Where the Devil Says Goodnight (Folk Lore #1) - K.A. Merikan Page 0,97
plan, he would soon follow Adam, even though the prospect of uprooting himself—and Jinx—made unease sprout in his head like mold. For the first time in his life, there was an external purpose to guide him away from the life he knew, and while he worried adjusting to life in a city might prove difficult, he also wouldn’t give up on the chance at happiness that had unexpectedly dropped into his lap.
He didn’t want to let Adam go, and the longer they were together, the more he saw how compatible they were. Mrs. Luty and Father Marek would have noticed if Adam had started spending nights at Emil’s, but he often left the parsonage first thing in the morning and crawled into Emil’s bed as if just lying next to him brought him peace.
They watched movies together, read books while cuddled up in the sheets, and Adam wasn’t averse to physical labor either, eager to help out with the alcoholic infusions as well as with the mundane work around the homestead. Whatever they did, topics for conversation never ran out. After years of loneliness, Emil had finally found someone whose heart was in perfect harmony with his own.
Determined to leave with him, Emil swallowed his pride and accepted a loan of Adam’s money to pay for the ingredients needed, but while he was also the main force in terms of preparation, Adam made calls on Emil’s behalf in an attempt to turn the alcohol infusions into cash. And while Emil knew how crazy it was that he chose to uproot his life to become the secret lover of a Catholic priest, a man who would never openly acknowledge their relationship, Adam’s dedication to their cause confirmed that it was the right decision.
He hadn’t told Adam yet, but he’d decided to sell the house to have the financial cushion for a good start in the big city. The thought of permanently parting from the mountains awoke a deep longing inside of him, but none of that mattered in the face of what could be.
He was thirty. It was about time for him to do something radical. To change his life. To stop hoping for miracles, and take destiny into his own hands.
Maybe once Adam served his penance in Dybukowo, once he put the fear of demons behind him, he would be able to open up sexually as well. Because there wasn’t a day when Emil didn’t dream of pinning Adam’s gorgeous ass to the mattress. Or being the one to take cock, for that matter. Either way worked for him as long as Adam was in his arms, panting, and whispering love confessions.
In terms of intimacy, they were still in that innocent teenage stage, but he assumed that might change. Losing control over one’s body would have been a traumatic experience for anyone, so Emil decided he’d be patient.
Neither had declared their feelings out loud, but Adam surely understood the depth of Emil’s emotions, because why else would he have come up with the idea of them both moving together?
Emil stirred the fresh elderflower infusion one last time and started pouring it into bottles when Adam emerged from Grandfather’s old bedroom all pale and moving stiffly, as if he’d been left in the cold for too long. “I found something weird.”
“What is it?” Emil cocked his head and put down the precious bottle. He hadn’t changed anything in that room since it had been vacated, but, like Grandma’s chest upstairs, it contained items that might seem strange to someone unfamiliar with local folklore.
Adam licked his lips and joined Emil by the kitchen table, but when he opened his hand, Emil’s face fell, because he had no explanation for the item in Adam’s palm. In his palm lay a small figurine with a lock of black hair woven through a hole in the torso. The wood it was made of had gone dark from age, but the horns on its head, and the simplified lines that made up the face were clear as day.
It was a devil, or one of the many folklore creatures associated with him.
Emil’s face flushed with heat as he silently scolded himself for leaving the damn figurine where he’d found it in Grandpa’s things a few weeks back, when he’d finally chosen to look through the old man’s things in preparation for the upcoming move. Adam felt at home in his house, so of course he’d act like it too and open drawers when searching for something.