The girl was standing right under the lamp now, Mila held her breath, hoping that the two didn’t notice her. She looked at the girl's face, and she didn’t recognize her, but she looked somehow damn familiar. She spoke in a fast Italian and Mila had trouble to understand anything she said. It was about a guy they wanted to leave here, and another one that should stay with him, to guard him. Probably she had misheard. Then she heard the voice of the boy, who also spoke Italian. She knew that voice there was no doubt. Mila shivered even more than before and this time, it had absolutely nothing to do with the cold. The boy stepped beneath the streetlamp. The jaw line and the mean feature around his mouth were unmistakable. She sank deeper behind the wooden barrels, "Gabe," she whispered silently. Every single cell of her body demanded, to run into the house and to wake up Aiden, but she remained petrified in her hiding place because she heard Gabe's voice again and this time she understood everything clearly.
The Vultures would get up with the first cable car at six o'clock and then continue with an SUV as far as possible. Shit, Mila thought looking at her watch, she had to mobilize the troops. It was five o'clock in the morning. They had already organized an SUV but wanted to go up with the cable car as well, as the off-road route was treacherous. Now, well they had no choice than to take an SUV from the start. Otherwise, the Vultures would be on top of them. She turned to go into the house to wake Aiden when she heard Gabe's smug voice. He spoke openly of a hostage, which would discourage the Akandos there of to interfere. Mila was convinced one hundred percent that it was Shane. She had to keep her temper under control not to jump out behind the barrel and strike Gabe down with a well-aimed punch.
These idiots had Shane! Only God alone knew what Gabe and this bitch did to him. Gabe would regret it; she would see to that. Even if it took an eternity, she’d get her revenge. The condescending bastard didn’t have the slightest idea what he had gotten himself into, by kidnapping Shane. But, for now, she had to save her revenge for later. She had to wake up the Akandos to get the SUV in time before these lunatics got on the cable car. There was a small rumble in the air. The volcano was a bit too active in the last few days. Hopefully, Gregory managed to get to the crater to appease it before the island lay in lava and ashes. Cautiously, she crept back into the house. She stepped into the dormitory room shaking Aiden rudely. He jumped up, "Mila? What's happening?"
She told him briefly about Gregory and the Vultures. Aiden was instantly awake, and you had to give him that he was a great leader. Mila smiled as she watched him, having everybody gathered and ready to leave in no time. He would have made a great General. Mila grinned to herself. At quarter past five, they were all ready and sat in the crowded SUV. The trip itself proved, unfortunately, to be quite problematic. The path was steep, and they were stuck again and again. Since one eruption followed another, they were able to move forward very slowly. Considered that they were not very high, and the crater was not near at all. Even at this level, there was thick fog and toxic fumes. They lost their way several times found back on track just by chance as they saw the cable car going up through the misty fog.
Crap, Mila thought, the Vultures had a head start and would get up there before them, if they even managed to get through the fog. The cable car lurched precariously, and it was only a matter of time before it had to be shut down because of the heavy eruptions. Leyla sat next to Mila staring silently at her hands. She was desperate. Mila felt sorry for her, and she must have been worried sick about Gregory. She put an arm around her shoulder, "Don't worry, Gregory has a head start of more than an hour, and they can’t prevent him from getting to the crater." Leyla looked up, and her eyes looked like a wounded deer’s in the sights of a hunter. "Maybe, Mila, but they will kill him after he has completed his mission." Mila squeezed her shoulder, "It'll be okay, the legend has surely provided some protection for the hero, I'm sure about that. Besides, you are not the only one that should try to keep your hopes up we are in this together. They have Shane." Leyla looked puzzled, "Who has Shane?"
"The Vultures. I heard Gabe, and this girl talking at dawn."
"I'm sorry, Mila," she took her hand again, "the two of us have no choice but to hope that everything will be all right." Mila nodded. Then they both feel silent for a while.
The Jeep was still progressing with difficulty and eventually came to a halt. Through the fog a black monster SUV crossed them heading downhill, Mila recognized the Jeep. It was the one with the bullhorns, in which Gregory, and the old man had left this morning. The vehicle sped past them down towards the valley and Mila could see that the driver was the old man. He was alone. Clearly, the Vultures had a substantial lead, but Gregory had a good chance to reach the crater before them. As for the Akandos, they were in deep shit. After what felt like hours, they finally arrived at the Torre del filosofo. From where they were supposed to start walking. The fog and the toxic fumes were now so dense that they could hardly see a few feet ahead, and their elemental powers were absolutely of no use because they had no one among them who was able to master water or air. So, they were screwed. An ascent was not possible with this weather, and the eruptions were getting stronger. They had no other choice than to stay and wait at the Torre del filosofo.
The countdown
Gregory struggled through the thick fog. From time to time, he tried to lift the fog creating a gust of wind. The toxic fumes got to him, and his lungs burned like hell. At the same time, it was freezing cold and his face was numb. Then it was burning hot again, whenever the new lava flowed from the volcano, and sparks were in the air around him. He had to be damn careful not to scorch his face and his body.
He got ahead very slowly and with great difficulty, and when he finally made it close to the crater, the first shots were fired in his direction. He ducked and was suddenly damn glad that the fog was so dense because up here there was no place to hide. He crouched crawling forward. When he had nearly reached the opening of the crater and groped for the amulets in his pocket, someone jumped him. Gregory rolled instinctively to the side, but the attacker grabbed his legs. In the whole tangle, they rolled to the crater opening, and Gregory saw the face of his attacker. He had never seen him before. A black boy with curly hair and damn strong hands was trying to get at his throat and choke him.
They fought bitterly, rolling closer to the abyss. Suddenly the fog was wiped aside, and Gregory saw Gabe standing further downhill, from the corner of the eye. He had manipulated the wind. Beside him, a girl was standing pointing a gun at the two wallowing bodies on the ground. Gregory could break free. A shot hit his left shoulder with a smooth penetration. He howled in pain. Who would have thought that his forces would not help him at the crater? The wind was more of a hindrance, as he pushed the protective fog aside, and water became ice up here and was therefore of no use at all. His attacker threw himself again like a predator back at him, but this time, Gregory was ready, kicking him with both feet hard in the stomach. The impact pushed him back, and he landed at the very edge of the opening of the crater, clinging to the cliff edge. Gregory crawled to the opening, trying to pull him up again, when there was a second shot and missed his ear barely. He groped for the amulets and threw them flying high into the crater. A stream of sparks and lava got up into the air reminding of fireworks. Hot lava and sparks brushed Gregory's skin, leaving fiery marks.
He was on the edge of the crater again seeing that one of the amulets was still hanging on a small stone ledge. Damn he had to try reaching for it to get it to fall into the crater, He reached out with his finger trying to get a hold of it and push it down for the last time. The black boy was still hanging above the crater. His face was fuliginous and racked with pain. Gregory managed to stretch out his hand past him to bring the amulet to the final fall. Then he tried to reach out for the boy to help him get out of the opening, but he couldn’t reach him, and he plunged screaming into the depth. Again, there was a shot. This time, it hit Gregory in his chest, and suddenly he felt no more pain and blacked out l
osing conscience. Gabe had seen it coming when Garry fell into the crater, but he felt no pity. Gary had asked for it all along, and he would have gotten rid of him one way or another anyway. Gabe was more concerned about the fact that Gregory had thrown the amulets into the crater before he was struck down by Giada’s bullet. He had seen it clearly, from where he had been standing. But, that couldn’t be changed now. Gabe was thinking about climbing to the opening of the crater to make sure that Gregory was dead this time when he saw the outline of two men coming through the fog toward the crater. "Let's get the hell out of here, folks, there's someone in the fog and Gregory is dead. Giada repeatedly has stroked him in the chest."
The Vultures pulled back Keanu and Mikiel fought their way through the fog, and the toxic fumes to the crater, where Gregory lay motionless at the edge of the crater. Mikiel saw the Vultures pull back and slowly disappearing downhill through the fog. "Do you want me to shoot the bastards?" Mikiel pointed his gun at the shadows moving through the mist, "Forget it, we need to see if he is still alive. Let them go." Keanu was more than in a state of shock, he had heard the voices through the fog and one of them a guy’s voice praising Giada for having shot Gregory several times, aiming for his heart and making sure that he indeed died this time around. Mikiel leaned over the opening of the crater, "It looks as if the boy has done his job as you predicted," he looked down at Gregory, who was covered in blood laying on the ground visibly passed out.
"Guess, I have to apologize for not believing you from the start. He fulfilled his mission, but unfortunately, it looks as if he didn’t survive it." Keanu crouched down and felt Gregory’s pulse, "You're wrong, Mikiel, he's still alive. Help me, please."
Mikiel helped Keanu to heave up the still unconscious Gregory like a sack of potatoes on his shoulder. The descent to the half-buried hut at the Torre, buried under debris and lava, proved to be difficult, and even Keanu with his muscles of steel had to rest several times on the way to get there. The weather calmed visibly down, although the fog was still thick and the fumes almost unbearable, but the eruption had subsided, which was a good sign. The amulets had disappeared into the volcano, as the legend demanded it. Keanu and Mikiel put Gregory on a cot they found in the cabin. He was still unconscious, but Keanu noticed to his great astonishment that some of his wounds had already begun to heal. It was like some miracle. Mikiel scratched his head. "That's weird. I mean shouldn’t he be dead or something? After all the girl shot him in his chest!" Keanu fell silent, remembering Tiziana telling him once a tale about the Savior gaining immortality after fulfilling his mission. Back then, he thought that she was ready for the loony bin, but maybe she had been right.
Emergency at The Volcano
The SUV got stuck permanently, and Moonworthy, Natalie, and Gaia hadn’t returned yet from their query through the dense fog. Aiden and James went searching for them with flashlights on one side to the Jeep, Mila and Leyla went to the other side searching for them. The situation was totally out of control, not only that they had no trace of Gregory, no. Three of their people had gone missing. Among them, the only adult, responsible for the trip and his daughter.
They could not stay much longer, as debris and lava stones rolled down the mountain and would cover the SUV eventually. Empty handed both search teams returned to the vehicle. What were they supposed to do, would the fog clear up? Or, would it get even worst? They held their scarves in front of their faces to weaken the toxic fumes burning in their throat, making it difficult to breathe. Suddenly, they saw a figure coming through the fog. It was Gaia. She was completely exhausted. Apparently, Natalie slipped and fell into the depth and Moonworthy was rushing to her to help, then both of them were gone. Gaia, standing in the fog for a while scared to death until she found her way back to the SUV by chance. They had to take the decision to get on their way downhill, as it was too dangerous to wait up there any longer for all of them. Once they arrived at the Rifugio Sapienza, they informed the authorities at the mountain station and a search team was sent out to look for Moonworthy and Natalie. They were all very exhausted, the rescue operation for Gregory had gone incredibly wrong, simply unbelievable.
Besides not knowing what had happened to Gregory, there was now the uncertainty, about what had happened to Natalie and Moonworthy. The fog remained throughout the day, and the search teams came back empty-handed. The Akandos decided to spend another night in the hotel because there was still hope that the two of them would reappear. The next day the weather was freezing cold, but the sky was blue and cloudless. No eruptions or fog like the previous day. It was as if the events of the day before had never even happened. The search teams were swarming out once more, but unfortunately, Moonworthy and Natalie couldn’t be found, and there was no trace of Gregory or the Vultures either. Depressed and not knowing if they should stay any longer on their own, Aiden took the decision to travel back to Catania. Leyla had no idea whether Gregory was alive and Mila still didn’t know where the Vultures kept Shane. What should they do? Travelling back to Canada without their teacher? As time passed by, they had no other choice than to turn to the local authorities. Fortunately, Aiden proved able to take crisis management in his hands once again. The trip back home was anything but joyful. All of them were deeply caught up in their thoughts, and no one knew what had happened to Gregory or Shane, and there was the fact too, that two people were missing, and no one knew whether they were still alive. Leyla's only hope was her date in December, the video message, which meant she had to wait two months to go to Malta. It was her only hope of finding out if he survived. He hopefully would come to the agreed meeting point, sadly enough anything else than rosy prospects.
After arriving in Canada, hell broke loose. The police questioning them about Moonworthy and Natalie, and Steven freaking out completely because his son was gone. Then school started, and it was pure torture. Greyson teamed up with the Akandos and avoided Gabe’s company whenever possible. Mila was mostly unresponsive brooding, caught in thoughts, the same as Leyla. Brooklyn and Aiden were the only ones to have attained some degree of normality and seeming to accept the inevitable, at least it looked that way at the surface. Aiden was convinced that Gregory had thrown the amulets into the crater, since the eruptions had stopped but Leyla doubted that, as otherwise there were no other significant changes regarding the Vultures. They were as nasty as ever. Aiden thought, however, that the disaster would likely only affect Sicily, which would mean a complete loss of powers.
A month later, the daily routine continued, and everything went on as usual. Then one Friday evening, as they met at the Crowd, Brooklyn informed the girls, that apparently Aiden told her, he didn’t have any powers anymore, which meant Gregory indeed broke the curse. Mila shrugged, "I don’t know about that, I haven’t even tried to use my powers lately, “she said sullenly. Nevertheless, of the bad vibes in the air, Brooklyn tried to cheer her two friends up, and Ana was visiting showing up together with Saul. Leyla was glad to see the two of them again. Ana's visit and looking forward to December having high hopes for Malta had her spirits lifted a slight bit on this particular Friday night. Mila instead was sitting grouchy at the bar with her Coke. Since Shane had disappeared, she had given up all of her bad habits. No more dope and no alcohol either. Well, she was not interested in anything at all, to be honest. She was thinking about leaving and head home sulking in her misery as she usually did, when Leyla, pushed her in the ribs not being gentle at all. "Are you crazy?" Mila hissed clearly being annoyed. But, Leyla pointed toward the entrance and Mila’s glance followed. She jumped up and shot like a rocket toward the entrance. Shane was standing there, looking around searching. Mila threw herself into his arms, "Shane, my God, where have you been?" Within a short time, he was surrounded by all the Akandos including Leyla, all of them talking to him at once. "Whoa, not all at once, first I have to kiss my girl." He touched Mila’s face and gave her a long kiss. She sighed and snuggled up to him.
He held her firmly and then patiently answered all
the questions. No, he knew nothing of what had happened to him, the last thing he could recall was lying in his hotel bed in Rifugio Sapienza after that everything was gone, up to the moment when he woke up on a bench at Catania airport. Nobody knew exactly how he got there and what had happened. Mila didn't care anymore; she simply was on cloud nine that he was back. Regarding the question of what happened to Gregory; Shane could only trust his intuition. He felt that Gregory was still alive, and he mostly could trust his feelings. Whether Natalie and Moonworthy were still alive, Shane was not sure. In this case, he didn’t have any definite feeling Leyla was likely to find out whether he was right about Gregory before Christmas. She let the Akandos in on her plans, and all their high hopes were on her. They counted on her to find out what had become of their Savior.
Lockers Malta
Gregory's palms were sweaty, and he felt hot. Although it was December, the temperature in Sliema was around twenty degrees. However, his sweaty palms had nothing to do with the temperature. Would Leyla show up? He hadn't written her since the events on the volcano because his cell phone had died and gone to pieces during his battle against the black boy when he fought for his life close to the crater. The phone shattered, and all attempts to revive the SIM card had failed. He had been tempted several times to call her at her home number but had given up on the idea eventually, considering the situation. Moreover, despite his unwanted, but in the volcano matter quite practical, immortality, it took him some time until he recovered from all the bullet holes that the girl who was with Gabe, put in his body. He had no idea what would have happened if Keanu and Mikiel hadn't been on the spot in time. He spent the last two months intoxicated, which he could not fully explain. Sometimes he didn't know whether he was awake or just dreaming. Fantasy and reality blurred in many cases to one single colored mass. He sometimes thought that he owed it to Keanu and Mikiel that he hadn’t gone completely nuts yet. Besides, the two matched perfectly lately, hard to believe but true.
Elementary Virtue: The Prophecy Page 34