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Eternal Life;Cursed Gift Epilogue
Michael Gold paused, trying to catch his breath. He seemed to be reliving the terror that had seized him in the mountains of South America.“And Plath is gone?” exclaimed the vicar ruefully.Alas, John, yes. A strange insanity has deprived me of this most valuable relic!- What a pity! What do you think it was?“I have puzzled over this for three hundred years, explaining everything as the revenge of higher powers. It was only three years ago that I read an article in The Sunday Times that I think explains the panic attack that happened to me then. The article said that a certain John Balderston, director of the London Lyric Theater, was preparing a play for staging, where the characters were transported into the past as the action progressed. He wanted to come up with something spectacular so that the audience at that moment felt the psychological tension. And Mr. Balderston turned to his friend, the physicist Robert Wood, for help. He made a pipe, like an organ, but longer and thick
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 1
The vicar went to the window. The sun was setting behind the edge of the forest, swifts were flying in the air, a beautiful summer evening was coming. Little Alice was sitting on the front lawn, intently twisting the doll's head. But the vicar did not notice this, he stared unseeingly out the window, and before his mind's eye stood a narrow medieval Parisian street and a little boy looking around in confusion. Thoughts rushed through my head: “Is it possible? Could Gold's story be true? What is it - fiction, inflamed imagination of a dying person or ... "The bed creaked behind him, and Dr. Gold's faint voice rang out:- John?The vicar turned slowly.- Yes, Michael?- You must despise me? I took so many lives to save my...The priest looked with pain at the lying man. Even now, power and strength emanated from his heavy body. They had been friends for almost half a century... "No, only twenty years... Who would have thought!" And now Michael Gold is dying, and the vicar does not have
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 2
The life of little Rene Legrand was simple and pleasant. He adored his father, loved to sit in a corner and watch how he cut gloves from thin dyed leather according to patterns, and then sewed them together on some mysterious device. Rene liked to look at the richly dressed ladies who sometimes appeared in their modest house. The ladies, rustling their skirts, approached the table, on which a lot of multi-colored gloves were laid out, chose the best pair for a long time, argued, laughed. They took away the gloves, giving their father in return copper and even silver coins with a minted profile of the king, and left, each time leaving behind a unique, mysterious aroma. Mysterious music sounded for Rene the words "livre", "denier", "su". “Someday,” he thought, “Genevieve will grow up and become such a beautiful lady, I will marry her and give her all my father's gloves.”He loved little Genevieve as much as his father. And although she was born only four weeks after him, René was accust
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 3
As soon as Rene turned twelve, Claude sent him to study in a regular company.Rene liked military affairs. Schoolchildren were taught to handle weapons, keep order, and march. In addition to directly military disciplines, the curriculum included athletics, elementary counting, grammar, religion, the history of the crusades and other military campaigns, as well as alchemy and pharmacy.As much as Rene liked his studies, his new comrades did not like him just as much. Most of them came from the lowest strata of society, their conversations were too rude, and their laughter too loud. The ringleader among them was Jacques Tillon, a tall guy a head taller than the rest, with perpetually greasy hair and the same greasy jokes. Rene tried to avoid him.***Jacques' father, Patrick Tillon, was a laborer on the docks of the Seine, a bitter drunk who regularly beat his wife and son. In the short life of Jacques, his father did not beat him except with an ax. At first, the boy tried his best to p
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 4
But Rene did not remain in debt, he told Philip about his father, about friends, about the house. But most often - about Genevieve.“I really want to meet her,” Philip said once. She must be extraordinary.- Well, let's choose the time and go home together, - Rene was delighted.Philip nodded eagerly.The friendship between Rene and Philip grew stronger day by day. In the classroom they sat on the same bench, during the exercises they always became a couple, and they even moved their beds in the barracks so that it was more convenient to whisper at night, which gave rise to Jacques Tillon's greasy grins. Graceful Philip aroused contempt in him, but he did not dare to say it out loud: being a nobleman, Leroy fenced beautifully.On the Sunday after Mass, René took Philippe to visit his father. Claude joyfully greeted his son's new friend, it was noticeable that Philip fell in love with him. “It was not in vain that I dreamed of sending Rene to a military school,” thought the pleased fat
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 5
One evening, returning from a walk around Paris, the guys found a terrible sight behind the barracks: Jacques and three other boys tied a dog to a post and threw stones at it, competing in accuracy. The defenseless dog squealed and whined, trying to dodge the stones flying at him. Without hesitation, friends rushed to save the unfortunate animal. Closest to them stood Henri Chrétien, a friend of Jacques. Running up to Henri, Rene rushed at him with his fists. The friends fought so fiercely that their opponents soon fled, despite being outnumbered.The boys untied the beaten dog, and it immediately hobbled away, limping away.Tillon, whom Philip had struck hard on the ear, was furiously thinking how to subdue the hated upstart. “They are always together, that's why they are brave,” he thought contemptuously. - Nothing, the day will come when I will catch him. Let's see if he can be as brave on his own."Philip was inexhaustible in invention.- Rene, have you heard of the Gloomy House?
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 6
Philip was actively stomping upstairs, looking for a place to tie a rope. He pulled back the bolt and lifted the hatch. The basement is a little brighter.- Grab a candle, - Rene shouted.- Yes.Finally, the preparations were completed, grabbing the rope, Philip squeezed through the hatch and began to slowly descend. In a few moments his feet touched the hard floor. Pulling two candles out of his bag, he lit them and handed one to Rene.- Be careful, watch your feet.The flickering flame of candles lit up a huge basement, obviously larger than the house itself. The damp, stale air made it hard to breathe.“Wow, look, it looks like the knights were training here.Indeed, the floor was littered with broken pieces of swords and halberds, a rotten straw man for training stood in the corner, next to it was a weapon rack. Cautiously stepping, friends moved in different directions. Rene walked along the wall, looking with curiosity at everything that caught his eye, afraid to miss any little
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 7
It was already dark outside, and with difficulty they found the overgrown path that led to the road to the abbey. When they reached the gate, they sat down on the ground and, having caught their breath, they held a meeting.- What do we do?- Don't know. There is no point in going to the city. It is dangerous to walk at night, and the city gates are closed until dawn.Looking around his dusty camisole, Philip suggested:- Let's ask for an overnight stay here. The monks are kind people, they will not refuse. Let's say we got lost in the woods.- And the box? Let's open it first, shall we?- It's dark.Rene nodded at the bag.- Candles.They again went into the forest, Philip sat on a stump and tried to open the box. She was locked up. The mechanism, spoiled by time and basement dampness, did not work. It took them quite a long time to break the lock. Finally, something clicked, the boys froze in anticipation.Philip swallowed nervously and opened the lid with a trembling hand. The flic