from the army intelligence for letting the rebel boss escape,” the Soldier gritted his teeth.

The dismissed man was the boss who thought very highly of him. After this incident, there were personnel rotations, which pushed the Soldier back. A new director got rid of the former team, which was loyal to the former boss. The Soldier was assigned insignificant and dangerous tasks for several years, he worked without support or companions, therefore he had been thinking of resigning for a long time.

“I think that was the purpose of the operation,” after several minutes of silence the Stranger said. “But I don’t have proof and my word does not bear the same authority as that of the Seer’s. Accept it as a version and forget. We must not interfere with these games.”

“It is important for me to know the reasons,” the Soldier did not agree with him. “I believe you and will have no regrets if I go off my course.”

Chapter 18.Torch

The Seer woke the woman up by tenderly stroking her wild hair.

“I haven’t enjoyed such a balmy sleep for years,” she said with a stretch.

“A friend of mine, a security man, will come soon. Do you want to be in at our talking?” the Seer asked.

“Sure. After all, you will speak of the Stranger?” she guessed.

“Did you like him?” the Seer was playing with her curls.

“Aren’t you jealous?” the woman smiled raising herself upon elbow.

“Not at all,” he smiled ironically. “I cannot imagine you together. You need to match each other, but none of you can make a compromise. He has not it in him to love ardently. His feelings are aimed at something else; he is not a man to peddle on love to woman. And you cannot live without passion. I see, you need an interesting person, and he is exactly the one. But he doesn’t need a woman like you. However, if you are ready to give up your activity, change your principles and your mindset for the sake of love, he will take this sacrifice. You see, dear, if the Stranger has a mission, indeed, he will go immediately when he performs the task. They won’t let him lead a quiet life. The System surrounds the messengers with aura of mystery, and people compose legends about them. Here’s a PR campaign. But what is the point of family life? Who composes a legend about a good husband or father, even though to be the same is no less heroic than to be a hero in the battlefield? There is kind of regularity: the more important a mission is, the quicker the man goes. Some exceptions may occur, but these are people who manage to find the golden mean, and this does not apply to the Stranger. I liked him too, I feel sorry for him, and that is why I want to help him. It is important to make sense of his mission, before it’s too late, until striking mechanism is activated, until the guarded fire flares up.”

“You know, I do not want to conjure dipping in the world of the dead and ghosts. Something has changed in my inner world. I can see the reality differently. I don’t know, maybe it will pass,” the woman smiled recollecting something.

“That’s the Stanger’s job,” paused the Seer discontented.

“Is he in danger? Can we help him?”

“I am trying. He came to me for help himself.”

“And you said no. Why on earth?” asked the Medium reproachfully.

“I did not say no. I asked him to clarify something, but the Stranger suddenly went to his shell. He thought me to be a danger to him. I found this unfair.”

“So, you decided to take revenge by setting the dogs at him? Maybe, he could understand that you are equal to something like this, and so, he went to his shell?”

“It’s not all that simple,” the Seer shook his head fiercely. “I just asked to stop him gently, provide with the best accommodation, feed properly and take care of him. When the belly is full the bones would be at rest. I would talk with him, and we might make the best of a bad job. Mind you, I wish him no ill, while in the City he will die and ruin the others. Can one carry out the mission he hasn’t the slightest idea of, possessing powerful weapon that could be revealed with no X-ray? I wish we would make sense of it all together with him,” the Seer was calm and convincing.

“What is that to you? Maybe, he does not have any mission at all. Let him go to the City to fully realize his powerlessness. He’ll see that nothing happens. And if the mission does exists, who are you make head against? You say: I’m afraid for him, I want to warn him… But what’s he to you? Why are you so sympathizing with a person you’ve seen once in a lifetime?” the woman was talking hotly, being all yes.

The Seer saw that she did not believe him, started from the sofa, walking about the room nervously.

“You are silly!” he raised voice. “Do you even realize what he possesses? Do you know the limits of his abilities? What powers of darkness he can rouse? The City is the very place to give way to this energy to the fullest extent! The atmosphere is too favorable. Could he suppress it? Tell me, why this man does go to the City?”

“Do you bear him no malice, indeed? And you do not envy him, don’t you?”

“I bear the Stranger no malice. Can one envy him?”

“Well. Look then,” the Medium nodded readily. “He called his force ‘Wind’. Its power may change. The Stranger said that was the weapon to respond to any occult acts, magic or witchery, even hypnosis. And something else: it seemed to me that the power comes with the Stranger’s emotions.”

“Wind, wind…” the Seer repeated thoughtfully. “Why not Spirit? Well, we’ll see… So, the Wind comes from outside, not lives in him? Are you sure?”

“I could see just light. It was emitted slightly… sometimes more intensely… or disappeared altogether.”

The Seer did not trust in such phantoms. It is in human imagination to create illusory objects, and even make other people feel and see them. He knew that to use imaginative power to hypnotize people. Once, when a young man, he was walking home late at night from a party with a girl on his arm he had lately acquainted with, and happened to be scoffed at by two elevated youngsters. Instantly, his imagination drew a horrible monster with fiery eyes and huge tusky chap. The created monster was broken upon the young people, and he moved towards them, with his fists clenched. The outcome exceeded expectations: one of the youngsters fell to the ground and, screaming with wild horror, urinated on himself. Probably, he went off his head. Another one was more courageous, he could gather himself up to run away in fear. The girl went into raptures for her knight who waded single-handed into two gorillas, and he was awarded for bravery the same night.

The Seer was listening to the woman’s blundering account.

“Do not tell anybody about this, even more so, special service agents, if only you do not want to ruin him. I think, you are not right, this power lives in him, and he can release this power. However, not always at his will. But this is quite curious; after all, you also believe it depends on the Stranger’s emotions. This is very interesting and very strange,” the Seer repeated once again. “Now, the guest will come, do not trust him.”

“I trust myself not always, how can I trust a dog?” the Medium uttered with a superior and independent air. She could not bear any security service agents calling them scornfully ‘dogs’.

Later, the Functionary arrived. He gave the woman a cold nod, although he recognized her, and greeted the Seer warmly. After having a cup of coffee, the guest began to talk about the purpose of his visit:

“An unpleasant thing occurred: our services have taken interest in the Stranger and Soldier…”

“Sorry for interrupting, but who is of major interest? The Stranger or Soldier?”

“The Soldier, of course.”

“What can such interest lead to? Why the Soldier?” the Seer kept on querying.

“I think it is caused by his professional activity. It seems to our superiors that the Soldier and his assistant, the Stranger, perform the task of their command.”

“Are you serious? Well, sorry,” the Seer looked at his guest with surprise.

“What harm this may do to the Stranger?” the Medium interrupted worriedly.

“Do you know him?” the Functionary asked.

“Very closely,” she threw off defiantly.

“I see. You helped him in the Tower,” the Functionary nodded as if he was turning it every way in mind.

“Our agents collect information keeping a close watch on them. Perhaps, they will be permitted to approach the City freely.”

“And what’s next?” the Medium grew suspicious.

“The decision depends on the information we obtain.”

“It is clear,” the Seer ticked off. “They are waited for in the City.”

“I don’t think that our officers are going to arrest the Soldier.”

“And what about the Stranger?” the Medium asked.

“Quite possible. We and you know that nobody is at the back of him, so, nobody will come to the defend him. It is not me who decide. I am sorry. But I have dropped out of the game.”

“Can you inform me about everything concerned with the Stranger?” the Seer inquired.

“I’ll try to do my best.”

When the guest went, the Seer made a reach for a cigarette.

“He is a liar. The Stranger and the Soldier have come to the attention of the authorities on his tip, and the Stranger is of greater interest to them than the Soldier. I am sorry that I have got in touch with him. Ooh, an old fool,” sighed the Seer.

“It cannot be so serious. It is absurd. A mighty special service starts hunting for two little persons for nothing. What a thing to do!”

“People are nothing but string puppets,” the Seer kept silence for a while.

“I have arrived at this conclusion not that long ago. Little people are governed by strong forces that prefer to stay in the background, and change history using little people. Our independency is very limited. We are captivated, nothing more.”

“Are you serious? Captivated by whom? Maybe, you know a way to release from prison?” asked the Medium incredulously.

“No,” uttered the Seer sadly. “The Stranger may know. But even if he shows the way, the direction is sure to be misinterpreted. Everything is as usually.”

“Does he know more than you? Or, you cannot learn what the Stranger knows? After all, there must exist a shared learning field! All we need is to focus on it. And if someone knows something, this cannot be a secret for you,” the Medium was surprised a lot.

“Shared does not mean accessible for all. There is a channel, and it is protected by kind of bright light. Nobody can penetrate it, it is impenetrable. Perhaps, the information about global events, riddles of the Universe is stored there, and this light breathing touches the Stranger? He has something I do not have,” said the Seer sullenly. “I would give my all for feeling the same.”

“You envy him,” uttered the Medium disappointedly.

“No, I don’t. His life is not easy. I’ve seen something. He is suffering, yearn is getting him down. He cannot keep still. It has been for several years already. He was betrayed by the nearest. He hasn’t broken down, but has been hardened, instead. The Stranger is a man of iron will. And will of iron is cruel-hearted and unforgiving if stacked against enemies. Enemies are not always people; these may be demons wringing heartstrings. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I do not believe in demons, evil spirits, or other hellish stuff. Myths hide the psychology and struggle of a person with vice. Myths need understanding. The Stranger chops the heads away, but he must know that the neck must be branded so that the new heads could not grow. Now, he is happy with carrying out the mission. However, after all, the mission will have been completed. Sooner or later, everything comes to an end under the Sun, you know. How will he get? Sitting in the rocking-chair thinking of old times? Writing memoires?” the Seer ironically smiled. “He is like a meteorite, he flies, flames, but he burns himself out. He is like a torch left off…” the Seer hesitated for a word. “The torch was used not only for lighting, but also for arson. See?”

“Not exactly,” said the Medium perplexed.