The Harvest of Souls

CHAPTER 22

PLEIZIŇ
10.01.8462 - 6:32 AM

The car that looked like a matchbox with rounded sides circled a huge fountain frozen by the harsh winter, stopping just in front of a round building, supporting a dome. The round tower was clad in stone, the dome on the roof was made of green and orange glass, containing variations that mimicked a lake's shimmering surface. Two passages connected the round building to other wings of the Castle, forming a complex labyrinthine of corridors, rooms, bridges, and towers, all with colored glass domes, but none with greater circumference and more vivid beauty than the dome of the first building.

As soon as the car stopped between the fountain and the small courtyard connected to the first building, Fernand got out carrying his small suitcase and closed the vehicle's rear door. The cold cut into his face as he looked at the Kupole Hrad: the Royal Castle of Tachlovicka. Fernand wasn't wearing clothes suitable for the coolness of the north of Tachlovicka, so he just glanced at the statue of a young girl over the fountain without being able to stop to appreciate as he used to do whenever he went to Kupole Hrad. He crossed the yard quickly, wind and snow pummeling his body.

When he reached the only outer door of the round building, it opened just enough for Fernand to pass. As soon as he entered, the double doors closed, leaving the cold behind. The structure was completely hollow, forming a beautiful room with walls covered in green marble and long windows. A staircase followed the wall on the left side of the door, following the curve of the room, the handrail made of solid gold, full of minute details, the treads of the steps were made of several joint pieces of black onyx with white bands. In contrast, the risers of the steps were Onyx Giallo marble, all artificially lit from the inside, giving the impression that the staircase was a lush orange snake surrounding the green walls of the room. A mezzanine at the top of the stairs gave way to two corridors, one connecting to a building directly behind the green room and the other to the structure on the right. Looking up at the mezzanine, Fernand saw his son Nikolas coming through the door connected to the back building.

"Look, you're not late," Fernand said smiling.

"Actually, I'm late, and so are you, so you didn't notice my lateness," Nikolas said, making a wave with his hand that caused his father's suitcase to go flying across the room towards him on the mezzanine.

Fernand laughed as he hurried up the stairs towards his son. His son's red hair was neatly combed back, the little golden tiara holding it firmly. His young face didn't show any wrinkles or signs of stress. His green eyes shone brighter than the glass dome illuminated by the city lights. It didn't look like the boy had been awake for hours waiting for his father to arrive. Fernand, who was somewhat shorter than his son, hugged him as he reached the top of the stairs.

"How was the trip, dad?"

"Calm. I was looking forward to arriving. How can you be so well dressed up so early in the morning?"

"I'm always flawless, you know me, I wake up naturally like that," Nikolas joked, making Fernand laugh. Their smiles were identical and perhaps the only thing they physically had in common.

"Ian is still sleeping, right?"

"Yes, he sleeps a lot more than me."

"I see, just your mother and me, I was always the sleepy one. Nick, did you get to see what I asked?"

"Yes, I spoke with my uncle, and he gave me some documents. I left it on your desk in your room."

"Thank you very much; I'll try to see if I find any pattern; it's quite possible that I need to go to Vindobona this afternoon. Another thing, I checked the CriSPe data, and Oswaldo's telecom service reimbursement requests were to a company of your cousins ​​in Kholodnyei Gorod. I know that maybe it's a tricky thing to ask, but would we also be able to get, with this company, the history of the places that Oswaldo visited in the last year? I understand that these locations could be the key to locating Oswaldo," said Fernand. "The company is Neftevodsk."