Page 9 of Devil’s Doom (Jaga and the Devil #2)

Chapter nine

Price

“Leave it,” Lech says, his eyes as cold with calculation. “There is nothing you can do.”

I fight him in silence, but he’s shockingly strong. Behind him, people pass, some of them shooting us curious glances, but nobody stops to intervene. Lech keeps me pinned until I stop struggling, glaring at him with all the power of my fury.

“He’s a guard and she likely lives on the streets,” he says quietly, his mouth right by my ear. “It’s allowed, Alina. If you try to stop him, he’ll kill you. If you want to help, there are other ways, but this isn’t it. Do you understand?”

I grit my teeth. Letting a man rape a woman goes against every grain of my nature, and Lech’s explanation reeks of weakness. I was never one to shy away from a challenge, and I can bet there are ways to slaughter a dragon and get away with it.

Woland assured me it was impossible for me to evade him, and yet look at me now. Everything’s possible if you fight hard enough.

And still, I nod, hoping Lech will let me go. He watches me dubiously, then peeks around the corner into the alley. When he lets go, I run into the narrow passage, but it’s empty. Both the rapist and his victim are gone.

“Nothing you can do. Leave it,” Lech says, his voice losing its natural polish and charm. He’s pissed.

I don’t even look at him, crossing the alley in big strides. I come out on another street, this one quieter than the one we came from. Tall residential buildings tower over the dark cobbles. I look in every direction, but there is no sight of the girl or the dragon.

“You’re a hot-headed idiot, you know that?” Lech grumbles, coming out behind me.

I whirl to him. “Help me find her and I’ll buy you all the lamb blood you can drink.”

He raises a sardonic eyebrow, folding his arms. “What do you want to bother her for? Let the girl cry and lick her wounds.”

I turn away with an angry huff. “Fine. I’ll find her myself.”

I set out up the street, scanning it for passages or hiding places. After a minute, Lech calls me back with a long-suffering sigh.

“Come back. You’re going in the wrong direction.”

He points out a decrepit building with a gaping hole in place of a door, its facade crumbling. It doesn’t look safe, but I’m beyond caring at this point. I helped women who were raped or beaten into miscarriage, and I physically cannot leave the wila alone. I couldn’t live with myself if I did.

Rotten planks and other rubble litter the dark space beyond the missing door. It smells of mildew and waste, and I clench my jaw, stepping carefully in the gloom. The hall splits into two short corridors, one leading left, the other right. Up ahead is a broken staircase, riddled with jagged holes and scorch marks.

“This way,” Lech mutters reluctantly, pointing left. “I sense three people, and your wila is most likely one of them.”

I give him a sharp look. “How can you tell?”

His mouth twists in a caricature of his usual smirk, this one bitter and angry. “I’m always aware of all the hearts beating in my vicinity. Perks of the bloodsucking curse. Are we going, savior girl? I’m fucking starving.”

His new name for me is clearly ironic and also very undeserved.

“I would have saved her if you hadn’t stopped me,” I growl. “Now it’s only about easing her pain.”

“Oh, my innocent darling. That girl has been raped dozens of times. She knows what to do with her pain, and your pushy intervention will only make it worse.”

I grit my teeth, doing my best to stay calm. Lech has annoyed me from the moment we met, and that irritation reaches its peak. My voice low and hard, I say, “Where I come from, people aren’t indifferent to the pain of others. I was raised to always help my neighbors. Selfish people die alone.”

Lech snickers as if I just said the most ridiculous thing in the world. “Darling, this city houses over seventy thousand people. Are you going to help them all?”

The number startles me, and I don’t know what to say to that. I only glare, my fists clenched. Lech sighs, raising his eyes to the cobwebbed ceiling, as if praying for patience to deal with me.

“Maybe I will,” I hiss, unable to let him have the last word.

I go left, carefully feeling my way along the walls in the dark. As I round a corner, I see a flicker of candlelight. Someone sobs, and another voice hushes the weeper in a comforting cadence.

“I’m a friend,” I call out as gently as I can. “Please don’t be afraid.”

All sounds cease, as if the girls all freeze at once. I come over to a broken door and slowly peek inside, my heart wrenching at the sight.

Three beautiful wilas sit huddled on a straw bed, their bare though clean room lit with a single tallow candle. I see the raped girl at once, her eyes red, cheeks wet from tears. The other wilas are both dark-haired, their thin arms embracing their friend.

“Can I come in?” I ask, hovering in the threshold.

They stare at me with huge eyes until one of the brunettes gives me a curt nod. Her eyes are big and brown, lashes long. She watches me warily while her blonde friend sniffs and wipes her tears with jerky motions.

“I saw what happened out there.” I crouch in front of them so we’re on the same level. “And I’m sorry that happened. I came here to offer my help. Whatever you need to make things better, even just a little, I’ll give you—as long as it’s in my power.”

The brunette who invited me in scoffs with a disdainful look. “And why would you help? Is it some kind of new trick? Leave us alone. There is nothing to take here. Go swindle someone else.”

Lech chuckles from where he stands, leaning insouciantly in the doorway. His pose is artful and elegant, as if this place is not a hovel but a palace. What a peacock.

“She’s new here and an idiot to boot. Please, let her do something for you so we can finally go and eat. The do-gooding moron owes me a few pints of blood,” he drawls.

The wilas stare at the upir for a moment, and then their eyes return to me. The blonde clears her throat.

“I don’t need anything. Leave us alone.”

I blink a few times, taken aback by her response. But it makes sense when I think about it. Back home, everyone knew I was a whisperer trained by Wiosna, and they knew me since I was little. The villagers might have suspected me of witchcraft, but I had reliable credentials at the same time. These girls know nothing about me.

“I have knowledge of herbs,” I explain. “I know I’m a stranger to you and you have no reason to trust me, but I know ways to ease the pain and prevent conception or illness. Will you allow me to help you?”

The blonde doesn’t even look at me when she shakes her head. I swallow thickly, wishing desperately I could ease her pain. But I can’t force her. She doesn’t need any more of that.

“I’m staying at the milk bar if you change your mind,” I say, standing up. “Goodbye.”

“Praise the gods,” Lech mutters under his breath.

I’m almost to the door when the outspoken brunette stops me. “Wait! You can get us contraceptive runes if you’re stupid enough to waste your magic on strangers. I don’t care for herbs, but the runes are solid.”

Lech groans, and I turn with a sharp nod. “Consider it done.”

“I suppose you expect me to show you to a rune shop?” the upir asks when we emerge from the wilas’ hideout.

“Yes, please,” I say sweetly, giving him a tight smile. “And I’ll get you lamb blood tomorrow, as well.”

A sharp, speculative look crosses his face. He leans in, suddenly all charm and smiles, his fangs gleaming white.

“Or you can let me have a few sips of yours, hm? The scent of your blood is so intriguing, and now that I’m starving, I really can’t help myself.”

I push him away, and he laughs, stumbling back. From the way he stopped me before, I know he could easily overpower me if he wanted. This is just teasing.

“Will you take me to a rune shop?” I ask, folding my arms.

He rolls his eyes. “Yes, and you’ll buy me dinner for three days to repay the favor. Also, if they have magic-infused blood, I’m getting that. I need a fucking treat after this travesty of a day.”

I nod eagerly. Even though my legs hurt from exertion and I’m famished after many hours of walking, I don’t complain at all as Lech leads me through a labyrinth of narrow streets. It’s hot, and my back is damp with perspiration. The air smells of dust and cooking.

“By the way, Alina. If the seller tries to get you to buy runes protecting against the rot, too, for fuck’s sake, refuse. You’re just the type to fall for every fucking scam in this city. They haven’t yet made a rune against it, so you’ll likely get a fake.”

“What’s the rot?” I ask as we pass a tavern, the outdoor tables filled with people getting drunk on vodka and mead. They sit in the shade of an awning that hides them from the scorching sun.

“It’s the latest fashion these days,” he says with a snicker. “An illness of the loins that makes you ooze putrid pus. It spreads easily, and I know of at least three men whose dicks and balls fell off thanks to the disease.”

I make a face, hurrying after him as he strides to a small building that turns out to be a rune shop run by a crook-nosed hag.

She sells me three contraceptive charms in return for three hardboiled eggs, and I feel a pang of worry as my magic stores shrink. If I spend too much, I won’t be able to pay for my room tonight, and I might just end up rooming with the wilas.

“We can do this after we eat,” Lech whines when I inform him I’m going back to the ruined building to deliver the runes. “Come on! I feel my stomach dissolving. I need to eat!”

I ignore him, taking care to put some bounce in my step even though my legs cramp from exhaustion. Lech groans and chases after me, grumbling and whining all the way about how cruel, stupid, and useless I am. He calls me his worst friend ever, and I turn to him with a brilliant smile.

“So I’m your friend, huh? We’ve only known each other a day, leech. Aren’t you a bit fast?”

That sets off another wave of grumbles, which I secretly enjoy. I kind of prefer the grumpy Lech to the poised, smirking one.

The wilas receive our return with utter astonishment and confusion.

“I expected to never see you again,” the brunette says, eyeing me with her perfectly shaped eyebrows raised high. “You really are a fool, just like he said.”

Lech hisses, his mood so foul, he is unable to even pretend to be pleasant. I shrug, smiling. The insult doesn’t rankle at all when I see the blonde wila clutch the rune like it’s her salvation. The hag in the store explained the runes work even when worn after sex, as long as the pregnancy hasn’t started yet.

When we leave, the dregs of my energy seep out through my weary feet, whereas Lech gets a second wind. Steps quick and eager, he leads us through the late afternoon bustle to his favorite eatery called simply, “The Cellar.”

“It’s underground,” he explains, ushering me toward a narrow set of stairs leading down from the street level. “Go on. It will be blissfully cool inside. I love coming here on hot days.”

The eatery is a warren of corridors and rooms underground, fitted with non-matching tables and benches, the only windows small and placed high. They are dirty, but I just make out the feet of people going about their day on the street above us. The place has the cool, underground smell of damp stone and earth, and I breathe it in with gratitude. So much better than the hot, dusty air outside.

Lech picks a small room with just one table, a fat candle burning in the middle. He pulls a chain by the door, and the tinkling of a bell comes from afar. A harried-looking being arrives a moment later. Lech exclaims in welcome, while I take in the odd creature.

They are short, and if we stood side by side, the top of their cone-shaped hat made of straw would reach my shoulder. The creature has alert, black eyes, long arms covered in soft, black down, and a red beak instead of a nose and mouth. Their head is altogether very birdlike. They wear a simple shirt and an apron embroidered with wheat stalks.

“Long time no see, Lech,” they say in a lilting voice that I think sounds feminine. “The usual for you?”

“I’ll have the magic-infused kind if you have it,” he says with a charming grin. “And my friend here would like Marika’s special, whatever it is.”

When I object to him choosing my food, he wags his finger. “Trust me, darling. It will be delicious.”

The beaked creature leaves, and Lech gives me a long, amused look.

“What?” I hiss, too tired for games.

“I’m waiting for you to ask what she was. Come on, I know you’re curious.”

“I thought it was rude.”

Lech laughs, turning so his back is against the wall, his long legs sprawled in front of him on the bench. He heaves a sigh of pleasure.

“It’s only rude when you ask people to their faces. Adda is a chochol. They have crafty little fingers and usually work as artisans, but she rebels against her parents. They want her to inherit the family pottery business, but her dream is to travel. That, of course, is impossible since she doesn’t have enough magic to step foot outside the city. But one can dream.”

He watches me lazily with hooded eyes, and I bite the inside of my cheek. I’m curious about so many things, but since I don’t know if it’s safe to speak plainly, I take pains to formulate my questions with care.

“So, some people have to stay in the city? Because the toll is higher outside of it?” I finally ask, doing my best to sound neutral.

Lech nods. “Magic is precious. You’re cocky because you have a bit more than others, but it would do you good to see how people with little magic live—and what they will do to survive. Take your wila friends, for example. Now that they have those precious charms that they couldn’t afford on their own, they will be able to whore themselves out for magic. You changed their lives for the better, all with one gift that cost you little.”

He smirks when my mouth falls open in confusion. “What? But—why?”

“You should see the look on your face,” he says with a hearty laugh. “Are you a prude, Alina? There is nothing wrong with being a whore, you know. It’s certainly a step up from being raped for free, wouldn’t you agree?”

The quick arrival of food interrupts our conversation. Lech sighs in pleasure when Adda sets a large goblet of blood in front of him, the metal dish beading with perspiration from how cold it is. I get a big bowl of meat stew with buckwheat and a plate heaped high with sauerkraut.

“That will be one hardboiled,” Adda says in a bored voice, setting a basket with an egg on the table.

“She’s paying.” Lech points at me, his goblet already in his hands as he stares at the blood greedily.

I carefully fill the egg with just enough magic, my chest giving a little twinge. Adda makes a quick job of checking the payment and leaves, her beak clicking impatiently.

We eat in silence, and I’m startled by how good the food tastes compared to how unassuming it looks. Lech drains his goblet and leans against the wall with an obscene moan of pleasure, pressing his hand to his lean stomach.

“Wilas have little magic of their own,” he says with his eyes closed. “They get a little from male seed, which is why most of them go into whoring so they can also get paid. It helps that they are so pretty. The only problem is, no one wants to risk getting pregnant these days. Especially wilas, who are bound to have kids with little power, no matter who the father is.”

I try to absorb all this information. Prostitution was a purely hypothetical concept back home, since it didn’t exist in our village. Also, it’s jarring to hear Lech use the word “whore” without meaning it as an insult. I was called that and worse, and it was always meant to humiliate me.

“Do you understand what it means to be desperate, Alina? Truly desperate?” he asks with a lazy smile, as if we’re flirting and not discussing the matters of life and death.

I nod once. Lech nods back as if he expected nothing less.

“Good. Then you understand desperation brings out the worst in people. They will steal, whore themselves out to their enemies, and lie, deceive, and even kill. This city is filled with desperate people. And you, my darling, have a tendency to rush head-first into danger, and then you flaunt your abundance of magic in front of the less fortunate, taunting them with what they would give everything to have.”

I open and close my mouth in confusion. “What? I don’t flaunt anything!”

“Please. No one buys three runes at once. The smart thing to do is to get one every few days, or come in with your eggs already filled, so people think you infused them over time.

“Now those three wilas and the rune seller all suspect you have as much juice as a dragon, since you spend it so easily. And word travels fast here. If the gossip reaches the wrong person, you’ll find yourself locked up in someone’s basement and milked for magic for the rest of your life. Is that what you want?”

My brows hike up in astonishment. “Does that happen here? Oh gods. And no one does anything to stop it?”

“What do you think?” Lech asks, his eyes aglitter.

I take a deep breath, staring unseeingly at the flame of our candle. I think about Woland, and how he said on many occasions that he’s desperate and will do anything to get his goal, meaning me. Then I think about how desperate I was after he cursed me to sow illness and death all around me until my touch killed a newborn baby.

But Lech is wrong, and Woland is, too. Because when I was at my lowest, I chose to kill myself rather than let Woland own me. I had this line that I refused to cross. It’s possible, then—to be desperate and still have principles.

Or maybe, a quiet voice whispers in my mind, maybe I haven’t fallen low enough yet. Maybe I was lucky.

Maybe someday, I will be forced to cross that line, too.

Lech sits up with a groan, stretching his arms high over his head. My eyes narrow in sudden annoyance.

“Why didn’t you tell me all that before I bought the runes?” I ask, my teeth clenched. “Are you trying to get me locked up in somebody’s basement?”

His eyes twinkle as he smirks without a trace of shame. “Oh, no. I’m only trying to see what you’re made of. Also, I’m curious how much you can spend a day, which is vital information to have about your friends—and enemies, too. A dragon can spend ten hardboiled eggs a day. Once we get back to the milk bar, we’ll see if you have seven in you, since you already spent four.”

“And how much can you spend?” I ask through gritted teeth, hating that he has such an easy time getting me to do what he wants. I really should be more careful.

“Two hardboiled eggs on a good day,” Lech offers easily. “Three if I have a lot of magical blood from someone powerful—like you, darling. So if you ever want to help me out, you know what to do.”

“In your dreams, leech.”

He gets up, yawning widely. “Come on. It’s getting late, but I have to show you one more thing so you don’t get yourself killed when I’m not around.”

“What do you want to show me?” I stand up, hiding a wince at the pain in my feet.

Lech snickers under his breath. “My dear innocent, you’re going to see why you should never go up against a dragon. Where I’m taking you is a surprise, but I do have a useful tip: hold on to your food.”