Chapter One (Slade)
"You have a duty to our cause. If you deny his request, you will be charged with treason and you will be killed."
The voice in front of me was stern and harsh. Of course it was. He'd been ordering me around my entire life and all I could do was nod my head to his request. There were sighs of relief from around me and I felt someone's hand touch my sleeve.
"Young master, we must report to our designated area. Are you ready?" The voice belonged to my caretaker, Vincent. It was a smooth, masculine voice that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I felt his hot breath near my skin. I wanted so much to reach up and touch his face, to feel his soft hair, smooth lips, but that wasn't my job.
My job was simple.
Lure the prey into the cage and pull the trap shut, capturing them forever so as to free the prisoner of a war that had been fought for far too long. I was growing weary. I didn't want to fight anymore. I was tired of all of this...
I wanted to sleep.
I wanted to shut out all the chaos around me and just let the darkness fully engulf me. I'd lived in the darkness too long to be scared of its open arms.
"Young master?" Vincent's voice was worried. I smiled, but didn't mean it as I gave another silent nod. I could hear him chew his lower lip and the voices of the departing council moving around us like a stream, whispering and murmuring. I could feel the gentle brushes of wind as they passed by, doing what they could to avoid touching me. Touching me would get them killed.
I felt Vincent's hand grasp mine, our fingers lacing together. I suddenly wanted to cry, but I had no more tears to cry. I'd done enough of that. I lived in darkness. I never had peace. I was on the losing side of a catestrophic war.
I had no time to cry...
"Vincent..." My voice felt small in a large, now empty room. Vincent was silent as he led me across the cold tiled floor toward one of the exits. He didn't say anything for a moment before his smooth accented voice spoke.
"Yes, young master?"
"Your hand is cold."
"My apologizes." Vincent answered. I gripped his icy palm in mine with both hands, trying to warm his hand up, but he gave my hand a squeeze that told me to leave him alone, so I had no choice by to drop my other hand away.
So cold... His hand was so cold. Vincent, why is your hand so cold? Why are you so cold?
So cold...
And suddenly, the world began to tremble and shudder. My heart began to pound like crazy in my chest, making it ache as I gasped for breath. My eyes flew open and I found myself staring at the roof of an airplane. I blinked quickly, my eyes focusing in on the whiteness of it before I sat up.
I looked around at the people who sat comfortably in their seats, either sleeping or reading or watching the news on their iPads. I blinked again and looked beside me at Zander. He was fast asleep, his dark lashes creating a crescent shape against his pale skin. His blue glasses were sliding down his face, his dark hair brushed across his forehead. He looked cozy in the blue sweater over his shirt button up shirt, his baggy blue jeans riding low to reveal the top of his checkered boxers.
I nibbled my lower lip, avoiding the snake bites there before I turned to my other side to Alexander.
He was still sulking silently. He sat there, staring at the pictures of the tour guide seeing as it was in Italian and he couldn't read it. His ear buds were in, blasting Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes. He was wearing a low cut elbow length blue shirt to match his snug fitting jeans.
He'd been sitting in that same position since we got on the plane. He was obviously pissed to have been called away from home to attend a vacation that he detested. He didn't want to spend two weeks in Italy with the Gothica Clan. I partially felt sorry for him, mostly because of all the garbage he'd gone through.
He'd been raised to be sold into marriage with Storm Von Gothica, only to have Storm fall in love with his best friend, Mark. The guy Alexander loved was killed by Storm's father, the other guy Alexander loved. Oh yea, I knew all about that, because I knew everything and I hated it.
"What's wrong?" I was startled a little from the voice in front of me, making me look up. Mark was sitting backwards in his seat, turned to look at me with curious blue eyes. His jet black hair was neatly styled to the nape of his neck, locks hanging in front of his ears and his bangs brushed toward the center of his face. He was chewing on the end of a gummy worm.
"Weird dream." I responded honestly. At least, that's what I had hoped it was. It had felt so real, like a vision, but I had it while I slept. It was rare that I have a vision in my sleep. And the trembling had woken me up with a start because I thought I was having another seizure.
I could already feel my body starting to get tired. I had fought hard to try and avoid visions, and this was the first one in a few weeks.
"Huhh," Mark hummed, twirling the worm in his mouth, "Well, we just hit some turbulence. S'probably what woke you up like that." I sighed in relief, slumping back into my seat.
"Good, good... Rather turbulence than anotha seizure." I admitted, making Mark nod grimly before looking up to peer down the aisle at the bathroom. I raised an eyebrow, following his gaze before looking back.
"Is Storm still in the toilet?" I asked, amazed. I had fallen asleep a good twenty minutes and before then, Storm had rushed to the bathroom, looking green in the face.
"He hates airplanes," Mark answered with a sigh, slurping the worm into his mouth and giving it a harsh chew before swallowing, "It's why he wasn't thrilled about the trip. Oh, that and he just wanted to relax, but it's hard. We have a psycho child living in our basement." He said that a tad bit too loudly and a couple people gave him a strange look. Alexander looked up with a frown, reaching up to pull an ear bud out.
"Mark, even I heard that. Keep your voice down." He scolded lightly, closing the pamphlet and tucking it into the pocket of the seat in front of him. Mark rolled his eyes, frowning in irritation for a moment before taking a deep breath, letting it out as a heavy sigh as he rested his chin on the back of his seat.
"I've never been out of the country before. This is so cool," He admitted, scanning the airplane, "The furthest I've been was Ohio. Have you ever been to Italy before?" I shook my head and glanced at Alexander, who hesitated before looking away.
"Once, but I was five." He responded. Mark hummed, leaning forward a little.
"What's it like? Are the people nice? How about the food? The food's good too, right? And by food, I mean people food, not vampy food." He added, making me laugh as he grinned. Alexander didn't seem to find the humor in it as he kept his eyes averted.
"The people are nice. The humans anyway. The food is excellent. Italian food is probably my favorite." He replied briefly as he took out his music player to fiddle with a couple buttons. Mark blinked, cocking his head curiously.
"Humans? Wait, there's vampires in Italy too?" He asked. I raised an eyebrow at him, folding my arms over my chest.
"Don't be stupid, Marky. They've got vampies everywhere. Ye didn't fink America was special, did ye?" I questioned, making Mark blush. Alexander's lips twitched as if he were going to smile, but he resisted and glanced up at Mark.
"Slade's right. Vampires are all over the world, not just the United States. Our ancestors originate in Europe. I know the Drakon Clan was originally Irish." He answered, making Mark's eyes light up eagerly. Even I would get excited to hear about the family I'd never met.
"Really? So, that makes me part Irish?! That's freakin' sweet!" He exclaimed. Alexander gave a short nod and went back to looking at his music player as Mark hummed thoughtfully, seeming excited with this new piece of information before he looked at me.
"Oh yea. Slade said he had a weird dream." He spoke up. Alexander instantly looked up, his eyes flickering to lock on me. He looked more concerned than angry now.
"A dream? Or a vision?" He asked, looking uneasy. I sighed, shifting a bit uncomfortably. It was hard to explain it, I recalled. It felt like a vision, but I had been asleep. And I didn't have a coma either and something about that dream felt extremely important, so it'd be considered a bigger vision...
"I'm... not sure how ta explain it," I admitted carefully, watching Mark and Alexander stare at me intently, "It was probably one of the most detailed dreams I've ever had... I was someone else, but it was dark. I couldn't see... I fink, and I'm just guessin' 'ere, but I fink whoever I was... I was blind. Everyfing was dark an' he kept finkin' 'bout sumfin' in the darkness. He had a caretaker too. A man named Vincent. I fink he was in love wif his caretaker o' sumfin'. It's really hard to explain."
"A blind person? If it's detailed, why is he blind?" Mark asked, confused.
"Cuz, I could feel everyfing 'round me. I could feel the gust of wind as the other people walked by. I could feel Vincent's hand... 'is hand was so cold too. I felt like I was holdin' a block o' ice. An' he was so formal too." I explained, pausing to look down at my hand. I opened and closed my palm experimentally, feeling Alexander's eyes on me.
"I faught I was 'avin' some kind of seizure a' first," I added, smiling uncomfortably, "Woke up to the plane in turbulence. Scared the fuck out o' me." Mark glanced at Alexander, who was looking away now with a frown.
"Weird! What do you think, Alex?" He asked. Alexander blinked and looked up to see Mark and I staring at him. I felt like Alexander was hiding something for some reason. Just the way he looked at me. He looked away after a moment as if he were finished speaking to us now. Mark rolled his eyes and waited until Alexander popped his ear buds back in.
"I wish he'd quit being so pissy. I'm not the one who called him. Why is he mad at me?" He asked, keeping his voice low. I glanced at Alexander out the corner of my eye. Despite the sulky expression on his face, I could tell Alexander wasn't really angry so much as... nervous. He didn't want to be here and I could honestly say I agreed with him. I was getting a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.
"Slaaade. Yoo hoo!" Mark waved his hand in my face, making me look up and fake a grin to assure him I was okay. Mark seemed suspicious, but it faded as he caught sight of something, his eyes lighting up. I looked up as Storm walked past our seats and plopped down in the one by Mark. He looked pale and sick now as he opened up a water bottle.
"Are you okay?" Mark asked worriedly as he turned back in his seat. Storm murmured something I couldn't hear, but I could feel his discomfort. He hated planes. It was obvious. He kept getting sick and he refused to let Mark open his window.
How strange that a vampire like Storm would be scared of planes.
I sat back in my seat quietly, focusing on staying awake for the rest of the plane ride. The plane shuddered every so often as it slowly descended to the ground. I turned to Zander, giving his shoulder a shake. His eyelids fluttered open, revealing deep blue eyes that made my heart jump.
Zander had been more of a childhood friend all these years. He was given the job by his parents and my mother to take care of me. I needed to have someone with me at all times in case I was struck by a vision. And now my mother was worrying even more after Zander informed her that I had bled during one of those visions.
I grimaced in rememberance at the pain that echoed in my skull. I reached up to rub my temples and Zander looked at me worriedly as he shifted in his seat.
"You all right? Do you have a headache?" He asked, sounding just like the concerned boyfriend he was. I smiled warmly, lowering my hands to my lap as I sat up in my seat.
"I'm fine, just feelin' a bit woozy from the ride. I'm not used ta it." I told him. He studied my face intently as if he were trying to figure out what I really meant, but the plane was already stopping and we were receiving instructions on how to exist. We rose to our feet and pulled some of our luggage down from the compartments above us.
"This is gonna be so cool!" Mark was gushing as he walked behind Storm, who just remained silent as he looked at the exit as if it were the stairway to heaven. I rolled my eyes with a smirk before following them out. I ducked to avoid hitting the door before stepping out onto the stairs. I grimaced a bit at the bright sunlight, making me tilt my head up to look at the sky.
A powerfully bright blue with a blazing hot white sun gazing down at us, not a cloud in sight.
I climbed down the stairs and waited for Zander before we followed Storm into the airport to grab our luggage.
"My father sent someone to pick us up," Storm informed us as we waited in the baggage claim area, listening to the intercoms announce flights and delays, "He should be near the main entrance, so we need to hurry." He looked up to scan the beltline our luggage was chugging along on.
"Can we use the toilet? I need a piss." I complained, wiggling uncomfortably and scrunching my nose up, making Storm sigh in frustration.
"Wait until we get to the hotel. You'll get lost in this mess." Zander scolded as he reached out to snatch up his luggage as well as my own. I pouted, adjusting the messager bag on my shoulder before I did a little wiggle, whining impatiently. Zander rolled his eyes.
"I'll go with him." Alexander spoke up, making me beam.
"Fine, but hurry." Storm ordered, making us nod. I followed Alexander as we walked away from the baggage area and toward the signs that looked like they said toilet, but it was all in Italian.
"This is gonna be a lil' frustratin'," I admitted, making Alexander glance at me, "What do all these signs say?" Alexander looked up, studying the signs before looking away and pointing a finger toward a door.
"There's the men's room." He told me, gesturing for me to follow.
"You read Italian?" I asked, perplexed. Alexander shrugged, shifting a bit uncomfortably as we walked into the toilets, pausing to let a couple business men rush past us.
"It's basically like Spanish. Anyway, that's not the point. I really just want to hurry up and get home. I just feel bad coming along. I don't get why I'm here anyway. They're hunting the Gothica Clan. Not me." He muttered, turning his back as I unzipped my pants. I smirked, glancing over my shoulder at him.
"Ya really think they invited ye cuz they wants to keep ya safe? Rubbish, I say."
"Why do you say that?"
"Ain't it true that Vlady has a crush on ye? 'Course he'd wanna bring ya 'long to a country as pretty as Italy. S'almost as romantic as France! Na' France. France I would have been esctatic to visit. Have always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower."
"Uh, well... Vladimir and I aren't together and I don't think it's gonna happen... Besides, he's ancient." Alexander added, but it hardly sounded like a legit excuse. In fact, the tone he used sounded like he was just fumbling for the first excuse he could. It made me laugh out loud and Alexander scowl at me as I went to wash my hands.
"Are ye kiddin'? Ol'? He might be like three billion in vampy years, but oooh! He don't look ol'! Nah, he looks like he's thirty!"
"And I'm nineteen."
"So? Least ye not a kiddie anymore. Were that the case, I'd fully agree with ye, but 'course, it ain't, so I'mma side with Vlady here." I admitted honestly as I shook the water off my hands and dried them off. Alexander started to say something, but as soon as I went to open the door, I smacked into someone, making me wince and jump back.
"Sorry!" I blurted, then paused to see the kid standing in front of me. He was a short kid, only up to my chest with dark hair and... strangely colored eyes. As if I were one to talk, but something about them...
Oh!
I felt my cheeks get hot with embarrassment as I realized.
"Really sorry 'bout tha'. Didn't mean to go bargin' into ye." I apologized uncomfortably. The boy smiled lightly, his eyes missing me by a good few inches. He shifted in what looked like an oversized shirt that hung off his shoulders, sort of like mine, only mine looked like it was meant to do that. The boy was just wearing a really big shirt. In fact, even his jeans were a big baggy. Did he dress himself?
"It's all right." He said in English with a lilting Italian accent that gave me a shiver. If he wasn't so little and I wasn't dating Zander, I would be all over this kid.
"Ah, you are Americans, I'm hoping?" He asked after a moment. I blinked and glanced at Alexander, who just stared at the kid as if he were seeing a ghost. I looked at him curiously, elbowing him and making him wince and glare at me.
"Are you still there?" The boy asked, looking confused as he reached out to touch me. I stupidly took his hand and froze as something shocked me. I instantly let go of him, dropping my arm to my side.
"Sorry," The boy apologized, smiling uneasily again, "I am... a bit lost. I am looking for my caretaker. He is... tall man. I am sorry, but that is all I really know."
"What's your name?" I asked carefully, wiping my hand on the side of my jeans. The boy continued to smile, not looking at all concerned that he was a blind boy lost in an Italian airport. Something about it made me uncomfortable.
"Luca. I am Luca Moretti. My caretaker is named Vincent Salvadore. I cannot find the service desk." He added. I looked at Alexander, who frowned.
"We'll take you to the service desk and they should be able to help." He said at last, making Luca blink and look at him curiously. However, he said nothing. But I was suspicious enough as it was. I kept my mouth shut, though, as Alexander took Luca by the hand and began to lead him to one of the service desks. I followed close behind as Alexander led Luca to the service desk and asked them to make an announcement.
"Grazie," Luca said as he stepped back from the desk, but kept one hand on the counter so he could stay where he was, "I thought I would never find someone to help. I asked someone else, but they ignored me. Is very busy here."
"Yeah," I agreed with a nod, "Would ye like my friend and I to stay here 'till ya caretaker shows up?" Alexander glared at me, but I ignored him and just smiled at Luca, even though he couldn't see me. He seemed to sense it, though, and smiled back.
"You are very nice. I would like that if it is no trouble." He responded, drumming his fingers on the counter and somewhat staring past me.
"No trouble at all," I responded brightly, "We wasn't in no hurry anyway."
"Of course not." Alexander said past clenched teeth, looking at me pointedly. I pouted and he rolled his eyes, throwing his hands up. Luca gazed in our direction and reached out, feeling for us. I sidestepped, mostly because I was still a bit weary about the way his hand had shocked me. It wasn't static or anything, but... a feeling. A very cold feeling.
I stopped, blinking as Luca took Alexander's hand, smiling up at him. Alexander looked a bit confused, but smiled uncomfortably anyway.
But a cold chill coursed up my spine. This kid was blind. The kid in my vision was also blind.
Vincent! His caretaker's name!
How could I be so stupid?
Or forgetful. I needed to see a head doctor before I did something else stupid.
But no, this kid. He was in my vision. Damn it, what was the vision about again? That's what I hated about dreams, or visions apart of a dream. Bits and pieces slowly fell away like a soggy puzzle until I was left with only the vivid things, such as the cold sensation of Vincent's hand in Luca's.
"I know you," Luca spoke up, making me look at him to see Alexander shifting uncomfortably, trying to pull his hand away, "You... have been here before, yes? The feel of your hand. I have felt it before."
"I think you're mistaken." Alexander replied calmly, managing to pull his hand away. Luca looked confused still. I opened my mouth to ask Alexander flat out what the hell was going on, but a hand reached out to grab Luca's before Luca could grab at Alexander again.
We looked up and my eyes widened in recognition as he spoke.
"Young master, please quit harassing the tourists." Vincent scolded gently, taking Luca's hand. Luca looked confused even more for a moment before he visibily relaxed. Despite the fact that I wasn't in his mind now, I could see the affection he held for Vincent, who looked at Alexander and I with round brown eyes, partially hidden by his dark hair.
"I apologize for any trouble." He said, but that was it before he tugged Luca along with him. Luca just moved along silently, gazing up in his direction admirably. I frowned, then snapped my head to glare at Alexander, who was trying to avoid me by shoving his ear buds in, but I smacked his hands away.
"Ya ought to tell me what in bloody hell is going on." I warned angrily, clenching my fists. Alexander grimaced for a moment, then looked away.
"Luca Moretti is... special. I met him in Italy when I was five. He was only three-years-old, but he has the same little scar in the right corner of his mouth." He answered cautiously, as if he were sidestepping details.
"I had a vision 'bout 'im. An' 'is caretaker. Ye need to tell me what they are. Are they vampies too?" I asked. Alexander looked up, then turned his head to stare at me. Something about the way he looked at me made me feel cold.
"The Moretti and Salvadore families are something entirely different, Slade, and if I were you, I'd stop asking questions. The last thing we need is getting them involved with the Gothica Clan."
Despite the curiosity peaked within me and why I had a vision about them lurking in the back of my mind.
Something about the way Alexander said that made me snap my mouth shut.