Where the Devil Says Goodnight (Folk Lore 1)

Emil rubbed his face. “I only found it when we decided to move, because I needed to choose which of my grandpa’s things I wanted to keep. I was looking through a lot of stuff and forgot about it.”

Adam pressed his lips together, still tense. “Can you get rid of it?”

“Hm. What if it’s important? Maybe someone knows what it is?”

“Are you saying you’re unwilling to get rid of it?”

Emil got up and raised his hands. “No! No, okay, I can see you’re freaking out.”

Adam cupped his own face, then nervously wiped his palms on his pants. “Because this creature might be feeding on me even when I don’t see it. And… I don’t know, you technically could have gotten it because you noticed my interest in you.”

The cogs in Emil’s head moved, jamming over the concept Adam was trying to communicate. “Are you suggesting I’m a devil worshiper? That I bewitched you so I could fuck you? Seriously?”

Adam looked away. “How do I know what’s possible and what’s not anymore? I was literally locked inside my own body and walked all the way here. To you. Can you really blame me for asking questions?”

Emil clenched his teeth, walked up to the stove, opened the metal door, and threw the figurine into the fire. The hair sizzled first, but the wood quickly took to the flames as well. Emil stared back at Adam, still shocked by this lack of trust.

“Happy now?”

Adam covered his face and nodded, his movements stiff as if he was still worried, but he said, “I think so.”

Emil’s anger evaporated once he saw the hunched shoulders. He shouldn’t have taken this so personally. Adam was still suffering from what happened to him that night, and what he needed was understanding, not harsh words. He folded Adam into a hug and kissed the side of his head. “Are you still worried it might happen again?”

Adam leaned into the embrace, as if he’d never really believed his own accusations, and put his arms around Emil too, hugging him almost too tightly. “Yes. You don’t? I had a painful secret that no one could know, and he just used it against me.”

Emil stroked Adam’s back, enjoying the closeness to the person who’d become his whole world. “Would it be so bad to have sex with me?”

Adam’s body shook, but he didn’t let go. “That’s not the point! This is my body. It’s mine. How can you ask that?”

Emil only hugged him tighter. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

“And what if he forces me to target someone else next time, have sex with other men?”

Emil leaned back to glance into Adam’s eyes. “You said he fulfilled your inner needs. Do you have needs for ‘other men’?”

Adam refused to look back at him, flushed to the hairline. “He doesn’t need to tell the truth. He’s the devil. He’s evil, and the needs I’ve been fighting my entire life somehow let him in.”

“Next month, you will leave Dybukowo, and this whole mess, behind you.” Emil kissed Adam on the lips. It would have hurt like a motherfucker if he didn’t say those words knowing that he wasn’t one of the things Adam couldn’t wait to leave behind.

They didn’t do much after that, with Adam still in pieces after his meltdown, and despite the sense of betrayal caused by his suspicions, Emil was there for him as they lay in bed simply hugging and exchanging sweet kisses.

The boxes of alcohol infusions were stored in this most private of spaces, and as he studied them, stroking Adam’s back to provide comfort, worry clutched at his throat. They’d invested so much time and money into this project, yet had not sold a single bottle so far. Reason warned him that history liked to repeat itself, and that he shouldn’t have invested all his money into a project that might not work out.

Good things never happened to Emil Slowik, and whenever they seemed to, fate used those brief moments of happiness to beat him down even harder by taking away hope. The risky venture might plunge him into debt while Adam would be free to go, relieved that he didn’t have to endure the torment of his stay in Dybukowo any longer. But Adam was a good person at heart, and Emil trusted him.

Adam was to celebrate mass that day, so they left Emil’s home behind and made their way toward the church. Adam was still quieter than usual, and Emil worried that his lover might become wary of spending time in his house after finding that damn doll.

To Mrs. Luty’s displeasure, Emil was now a frequent guest at the parsonage since it was impossible to hide his friendship with Adam. Emil being in the closet was a blessing in disguise because they could hide in plain sight. No one in the village would come up with the preposterous idea of Emil and Adam actually fucking.