Under the upside-down sky (Под опрокинутым небом)

Prologue (English version)

Fell in love with an alien,

Fell in love with her eyes,

Fell in love with an alien,

Telling you no disguise...

Areas sighed deeply and gently put his guitar aside. His long-term mission here was about to come to an end, and actually he was supposed to be happy and to make plans for the nearest future. But instead of looking forward to his soon return to the place, where he has not been since his early childhood, and where his soul was longing for so much, Areas felt growing excitement and anxiety. Perhaps, it was because of these terrible events at Al Maak, which could put into despair even the most hopeless optimists, but the young man realized, that the real reason was different. And though the pain of this loss has long subsided, and the time has healed his wounds, yet the scars still ached, and Areas suffered again.

Why did those memories, which he has been driving so thoroughly and for so long to the farthest corner of his heart, now try hard to break out and disrupt this fragile peace of his mind? Why did he think again and again about the beautiful fair-haired girl, who was smiling at him, while the light swing raised her to the skies? Why did he keep on tormenting himself, remembering the same girl dressed in the High priestess's cloths? She smiled again, though the sacrificers cut her thin fingers, and her red blood in large drops fell directly on the goddess stone statue, and all the priests, assassins and slaves, frozen on their knees, watched spellbound as the scarlet drops were slowly running down on the yellow sand.

This picture has imprinted so deep in Areas's visionary memory, and now after many years he could hardly understand, if he had seen it for real, or the girl in a Nhali's temple was just a game of his sick imagination...

***

Areas woke up from a hard push and realized, that the van has stopped. He didn't notice, how he dozed off, and in his dream he again saw a teenage girl dressed as a goddess Nhali's high priestess. This dream began to bother him, because it repeated so often, that it had to mean something! Moreover, the most of all Areas was annoyed, that this dream was always interrupted at the same place. He could not remember, whether has he really seen, what happened to the girl after she was officially recognized as the High priestess, and all the inhabitants of the temple and the congregation greeted her. Every time he woke up in terror, just when the new priestess was about to raise her eyes. Probably, there was something wrong. He wanted so much to find it out! Although it was unlikely, that he had time to do this. They all had very little time left...

- Staying for ten minutes! - Areas heard a juggler Elhan's shrill shout. Apparently, this time Ingvar let him sit on the box.

Areas sharply pulled back the dense curtain and deftly dropped to the ground. Gray clouds were gathering at the tender-green late afternoon sky. It was a bad sign, which, however, the circus tried to ignore. The dancer named Bozhana was already feeding the horses, quietly whispering something to them, and the young man smiled as he saw it.

- It is necessary to bring some water, - Tayara said, handing him a large bucket. Areas readily took it. - We must take off before the rain, so don't be late, - added the girl, and he preferred not to notice that long and meaningful look, which she gave to him.

Areas has always been a loner, and even in this narrow circle of his colleagues in the craft he had no close friends. Blond beauty Tayara certainly wanted to be more than a friend to him, but in the few years, they spent together as part of a traveling circus, she did not succeed. Skinny dark-haired guy, composing beautiful songs and being able with his radiant smile to melt the city unapproachable beauties' hearts and traditional village matrons' as well, remained completely indifferent to an attractive leggy circus-girl's charms. Although actually they should stick together, because between Areas and Tayara there was much more in common, than it seemed at first glance.

Areas moved at a fair distance into the woods and, having made sure, that no one followed him, pulled out of a large bag, slung over his shoulder, a small device. Clicking the button, he waited a second, until the screen turned on, and then began typing something fast on a tiny keyboard. After finishing, he went down to the creek and got a full bucket of ice cold water.

When Areas returned, the gray clouds above his head looked very threatening.

- Come on! – Elhan hurried. - Climb in the van, musician, we're leaving! The storm is catching up with us, so hurry. In the morning we should be in Temekkey! It is still safe in there...

Thoughtful Tayara was waiting impatiently for Areas in the van.

- Will you play? - she asked, handing him a guitar.

He took the instrument silently and without even glancing at the girl, who bit her lip with mortification. However, as soon as he hit the strings, she immediately forgot about everything around. This guy was talented in everything, that he was doing...