Where the Devil Says Goodnight (Folk Lore 1)

“And then Nowak offered me Radek’s old car. It’s like someone put a spell on all of them. You won’t see me complaining. Maybe it’s the magic of the fern flower at work?”

Adam grinned and, after a quick look around, pushed his fingers between Emil’s. “Or maybe it’s because you got rid of the figurine?”

Emil stilled, hit by this possibility. “How wild would it be if, after a lifetime of bad luck, things finally turned around for me like this? Because of something I could have done a long time ago at that.”

Adam smiled and leaned into him as they continued down the path. He seemed more relaxed now, as if the presence of a little piece of wood and hair had really put a strain on him. And now they were both free.

“I’ll ask my parents if you could stay in my old room first, before you find a place of your own. It’s always easier that way.”

Emil beamed at him and picked a dry leaf out of Adam’s hair. “This day is just getting better and better. You would really do that for me? I promise not to wear any Satanic T-shirts for your Mom’s sake, but I do only have black ones. And I’m not cutting my hair.”

Adam’s squeezed Emil’s hand, as if they were a normal couple just enjoying the last of the sun on a warmish day at the end of October. “It would have been a shame if you did.”

A faint scent of smoke blew their way, but Emil dismissed it, angry that one of the villagers was likely burning something they shouldn’t and sending toxic fumes into the air, but he was too focused on Adam’s sweet promises to pay much attention to it.

“You love my long hair, don’t you?” Emil teased, feeling like he’d grown a couple of inches.

Soon enough, they’d be treated to the view of the sun setting behind Emil’s house, and his day would be complete.

Adam gave a nervous laugh and reddened, as if it were the first time Emil teased him. “You’re embarrassing me,” he said and nudged Emil with his elbow as they neared the edge of the woods. The fields were ablaze with the orange glow that would transform Adam’s blue eyes into two beacons. Emil couldn’t wait to see it.

They turned behind a giant oak after which they’d have a steady downhill trek in the light of the setting sun, but the sight in the valley blinded Emil with its unimaginable nature.

The sun was indeed setting behind his house, but its glow extended, as if it were devouring his home. Instead of the sunshine, his house raged with fire, spitting dark smoke into the air.

Emil’s heart stopped. “Jinx!” he yelled and charged down the hill.

Chapter 18 - Emil

The wooden house was a fireball. By the time Emil and Adam reached the fence, the fact that there was no chance at all to salvage anything was as clear as the dying day. The wide open door was alight as if it had been covered with gasoline, revealing the inferno inside. The walls were still up, but flames had licked their way to the roof, transforming it into a death trap about to collapse.

Emil could barely breathe as he took in the scale of destruction, the home he’d spent all his life in turned into a pyre of memories. Worse yet, the heat licking his face took him back to the most tragic event of his life, the night he’d set fire to his parents’ home.

The smell of smoke mixed with that of burning wood. The thatch shriveled like the hair had on the figurine he’d thrown into the stove, but thoughts of curses and Chort’s revenge had to stay at the back of his mind, because Jinx was priority.

“Stay back!” he yelled to Adam, afraid that in a frenzy, he’d approach the fire, but Emil didn’t even get to attempt opening the burning barn when Jinx burst out through the front door followed by flames that reached for the stallion as if they wanted to pull him back in.

The horse ran at full speed, muscles twitching under his shiny black coat as he fled the blaze, but instead of rushing into the safety of the fields, he dug his hoofs into the ground and gave an unnatural screech, stopping between Emil and the house. As if to make his intention clear, Jinx stomped his hoof right in front of Emil, shaking his black mane like a creature possessed.

Emil’s thoughts were like the smoke floating into the darkening sky, but just as the sun disappeared between the twin hills, leaving behind a shadow of its intense color, the roof gave in and fell into the house with a deafening crash. It could have as well been a chamber in Emil’s heart collapsing, because the pain the sight caused him made him howl.