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Dark bedroom night


22 Gorgeous Dark Bedrooms - Bedrooms with Dark Color Palettes

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Proof that going to the dark side is beyond chic.

By Monique Valeris

Douglas Friedman

Believe it or not, a dark bedroom can be the perfect set-up for a good night's rest. Deep reds, rich navy blues, charcoal grays, chocolate browns, and striking black shades are all perfect choices for a bedroom design scheme. And if the rest of your home is awash in vivid hues or soft neutrals, it can feel soothing to enter a bedroom that's designed around a dark color palette. For inspiration, we've assembled some of our favorite high-design, dark bedrooms. Get ready to embrace the dark side.

Simon Upton

1 of 22

Sultry Reds

In this bedroom in designer Lorenzo Castillo's home, a deep red palette lends a sophisticated, sensuous flair to the space. The wallpaper is by Sanderson, the headboard is upholstered in a Valentino velvet, the bench is Louis XV-style and the Spanish mirrors are 17th- and 18th-century. Paintings by Yturralde finish the look.

Zeke Ruelas

2 of 22

Chic Layers

For his Hollywood Hills home that pays homage to its 1960s roots, John McClain fashioned the master bedroom with rich hues and layers of texture.

Julie Soefer Photography

3 of 22

Earthy Hues

Earthy tones and textures unite in this bedroom design scheme by Ben Johnston, who is known for his classic, visually appealing spaces.

Nick Johnson

4 of 22

Textured Beauty

A mix of classic and modern aesthetics are at work in this New York guest bedroom designed by Thom Filicia. The room is outfitted with layers of texture, including a custom rug from Patterson Flynn & Martin and drapery fabric by Mila Blake.

Alyssa Rosenheck

5 of 22

Sophisticated Black

Sophisticated black walls serve as the perfect backdrop in the bedroom of this Washington, D. C., apartment. White sateen bedding from Tribute Goods, muted artwork from Tennessee-based landscape artist Megan Lightell, and French white oak floors soften the design.

Simon Upton

6 of 22

Floor to Ceiling

Decorator Alisa Bloom outfitted her blue Chicago penthouse guest bedroom with a headboard in a vintage French fabric, and a pillow and coverlet in a Lee Jofa silk.

Simon Upton

7 of 22

Black Walls

For the master bedroom in her 1920s Chicago penthouse, Alisa Bloom embraced a dark palette, choosing walls sheathed in a black Holland & Sherry fabric. Along with unsigned artwork from Redefined Chicago, the space features a B&B Italia bed in a Holland & Sherry wool, a desk by Lucien Rollin, and a chair by Oscar de la Renta for Century. The 1940s console was purchased in Paris.

Douglas Friedman

8 of 22

Deep Gray

In Andy Cohen's Greenwich Village apartment, gray Ralph Lauren Home wallpaper complements the shades on the vintage Pierre Giraudon green-resin nightstand lamps from John Salibello. The bed is upholstered in a Maharam plaid by Paul Smith and dressed with Pratesi linens.

Mike Schwartz

9 of 22

Dark and Moody

When it came to designing this Lincoln Park home, interior design firm Studio Gild adhered to a dark and moody palette. The upholstered walls elevate the room and add to its cozy vibe.

Martin Westlake

10 of 22

Bamboo Style

A black bamboo staircase swoops upward to this master bedroom in Bali, featuring a domed canopy of shaped bamboo.

Mikkel Vang

11 of 22

Daring Gray

The Manhattan loft of Coldplay guitarist Jonny Buckland is a lesson in decorating around dark gray walls—Farrow & Ball's Modern Emulsion in Down Pipe to be exact. The bed by BDDW is dressed with linens by Ralph Lauren Home and a pillow covered in a vintage grain sack; the chairs are by Eames and the painting is by Thilo Heinzmann.

Richard Powers

12 of 22

Glam Blue

A rancher in Upstate New York benefits from glam blue walls—upholstered in a Ralph Lauren wool suiting—along with a ceiling
covered in a Stark tea-leaf paper, custom wool carpet by Hokanson, and artwork (over the bed) by Richard Serra.

Cynthia Lynn

13 of 22

Black Quilted Accent

To boost this guest bedroom's style factor, Sally Grimes of PROjECT Interiors opted for a black channel-quilted leather headboard and a Moroccan wedding blanket adorned in sequins.

Christopher Sturman

14 of 22

Dramatic Blue

Carol Fertig transformed this Manhattan apartment with deep blue walls, an antique suzani, ivory linen pillows by Calvin Klein Home, and a Swedish inlaid wood table from the 1950s.

Douglas Friedman

15 of 22

Muted Tones

Michael Bruno, the founder of 1stdibs, crafted a composed bedroom look by painting the walls in Benjamin Moore's Indian River, a timeless, rich neutral. The custom bed is upholstered in a silk mohair by J. Robert Scott, the bedding is by Deborah Sharpe Linens, the 1940s bedside tables are from a Paris flea market, and the gilt-wood mirror is 18th century. The rug is by Mansour Modern.

Patrick Cline

16 of 22

Soothing Navy

Navy walls adds to this Brooklyn bedroom's calming feel. The inviting space features interior design by Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason of AphroChic.

Douglas Friedman

17 of 22

Statement Florals

Interior designer Mary McDonald relied on a riot of florals to create a maximalist bedroom in the California home of TooFaced co-founders, Jerrod Blandino and Jeremy Johnson. The design also features curtains in Schumacher's Bermuda Blossoms fabric, a black and ivory rug from Loloi's Kahelo Collection, and Greek Key bedding in black from Williams-Sonoma Home.

Dana Meijilson

18 of 22

Black Meets Gray

An elegant combination of black and gray tones finish this bedroom design by Mark Cunningham. Cozy fabrics and doses of chrome add to the modern, elevated aesthetic.

Simon Upton

19 of 22

Parisian Retreat

The master bedroom in French A-Lister Jean-Louis Deniot's Parisian apartment boasts a calming palette, including black, white, and blue. The walls are coated in a custom slate-colored paint, the portraits are from the 16th century through the 1960s, the crystal lamps and bronze ceiling pendant are by Deniot, and the leather rug is by Serge Lesage.

Trevor Tondro

20 of 22

Luxe Textures

Textured black walls, along with a combination of deep browns and reds, steal the show in the luxurious master bedroom of a Central Park apartment.

Eric Piasecki; Produced by Cynthia Frank

21 of 22

Earth Tones

In this Manhattan home by Steven Gambrel, the children's bedroom showcases the power of color to transform a room. Rich browns and pops of orange tie the playful space together. The trundle bed is painted in Benjamin Moore's Ravishing Red, and the ceiling is painted in the company's Rust. The nightstand, featuring stylish nailheads, is by Restoration Hardware, the side table is by Jonathan Adler, the photographs are by Lynn Davis, and the raffia wallcovering is by Phillip Jeffries.

Laura Resen

22 of 22

Bold Blue

In this cozy master bedroom, a collection of framed antique scrolls from Tokyo, stylish mirrors, and a 19th-century taxidermy zebra are set against walls painted in Benjamin Moore’s Blue Note.

20+ Guest Rooms That Are Sure to Impress

Monique Valeris Senior Home Editor Monique Valeris is the senior home editor for Good Housekeeping, where she oversees the brand's home decorating coverage across print and digital.

Design A Dark Bedroom For Better Sleep

Are you experiencing insomnia or other types of sleep problems? Have you tried several things and nothing seems to work? You have tried essential oils, sleep meditation, or even sleeping pills and still can’t sleep. Well, maybe your bedroom design and color scheme are to blame. 

Our bedrooms should be our sanctuaries to help provide a good nights’ sleep. Your environment should evoke calmness, comfort, and relaxation. There are a few things to keep in mind when designing or remodeling your bedroom. Dark bedrooms have been proven to help induce deep sleep and help ward off insomnia.

Why Does a Dark Bedroom Help us Sleep Better?

Dark colored bedrooms help us to relax and unwind. Bright colors can energize us and keep us from falling asleep and sleeping well. Having the least amount of light and stimulus in our bedroom is the best way to assure a calm and restful night. 

The circadian cycle is like our own internal clock telling us when it’s time to wake and when it’s time to sleep. Light has a major impact on our circadian cycle and can have big impacts on our sleep. 

“Light signals to the body that it should be awake. On the other hand, darkness signals that it’s time to sleep. Often referred to as the sleep hormone, melatonin is also known as the darkness hormone, since its production coincides with darkness. Your brain begins releasing melatonin a few hours before you go to bed, reaching its peak in the middle of the night.”

Tips for Designing a Dark Bedroom 

Your bedroom should be your sanctuary to provide rejuvenating sleep. If you can, avoid working in your bedroom during the day. Make sure that you associate your bedroom with sleep and rest.

Assure that exterior light is blocked and cannot enter to wake you or to disturb your deep sleep.

Blue light from our smartphones and other devices is proven to stimulate and interfere with deep sleep. The light emitted may trick your brain into thinking that it is daylight and therefore meddle with your circadian cycle. 

Red light filters exist to block the blue light from certain devices. Smartphones and tablets may come with a “night mode” that will help block blue light. 

If you use an e-reader before bedtime, make sure that it has a red filter or night mode.

The small and seemingly innocuous light coming from your alarm clock may actually provide enough light in your bedroom to disrupt sleep.  

Choose an alarm clock with the least light possible or turn the light away from you.

Installing dimmers in your bedroom can be a beneficial investment. Try dimming the lights gradually 1 hour before you intend to go to sleep. This will trigger melatonin and help your circadian cycle believe that it’s time for sleep.

Eye masks can help block out light when other options are not available.

Dark Bedroom Ideas

Color trends come and go and you may be tempted to go with the latest color scheme that you saw on Pinterest. The one room that needs a little more consideration color-wise is the bedroom. It should be well thought out because it has a huge impact on your sleep and your health. 

“Navy and midnight blues, charcoal grays, deep teals, and even black, which is the trickiest to pull off if you don’t get a lot of natural light in your space. But it’s doable. The word on the street is that this trend might actually be beneficial for sleep—either it helps you drift off easily and/or stay asleep longer. And that’s because darkness, or lack of light, is key for melatonin production.”

Black bedrooms have become trendy and can help you sleep better. Are you looking into redesigning your current bedroom? Here are a few design ideas for a dark or black bedroom. 

Pinterest

Pinterest

Pinterest

Helpful Tip: Painting black walls in your whole bedroom may sound intimidating. Consider painting only one wall black or a dark color. This may also be a good idea if your space is small. Remember that black or dark color will make the room look even smaller.

Pinterest

Trick: If the idea of a black bedroom is not appealing to you, you may want to choose another color that doesn’t reflect much light like a teal, indigo, or dark green. 

Pinterest

Pinterest

Pinterest

Design Ideas

Look into changing a few items in your bedroom if redesigning the entire room is not possible. Sometimes a small change can make a big difference. 

Amazon

Amazon

Amazon

 

Go Dark and Sleep Better

If you are experiencing any sleep disturbances you should be looking at all the possible reasons for this. Sometimes a simple bedroom redesign can help you to drift off to sleep faster and stay asleep. Diminishing any possible light infiltrations and providing a dimmed environment before bedtime can help your mind wind-down and let you get that much-needed rest.

Color and light have huge impacts on our lives and on our health. Make sure to surround yourself with the winning components to provide restorative sleep. When we are well rested we can tackle the day with energy and motivation. 

Read online Dark Night by Gena Showalter - LitRes

Gena Showalter

THE DARKEST NIGHT

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce in whole or in part in any form.

This edition is published with permission from Harlequin Books S.A.

Cover illustration used with permission from Harlequin Enterprises limited. All rights reserved.

The Harlequin and Diamond trademarks are owned by Harlequin Enterprises limited or its corporate affiliates and may only be used under a sublicense agreement.

This book is a work of fiction.

Names, characters, places of action are fictitious or creatively rethought. All analogies with real characters or events are accidental.

The Darkest Night

Copyright © 2008 by Gena Showalter

Dark Night

© Centerpolygraph, 2018

© ", 2018

* * *

Every night Maddox died. He died slowly and painfully. And every morning he woke up again alive and in complete despair, for he knew for sure that everything would happen again the next night. Such was the terrible curse that weighed on him - his eternal punishment.

He ran his tongue over his teeth - how much he wanted to plunge them into someone's throat. The sun had already set, and Maddox felt with all his being how time was slipping away, how the seconds added up into minutes and, mockingly, indifferently, were carried away, bringing the agony of the night closer. Another hour and he'll bleed to death. And nothing can be done about it: no matter what he does, no matter what he says, everything will happen as always - he will suffer, and then die.

- Damn gods! - he growled and began to toss the barbell with redoubled energy.

Bastards. All of them,” came a familiar male voice from behind him.

Maddox continued to press the bar with a frenzy, not paying attention to either the person who entered or his words. Up down. Up down. He had come to the gym a few hours ago, hoping that exercise would help curb the rage that was choking him. Hanging bag, treadmill, now barbell - Maddox has tried everything. He was drenched in sweat, almost lost consciousness from tension and fatigue, but, alas, the further, the more passion took over him.

"You shouldn't be here," he snapped.

Thorin sighed:

– Look, I didn't mean to interfere, but something happened.

– Well, what do I have to do with it?

– I need your help.

"I can't help it," he replied coldly and indifferently.

For the last few weeks Maddox has been on edge, every little thing has driven him into a frenzy, and then he has become deadly to those around him. Even for friends. Especially for friends. He loved them very much, but at times the thirst to destroy and kill became stronger than him, overshadowed his mind, deprived him of his will.

“But Maddox…

“I'm at my limit, Thorin,” he croaked. “I will do more harm than good now.

Maddox was well aware of his limits. Actually, all the troubles began for him and his friends with the fact that he overestimated himself.

On that distant day, the gods bypassed his trust, entrusting the task, which he rightfully considered his own, to another warrior, or rather, to a warrior. Pandora knew no equal on the battlefield, but Maddox, in his opinion, she was very far away. He was stronger, more resilient, more experienced. And yet, the keeper of Dim-Uniak, the sacred casket, where demons languished in captivity, so evil and unbridled that they were even expelled from hell, it was not him, but her. Naturally, Maddox was angry, and very angry. Other warriors, his friends, were also outraged to the core. They faithfully served their divine masters, drawing their swords at the first word and shedding blood for them, their own and the enemy's. And how were they thanked for it? When the real task turned up, they preferred a woman to them. Deciding to teach their masters a lesson, the warriors stole Dim-Uniak from Pandora and released the demons to freedom. What a fool they were! They thought to prove their power by catching the demons again, but nothing came of them, and the casket disappeared without a trace. The world plunged into chaos and darkness, in which it remained until the king of the gods intervened, sharpening a demon inside each of the guilty warriors.

A worthy punishment! Warriors released evil to avenge wounded pride; now they themselves have become its receptacle.

That's how the Lords of the Underworld were born.

Maddox got the demon Violence. It has become as much an integral part of his being as the lungs or the heart. Man could no longer live without a demon, and a demon without a man; they were as if woven into each other, merged into a single organism.

From the very first day, the creature that settled inside Maddox pushed him to various atrocities, but he did not find the strength to resist. Once the demon even forced him to kill a woman - that same Pandora.

Remembering this, the warrior gripped the bar with such force that he almost injured his joints.

He spent many years learning to curb Violence, restrain its most bloodthirsty impulses, but this was given to him with great difficulty, and he knew that at any moment he could break loose.

“What wouldn't I give for a single day of complete rest! – sometimes mentally shouted Maddox. - To not have the desire to hurt others. There were no fights with myself. There were no worries. There was no death. And there was only ... peace.

“I can hurt you,” Maddox said to his friend, who was still standing in the doorway. - You'd better leave. He hoisted the barbell onto its mounts and sat down on the bench. “Only Lucien and Reyes can be with me at midnight.

Lucien and Reyes were really there every night, forced, no matter how horrified they were, to take part in what was happening to him. Such was the need of the demons that inhabited them, and they submitted.

"It's still an hour until midnight," said Thorin, throwing a towel at Maddox, "so I might take a chance."

Maddox caught a towel and wiped the sweat off his face:

- Give me some water.

A bottle of ice water followed the path of the towel. Maddox caught it and drained it greedily, then silently stared at his friend.

Thorin, as always, was dressed in all black, and his hands were hidden by gloves. Shoulder-length blond wavy hair beautifully framed a sensuous face. Mortal women adored him. They did not know that under the appearance of an angel, the real devil is hiding. His green eyes looked mockingly and unkindly - the way a man who kills looks, laughing in the face of his victim. Or die laughing in the face of the killer.

To keep from going crazy, Thorin had to joke and laugh, even when—especially when—it wasn't funny at all. They all had to do this.

Like all the inhabitants of the fortress near Budapest, Thorin was cursed. He may not have died every night like Maddox, but in the end it was no better for him: his touch killed.

In Thorin was the Sickness.

He had already forgotten what it was like to feel the touch of a woman. A very long time ago, four hundred years ago, Thorin fell in love with a girl. A few gentle touches, and the girl was gone - she was carried away by the plague, and with her, tens and hundreds more people died, village after village. Thorin learned his lesson forever.

- Give me five minutes. The warrior was clearly determined. Five minutes is all I ask. Is it really that much?

- Do you think the gods will punish us today for insulting them? Maddox asked, trying to change the subject.

“If you don’t give the interlocutor the opportunity to voice the request, then you won’t have to offend him with a refusal,” he decided.

Thorin sighed sadly again.

- Every breath we take is already a punishment.

“That's right! thought Maddox, his eyes fixed on the ceiling, his lips twisted into a smirk. - Bastards! Punish me even harder! Come on! Maybe at least then I will finally disappear from the face of the earth forever. However, it is unlikely that the gods will even lift a finger ... ” Having cast a midnight curse on him, they pretended that he did not exist, not responding to either prayers or scolding. “Really, what else can they do to me? Maddox asked himself gloatingly. - I die again and again, day after day, deprived of everything good and bright. Violence corrodes my soul and body. No, it can't get any worse."

Maddox got up from the bench, threw a wet towel and an empty water bottle into the laundry basket and walked around the room. Stopping at the window, he clasped his hands behind his head and for some time silently peered into the night through a wonderful old stained-glass window, some of which were transparent.

He saw heaven and hell, freedom and imprisonment, everything and nothing. He saw... a house.

The castle where the warriors lived stood on the top of a high hill, and from the window of Maddox's room there was a dizzying view of a huge bustling city, which now shone with multi-colored lights. It was a real riot of light and colors. The lights of lanterns, neon advertisements and searchlights illuminated the vault of heaven hanging over the city, reflected in the imposing waters of the Danube; the snow that bound the trees in the forest around the castle, the snowflakes dancing in the wind, the air and the wind - everything seemed to be saturated with light.

Maddox and his comrades climbed so high and far on purpose. No one asked unnecessary questions: “Why don’t you grow old?”, “What kind of screams are heard around at night?”, “Why do you sometimes look and act like a monster?”. It didn't concern anyone. The locals considered them angels and did not go up the hill - either out of fear or out of respect.

“Angels. Ha!" Maddox was outraged. His nails lengthened and he dug them into the windowsill. Budapest is a city of extraordinary beauty, combining the charm of antiquity and modern pleasures, but the warrior always felt cut off, cut off from it all - the Castle District with the majestic Buda Castle, the streets and lanes flooded with people, bars and nightclubs, street vendors with stalls, full of vegetables and fruits. This unpleasant feeling of alienation oppressed him. It probably would have disappeared if he had been downstairs even once, but, alas, unlike the others, he had to sit in the castle without getting out. The most he could afford was a walk through the forest adjoining the fortress.

Maddox's nails have become even longer and almost turned into claws. "Hit the wall! Violence ordered. - Break something! Crush, kill! He would be glad to finish off the gods. All to one. Some to be beheaded, others to tear out their black, rotten hearts with bare hands.

The demon purred in approval.

“I wish you wouldn't purr,” Maddox thought with disgust. “You always rejoice when it comes to bleeding someone, and it doesn’t matter who it is.” Frowning, he gave the sky another look of hate.

It was an eternity between the warriors and the case with the chest, but Maddox remembered perfectly how it all happened. Rivers of blood, screams, groans, death, decay… Evil spirits drunk on blood tear and devour the corpses scattered everywhere.

Then the demon of Violence was instilled into him, and his consciousness plunged into twilight. The sounds are gone. He hardly saw or felt anything. When he finally woke up, the awakening was terrible: he was covered in blood, and Pandora was beating at his feet in her death throes. Maddox didn't quite understand why she was so shocked by her death - whether because it was a woman, or because she was one of his own, but he could not forgive himself for what he had done. The image of the dying warrior haunted him, causing pain and remorse.

Just then, standing over her lifeless body, he swore to himself that nothing like this would happen again, that he would learn to resist the orders of the demon. But it's too late. When the Supreme God Zeus found out about the death of the warrior, he became furious and sent another curse on the unfortunate man: every midnight he would die, like Pandora, from six blows to the stomach with a sword. But if she suffered for a few minutes, then his torture would last forever.

Maddox clenched his teeth, trying to suppress another outburst of anger. You are not the only one suffering within these walls, he reminded himself. The rest of the warriors were also possessed by evil spirits. In Thorin, Disease was embodied, in Lucien, Death, in Reyes, Pain, in Aeron, Fury, and, finally, in Paris, Debauchery.

“Why didn't I get Debauchery? I would be in the city, meet women, revel in every sound, every touch, Maddox sometimes thought. He was afraid to appear among people - he was not completely sure of himself, that he would be able to cope with the demon. In addition, if he suddenly does not have time to return home by midnight, someone can find and bury his dead, bloodied body, or, worse, burn it ... And the worst thing is that this will still not be the end. If something like that could put an end to his earthly suffering, he would have long ago allowed himself to be roasted in a pit or jumped out of the highest window of the fortress. But no. No matter what he does - charred, mutilated, with pain all over his body - he will still wake up again.

- Stop staring out the window! Thorin interrupted his gloomy thoughts. “Are you not at all interested in what I want to tell you?”

Maddox blinked:

- Ah, you're still here...

Thorin raised an eyebrow:

- Apparently the answer to my question is no.

- I suck.

- Stop whining! I have to show you something. It is very important. Let's go. I'll explain along the way. - With these words, Thorin turned and left the hall.

After a moment's hesitation, Maddox followed his friend. “Thorin told me to stop whining. Yes, that's exactly what I just did, he thought. Gloomy gaiety and curiosity replaced spleen and apathy. "What the hell happened anyway?" - flashed through his head.

He repeated the question out loud.

- Finally, I hear interest in your voice.

- God forbid if this is one of your idiotic jokes!

Thorin was very fond of practical jokes. For example, once, when Paris announced that pretty girls were gone from the city, he bought several hundred rubber women, blew them up and planted them all over the fortress. Thus Thorin was saved from boredom.

“I really need to play a joke on a man,” Thorin snapped without turning around, “who has no sense of humor.

Maddox didn't really have one.

They were walking along a long dark corridor. Although electricity had long been brought to the castle, part of the premises, including this corridor, were still lit by torches. They were fastened to the ancient stone walls with special holders, and in their flickering, pulsing light, it seemed as if the space was inhabited by spirits and shadows. The castle where the warriors lived, the Hall of the Damned, as Thorin jokingly dubbed it, was built many centuries ago, and although the warriors repaired and modernized it as best they could, there was still a sense of antiquity in the air.

They walked around half the fortress, but they didn't meet anyone else.

- Where is everyone? Maddox was surprised.

“Paris is in the city, looking for a new woman,” replied Thorin, adding caustically: “We are running out of food for which Paris is responsible, and it would be nice to replenish stocks, but no, women, of course, are more important.

"The bastard is in luck!" Maddox thought, but said nothing aloud.

The curse of Paris, in which the demon of Debauchery was instilled, consisted in the fact that he was obsessed with a thirst for sex, and a warrior could sleep with one woman only once and because of this he was always looking for new acquaintances. If on some day he failed to seduce a single woman, the fate of Paris was unenviable - the demon got his way, forcing him to do such things, at the very thought of which any normal man would turn inside out. Maddox knew and remembered this kind of side effect, but he still envied his friend, especially when he began to talk about his "victories". Gentle touches... Rapid breathing... Hot skin... Moans of pleasure...

Thorin meanwhile continued:

“Aeron…” He hesitated. “Actually, this is just one of the things I wanted to tell you about.

Maddox tensed.

- Did something happen to him? - he asked.

Violence stirred inside him. “Crash! Kill!" he demanded. Aeron, like all of them, was immortal, but even an immortal could be badly injured or even killed.

“No,” Thorin answered quickly, guessing his thoughts, “nothing like that… He’s fine.

Maddox calmed down; anxiety subsided - anger receded.

- So where is he? Maddox asked. “Fumbling somewhere with rags and a mop?”

Each of the warriors had their own household duties. Aeron had to keep clean, which he constantly complained and resented. Maddox was approached if something needed to be fixed. Thorin played on the stock exchange - they had to live on something. Lucien paid the bills and did all the other paperwork. And finally, Reyes bought weapons.

– He was… called up.

Maddox nearly stumbled in surprise.

- What-what? he asked, deciding what he heard.

"The gods called him up," repeated Thorin patiently.

- What do they want? Maddox was amazed. The Olympians have not called on any of them since Pandora's death. Why didn't you tell me about it right away?

Thorin shrugged his shoulders:

– As for your first question, I have no idea. We were all sitting together and watching a movie, and suddenly he tensed up, stretched out into a string, as if he had been suspended by the top of his head, and there was no expression on his face - well, you yourself remember how it happens. Then he woke up and said that he had been called. We didn’t even have time to ask him about anything - he immediately disappeared. - Taking a breath, Thorin continued: - As for your second question, I tried to tell you everything, but you did not listen.

Maddox's eyelid twitched.

- You should have told me right away!

– So that you, feeling emotional, would throw a barbell at me? No. I, you know, Illness, not Stupidity.

"What could they need from Aeron?" Maddox asked himself. The thought that popped into his head took his breath away. The demon of Rage imprisoned in Aeron from time to time dispersed so much that it became completely uncontrollable, and then, unable to resist his evil will, Aeron began to massacre people with a bad conscience in batches. “Suddenly the gods got angry with him for this and called for another curse on him as punishment, as they did on me?” he thought.

In his heart Maddox growled:

- If they do anything to him, I swear I'll find a way to climb the damn Olympus and cause such a massacre that it won't show.

His eyes flashed red.

"Don't start," Thorin said conciliatoryly. “We're all worried about Aeron, but so far nothing bad has happened. He'll be back soon and explain what's what.

"Fair," Maddox thought, and forced himself to relax with an effort of will.

- Was anyone else called? - he asked.

“No, no one else,” Thorin replied. Lucien collects souls. Reyes... don't know where he is; probably cutting himself somewhere.

Maddox suppressed a sigh. Although he himself had a hard time, he felt sorry for Reyes, who could not live an hour without injuring himself.

They came to the stairs.

- What else did you want to tell me? Maddox asked.

“It will be better if you see for yourself,” replied Thorin.

“What is there? Maddox asked himself. “Is there anything worse than the news about Aeron?”

They came to the break room. It was the most comfortable and habitable of the castle premises, a kind of protected area, for the arrangement of which the soldiers spared neither effort nor money. What was not there: upholstered furniture, a refrigerator filled to capacity with expensive wines and high-quality beer, a billiard table - in a word, everything you need to relax both body and soul. There was even a basketball hoop hanging there. The picture of abundance was complemented by an incredible size plasma panel. When Maddox and Thorin entered, she was at work, and judging by the fact that an orgy with at least three women was playing on the screen, Paris was the last one watching TV.

Maddox voiced this conclusion. Thorin silently quickened his pace, if possible without looking at the screen. Maddox bit his tongue, realizing that he had made a fool of himself. Out of respect for the feelings of Thorin, handsome, charming, as if specially created for carnal pleasures, but forever excommunicated, the warriors tried not to touch topics related to women and sex in his presence.

Even Maddox had an affair from time to time.

His mistresses were usually the former passions of Paris, who, not wanting to come to terms with the fact that everything was over, went up to the castle. By and large, they did not care with whom to sleep, they were tormented by desire - they were still under the influence of the demon of Debauchery. Therefore, not finding Paris or having received a categorical refusal, they easily consoled themselves in the arms of Maddox.

The old castle kept many secrets, so the warriors had a rule: no strangers within its walls, and, following this rule, Maddox took the girls into the forest and took possession of them among ancient trees, right on the bare damp earth. Sex turned out to be impersonal, but Maddox didn’t want more. Putting the girl on her knees, he entered her from behind - it was important for him not to see the face of his partner, so that Violence, waking up, would not force him to do something, for which he would later have to hate himself.

And then Maddox sent these girls home, forbidding them to return under threat of death. He did not want a long relationship, he was afraid to become attached to a person, and then hurt him.

However, there was one girl who he especially remembered, although for her sake he did not deviate from his rules. It was something much more than just mechanical, animal copulation. He wanted to kiss her, lick her whole body, drown in her, completely losing his "I", love her without looking back, without fear of losing control of the evil spirit and harming her.

Maddox shook his head slightly, shaking off the daydream. What's the point of having your head in the clouds?

At last they reached the room occupied by Thorin.

Maddox looked around his friend's bedroom with a puzzled look. Since his last visit, it has changed: along one of the walls there is a huge unit with a bunch of monitors and a control panel strewn with buttons, lights and levers. Unlike Thorin, Maddox disliked technology. The world was changing too fast and he couldn't keep up with it. In addition, he was burdened by the feeling that each new round of technological progress separated him one more step from the old world, when they were just carefree warriors. But all this, of course, did not prevent him from actively using all the innovations.

- Have you decided to take over the world? – grunted Maddox, finally tearing himself away from the contemplation of the car and turned to his friend.

- What are you, I'm just a humble observer. But now we can be sure that a mosquito will not fly through these forests without our knowledge. Very convenient,” said Thorin, sitting in an office chair in front of the largest of the monitors and began to press the buttons on the control panel. The monitor lit up and an image appeared on it. - So. Here is what I wanted to show you.

Maddox stood behind his friend and stared at the screen. Seeing nothing but trees, he frowned.

- And what am I supposed to see here?

- Patience.

“Hurry up,” he said sharply.

“Do you know how to ask politely,” Thorin grunted. “Just one more moment.

He was poking at the keys again. The image shifted to the side and was painted in the colors of the infrared spectrum. A red spot flashed between the blue-green trees.

- Get it back in the frame. Maddox leaned sharply towards the screen, nearly hitting Thorin.

He was a professional warrior and assassin, not a spy, but he knew that the red glow meant the warmth of a living organism. Maddox tensed.

A few more pushes on the buttons. The screen flickered, the red spot reappeared in the frame.

Is this a person?

- Definitely.

- Woman or man?

Thorin shrugged his shoulders:

- More like a woman. The man would be bigger, the child, on the contrary, smaller.

Residents of Budapest and the surrounding villages avoided the castle, not to mention coming to the hill at night. Maddox could count on the fingers of one hand the mortals who had climbed up to the castle over the past year: couriers, several children, Paris's girlfriends, that was all.

– Maybe this is one of Paris's girlfriends? he suggested.

- Maybe so. Or maybe...

- "Maybe" what? Maddox spoke forcefully.

“Hunter,” Thorin finished his thought. “Bait, to be more precise.

Maddox pressed his lips together tightly.

– And if there are no jokes?

- I'm not kidding. Think yourself. Couriers go with a bag or a box. Both they and Paris's girlfriends go straight to the door, not stopping anywhere. But this one has nothing with her, and she walks in circles, stops every few minutes, huddles first against one tree, then another. What is she doing there? Quite possibly setting up explosives to blow us up, or setting up cameras.

- You yourself just said: she is empty-handed.

- Both the explosives and the cameras are small - she can hide them under her clothes or in her pockets.

Maddox closed his eyes and massaged his cervical vertebrae.

"Hunters haven't shown up for several millennia," he said softly.

- Well, maybe their children and the children of their children's children have been looking for us all this time, and finally luck has smiled on the next generation.

Horror stirred in Maddox's stomach. First Aeron was called, and now an uninvited guest. Just a coincidence? Maddox's thoughts traveled back to those distant, dark days in Greece, days of war and unending cruelty, screaming, and death; days when warriors were more demonic than human; days when the desire to destroy determined all their actions, and the streets were littered with dead bodies. Soon, people rallied against their tormentors - this is how the hunters appeared, a combat squad entirely consisting of mortals, whose goal was to destroy the villains.

The blood feud between hunters and warriors has been going on for centuries. Maddox recalled fierce battles, when swords clashed and flames raged, spreading the smell of burnt flesh through the air. However, the most terrible weapon of the hunters was deceit. They trained a bait woman who seduced the warriors and blunted their guard so that they could not repulse a surprise attack. That is how Baden died, possessed by the demon of Unbelief. True, they could not kill the demon itself, he simply jumped out of the torn body, writhing, distraught due to the fact that he had lost his master. Maddox had no idea where that spirit was now.

"The gods really hate us," Thorin said. “There was no better way to harm us than to send in hunters at the very moment when our lives more or less settled down.

Maddox's sense of terror grew.

- They would hardly want the demons, insane and uncontrollable, which is exactly what they will be without us, to break out into the big world. Is not it so?

“Who knows why they act this way or that way,” Thorin said affirmatively, without the slightest hint of interrogative intonation. None of the warriors, even after so many years, had learned to understand the gods. “Maddox, we have to do something.

Maddox glanced at the wall clock and tensed.

- Call Paris.

- I called. His mobile is not responding.

- Call...

- Do you really think that I would have yanked you at almost midnight if there was someone else besides the two of us? Thorin asked, turning his head and looking at his friend intently. “There is no one to go but you.

Maddox shook his head:

- Very soon I will die. I can't get out of the castle.

“I can’t either,” Thorin said in response, and something frightening flashed in his eyes, some kind of bitterness that turned them from green to poisonous emerald. “At least you won’t wipe out the entire human race just by going out into the street.

- Thorin. ..

- You can't win this argument, Maddox, so don't waste your time.

Maddox ran his hand through his dark, shoulder-length hair, his irritation growing. “Let it stay in the forest and die,” Violence declared, by “it” meaning a person.

- What if it's a hunter? Thorin said, as if reading his friend's thoughts. "What if it's bait?" We can't let her live. She must be killed.

- What if it's an innocent person and my midnight curse takes effect? Maddox protested, pushing the demon as deep as he could into himself.

Thorin's expression twisted for a moment with guilt, as if the lives he had once taken spoke to his conscience, imploring him to save those he could help.

- I don't know. Act according to circumstances. But we still can't sit idly by...

Maddox gritted his teeth. He was not a cruel, heartless man, he was not a beast. He hated the waves of anger that now and then rolled over him, threatening to completely take over him. He hated what he did, what he was, and, most importantly, what he would become if, even for a moment, he would stop resisting the dark desires and thoughts inspired by the demon.

- Where is the person now? Maddox asked. The decision was made: he would set off into the night, even if it cost him dearly.

- Near the Danube.

"He'll be there in fifteen minutes if he runs," Maddox decided. “I have just enough time to arm myself, find the man, escort him to the sanctuary if he is innocent, or kill him if necessary, and return to the fortress. If something suddenly delays me, I will die right in the forest, and then all the other daredevils who had the imprudence to climb the hill, if there are any, will be in danger, because when the first pains begin, Violence will completely subdue my thoughts and feelings. My only goal then will be destruction.”

- If I'm not back by midnight, send the others to look for my body, along with the bodies of Lucien and Reyes.

Death and Pain came to Maddox every night, no matter where he was. Pain struck, and Death accompanied his soul to hell, where it remained, tormented by fire and demons almost as vicious as Violence, until the morning. Unfortunately, Maddox could not vouch for the safety of his friends if you caught them midnight in the forest: he could injure them when they came to him. And if this happens, then the physical suffering that he experiences every night will be supplemented by pangs of conscience.

“Promise me,” he insisted.

Flashing his eyes, Thorin nodded:

– Be careful, my friend.

Maddox hurried out of the room. When he was halfway down the corridor, Thorin called out:

- Maddox! You must take a look at this!

Stepping back quickly, Maddox felt a new stab of fear. "What is it this time? he asked himself. “What could be worse than what I have already seen?” Once again at the monitors, he raised an eyebrow and looked expectantly at Thorin, indicating that he must hurry.

Thorin jerked his chin towards the screen.

- There seem to be four more. All men… or Amazons. They didn't exist before.

Apple Watch Series 7 Smartwatch, 45mm, Dark Night

The Apple Watch S7 is 20% larger than the Series 6 and 50% larger than the Series 3. Engineers and designers worked together to reduce a border around the edges of the Retina display, making the display area larger. At the same time, the display itself is now brighter and does not go out when you lower your hand - it is always on and consumes less energy.

Rugged to go with you The
Series 7 features the toughest and most ruggedized screen on an Apple watch: the new generation of Watch is impact-resistant, crack-resistant, dust-proof and submersible - you can swim in the pool and dive with peace of mind at a depth of up to 50 meters, fully devoting himself to sports training.

Keeping track of your health
Displaying the time is only one of the many functions of a smart watch, and not the most important one. Series 7 lets you keep track of your health by displaying blood oxygen levels, ECG data, sleep statistics and more. You will always know what state your body is in - and all this thanks to a compact and convenient watch that does not need to be removed either when going to the shower or preparing for bed.

The Watch S7 can track blood oxygen saturation

Oxygen
Keeping track of your overall health is easy with your blood oxygen levels, and Apple Watch Series 7 has everything you need to do so. One glance at the display is enough and you already know if you need additional activity. At the same time, the watch measures oxygen even in the background - no need to turn on a separate application or put it into a specific sport mode.

Cardio
Electrodes for measuring heart activity are built into the watch wheel, as well as its back panel - just touch it with your finger and wait a few tens of seconds to get all the necessary data on your heartbeat. You will instantly know whether it is in the normal range or has signs of deviations - then you can go to the doctor for an examination in time.

8 minutes of charging is enough for 8 hours of sleep monitoring

Sleep well
Healthy and sound sleep is the key to cheerfulness and productivity of the whole subsequent day. Apple Watch helps you balance your daily routine and set the right mode, as well as remind you of all the tasks that you need to complete before going to bed. Get enough sleep every night - and the Watch will monitor compliance with the regime and the frequency of your breathing, applying statistics on it every morning.

Descriptions: