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Burn Horizon Burn (complete novel by David S. Partamyan, aka Devinoir)

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Devinoir:
CHAPTER XVII: OF ABSYNTHE AND THE HIGHWAY



1.


Black walked down the streets that crawled off to darkness, and watched the city unveil its true face.
It was all clear to him now.
He was trapped all this time, trapped in the cage of a capricious child he actually was.
And now it was over.
He had nothing, and he was no one.
Just Black.
He saw Red rushing somewhere right past him. Was it an illusion? And thunder rolled down the alleys, and it rained like it had never rained before.
But he didn’t feel the rain, and didn’t feel the wind, and the pain that was there, waiting for him, waiting for Black to put his guard down. The bullets rumbled, and the old wounds bled. The world was fading, fading like an old movie with nothing left to say.
And then he saw The Officer, walking at him with a gun held loosely in his hand.
Black smiled.
He didn’t hear the shot. He didn’t feel the pain.
The void greeted him, and he felt truly welcome.
He was free. Free at last.


2.


Blue stood by the window as he did so many times before, and distractedly played with a lighter. White sat on the bed, her hands on her lap, her face still bruised. Still, when Blue made a joke, she smiled.
She gave in to him after he came back. The thought was that it’s better to be with the devil you know. And life’d shown her that the city’s filled with devils waiting for you to lose your guard just for a second.
He’d borrowed a lot of money to buy the bike waiting for them down on the street.
All their possessions were packed in two small bags, lying by the door and ready to go.
“Let’s go”, he said, and White stood up.
He grabbed both bags, White opened the door, and they went down the stairs.
The cold wind lashed at their faces when they came out of the building that was no longer home. It was a farewell from the city that would still haunt them wherever they went.
Blue saddled the bike, White sat behind him, holding on to his waist.
He started the bike. It wasn’t very fast, and it shot smoke every few seconds, but to them it seemed to be perfect. And what we feel is what counts in the end.
A few hours later they could see the city growing smaller and smaller behind their backs. A highway shining with the recent rain led them off to the dazzling unknown, filled with hope and sunshine.


3.


He looked back at the body sprawled at his feet. His body.
He laughed.
He walked down the alley, lighting a cigarette and casting his coat away. He loosened his tie and nodded at Noire, who watched him with a grin. The city glowed in bright golden light, it illuminated everything from within, making it all blur and seem beautifully irrelevant.
The alley got narrower at the end. The trees and lanterns bent over, forming a kind of a corridor that shone with the same warm golden light.
There was a door at the end, it was painted red.
He knew where it led.
He pushed the door open, and he was in “The Broken Heartz’ Club”.
Teal nodded at him from the bar stand, pouring a beer to a man in a gray cloak whom Black tried to recognize but did not manage to.
He saw Violet sitting with Gold, holding hands and laughing. Her eyes sparkled, but there were no tears in them.
But Black lost all interest in them when he saw Red approaching him, her heartbreaker smile on her heart-shaped face, her curls shining with that golden glow.
The door closed behind them.


4.


Noire went into “The Red Cabaret”.
He looked around and found Crimson by the bar stand, a bottle of beer in his hand and Red in his eyes. With a slight nod of the head, Noire approached him.
He leaned on the bar stand, much the same way Crimson did.
“Black is no more.” Noire said quietly.
Crimson looked up, but did not meet Noire’s eyes.
“He’s gone.” He sighed, but the sigh soon turned into a grin, “But there is always I.”
 “Who are you?”
“Just call me Noire.” He looked back at the bartender, who had a black stone on a chain, “A shot of absynthe for my new friend.”

            THE END



Started in December, 2009, Yerevan, RA
Finished in August, 2010, Yerevan, RA

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