The Castrator, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov [free romance novels .TXT] 📗

ANOTHER TOPIC. BUT APPARENTLY MY PATRON HAD CONNECTIONS ALL OVER THE PLACE AND HER WORD OPENED TOO MANY DOORS. OF COURSE, I DIDN'T WANT TO KNOW EXACTLY HOW FAR HER INFLUENCE EXTENDED.

I KNEW, HOWEVER, THAT SHE WAS COUNTING ON US TO FIND THE INHERITANCE AND WOULD MAKE A DEFINITE EFFORT TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. I COULD NOT, HOWEVER, IMAGINE WHAT THAT "OTHER" SHE HAD HINTED AT WOULD BE.

FELIX WAS ALSO MORE DANGEROUS THAN A VIPER SNAKE - SO ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING COULD BE EXPECTED OF HIM. EVEN FROM THE CURSED GRAVE THEY'D SHOVED HIM INTO!

TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH, AT THAT MOMENT I IMAGINED WORMS WORKING THEIR WAY THROUGH HIS GNAWED EYEBALLS AND I FELT SICK.

THE ZONE LOOKED AT ME KIND OF SOURLY.

- I'M NAMED AFTER THAT MOTH THAT DESTROYS EVERYTHING IT TOUCHES - SO FELISTER WILL TEST MY TEMPER.

I DIDN'T WANT TO CONTRADICT HER. SHE HAD EVIDENTLY MADE UP HER MIND TO DO AS SHE PLEASED, AND WOULD DO IT IN SPITE OF MY OPINION OR ATTITUDE.

IT ONLY MADE ONE THING CLEAR TO ME. FELISTER'S ROAD DOWN WAS EVIDENTLY A VERY, VERY LONG ONE. AND IN FOLLOWING THAT PATH HE WAS COMPLETELY ALONE.

SEE, ALTHOUGH I LOVED FELISTER I COULDN'T SAY MY TEARS FOR HIM WERE SINCERE. IN THE END HE HAD ENDED UP WHERE HE HAD WISHED TO BE! AND THIS IN HIS CONFUSED MIND WAS APPARENTLY PERFECTLY LOGICAL!

I WOULD DESCRIBE THE SITUATION IN THE MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS AS VIOLENCE WITHOUT END, WHERE THE STATE WAS CLEARLY LOSING THE WAR AGAINST THE MORE POWERFUL GANGS.

FELISTER, HOWEVER, WAS ALSO A DEMONIC FOLLOWER. HE HAD PAID WITH HIS SOUL FOR SOME AFTERLIFE KNOWLEDGE THAT WAS OBVIOUSLY MORE VALUABLE AND INTERESTING TO HIM THAN SOME PAPERS.

AS I WATCHED ZONARA'S ENTHUSIASM I COULD SEE WHY SHE WAS SO INTRIGUED. WE WERE OBVIOUSLY INTERESTED IN SOME OF THAT KNOWLEDGE, AND MAYBE EVEN ALL OF IT.

SHE MENTIONED TO ME THAT DETECTIVE DONOVAN HAD RECEIVED SOME OF THE FELISTER'S OWN WORKINGS, AND CLEARLY FELT A KEEN INTEREST IN WHAT HE WAS UP TO.

THE NON-PUKISM WITH WHICH SHE SPOKE OF INSTITUTIONS WAS MORE THAN IMPRESSIVE. SHE HAD BEEN BORN TO IT!

WE DECIDED TO DETOUR OUR ORIGINAL ROUTE BECAUSE THERE MIGHT BE SOME DRUG CARTEL MEMBERS ON OUR TRAIL, AND WE DIDN'T WANT TO GET HAMMERED FOR ANYTHING!

SOMEWHERE IN THERE I SENSED SOMETHING ELSE.

I REMEMBERED THAT ZONARA HAD TALKED TO ME ABOUT SOME GIANT CRASH THAT MEMBERS OF A RIVAL CARTEL HAD ORCHESTRATED. AND THEN, GETTING OUT OF THE CARS, THEY THREW COCKTAILS OF INCENDIARY LIQUID AT MEMBERS OF A RIVAL GANG, SMASHING THE WINDOWS OF THE CARS WITH CLUBS.

SOME OF THE PEOPLE BURNED LIKE LIVE COALS!

- "THEY REALLY KNOW NO MERCY!," ZONARA LAUGHED MYSTERIOUSLY, BUT I KNEW THERE WAS SOME SADNESS IN HER SMILE, "THEY LOST THEIR ABILITY TO LOVE SO LONG AGO! AND WHO CAN TELL YOU WHAT NEED OF LOVE IS BUT ONE WHO HAS LONG BEEN HOPELESSLY DOOMED?,“

- "TELL ME ABOUT THIS DEMONIC CULT," I INQUIRED. "I'M SURE THE CUNNING FELISTER HAS OTHER SECRETS UP HIS SLEEVE. THIS MAN IS A REAL DEVIL. PEACE BE UPON HIM!"

SHE LAUGHED, SHOWING ME HER EVEN WHITE TEETH. SHE LOOKED YOUNGER SOMEHOW, AND SOME STRANGE THOUGHT SHADOWED HER BROW. WHO KNOWS WHAT SHE EXPECTED FROM ME!

- "FELISTER'S LEGACY IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS," SHE TOLD ME, "BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT IS THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO PLAY HIS GAME BY HIS RULES."

- "AND WHAT WILL BE OUR USE?," SAID I, ASTONISHED. "THAT SOUNDS UTTERLY MAD!"

- "YOU SEE THERE ARE TOO MANY LOST SOULS IN THIS WORLD?," ZONARA TURNED TO ME COMPLETELY SERIOUSLY, "OUR JOB IS TO BRING THEM BACK AND SUCCEED IN CLAIMING THEM THE RIGHT TO A NEW LIFE!"

- 'SO THAT SOUNDS BLOODY CRAZY TO ME,' I SMILED, 'WHY SHOULD WE HELP ANY SOULS OF OUR OWN? WHAT GOOD IS IT TO US ANYWAY? AND WHERE WILL ALL THIS WORK GO?

- THE PROBLEM IS THAT TOO MANY PEOPLE HAVE NO REAL DESIRE TO LIVE. SOME OF THEM DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND THAT THEY'VE BEEN WALKING AROUND LIKE THE LIVING DEAD ALL THEIR LIVES, AND THAT'S TOO DAMAGING TO THEIR ASTRAL DEVELOPMENT. I THINK THAT'S WHAT FELISTER WAS GETTING AT. HE WANTED TO SAVE THEIR SOULS, AND HE USED THE DRUG MONEY TO DO JUST THAT.

I HAD A FEELING THAT ZONARA HAD COMPLETELY LOST IT. SO IF IT WAS ALL TRUE, IT MEANT ONLY ONE THING - WE WOULD BE TRYING TO REHABILITATE THE MONSTER FELISTER, AND IN A WAY THAT MANY WOULD NOT PERCEIVE - EVEN AMONG FORMER DRUG LORDS, THERE WAS SOME FORM OF CODE OF HONOR BEFORE EVERYTHING COLLAPSED AND WENT TO HELL. THEN EVERYONE DECLARED TOTAL WAR ON EACH OTHER. THERE WAS NO LONGER ANY PREDICTABILITY IN THEIR RELATIONSHIPS AND THE KILLINGS GOT COMPLETELY OUT OF HAND. AFTER ALL, MANY OF THE DRUG CARTELS WERE FOUNDED BY EX-MILITARY MEN EAGER TO GRAB SOME OF THE DRUG MARKET. AND WHEN THE SITUATION CHANGED, THEY HAD TO ADAPT TO IT.

MEXICAN COOKS HAD RAISED THEIR LEVEL AS THEIR CHINESE COUNTERPARTS HAD TAUGHT THEM SOME TRICKS AND COULD KNEAD HEROIN AND FENTANYL, WHICH MADE IT MANY TIMES STRONGER. THIS POWERFUL OPIOID GREATLY ALTERED ITS PROPERTIES AND MADE IT MUCH MORE DESIRABLE ON THE US MARKET, AND HENCE PROFITS SKYROCKETED.

BUT ZONARA DIDN'T CARE ABOUT THE DRUG MARKET AT ALL. NO, SHE WANTED TO GO TOE-TO-TOE WITH FELISTER, THE MONSTER WHO WAS THE FACE OF ALL THE POWERFUL CARTELS IN THE US. THE BRUTAL BASTARD WHO LIVED LIKE A RABID DOG AND QUITE RIGHTLY TOOK A BULLET IN THE FOREHEAD.

- "THE WAY OF SOULS IS PARTICULAR," ZONARA TOLD ME, ALL TOO CONFIDENTLY. "NOT EVERYONE BELIEVES IN ORTHODOXY. BUT THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN IN BATTLE WILL BE REBORN, AND THIS HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN. BUT FELISTER WAS DEALING WITH SOMETHING PARTICULARLY INTERESTING. HE HAS SUMMONED DEMONS TO AID HIM AND GIVE HIM POWERS TO GUIDE THESE SOULS ON THEIR JOURNEY TO THE AFTERLIFE."

- "BUT WHY DID HE DO IT AT ALL?,“, I WONDERED, "IT WAS BRUTALLY DANGEROUS AND HIS BODY WAS IN DANGER OF BEING POSSESSED."

- "THAT WASN'T HIS ULTIMATE GOAL," ZONARA ASSURED ME, "FELISTER WAS UTTERLY DEVOTED TO HIS CAUSE, AND THE FINANCES FROM THE CARTELS SIMPLY HELPED HIM SURVIVE. REMEMBER HIS UNDERGROUND CLOSET THAT WAS BROKEN INTO BY DETECTIVE DONOVAN. FELISTER DIDN'T SET OUT TO DESTROY ENERGY, AS THAT WAS IMPOSSIBLE IN PRINCIPLE, BUT ONLY TO PROCESS IT, OR AT LEAST TRY TO."

I LISTENED RAPTLY TO HER STRANGE RAMBLINGS, THE WORDS OF A WOMAN POSSESSED WHO HAD RESOLUTELY MADE UP HER MIND TO GO ALL THE WAY IN HER QUEST, AND I WAS TO BE HER HELPER.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE CASTRATOR

CHAPTER SIX: THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE CASTRATOR

 

TO BREATHE FREE AIR HAD ALWAYS BEEN ATTRACTIVE TO ME, ESPECIALLY IN THOSE ROMANTIC YEARS ON FELISTER'S FARM. HE LONGED TO SHOW US THE RIGHT WAY, THOUGH THIS WAY WAS TOO FLEETING.

- "ROMANCE," FELISTER WAS SAYING, "IS GOOD FOR A TIME, BUT IN THE END, ASK YOURSELF WHO NEEDS YOU IN THIS LIFE. MOST OF YOU ONLY KNOW THE PETTY THEFTS IN THE MISSOURI AREA, OR SOME OF THE BETTER CONCEIVED HYPERMARKET ROBBERIES AND SUCH. YOU'RE USED TO THE POLICE CHASING YOU, SIRENS BLARING, AND YOU FEELING LIKE HEROES WHO ARE CARRYING OUT SOME IMPORTANT MISSION, AND AT THE END REPORTING THE MONEY TO YOUR BOSS. SOME OF YOU HAVE ALSO BEEN ARRESTED AS DRUG DEALERS, WHICH ELEVATED THEM TO THE RANK OF ASSISTANT CASTRATORS ON MY FARM."

THE HARDENED CATTLE WATCHED HIM IN RAPT FASCINATION, EAGER TO FEEL THAT THRILL OF BLUE SPRING THAT WAS TO REVIVE THEM. THEY KNEW NOT HOW TO GO ON WITH THEIR LIVES, FOR THEY KNEW HOW TO DO NOTHING BUT CRIME. BUT THERE WAS A PSYCHOLOGICAL POINT HERE, WHICH FELISTER, AS A SUBTLE AND ADROIT PSYCHOLOGIST, USED ADMIRABLY. HE DID NOT GIVE THEM THE HOPE THAT HE WAS THEIR FATHER, OR THEIR MENTOR, OR THEIR SPIRITUAL TEACHER, BUT AN EQUAL PARTNER - A KIND OF COMMON WORK BOUND THEM TOGETHER, AND THEY BELIEVED THAT THEY WERE ALMOST GOD-CHOSEN BECAUSE THEY HAD FALLEN INTO THE NET OF THE CARTELS THAT HELD SUCH IMPORTANT PORTS AS THE ALREADY MENTIONED LAZARO CARDENAS.

THE SADNESS IN FELISTER'S EYES WAS VAGUELY EVIDENT, AND HE SOUGHT TO GAIN FORGIVENESS FROM THOSE DEMONS WHOM HE THOUGHT MIGHT HOLD THE REINS FIGURATIVELY SPEAKING. HE WORKED THROUGH SPIRITUALISTIC SEANCES WITH MARBAS, ABRAXIS, AGARES AND MANY OTHER DEMONS, BUT HE ALSO LIKED TO DO WHAT WAS CALLED CHANNELING ENERGY, WHICH MEANT THAT WHILE HE WAS IN CAPTIVITY THE SPIRIT COULD "FULFILL" SOME OF HIS WISHES. IT WASN'T PARTICULARLY ACCURATE TO SAY, BUT IN PRACTICE, FELISTER COULD RECEIVE SOME INFORMATION THAT HE THOUGHT MIGHT HELP HIM IN HIS WORK WITH THE AFTERLIFE.

HIS COMPANIONS DIDN'T EVEN SUSPECT HIS OCCUPATIONS THOUGH SOME VAGUELY GUESSED AND CRAVED SOME FORM OF COMPENSATION ESPECIALLY WHEN THE FARM WORK WAS IN EXCESS. THE STARTLING THING WAS THAT FAR TOO MANY OF THEM WERE WILLING TO STAY EVEN OVERTIME, WHICH WAS SUSPICIOUS TO SAY THE LEAST. FELISTER HAD BEEN PARTICULARLY ATTENTIVE TO HIS GRIMOIRES, WHICH HE HAD BOUGHT AT SOME OF THE MOST INTERESTING BOOK AUCTIONS - USUALLY MOST OF THEM COMPLETELY ANONYMOUS. THE PRICE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE OF THEM RAN TO OVER THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, AND FELISTER HAD SERIOUS CONCERNS THAT SOMEONE MIGHT BLOW THE BOOK IN THE MOST BRUTAL WAY, SO HE HAD TAKEN MEASURES AGAINST ITS THEFT. THE SIMPLEST AND RATHER CRUDE METHOD WAS THAT HE HAD LEFT A SPIRIT-BOARD NEAR THE GRIMOIRES, THE SUMMONED DEMON BEING TRICKED BY THE VIOLENT SHAKING OF THE SPIRIT-BOARD AND ITS SYMBOLIC RITUAL BURNING - SO HE COULD NOT LEAVE THIS WORLD. BUT FELISTER WAS ALSO SKILLED IN NECROMANCY, AND HAD DONE SOME ADDITIONAL SPELLS WHERE HE USED THE DEAD AS WEAPONS - IT WASN'T VERY ORIGINAL, BUT THEN AGAIN, DEMONS SOMETIMES HAD A HABIT OF BLOWING AWAY AFTER A WEEK OR SO, SO HE PREFERRED TO RELY ON HUMAN SOULS FOR HIS PURPOSES AS WELL.

FELISTER HAD STRANGE FEELINGS AND ATTRACTIONS TO LIFE - A COMPLETE ASCETIC, HE WAS CONSIDERED TO BE AN EXAMPLE OF A TRULY CLEVER GANGSTER BY THE REST OF THE KATHILI WHO OBEYED HIM. SOMETIMES FELISTER HAD TO BRIBE SOME SERIOUS CONGRESSMEN WHO TRIED TO BE HIS EYES AND EARS TO THE AUTHORITIES TRYING TO PEEP INTO HIS BUSINESS, BUT SOMEWHERE IN THERE A STRANGE FELLOW BY THE NAME OF STEINER SHOWED UP. THE GERMAN FAMILY NAME WAS A GUARANTEE OF HIS DEEP PRECISION IN HIS WORK AND HIS WILLINGNESS TO GO INTO DETAIL.

AS WE MIGHT GUESS, HE LOVED THE FOLLOWING FORMULATION "IF MY LIFE IS A LIE, MY DEATH WILL BE A LIE TOO!" AND WISHED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT FELISTER AND DETECTIVE DONOVAN, WHO HAD SOMEHOW STRANGELY INTERFERED IN HIS AFFAIRS DESPITE THE POWERFUL BUREAUCRATIC UMBRELLA THAT WAS STRETCHED WIDE OVER FELISTER.

THE PEOPLE WHO PROTECTED HIM KNEW FULL WELL THAT HE NOT ONLY COULD PAY FOR THEIR NEXT ELECTION CAMPAIGNS, BUT WAS DEEPLY CONNECTED TO THE BUREAUCRATIC MACHINE IN THE STATE.

AS A STATE, MISSOURI WAS ALSO PART OF THE SO-CALLED STREET-LEVEL BUREAUCRACY, WHICH PROVIDED DIRECT JOB CONTACT BETWEEN PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND THE PUBLIC. FELISTER HAD ANTICIPATED SOME MOVES, AND POLITICIANS AND CITIZENS WORKED IN HIS FAVOR. PUBLIC OPINION AS A RESULT OF CAREFULLY CONSTRUCTED PR WAS VERY IMPORTANT.

TO TIE HIS PANTS,