Siberian Light Mages: Chupacabra died on the Oka River (Story two). 18+

© Iya Karpovskaya, 2025

ISBN 978-5-0067-6925-0

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

STORY TWO

«CHUPACABRA DIED ON THE OCA»

P r e f e r e w o r d

Here is what I write in my diary again:

There is a river called Oka in the Irkutsk region. There are many villages and towns near it. There are many wonders in these parts, but there are also some that locals can’t tell everyone about.

In the distant past, Siberia was a place of exile, and now it is a «gold mine for those coming from big cities,» as the older generations gossip. The gold turns out to be counterfeit – sometimes you can’t even buy bread for it. Those who are disappointed in life and career live here, so they go to the wilderness – beyond the Urals, leaving everything for money.They especially strive to get to the Irkutsk region, where winters are truly terrible frosts. Summers are rainy or dry. The reason for this is not the fact that they built a lot of dams, but something completely different.

The Oka River… It is about one thousand five hundred kilometers long. This river can tell us a lot. Which I will do in this diary.

Irkutsk Region… Here, unbelief, ignorance, violence and cruelty rule. It is enough to open the history of this place – take at least Bratsk. There, love is replaced by debauchery, even worse – at the so-called «parties» entertainment is valued first and foremost bad type, yes friends, and only then the future and the beloved girl. If she begs her beloved to go out with her too – and not just with friends – the guy immediately goes to his friends, dumps her. When I heard about this in January 2005, my blood ran cold. Here it is, a terrible example of heartlessness – falling in love here is very dangerous. If you like someone, you better bite the bullet, don’t go to punks or flats. Anywhere where dubious characters gather. The punks here aren’t punks at all: they’re people posing as them. These are mostly Dark Ones. Here’s an insert about Bratsk and its suburbs. Aren’t you scared yet? Then read on.

This time I want to tell you about a small village. But first, I need to delve into its past. SO, NOW SIT DOWN AND STUDY MY NOTES.

PROLOGUE

YEAR 1978 one thousand nine hundred and seventy eight

SUMMER

July. The mother of two children sat on the porch, washing clothes. If she managed to tear herself away from work and raise her head, a wonderful landscape spread out before her eyes. The huge Oka River quietly babbled. Somewhere near Tulun, the Iya River flows. Life there is almost as wonderful. It is very nice to live outside the city, or even far away from cities where there is no stench and odor, because there BRAZ (Bratsk Aluminum Plant) constantly spews smoke from its scandalously famous chimneys.

Two children were frolicking next to the woman – a boy and a girl. They were almost the same age: the girl was ten years old, and the boy was not even seven. They laughed and giggled, running near a large two-story hut. If you look at these little ones from the outside, it seems: there is no one in the world happier than anyone except her brother and sister. The housewife hung the washed laundry on the line and wiped the sweat from her forehead. It’s hot… She still has to go to the garden to weed the beds: there are a lot of weeds there. I wonder where her husband is walking now? In the morning, he’s always somewhere He drags himself along: sometimes with fishing rods, sometimes with a backpack, a bucket, knives, he hangs a gun on his shoulder. He doesn’t help his wife with the housework! He doesn’t show up at home until nightfall. He always comes back from hunting angry – there has never been a case where he came back happy. Now fishing is a different matter! He says – there are some very strange game in the woods.

After such conversations in the village «X» (I’ll call it that) strange things began to happen – people disappeared for no reason. No matter how much they looked for them – not a trace was found. He left and disappeared. They combed the entire forest – no trace! Only clothes were found on trees or bushes. This happened during hunting season opened. Not only the woman’s husband faced paradoxes, but all of them. Also, in the Oka River near the village there was an unnaturally huge fish. Everything was very similar to the following: nuclear tests were once carried out in these places, and that is where such discrepancies with reality arose. No one had heard of radiation in these parts: everyone believed – unpolluted places in such a form should exist. The ecology is wonderful: clean products, plants, air, offspring are healthy in every sense, do not degrade. Unlike Bratsk, Ust-Kut and Taishet. They live in the village «X» for a long time, never get sick. For example – in winter, cities and neighboring villages are mowed down by an epidemic of colds, flu, and the villagers don’t give a damn! They live their lives: you can sneeze on them with viruses, or not!

Another phenomenon was observed in the village among the people: if Russian people really like to drink on holidays, then the X-types can’t stand vodka, they don’t smoke. Not only men of different ages, but also women. There is nothing to say about children at all – angels…

In the winter in December – January, huge wolves roamed the yards and forests, no one knew where they came from. They disappeared at the beginning of February. Where the wolf packs were heading – no one was able to follow. Because everyone was afraid: what if they were killed? When these animals howled – it seemed that someone among them was trying to say words, but he can’t: his jaw and muzzle don’t allow it. Nights turned into mass madness. Residents locked themselves in their houses and kept silent. Not going outside even to relieve themselves. It could well have been like that – animals were walking around the village, tracking down their prey. Once, on New Year’s Eve, the husband of a woman neighbor (who was mentioned above) went into the forest to chop wood -and disappeared without a trace. And then those animals showed up. The state farm and local authorities were running off their feet, but all in vain. They combed the entire area – NO ONE.

The neighbor was very young – twenty-two years old, three months pregnant. The poor thing grieved greatly: she had found a good guy, she had just gotten married. And then her happiness disappeared! The husband did not cheat, did not offend. But he had one serious flaw: very dubious friends. After partying with them, he would show up home well after midnight. Fortunately, such antics continued once a month. But it was quite nerve-racking.

Winter passed, spring, summer came, time to give birth. One bad thing: a boy or a girl will grow up without a father. This brings harm. Harm – in the sense of fatherlessness. Nobody needs other people’s children. But the young woman is stupid – she hoped for his honesty. They walked and played, further – friends are more important. Apparently he had enough fun with them. They poured into his ears about his wife – and then it was gone. And to hell with him!

Now – about the good stuff.

In the village «X», about which there were many bad rumors instead of good, lived a young handsome man – a guy. His face resembled characters from medieval paintings by Leonardo, Raphael and other great artists. A slender, enviable groom with long golden hair, beautifully laid on his shoulders. For understanding I’ll add – he looks like Lel from the movie «Snegurochka». Where he came from in the wilderness is a big question. Everyone envied the young man: he’s playing the hero, you have to spite him! But: he didn’t look at women and girls. At all. Apparently, they got so fed up with him in his city – you don’t want to look at him!

But liked another quality of his: he loved to help. If needed help digging a garden – please! If you needed help fetching water – please! Of course, someone fell in love with OLEG ARENSKY – but the hard worker answered all the ladies simply and clearly: «I don’t like you as a woman, I don’t have feelings of love for anyone. That’s why I won’t drag you to the hayloft, girl! Do you agree with this? You shouldn’t bewitch and achieve mutual feelings in other ways: you will make it worse for yourself. I don’t want to depend on anyone, leave me alone! I will help with the garden, repair the house, chop wood, and nothing more, look for the rest among your own people.» With these words, he turned and left, leaving the women in tears and snot for a long time. VERY many dreamed of getting pregnant from Oleg. But alas. It is impossible.

In his free time, the golden-haired man loved to play the flute, wandered through the forest, swam in the river, and the young guy’s favorite decoration was an amulet – a giant curved claw on his neck. The size of a palm and white, with cracks. It seemed like there was nothing strange about Arensky, but one thing confused the suspicious people village «X», where the anomalies were raging – the light was on in Oleg’s house all night. What he was doing there, no one knew for sure. Only the ancient old women, who for some reason walked around without headscarves, looked angrily at the stranger. The wolves never came near his hut! They came into everyone’s yard at night, but they never climbed into Arensky’s! Strange.

Sometimes a city or rural guy, who knows, was called out to the huts in the middle of the night for a showdown: either someone was fighting there, or they were celebrating a fight… There was even a case when the host, drunk, splashed vodka in the guest’s face (he was probably in town) – and the guy’s skin peeled off in layers! Oleg remembered this story. But he couldn’t help but recall how he heard heart-rending screams from there:

– I told you! I can’t have alcohol!

– A purely Russian way to solve a problem with a glass of vodka. – The young man grumbled, standing under the ill-fated window. Then he went home to sleep again.

– Mom, Mom! Uncle Oleg is coming to us! – The boy cried out, smiling with joy. The woman, weeding the beds in the heat – when the sun was at its zenith – raised her head and smiled warmly.

– Hello, Oleg. How are you? – She asked the golden-haired handsome man.

– Not bad, Elena Dmitrievna. I heard – your husband disappeared in the winter too…

– Disappeared. Then came back – two months later. As always: they disappear, then have a good time, and come back. Well, you understand…

The blond narrowed his eyes – no, he didn’t understand.

– Can he tolerate vodka?

– What are you talking about?! Absolutely not! Even when I was steeping cedar nut tincture, he found it and poured it out. Sometimes he yelled at me, but he treats children well.

– I see.

– You’re from out of town, as I noticed.

– Yes and no: I’ve been living here for a year now. I came to get some treatment and take a break from the bustle of the city. Everything grows wildly and luxuriantly here, the silence is sometimes dead, and people sometimes do illogical things that are embarrassing to talk about later. I wonder what your men are doing in the forest, if someone is always finding torn clothes in the bushes?

Elena Dmitrievna swayed:

– Oleg! How can you say that!? You’ve become a young woman: green! Your stupid head won’t give your legs any rest…

And she thought to herself:

«You should get out of here as quickly as possible, Arensky: I’m afraid for you! There’s evil swarming in every corner here, I know that, but you don’t notice! Wake up and run away!»

Here the son butted into the conversation:

– Mom! Ira, my little sister, – is sitting on the porch and waiting for you to finish weeding. She is asking for help for our neighbor – she is having contractions! More precisely, labor. Very difficult, Aunt Anya could die! She is screaming loudly!

Elena looked around. She can’t come – her hands are covered in dirt, it will take a long time to wash, and time is running out! Why did Anna give birth in the eighth month?

– What are you saying there, my girl? – Oleg asked warily, approaching the boy’s sister. – Who’s giving birth there?

– Aunt Anya! – the girl shouted.

– Where is her house?

– Follow me, Oleg Arensky: I’ll show you everything.

The stranger rushed after a girl of about ten years old, the mother managed to shout:

– Arensky! Don’t go there! This sight is not for the likes of you! Better call a midwife – a fortune teller!

But he seemed not to hear anything.

A woman in labor was writhing on a rumpled bed. Her hair was tangled like tow, her face was distorted with unbearable pain. Sweat glistened on her forehead. It was clear: the baby did not want to come out. And Anna would certainly die if the situation did not change. A fortune teller was nearby: she had arrived first. It seemed that things were really bad.

– Push! Push!!!

– I can’t…

There was a knock at the door – Oleg and Ira arrived.

– Who’s there?

– I came to help. Open up!

Oleg asked the girl to stay outside and wait, and he opened the door and entered. The fortune teller immediately winced: she felt the Power. And the guy went up to the bed, looked into the girl’s eyes, and gently stroked her head. The magician is a woman. YES. LIGHT – ALMOST ALL THE MAGES HERE. There are only a few people. And they are dying out. Despite the Witch belonged to the Light, the room became uncomfortable to be in. As if it was not the Lights that had gathered, but the Dark Magicians. It was necessary to act quickly and skillfully – the child did not come out. At all.

– You’ll have to do a Caesarean! – The guy sighed, removing the claw from his neck. He took out a lighter and disinfected the instrument. – Don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you! I’ll freeze you with magic. You won’t feel a thing.

He made the cut very carefully. At first there was no blood. Then his graceful, thin hand penetrated the womb, his fingers very carefully picked up the baby. He handed it to the woman. She began to cut the umbilical cord and wash the child, without even looking at its gender. The fortune teller’s eyes widened in amazement. He wasn’t scared!

– Look me in the eyes! In the eyes! Do you hear? Well?

Anya gasped and fell silent. Oleg stroked her head with his left hand, calming her down, stopping the bleeding. He blew on her forehead, kissed her cheek as a consolation. Like a lover, he ran his fingers along the girl’s neck.

– Who was born to us? – The midwife asked the boy.

– It’s a boy. A beautiful boy!

Having said this, Oleg winced. It immediately became clear why the room, where the three Light Ones were, was completely pitch black, why the woman in labor had almost died. No one except him understood what had happened. Arensky looked at the child too sternly. Yeah.

«That’s all I need here! What a shame, what a joyful thing: I just became the godfather of the Dark One! What a shame… The entire Dark Headquarters, when I return to Bratsk, will laugh out loud!»

– Another non-human – a magician. – The handsome man whispered, wiping the blood from his claw with a handkerchief and putting it on his neck. – Dark one. Sew up the wound! Why are you staring at me?! I don’t need anyone here, especially since the child is not mine! Wherever I go – EVERYWHERE they stare like I’m an exhibit!

Oleg could initiate even newborns, but extremely rarely.

«It’s still good,» he added, handing the screaming child over to his mother. The husband must have been a werewolf, because he walked away. Well, that’s it! That’s why we didn’t get along! He put his hands in warm, clean water, washed them, and dried them. «I’ll get out of here. Good luck.»

He left and went home, visibly upset. A week later, Enerik packed his things, locked the house and climbed to the top of the hill. He looked at the Oka. The great river beckoned to itself, small ripples ran across the water. And the Archmage, forever young, adjusted his hair, looked back once more and walked toward the road.

TWENTY-SIX YEARS LATER