2023-03-17 13:23:01
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Dark souls 25
You're playing with fire, Katherine. Are not you afraid?What, Bertrand? I don't do anything reprehensible. I don't cross the road for anyone. I live quietly, I don't disturb anyone.Come on, Katherine. Sorcerers have not been burned in our country for a long time, but they continue to hang poisoners to this day. And as for the fact that you live quietly, then, I heard, the Duke of Orleans ...Poisoners?Didn't Madame de Montespan* come to you for love potions? What more does this lady want? She is the favorite mistress of the most powerful king in Europe.Ah, Bertrand. Madame Montespan does not come to me, but to La Voisin. This fool uses my drugs and ideas and even dares to teach me sometimes. I am her modest student, Jeanne Fouchet, the servant of the Marquis de Fauconnier, who, fearing everything in the world, always comes in the dark and in a mask to learn from the great sorceress the ability to rule over herbs in order to have extra earnings in old age. And as for Madame Montesp
Dark souls 26
When Katerina opened the door, on the threshold she saw a thin girl in a simple maid dress, who was shaking off raindrops.Who are you? Katerina asked, raising the candle to get a better look at the stranger.You may not know me, madam. But once you helped my mother get rid of the father who did not give us life. Now her mother owns a grocery store, her life is prosperous, and she is about to get married. And I serve with Madame Beaupertuis.It's great that you're doing well. But you uttered the name La Voisin and came to me. I don't understand…Madam, this is a very serious matter. You can't talk about him in five minutes at the door. And yes, it's raining outside.Fine. Come in. She let the girl inside, looked around the dark street and closed the door. Then, going forward, she shone the light on the girl who was rising behind her.Cloak you can throw here - She pointed to a simple stool at the door. - And sit down by the fire. I want to hear why you came, not how you sne
Dark souls 27
A knock on the door woke her up. Deciding that it was Bertrand, Katerina jumped off the chair, and in what she was, she ran to the door. However, something made her stop and look out from behind the drawn curtains into the street. At her door, she saw a middle-aged man in the clothes of a city dweller, holding some piece of paper in his hands. Grabbing the first cloak she came across, she slowly descended and opened the door.Are you Madame La Filastra? he asked, respectfully pulling off his hat.Who is asking her? Katerina lowered the hood of her cloak.I was asked to give it to her, - the citizen hesitantly turned the paper over in his hands.I'll pass it on, thank you, - Katerina quickly snatched the sheet and slammed the door. The townsman scratched the back of his head and pulled on his hat. Katerina went upstairs and flung some crowns out of the window. Hearing the ringing, the townsman raised his head, but saw only the swaying curtains. Struck by his generosity, he
Dark souls 28
The days left until the full moon, Katerina devoted to unraveling the messages of witchcraft, messages that she could not read. Cards, chickens, goats, magic potions - nothing told her what exactly awaited her. As if teasingly, any of her witchcraft only counted the days. At night, she quietly tried to observe the planets. But as soon as she tried to set up her device, which the sailors called a spyglass, clouds ran over her star or planet, behind which she wanted to look. She had not thought of buying a telescope before, because she did not think that her witchcraft talents might need such help. And now it was risky: latent mass hysteria and suspicion secretly took possession of the minds of people as in the recent gloomy Middle Ages. Only then no one hid their fears. Now, thanks to the gradual development of science, the open manifestation of witch-hunting was considered ignorance, which, however, did not mean that superstition in people had died. Ordinary people confused the conc
Dark souls 29
After half an hour of frantic racing, they stopped at a forgotten village. Hiding the carriage in a copse, Katerina went further on foot, leading the indifferent Denise by the hand. Bertrand, with a drawn sword in his hand, brought up the rear. Guided by the paths known to her alone, Katerina went around the village, passed the swamp and went out into a clearing, on which stood a rickety building made of dark logs. The door swinging on one hinge made a piercing and disturbing sound.We are in place, - Katerina raised her head to the sky. The clouds just revealed the bright disk of the full moon. The full moon will take effect in a quarter of an hour. She entered the former church. Dirt, desolation, bats, frogs, hosts of spiders did not bother her at all. She quickly arranged and lit black candles around the altar, covering the altar itself with a black cloth with some cabalistic signs. Moonlight shone through the roof of the church onto the altar.Hurry,” she whispered fev
Dark souls 30
Why is this woman bound?Your Grace, - The official, who was recording the testimony of a bound black-haired woman in a rough robe, jumped up, knocking over a rough stool. No one warned us of your arrival. He looked angrily at the commandant, who was fiddling with the keys in embarrassment next to an elderly plump man with thinning blond hair. The commandant began to fuss, offering his companion a wretched chair. The man held the wig in his hand and occasionally fanned himself with it.Otherwise, you would be conducting interrogations in the boudoir? he asked the official with a wry smile. “I asked why this woman has her hands tied?” The dark-haired woman raised her head, and Catherine de Goe's eyes blazed at the blond-haired man. Smiling tartly, she shrugged her shoulders.Your Grace, - the official hurried, needlessly fiddling with quills on the table in front of him. This woman is dangerous. She is a witch,” he said in a whisper, leaning towards the visitor.What
Dark souls 31
During the three days allotted by the Minister of Police to the executioner and his henchmen, interrogators worked replacing each other on torture instruments. One day, Katerina, who came to her senses, having gathered all her strength, nevertheless touched her hands, half crushed by one of the assistants, to the head of the nearest person, predicting his painful death in a few hours. According to her, the poor fellow really died, writhing in agony, as if he had been burned alive. The enraged executioner, during one torture, pulled out Katerina's joints so much that her hands simply could not rise. We cannot say how the method of murder used by Catherine, called in our time "death touch" or "delayed death" and which came to Europe from China, how this method became known to Catherine de Gau. Whether her crusader ancestors during campaigns in the Holy Land and meetings with various merchants at the intersection of trade routes suffered Chinese tricks and inherited their talen
Dark souls 32
Hearing a thump in the corridor, a man in a wig, sitting in a spacious burgundy armchair, leisurely folded the letter he had read before and hid it in the folds of a spacious dressing gown. He waved reassuringly at a man in a frayed cassock, huddled in another armchair near the fireplace, and clasped his hands on the knee of his leg, which was wrapped in a snow-white stocking and laid on the other. The man in the cassock emerged anxiously from his massive and fat body, but a new wave of the graceful man's hand made him again draw his head into his fat shoulders. Meanwhile, the footsteps were getting closer. And soon the door to the hotly heated room swung open without knocking, and on the threshold appeared a disheveled nun in a black cassock, girded with an ordinary rope.- Did you hear what happened in Zhevodan? he shouted excitedly, shaking the scribbled paper. “Have you heard of the beast from Gévaudan?” No? Well, then soon all of France will hear about it! What the hell is thi
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“I told you to leave the sword,” the woman said calmly. The knight's fingers loosened. “I didn’t see you or your coat of arms. I haven't heard of you or the sorcerers. I was just waiting for you.- How did you know that I would come? the knight asked furiously. The woman shrugged and turned to the shack. - No, you say! The knight grabbed his sword again. But the woman, without turning around, waved her hand, and his fingers seemed to burn. He stared at his hand, then at the back of the retreating woman, and with a cry he rushed to grab her and strangle her. But his hands passed through the void. And the woman herself was a few steps ahead of him. The knight hesitated.- Well? the woman asked as she continued walking toward the shack. - Will you come in? Or am I here to predict your future? The knight hesitated and followed her. Indignation bubbled in his soul - this peasant woman dared to turn her back on him, and even expose him to ridicule with her tricks. Muttering curses,
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After a while, when there was no place for the apple to fall in the hall, the door slammed shut with a loud noise. Katya looked doomedly from one face to another: so different and so the same. Bodily deformities and mental pathologies, the gifts of the psyche and the curses of the soul - all this must soon be destroyed. All this will die and not be reborn. The poems written by a novice boy centuries ago were just poetry. And no prophecy. And now some fanatic decided in his own way to fulfill what he considered a prediction. All of a sudden, all heads went up to the glass ceiling. Katya also heard a sound and raised her head. High above her in white robes and a white mask on his face stood a man.Dear relatives! Suddenly, a voice sounded in her head. “Today, the prophecy of the old monk who was killed right on this spot will be fulfilled. Many years ago, the abbot Gilbert Orsi was crucified by our ancestor and, dying, predicted his punishment up to the thirteenth degree. Only
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During the same week, Katya tried to leave the castle , worrying about Agnia. She was also made nervous by the ever-increasing number of relatives gathering in the castle . And also the strange behavior of golems, wearing something all the time, dragging and repairing. What caused such a pilgrimage of relatives to her, no one could clearly say. However, the sane, interrogated by her, fell into some kind of inhibited state and insisted that they should be here. By the end of the second week, Katya became more and more worried. Moreover, Guillaume became somehow apathetic and clearly tried to avoid her. And Katerina just stopped noticing her. Discouraged Katya tried to act herself. But then her clothes suddenly turned out to be dirty or washed, then the keys to the car or passport disappeared somewhere, then it rained from morning to evening, turning the roads into impassable obstacles, then the candles in the car flooded, then gasoline disappeared somewhere, then she herself ha
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Guillaume looked attentively at Katya, sighed and opened his mouth to continue the story. Suddenly he became alert. Katya also had an unpleasant feeling. For a while, an uneasy silence surrounded and weighed on them. Then there was a thump of feet, and the door swung open. Katerina stood in the doorway, alarmed.Catherine,” Guillaume turned to her. “I feel the presence of a member of our family. Who is this? Katerina suppressed her surprise and spoke quickly.Some woman came and brought the police. She screamed that her friend had gone mad here and she was being locked up like a beast. That people are being killed and eaten here. She brought her hands up to her face. “And worst of all, the commissar who came with her is a distant descendant of ours. Guillaume looked at Katya with a smile. Then he turned to Katherine.But is it possible to influence him?Bertrand finds out just that,” Catherine said calmly.And what is the name of a friend, she did not say? Katya ask
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Well, - Guillaume clapped his hands and rubbed his hands. – Would you like to have a bite to eat? A simple question reminded Katya of a monstrous feast, and nausea rose in her throat.No, no, she shook her head. - Do not worry.Then coffee. Suddenly, quickly, the little man rode up in his chair to the corner where he had a kitchen. It really was a miniature kitchen with a refrigerator, electric stove, microwave and dishwasher. A switch flipped, and a soft, muted light lit up the corner. Everything was sparkling clean and tidy. Jars of coffee, a sugar bowl, a teapot, a salt shaker and other little things were at arm's length. Katya watched in amazement as Guillaume deftly managed all the objects, moving his chair along the way.Yes, in this sense I am not disabled, - he said without looking at her. I have been living with a chair for a long time. It is my legs, and it would be surprising if I had not learned to manage it for so many years. He pointed Katya to
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The room they arrived at was huge, dark, lit only by candles and torches. Through the high window openings one could see the starry sky and the full moon. A circle was drawn in the middle of the room, in which a pentagram was inscribed. There was an inscription in Latin around the circle, black candles burned at the corners of the pentagram. A cross was inscribed inside the pentagram. A smaller part of him was looking at the door. In the place where the planks of the cross met, there was a bowl. Along the walls of the round room were couches with pillows and bedspreads, which could be guessed from the outlines, since most of the room was in the shade. Bertrand de Gault came out of the darkness with a tarred torch.“Here you are,” he said, and lit a torch from a nearby candle. Sweetish smoke drifted across the room. Bertrand waved his hand. Pierre put a three-legged stool over the cup in a pentagram and led Boris to it. Boris, who had already begun to have its effect on the smoke,
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Entering, he saw the hostess standing by the fireplace. In her hand was a frighteningly long mouthpiece, at the end of which a cigarette smoldered, spreading a sweet, intoxicating aroma.I don’t understand you, Boris,” she said. - Why was it necessary to hide and eavesdrop if you are a member of the family, and everything will be told to you anyway?However, about Agnia, you fooled me. Boris walked over to the fireplace and took a cigar from a box on the shelf. The flame of the candle danced merrily at the tip. The woman smiled as she puffed out a puff of smoke.You already think we're out of your mind. What if we told you the whole truth right away? You would run and call a psychiatrist here. We don't need more noise today. Boris thought and nodded in agreement.You were talking about guests. Will there be someone else? The woman stepped away from the fireplace and, taking a cigarette out of the holder, put it out in an ashtray on the table.I received a
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The silence was broken by the melodious chime of a clock that stood somewhere in the darkness. The candles had long been extinguished, and only the light of the moon, softly pouring from the window, dispelled the darkness. The clock, having finished cooing, struck eleven.It's time to get up, - Katya said languidly, stretching under a light sheet. The shifted corner revealed Boris's contentedly resting nature.So you can’t see a damn thing, ”he muttered, sitting up on the bed.And what? - Katya jumped off easily and ran barefoot to the door. – Peter! she called. - Light!What are you? - Boris involuntarily covered his penis with a sheet and stared in amazement at Katya. - Cover up! But she did not pay attention to his words, impatiently tapping her bare foot at the door, while the impassive Pierre lit the candles in the room. He walked from one chandelier to another. It seemed that the darkness and twilight did not bother him at all. When he finished with th
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Finally, the forest ended with a clearing, which in turn turned into a small clearing. The outlines of a castle rose on the horizon . Light shone from two windows. The trees creaked ominously in the wind. The road through the clearing led to a high wrought-iron gate that locked a stone fence. When the car pulled up, the gate swung open noiselessly and closed behind her just as silently. After making a semicircle around the dark mass of a flower bed, the flowers of which were difficult to see in the dark, the car stopped in front of a high dark door, which immediately swung open. A tall, gray-haired man in a gray sweater stood in the doorway. Approaching him with a simple luggage, Boris shuddered: on both eyes of the man there were thorns that completely covered the pupils.Welcome to us, - he said in a hollow voice and smiled. His face instantly changed: he looked like a cunning dwarf. Pierre will take your things. A stocky man with a stiff expression stepped out o
