Crushed Crown

Crushed Crown 4

UNHOLYWAR4

Luciano

"I hear the witches sacrifice one another.  I hear the Witch king kills his own people for strength."

"What kind of monsters kill their own?"

I sit there and think of it when I am on line at the merchant. The big tent is high as hell. Different pictures of blood are photographed and plastered on the side of the truck.  It makes my mouth water to tell the truth. See that's the thing.  Being a vampire, I was able to really tell the difference between different sorts of blood.  This truck had the quality king.

""How much is 4 ounces of the Japanese AB blood?"

"80."

"I'll take it."

The blood truck is sitting right outside the school.  It's rare blood but good.  I drink from the bag slowly pasted outside of the school.  Nowadays everyone seems to be talking about the Witch King.  Either that or keeping themselves busy somehow.  Vogel of the Delarosa Brood is wrestling a few other of the vampires from the other classes.  He's showing off.  He knows our class; Class 0 are the strongest vampires.  We've been bred to be just that.

"Hey sexy."

In the same moment I see Sage walk over to me.  Sage is a nice looking guy.  He's handsome to say the least.  He's sitting with a bunch of other people from my class.  I think he's waiting for his chariot.  He comes from the Sacrament Brood.  They were one of the better known broods.  Their linage of vampires was known for producing strong powerful vampires.  This isn't the first time he's approached me.  My grandfather would love the idea of me getting with someone of his pedigree.

"You a bit thirsty today huh?" he asks looking down at my vial of blood.

"Ever since Genesis took the throne the price of blood has skyrocketed."

"How much was it?"

"40."

"Here."

He pulls out some money at that moment and hands it to me.  I can tell he's trying to impress me with money.  This isn't his first time.  The thing about it though is that I'm not easily impressed.

"I'm good," I tell him.

"Why don't you never let me do anything nice for you, Luke?" he asks me.

He calls me by my nickname as though he knows me like that.  My grandfather would love me talking to someone of his pedigree and personally I'd hate it.  Out of all the supernatural species in Eden, Vampires tended to be the most stuck up.  Everything was about image.  Everything was about appearance with us.  I was supposed to be with someone like Sage.

"My family can afford blood.  I don't need for anything."

"It's not about that," he states, "It's about the fact that I've been trying to get with you for a while now and it never works."

He leans over at that moment.  He puts his hand on my face.  Sage is handsome.  He's has brown hair and green eyes.  He has pink lips and white teeth.  Those things were important when picking someone to be with for the forever.  But that's now what mattered the most to my family.  I've seen his fangs before in class.  I've seen how beautiful and pointed they were.  They could drain a human dry.

I should be attracted to him.  I should really like him but for some reason I don't.

There is a distraction in the distance and I recognize who it is.  It's my best friend Enzo.  

"I have to go."

I see Sage turn his face up.  He's looking over at Enzo, from Class B.  Sage isn't the first one in my class to act like he's better than others from different classes.  Someone told Sage he was special because his family was old and rich and he believed it.  

I don't know how many times I've been asked why I hang with Enzo.

I find Enzo at the blood truck.  He's going off.

"Just yesterday you were selling these for 35," Enzo states.

"Today is a new day," the blood merchant says, "So it'll be 40 American dollars."

"Fuck this!"

I'm wish I could say I'm surprised when Enzo snatches the blood out of the blood merchants hand and takes off as fast as he can.  Before I know it I'm chasing after him.  The blood merchant is calling out all bloody murder as we run away.

We are fast as we go through the crowded streets of Eden.  It's a warm day. The weather in Eden never fluctuates too bad.  It's always perfect here.  It's so different from Arizona where I was originally from before all vampires fled the human world to migrate to Eden.  I wasn't around then but I heard the stories.  I heard we were running from something.

Someone.

People don't talk about it too much though.

"You crazy?" I ask Enzo.

We collapse on a nearby terrace.  The buildings in Eden are old fashioned.  Half of the roads aren't paved and I realized I'm fucking up my nice shoes chasing after my friend.

"Hi to you too, best friend," he laughs.

Enzo finds everything funny.  I push him hard.  So hard he grabs me and we tumble to the ground.  We get up.  There are some witches walking by who look at us like we are goddam fools.  I guess we are in a way.  

We're an odd pairing.

Enzo wasn't your normal looking vampire.  That is what I liked about him when I first met him.  He was heavy set.  He had the clear skin and the immortal glare like most vampires, but he kept his gap tooth from when he was human.  The Vampire curse hadn't turned him into this amazingly attractive person like it had done most others.  I was the typical vampire.  By typical, I had to admit that I was probably obnoxiously handsome in human terms.

I was blonde, green eyes, tall, handsome, athletic.   A lot of people said I looked like one of the Hemsworth brothers or something.  Like most vampires I was born and raised a human until puberty.  There was a difference between vampires like me and vampires like Enzo.  My brood was my actual family.  Enzo was adopted into a brood by strangers.  He had probably been illegally bitten by a vampire and turned immortal.  There were people who tracked down vampire strays and brought them to Eden.   

"You're going to get yourself arrested and thrown in jail," I state, "Or worse..."

Jail was a real thing in Eden.   Just like any other city in the United States we had laws, but unlike the United States we didn't have a president.  We had a king and King Genesis was ruthless when you didn't listen to his laws.

"They are getting ridiculous," he responds, "The Witch King is doing this on purpose.  He's raising the price on blood to keep us in control.  Less blood means weaker vampires.   That means less problem for the Pretender."

I see some witches go by.  They hear Enzo talking.  Enzo is playing a dangerous game.  He always does.  He knows that we can't talk like that and it makes him want to talk like that even more.

"Enzo...be careful."

The Witch Towers are not too far from here.  The palace is only a few blocks.  This is witch territory.  You can tell by how they are all color coded. White, Red, Black and Purple.  The witches scare the living shit out of me.  With werewolves or vampires, you knew what you get.  An old vampire had an ego about him.  You can tell their age even if they don't look it.  Werewolves were simple too.  Just stay away from the big ones.   The witches were different.  There was no telling which ones were the really dangerous ones.

And Eden was a dangerous city.  You say the wrong thing in front of the wrong person and you would be praying that prison is all you got.

"Look at this," Enzo states.

I know it's trouble before he does it.  He pulls out a paper.  It's a flyer.  I read out the words DOWN WITH GENESIS and I know I've read enough.

"What the hell is this?"

"There are people.  There are people who want better for Eden. They want to get rid of Genesis.  Eden deserves to be ruled by vampires."

"When we had a vampire king no one appreciated him," I remember.

It wasn't too long ago.  The old king Nero was the throne.  People complained every day that Nero was too soft.  Nero was too sweet.  Now they had a real hard ass as a king, but now they are complaining because the hard ass wasn't a vampire.  Motto is: People would always find something to complain about.

"You don't get it.  You're an Aristocrat."

I hate when my friend comes at me like that.  That's the worst thing you can say to me.

"I'm not just some rich boy," I argue with Enzo, "It's just my great-great grandfather says this is how things are now.  This is how things have to be."

"You don't get it.  You don't get how hard it is to afford blood.  You don't get how the King enforces his curfews on the city all day.  You don't get how taxes are going up.  It doesn't bother you because you're rich..."

I can see the look in Enzo's eyes.  He was wrong.  It did bother me.  I had seen Werewolves become the police of Eden.  I had seen witches being places in grand towers.  Vampires used to run this city but we had been invaded by two species that wanted nothing more than to control Eden.

Right now a witch and a werewolf ran Eden.

But what about us?  What about the vampires?

"Come with me," he states, "There is a man.  He wants to meet with me today. He wants me to join the Rebellion."

I think about it.

My family would kill me if they knew I was getting involved in this.  This isn't the first time Enzo talked about going up against the king.  This is the first time he seemed to have his shit together enough to put his words in to action.  

"I'll think about it."

"Lucciano...I don't want to do this alone," he tells me, "We do everything together."

Maybe that was the problem.  I was going to graduate soon.  My grandfather Lucretio already had an internship lined up for me at the family business at the Department of Supernatural Affairs working under Ambassador Santos.   I was set.  I knew that wasn't the case for Enzo.  Enzo and people like him usually had to become Runners.  They went into the human world to steal blood from blood banks, hospitals and other places for pennies on the dollar.   

I was blessed. I should have been happy.  

I should have been...content.

~

I get home.  My house is not too far from the Commerce district.  Eden is such a big place and the city is expanding every day especially with all the changes the new King was making.  With changes came higher taxes.  I had heard my family complaining about it from time to time but not like Enzo and the others by far.

"Where the hell have you been?"

I walk in and see my grandfather.  My grandfather has to older than dust by now.   You wouldn't know it looking at him though.  He looks my age.  He has a full beautiful set of blonde hair.  He's grown his hair all the way to his back.  His eyes are blue like mine.

Ever since my father died, I had to answer to my grandfather.

"Out with Enzo."

I don't dare lie to my grandfather. He's always had this ability to tell when I'm lying.  

"Him again.  When are you going to get tired of being around Mosquitoes?"

Mosquitoes.  That is one of the biggest insults in Eden among vampires at least.  Mosquitoes were people like Enzo. People didn't come from a pure lineage of vampires.  They were bitten. They were changed.  They were the bottom of the barrel.  It had gotten worse since King Genesis came to power.  The witches and werewolves all had lineage.  It was in their blood.  Anyone could become a vampire. The noble vampires resented this.  I guess they felt like it was a stain on the idea of a vampire that anyone could become one of us.

"He's my best friend."

"Are you talking back to me?"

I stop, "You don't understand he's..."

I don't get the word out.  All of a sudden I can't breathe.  My grandfather is squeezing at my neck.  He squeezes it so tight that I can barely breathe.  I see nothing but fangs at that moment.  His vampiric strength surpasses mine.  I can barely kick away.  I find him squeezing tighter and tighter.  Any human would have passed out by now or died.  The only thing keeping me alive is the fact that I'm immortal.  

"He's not Lucii.  Do you understand?"

I try to talk but I can't.  He drops me throwing me across the room.  I smash into the wall to heavily that it leaves a dent.

My family didn't do disrespect.  My grandfather gives me a look.  It's a hard look.  It tells me that I better not dare say anything out of order to him.  

I'm on the floor gagging for air, "Perfectly."

"Good.  Get ready for dinner.  We have an important guest."

~

The Lucii.

I take my seat at the table next to my grandfather, my great grandfather, my uncles and, my great uncles and the patriarch of my brood.  My great, great grandfather.  The women of the family were not allowed to be present at these dinners.  The Lucii brood was very old fashioned when it came to those sort of things.

We were all handsome.  We were all blonde.  We all looked not a day older than 25 and we would all stay like that forever.

I fit in.  At least physically.  These men followed the laws.  They did what they were told.  They played the game as it was meant to be played.  

But I don't fit in.

And I feel it immediately when I see who out visitor is.

"Ambassador Santos," my great, great grandfather Lucius states, "The men of the Lucii welcome you."

Lucius walks up to the Ambassador as he walks in.  The Ambassador is a sweet looking man with skin the color of honey and a smile just as sweet.  Looks could fool though.  Behind the sweet smile and the manners was a Latin killer unlike anything Eden had ever known.   Everyone knew Ambassador Santos was one of the most dangerous vampires in all of Eden.  His father was an old commander named Armando who was vicious and the Ambassador's mother was the first vampire: She was the vampire who people didn't speak of.  It's said her name alone was cursed.  But she was long gone now.

The others stand.  I struggle to get to my feet. I don't understand Santos.  I don't trust him. I've heard rumors of his power.  My family worked directly under him now that he was the Ambassador to the King for all the Vampires of Eden.  He was responsible for thousands.

"What do we have the pleasure," my uncle Lucce asks.

"First off I would like to offer my sympathies.  The loss of your kinsmen Lucca was a great loss to all the vampires of Eden," the Ambassador says.

He sits down.  My father was killed by King Genesis and the witches.  My father wasn't like these Lucii vampires.  He wasn't sitting around, sharing blood with a vampire traitor who served a false king.  

None the less Lucius, the patriarch smiles, "We thank you for your kind gesture, King Santos."

My great, great grandfather probably doesn't even realize what he says when he calls Santos the King.  Santos is no king.  He once was.  That was when his husband Nero was king.  Genesis came through with an army of werewolves and abdicated the throne.  And instead of fighting back, Santos folded.

As I assume, he quickly corrects my ancestor, "I'm no king.  That's why I am here.  As you know there are many vampires who have not yet accepted Genesis as the king of Eden."

"Should they?" I ask.

A few of the elders look at me.  I'm still young in vampire terms.  Hell.  I'm young in any terms.  I shouldn't be speaking in a place like this. But truth is I don't have it in me to just hold my breath.

"Lucca's son," Santos states with a smile, "I went to school with your father and your mother."

"My father is dead and my mother went crazy, when the Witch King Genesis invaded Eden.  In case you wondered.  This is the same king you support now."

"Lucciano," my grandfather starts off correcting me, "Shut up..."

I know if Santos wasn't in the room my grandfather would probably attempt to bite his fangs deep in my throat as punishment.  He'd probably go straight to the artery.  The fact is however, Santos was here.  And while he was here the Lucii were on their perfect behavior.  The front was everything to these vampires after all.

Santos smiles at me.  He has this polite nature to him that I would be fooled by if I didn't know otherwise.  My father had warned me about him when he was a live.

"It's OK," Santos states, "This sort of anger is running throughout Eden.  People don't understand why I support the man who inherited my husband's throne?"

"Inherited?" I ask, "Is that what they call it nowadays?"

I see Lucius bare his fangs slightly.  His fangs are salivating.  I know the punishment is going to be brutal for embarrassing them but it's well worth it.

"He took my husband's throne," Santos explains, "But today is a new day.  Genesis has a vision.  And regardless of the past, it's a vision that the city needs to have peace.  We have to follow it.  And I'm hoping to convince the Lucii to help spread among vampires that Genesis needs to be trusted."

"The Lucii fully support the throne," Lucius states, "We fully support King Genesis."

"Never." I state.

Santos looks over at me, "What was that?"

"Never."

He heard me the first time.  A vampire with his lineage had to have really good hearing.  I get up.  

Genesis killed my father.  Genesis was the reason that my father was dead.  I look around the room.  These are supposed to be the Golden Men of the Lucii.  The strong, handsome, regal vampires that had once ruled over Holland.  

Seeing their faces now I'm embarrassed. My father would be embarrassed.  They were nothing more than cowards, listening to another coward as they all bend their asses over so Genesis could fuck them in the ass one at a time.

That's the difference between them and me.  I wasn't going to get fucked in the ass.

"Lucciano, sit down," Lucius demands.

It's always been hard looking at Lucius and respecting him.  He looked younger than me.  He didn't even have any facial hair for god sakes.  And yet this man was supposed to be my ancestor.  I was supposed to respect him.  Until this day...until this moment, I did.  But with them welcoming the Witch King's puppet in here there was no way I would do that.

I turn at that moment and I walk out.

~

My heart is steaming all the way to meet up with Enzo.  All I could think of was how domesticated my family was.  I had seen this domestication before.  Genesis had a way of doing it.  He had domesticated the wolves in the same way.  But no.  Not me.  I was going with Enzo.  I was going to be free of the witch king's influence.  I was going to do my own thing.

Enzo looks over at me, "I'm glad you're doing this with me.  I was worried.

I had my reasons.  I had to admit revenge was one of them.  My father was dead.  My mother was taken away to a mental institution in the human world.  I had no one but a bunch of men who looked like me but could care less about what happened to my father.

With all those reasons one of them sticks out at that moment that I didn't even think of, "I need to make sure you are OK."

Enzo was my best friend.  He was more family to me than the men of the Lucii.  If he was doing something like this then I wanted to be a part of it.

Enzo smiles, "That's why I love you man.  No matter what I go through you're always there and I want to promise you that I'll always be there for you man.  You do know that right.  Brothers forever?"

"Brothers forever," I nod.

I'd follow Enzo anywhere.  The only thing was that I had no idea we were going so far.  I didn't know we were leaving the city.  I didn't know we were heading into wolf territory to meet Enzo's "contact".

"Enzo..."

We've just left the city.  There is growling almost immediately.  There is darkness in the trees.  So much darkness.  There were two kinds of wolves.  The wolves that served Genesis in the city and the wild wolves outside of the city.  Both were just as vicious and I didn't like being around the few in the city let alone the ones outside.

"We'll be fast. Everything will be OK.  I just need to talk to him about joining the Rebellion.

I'm so confused.  I thought the rebels would be all vampires.  I had no idea there were werewolves who opposed Genesis as well.  Enzo seems so sure.  We arrive at a cabin looking area.  When we get there a bald man walks out.  He has a hairy chest and no shirt on.  He's big.  Most of the werewolves I met in the city were.  He has broad shoulders and a strong looking back.  He looks over at us as though we were nothing at all.

"Rhinegold?" Enzo asks.

I wish he'd put some base in his voice.  He sounded like a little bitch.

The man nods at that moment.  He isn't nice.  He isn't greeting.  He gives Enzo a weird look but then looks at me like I'm something to eat before growling, "There was only supposed to be one of you."

"Me and my brother want to join," Enzo states.

He calls me his brother even though we aren't related.  He does it often.  It means the world to me.  Maybe that's why I'm here now.  He's supporting me and I'm supporting him.  We are doing this together as always.  

"Fine," Rhinegold says, "You come with me.  Send your friend in the cabin to wait a while.  I'll get you everything you need to know for the Initiation."

"I'm not leaving him," Enzo argues.

"I'll be OK," I tell Enzo.

Truth is I don't know that but I want to put on a brave face.  I start towards the cabin as Rhinegold walks away with Enzo.  As I get to the cabin I open the door and I'm shocked by what I see.  There is a boy laying there.

He is a slim boy.  He's very skinny.  He's laying butt naked at that moment.  His ass is touted towards me.  He looks at me with these eyes.

"I'm so sorry," I state turning my head.

I had to admit the boy was cute.  Seeing him in this position on his hands and knees ready as though ready to get fucked doggy style almost turns me on.  I turn away to respect his privacy but also because my dick gets hard all of a sudden.  

"Did Rhinegold send you?" he asks me.

"Yes."

I'm assuming that he just means that Rhinegold sent me into the cabin to wait for him and Enzo to return.  

"Then can we get started..." he asks me.

"Get started with what?"

I don't' even know what is happening until it starts happening.  The boy is clawing at my pants.  He is a werewolf.  He smells like one but not in the way that Rhinegold does.  Rhinegold smelled like a wet dog.  This boy, he had a strong smell as well, but there was something sexy about it.  There was something sexy about the faint natural musk coming from his naked body.  He was completely opposite from me.  I was standing here in a suit like most of the Lucii wore while he had nothing on.  He looked completely free.

He begins to use his finger nails to unbutton my fly.  

"What the hell are you doing?" I ask him.

"He wants me to please his guests," the boy says.

"What?  I don't even know you."

"Rory."

I don't know how he manages to get my dick out when he tells me his name but in a matter of seconds the little werewolf guy is sucking my dick.  I'm shocked.  I'm beyond shocked to be honest.  I'm shocked but I have to admit it feels so good feeling his circular lips massage around my shaft over and over.  He lightly nibbles my head and makes his way down to the crotch.  He puts it in his mouth.  He thoroughly licks my taint attempting to get a little lower to my asshole.

I almost lose myself before I stop him and push him off of me.

"You're tripping," I tell him, "What are you some sort of prostitute."

"No.  Of course not.  Please don't stop me," he explains at that moment, "He'll punish me if I don't perform."

That's when I see the bruises on the boy. They are outlined all over his body.  They look so vivid.

"Did he do this to you?" I ask.

All of a sudden I'm inflamed.  I don't know this boy.  I don't know shit about him but I'm heated.  

Just at that moment Rhinegold and Enzo return.  They catch me with my pants down.  Enzo looks at me seeming rather shocked.  I was reserved to say the least.  I wasn't the guy who just had sex.  I want to immediately explain that the boy damn near forced himself on me in the most submissive way possible, but I don't get the chance to do that.

"What's the matter with you?" Rhinegold asks me, "Did he not satisfy you?"

"I...I..."

I don't know what else to say at that moment before Rhinegold kicks the boy.  He puts a boot right in the boy's face.  I'm shocked when the boy falls back.

"Come on," Rhinegold says, "We're going to the initiation."

~

We follow Rhinegold to the borders of the city and the forest.  I watch as Rory follows close behind him.  Rory changes to a wolf.  He's the smallest wolf I've  ever seen .  He's much smaller than the palace wolves.  He follows at Rhinegold's heel almost like Rhinegold is his leader.

"Enzo, what the hell did you get me involved in?" I ask.

The whole thing with Rory freaks me the fuck out.

"What are you talking about?"

"He's not a good guy," I state looking over at Rhinegold who is further up from us, "I thought we were the good guys."

"We are," Enzo states, "Trust me."

"Maybe we should think about this."

"Every day less and less blood is coming into Eden.  Every day the Pretender is making more and more rules.  Every day King Genesis is getting away with killing your father.  And you know what the worst thing is?  I bet he doesn't even remember his name.  That's how the witches are.  All they do is kill.  All they do is sacrifice.  You want someone like that for your king?"

I paused.

Enzo had a point.  He definitely had one.

"You're here.  The other initiates are right through that path."

"You're not coming?" I ask.

"I'm already a member of the rebellion.  This is an initiation remember?" Rhinegold states.

With that he starts walking way.  I just think it's odd.  But what I think is more odd is when I look at Rory.  He's in his wolf form now.  He's still at Rhinegold's heel but when I see him it seems like he looks a little sad.  It looks like he knows something.

"Did you see that?" I ask Enzo.

"What?"

"The little werewolf with Rhinegold.  He looked sad almost."

"Can you stop thinking with your dick?" Enzo asks me with a laugh.

"I am not thinking with my dick."

"Sure you're not.  Listen.  I see how you were looking at the little werewolf.  Don't turn him.  Crossbreeding is illegal, Other than that though if you want to get your jungle fever on, then I'm all for it.  He was kind of cute."

I get embarrassed.  I get so embarrassed that I want to change the topic.  Enzo knew me more than I knew myself.  The boy was cute and I was probably paying way more attention to him than I should have been.  

I walk with Enzo forward.  

There is a crowd of people and I realize one thing almost immediately.  A lot of them are Mosquitoes just like Enzo.  There were a lot of lower income vampires here.  I can tell by their clothes.  I can tell by how some of them don't have that signature vampire look that the Lucii had. Some of them were showing veins. They looked like they were starving.  Lack of blood.  Lack of nourishment.

I notice the rebels now.  They were giving out blood. It seemed to be drawing a crowd.  I watch as Enzo grabs one and throws it over at me.

"Let me guess. The flyer for the rebellion said free blood?" I ask.

"Of course it did," he laughs.

He finds everything funny.

"Please tell me your main motivation for joining a rebellion against a king isn't free blood."

My best friend gives me his signature wide tooth grin, "Listen. The other stuff is important too.  But you know I can't pass up a free meal."

I laugh.  I had to love Enzo.  He was just hilarious like that.  I notice the people in the rebellion.  They were vampires as well.  I see a few werewolves but the majority were vampires.  Maybe that's because the majority of the population in Eden were Vampires.  We'd been living here for quite some time now after all.

"These rebels don't seem like they are..." I state thinking of another word to use besides mosquitoes, "Suffering."

"They are eating good.  It's a good rebellion, I can tell already," Enzo laughs, "Look they even have a witchdoctor with them."

I look up on the stage and sure enough I see a witchdoctor on the stage.  Also on the stage I see someone else.  Everyone seems to be listening to him.  The voice is talking.

I can't see the figure.   We are too far back.

But out of nowhere I hear a little bark.

I turn at that moment and I see Rory.  He's followed me.  He's barking for some reason.  I'm not sure why.

"Enzo I'll be back."

Enzo must have heard the bark too, "Listen do your thing. Just hurry up.  I think they want all the new recruits to gather into the warehouse structure for further instructions.  So be quick with your cute puppy!   I'm not judging you, best friend.  Doggy style is my favorite position too."

I punch Enzo in the arm and start moving towards the bushes.   It's weird that Rory left Rhinegold to come back here.  I remember how sad he looked.  I'm not sure why.  

As I get to the bushes I see the little wolf running away.  It's almost like he's trying to lead me away or something.

Lead me away from where?

All of a sudden from the stage that the witchdoctor is on I can hear a voice.  It's a familiar voice.  I recognize it almost immediately.  

"Welcome to the rebellion.  I am known as the Golden Lion.  I am the leader of this rebellion It's because of recruits like you that we will take back our city from the cowardly King Genesis.  It's because of recruits like you that everything is going to be normal."

I know that voice.  I know that voice anywhere.  

Lucius?

Was that my great, great grandfather?

It had to be!

I start walking back to join the others and get a closer look at the stage and figure out why my great great grandfather was on a stage full of rebels to the crown.  Why the fuck was he announcing being the leader of the rebellion.

I almost want to run when I notice the others are being taken into the warehouse.  I have so much pride but then I feel this arm.  I feel this arm grab me and pull me back.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

All of a sudden I'm grabbed from behind.

I turn around and see my grandfather Lucretio.  He Is strong.  Too powerful.  But I'm confused.  Why is he stopping me from joining the others?

"This whole time," I start feeling excitement, "You were lying to Ambassador Santos.  You are the rebels.  We...we are the rebels."

My grandfather's face gives it away.  I don't get why the older Lucii hadn't shared this was all their plan.  I don't get why they kept that a secret.  

"We should go," my grandfather states, "We don't want you involved in the rebellion.  That's why we kept it a secret."

I should have known there was no way they were going to let my father's death go unanswered.  There was no way we wouldn't be getting our revenge.

"I want to join the rebellion."

"We'll talk about it later."

"I already know.  I'm already here.  Enzo's in the warehouse with the others."

My grandfather stops at that moment.

He looks worried.

"You weren't supposed to be here, Luciano.  You weren't supposed to know."

"Know what?  What's that smell?"

Something was weird.  There was this burning smell in the forest.

"The witch that's helping us.  He knows of a way to bring back a spirit strong enough to defeat even Genesis.  Strong enough to retake our city.  But it requires a lot. Don't you understand?"

I'm not understanding what my grandfather is saying.  I'm not understanding why his strong voice was nothing more than a whisper right now.  I look over at Patriarch Lucius who is standing on the stage with the witch.  I can see the witch doing something.

Something was wrong.

Something was burning!

"Enzo!"

I realize it all at once.  I'm realizing what Rory was trying to warn me about.  I realize why Rhinegold didn't want to come here.  I realize what is going on.  

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