| Dark Heart By Mommints and Adriana |
| ~*~ Chapter 11 ~*~ A couple of hours before dawn, the girls were back to the villa and in Tatianna’s room, sitting on one of the beds, offering each other support as they all tried to overcome the shock of seeing Luciano and Adriana disappear before their very eyes. They had gone out with Marco to try and find the couple but all of his leads came up empty, so they returned to the villa to rest and he could make a few calls. Marco was on his cell phone, talking with Sebstiano. “Sì, il diavolo è andato, è svanito giustamente prima che ci prima che potrei fare niente. (Yes, the devil is gone, vanished right before us before I could do anything.) Che? (What?) Non so, abbiamo bisogno di trovare il suo crypt o la sua bara. Quella maniera possiamo iniziare a rompere il suo potere di Adriana. (I don’t know, we need to find his crypt or coffin. That way we can begin to break his power of Adriana.”) He stopped talking, dropped the cell phone and stared in shock when the object of their concern suddenly appeared in the room. With a mere thought, Luciano disposed of Marco and tossed him into a nearby wall, knocking the young man semi-unconscious. Greta and Cynthia were too afraid to do anything but when Tatianna saw the limp body of her sister in his arms, she cried out and jumped off the bed, running over to Luciano and beating her fists against his back in a useless rage. “¡Usted bastardo! ¿Qué hizo usted a ella, la mata? ¡Salga a mi hermana sólo! (You bastard! What did you do to her, kill her? Leave my sister alone!)” She shouted. Immediately, Greta and Cynthia joined in the fight. Ignoring them for the moment, Luciano gently placed Adriana on the bed, then with the speed of thought, tried to end the battle with one command, not wanting to use any means of force on them. “Abbastanza! (Enough!)” He bellowed. At his shout, Adriana woke up with a start and stared in disbelief at the girls attacking Luciano. “Stop it, stop all of you and listen to me!” She cried and jumped off the bed, forcibly coming between all the antagonists. “Don’t you dare hurt him, Casper. He’s done nothing except given me what I have wanted, waited all my life for!” “What?” Tatianna exclaimed and all the girls stopped fighting. “Questo è impossibile (This is impossible),” Luciano cried. “You still remember?” Adriana tenderly stroked his cheek. “¿Cómo no podría recordar yo el amor de mi vida? (How could I not remember the love of my life?)” “È assassino, un killer! Merita per morire! (He is a murderer, a killer! He deserves to die!)” Marco yelled, regaining consciousness and suddenly sprang up, lunging forward at Luciano, with the intent of stabbing the vampire through with a cross. Adriana reacted without thought and stopped the other man’s assault with a quick punch to his face, and Marco fell backwards, landing in a heap on the floor. “He’s not a murderer by choice, he was made into what he is, against his will.” Adriana explained and turned to Luciano. “Weren’t you?” “Yes....and no.” Luciano answered quietly. And at Adriana’s urging, he told them of the night Julianna had died, the hours that followed in his making of being a vampire and of Bianca‘s sweet promise of revenge he would have for his wife‘s death. “There hasn’t been one moment that I haven’t rammaricato (regretted), one night in which I wished to God, any god that would listen to take away this false life I had been given. Each night, it becomes harder and harder not to become the beast I truly am. I only wanted to be with my Juliana, and even that I was deprived of.” “The creature lies,” Marco started to climb to his feet. “If you hated being a vampire so much, why haven’t you killed yourself all these years?” Luciano gave a small humorous laugh. “Would you believe I didn’t want to burn for all eternity in the fires of hell?” “And now, you’ve met my sister and you love her.” Tatianna confirmed. “Yes.” “And you would do anything for her, even though you’re a vampire and she’s not?” Tatianna asked. Luciano turned to Adriana and swept her up in his strong embrace. “More than you could possibly imagine.” He said sadly and Adriana stared at him, puzzled. “We can help you.” She said softly. “Can’t we, Marco?” “Help him?” Marco scoffed. “Why in the name of God would we want to do that?” Adriana turned and faced everyone. “Because I believe there is good in Luciano, that it has never faded, just been over shadowed for a while in the world he’s been forced to live in. I believe Luciano is the soul of my soul, and I his; we were meant to be together. And I will do anything in my power to save him, even if it’s risking my own life to do so.” “El Dios dulce en el cielo (Sweet God in heaven), do you realize what you’re saying?” Tatianna asked of her sister. “She realizes more than we think, for why else would she risk so much?” Greta spoke up and turned to Marco. “And since I believe my friend here, and have known her since the second grade, I’m inclined to help her with Luciano. So, I ask you as well. Is there anything we can do?” Marco shook his head in disbelief. “All of you are matto (crazy), do you know that?” He asked then gave a wry laugh. “And I must be worse off than all of you, because I will give you the answer. If Luciano wants to be a mortal again, then the vampire who made him must be killed, with at least a stake through the heart. Perhaps then, he can transform back to being a mortal but this does have its risks. Luciano has been a blood drinker for so long, his body may not survive it.” Adriana turned to Luciano, searching his face and staring into his dark eyes. “This is what you want, right? We could be together, have the life you’ve always wanted, a house and a family of our own. Tell me, mi amoro, tell us who made you.” Dawn was rapidly approaching and Luciano felt the need to return to his lair but the need to help Adriana was far more overwhelming. So he stayed and whispered one name. “Bianca de La Vionda.” Then with an aching tenderness, he gently laid his hand over Adriana’s cheek and she saw the sadness lingering in his eyes. “Ma suo è troppo tardi di risparmiarme, il beloved. Sono stupito e l'overjoyed che lei ricorda tuttavia me ma supplico di lei, dimentica per favore circa me. Sono un'anima persa (But its too late to save me, beloved. I am amazed and overjoyed that you still remember but I beg of you, please forget about me. For I am a lost soul.” He stepped away from Adriana and appeared next to Marco within the next instant, leaning in close and whispering in his ear. “Non ci è bisogno temerme qualunque più, Marco. Per vado via da avrebbe dovuto essere ciò fatto che tanto tempo fa. Vado distruggere il mio fabbricante. Tutti il che chiedo è che lei la protegge, o ritornerò dagli intestini di inferno sé e lo trascina si ritira con me (There is no need to fear me any more, Marco. For I am going off to do what should have been done a long time ago. I am going to destroy my maker. All that I ask is that you protect her, or I will come back from the bowels of hell itself and drag you down with me.)” Marco’s eyes bulged and he swallowed convulsively. “Abbiamo un capire? (Do we have an understanding?)” Luciano asked. “Si, si.” Marco answered. “Luciano?” Adriana called. “What are you saying? What’s going on?” He appeared by her side within a heartbeat and wrapped her in his strong embrace. “Il commiato, il beloved, l'angelo del mio cuore. L'amerò sempre (Farewell, beloved, angel of my heart. I will always love you.)” And he gently kissed her on the lips. Before anyone could protest, he vanished and Adriana cried out in alarm. She ran over to Marco and demanded he tell her what Luciano said but the young man refused, saying she was better off not knowing. “Oh my God, he’s going to kill her himself.” Greta whispered. “But what if she kills him in the process?” Cynthia asked and everyone looked at Adriana. And Adriana walked over to the balcony, opened the window and watched the sun starting to rise, its bright ribbons of light streaking the night sky with gold. And she wondered if this time tomorrow morning, would she be able to watch another sun rise with Luciano. ~*~ The girls forgot their travel itinerary for the day, instead they stayed in the villa, ordering room service and figuring out a way to kill Bianca. They did make one trip however, to the local hall of records as they searched for any information about the vampire, but finding only documents dated around 1895, saying that a woman looking like Bianca had died from natural causes in her villa. None of them wanted to find any information regarding Luciano although Adriana did find a certificate buried in some old books, giving his birth date but no date of death. The same information that reported Bianca’s supposed death also showed a picture of her villa, which was going into the town’s hands until a relative could come declare ownership. Exactly one year later after her demise, a mysterious woman showed up, claiming to be a relative and obtaining the papers. The authorities concluding she was speaking the truth since her appearance was strikingly close to the deceased, and she moved into it that night. “Marco, does this villa look familiar to you?” Tatianna asked and waved him over. “Si, it does. Looks like the Veneto Region, about a half hour’s gondola ride from here.” “I think we should take a trip over there now, check it out and see if anyone still lives there.” Suggested Greta and sometime later, they found themselves walking up to the once grand but now dilapidated villa, for time had not been kind to it. Bits and pieces of stone had crumbled away from the structure and the once grand arched windows were covered up haphazardly with boards, to prevent thieves from stealing anything of value. There were signs posted for no trespassing and Marco told everyone that the stamps on them were recent, dated last year so someone still must have an interest in the villa. Adriana hugged herself to ward off a sudden chill that swept over her body, like a sense of foreboding and she felt compelled to stare upwards, looking at the stone balcony that overlooked the sea. Suddenly, the figure of a woman flashed before her eyes, the face contorted with rage when she saw her rival standing on the street below and she snarled out a curse before raising her arms over her head and disappearing. “Ah, dios mio! (Oh my God) I just saw her, I just saw Bianca!” Adriana cried and pointed up to the empty spot on the balcony. “Are you sure?” Cynthia asked, fearful the vampire would appear again. “I thought they couldn’t walk around in daylight or something.” “Contrary to what Hollywood does in the movies, if a vampire is strong enough from many feedings, they can assume a human shape and walk about in daylight, as free as you please, just like one of us.” Marco stated. “If Adriana saw Bianca, then I fear our work is cut out for us, my friends. Her powers are that considerable that sun light will not harm her.” “Well that’s just great.” Tatianna muttered. “So much for using sunlight as a weapon.” Marco came over to her and put a comforting arm around her shoulder, a gesture that was greatly appreciated by the young girl. “There are other ways to kill a vampire, my sweet. Trust me on this and we need to start instructing you all for tonight. That’s if you still want to slay the dragon and save the prince.” Marco pointedly stared at Adriana. “Point taken, Marco, back off.” Adriana replied. And without further discussion, they all went back to the girls room and gathered what supplies they had, listening grimly to Marco’s instructions and wondering if they could manage to do what Adriana hoped they could, to kill a vampire that was smarter, stronger and older by more than one hundred years. They decided to wait until dusk, because Marco said although her powers must be considerable, she still needed to feed and if they could catch her before going out, then victory would most likely be won. Towards later afternoon, they all went their separate ways, Marco suggesting they rest and nap, to conserve their strength tonight for the coming battle. Tatianna went to see Marco off and to thank him for his help, leaving Adriana alone in the room as she was getting ready to take a nap. “Il tempo è quasi qui per noi incontrare, il mio Adriana caro. Al tramonto, è venire solo a questa casa e risparmie Luciano povero, se lei può. Attenderò. (The time is almost here for us to meet, my dear Adriana. At sunset, come alone to this house and save poor Luciano, if you can. I shall be waiting).” Bianca sinisterly whispered and Adriana gasped in shock when she felt it in her mind, and over the sudden knowledge of the address for another villa. “Quédese afuera de mi mente, usted bruja. (Stay out of my mind, you witch).” Adriana replied and shuddered when she felt the sense of evil leave her, laughing manically as it dissipated into thin air. Just then, Tatianna came back into the room. “Did you just say something, Tata? I thought I heard talking.” Adriana shook her head. “No one here but me and I was talking to myself. That’s all.” “Oh, ok.” Tatianna looked at her sister oddly. “Well I’m going into to take a quick shower. I have a little bit of time before Marco comes back, so I’m taking advantage of it.” “Sure. Um, Casper?” “Yes?” She answered from the bathroom, over the sound of running water as she turned the faucets on. “Do you think I’m crazy, for trying to save Luciano?” Adriana asked, suddenly a little overwhelmed at the thought of what would happen tonight. “No, although I should say I told you so, I was right about Luciano being a vampire.” Tatianna came back out to grab something from her make-up bag. Then she stopped and gave her big sister a much-needed hug. “But I also have to admit, when he was looking at you earlier today, and hugged you, I saw his eyes Tata. And they had this look about them, like he is so in love with you it almost hurts. I gotta admit, its kind of hard to believe what he is but I trust more in his love for you. I believed him when he said he would do anything for you, I just hope it doesn’t include dying.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Dark Heart - Chapter 12 |