The Duchess and the Devil

There was a letter tied to the bird’s leg. Derrick was used to something like this happening, Judith immediately pulled away, covering herself with a blanket. All because Carmen’s red eyes seemed very frightening in such it seems to glow at night. Although there was nothing evil about her, and Judith knew it, the feeling of anxiety did not leave her.

Derrick sat down next to her, putting his arm around her waist from behind, and took the letter. While he carefully read its contents, Judith awkwardly looked at Carmen, who gracefully folded her black wings and looked like a person of blue blood. The bloody pupils seemed even more saturated, and her spine stuck out rigidly.

The Duchess felt uneasy, which made her wrap herself even more tightly and try to avoid Carmen’s insinuating gaze. Glancing at Derrick again, she noticed that the previously relaxed face looked extremely stern.

«Carmen –» he said, without taking his eyes off the letter. Unlike his usual cheerful voice, the tone was lowered, sounding even a little sad and upset.

Judith noticed that Derrick’s jaw was clenched tightly, and looked at the crow. She didn’t understand, even if Carmen seemed reasonable, she was an animal, right? However, the bird behaved like a human, avoiding the cold gaze of its owner and turning its head away.

«What is it?»

The letter fell apart in the hands of the devil, and he glared at Carmen, glaring with angry eyes, like a sharp blade. The crow flew into the air, quickly flapped its wings, throwing all the papers and documents off the table.

The bird turned around, glaring at the wall and flew straight towards it. When there was almost no distance between them, Judith squeezed her eyes shut and shuddered, intending to leave the bedroom immediately. However, there was no loud knocking or anything accompanying the collision.

Opening her eyes, the Duchess froze in amazement: the bird disappeared into the shadows…

And a moment later, a silhouette stepped out of the shadow – it was no longer a bird that was flying freely a few seconds ago, but a man.

«Damn, it hurts, commander,» not only the appearance changed, but the crow also spoke. «You said you lost your magic. But it was enough to change my appearance.»

The bird’s appearance in the human role was so similar to Derrick, as if it was his child.

«Answer me first,» the devil said in a very cold voice that Judith had never heard before.

Most likely, still feeling the pain from the blow, the boy touched the sore spot on the back of his head, ruffling his shocking black hair. And then the girl noticed something strange… The horn, which the boy rubbed. Judith had already understood that Carmen was not an ordinary bird, but now everything has become even clearer. She used to think that it was a girl, but now it became clear how much she was mistaken.

The frivolous boy straightened his clothes, cleared his throat a little and spoke:

«As I reported, the other day I checked all the zones – from the first to the twelfth, but I could not find Hannibal, as well as the devils that he ruled…»

«Couldn’t find it?»

«Yes,» Carmen looked like he just had nothing to add, even if Derrick asked for details.

«Wonderful.»

Judith, listening to the conversation, perfectly understood what was happening. It seems that Derrick was looking for the location of Hannibal, who became the reason for the appearance of the devil in this world. A lot of emotions changed on the devil’s face in just a minute: concern, anger, irritation, misunderstanding. From the outside, it is difficult to say exactly what he is experiencing now.

The expression on his face was so unfamiliar that Judith held her breath without realizing it. Derrick turned to her, relaxing. The man reached out and patted his wife on the head:

«I told you about this devil.»

«I remember his name is Hannibal.»

«Exactly. And it seems that this rat-like person is now in the human world.»

«And maybe he’s somewhere nearby.»

Obviously, Hannibal wanted to kill Derrick by locking him in this body. And, perhaps, something was not going according to plan right now…

«So, the evil is around us?»

«Yes.»

«And I think he wants to strike,» the devil’s face hardened.

Judith, although she didn’t know anything about Hannibal, but she understood that this is a very smart and insidious devil who will not miss his opportunity to hurt Derrick. And now he lingered in the world of people for this very reason.

«Commander, your wife should help me.»

«Me?» she asked in surprise.

«Hannibal is in a human body, which we need in able meet. And you can help with that.»

Judith’s head was filled with questions. Hannibal is one of the culprits in the death of her husband. The story, which happened so suddenly, simply could not be explained. That’s why the devil explained everything to her, as if to a child: step by step. Derrick was cursed, which is why the devil was able to get into the body.

However, the curse cannot manifest itself directly in the human world. A contact is needed, for which a medium was required. Depending on the method of cursing, there are different ways of meeting the requirements. For example, the devil, who enters the body of a person, encounters and causes the death of the subject.

And if Hannibal had escaped from this world back home, his location would have been revealed by now. However, if he was not found, he has a good reason to stay here-in a human body.

«And how do I find out where he is? And who is the bearer of the devil? Is there any way to find out?»

The flow of questions did not stop.

However, Derrick was silent, deep in thought and comparing everything that Carmen had said earlier.

«The precursor of the curse,» the raven said, which shocked Judith even more. But Derrick immediately explained:

«To curse a person, you need a vicious force. That is, the body cannot resist anything: a person becomes irritable, aggressive. This is called the harbinger of the curse. And if you know when it started and who he saw before that, you will help a lot. Think carefully.»

Judith was desperately trying to remember, trying to find at least some clues. Derrick and Carmen couldn’t have known what was here before they got into this world and this body. Next to the deceased spouse was only Judith. But it was not easy to remember all those days, because human memory has a limit. Therefore, the Duchess could not immediately say at what point everything went wrong.

The girl’s head ached sharply when she remembered one of the past days.

«Ah,» she put her head on her forehead, unable to bear the pressure in her temples.

***

That evening, the girl was in a very bad mood. All because she went to a tea party, which turned into a continuous farce and a mockery of her. At the time when Derrick fell in love with Sylvia, the news of their affair quickly spread in the social world.

Judith’s lips trembled with contempt for the noble ladies who tried to ask about these rumors, pretending to support the Duchess and laughing behind her back. If she made a fuss at the tea party, it would be even more shameful than her husband’s infidelity. So all Judith could do was laugh like a loving wife and calmly refute the rumors. The girl, who was hurt by everything that was happening, could not contain her anger after returning to the mansion.

And when she returned, the first words she heard were even more shocking:

«Have you heard that your husband is in the capital?»

Judith didn’t have the energy to argue and refute anything. The Duchess is always obliged to behave quietly, not showing emotions and keeping the warmth of the family hearth. And no one expected any other answer from her, except for a noble laugh.

All this made it too disgusting, as if she was not a person, but a decorated doll. A doll that can’t express any emotions other than the «right» ones.

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