"Thank God for the dog, Your Excellency, but I'm not exactly amused. This is just one example I gave so you'll understand what I'm talking about. It seems to me that death is always lurking somewhere near my son. For some time now, I've suspected that, in addition to herbology and the ability to brew elixirs, he also possesses a dark Gift." Temnikov looked at the flames in the fireplace and sighed. "I just can't understand how that's possible."
"Your suspicions are based on more than just the incident you told me about?"
"Of course not!" the Viscount threw up his hands. "Everyone who harmed him in any way inevitably suffered something. The boy Obolensky hit him and soon broke his leg. It healed somehow poorly, and now he will remain lame forever. Gavrilov's daughter called him a toadstool, and now her teeth won't grow—not at all. And the ones that were already in her mouth have all fallen out. Believe me, Count, there are too many such cases to list them all. All of this, one way or another, is an echo of the dark Gift."
"Interesting," Ivan Fyodorovich chuckled. "By the way, why did the girl call your Maxim a filthy bastard? It's a strange curse word."
"Well, how can I put it..." Temnikov hesitated. "The thing is, over the last two years, the boy's skin color has changed strangely. He used to be a normal kid: rosy cheeks, happy eyes, and all that. He was always smiling; I remember it like it was yesterday. And then something changed, and his skin turned pale. He became as white as chalk. That's why the girl kept calling him that. She said he looked like a death cap."
"I understand, Viscount. Please continue."
"He also knows things no one taught him, and that scares me too," Alexander Timofeevich said. "Honestly, I have no idea what he's talking about sometimes."
"Knowledge cannot appear by itself."
"Of course he reads books. Lots of books. The boy has read our entire library at the estate, and it's quite large: at least a thousand volumes. I can't even imagine how he fits it all in his head," the Viscount glanced around, then leaned slightly toward Orlov and whispered, "and sometimes he's interested in things that seem downright strange to me."
"May I ask a question?" the Count asked with interest.
"He once asked me to take him on a tour of the morgue, can you imagine? I understand when children want to go on amusement rides, to the cinema, or something like that, but the morgue, Your Excellency?"
"I agree, it's a rather unusual wish for a child," Orlov agreed. "But what games does he play with other children, Viscount?"
"None at all," the Viscount said gloomily, shifting in his chair again. "He doesn't play with other children. In fact, my son avoids them at all costs and prefers to talk to older people."
The Count looked at Temnikov and couldn't find anything to say, but he continued.
"For a while, my wife and I thought he had some kind of mental problem. Well, you know... We took him to a doctor, but it turned out he was completely normal—more than normal, in fact. It's pretty obvious, though: he's making astonishing progress with elixirs. A madman wouldn't be capable of that. Some of the elixirs Maxim can make took me much longer to master—at least five years longer."
"Really?" Ivan Fyodorovich raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Five years is a long time, Mr. Temnikov. It seems your son really has a great talent."
"That would be fine," the Viscount waved his hand. "But what do you expect me to do with all this? If he truly possesses the Dark Gift, then the right place for him is here, not on our family estate."
"You see, the Dark Gift isn't some kind of alchemy, Alexander Timofeevich," the Count frowned. "Like any powerful Gift, it can't awaken in a boy before fourteen—it's impossible according to the laws of nature. The energy pattern within his body isn't yet fully formed at that age. And besides, where would it come from anyway? Has anyone in your family ever possessed the Dark Gift?"
"Of course not, but you heard yourself what I told you all the time. There must be some explanation for all this?"
The men were silent for a moment. Each was preoccupied with his own thoughts. The Viscount, for example, hoped he would be able to convince the school Director of the truth of his words and get rid of his son, who had recently become a burden to him.
As for him, he had no doubt: the dark Gift had awakened within Maxim, and there was simply no other explanation for what was happening. The most important thing was for the Count to believe it, and that was beyond his control.
Well, the school principal had plenty to think about. The whole story seemed strange and absurd. How could the dark Gift awaken in the boy? Why all of a sudden? Such things don't happen with the snap of a finger. It's not like lighting a fire on your finger to surprise the kids...
So what if Temnikov is telling the truth and this did happen? That's an interesting question.
Then it turns out that the Russian Empire will gain another Gifted One with a rare Gift, and the boy cannot be ruined. Leaving him in the Viscount's house is a surefire way to nip the young genius's potential in the bud. There's no room for error here.
If a miracle occurred, and the dark Gift truly awakened in the child, and he now refuses to take him to school, something irreparable could happen—his abilities would either fade or burst forth with catastrophic consequences, and he would be the one to blame. Just imagine, he missed the dark mage! The Emperor wouldn't pat him on the head for that.
But the boy is only twelve, and the minimum age for entering school is fourteen, everyone knows that. What should he do? On the other hand, there have been such cases in the school's history... True, only two, and those were weaker Gifts, but still... However, it wouldn't hurt to check Temnikov's words first. What if it's all nonsense and he's just leading him on?
"Is there anything else?" Orlov asked. "Dogs die, arms break... Is that all, or are there other oddities?"
"Of course," the Viscount shrugged. "Something often explodes or breaks around him. For example, when he doesn't want to go somewhere, the cars won't start. Trains are late or even break down completely."
"And ships sink, of course?" the Count chuckled.
"Not yet, but he's still a child. I'm afraid something like that might start happening soon. That's why I came here, Your Excellency. Believe me, the last thing I'm thinking about right now is the glory this Gift might bring him, or the riches," Alexander Timofeevich stared at the floor, embarrassed. "I'm afraid to admit it, but our family is seriously beginning to fear him, you understand?"
Ivan Fyodorovich looked at Temnikov, who hesitated to look him in the eye after his words. In all his time working at Kitezh, this was the first time anyone had asked him to take their child into training simply because they feared for their own lives. It was as if the boy was being handed over to a juvenile detention center on bail, not for training. It was an unpleasant feeling.
"Well, I must say, you intrigue me, Viscount. Where is the boy?"
"Outside the door. I took the liberty of bringing him with me."
"Well, call your unique person, let's look at him now."