Blood Knight

Capitolo XIII

I must have been tossing and turning for hours. It wasn't that the bed Elenora had provided wasn't comfortable, it was just that my mind was racing. It was usually at night my brain seemed to not calm, and more and more agonizing thoughts of my family plagued me every second. I was hoping that Elenora or Rigina or someone would know the whereabouts of my family, but no one had any answers. Not even Monticello had any kind of idea. 

The twin bed creaked as I threw the beige comforter off, which gradually slipped to the wood floor. Monticello still hadn't returned from wherever he had gone and I was starting to worry. I was so used to having him around at all times and when he was gone, it was strange. A soft beam of moonlight broke through the clouds, casting milky white shapes against the floor through the window. I knew that if I kept tossing and turning like this, I probably wasn't going to sleep for a long time. Goosebumps ran up my legs as my feet struck the cold floor as I rose from the bed. Opening the door, I heard muffled voices floating up from downstairs. 

The stairs groaned as I slowly ascended. When I got to the middle of the stairs, I noticed Rigina and Elenora seated on the couches. They weren't alone. Near the front of the house, by the door, there were three people. Three men, to be exact. One of them, whom I instantly labeled as the leader, stood dauntingly over the others. His beefy arms were crossed over an equally muscled chest, covered from head to toe in black. A long jagged scar ran from the corner of his mouth to the side of his face, splitting his ear in two in an awkward angle. The other two, who I was guessing were some kind of henchmen, were also clothed in all black. It was just then that I had noticed a familiar figure between them, hunched over on their knees with their head down.

Monticello?

Their leader's opaque eyes darted around the room and then finally settled on me. An instant swell of fear bubbled in my gut as he sneered. 

"Afferrarla."

I knew all too well what that phrase most likely was. I flung myself around, clambering up the stairs as fast as I could. Before I could scream, a felt a large set of hands seize me by the waist, tugging me backwards. No matter how much I struggled, their grip was too strong. I could feel my lungs ache as the breath was knocked out of me as I fell to the hard floor. The man hoisted me up again, bringing me to my feet and painfully locking my arms behind my back in a tight grip. 

"Elenora? Rigina?" I tried prying my arms out of the man's grasp, but struggling only seemed to worsen the pain. 

Elenora wasn't even looking at me. She stared at the ground, hands clasped tightly in her lap. Why were they ignoring me? Did they do this? Who were these people?

"I'm very happy that you contacted me, it was hard enough trying to find these criminals," the leader folded his hands behind his back, turning to me. The sneer was much more prominent on his face now. "Their punishment is gravely overdue," his Italian accent was incredibly thick. It was almost too hard to discern his words.

"What? What are you talking about? Elenora, who are these people?"

"The deal was that you keep them alive Dominico," Elenora's glare was even frightening to me as she stared the man Dominico down. "Now give me my payment."

Despite the pain that ached in my ribs, it didn't compare to the fear and hurt that Elenora's words brought. She sold us out?  She betrayed us?! I could feel an intense wave of anger take over. How could she do that to us? How could she do this to Monticello?

Dominico smiled, turning around. I cast my gaze down, terrified as Monticello's eyes met mine. His face was bruised and bloodied with deep cuts marring his once smooth complexion. What happened to him? Did these people attack him? Monticello hissed before I felt Dominico's fingers force my head around. His eyes scanned my face as he turned my head slightly from side to side. "So this is the infamous human Baines girl?" a deep chuckle rumbled in his chest. "Not very impressive. I pictured a more...stronger woman. Not this pathetic weakling."