Sacrum
Chapter Twenty-Seven
A vampire war loomed on the horizon. Of that I was sure now. How long it would last and how bloody it would get would depend on many factors - one of them being me.
The other two would be Demetrius and Luciana. How far were they willing to go to help Vincent Carandini ascend his grandfather's cursed throne? And which side would Maurizia and Antione land on? I couldn't imagine the Specials being separated. There was a bond between us, and I was determined to keep us together.
Nothing in my short existence had - or could have - prepared me for the situation I was in now. Even if Vinicius had discussed this very thing with me, it wouldn't have been the same as facing it now. The idea of it simmered in the air, making me uneasy with dread as I considered Vincent's proposal over and over in my head.
Ditch Deadnus and join him - it didn't sound like a bad idea. How could Vinicius blame me, given the cards I was dealt? Surely it would be better to work with a Carandini and try to steer him in the right direction, than work under the thumb of a completely mad vampire like Arani Deadnus.
And yet, no matter how much I continued to convince myself, something at the very core of me rejected the idea of helping to wave in a new monarchy and allow a Carandini to rise to power again. It would be too convenient, and for some reason I knew my path wasn't destined to be such. The prophecy said as much. It said I would be tested plenty of times. That I'd need to give up everything...was Vincent my everything? Was he the thing I'd need to abandon in order to protect the world?
Then I laughed at my own grandiose thoughts. How could I protect the world when I was barely practicing my gift in my spare time? Instead, I was running around trying to interpret wild dreams and chasing the shadow of the mysterious Dahlia - whose identity continued to elude me.
I spent countless hour scratching Neo behind the ears while trying to remember any useful fragments of my dreams that could help me figure out who she was. There had to be something that would explain her sudden appearance in my head.
But my next clue came with a visit from Edward Graham. He'd been busy working but managed to drop in on me during the weekend. We talked for a while and I asked him about Grunfeld, the prison Vincent had told me about. He gave me terribly gory details about what happened to the unfortunate vampires who ended up in there.
And then it struck me that I should ask him about her - about Dahlia- if on the off-chance he happened to know who she was.
When I mentioned her name, his face looked as if it had been struck by lightning. It took him what felt like ages to recover, and then after he simply refused to speak and made a non-plausible excuse to leave.
Now I was absolutely positive that she had existed and wasn't just a figment of my overactive imagination. She was important. And Edward Graham would have to tell me who she was sooner rather than later. How I would get the information from the attorney, I still wasn't sure.
Then came Monday and we all returned to class. Vincent continued to sneak around, and it was difficult to find time to speak to him one-on-one. But I could feel his energy driving me towards him, asking the unanswered question, "Will you join me?"
My answer continued to hang in the air. How could I make such a decision? How could Vinicius be mad enough to put this power inside of me, and then leave me to make these life and death decisions on my own.
I needed some guidance. I turned to Laura and Angelo in a fit of despair.
"Do you think our government is corrupt?"
They stared at me in confusion for a moment.
"Every government is corrupt," Angelo replied slowly, as if I was asking him a trick question.
"What he said," Laura repeated.
"But...do you think it's time for a new government?"
They glanced at each other briefly, their eyes speaking in code.
"Depends on what type of government you're talking about. If it involves Vincent Carandini in power...the answer is no," Angelo replied.
"You didn't see how insane Deadnus was during the Summit...I can't imagine working for her," I confessed. Laura looked at me with empathy.
"It should be your choice. They can't make you," she said.
"Except, they can," I replied bitterly, and she didn't counter my claim, knowing I was right.
As if the Universe was listening to me and laughing at me at the same time, I received a visit from Deadnus that same evening. Headmistress Trusting found me and brought me to her office, where Deadnus awaited.
Her ultra-pale skin and raven-black hair paired with the cruel expression on her face that let me know I was about to have a very unpleasant conversation, made me feel queasy.
"Sit," she simply ordered upon seeing me. I didn't bother with any pleasantries. I was convinced that she had tried to kill me during the Summit. "So, you survived the first test," she commented.
"I did," I replied simply.
"Barely," she said with distaste in her mouth. "A Special with your power should have made a much better impression. The judges were concerned."
"Not concerned enough to fail me," I noted and saw the brief glint of fury in her eyes for talking back to her.
"I see what Nurse Mildred meant when she said you were insubordinate."
"Ah, is that who I owe the pleasure of this visit to, Nurse Mildred?" I said defiantly. Somehow her very presence made me ill.
"Watch your mouth," she snapped at me. "I'm here because she believes you might be hiding symptoms." There it was-the real reason for her visit.
"What kind of symptoms could I be hiding when she touches and prods me every week?" She glared at me.
"I am going to request a court order to have you transferred to a private facility where you can be watched by doctors 24/7," she said suddenly, and my stomach dropped. I felt everything inside me shrink.
"You can't do that," I replied.
"I can and I will. You are State property, and it is my belief that you are hiding something. Something which you have no right to hide. Your Mentor always was good at keeping secrets. Well, it ends now. Get ready to be transferred next week," she said standing up.
"I won't go!" I shouted, and her eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"It isn't up to you," she said in a condescending tone of voice.
"They won't let you get away with this."
"They? Who? Are you threating me?" She asked, getting in my face. I could feel the pure hate that made up her heart. It was a dark and sad place, and I wanted to get far away from it, so I remained quiet hoping she would leave.
She started moving towards the door, then, almost as an afterthought she turned and said, "Also, the dog comes with me."
"What?" I asked hearing the panic in my own voice.
"The dog is property of The Protection League. You are breaking the law by harboring him here after it was decided that he should be put down."
"He's harmless. I take care of him, there's no need to put him down," I protested, but it just seemed to give her more pleasure.
"That isn't for you to decide."
"Please," I begged.
"This is no way for a Special to behave. Get a grip on yourself," she scolded me, then left with a slam of the door.
I stood frozen in my spot for a while, imagining myself in some sort of mental institution being picked at by doctors, and then suddenly I thought of Neo and ran outside and to my room, trying to find my friendly monster and hide him from the terrible evil that threated his life.
But he was already gone, and there was no sight of Deadnus anywhere.
It felt just as horrible as losing Vinicius. There was something like a shooting pain in my chest-an empty type of ache. I had lost something precious. A dog that I wasn't even a master of yet loved regardless. A dog that was sent to kill me but became my best friend in this new foreign place. I couldn't bear the loss.
I found Trusting and tried to beg her to intervene, but she just looked at me apologetically. "I'm so sorry Dani, I should have never let you keep him. If only I'd have known..." she said. Then she promised me she would do everything in her power not to allow Deadnus to take me away.
I called Graham and left him a panicked voicemail, hoping he would be able to intervene on my behalf.
Then I moped around for hours trying to think of solutions while Laura and Angelo cursed Deadnus' evil spirited nature.
That was the last straw for me. Regardless of whether I decided to join Vincent or not, I knew one thing for sure: I would never, ever work under or for Arani Deadnus. And I would avenge my dog.
When I drifted off into a restless and uneasy sleep that night, I plunged right into the world of memories.
There was Vinicius and Eric Van Sant - both still very much alive. They were inside of a laboratory, both wearing long white lab coats.
"It's pure madness, Vinicius," I heard Van Sant say, but in a voice that held absolute admiration for my Mentor.
"It's not madness, my friend. It is real. Years of work...all for her."
Van Sant seemed touched.
"Ah, she was the inspiration, of course."
"If only she were here to witness it, Eric. My biggest regret."
"By granting her wish, her memory continues to live, Vinicius, even when she is gone. Even after we are gone. It is because of her that the revolution will begin," he said and Vinicius nodded his head. Van Sant continued, "It's mad, but brilliant. Positively brilliant. This will change everything."
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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.