Tony woke up groggily. He didn't know what time it was. Where was his timepiece? He pulled himself out of bed and searched his wardrobe. He pulled out a drawer and frantically searched through it. He had to know the time. He didn't like to try to go outdoors any sooner than an hour before the sun set. The sun was at its weakest then and Tony could handle it easily.
His hand grasped something odd. He picked it up. It looked familiar. He studied it. It was a woman's hair comb. It had a stain glass piece that was shaped into a butterfly. The memory rushed to him. His Eliana. How could he have forgotten? And Demetrio, his boy!
Tony collapsed onto the floor in agony. His memory returned of who he was, he remembered his life with his wife and child and the love that he had for them, and he remembered what he had become.
Why had Massi let him become such an evil being? Why was Massi such an evil being? They were never like that before they were transformed. Tony sobbed ashamed of himself and ashamed of his friend.
When he had no more tears left in him he pulled himself together. Antonio decided it was time to break free of what only could be described as Massi's power over him. He had heard of a boat sailing to the Americas. He decided he would join them and start a new life for himself.
*******************************
Tony blinked the memories away. The silence in the room was deafening. He'd forgotten that he'd been speaking. He'd forgotten that he had been telling his friends the life he'd kept so well hidden from them for so long.
He poured another glass of wine. "Massi was angry with me for leaving him."
He'd lost count of how many glasses of wine he'd had. It didn't matter anyway as the alcohol had no effect on him. The taste of the wine did though. For now, it suppressed the hunger of blood with the feeling of his homeland. But Tony knew he must feed on something soon or his friends may see the worst of him.
"I'd never seen him so angry. He called me ungrateful for all the things he had done for me. He even blamed me for Eliana and Demetrio's deaths, saying that if I'd gotten word to him sooner then they'd still be alive!" Tony shook his head at the memory.
"I don't know why I hadn't realized before what I had been doing and then all of a sudden I knew. Maybe I had grown stronger and could finally control the vampirism. Whatever it was Massi wasn't happy that I remembered myself. He bid me good riddance and that was the last I saw him.
I set sail for America in, oh, I guess it was 1700 or so. I participated in the American Revolution, on the American side, of course," Tony said with a smile toasting them.
"War was great because it was easy to get blood without anyone noticing. I've been in every war since then because of this reason. The sides actually did matter to me after I left Italy, after I left Massi. Whereas when I was with Massi, I didn't care. It was about the kill, all about the blood. Without Massi I was more myself and I did fight for the politics of it all; it wasn't just for the free food," Tony said with a smirk.
"I took care of the vineyard from overseas and every so often went back home to check on things," he said with a shrug.
"Before planes, it wasn't so easy to go home whenever I wanted. Now, I can go whenever I like."
"You have not seen Massi since you left Italy?" Isabella asked curiously.
"Seen? No. Felt? Yes. Every once in awhile I feel his presence and I turn to face him but he's not there when I look. I guess he still doesn't want to see my face."
"How do you feel his presence?" Raven asked.
"I just do," Tony sighed, "I don't know, honestly. It's a vampire thing because I can feel other vampires when they around. But Massi, I know when it's him."
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Hidden Paths: Vampire Revenge
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