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Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 93
The Incas got up early. Not finding Istvan, they were alarmed. When he, half-dead from fatigue and experienced horror, dragged himself to the gate, he was greeted with a joyful uproar. Sampa Anka grabbed him under the armpits and helped him to the hut.“What happened to you, white brother? he kept asking. - Where have you been?"I'm sorry, Anka," Isstvan whispered, sinking onto the couch. “I’ll tell you everything, but right now I don’t have the strength.”He slept for almost a day and woke up cheerful, completely recovered from the shock of the night. Hardly waiting for the morning, Istvan went to Apu Uma and told about everything that he had to endure.Sampa Anka, who sat silently beside him, stared in horror at the priest, while the chief shook his head grimly.“You broke my ban, Amauta,” he said when Istvan finished his story.“Sorry, Great Leader, but I couldn’t help but watch your people die.“I understand that you were guided by a kind and brave heart. But what have you achieve
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 94
The Indians made a noise, and Istvan could not believe his ears. What nonsense? This is impossible! But no, he saw the living dead with his own eyes!"But the corpses didn't disappear until the third night," he muttered.The sorcerer chuckled and nodded again.— Yes, but here they bury in the wall. Apparently, in the ground they deteriorate faster. At first I did not know this and could not understand why they did not turn into nzambi. The first two had to be killed, their minds barely affected. Then I realized that here the body was lying in the wall and tried to pick it up later. This is how I determined from experience that it is best to raise the "dead" on the third night.- Can they be cured somehow? Return to normal life?- Of course not.How long do they exist in this state?- Who is like. If you feed them on time, then some of them last for four or five years.“Now tell me, why can’t they be killed?”- Why, maybe. They just don't feel pain and follow orders as long as they can
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 95
On one of the days of the Month of Seva, Apu Uma sent for Istvan. He hurried to the leader and found him in great agitation. Forgetting to offer mate to the guest, the Indian said:“Our scouts have spotted a white party, Amauta. They go through the jungle towards Antavara.The priest's heart jumped with joy, but at the same moment he thought - if the Europeans capture the village, they will also learn about the mines. No, this cannot be allowed.- How is it - "go"? After all, the selva is impassable.- How do we go? Cut through the road with knives and axes.— How many of them?The chief frowned and drew seven parallel lines on the dirt floor. Thirty-five people, Isstvan realized."And when will they get to us?"- In two or three days. We need to organize protection.“No,” the priest said thoughtfully. “We have to set up an ambush. Then, firstly, they will not find the village, and secondly, thanks to a surprise attack, we will have an advantage.After thinking for a moment, Apu Uma n
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 96
Gold wearily rubbed his face with his hands.“Those days are hard for me to remember, John. Then I committed one of the most shameful acts of my entire life. But I swear I'll be completely honest about everything.'I have no doubt, my friend,' nodded the vicar. - Few people could speak so frankly about themselves, not only good, but also bad.— So, we got into a small pirogue and sailed up the river. Usually, for the construction of boats, the Indians took a tree with a wide trunk and burned out the middle. But this boat turned out to be wicker and very light. The current here was weak, so Anka and Yakumama rowed tirelessly.About five hours later we landed on the shore, and I saw a path cut through the jungle, as wide as I had ever seen in these places. It turned out that the Indians dragged boats along it to another river, which they called the Serpent, and the Europeans - Madre de Dios. Even such a light pirogue as ours was not easy to drag, but we managed and by the evening reache
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift Epilogue
Michael Gold paused, trying to catch his breath. He seemed to be reliving the terror that had seized him in the mountains of South America.“And Plath is gone?” exclaimed the vicar ruefully.Alas, John, yes. A strange insanity has deprived me of this most valuable relic!- What a pity! What do you think it was?“I have puzzled over this for three hundred years, explaining everything as the revenge of higher powers. It was only three years ago that I read an article in The Sunday Times that I think explains the panic attack that happened to me then. The article said that a certain John Balderston, director of the London Lyric Theater, was preparing a play for staging, where the characters were transported into the past as the action progressed. He wanted to come up with something spectacular so that the audience at that moment felt the psychological tension. And Mr. Balderston turned to his friend, the physicist Robert Wood, for help. He made a pipe, like an organ, but longer and thick
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 1
The vicar went to the window. The sun was setting behind the edge of the forest, swifts were flying in the air, a beautiful summer evening was coming. Little Alice was sitting on the front lawn, intently twisting the doll's head. But the vicar did not notice this, he stared unseeingly out the window, and before his mind's eye stood a narrow medieval Parisian street and a little boy looking around in confusion. Thoughts rushed through my head: “Is it possible? Could Gold's story be true? What is it - fiction, inflamed imagination of a dying person or ... "The bed creaked behind him, and Dr. Gold's faint voice rang out:- John?The vicar turned slowly.- Yes, Michael?- You must despise me? I took so many lives to save my...The priest looked with pain at the lying man. Even now, power and strength emanated from his heavy body. They had been friends for almost half a century... "No, only twenty years... Who would have thought!" And now Michael Gold is dying, and the vicar does not have
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 2
The life of little Rene Legrand was simple and pleasant. He adored his father, loved to sit in a corner and watch how he cut gloves from thin dyed leather according to patterns, and then sewed them together on some mysterious device. Rene liked to look at the richly dressed ladies who sometimes appeared in their modest house. The ladies, rustling their skirts, approached the table, on which a lot of multi-colored gloves were laid out, chose the best pair for a long time, argued, laughed. They took away the gloves, giving their father in return copper and even silver coins with a minted profile of the king, and left, each time leaving behind a unique, mysterious aroma. Mysterious music sounded for Rene the words "livre", "denier", "su". “Someday,” he thought, “Genevieve will grow up and become such a beautiful lady, I will marry her and give her all my father's gloves.”He loved little Genevieve as much as his father. And although she was born only four weeks after him, René was accust
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 3
As soon as Rene turned twelve, Claude sent him to study in a regular company.Rene liked military affairs. Schoolchildren were taught to handle weapons, keep order, and march. In addition to directly military disciplines, the curriculum included athletics, elementary counting, grammar, religion, the history of the crusades and other military campaigns, as well as alchemy and pharmacy.As much as Rene liked his studies, his new comrades did not like him just as much. Most of them came from the lowest strata of society, their conversations were too rude, and their laughter too loud. The ringleader among them was Jacques Tillon, a tall guy a head taller than the rest, with perpetually greasy hair and the same greasy jokes. Rene tried to avoid him.***Jacques' father, Patrick Tillon, was a laborer on the docks of the Seine, a bitter drunk who regularly beat his wife and son. In the short life of Jacques, his father did not beat him except with an ax. At first, the boy tried his best to p