On a calm summer morning, as the sun rose over the mountains, I announced my departure. The sorceress and the Chinese woman accompanied me to the sidewalk, in front of the domus, still empty in the first light of the day. It was a residential area, affluent, and therefore filled with an almost rural silence, only broken by the sound of the wind in the trees and the song of birds that chirped in the sun.
" So, this is another one of those usual goodbyes," Shamira joked. "It's starting to seem cliché."
I smiled. It was always difficult to leave her.
"How long do you intend to stay here?" I asked, referring to the Roman house.
"Not a lot. This house is tainted. It will never be the same after Zamir passes."
"And which road do you plan to take?"
"I will escort Flor do Leste back to her country. She expressed her desire to die many times in China, and although I think she will live for many years to come, one day her body will bow to the call of death."
I looked at the Chinese woman, who had listened to everything in silence. Human death can be a suffering for those who remain, but it is a gift for those who go. Freedom from the limitations of the flesh is the ultimate gift for those who faced the harshness of life, and I was a witness to how Flor do Leste had suffered as a child.
"I know it's a waste of time to ask where you're going," Shamira said.
"I don't even know. Perhaps head north, to the icy lands beyond Germania. The Romans often confuse me with the barbarians who inhabit these parts. It would be intriguing to meet them."
The sorceress nodded and pleased me with a smile.
I walked towards Flor do Leste, in her rigid, disciplined posture, and hugged her small body, which even after thirty years remained a kid. The smell of her skin was also the same, unmistakable to the sense of smell of a warrior angel.
"No matter how many years pass, Flower of the East, you will always be my little Chinese girl. And when you have gone to your ancestors, I will continue to remember your face when I see a flower, the sea, or the snowy mountains. Your inheritance now lives in me, little one, and I will carry it to the end of the world."
She clung to me with her usual affection, but she didn't cry like the other times. When you see me alive and strong, she would have fulfilled the demand she had chosen for her life. And for that little giant, that was enough.
I turned to Shamira, ready for one last goodbye. In the distance, on the streets of the center, the noise of the commerce announced the awakening of the city.
"You leave with an era, renegade," announced the woman. "From now on, the world will change forever. The message left by the Savior will never be forgotten. Soon Rome will fall, and a new world community will follow. This is what the spirits prophesied; I am just their spokesperson."
"So maybe my mission hasn't been completely lost," I comforted myself.
We looked at each other, trying to postpone, even if just for a few seconds, the painful goodbye. Our bodies approached, somewhat involuntarily, ending in a loving hug. Upon releasing her, Shamira lifted her face, previously lying on my shoulder, and her lips approached mine. I felt the sweet aroma from her mouth, and a whirlwind of emotions took over me. New and unknown sensations dominated my being, taking me close to ecstasy. When, however, our lips were on the point of touching, she moved away and kissed me on the corner of my face.
Embarrassed, I looked at her with a mix of innocent confusion and passionate desire.
"When you want a real kiss, you should have it," said the woman, seductively. Her charm was fiery, irresistible.
At that moment, all I wanted most was to possess her, to have her with me forever, to give myself to her fascination. But it was precisely because I loved her so much, because I wanted to protect her from all evil, that I couldn't take it. It was like this, and only because of this, that I resisted the desire.
"There will be a day when the darkness will dissipate, sorceress. And then we will have our time."
She smiled, proudly, and for a moment, despite the seductive kiss, I had the impression that this was what I had expected from the beginning.
That's how I left the City of Seven Hills and all my best memories from the time of the Caesars. I would still go back to Rome a few times after that, but it would never be the same. Never would it be the same without Shamira.
In the autumn of that year, the sorceress left the great metropolis, traveled to China, and stayed there until Flor do Leste died, as old as a human being can be. During this time, the necromancer studied the Chinese magic, further improving in mystical studies. Unintentionally, by murdering the master wizards, Zamir had crowned her with a nefarious but respectful honor.
Shamira was now the greatest sorceress in the land.