Natalie frowned, looking distressed, “Then I am sure you know my father too. He went to school with her and when she was pregnant, he left her and her parents moved away with her.”
Chayton stared at her in amazement. Clare had been pregnant, so they had taken her away. Times were different back then and teenage pregnancies were a taboo issue back then. Then this crazy idea kept rising within and would not let him go. He had to be the father. Yes, there was no other explanation. He had been Clare's first boyfriend. He looked at Natalie and nodded.
“Yes, I think I know your father actually.”
“Really? Tell me all about him. He must have been a very lousy dude. He has let us down.”
Moonworthy shook his head.
“No, Natalie. I think he just didn’t know anything about it and she was taken away from here before he could find out.”
He took Natalie's arm, who looked at him a little taken aback.
“Come on, let’s go cheer our team. They can use whatever support they can get. We'll talk later about your mother, everything at its time, as they say.”
They went back into the stands, but the cheering up didn’t help much; the Crocodiles lost the game. They were too many points behind, even if Greyson as a late substitute still made some points, But in the end, it was not enough to turn the game around. Chayton Moonworthy drove Natalie to Jason's address to pick up her stuff. Luckily, no one was home. She had a key and quickly packed up her things, leaving the key in the mailbox. Then they hastily left the building and drove to Moonworthy’s apartment. His car was a black old station wagon, which somehow reminded her of a hearse. This Mr. Moonworthy was somewhat slope. Natalie thought and was not sure if it was such a great idea to go to his place. But on the other hand, he had defied Jason and really did seem wanting to help. The apartment was located only two blocks from the Scarborough High. It wasn’t a dark cave as Natalie had feared secretly. It was a bright and friendly apartment modernly furnished. There was even a spare room with a big window where she could put her stuff in. This Mr. Moonworthy seemed quite weird, but was apparently quite nice and helpful, even if Leyla did not particularly like him and secretly called him crow. He brewed her some tea and they talked for a while about her mother.
Natalie couldn’t get rid of the feeling that something had happened between him and her mother. Maybe he was even her father. But she didn’t dare to ask him about it, but she thought that if he was her father she wouldn’t mind at all. During the conversation, they happened to talk about the summer festival and he asked her if she knew what had happened that night. He wanted to know how this Gregory she had told him about had disappeared. Natalie had decided meanwhile that he was trustworthy and told him about her friend Mila who belonged to some kind of gang called Akandos and that there was another gang called Vultures and that these two groups truly disliked each other. Chayton Moonworthy was all ears, because after all, he had guessed more or less that something like that was going on.
“Mila says that those Vultures wanted to get rid of Gregory. For this reason, Mila tried to put Gabe out of action,” she looked at him imploringly.
“I know it sounds a bit weird, but she wanted to keep him from carrying evil plans on Gregory. That’s why she prepared a home-made brew from her Grandma’s book. But then something went terribly wrong and the plan backfired on Gregory and somehow he happened to drink it instead of Gabe. Actually, I shouldn’t even talk about it.”
Chayton Moonworthy didn’t quite understand, “Why did this Gabe want to get rid of Gregory? I don’t understand.”
Natalie pulled out her cell phone.
“The Akandos gang I told you about, they all have a tattoo on their upper arm and Mila said that was because they all have a special talent."
She was apparently torn, “I am not supposed to tell anyone. I promised Mila to shut up.”
Chayton touched her arm reassuringly.
“You can tell me anything. Your secret is safe with me. Don’t worry, I swear.”
She sighed and continued.
“These Vultures, however, don't have a tattoo, but also happen to have special talents and on top of that, they are evil. As I said, I shouldn’t tell you anything about it, but the thing about Gregory was kind of strange. I met him on the plane when I got here from Italy and he was really so cute and friendly, but apparently he had a lot of enemies.”
She held out her cell phone to show him the picture of the tattoo on Aiden’s upper arm. As she tried to zoom Aiden’s arm closer, Gregory was in the background of the picture. Chayton Moonworthy gasped.
“Stop, who is this boy in the background of that picture?”
He pointed at Gregory.
“Oh, that's him; Gregory, the boy that officially has gone back to Italy. Yet, in my opinion that is not true. For some reason he has disappeared.”
My God, Moonworthy was petrified. He himself had published the image in his research, and this boy was the savior, no doubt about it.
The Sicilian pillars
The sun was shining right into Leyla’s face. She woke up unwillingly from her beautiful dream in which she had watched the incredible sunset. Having all of her friends beside her in total harmony at a tropical beach. Somehow, she had troubles to distinguish between her dream and reality. Gregory was lying beside her, his arm around her and he was apparently naked. She sat up abruptly. Why was he naked and why did he lay next to her? Oops, she looked under the blanket. She was naked too, at least sort of. What was that all about? She quickly got up and pulled her cargo pants and her black T-shirt with the New York City skyline on. She balanced on one foot straight across the room to put on her shoes, when Gregory opened one eye blinking at her into the blinding sun.
“Hey, where is my Zombie Bride? You're sober as I see and already almost ready to go. Besides, you look frighteningly fit for a morning person like me.”
He propped up his elbow and patted inviting beside him on the bed.
“Come lie down again, it's not even eight clock in the morning. It was so cozy with you lying next to me.”
Leyla sat down beside him and looked at him thoughtfully. He beamed like the rising morning sun and was in such a good mood, his eyes sparkling.
“Tell me one thing,” she skimmed over the blanket not quite knowing how to start. “We haven’t done anything stupid last night after I felt kind of woozy after that brandy, have we?"
"Whoa, you need to help me out here. I don’t know what you are talking about. What exactly you have in mind by something stupid?”
He acted as if he had not the slightest ideawhat she was talking about. “You know, you seem to be naked; I was half naked.”
She looked at him suggestively. He laughed and it sounded as if he was having a hell of a good time.
“So my lovely zombie bride, if we had done something stupid as you call it, it would have been quite one-sided as you kind of passed out last night. I'd rather have you involved and wide-awake in this case, not drunk or passed out. I didn’t think that you would take the Zombie stuff that seriously.”
Leyla felt redness creep to her face and she stammered uncertain.
“Sorry, that was probably some stupid assumption.”
He nodded, but he did not seem to be offended.
“Don’t worry, I know what you mean and I promise you that the day we really do something stupid, you will wake up remembering every detail about it very vividly and clearly.”
He grabbed her T-shirt, threw her on the bed and began to tickle her.
“But for now, let's do something stupid like that, right?”
She giggled like a seven year old and tried to hold off his hands. After a while, she gave up and they were out of breath lying next to each other on the bed. Leyla turned unexpectedly and kissed him. Then she looked at him seriously and said, “Enough fun for now my dear. We have to deal with your escape. At 12:15, the train to Toronto international Airport will be leaving. Your plane will leave at 18:00h. I'll get us
some breakfast and then we have to talk about the true prophecy.”
He was truly amazed. He knew she was a clever girl, but apparently, she had already figured out a plan for him to get away from the Vultures.
“Does that mean that you have booked a flight for me? Do you mind telling me where I am flying to and who has paid for the ticket?”
She was already out of the door and opened it for just a crack looking back at him.
“Oh, I haven’t told you yet? How silly of me. You are flying to Palermo. I told you once about that childhood friend of my grandfather, a painter that married a Sicilian girl and lives in Palermo.”
"No, you have never told me such a thing. Which one of your Grandpas then?”
“Well, my mom’s dad, Bernard Johnson.”
Gregory was confused.
“Apparently, you know every trick in the book. I kind of like that about you. Do you think this childhood friend would take me in. Why would he do that? He doesn’t even know me. You still didn’t tell me who paid for my ticket. Do your folks know about all that, hello?”
But Leyla did not answer. She was on the way to get breakfast.
Gregory was left behind puzzled.
This girl was unpredictable. She had even booked a flight for him, not knowing whether she would even find him. After a few minutes, she came back with a paper bag and two hot lattes. He continued flooding her with questions. She put a finger to her lips, “Hush, I'll explain everything. Eat your pancakes and listen to me.”
Then she told him that her Grandpa’s childhood friend was apparently a painter, or some other kind of artist; she didn’t know exactly and his name was Giacomo Benedetto.
Artists were mostly easy going and didn’t ask as many questions as other people did. Bernard had told him that his step-grandson was very ill and needed to rest. Bernard Johnson, who was crazy about adventures hadn’t needed much persuading from Leyla. He had paid for the flight and Leyla had emptied her savings account so that Gregory had some money for his trip. Of course, her parents didn’t know anything about it. She and Grandpa would have to deal with them later.
"You're incredible,” Gregory looked at her admiringly.
“Doing all that by yourself behind everybody's back just to help me. I am proud of you and I will be forever be indebted to you.”
"Forget it. You know damn well that I will always be there for you no matter what and I do whatever it takes to help you. The only thing I expect from you is that you stay alive and that I'll see you again.”
He stared at her as if he saw her for the first time. She cleared her throat and reminding herself not to get carried away becoming all emotional. She grabbed her backpack and turned on her tablet, examined the file with the prophecy and handed it to him.
“Read this, Gregory. This is the true prophecy. What we heard at the Akando gathering was just a part of it.”
He lowered his eyes on the screen and read for a while in silence and then looked up at her, his eyes dark and worried.
“This drawing at the end of the page really blows my mind. It really looks a lot like me. Is that supposed to mean that I am reborn at every turn of the century if someone prevents me to fulfill the prophecy?"
"Yes. To be honest, I also understood something like that.
It’s kind of scary and that drawing really looks like you.”
Leyla gazed at him, “What I've also understood is that the elements will turn against humanity each time they keep you from fulfilling your destiny and kill you. Apparently, in every century, the situation gets more serious until finally the whole planet will be destroyed by the angered elements. That is pretty scary and it sounds pretty crazy too.”
He nodded, “If it makes you feel any better, I am quite scared too and I don’t feel like pushing up daisies. I am too damn young. There are so many things I haven’t done yet.”
He pulled her over, putting his arm around her shoulder.
“Maybe last night we really missed a chance. Maybe we will never get to continue where we left off.”
He had a wry grin on his face and she looked at him sternly. Instantly, he was all serious again.
”This is real evil crap; not the regular zombie crap I am into.”
Leyla shrugged, kind of helpless.
“I know. I wonder who this Chayton M. Di Santos is and why he knows so much about it.”
Gregory looked past her and seemed to be miles away with his thoughts. It looked as if he would remember something.
He thought back to the day he had been changing his clothes in Aiden's father's house. There had been a letter addressed to a certain Signore Amato Maltese, Corleone, Sicily. The letter had been laying half opened with the secretary and written in ancient Italian language. It was about an enemy who had appeared at the turn of the century and who had to be destroyed. The Italian had been ancient and he couldn’t figure out what it really meant, but he still remembered the town in Sicily. Corleone.
He found out afterwards that the small town of Corleone was the stronghold of the Mafia, the cradle of The Cosa Nostra. Because he knew that his mother had been killed on the run from some kind of Mafia members, he tried to find out as much as possible about the history of Corleone. After he had seen that letter, he had come to conclusion that if he wanted to survive, he would have to look into the matter in Corleone. That Signore Amato must have been some key figure.
Now that he had read about the four pillars, he was more convinced than ever. His instinct told him that Amato had something to do with it. Maybe he was even his father or his grandfather. He had no idea how old he was. He would have to get to the bottom of it. Leyla looked at him intently.
"Are you thinking that the four pillars or paths are meant to be people? Maybe some kind of powerful Mafiosos?”
He looked up and his gaze was determined.
“Thanks to you, I'll have a chance to get to the bottom of this and I promise you I will do my best to get some answers. I am not getting myself slaughtered like a lamb. They have no idea that we are in possession of this prophecy and I don’t think the people trying to kill me are just members of the Mafia. There is something else behind that; something big and creepy. The answers have to be found in the past, when those Onenda girls have been taken to Sicily. Something horrible must have happened back then and these four pillars are trying to cover it up ever since. I haven’t got a clue, but I just know.”
He took her hands and pressed them.
”I need you to do something for me.”
"Anything you want. You know I'll do everything in my power.”
He looked at her determined.
“Promise me that you'll be careful and that you don’t do anything on your own. You have to include the Akandos from now on. You must find this author. His name is Di Santos and the family of Sebastian Di Santos was killed. I see a connection there. As it looks, the author, I am sure, knows about that connection between the Mafia and the Onendas.”
Leyla nodded.
“I’ll be careful, don’t worry.”
Her phone buzzed; she had forgotten all about it since she had placed it to charge the battery yesterday in the bathroom. “Crap. It was a message from Shane. What was up this time around?"
An almost perfect escape
She lowered her gaze to the display and Gregory immediately noticed that something was wrong. Her whole body stiffened and he could see the raising panic in her eyes when she looked up. The laid-back mood that had prevailed this morning between them was gone.
“Gregory, we have to get out of here. Something has happened and you have to leave the country immediately.”
She looked at her Swatch; it was nearly 8.45.
”If we hurry up, we can catch the train at 9:15, which would give us a lead of three hours and I'm going to book another flight online. The direct flight I booked is too dangerous.”
She paced up and down the room, unable to hide her anxiety. Gregory put on his dark gray sweatshirt pulling the hoo
d over his head.
“Ok, then. Let’s get the hell out here. We can do it if we hurry up. What has Shane written for heaven's sake that you're so messed up?”
She didn’t say a word. She just handed him her cell phone, but instead of reading Shane’s text that had scared her that much, he took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.
“Let's go. There will be enough time for me to read it later on.”
She nodded taking her backpack. They reached the train station in less than a quarter of an hour. Leyla bought the tickets paying cash. She was glad that she had emptied her saving account and had enough cash on her. First, it did not leave any traces and second, Gregory needed some cash when he was in Italy for a start. How could he get to Giacomo otherwise? Whether her parents were able to show some understanding for her action in trying to rescue Gregory and the associated emptying of her bank account was rather questionable, yet she would have to deal with them eventually. Probably, she would be grounded for the next 100 years anyway considering the fact that her mom expected her to be with Brooklyn. After buying the tickets, they had enough time to buy a backpack for Gregory. A traveler without baggage was kind of suspicious. In the remaining fifteen minutes before the train left, Leyla bought another black Nike cap for Gregory, a bandana that she wrapped around her hair and two pairs of sunglasses. Well camouflaged is half the battle, she thought as they got on the train. They headed for an empty compartment and Gregory took her cell phone out of his pocket to read Shane’s text that had thrown Leyla off track. He read the text through several times, understanding now why Leyla had been so upset after reading it.
He took Leyla's hand and looked at her feeling guilty.
"I don't know what to say. Maria was attacked because of me not to mention Mrs. Benson and Romeo. These animal abusers injured Romeo to get their way with Mrs. Benson.”
He stroked her hair with a jittery movement from her face and held her face in both hands. Then he looked at her and his tortured face almost broke her heart. He looked as if he had to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders.
ELEMENTARY VIRTUE: The Savior Page 33