Chương 20: 20. Rainier
Joseph couldn't take the pain in his foot anymore. It was too irritated, and he was afraid the wounded flesh might be sticking to his sock. He had stumbled three times over stones and roots because he couldn't see anything in the dark. The extra weight of his backpack and the already deplorable condition of his hands weren't helping either.
The smell of burnt wood coming from his improvised cane was an extra source of grief...
*Congratulations, you imbecile... He was just trying to give you some light...but you just HAD to offend him again...*
He stopped for a minute, closing his eyes.
*Yes, he summoned a demon – I think it was a demon – but in the end, he was just trying to rescue Svoboda... Just like he tried to protect the people at the tavern...even though some of them wouldn't even share the table with him...*
The doctor opened his eyes, looking up at the new moon, which now looked so much like a disdainful mouth smirking down at him.
*He seemed like he was going to cry... Is there even a chance he could forgive me now?*
His throat felt even tighter when he remembered the prince interacting with the crow, *Munin*. How loving he was and how the bird seemed so fond of him.
*I...think he's just trying to be a good person. He's just being misjudged by everyone...*
*...Just like me...*
*And yet, I treated him like he was a monster... The same way my family and the people in town treated me...*
*So what if he is a warlock? I'm a molly. We're both screwed up...*
A prickly pain in his heel woke Joseph from his sorrows.
“Ah, ugh... Jesus Christ... I need to sit down somewhere...”
There was a very old yew nearby, its colossal trunk bumpy and full of grooves. Under it rested a grave with a large black marble tombstone. Its base was tall and large enough to be used as a bench.
The young doctor limped the few metres over to the tombstone, dropping his cane on the ground and throwing himself at the gravestone's base with such force that he felt the stone move a little. The sound of rocks rubbing against each other echoed throughout the otherwise absolutely silent graveyard.
"Oh my God! I'm so sorry... Umm... *Herr und Frau*...Schneider..."
Joseph let his legs relax. Looking around, he couldn't make out much more than the black outlines of the tops of the trees against the horizon, and some crosses and gravestones emerging from the carpet of snow.
The boy opened his backpack, taking out a little oil lamp, a bottle of kerosene, and some fat. Now that he and the prince had parted ways, and since Joseph wasn't assigned to the dorms, there was no reason for him to keep hidden in the dark around the college. With his classes done and lunch over, he was just like any other boy and could do whatever the hell he wanted.
The little flame inside the lamp was strong enough to give him good visibility about 5 metres around him. He could see all the nearby tombstones along with some angel and cloaked mourning statues; there were also weeds, nearly 1 meter high, which were perfect for little snakes and rats to hide in and ambush him.
*This whole time, we were in so much danger, wandering around in the dark...*
He set the lamp on the grave right beside him, taking advantage of the small amount of warmth it gave...
He took off his boot to check on his foot. The sock was clean. He thanked God that, though the injury was irritated, he wasn't bleeding and there was no sign of pus. The boy looked over at the lamp and the cane on the ground, his thoughts wandering again to Prince Tariq.
He realised that every time Tariq was with him, there was light, and warmth... When they met in the tavern, they were next to the fireplace and the sconces. When the prince had arrived at the college, the sunlight was so strong, bathing the entire vestry in the chapel. When he rescued Joseph and brought him home, the oven fire was crackling loudly in a way it never had. And now...he had literally made fire appear from Joseph's cane.
More than that, every time he was around...there was warmth and life in Joseph's heart.
When the doctor had accepted that all his days on Bohemian soil would be dark and grey like that winter night in January, Tariq had appeared like the flame in the lamp, melting Joseph’s pain away, even if just for a moment.
For no matter how deep the dark is, it can't hide the light of a candle...
The boy swallowed, feeling his face heat up.
*He's been the light of my days since the beginning of the year… I don't even think about my family when he’s around...*
Despite all the embarrassment he felt from the prince's jests and his...*coquetry*...Joseph had to admit he liked the attention.
*I mean, why wouldn't I want to be around a handsome fellow like him? He... He’s strong, mysterious, and brave. And he has a solid sense of justice… Yet...he can still be so tender...*
The boy’s heart began beating faster. He didn’t notice the flame inside the lamp dancing convulsively, pointing north even though there was glass protecting it from the cold wind.
He let his face fall into his hands, sighing.
*He is absolutely stunning. I wish...I could know everything about him...*
The boy ran his hand over his face, which was now burning up, and through his hair, pushing back his hood with another sigh. He hoped the cold would make him come back to his senses.
*Control yourself, you fool...*
He covered his mouth with his scarf and grabbed his hood to pull it back over his head when he noticed a small figure sitting beside him on his right side.
"FUCK!"
The doctor almost fell off the gravestone, all the blood in his face running down to his feet. His heart felt like it was about to jump from his chest and his hands began to shake.
A boy of around three or four was staring at him, sitting two hand’s width away from him. His hands were cupped together in a begging gesture. He was wearing only a white shirt, ripped from the collar down to his navel. His skin was a pale grey and his lips completely colorless; around his eyes, there were dark purple circles which made the grey of his eyes pop out. The only sign of vitality in that small body was the light brown hair, almost red, falling in small waves to a little above his shoulders.
The doctor sighed in relief, clutching at his chest.
"Jesus, child, you scared me! What are you doing here?"
The little boy brought his hands to his stomach, staring at the ground now.
"I'm cold..."
Joseph swallowed. If he himself were already cold, surely a half-naked toddler must be freezing...
"Do you want my cape?" the doctor asked, starting to remove it.
The child shook his head firmly as he stood up, walking around the doctor and stopping near the lamp.
"I want the fire..." He cupped his hands around the light.
"Where is your mummy? And your daddy?"
The child looked at him, shrugging.
"I dunt know..."
"What’s your name?"
"Rainier..."
Joseph frowned, completely confused.
"Why are you here?"
The child approached, placing his hand around his mouth, as if telling Joseph a secret.
"The monster... I'm hiding from him... But...I can't find mummy..."
The doctor's eyes widened. A cold sensation washed over his body, making him shiver, when he thought about Prince Tariq and Svoboda, and the collapsed gate at the college.
An image of Tariq bleeding from his neck shot like a bolt into his mind. He suddenly found it difficult to breathe, his head heavy with a wave of dizziness. A jolt of adrenaline hit at the base of his spine, and he felt an urge to run... But not away. Rather, to run to where the prince went.
*For God's sake, anything is possible now... Maybe Svoboda didn't disappear because of a crisis, but because someone kidnapped him… Maybe...*
The doctor dried the sweat from his forehead.
*But the prince was so well-armed... And he’s strong, too... Why do I have this feeling that a tragedy is about to unfold?*
"This *monster*, Rainier... Is he alone?"
The child stared at him, shaking his head.
"Right. Did he...take you from your mummy and bring you here?"
Rainier opened his eyes wide, now nodding with such an intensity that his little body shook.
"Do you know...if he took another person?"
"Yes, sir! He... He drags the boys there, sir... I... There were other boys with me... He...put us in the holes in the old church, sir... But I escaped... And... And..."
The little child pouted and started to cry. He covered his eyes with his small hands as he sobbed.
Joseph approached him, placing his hands on the child’s shoulders.
There was something strange, though. His shoulders were too cold and rigid for a little child. It was like Joseph was grasping a cloth doll.
"It's alright, it's alright. Can you tell uncle where this old church is?"
"He...will hurt you..."
"I think he kidnapped my friends. So I'll go save them, and I'll take you back to your mummy afterwards, okay?"
The toddler kept blinking and staring at him, his red face drenched in tears.
"You're brave, uncle."
*I'm just a coward trying to mend things with the only fellow who came close to being my friend here in months. I'm shitting my pants much more than even you, little one.*
Rainier pointed boldly to the north, a frown on his small face.
Joseph swallowed when he realised it must be far, into the area the prince had deemed “unsafe”.
*God... He went into the eye of the storm...*
"He's there, uncle... You can run, and run, and run, and run... Then there’s a huuugeee broken church..." the child raised his arms up, making the shape of an ogival arc, "and...the monster is there."
"Alright. Do you know of anything he doesn't like? Like...something he’s afraid of?"
The child scratched his hair.
"He’s afraid of fire, uncle."
Joseph swallowed, nodding.
*Maybe that’s why the prince lit that flame on the cane... He was trying to give me at least some sort of weapon to defend myself...*
"Okay. Thank you so much, Rainier. Stay here. I'll bring them back, then I'll come get you too."
The boy looked at him and nodded, his little hands above the fire.
Joseph opened his bag, taking out his scalpel. Then, he removed the cloak and cut it into two pieces lengthwise. He could only lightly use the fingers on his right hand, otherwise his wrist would start to ache inside the splint. Therefore, it took him longer than it would have if both his hands had been fully functional.
*I apologise for destroying it, Your Highness...But I'll bring you back.*
He dressed Rainier in the half that had the hood, partially covering his head. The little boy’s eyes were wide, but he didn't resist.
With the other piece of the cloak, Joseph wrapped the end of the cane, soaking the fabric with the mixture of kerosene and fat. He held it to the fire inside the lamp until a flame the size of his head engulfed the tip of the branch. Joseph sighed.
*I'm a crippled doctor with a broken oak branch that used to be a cane, but is now a flaming club... And I can't even use my dominant hand. May God help me...*
"I'll leave the lamp with you, alright? Hide under the tree until uncle is back."
The toddler kept staring at him, his little hands grabbing the fabric of the cloak over his chest, the enormous hood covering half of his face.
"You're nice, uncle. I like you."
*********
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