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“Is it the darkness?” I try to keep my voice even, but panic is already seeping in between my words.
“Follow me.” He turns in half a circle and dashes to one of the big paintings on the wall without turning to look at me.
I rush after him, afraid I will never make it to that immortality ritual.
He pulls on the painting frame and it moves to open like a door, revealing a secret passage.
There are voices outside the chapel, overlapping words of fear and anger.
“The children!” I grab Koschei’s arm and pull him backward. He’s already stepping into the dark hole in the wall. “You must save them! The darkness is attacking!”
“I can only save you,” he growls, his face changing and the Staff of Light rising above my head. I put my arms out to shield myself from the blow, but it doesn’t come.
“I’m pure,” I cry out, still folded into myself.
“Do you want to be immortal, Jenya?” he asks and tugs at my arms. “Follow me or die here.”
“Follow you into that darkness?” I peer into the secret passage, seeing nothing. There’s not a single light illuminating it inside.
“I will repel it!” Koschei’s voice is commanding. Behind me, the darkness rages outside. In front of me, it swirls quietly, waiting for me to face it.
Koschei’s protection has always been painful but true. He’s never betrayed me.
But what about the children? Who will save them? Or is it too late? No. I can still help.
I start undoing the buttons of my linen shirt, my fingers shaking. I haven’t done the preparation for this ritual, but maybe it will work.
“What are you doing?” Koschei shouts, his voice echoing inside the dark hole. While I’m fumbling with my clothes, he’s already gone in. He has a shining plate in his hand, illuminating the air around him.
“I’m going to do the cleansing ritual. It helped before.” I toss my shirt to the floor, revealing my small breasts. My nipples harden, either from the cold or the danger, but it doesn’t matter. This is my duty. I’ve been doing this ritual for as long as I can remember.
My skirts are tied around my waist in an intricate knot. I tug at it in panic. It’s not coming off. What do I do now? I look around, searching for the cleansing basin and the instruments. But they’re put away. Until I reach them, the darkness would have slid under the chapel door.
“Help me!” My voice is pleading and breathless. “Help me!”
There’s no response. I lift my head to find myself alone. Koschei is nowhere to be seen.
In full panic, I grab my shirt and put it on, refusing to let the darkness of the secret passage touch my pure skin. Abandoning all doubt, I step inside and scream into the void, begging for Koschei to wait for me.
There’s another loud noise behind me, like the sound of a door being blown to bits. Rough voices follow, and I know there’s no way back.
I stumble into damp walls, my hands grazing unknown things. Small things run next to me, screeching in the pitch-black. The sound of my heartbeat echoes in my head, amplifying my fear until it’s a big creature sitting on my shoulders. I will need to be purified by the Staff of Light no matter what, if I survive. It will hurt, but it will probably hurt less than death.
I press forward, fear liquefying on my skin in the shape of sweat and tears. Another loud noise vibrates through my fingertips, shaking the whole passage. For a moment, I imagine what it would be like to be buried in this darkness, to be neither dead nor alive, just stuck in eternal fear, and I’m suddenly thankful I’m not immortal yet.
My feet move without me willing them to. I’m running, my thoughts running with me. I must have done something wrong with the Holy Books. I must have missed something. There are always signs before the darkness comes. What did I miss?
There’s a sharp turn in the passage and another one after. Light blinds me as I emerge out, and noises like I’ve never heard before deafen me. I collapse on the gray ground, clutching my shirt closed as I round my spine and make myself small.
The air smells delicious, exactly like the winter and summer flares. Like crackling fire. I look up, but the dark sky is covered with clouds, and I can see none of the familiar colorful round flares. I search for Koschei too, but there’s no one around. Just two stone walls and blinking orbs of cold light above me.
As I take in my surroundings, the ground vibrates again with a noise I’m starting to get used to. It’s probably the call of the darkness, searching for Koschei and me. I can’t let it take me.
I button my shirt and get up, sparing a moment to find the strength of my legs. I’m the opposite of Koschei. My bones are invisible, hidden behind layers of smooth skin, something he says is normal for mortals.
I take a few tentative steps forward, then a few more. At the end of the two walls, there’s a bright world. It looks nothing like our village and its colors. Sounds and smells overwhelm me in an instant. I drop to my knees again, holding on to one of the walls. I glance behind me at the darkness I’ve just come out of. No way am I going back there again.
The ground has stopped moving beneath me when I stand up again and take my first steps into the unknown. A man walks by in a hurry, without sparing me a glance. He’s dressed in something dark and slick, the material like nothing I’ve ever seen. His hair is short and brown, and he has two arms and two legs, so I assume he’s mortal too.
