“If I give you mine, you will spare his?”
Adam’s gaze passed over Emil, who lay motionless, a tear mid-way down his temple. Adam itched to kiss it away, to untie Emil and take him into his arms. Emil didn’t deserve to die, just like he hadn’t deserved all the needless suffering he’d been forced to endure. Adam had misunderstood him so terribly in the last few hours, but now he had the chance to make it up to him by offering him a new life. One in which he’d be free to leave and find happiness, even if without him. Perhaps this way, Adam’s miserable existence would have at least served a purpose.
Chort cocked his head, baring his teeth again as he ran one sharp claw under Adam’s jaw, gently enough to scratch without breaking skin. “We both know you can’t handle me. I cannot live in a body that prevents me from expressing my nature. You’re frightful and frigid, even with the offering who had been made for us. I wish to feast on his body each night. If you give me your heart, I won’t have to consume it entirely, because it already belongs to me, but I won’t allow you to rein me in anymore. Do you understand?”
Adam swallowed, for the first time facing his demon. The touch of Emil’s fingers was his lifeline, and as he listened, the truth behind Chort’s words sank in, piercing his skin claw by claw. Tooth by tooth.
If he offered Emil in his stead, the man he loved would be lost forever, but he could spare Emil’s life by giving up his own in return. He’d become one with this ancient monster-god, and while his mind couldn’t come to grips with what that would entail, he no longer cared. He would be brave for Emil’s sake, even if it meant eternal limbo inside a body he had no control over.
“You can’t have him,” Adam choked out and loosened the collar of his cassock. “But if you promise to never hurt him, you can have me.”
Sin was hot in his veins. Occultism. Greed. Forbidden love. He embraced them all, because in this valley, in Dybukowo, there was only one god to set the rules.
Them.
Chort let out a croak and leapt at Adam. Pain seemed unavoidable in the split seconds before impact, but the beast splashed onto him like a wave in a tropical ocean, and his mouth filled with a flavor that was somehow both salty and sweet. The majestic form dispersed, but when Adam took a deep breath, Chort’s essence entered his heart, at once chasing away the nighttime cold.
His blood turned into liquid gold, his lungs expanded, his muscles thickened, and as Adam grew taller and more powerful, his horns curled above all-hearing ears.
The world around him snapped back to life.
Mrs. Golonko screamed, covering her face as she fell into the leaves, but Koterski and Mrs. Janina remained on their knees, both roaring with manic laughter as they kept on praying. And this time, he understood their words.
Oh Terror, come out!
Oh Wonder, come out!
Oh Might, come out!
Come out of the woods, of the dark depths
From your domain where no man can enter
Where no bird can fly uninvited
Lord of the Forest
Come out, come out, come out of the woods!
So tall he could take in the entirety of his sanctuary, Adam looked around with a new set of eyes. Mr. Nowak was a grub crawling at his feet until it found the dagger. He scrambled back to his feet and dashed for the altar. He raised his hand to strike the blade into Emil’s chest.
“Here is your offering! Take it and let us prosper!”
It was as if time slowed down again. Adam breathed in the scent of life booming around him despite the murky color of the dead leaves. Everything, from the worms under his feet to the humans kneeling before him, was subject to his will. Far off, a group of deer watched him through the trees, ready to bow to their master and, unlike the people so intent on bringing him back for their selfish gain, they didn’t expect anything in return.
Those four bugs did not deserve a place in his green cathedral.
Adam fell forward, protectively bowing his body. He ripped off Nowak’s arm with a single snap of his jaws.
Red, vital blood flooded his tongue, and as he crunched down the bone and swallowed the whole thing along with the dagger the world around him became rich with color.
Nowak screamed, falling back as Mrs. Golonko stumbled in her efforts to run from the clutches of the god she claimed to worship.
The fat morsel whetted Chort’s appetite, making Emil’s scent so potent hunger became like spikes drilled into his innards. He couldn’t have him though. Not yet, at least, but the flesh and blood of the wastrels who’d for years benefitted from all their misfortune falling on Adam’s beloved was his to take.
“Please, no! I just did what my father told me to!” Koterski yelled, but Chort knew that this man’s heart had no conscience or morals. He’d been the one to set Emil’s house on fire, and so Chort wouldn’t have mercy for him either.
He blocked Koterski’s way in a single leap and drove a horn through his midsection, digging claws into the soft, delicious insides. The maggot who’d deceived Adam just to drive him away from his lover and cause strife did not deserve to prosper.
Koterski’s scream was cut short when Chort ripped him off the horn and crushed his head between his jaws before digging into the torso. The young meat was a treat on his tongue, and he threw the lower part of Koterski’s body into the air before swallowing it in one gulp when it fell into his wide open mouth.
He went for Nowak next, tearing into the plump flesh before sinking his teeth into meat marbled with fat. And his soul? Delightfully corrupt with bribery and blackmail as it sizzled into nothingness in the pit of Adam’s fiery belly.
He wouldn’t let the women go either, but was struck by Mrs. Golonko’s vile nature when he saw her pushing Mrs. Janina over to get ahead. The older lady fell, but even in the mud, Mrs. Janina still screamed with fury and grabbed Mrs. Golonko’s ankle to bring her down as well.
Adam used to see Mrs. Janina as a bitter but decent enough woman, but no amount of cake or occasional support could make up for the fact that she’d been ready to make a human sacrifice out of Emil. Chort tore her in two pieces, and as the fragrant blood splashed Emil’s chest and the altar, Adam sucked more out of her juicy flesh before satisfying his hunger with the meat too.
Mrs. Golonko had already made it out of the sanctuary, but he took his time chewing through ligaments and bones before leaping above the thuyas, out of the sacred grove. The withered leaves cushioned his landing, and once he caught the fugitive’s scent—nauseatingly sweet with perfume—no amount of offerings and prayer could save her.
She was just past a nearby hill, cowering under a fallen tree in the hope that he might miss her presence. The pathetic wretch had no idea that Chort could hear her every breath. Every heartbeat.
The expensive things she used to elevate her station in the eyes of other people meant nothing to him, and they wouldn’t help her once he’d decided on her fate. He couldn’t help himself though and intended to play with his food. Pretending he’d been duped, he looked the other way at first but spun around when she tried to crawl away, and dragged her through the mud as soon as he reached the pathetic hideout.
“No! Please! I never wanted to participate in any of this! Janina pulled me into it!”
And yet she’d benefitted. She gloated about her wealth and rubbed it in Emil’s face while he bore the brunt of all the misfortune that would have otherwise fallen on her and her family. She’d known for years but had shown Emil no compassion, only throwing him enough scraps off her abundant table so that he didn’t leave Dybukowo.