One day the old man got me in a corner, wanted to know when they’re going to come … after all, they’d written mighty Prague that they wanted to go home … now it’s time … their time here was nearly spent … so when’re the Czechs comin for em? They can’t just leave em here, no way! Well, I rattled somethin off … and that same day I’m standin out there with the sheep again, and all of a sudden Benjamín says: “The river of love floats streaming past, we stroll along its lush green banks, singing like the rain, sugar in my coffee” … and looked to see my reaction. I jumped outta my socks.
See, the ones that gathered every so often around the TV, which the old folks would’ve stomped to bits, since there was nothing about it in the Bible, occasionally picked up a Czech pop tune or two … that was their underground, that was how they learned the tongue, secretly findin the modern meanings … so I wasn’t at all surprised when … Kašpar an me’re traipsin through the woods, an all of a sudden he lets loose: “Here they come, tuning their trumpets, arise, sweet breeze, my only love.” So I go: “Headlong toward the trains my white steed dashes, wind in my face, whipping my lashes.” Train he knew a little, lashes too, steed I had to explain. After that they’d ask me things every now and then. I began to act as a missionary.
One day me and Benjamín were analyzing a song, he couldn’t figure out “twilight of the gods, gods creeping out of every bathroom and kitchen,” I couldn’t either, when all at once the hazelwood parted and two men were standin there. Benjamín let out a shriek an hid his head in the grass, I glanced at David, nothin, he just sat there, hands in the dirt.
These two looked very much like Losíns, everyone around here wore the same tattered hundred-year-old manmade wool, even young boys had hats, here and there a white shirt … and one says: Yew thet fellir from Prahah? Yeah. He sat down next to me. Ah’m Cermak, this muh bruthir, also Cermak. Wi’re out yondir, waved a hand over the mountain. C’mon ovir to owr place, Losins, he screwed up his mouth an spat … wi’re gud Szechs, onli ones rown heer, Losins eee. Perti thing, that’s frum houme … fingering my jacket … all of a sudden he noticed David, leaped up, an him an the other walked over to him, Benjamín vanished into the grass, fled without a sound … but they didn’t mean David any harm … just gaped in outright adoration … heer he is, thi one that herds … see his thuhms, so it’s thi trooth, thi holy trooth … it’s him, he’s got thi stingmata … he bleeds … I wanted to take off, there was somethin in the air, but I couldn’t leave David … I go up to him an see … so that’s why he’s always got his hands in the grass … I’d noticed wherever he sat he’d always fiddle around with those hands, an whenever I’d come over he’d scoot forward a little, craftily, it struck me once … and now I saw why … he was tearin up grasshoppers, ants, crushin larvae left an right … teeny-tiny drops of blood, it was a sickening mess … an behind him, where he’d been sittin before … more wings, legs, pinchers, tiny insect bodies torn in two, a fly crawlin around, no, not even crawlin, its wings an legs were gone … an I flashed back to one time Benjamín had tossed him a lizard … an another time he’d brought him a wounded baby swallow … I took the little one aside an asked … Davidko’s playin with thi aminals, he said … yeah, he was playin all right … it was horrifying, and if the Cermaks wanted to play with him now, well, I guess I’d let em, my stomach turned … and they gaped at him, just silently movin their lips … suddenly there was a sound like thunder and one of the Cermaks dropped flat on his back, a hole in his head … the other one went tearin off … the Losíns all came runnin toward us, all of the boys, with pitchforks an axes, Daník had a flintlock, they didn’t even notice me, runnin after Cermak … then Benjamín came draggin in, all outta breath, threw me a glance, peeked at David, an knelt down by the slain Cermak, ran his hands through his pockets … came up with some rope an a bowie, stuck em under his Eiffel T-shirt … that night I lay on the stove next to David again, in that cramped little room, an I told She-Dog … that motionless body with the gourd face touchin me, there was no way to avoid it … an I told She-Dog, this is too much, I can’t take it, I got a hunch what you want now … David, I guess in his sleep, swung his leg over me, I jerked outta the way an looked, he lay there, eyes open, not movin a muscle … like he was waitin … uh-uh, She-Dog, I can’t do this …
And next day when Kubík, who’d gone for supplies, didn’t come back, the boys went out to look for him. They knew where to go. Him they brought back, the horse was gone. War preparations got under way, I think you could call it that … the only one who came to see me that day was the old woman … kept on sayin: How’s Davidko?
I shook my head. She gave me a sideways look, slyly … did she know?
These old women that live their whole life outdoors … Some of em. Definitely know a lot.
Suddenly she told me: You’ll be goin now, soon. That shook me up, see, I … sometimes I’d feel sick that I was here, while Černá … was out in the woods, somewhere. Everything would go dark on me. Sometimes it was exhausting, but the environment was so new … I hadda be careful … and sometimes, when I no longer knew which way to turn and my spirit was sinking … sometimes I’d feel a slight pressure, like wings … I trusted She-Dog, no … I believed in her.
The boys were out in the yard, Daník … was showin em what a bow was. He himself had a rifle slung over his shoulder. Everyone was in high spirits, little Benjamín gave me a nudge an said they were goin out that night to crush those disgusting Cermaks once an for all … just then one of the little ones they had standin lookout in the hills comes rushin up an shouts: Vlado, here comes Vlado!
And I heard: budda-boom, budda-boom … like horse hoofs. The Losíns fell silent, all of a sudden everyone looked tired and downcast … dejected … I didn’t get what was goin on … we all went out in front … of the estate, and there I saw, heading toward us over the plain, a horseman, crimson cloak flyin … hoofs poundin, but there was something unnatural about the way the sound carried, like maybe some kind of echo … or maybe there was nothing else alive at that moment, motion had come to a standstill … the rider hurtled toward us and Kašpar gave me a nudge and said: Headlawng into thi wind ma white steed dashis, wind in ma face, whippin ma lashis, ah know, ah know thi words to that song tew … that’s not how it goes, I told him … but tears ran down his cheeks, and he said: That is too how it goes.
Now I could see the horseman, oh no, I said to myself … it was the proud Prince, yep, the Dark One, knew him right away … eyes flashing wrath, he dug his spurs into his horse’s flank, it didn’t even bleed … the rider’s teeth gleamed, long and sharp … I started trembling … the old woman whispered: He don see yew. This is owr wirld. This is owr lord Vlado.
And he was on us. Abram stepped forward and said with a humble bow: Yore servant, Abram. Not you, barked the horseman, his armor in the setting sun … the fiery ball was just going down … glistened, but the hands in which Dragan held the reins were dark … probably grave-rot instead of blood.