Consequence

“I’m hungry, do it already!” Zduhach jumped from one foot to another.

The Little Table stood before them as the three of them had decided to take a break.

“Now watch.” Dragomir theatrically spread his arms. “Little Table, Lay the Feast!”

Zduhach and Milena’s eyes nearly popped out of their heads.

In mere seconds, the table set itself with four plates, three sets of utensils and the food they had wished for.

Grilled ribs, cracklings with fresh bread, and two bowls of stew.

“It’s like real magic!” Zduhach exclaimed but was soon corrected by Dragomir.

“There’s no such thing as magic in this world. Only annoying pests with godlike powers.”

Milena stood a few steps away, gazing at her food.

“Sorry, I don’t have a Little Chair, Be Comfortable,” he quipped.

“No, that’s not it… It’s just… those cracklings always remind me of my father. And I keep ordering them because that way I feel like he hasn’t gone anywhere.”

“Milena…” Dragomir reached out and placed a comforting hand on her back.

“Don’t think you can do this just because you are supposedly the love of my life,” she said, making Dragomir retract his hand. His expression showed he knew he’d been too casual.

“But,” she continued. “I’ll allow it.”

“Maybe once you are more relaxed…” He sat down at the table and joined Zduhach who already had his mouth full.

Milena sat beside Zduhach and took a few cracklings. When she reached for the bread, the pocket watch slipped out of her pocket into the grass.

She took it and put it back. “Hey… what do you think happened during my confrontation with Poludnica?”

“Hm?” Zduhach’s cheeks were full of the pork from the stew.

“When the sickle impaled your father, this watch reacted…”

Dragomir stopped mid-bite. “Impaled? I don’t remember my father being hurt.”

“Poludnica ran her golden sickle through his stomach when the time ran out.”

“No, Debilmir deflected her attack with Jozef’s own sickle. It looked like an epic sword fight!” Zduhach swung his spoon like a sword. “It lasted only for a couple of seconds, though.”

Milena was puzzled. She looked at the pocket watch and blinked. “Did I… imagine it? No, I’m certain that’s what happened.”

“Maybe it was some kind of an illusion?” Zduhach asked.

“No, Poludnica don’t have that kind of power.”

“Whatever, the main thing is that we defeated her and the village can now use the fields without any fear!” Zduhach said, finishing the first bowl of his stew.

Dragomir frowned as he watched Milena eat the cracklings.

“We should hurry up and eat. The food will dissolve if we wait for too long.”

After a couple of minutes, all the plates were empty except Milena’s. She had left one final crackling she couldn’t finish, clutching her overstuffed stomach.

All the plates, bowls, utensils and the last piece of crackling slowly disappeared into thin air.

“Woah!” Zduhach lowered his face almost to the tabletop. “Magic is awesome!”

With that, they continued on their journey.

But it wasn’t long before they came across a crowd gathered in a circle around a single man.

Dragomir urged them to keep moving, but Zduhach and Milena wouldn’t stop staring.

Though it was far too early for darkness, the sunlight suddenly faded. An eerie shadow fell across the land, as though the sun itself were being eclipsed.

“Oh, great Dazhbog, have mercy on us!” The plea passed through the crowd, one voice after another.

Then one woman stepped forward and punched the man in the center.

Milena stared in shock.

The woman immediately cried out and clutched her hand. Several of her fingers bent at unnatural angles.

Another person stepped forward and punched the man.

Then another.

Zduhach already had one hand on his bow, but Dragomir grabbed his shoulder.

“What are you going to do?”

“Well, help them obviously!”

“And how exactly are you gonna do that?”

Zduhach gritted his teeth. “I don’t know…”

The face of the man in the center of the circle was already bruised, bloody and swollen.

One man broke from the line. “He’s my precious little brother! I’ll never hit him!”

And then he combusted.

He screamed as flames engulfed his body and sent him crashing to the ground. The others resumed their prayers, but no one moved to help him.

Not even his younger brother. “That’s what you deserve… for defying Lord Dazhbog.”

“Dazhbog?” Milena’s voice trembled.

“Yeah…” Dragomir watched the burning man with disgust. “He’s a very twisted god who likes to toy with people. This must be another one of his sick games.”

“Dazhbog, eh? So I guess there are some gods even my mother didn’t know about.” Zduhach finally released his bow. “Let’s go. The sooner we get to Prav, the sooner this madness ends.”

And so they walked, leaving behind the crowd as they continued kicking the young man on the ground.

Zduhach’s gaze followed the road ahead.

“I know how frustrating it is.” Dragomir clenched his fist. “But we can’t save everybody. What’s happening around us is just a consequence. We have to get rid of the root cause.”

Milena studied Dragomir’s profile for a while. Then she smiled.

But something made her suddenly halt. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Dragomir looked around.

Zduhach stopped as well and cupped a hand around his ear, listening intently. His ears twitched slightly. “It’s… children. They’re crying…” Then he focused on the road ahead and pointed. “It’s coming from that way! After me!”

Dragomir sighed. We’re literally going that way.

The two of them hurried after Zduhach, but no matter how fast they ran, he stayed ahead of them.

When they finally caught up, a vast forest stretched out before them.

“I really didn’t like this one…” Dragomir complained.

“Shh! It’s that sound again!” Goosebumps prickled across Milena’s skin. “Can you hear it?”

“Yes, this time I hear it, too. It’s coming from there.” Dragomir pointed toward the countless trees.

“We should go and help them, right?” Milena’s hands shook.

Dragomir took a few steps forward.

“You two can still turn around and go home. This is the boundary between the three worlds.”

Chapter 13: END