Sacrum
Chapter 35
The Danish Gambit Ð Part II
The dark-haired vampire took in the unassuming house in front of him for a moment. It was a simple three-bedroom chalet-style vacation home with vaulted ceilings and a clear view of the lake. Not exactly the usual type of dwelling for a member of his species, but he knew its previous owner had a peculiar taste, so the sight of it didn't completely shock him.
There was a certain charm to it, he thought. It had history Ð memories etched inside of its wooden walls. It wasn't a cold tomb of marble and minimalism, like most modern homes. It was lived-in, almost as if it had been built for a human. And the complete silenceÉyes, the previous owner would have very much enjoyed that element.
Inside, there was an inviting crackled brown leather couch that looked like it had survived a couple generations, with a multitude of warm hand-knit blankets and pillows with embroidered deer and flowers haphazardly thrown over it. There was also a cozy open-hearth fireplace.
He wanted to take his time and search every inch and crevice of this place, curious about the secrets it held, but he knew the clock was ticking and that he had to be quick so that nobody back home would notice his absence.
"What is in here, Vinicius?" he asked softly, briefly glancing around, as if hoping an answer would just present itself out of thin air. When it didn't, he quickly got to work. To a human eye, his movement would have been impossible to discern, for it was so quick.
He went drawer by drawer, cabinet by cabinet, checked under the beds, looked for secret holes behind paintings and in the floorboards, and underneath flowerpots, but his search yielded nothing. It was an ordinary house, with ordinary things in it. It made no sense. Why leave an old useless cottage for the blonde-haired protŽgŽ, unless it contained something useful for him to discover? Vinicius was sentimental, but he was also extremely sharpÑthere was always a reason with him. Dani didn't need a vacation home in Juneau, Alaska. It was left to him with a purpose. And yet, there was nothing of importance here.
The long trip to Alaska was a failure, he'd come all this way for nothing, he thought. Suddenly, his eyes rested on the living room bookcase. He flipped through book by book, searching for any clues, secret messages, instructionsÑagain, nothing.
As he was perusing the pages of yet another tome, an old photograph slipped out onto the floor. He picked it up with his long slim fingers and froze upon turning it over.
The shock of the old memory almost restarted the non-beating organ in his chest, and he stood there eerily still, looking at her face. All his senses kicked into high gear at the same time.
He could smell her: honeysuckle and the distinct sweet aroma of her sweat on his cold skin after they made love. He could hear her hummingbird heartbeat and the raspy tone of her voice in his ear begging "please CiprianÉ please." He could feel her nails digging into his flesh, and the fingers of her other hand tangled up in his black hair. He experienced it as strongly as if it happened yesterday.
A door thumped outside, waking him up from his dream state. He put the photo in the front pocket of his black button up shirt and glanced around to make sure nothing looked out of place.
Then he was gone in the blink of an eyeÑlong before the first early-riser in the sleepy town got up to brew their morning cup of coffee.
Graham and Demetrius sat in front of me grim-faced, while I tried to block out the very distracting memories of me and Vincent intertwined in bed from the previous night. This was not the right time for such recollections, yet they intruded into my brain persistently: his hands on my flesh, grasping, hungry, devouring. And my body and brain's inability to turn him down.
And yetÉthere was this important Ciprian dilemma I had to get through first. But strangely enough, neither Graham nor Demetrius seemed to be on board with my plan.
"Dani, as much as IÉdislike Ciprian, what you're suggesting it'sÉ that's not how we do things," Graham stated in a concerned yet diplomatic tone.
"I'm not asking for permission, I've already made up my mind," I replied firmly. I couldn't leave it this up for discussion, it was too important. There was no other choice.
The attorney exchanged a quick glance with the Russian. I went on, "He's going to lead Vincent into the same exact situation that Romero found himself in. He will make him a target on a throneÑa tyrant for the people to eventually rebel against and get rid of. I won't allow that to happen," I stated with passion. I had to protect Vincent from his own family, and the wicked history of his heritage.
"You are not a killer, Dani," Graham said. "And despite your powers, this is Ciprian we're talking about. If you think getting rid of him is going to be that easy, think again. Many have tried before you, yet he's still here.'
"Vinicius created me to protect our society and to guard humanity. This is how I do that. Regardless of what I am or am not. It's not Vincent that poses the danger to our society, it's Ciprian," I replied strongly. I saw no other way.
"No," Demetrius said, surprising me. I looked at him, ready to argue his challenge, but then he said, "I'll do it."
I shook my head, "No, Demetrius, I can handle it."
"No, you can't," he replied, looking me in the eye.
Graham nodded in agreement and took it upon himself to explain Demetrius' words. "We know that you care about Vincent, Dani, and we know you won't be able to look at yourself the same if you kill his uncleÑno matter how necessary you may deem the mission to be. You're taking away one of the only family members he has left. Better for his wrath to be directed at Demetrius, than you. That way you can still remain in his inner circle and help guide him later on."
It made sense, but I hated how much Demetrius was sacrificing. Graham didn't look happy either.
"I still don't agree with it, but Demetrius is right, Dani. I don't like the plan at allÑas much as it won't pain me to see Ciprian goneÑbut if you're going to do it, that's the way it should be done."
Demetrius spoke again. "Listen, I've been around Vincent a little longer than you. I know you like him, but I also know that you know a thing or two about energy. Well, in terms of energy, Vincent is a wild card. Raised by his mother, his emotions are haywireÑall over the place. That, combined with his inherently bad Carandini temper, make him impossible to predict. Maybe not on the same level as Ciprian, but I'm not sure that eliminating his uncle really solves your problem. You understand?"
I shook my head no. "We're not getting rid of Vincent," I replied. "Deadnus is ruled by fear, Vincent is ruled by revenge. I don't know what rules Ciprian, and we can't afford to find out. Vinicius didn't have any warm feelings for him. You obviously don't have any either, given your reaction to seeing him," I said, looking at Graham.
"We don't have the best personal history, Dani. But that shouldn't value into your decision," he said diplomatically. "And Vinicius would not desire for him to be executed, I can tell you that much."
"And yet, wasn't he at the helm of the movement that started the War of The Clans?" I remarked.
"He was, Dani," he replied, looking at me with seriousness, "But I'm not entirely sure he didn't come to regret his decision."
"Either way, I trust your judgement," I said, and he seemed touched by the sentiment. "Once he's gone, we will bring in Maurizia and Antoine and plan how we can approach the leaders of the State and bring about a solution everyone is happy with."
"What makes you think they're going to want to talk?" Graham asked.
"If all five Specials agree on this, they'll have to hear us out."
"When do you want me to do it?" Demetrius asked. The question startled me. It was someone's life we were talking about so casually. And it was my decision to pull the trigger.
"Sometime before they try to put this wild Danish Gambit plan into effect. Sometime tonight," I replied with a heaviness on my chest, knowing that if Vincent would ever find out, he would never forgive me. Demetrius simply nodded.
As fate would have it, I bumped into Ciprian that night, while he sat all alone at the dining room table, staring off into space and playing with a decorative wooden cube.
The vacant expression on his face vanished when he saw me, and his lips broke into a halfway sadistic smile that I was slowly getting used to.
"Well?" he asked.
"Well what?" I answered, suddenly worried that he could mind read and knew the plan I had in store for him.
"Did good old Eddie help you make a choice, or do you need to draw some diagrams and visit a psychic before you grow a pair and make your own decision?" he asked with his usual snark.
"I take decisions that involve the lives of others seriously, because I'm not a murdering psychopath," I replied.
"Oh now, no need for name calling," he replied in good humor.
I was ready to walk out when suddenly he asked. "Do you dream, Dani?" as he steadily turned the wooden toy in his long fingers.
"Everybody dreams," I replied nonchalantly, trying not to give myself away. But he was too sharp, and whatever it is he saw in my eyes, it made him smile wider.
"Not everybody's dreams are the same though, are they?" he said, giving me a knowing look.
"I don't understand," I replied.
"What do you dream about?" I stayed silent. He looked victorious, as if my silence was an answer in itself. I felt the need to punish him.
"Why did your wife kill herself?" I asked, hoping to wipe the smile off his face. It worked.
He stared at me for a while, putting down the cube and then involuntarily bringing his fingers to the gold band on his left hand.
"Why does anyone commit suicide? Because they can no longer bear the thought of living," he replied.
"What was it that made her life so unbearable?" I asked.
"We can toss implications at each other all day long, Golden. But if you have something to say to me, just say it," he replied.
"Did she kill herself because of you?" I could see a spark of irritation in his eyes.
"No," he replied simply, after a while.
Suddenly, Demetrius was beside me. "We're the only ones here right now, it's now or never," he whispered into my ear, and I nodded.
Before he knew what hit him, Demetrius' gaze was on Ciprian, who didn't even have the chance to look shocked as he fell from his chair and buckled to his knees, screaming in absolute agony.
It was a wretched thing to watch, but I felt that leaving would be wrong. I ordered for him to be killed, the least I could do was stay and watch it happen and suffer along with him.
What we were not expecting was the way Ciprian wearily raised his hand, as it shook wildly from pain, almost as if he wanted to speak. Demetrius' gaze eased up from the surprise of the gesture, giving Ciprian an opportunity to murmur out a phrase.
"Your parentsÉ"
"What?" I asked.
"Don't you want to know who your parents are?" He said, looking at me from the floor. I stared back, confused. Was this a ploy to keep himself alive? Keep us talking long enough until he regained his strength and attacked Demetrius and me?
"I don't have parents," I replied. "Specials were made in a lab, with no mother and father to speak of," I corrected him. He looked at me for a moment as if to check if I was serious.
"You do know how biology works, right?" he asked, his tone sarcastic as ever, even in the face of imminent death.
"What do you mean?"
"You need an embryo and sperm to create someoneÑwhether they're human or vampire. Vinicius was talented, but he wasn't God, Dani. All of you have biological parents."
I stood there stunned and turned to Demetrius, who didn't look shocked at all.
"It's true?" I asked, and he nodded.
Why had it never occurred to me to question this narrative that I'd been told? More importantly, why did Vinicius lie to me?
"Who are my parents?" I asked. Ciprian slowly stood up.
"You know, I've already survived one assassination attempt. And it was a hell lot more organized than this one," he replied nonchalantly. Before he could say more, Vincent tore through the door with a wild expression on his face.
"They know about the tunnels! We have to leave, now!" he yelled. We started running down the stairs and into the garage, with Neo following behind us.
"Where are we going?" I asked as we ran.
"We're going to execute our plan now," Vincent replied.
"No," I said, stopping in my tracks. He looked at me with disbelief.
"Don't do this Dani, not now." I could see Ciprian getting inside the Honda, meanwhile Demetrius brought his car around.
"I've made up my mind, Vincent. And this isn't the way," I said. Demetrius pulled up beside me, meanwhile Ciprian yelled for Vincent to get in from the other car.
"Go, Dani," Vincent said, although I could tell it pained him beyond anything else. "Go!" He yelled when I still didn't move. "I know you want to."
"It doesn't have to be like this," I said, trying to plead with him and change the outcome. "There is still time to turn around."
"No, there isn't. We have both chosen our paths. And I can't force you to stay, no matter how much I want to. I could never force you to be unhappy at my side."
"You're making a mistake, Vincent. We're not meant to be enemies."
He gave me one more glance, and then he got into the car with Ciprian and was gone. I put Neo in the backseat of Demetrius' truck.
"We could try Maratoni's," he suggested, trying to think of where we might be safe as he sped his way out of the garage.
"No, I replied," suddenly realizing the exact place where I needed to be now. "We're going to the Valentini Academy."