Sacrum
Chapter Seven
"What the hell was all that about?" Angelo asked after we got back to my room, while Laura sunk down on my bed with a nervous look on her face. We all felt very uneasy about the information we learned from the exchange between Boeriella Trusting and the black-haired woman.
"ThisÉis much worse than anything we could have anticipated," she said.
"Who was that woman?" I asked.
"I wasn't entirely sure before, but now, after hearing her speak, I'm almost positive that it's Arani Deadnus."
"Oh," Angelo mumbled out abruptly. As usual, I was the only one who didn't know what that meant. Vinicius always kept my TV intake to an absolute low, and I didn't exactly read newspapers for fun.
"That tells me nothing," I replied.
"She's the Commander of the American Protection League," Laura replied, and once again, I was lost. She sighed in frustration.
"I know Vinicius was one of the greatest vampires ever, but I just don't understand his teaching methods. Dani, you surely must have heard of the American Protection League before." I glanced over at Angelo who just shrugged his shoulders. Laura continued. "It's the equivalent of a police force for humans. The American Protection League deals with catching vampires who have committed crimes. No wonder they've got their eye on Vincent. Anyone from the Carandini family would be a prime suspect for them," she explained to herself and us.
"I see," I said, my head reeling from all the information. One thing was very clear, Vincent was in danger, and I needed to warn him. "I'll have to tell him right away." Angelo and Laura exchanged quick glances.
"Vincent can handle himself, Dani. What's much more worrying in their interest in you," she replied. Worried for Vincent's safety, I had completely forgotten that the black-haired woman was interested in my medical records.
"I'm sure it's just regular Special protocol," I replied, not really believing my own words.
"It didn't sound like that, Dani. It sounded like they're waiting for something," she whispered.
"Something like what, a fever?" Angelo asked, clasping his hands in frustration.
"Something like a secret power. Something Vinicius didn't disclose to them."
I thought about it for a while. Vinicius hardly taught me anything about the power I already knew I had, I doubted that he would have left me another secret one to figure out on my own. It didn't make any sense.
"Just be careful Dani. Don't tell the nurse anything that she doesn't need to know about.
Arani Deadnus is known as a ruthless Commander who will stop at nothing to administer her version of justice. Anything outside her vision of what's deemed normal does not stand a chance,"
she said with an unsteady voice. I wondered how Laura knew all this, but decided it was better not to ask for now.
After they left my room, I went searching for Vincent. I looked in the library, his room, the cafeteria, and our secret meeting place, but couldn't find him anywhere. I wondered what he was going to be so busy with in the upcoming weeks. I hated all the secrets between me and Vincent.
How could we ever truly know each other when there was so much unknown between us? Dejected, I got back to my room and opened up my books once again in preparation for my dreaded meeting with Maratoni the next day.
Vincent was still nowhere to be found the next morning, so I headed straight for my mentor's office. I knocked at the door, but there was no answer. When I entered, the dim room was surprisingly empty.
I sat my backpack on the table and walked towards his extensive book collection. The word "Carandini Dynasty" jumped out at me, and I picked up the large and heavy tome and started leafing through the pages. "The Carandini royal bloodline is one of the oldest vampire families in existence," the book read. I briefly looked over the photos of Vincent's numerous family members.
It ended with a picture of his brother Gianni and of baby Vincent, with the caption underneath revealing his full name. "The ancient family that ruled the clans had been mostly wiped out during the Rebellion of The Clans War, with only two known members remaining alive: Princess Alessandra Letizia Carandini, the daughter of King Romero Carandini, and her youngest son, Salvatore Vincenzo Romero Carandini." I reread the sentence, taking in the full meaning of the words. Maybe this is why I felt so drawn to Vincent. He was, after all, almost as alone in this world as meÑwith only his mother, who had survived the unthinkable to keep him alive, as the only source of love.
Suddenly, the door opened and I quickly put the book away, not wanting Maratoni to accuse me of touching his things. He looked surprised to see me for a moment, as if he had forgotten about our meeting. Behind him there was a skinny man with a peculiar mustache.
"Ah, I forgot about you," Maratoni said looking at me, pleasantly as ever. "Ekhart, this is Dani, our famous Special." I didn't think anyone could look at me with more disgust than Maratoni, but I was wrong. Whoever Ekhart was, he was no fan of mine.
"What aÉpleasure," he said in a low tone, his eyes burning holes in my body. "You're Vinicius' boy, is that right?" His voice was dripping with malice.
"That's right," I replied proudly.
"What a shame about your mentor. Too weak to exist," he sneered, and I had to fight the urge to lunge at him.
"Vinicius wasn't weak, sir," I replied, as Maratoni searched through the drawer in his desk, patiently looking for something.
"Who gives up immortal life, if not a weak coward?" The man asked, his voice rising.
Maratoni's eyes suddenly shot up in panic.
"That's enough Ekhart, he doesn't need to know any more," he said. But Ekhart wasn't done. He slowly closed the distance between us. His distaste for me almost palpable in the air.
"I mean, look at you. Look at what he's created. A useless lump of bones. You make a joke out of the Specials program. But it's no surprise seeing as your old mentor was a joke, and nowhere near the formidable vampire he pretended to be," he sneered in my face, then quickly grabbed my arm and shook me with force. As he did, I felt faint. My body was suddenly consumed with an immeasurable wave of hate and anger. The feelings were so strong and so dark that I almost passed out, but then his hand released me and I stumbled backwards and sat at the desk while he screamed in agony. I tried collecting myself, but there was a horrible smell of burnt flesh in the air.
"He burned me!" The man with the mustache yelled, and Maratoni swiftly took him out of the room. I sat at the desk, frozen, until my body and mind came to itself. When Maratoni came back, his face was a mask of fury.
"If you don't learn how to control that, I'll have you expelled from this school. You are a menace and a liability. Now get out of my sight before I put hands on you myself."
"But sir, how am I supposed to learn if you won't help me?" I asked, feeling helpless about what had happened. Maratoni wouldn't listen.
"Out, NOW!" He yelled. I took my backpack and left, then headed straight for Boeriella Trusting's office. Someone in this school had to help me eventually before I burned the whole place down.
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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.