Her legs were still inside the open abdomen, revealing that instead of intestines and organs, the horse was filled with moss and mushrooms, as if his mount was empty inside, a living breathing ecosystem to sustain a small woman.
“W-what are you?” Emil uttered yet couldn’t help the feeling that there was something familiar about her face. She was neither very young nor old, with fair skin that revealed blue veins underneath and fine lines by her eyes and mouth. She frantically got to her knees and covered herself with her long hair, which was thick enough to form a coat around her slender form.
When her gaze met Emil’s, everything stilled. Even the first morning birds went silent in respect of the wondrous moment taking place in front of their Lord.
“It’s your grandmother,” Adam said.
Emil wouldn’t blink, staring at the stranger without a single thought in his head. He remembered the young woman his grandmother had been in the old photos, and the resemblance was undeniable. Taking into account that his grandmother also dabbled in magic, or that Chort existed, Emil couldn’t find it in him to question what he was seeing.
“Is… is that true? I’m Emil Słowik.” He held his hand out to her, but quickly flinched and took off Adam’s coat, which he wore for warmth over his own.
She accepted the woolen garment, but her gaze wouldn’t leave the brown leather jacket covering Emil’s chest. “It’s Zenon’s.”
Emil gave a choked exhale and rubbed his face, overcome with emotions he couldn’t identify. This woman, while undoubtedly a stranger to him, was also the grandmother, who’d been such an important presence in his life even without being there. “It was. But he… Grandpa gave it to me,” he whispered, leaning into Adam, who pulled him close with one of those strong arms he was learning to love.
She lowered her gaze, contemplating his words for several moments. “I hoped I’d see him again, but it all took so much longer than I’d expected. How old are you?”
“Thirty.”
Grandma frowned, clenching her hands on the coat she still hadn’t put on. “Didn’t you get my letter? I thought… I thought that if it didn’t happen before you were twenty-one, bringing Chort back would be a lost cause. And too dangerous for you.”
Emil shook his head, filled with sudden anger. “Only then would it be too dangerous? Do you have any idea what I’ve been through?”
Her lips paled when she pressed them together, but she finally covered her nakedness with the coat. “The valley was suffering. We had to do something, and to whom should I have offered all that power if not to my own grandchild?” she asked, briefly settling her gaze on Adam. “I assumed your grandfather would have protected you from the anger of other believers until Chort came back. Had he really died so young?”
Emil swallowed and cupped his head, his throat full of the anger he longed to express yet couldn’t make himself, because this was still his grandmother.
“Emil, please,” she whispered, taking a step closer, her features twisted with pain. “I know this must have been hard on you but we all make sacrifices.”
That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. “What? No one asked if I wanted to make one! I lost my home, my life’s been a streak of shitty events, and now my boyfriend is literally the devil, so don’t talk to me about fucking sacrifices!”
Grandmother pursed her full lips, scanning Adam from horn to hoof. “Your boyfriend?”
The fact that she hadn’t been secretly following every minute of Emil’s private life as Jinx was actually a relief.
“Yes. I’m gay. It means homosexual, if I’m not being clear enough. And Adam is my partner.”
She took a deep breath, watching them both for the longest time. “Adam will be fine.”
Adam growled, but it was Emil who spread his arms in growing frustration. “Fine? Look at him!”
She exhaled, standing in the bloody mud that stained her feet a deep red every time she moved her toes. “Like Sister Teodora used to, he will only take on this form after sunset.”
“Only?” Emil snarled, but anger was slowly leaving his body, replaced by a sense of joy. He squeezed Adam’s hand and looked at him with a tear-filled smile. “Only at night.”
Adam gave a choked grunt and pulled him into a hug so abrupt Emil lost the ground under his feet. He pressed his soft muzzle to Emil’s face several times before placing him back down. His mismatched gaze betrayed relief, even though he’d seemed so accepting of his fate only moments prior. It would still be a strain on Adam to turn into this creature every night, but at least during the day he could live a normal life among people. They both could.
Grandma sighed, watching them with sadness clouding her eyes. “Those mountains needed him back, Emil. I did what I felt was necessary. But I didn’t think you’d suffer so much. I believed you’d lure him back, and that the two of you would share one body. That you’d be powerful, and safe, and one with nature. I am so sorry, Emil…”
“So you risked all our lives, playing with magic you didn’t even fully understand?” Emil shook his head in disbelief, but his heart softened when he saw tears roll down her bloodstained cheeks.
“I’m sorry. I thought I knew, but when your parents died in the fire, I realized I had no control over any of this. You would have died waiting for Chort’s return, so I made a pact with the forest, and gave you the horse for protection.”
Emil pulled out of Adam’s arms to hug her the moment he heard the tremor in her voice. He was still angry at her, and he hadn’t seen her for over twenty years, but no matter how he looked at it, she was the only family he had left. Maybe it was naive of him, but he wanted to believe her misguided actions had been based on love.
“I wanted this for the sake of your future. The modern world was encroaching on ours, and people have turned away from the old gods. We needed our protector back. But if you’ve been hit so hard by misfortune despite having your stallion, the others must have abused the spell that made you into the lure to gain blessings as you suffered. I’m so sorry, Emil.” She tightened her arms around Emil, and he didn’t even have the strength to argue anymore, no matter how strongly opposed he was to someone else making decisions about his future. That milk had been spilled so long ago it had soured.
“It’s not fine, but we will find a way to move on from this.”
She stayed in his embrace for long seconds, but the family reunion was over when she pulled away to face Adam, who sat cross-legged, with his massive hooves digging into the dirt. It was still strange to see him like this, but the sun would soon rise, and if Grandma was correct they could then both return to the warmth and safety of the parsonage.
“You’re back,” Grandmother said, sinking to her knees in front of Adam’s majestic form.
Adam’s gaze met Emil’s, but he reached out and for a few seconds held his hand on her head. “Thank you, Wanda. I missed my home and my people.”
A shudder speared through Emil when he realized it wasn’t just something Adam said to meet Grandma’s expectations. He actually knew her given name, and the strange, neutral tone was back in his voice, signifying that despite Adam still being here, his soul was entwined with Chort’s forever.