Sacrum

Sacrum

Chapter Eight

I marched to the headmistress' office with anger and conviction. This had to end somehow. Maratoni was obviously unwilling to teach me and was thus putting the entire school at great risk. My gift was completely unmanageable, and I couldn't live with myself if I accidentally hurt someone else. I knocked on the large door and barged in before I heard a reply.

"Dani," Trusting greeted me with a surprised but pleasant smile.

"Hi," I replied, suddenly getting nervous. Boeriella Trusting was a stunning woman, and her beauty and long blonde hair seemed to leave me breathless almost every time.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" She asked, making me remember my original mission.

"I just had an incident with Professor Maratoni and, well, he's just completely unwilling to teach me. I don't know what to do," I rambled on.

"Slow down. Tell me what happened," she inquired.

"He came in with some man and I ended up accidentallyÉburning him," I said. She raised her eyebrows.

"Okay. I will speak with Professor Maratoni about that. Perhaps he needs to teach you in a different setting."

"That's the whole problem. He's not teaching me anything! I haven't learned one thing since I've been here. How am I supposed to be ready when I turn 18, if nobody is willing to teach me? I thinkÉI think he doesn't want me to succeed," I suddenly confessed. Her face turned serious.

"Now Dani, that's a big accusation. You can't just throw words like that around. Professor Maratoni is dedicated to the success of each and every student at this school, just as I am. You have to trust his methods."

"What methods? He absolutely hates me. And that woman that was here the other day.

Someone needs to tell me what's going on," I demanded. Trusting was starting to look more and more uneasy with each word.

"What woman?"

"The woman from the American Protection League. I know she is looking into Vincent.

How can you let them do that?" Trusting took a quick look at the door, as if to make sure nobody was coming through. She then looked back at me, her face revealing a worried look.

"How do you know that, Dani?" she asked, but I refused to answer. "Look, this is a wildly inappropriate conversation, but I can assure you that any student under this roof has my full protection, no matter what their family history is. Any student at Baritone High School is safe. That includes Vincent. Now you and I have already talked about this, and I advised you that it would be best for you to stay away from him and anything to do with him. And I must insist that you obey my request, Dani. It's imperative that people don't see the two of you spending time together outside of classes."

"You can't tell me who I can and can't be friends with, that's ridiculous," I was getting bold, but I couldn't hold it in any longer. I figured she'd get angry and start yelling at me like Maratoni, but instead she just looked more worried.

"Dani," she said, in a much quieter tone of voice, as if worried somebody was listening. I could feel her fear from across the desk. "Things are different for all of us now that Vinicius is gone.

But especially for you. I'm telling you this as someone who cares about you. You're not just a regular student here on this campus. It's November now, but at the end of June, you will become, for lack of a better word, State property. The last thing they want to see, is one of their prodigies and Vincent Carandini becoming friends, do you understand?" I didn't, not even a little bit.

"But, if they want to avoid another monarchy, surely me becoming friends with him would be more helpful than me alienating him, right?" Trusting sighed.

"That's not how they will see it, Dani. To the current powers that be, Vincent isÉpermanently stained. In their minds, he threatens the very idea of democracy with his very existence."

"Surely they can't think democracy is that fickle," I replied more sarcastically than intended.

"Dani, they're not worried about him being on our side. They're worried about you being on his," she whispered with a note of hysteria in her voice, and I sat in stunned silence. Trusting jumped up at the sudden ring of the telephone. "Please, think about my words. For your own safety.

Now go," she motioned, then picked up the phone.

I would have disregarded Trusting's warning, but unfortunately Vincent was still nowhere to be found, so I made my way to Angelo's room, where I also found Laura and Kyle. I told them everything that happened in as much detail as I could. I couldn't make sense of it all on my own.

When I was finished, Laura quietly walked over to the door and locked it, as if she was worried someone would barge in. Angelo and Kyle just sat in silence.

"First of all, are you okay Dani, did the fire hurt you in any way?" Laura asked, examining my hand.

"I'm fine. I just felt a bit faint, but it didn't hurt me. Not the way it did him, at least," I replied.

"It's very worrisome that Maratoni hasn't even started to teach you how to control it yet. I mean, what the hell is he waiting for?" She asked, speaking more to herself than to us.

"What did you say the guy's name was? The one you burned?"

"Maratoni called him Ekhart."

"Ekhart as in Lawrence Ekhart?" Angelo asked and Laura gasped. Kyle just shook his head.

"What?"

"Did he have an annoying skinny mustache on his face?"

"Yes," I replied.

"Oh no, Dani," Laura uttered.

"Can someone tell me what's going on?"

"Remember when we talked about the Carandini family and other aristocratic families that could still potentially harbor support for them?" I nodded. "Well, Lawrence Ekhart is one of them."

Great, I thought to myself. What else could go wrong.

"Something is absolutely wrong, Dani," Laura said, and I felt relieved that she believed me and didn't think I was crazy. "I don't like it one bit. And for Boeriella Trusting to call you property of the StateÉthat's just, well it's repulsive," she said, and I had never seen her so angry. "You are your own being, not some robot to carry out State orders. This is outrageous. Vinicius would have never allowed for this to happen," she said anxiously. She was right. I felt safe when Vinicius was alive. But now, every day seemed more and more dangerous and scary.

After a while we all went back to our rooms. I tossed and turned in bed, trying to figure out what Vinicius would have wanted me to do in this situation. Continue on in silence and see if Maratoni would teach me anything? Keep harassing the headmistress until she came up with a satisfactory solution? Find some other outside source of help? But who? I combed my brain, trying to think of anyone at my old school who might have some answers. And then I remembered a name. Eric Van SantÑan old friend of Vinicius who would sometimes pop in during our lessons. If I could only find a way to reach him, maybe he could offer some word of advice. Feeling mentally tired from the day and from only drinking half of my daily blood cocktail, I fell asleep.

In my dream, I was once again on the edge of the forest watching the school burn with Vincent looking at me, his eyes glowing red. This time he spoke.

"It's time to pick a side, beautiful one."

"God is my judge," I heard myself reply. My voice sounded older and more mature.

"All vampires go to hell, Dani," he replied smiling. This time, I smiled back.

"Not if they're reborn," I said, and suddenly his smile vanished. There was a shift in his eyes.

A new emotion. Was itÉfear? I couldn't tell because I woke up at that exact moment. I grabbed a notebook and started writing down everything I could remember from the dream. Somehow the information seemed significant.

Were my dreams just fragments of an over stressed mind going haywire, or were they trying to tell me something? Certainty, whatever they were conveying didn't exactly bode well for me and Vincent. I packed my backpack and left for classes. I had to find him and speak to him. But once again, he was nowhere to be found.

During lunch time, I went to the library to try to figure out how I could possibly get in touch with Eric Van Sant. I logged into one of the computers and began my search by typing in his name, but unfortunately none of the faces that popped up were a match.

With a shaky hand, I decided to change my strategy and search for Vinicius instead.

Something I had been avoiding until then. I didn't want to read about how Vinicius took his life. It was too painful. But now, I had no choice. I had to find a way to reach out to Eric.

"Vinicius Valentini, The Brilliant Scientist And Visionary Behind The Specials Program, Dies In Apparent Suicide," one of the headlines read. I clicked on it and began reading.

"The vampire behind countless innovations that helped enrich the world is gone. Although there was no history of depression that anyone close to Valentini was aware of, State officials report that he simply stopped taking Block DÑthe vitamin compound he invented himself, which allows vampires to withstand sunlight exposure for prolonged periods of timeÑand walked out into the morning sun.

`Vinicius was one the greatest, if not the greatest, innovators of our time Ð he changed our world forever' said Chief Counsel Gold, who has now been named as the new leader of the Specials program."

I clicked out of the article. I couldn't read any more, it was too painful. I typed in Eric's name next to Vinicius', hoping to finally get a hit. I scrolled through pictures until I finally saw his familiar face. It was from some sort of work function. The picture took me to a website, where I learned that Eric Van Sant was also a scientist, and had assisted Vinicius with the Specials program.

There was a mailing address for anyone trying to contact him. Bingo, I thought. I pulled out a notebook and wrote it down. Then I quickly typed out a letter.

"Dear Mr. Van Sant, You probably don't remember me, but I remember you as a good friend to my mentor, Vinicius. I was hoping we could speak. I have some questions I'd like to ask you. Please let me know how I can reach you.

Attached is my school mailing address. I hope to hear from you soon."

I quickly printed out the note, purchased stamps from the vending machine, and put the envelope into the campus mailbox, hoping for a quick reply. When I got back to my room, I was relieved to find Vincent on my bed.

"Where have you been?" I asked, closing the door behind me.

"Long story," he replied, getting up to greet me.

"I missed you," I said, before I could stop myself. He smiled.

"I missed you Dani," he replied, brushing his fingers against my cheek. I wanted to stay like that forever, gazing into his brown eyes, but I had to tell him about everything that happened in his absence, starting with the threats Arani Deadnus made while speaking with Headmistress Trusting, and ending with me burning Ekhart in front of Maratoni, and the strange conversation I had with Trusting after. I left out the part about my dream, as it didn't seem necessary to burden him with my imagination. I also decided to leave out the part about my search for Eric Van Sant. He listened to me patiently.

"Basically, you're in danger," I finished.

"Really, from who?" He chuckled. I didn't find the situation funny.

"This is serious Vincent. The American Protection League is watching you." His face revealed no surprise or shock.

"You don't have to worry about me Dani," he replied, squeezing my hand. "But thank you for letting me know."

"YouÉknew that already," I stated, suddenly realizing that I wasn't telling Vincent any new information. He nodded his head.

"They've been watching me for a very long time. It's nothing to be concerned about."

"But you didn't hear the way she sounded. She wasÉcold and mean Vincent."

"Trust me, Arani Deadnus is much less scary than she looks and sounds. It's all for show.

The State is desperate to appear tough and in control. In reality, they are neither," he mused.

"I don't know, Trusting seemed actually scared. And what about her saying I have to stay away from you? What if somebody tells on us?" Vincent regarded me carefully.

"You're free to do as you wish. If you'll feel safer away from me, I can't stop you," he said.

"I don't want to be away from you," I replied truthfully, and the corners of his mouth raised in a smile.

"Then there's your answer."

"What about EkhartÉdo you know him?" I asked, worried that Vincent would provide me with no answers.

"Vaguely," he replied, and I could tell he was holding back.

"He's an odious man," I stated, wanting to see his reaction.

"He'll pay for what he did to you. Don't worry," he simply replied. I didn't understand what he meant.

"I don't even know what happened. Suddenly, his hand was burnt. Luciana, Altieri's Special, already has the power to incinerate. So Maratoni is right, my gift is completely useless. Not only that, I still haven't a clue on how to control it," I complained. Suddenly Vincent closed the space between us and planted a long and deep kiss on my mouth, making my head woozy.

"What was that for?" I asked.

"Look over there," he said, pointing to my desk where my small cactus had suddenly bloomed a pink flower. I looked back at him, curious.

"Your power isn't to incinerate. Right now, you're nothing more than a wild conduit, Dani.

You take in energy, and you process it in a physical way," he explained, making me feel slightly insulted. "Once you have total control over your gift, you will be able to transform energy in any way you want, whether it's positive or negative." I tried to catch up with this new information, but still didn't fully understand.

"So you're saying because the Ekhart guy had such a dark aura, I ended up processing his energy and burning him? But because I like kissing you, I canÉmake a cactus bloom?" My gift still seemed like a useless enigma to me. Vincent smiled.

"Yes, you can think of it like that, for now."

"Why are you telling me all this? Technically, if I ever learn how to control this, it's mostly so that I can use it against you, or those who support you," I said. Vincent seemed to wince.

"You're forgetting that you're not a machine, Dani. Nobody can tell you what to do. The gift is yours to use how you choose to see fit."

"Well, the State kind of can tell me what to do," I argued. If I was to misuse my gift, I'm sure Arani Deadnus wouldn't hesitate to eliminate me from the planet.

"For now," Vincent replied with a serious face, but before I could ask what he meant, his lips found their way back to mine, and I was lost in the trance of a dreamy kiss from my favorite enemy.

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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.