Sacrum
Chapter Ten
"Why is protecting humanity so important?" I asked Vinicius out of the blue one day. I had been thinking about it for a while but was too ashamed to confess my thoughts to him. After all, the higher powers decided that a squad of special vampires would be created simply to keep humans safe. Why was it my job to care about people? I felt selfish as the question formed in my brain, but I couldn't stop thinking about it.
Vinicius put down the pen in his hand and focused his gentle blue eyes on mine. There was no malice or anger in them.
"Why do you think it's important?" I thought about my answer, and whether I should be honest, or lie and save face. I decided to tell the truth.
"Because they're weak and fragile and can't look after themselves?"
"What makes them weak, Dani?" I thought the answer was obvious.
"They're mortal," I replied, and he smiled. I went on, "All men die. Gods live forever."
"You've been reading your Ancient Greek philosophers, haven't you?" he asked kindly. I nodded. "What about Satan? He gets to live forever, doesn't he?"
"He was an angel first," I replied.
"And yet, to this day, he's rumored to be recruiting humans to do his bidding. Unable to ascend the throne of heaven all on his ownÉ. despite his immortality."
"So what you're saying is, we need humans, and they need us?" I asked.
"Perhaps. Or maybe I'm saying that there are more important factors that make one strong apart from immortality." I sat quietly, digesting Vinicius' words, when he spoke again. "A long, long time ago, there was a pious man who could interpret dreams. During the reign of a certain King, he was thrown into the lions' den for his steadfast religious beliefs, which went against those who surrounded the King, and who felt threatened by his strength. Nobody had ever survived a night in the lion's den, Dani. Usually, there wasn't even a scrap of clothing left for the poor relatives to pick up the next day. But when the King went to check on the man in the morning, his body was untouched. The lions lay at his feetÑdocile."
"How did the man survive?" I asked.
"Well, in the story, the Lord had protected the pious man from the lions. He sent down an angel who closed their hungry mouths."
"Why?"
"You tell me," He smiled.
"As a token of thanks for not losing his faith, or perhaps as a show of ultimate power to the King?"
"Yes, perhaps," Vinicius mused. "See, those in captivity, those who see no way out, and those who have lost everything Dani, can only survive by believing in something so deeply and devoutly, that their faith overrules the laws of men. Faith like thatÉit can even save a lost nation,"
he said, looking into my eyes. I strained to understand. Who was in captivity? But Vinicius had already picked up his pen and went back to his writing.
When I woke up, I could still taste the metallic tinge of the blood I had thrown up not long ago. My head felt as heavy as a led balloon. I struggled to open my tired eyes. When I finally did, I saw that Vincent was sitting on the chair by my bed, watching me. I remembered that despite being furious with him, I felt too sick to make it back to my room on my own.
"How are you feeling?" He asked, seeing that I was awake.
"Like shit," I replied, puzzled by my weakness. Perhaps there was something wrong with my blood juice doses. Maybe I wasn't getting enough. But who could I tell without it raising red flags with Trusting and the State? "What's going on with me?" I asked.
"I'm not sure," Vincent replied truthfully. "Have you been drinking your blood cocktails?"
He asked.
"Yes. You think I'm not getting enough?"
"Or you're getting something you shouldn't be getting," he replied, worried. I never even considered that possibility.
"How can I find out without telling anyone?"
"There's only one way," he replied, as if the answer was obvious. "We'll start switching our cocktails and see if I get sick." I wasn't sure if I liked the idea. What if I had misunderstood the whole incident with the nurse? What if they were simply giving me something to help me develop my gift and monitoring me for side effects. Side effects which I was now hiding from them and talking about to my enemy: Vincent.
"No. I have a meeting with the nurse later. I'll just tell her I've been feeling strange and ask her to adjust my cocktail." Vincent's eyes looked worried. He thought about it for a moment.
"Listen Dani, I know you don't trust me right now. That's fair enough. I understand why you feel that way. But nurse Mildred answers to Trusting who answers to the Educational Department who answer to the State. They're not adding anything to your cocktail to make you feel stronger or help you in any way. If they did, they would have told you about it. The only thing I can think of that they might be doing, is adding something to counteract something already in you.
From the conversation you told me Trusting had with DeadnusÉthey're worried about something.
If you don't want to switch your blood juices with me, that's fine. Do it with one of your other friends. But don't tell Mildred about any of your symptoms. Not yet," he pleaded.
"I wish that you could just be honest with me," I said suddenly. Things would be so much easier with Vincent on my side.
"Me too, Dani. But I have other obligations right now. If you give it some time, everything will be revealed. I just need your patienceÉand your trust."
"I can't figure out if you're badÉor if you're just really good at playing bad," I confessed.
He smiled.
"I'm probably a little bit of both."
"Then why do I like you so much?" I asked, honestly. This wasn't in the plan. I doubted that Vinicius hoped I would fall in love with the enemy. Because that's what was happening, if I was being honest with myself. I was falling in love with Vincent.
"I don't know," he replied, taking my hand and giving it a small kiss, "But Vinicius really did create the perfect weapon to disarm me when he made you. Trust me, Dani, if it ever came down to me versus you, you'd win, because I could never hurt you." He was either the best liar on the planet, or Vincent was on the same page as meÉdeveloping strange feelings neither one of us was supposed to feel.
If I went and told Trusting everything I heard, Vincent would probably end up dead. There was no way that Deadnus wouldn't take his words as a direct threat to the State. I was put in an impossible predicament. It was my duty to protect the vampire-human world. Vincent was a threat to that. Whatever he was planning with Maratoni, it was highly illegal.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, followed by Laura peeking through.
"Oh, I didn't know you had a guest Dani," she stammered out upon seeing Vincent. Angelo came in right after her, glaring daggers at him.
"It's fine, Vincent was just leaving," I said, and he gave me a quick disappointed glance.
"I'll be in my room if you need me," he offered, then got up and left, bumping Angelo's shoulder on his way out.
"Why are you friends with him? I can't stand the kid. He's so pompous," Angelo said. I ignored the question.
"Are you okay?" Laura asked, suddenly noting my desperate state. I went ahead and told them about how I got sick, omitting the part where I head Vincent's suspicious conversation. I trusted Angelo and Laura, but did I trust them enough to not tell on Vincent? I wasn't sure yet.
Then I told them about the response I received from Eric Van Sant, which elicited a happy shriek from Laura.
"That's wonderful Dani! Any friend of Vinicius will be of great help right about now." I nodded.
"There's more," I said, filling them in on the Specials Summit. They exchanged worried glances.
"If only I could stay and watch," Angelo said out loud and Laura elbowed his side. She then turned to me.
"I know I'm not allowed to ask you questions about this, but have you given any thought to what we talked about the other day? You practicing with us?" I nodded.
"Yes but, there's not much time now," I said, dejected.
"Well, we need to at least try. We can't just let you go in there feeling helpless," she replied. I agreed.
"Tomorrow," I said. Before they left, something made me ask one last random question. In my mind there were swirling thoughts of an almost forgotten dream.
"Hey guys, have you ever heard the story of a pious man who was thrown into the lion's den by some king?" I asked, expecting them to look at me like I was crazy.
"That's a Biblical story, isn't it? The story of Daniel," Laura remarked, confused by the question. Suddenly, a thought struck me.
"What's the meaning of my name?" I asked. Laura looked over at AngeloÑthe one who had all the answers.
"I believe Daniel, as well as the variation Daniele, is derived from Hebrew. I think it means `God is my judge'. Why?" I thought back to my dream where I uttered those exact words to Vincent. Was it my unconscious brain simply remembering information I had forgotten? Why did Vinicius tell me that story? Was there something in the meaning of my name that was important, and what did it all mean? My only source for possible answers was Eric Van Sant.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.