19/21 (300 Years of Sin)

by Cristina M. Sburlea

  “Relax, old friend. They will not discover your identity. You must play it cool and they will not suspect what you truly are. Remember: if this does not work, we might not get another chance in two centuries, or even ever again! You must be calm and finish your task.” said Jonathan.

  The night was passing by dreadfully slow for Mark. He had been waiting for the day in which the Order of Constantine would be gone, for what seemed like an eternity. He had to fight his urge to kill more than Jonathan, for he had taken more lives than him and the more lives he took, the more he craved to drink blood and more pain of his victims he felt.

  The witches were asleep, Ava was asleep, even Mark had finally fallen asleep, but Jonathan was too impatient to be able to close his eyes. The girl beside him, however, was deep into her dreams. But this time, she did not just dream of her life, she dreamed of the events right after her death, she dreamt of the events which occurred while her soul was in search of a new body, of what happened to those connected to her.

  Before Duke Henry found out about his daughter’s death, he looked for the witch, Amara and, in November he found her in Spain. She was the one who gave him the news as she sensed the woman’s death. Henry was devastated, he yelled, he cursed the Order, he cursed his now dead brother George and cursed himself for what he had done over 28 years in the past, he cursed every step he took that led his life in that direction. And then Amara gave him another news: “You have gathered the energy of many souls, you will live at least two centuries from now on. And every time the girl will be born again you will sense it as she is blood of your blood, but you might never find her again and that will be the cost of your sins: to live a life searching for her, but not being close to the flesh of your flesh.”

  What neither Jonathan, nor Mark knew, was that Professor Gutenberg was also a member of the Order. He was the only other person who knew of Ava’s curse. When Duke Henry was away on business, Gutenberg was in charge of making sure she did not end up killing again. Long before the child was born, the man entered the Order. He was amazed at the possibility of a curse actually being possible and he wanted to study its effects, but when he realized what the curse actually was and when he understood that lives would eventually be lost, he wanted to leave the Order for he did not agree with its directives anymore. Members of the Order were suspicious of Gutenberg after Ava disappeared. They took him to one of their basements, put him inside a cage and questioned him; they tried to torture the truth out of him. The man knew nothing but even so, he was not treated lightly. George then asked several Constantines to keep him captive in his laboratory so he could find a cure for his disease. After two weeks, George thought he concocted a serum that would help George live, but so insane with anger was the duke that he forced the professor to first inject it in his own hand to make sure it is not poison. Gutenberg, held down by two members of the Order, did so and then, after a few hours, when George was convinced it was not poison, he was also injected with the serum. For the next few days, the duke felt more alive than ever, he felt like he would live forever so he freed Gutenberg and, by that time, Henry had also recuperated his health completely. But a few more days passed and George suffered a heart attack; no medicine in the world could cure his ill heart. Henry and Gutenberg went out of the country in search of Amara and when they found her, seven years had passed and they only saw a ghost of what she had used to be, for disease had also spread throughout her body.

  The grief of losing his daughter was only softened by the news that she had lived a happy life, a fulfilling life in the New World. Amara confessed that Ava was not fully lost and that her soul will find a way to be reborn, but she did not say anything else of what she had told the two dracos. Henry continued to live a life far away from London, he only went back a few times after all those members who knew him died. Gutenberg, after turning 80, felt his final days were close, but then a year passed, ten, twenty, a century, then two, and he did not die. The serum he injected in himself and into George, killed the latter, but kept the former alive. But Gutenberg did not live an easy life. As each year was going by, he felt more tired, more distressed, he was an old man plagued by all the pains of old age. He tried to take his life several times, but gave up when he realized he could not die, not form fire, not from gun wound, not from drowning. Each time, he survived. A hundred and twenty years into his life, he met a witch who was able to understand his condition.

  “The cause for your long life it both natural and unnatural.” said the witch.

  “What exactly is it?” asked the professor.

  “You’ve had contact with unnatural energy in the past haven’t you?”

  “I have!”

  “The serum you’ve injected into your veins, mixed with the unnatural and this is the result. You will not die until you find the cause of what led you to come in contact with such unnatural energy. Find whatever that cause is and it will kill you!” added the woman.

  Gutenberg knew what the cause was: Ava. He only came in contact with the unnatural because he wanted to study its effects and it was through the girl that he could do it. And even after he denounced the Order, he was still close to the girl, he was her mentor. When he realized how wrong his ways were, he felt it was his responsibility to care for the child. But he failed and his guilt did not allow him to die. It would be only when the reason for his guilt would give her forgiveness that the man could die. Two centuries later, he was working relentlessly to find a cure for the girl’s condition, for the dracos and for the ardenti which was now Jonathan, but failure was the only thing he met. Jonathan found out about his past in the Order but forgave him when he realized how much the man was suffering and was repenting for his deeds. Then, the two tried to unite their forces to find a way out of their… predicament.

  The girl saw her lives, her father’s attempts at finding her, and her deaths. Once all the memories and all the events connected to her were unlocked in her mind, she opened her eyes and everyone knew time had come for the Order to perish. All they had left to do was to make sure Mark got to his destination safe.

  At twelve o’clock the draco left the house and, at one pm he arrived to the meeting point. He was asked to get in a black car with blackened windows, including one between him and the driver, so he could not even see ahead, but he heard every noise and felt every smell outside the car and recognized the streets and neighborhoods.

  When the car stopped, the men sitting next to Mark put a black cloth on his eyes so as to not be able to see his surroundings. He was then taken out of the car and led into a hallway. He could feel altitude dropping, he was moving downward. An elevator door opened and the men got inside it. They dropped three stories and then stopped. They walked into another hall and stopped in front of a door. Mark knew: he was about to step into the heart of the Order. The other men entered the large room carved into rock and then told him to come in. Mark held his head high, showing confidence, and took a step forward, then another and he was in. He felt his spirit lifted as he was happy he managed to get through the invisible veil that would have pushed him out, if it would have recognized him as a draco. It was the first time someone of his kind had stepped foot inside the cellar. The Constantines were all pleased to see he was a man like them.

  The members of the Order then told him of their plans, of their intention to be the most powerful men of the world and asked him to join their brotherhood, for he would help them and they would aid him in all his goals. Mark listened carefully and nodded as a sign of affirmation to all their remarks, but, in reality, he was waiting for the witches’ spell to start altering their minds. It took hours and there was no resolve. Mark grew impatient as it was almost time for the meeting to end.

  “How long will it take?” asked Jonathan.

  “We are not experienced enough as our ancestors. We do not know why it is not working. It should have been over by now.” answered Fei.

  At once, the streets of London got dark, the clouds had gathered all over the city
, thunder began to drum, lightning pierced the darkness that covered the day, large rain drops fell, and violent winds circled the buildings. The spell was finally beginning to take shape. The witches were standing around the girl, Jonathan was aside, and Mark began to feel a tremor. The minds of all Constantines around the world were connected and pain began to strike them. They screamed, they shrieked, and Mark acted just like them so as to not give rise to any suspicion. The winds were getting stronger and and the ground began to shake. The walls of the cellar were starting to crumble and the men inside ran for their lives. They filled the two elevators and hoped to get out of the ore alive.

  The ground was shaking faster, faster, the winds were blowing stronger, stronger. Lightning bolts multiplied their numbers and the violent rain hurt the skin of anyone not taking shelter. Constantines got into their cars and drove away and, five minutes later, the cars stopped. The storm was gone, clears skies were all over London, and the sun was shining bright. The men in the black cars looked around and at one another, but, with the exception of Mark, neither one of them recognized the other.

  “Who are you?” asked a Constantine.

  “But who are you?” asked another.

  Mark asked just like the others and, in dismay and incredulity, they all decided to part their ways. As each was furthering himself from the others, even the memories of the earthquake and the drive were fading from their minds. Mark walked for a short while then hopped into a taxi and headed home. As soon as he entered the house, the first thing he did was to say “We did it! It worked!” and all of them cheered, for they thought their pains were over. Suddenly, for a brief moment, their faces turned twisted seeing how Jonathan was feeling the same pain the Constantines had felt. When the pain was gone, he felt different.

  “What did just happen?” asked Ava.

  “He is turning back into a draco.” answered Rene as Jonathan’s eyes turned black for a few seconds.

  “How do you feel?” asked the girl then.

  “Oddly enough, I feel fine, the pain is gone.” said the man, but then his hunger grew. He shouted to the witches to get into a different room and Mark rushed them into a bedroom, but Ava did not go. Jonathan felt his blood boil and Ava grabbed his hand and took him into the bathroom letting cold water fill the tub. The man got into the cold water and his fever came down a little, but he was hungry, more than ever, his beastly lust for blood had not been so strong in two centuries. He was barely containing himself to stay put and not go after the necks of the women in the bedroom.

  “If he comes, I’ll keep him away.” said Mark.

  “You won’t be able to do it so, if that happens, we’ll use our power on him. He is over three hundred years old, his strength is far too great for you.” added Rene.

  In the bathroom, Ava could see his need for blood and then she said “Now is time for me to give to you what you gave me.” as she took the scissors and bled her wrist.

  Jonathan tried to resist it for a moment, but soon gave in and drank. He did not need too much. As soon as his lips touched the red liquid, his temperature came down to normal and his thirst stagnated.

  “I have not felt it so strong since I became a creature that could burn and yet, I have also not been happier since before then.”

  “It’s done now! The worst is passed.” added Ava.

  As night was spreading across the city, things calmed down inside the house and all of them got back into the living room.

  “Our work here is done.” said Fei.

  “Thank you, we will forever be indebted to you.” added Jonathan.

  “The Order is gone, dracos will turn back into humans in the following years, it will not take longer than two years of life. You will see that your hunger will diminish with time and, when it will be gone, you will be normal, natural.” said Rene. “With the Order vanished, all the unnatural used by it will also vanish.”

  “But that does not ensure they will not continue committing crimes. They are wealthier than gods and, when they realize the illegalities they committed to get like that, many might try to continue them.” said Mark.

  “That is why, my friend, our work is not done. We must continue to expose their misdeeds.” added Jonathan.

  “Our magic will be gone as soon as the last drops of the unnatural in those of you will vanish. We will not be able to do anything once that happens.”

  “This time, we use only the means nature and society have provided us with. We go after them, but we take the human route.” said Ava. “However, before we do anything else, I must go to Gutenberg. He has suffered for far too long.”

  The other three witches were thanked again and they left, each to their homes, satisfied that they did something right, something good. And Ava, Rene, and the two dracos headed toward Professor Gutenberg’s house. When they arrived, they found the old man standing on a chair, in his living room. He looked tired and his breath was difficult.

  “You have returned!” said Gutenberg, with difficulty, while another man was standing behind him.

  “Indeed I have and I bring what you, so long, looked for.” said Ava while looking at the man behind the professor and recognizing him as Henry Burke.

  Henry was not affected by the spell of the witches. He was connected to his daughter and this kept him outside the spell. The duke looked straight into her eyes and did not leave her sight for a moment. Professor Gutenberg was helped to the sofa and, as he sat there, the girl came close and asked “Are you sure you want this?”

  “I have been waiting for this for more than a lifetime. I am sure child, I lived far too long and I am far too tired to take another breath.”

  Ava put her hand on his cheek and said “I forgive you; I forgive all of your deeds.”

  As she spoke those words, Gutenberg’s eyelids became heavy and he breathed no more.

  “He is at peace now.” said Ava looking toward the duke. “The Order does not exist anymore, the dracos will turn human and you will die just like the rest of us. The life in you will only last for two more years at best.”

  “I do not care for life as I too have grown tired. I only care for forgiveness.”

  “Forgiveness for the curse, for the suffering you caused? I murdered my own mother because of you and countless more. Forgiveness father? There was a time I thought I could forgive; now I do not know if I will ever be able to do so.”

  “Ava, I…”

  “Do not speak, for I do know all you want to say. I’ve seen it in your eyes. I can still pierce through your conscience and soul! Forgiveness I cannot promise, but I can tell you I will try. I am willing to offer you a chance you never gave me. Choose whether you are willing to spend your last days making up for the lost time, but do not stand in our way, do not try to stop any of our plans, and I will try to gather the energy to forgive. Or leave if you don’t agree with what we do.”

  “I will not stand against any of you. Ava, I do not care for anything else other than to try to be the father I was not when I was supposed to be.”

  Chapter 5

  Age of extinction

  It took a year until all dracos began to lose their thirst for blood. Jonathan was the last one to turn and when he did, Ava lost her ability to pierce through the conscience of others. In that moment, her father, who finally received forgiveness, died, while holding his child’s hand. In these months, many more ex-Constantines met their demise; many were arrested for murder, others for embezzlement and other crimes. They were owners of corporations, ambassadors, politicians and even arms of the law. One by one, they were caught in the webs of their own lies, while those who did not harm, were left alone. And dracos, these cursed beasts that felt the pain of those they fed on, were finally receiving the chance to live without any pain, without any need for the warm, red liquid in the human veins. But what was supposed to be a moment of joy and celebration was nothing but dust in the wind, for what was about to come, none of them had expected.

  Throughout the two centuries while J
onathan and Mark were too busy to find Ava and the witches, the Order was still experimenting on dracos, they created hundreds of them, used them in captivity for their healing blood and now they were finally free from their captors. These dracos were kept in cages almost all of their lives and they wanted nothing more than to enjoy the warmth of the daylight and the crisp air of the night. But the Constantines used to experiemnt on other creatures as well. In a faraway place, in the small Romanian city of Braşov*, under the Black Church, a new creature was awakening. Its long fangs, hard nails, and hairy skin looked nothing less than a nightmare. This creature lived then under the name of Mihail Stan, but that was not his real name and he was not in captivity while the Order experimented on him. He was there of his own free will. And now that he was finally at full strength, he was not to be stopped.

  “You have finally unlocked your full strength.” said a man dressed in a white coat.

  Elongating the word, Mihail said “Yes!”

  “What will we do now, master?”

  “They were fools. Three hundred years I’ve spent here fighting for my life and sanity and all they had to do was to make the Order prosper and keep the dracos in line. The members failed and the dracos proved not worthy of my plans. The time has come Cristian.”

  “Time has come for what?” asked the scientist while looking at the tall man whose appearance was changing. From an old vârcolac*, as he was called by the locals, he turned into a man that seemed no older than thirty five.

  “I Constantine Burke declare this the age of the birth of a new species and death of the members of the Order, the dracos, and anyone in my way! This is the age of extinction!”

  *vârcolac – the Romanian word for werewolf

  Other books by Maria Cristina Sburlea