The Mist and the Lightning. Part 19

“I know. You’re a good guy, you said it yourself, but I already knew it. It doesn’t scare me. I know how to get you off them to the maximum and make it easier to stand the withdrawal. I told this to your father, offered my help, he refused.”

(Come on, come on, Peace, try it, let him throw a tantrum at you, throw a boot at you, or better something heavier, and run to his unclean ones to get drunk and play cards! You are a complete idiot! You don’t know anything about Nik!)

“I stimulate myself strongly in order to have a faster reaction, speed, power of impact, I’m not such a good warrior without stimulants,” Nik said carefully, trying not to continue the previous topic.

“You think my warriors don’t do that? This is what all professional warriors do.”

“But Dim had troubles.”

“Because of his fraudulent schemes, not because of you. Everything is fine. Everything that concerns you, any problems with illegal substances — Dim could always blame that on the disgraced Prince Arel, because you were his warrior and carried out his orders. You were just a warrior invited to a couple of fights, any true black can offer his warriors for fights in the Coliseum. Prince Arel exposed you and the warrior girl Berta. The public liked you, you fought well and even reached the final, this is not a violation. So there are no claims against Dim, and he didn’t know anything about the substances, Prince Arel violated the law by hiding this information. Therefore, under any circumstances, he remains to blame.”

“You always have Arel to blame…”

Zagpeace ignored him.

“Nick, you’re still young enough to change. In a couple of years you will not recognize yourself and will remember your current life as a bad dream.”

But judging by Nik’s expression, he clearly did not share Zagpeace’s optimism:

“I’m a criminal. You yourself said that I was a swindler, an extortionist and a murderer, I remember your hard attack after my father brought me to you and sat me at the table,” and Nik made such a capriciously displeased face that Kors heard Zagpeace at that moment think: “Noble blood flows in him, no commoner can express his discontent so arrogantly. Daring, he doesn’t repent of his deeds, dared to remind me of this. No matter how hard Kors pushed him, he didn’t break him, that’s very good.”

“Nik, don’t be so naive, at that moment I didn’t put pressure on you, but on Vitor Kors, trying to reason with him so that he would interrupt your unnatural connection. It was then that I realized that you were not in captivity of your own free will, and I changed my mind about you, began to help you. Isn’t it so?”

“Yes, thank you. I owe you a lot.”

(What the… you don’t owe him anything! He’s a liar and a hypocrite, look no further!)

“As a slave, you were simply following your master’s orders. The master is responsible for the slave.”

“So it’s not so bad to be a slave, there’s no responsibility.”

“No, it is bad. And soon you will understand this, when you get all the privileges of a free man.”

“What about Leonardo?”

“We’ll deal with him, don’t worry. I will restore justice in everything and everywhere! This is the purpose of my life — to create a world in which order and control will prevail! Not for your own benefit, but for the sake of truth and justice! In the name of our forefathers the Holy Fathers!”

Nik involuntarily shuddered, but Zagpeace, inspired by his speech, didn’t notice this. His eyes lit up with a fanatical brilliance, it seemed that he was already looking at a bright future in which righteous prosperity reigns. Finally, having calmed down a bit, Zagpeace returned to his conversation with Nik and said in a more casual tone:

“But now we are talking about your fate. Nik, I took all the risks when I decided to take you, and it's going to be a fair fight. I swear! You will fight honestly.”

“My father won’t like it, he is against me fighting for the amusement of the audience.”

“What difference does it make what he wants and what he doesn’t? You are now a free man. Your life belongs to you. Think about it, do you want it? Your desire is more important.”

“I liked to fight in the arena, but if my father doesn’t want it, I won’t do it again,” Nik fell silent, thinking a little, but then, as if recollecting himself, stubbornly shook his head in a negative gesture, “No, I won’t do it again!”

“Nik, this is your life, not his!”

Kors couldn’t hear it anymore.

(He’ll talk him into it now! Because Nik is thoughtless and really likes to fight. It’s time to stop this and intervene as quickly as possible!)