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Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 82
Returning home, Andrea was horrified by what he had done. The blind fury that had seized him after the appointment of Nagio as bishop and the annulment of the marriage of Camillo with the girl Vincini had passed, and now he was at a loss. It seems that his mind really got confused, since he decided on such a thing. A priest who kills a woman right on the street, where someone could see him... What if he had been caught there? It's scary to think. And what a sin! It's one thing petty mischief, and quite another - murder.Andrea was not sure that he had gone unnoticed, and therefore he suspected that Nagyo might find out who was responsible for his grief. And I decided to make sure.A few days later, having buried love, Stefano sat by the fireplace and stared blankly at the fire. An almost forgotten bitter smile froze on his face. Someone knocked on the door, the maid ran to open it, but he did not hear it: all his thoughts were about Lucretia."Hello," came a harsh voice.Stephanio rai
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 83
The head of the Jesuits, Father Muzio Vitaleschi, decided that the order did not have sufficient influence on the Inquisition, and for this purpose, with the consent of the Pope, transferred many brothers from their positions to the tribunals. In one of them, Rimsky, Andrea Calvo was appointed.Although Andrea's career at the university was going well, and he was already a professor, the new position caused him jubilation. Belonging to the Inquisition made him almost omnipotent. Now he will figure out how to take revenge on the hated Nagyo!Calvo began serving in the tribunal, and two years later he managed to rise to the rank of assistant to the head, not least thanks to the influence of General Vitaleschi.What do you say, Guido? Lorenzo Vincini asked his brother.“I don’t even know,” he muttered thoughtfully, still holding the letter in his hands. Who is this Mario Ricci? Artist? Ugh, it's disgusting to even say. On the other side...Guido was seated in a massive armchair by the ta
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 84
During his next visit to Rome, Stefanio unexpectedly met Roberto Bantini at the Quirinal Palace.“Owl,” Stephanio rushed to him and then noticed that the old friend was dressed in cardinal clothes. The Bishop stood up in amazement, as if rooted to the spot.“Yes, yes,” Roberto smiled, “now I am a cardinal and I live here in Rome.“Congratulations,” Stephanio said sincerely. Of course, he felt a little annoyed that Bantini was ahead of him, but in fact he was glad for his friend. It's strange that I haven't heard about it.- Really weird. Where you stopped?- Cardinal Dethy's.Why not Mario? I heard he got married...“I don’t want to disturb the young ones,” Stephanio laughed.- Well, next time I ask you to me.- Well, since you are in Rome now, then, of course, I will not pass by.***“My dear Andrea, the unfortunate brother Siro writes to you. I still live in Mantua with a few servants, and my position is unenviable. However, I took up the pen not to upset you with the details of my
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 85
Dr. Gold sighed raggedly, his lips trembling.“Wait a second, John, now I’ll catch my breath and continue. I'm sorry, it's hard to remember.“Of course I understand,” the vicar nodded hastily.Ten minutes passed before Gold spoke again:- At first I was going to call on Roberto Bantini to inform him of what had happened and change clothes. But when Algardi told the details of the case, I decided not to waste time and immediately went to the inquisitorial tribunal.However, the gatherings refused to let me in: by the evening, if there were no urgent interrogations, the priests and secretaries dispersed. I tried to convince them, explained that I was the Bishop of Trevi and I needed to see a prisoner on urgent business, but they only laughed, because I was in secular clothes.Desperate, I was about to go to Bantini's to change into a cassock and return again, but at that moment the heavy sashes of the window above our heads parted and a voice was heard from above:- Let him go.The guar
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 86
Istvan crossed the ocean for the first time. However, outwardly, he could not find any differences from the Mediterranean Sea, along which he sailed a hundred years ago on the Starfish. The same boundless water surface, closing on the horizon with the sky, the same waves with cheerful foamy lambs and a light breeze.Listening to the creaking of the masts and the flapping of the sails in the wind, Istvan recalled the years spent on the Starfish, the brave and loving Blanca, the adventures in Tangier, the attack of the pirates. Why does fate take away everyone he loves from him?The priest stood at the side of the brig, licking his lips, salty from sea spray, and thought, thought, thought ... After the murder of Calvo, he did not have time to comprehend what had happened, but now, on the way, the pain from the loss of his son returned with renewed vigor. "My poor Mario! It's terrible to think what they did to you!" Istvan also had other thoughts: "None of my children lived to be twenty
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 87
At the end of the fourth month of the journey in the water of the Amazon, Istvan noticed distinct streams of light. At one of the camps, he drew the attention of the captain to them, and Don Teixeira cheerfully replied:“This is the waters of Madeira, Father. Believe it or not, here each river has its own color, and for many leagues ahead the streams do not mix.“So we’ll reach the tributary soon?”- Take your time, - the captain laughed, - we will sail to Madeira for at least a week.He wasn't wrong. Only ten days later, on the left of the course, they saw a wide tributary, carrying its golden waters to the Amazon. It seemed to István that the bed of the river had split in two, but Sebastian Gomes, to whom he addressed the question, shook his head.No, this is Madeira.Directly opposite the mouth, travelers noticed a group of islands with sandy shores. This is where the expedition dropped anchor.“We’ll spend the night here,” Don Pedro informed the chief helmsman, “and in the morning
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 88
Several days have passed, but nothing has changed. In the mornings, the old doctor came, examined the prisoner's chest and nodded, in every possible way showing that everything was going well. Isstvan's wound had healed, his weakness was almost gone, and he felt great. Only the constant expectation of death unnerved and unsettled. But the Indians did not touch him. From time to time one of them came into the hut, asked something, tried to explain, but Istvan did not understand a word.He lay for days on end, remembering Agnieszka, Lucrezia, Mario... He saw them equally distant, almost unreal. Here, under a roof of skins, it was almost impossible to believe that his life in Europe was a reality. Istvan was separated from her by thousands of kilometers, but it seemed like thousands of years.That morning, as usual, the same girl woke him up, she brought breakfast. Istvan ate the corn porridge with pleasure, washed it down with a tart, cloudy liquid, and took up the Bible again. But with
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 89
Religion occupied a huge place in the life of the tribe. Everywhere in the village and beyond there were so-called waki - sacred things and places. Uakoy could be anything - a bunch of stones stacked in a special way, a rock, a hill, a stream, a spring, an idol carved from wood, like standing on a kurikancha. The Indians carefully looked after all the Huacas. A special place of worship was Nayakuna Pirka - a long stone wall built to the east of the village, which consisted of separate cavities. In them, the inhabitants of the village buried the dead, closing each niche with a wooden door.As Istvan mastered Quechua, he learned more and more about the views of the Indians.“There are three worlds around us,” said Sampa Anka, “underground, earthly and divine. The underworld, Uku Pacha, is ruled by the ferocious god of death, Supai. All dead, unborn babies, some snakes, worms and seeds live there. In the earthly world, Kai Pacha, we are people, but also animals, birds, plants and ghosts.