Pulse of Heroes

by A. Jacob Sweeny

  After that Elliot just about went crazy and raged around the house, throwing stuff and slamming doors. He told everyone that it was obvious that Hadeno wanted him and was using Michelle as a bargaining chip; he was going. But Xander pointed out that he had no idea where Michelle was, let alone what it was that they were really after. That was when Elliot decided to call Rion.

  No one knew Hadeno better than Rion. They were from the same part of the world. And Rion was completely flabbergasted that Hadeno had surfaced again after so many years. Although the two of them were never close, they had fought on the same side battling the advance of the Turkish Ottomans into Eastern Europe. It was also then that Rion had met Ando, who had enlisted many of his own Scandinavian troops as mercenaries in Hunyadi’s army around 1460 AD. Ando was full of hate for the Ottomans. They were enslaving foreign women into their harems wherever they went, and after his own son in law was murdered, his daughter and granddaughters were carried away from as far away as Iceland. Ando had thought that they would have been safe that far north, but the armies of Sultan Mehemet II were given free reign on the women and children of the conquered. And after they had emptied most of Eastern Europe of its women folk, they paid slave traders to travel north to find more. The more exotic the women looked, meaning yellow hair and blue eyes, the more money the Sultan and his officers were willing to pay. Ando fought valiantly to save his people; nevertheless, his entire family was lost. It was this grief that brought Rion and Ando together, and they had remained friends ever since.

  On the phone with Elliot, Rion suggested that Francesca Bianchetti might know where Michelle was because Michelle was very close to her. Elliot immediately wanted know how it was that Rion knew something like that and he didn’t. But Rion snapped back that he needed to quit with that ‘crap’ because he had more important things to do than berate him over the phone.

  “This is all your fault!” he yelled, and Elliot was forced to hold the receiver away from his ear. “We both know how Hadeno is,” Rion continued. But Elliot argued that he wouldn’t hurt Michelle, because he was the one that Hadeno was really after. “That depends on what you consider ‘hurt’, Elliot. You know he can damage the girl in more ways than one!” It was then that Elliot confided that the photo showed them kissing. “Shit, Elliot! You might as well say goodbye to her because she’s already gone.” They were well aware that despite Hadeno’s hatred of the Turks, he had no problem keeping his own harem of women. He collected them, and they always fell for him. It was easy for one of their kind to do.

  “She’s no match for any of us and you know that,” said Rion, lowering his voice. He himself felt disturbed by the idea of Hadeno having his way with little Michelle, which only made him angrier at Elliot. “She’s a little freakin’ girl and you just couldn’t leave her alone, could you!!!” Elliot slammed the phone on the wall so hard that it shattered into pieces. Xander and Devin rushed to the room to see what the noise was all about. Elliot’s eyes glowed and changed hues rapidly. His mouth hung slightly open and his jaw was tight to the point of pain. The idea of Michelle being used for anything made his blood boil.

  “I’m going to kill him.” That was all that Elliot could get out of his clenched teeth.

  How did they find out about Michelle? And where were they keeping her? Did they force her to tell them about him? Hadeno had no qualms about taking human lives; at least he needed her alive for now. But Elliot also worried about other things. What if Michelle really did fall for Hadeno, and it had nothing to do with him overpowering her physiology, something that any of them could do in a matter of seconds? Hadeno was obviously handsome; even Elliot as a man could see that, and he was one of their kind; he could offer her anything Elliot could. Yet less than three weeks ago Michelle had told him that she loved him, and Elliot was no fool. He recognized that Michelle had never said those words to anyone. She had never been in love before.

  In Hadeno’s arms, Michelle was going to lose her innocence if she hadn’t already, and the thought of that had Elliot clenching his fists so hard that his white knuckles showed through his skin and his nails dug so deeply into his flesh that it began to bleed. Hadeno was going to use her up for his own means and then discard of her, something that would devastate any woman, no matter how experienced she was. Rion was right; everything was his fault. What if he couldn’t pick up the broken pieces and put her back together?

  When Elliot thought about Michelle like that, he had no choice but to admit that he had been wrong to let her go and that he wanted her back; she was his from the start. He thought he was protecting her, but Lady Fortuna had decided otherwise. For better or worse, Michelle made him smile, and he actually felt it; it wasn’t just facial expressions without any depth behind them. She had somehow managed to give the same ordinary world that he had grown to know, and at times detest, a new meaning. Her excitement over the things he did or even ordinary things, was enticing him back to life. Like when he kissed her on the back of her neck and she screeched and laughed, rolling away from him into a fetal position. And then she asked him to do it again and again so she could feel the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand up. He could have kissed her like that for hours just to see the joy on her face as she discovered new things about her body and life itself. Michelle was funny, and warm, and she was clean and soft. He loved the way her hair smelled and adored the way she kissed him so full of affection and mystery. Michelle was growing up with him by her side, and Elliot wanted to be there with her for all of it. And when the time came, he wanted to make love to her; in fact he had been dreaming about it. And now, Hadeno was going to ruin all of that. Hadeno, the man that was never satisfied with just one woman; Hadeno, the man that did not love anyone but himself.

  “I’m going to kill him,” Elliot repeated himself, coolly. And while Xander looked worried, Devin agreed.

  “He’s had it coming for a long time,” Devin said thoughtfully, and he was right.

  Haden might have fought alongside the ‘good guys’ back when his lands were raided by the Turks, but that was as far as his morality compass tilted. While nowadays most of their type stayed clear of human wars, he profited from them, and many times even exacerbated the issues.

  Haden always claimed that humans were mediocre at best, and whether he was there or not everything would still happen as it did. He was just trying to make a living and provide for his family. He was a businessman who had decided that everything was relative, depending on which point of the conflict one was looking from. For him, there was no good side or bad side. He amassed a huge fortune through arms dealing, oftentimes supplying both sides of the conflict. It was rumored that it was he who helped the Grand Mufti escape Iraq in 1941 in exchange for an oil deal, just as the British were closing in on his location. During World War II this same Grand Mufti befriended Hitler and helped him strategize and inspect the Nazi death camps for efficiency. The Nazis even nicknamed him the Arabic Führer. When the Mufti turned his deadly attention towards the Churches in Eastern Europe, burning several Serbian ones to the ground with the parishioners still inside, Haden took no responsibility whatsoever, telling Rion that it was beyond him to predict the future. How was he to know that the man was going to turn maniacal?

  In front of Francesca’s house, Elliot secured a small dagger with a handle carved out of bone into its leather sheath and strapped the weapon to his calf before getting out of the car. He looked at Devin, who lifted his shirt to reveal a katar, an Indian fist held blade, tucked into his belt. Both weapons were made of Nizabar and had been stored in Hekademos’ underground library. Everyone at the school kept a small weapon on hand for self-defense, while the rest of the arsenal was hidden in various places around the globe.

  Elliot lightly knocked on the front door and heard small footsteps shuffling across the floor. “Who is it?” a surprised Francesca asked from inside the house.

  “I’m Elliot, Michelle’s friend,” he answered.

  “I’m sorry, but Michelle is no
t here,” Francesca answered back.

  “I know,” he said, “that’s why I’m here. I need to ask you just a few questions.” Elliot heard Francesca unlock her deadbolt and the front door opened just a few inches. When Francesca laid her eyes on Elliot she was completely shocked, immediately recognizing him from the wedding photo that Michelle kept asking about. She opened the door all the way and looked up at Elliot, unable to say a word. She then stepped closer to him and raised her hands to touch his face, which he let her do.

  “My God!” she exclaimed, “It is you.” Once Francesca was satisfied that Elliot was real she looked beyond him to see Devin standing guard next to the Explorer. Elliot assured her that he was with him. Francesca asked Elliot to come inside and as soon as he stepped indoors he asked her if she knew where he could find Michelle. Francesca looked at him confused. Shouldn’t he know where she is? Weren’t they dating? Elliot didn’t really want to explain every detail of his relationship to Francesca right then. Michelle was in danger and time was running out for her.

  Francesca walked over to a beautiful bouquet of flowers and pulled a small envelope from underneath the vase. She handed the small card that Michelle had sent her to Elliot. “You can see for yourself; she said she was in Budapest on Wednesday, but she also told me they would be traveling around. She mentioned visiting Austria, but who knows. I have no way to contact her,” Francesca added sadly. She sensed that there was something wrong.

  Elliot read the heartwarming note that Michelle had written in her own handwriting and cringed at the thought that someone as lovable as her had been dragged into his ugly world. “She’s in trouble, isn’t she?” Francesca asked.

  “I’m not sure,” he lied, “but I’m going to make sure she’ll be all right.”

  Francesca looked at Elliot quizzingly and told him that she didn’t know who or what he was, but she remembered that her grandparents had told her stories from Italy about different types living among the people, and that she had always believed them to be true. She warned him that Michelle was the sweetest girl, and deserved a good life with good friends. Was he really the same young man that had married her friend so many years ago after she had already had a child? That’s when Elliot realized how Michelle knew about his sticky marriage, but she didn’t know everything. No one did.

  Elliot smiled at Francesca softly. “I am, and I remember you too. You went to the same school as Ruth. You’d stop by with your parents sometimes to buy olive oil. You are still a very beautiful woman after all these years.”

  Francesca smiled back at Elliot, “I have tried my best to keep up, but I think you must have found the fountain of youth first… I know my time will come soon enough. Do you remember my Renzo? He’s waiting for me, and I wouldn’t trade seeing him again for anything. You love Michelle, even an old bat like me can tell that. And Michelle loves you very much. You must look after her.” Elliot took Francesca’s hands in his and kissed them gently. “I promise I will.”

  Francesca watched Elliot walk back down her garden path and out the small gate. She had always believed in angels, but now she had gotten to see hers and feel his loving lips on her hands.

  Samantha let Elliot read the e-mail that Michelle had written about going to a two-day music festival, and Elliot relayed that information back to Rion. Rion was already in the region of Imereti Georgia, a place where he had once ruled over an ancient kingdom, and it would only take him a few hours to get to Romania. In that part of Georgia, Rion’s legacy had been passed from one generation to the next and everyone knew that the King was still alive and well. Most of the families were related to Rion through marriage or blood. And after years of pairing up with women from all over the world, Rion decided that if he was ever ready for love and family again he would return to his people and choose a wife from one of their daughters. There was never a shortage of pretty girls, and they already knew all about him so he didn’t have explain himself over and over again and deal with their shock.

  When he contacted the elders about his arrival for a visit they immediately thought he might be looking for a wife and all the young women became very excited. Rion was quick to clarify that he was not coming for that reason, and things were quite gloomy among the women when he showed up to the small village. Nevertheless, they still treated him as their king and cooked many of his favorite dishes from thousands of years ago for him to feast upon. Despite the serious nature of the task at hand, Rion slept well the first night he arrived, and was not surprised to find Nadia, one of the women he had been introduced to earlier in the evening waiting for him in his bed. She told him that she was in love with a man who lived in town, but after meeting Rion she could see herself being his wife if that was what he wanted. “When I saw you, you took my breath away,” she said.

  Early, even before dawn had broken, a horse caravan was fully packed and ready to go when Rion emerged from the home he kept in the village. While the first rays of light were appearing, he and a few knowledgeable men were well on their way to retrieve some of the ancient weapons hidden deep within the mountain caves. To the untrained eye the Caucasus Mountains looked like majestic snow-topped peaks straight from the storybooks, but what lay beneath them was just as amazing if not more so. There were networks of caverns and cave formations that sometimes stretched out for many miles underneath the snowy sleeping giants. Some of these caves and halls were known to the public and had become national parks, but others were purposely well hidden from the world. It was a two-day trip to get there, and no matter what part of the year it was, it got freezing cold at night even for Rion. There was a designated resting spot in a beautiful cave that was covered by crystal formations formed from thousands of years of glacier water slowly dripping through tiny cracks in the rocks.

  Rion always enjoyed sitting by a large fire, drinking the regions cold press wine while grazing on game and farmers’ bread. It reminded him of old times. How he missed the simpler life. He often thought about returning to live again amongst his people, but every time something would tell him that it was not good for him to hide in the past. Georgia was no longer his kingdom but a war-torn country, and the memories of what it used to be like would only drive him crazy.

  The sign read Alba Iulia and Vilna announced to Michelle that they were there. She steered the Audi off the main highway and onto a dirt road where a sign announced that they were entering private property. “We’re taking a short cut,” was all Vilna said as she downshifted and drove the car up a steep and curvy hill until they reached the top where they were greeted by some sort of ruins.

  ”Was this a real castle?” Michelle asked in excitement, and Vilna explained to her that a long time ago the pile of gray rocks was one of the most magnificent castles in the entire area, and that her family had owned the land for many generations. “So you are royalty?” Michelle asked, looking back at the ruins.

  “No, not royalty like the Queen of England, but we do come from noble ancestry. Once there were so many small principalities here; I think most Transylvanians have some connection to one of the families.” As Vilna maneuvered the car down the other side of the hill, Michelle caught a view of the huge concert area sprawling down below them to the right. She had never seen anything that big in her life.

  “Wow! This is amazing,” she said. Vilna laughed in agreement.

  “We can get to meet the bands too, if you want?” she told Michelle, who was getting a little dizzy looking at all the tiny people down below. Right before they reached the bottom of the hill Vilna pulled the car behind some trees and parked in front of a large home that had a stone facade similar to the ones Michelle saw at the castle ruins. The home was shady, but had several entrances into a central sunny courtyard.

  “This is your home?” Michelle asked as they got out of the car.

  “My mother’s… was. I guess you can say it’s mine now,” Vilna answered sadly, trying not to let those feelings drown her. She checked the time on her phone and told Michelle that her favorit
e band was about to come on so they should head downhill and afterwards they could come back and she’d show her the inside.

  The walk down to the festival grounds was fairly short, yet when Michelle looked back up the path, Vilna’s house was completely hidden by the surrounding trees; how clever. The only thing visible was the ruins at the very top of the hill. At the festival, the music was deafening, whereas all she had heard up at the house were muffled sounds, like a stereo playing in someone else’s home. Looking at the people around her, there was no mistaking that she was at a rock concert. She was in a sea of black t-shirts, tight skirts, leather and jeans, and miles and miles of tattooed skin. It almost felt like an art show, Michelle thought, looking at an amazing forest scene tattooed on the back of the topless guy in front of her. Vilna, as little as she was, was able to fight her way to the very front of the stage with Michelle dangling behind her. There, Vilna zoned out to the music and stared with open mouth at her idol musicians. Michelle couldn’t understand a word that was being said, although in between songs Vilna explained to her that they weren’t singing in Hungarian at all. They were Armenian, and they were good.

  Michelle had no idea what to make of the screams and roars of the next band; they sounded like a bunch of animals on a hunt and they even wore animal skins. Michelle commented that they must be sweltering under all that dead stuff, and was surprised when the lead singer took off a facemask to reveal that she was actually a woman. Luckily, their set was short. The next band was a well-known group from England: The Sons of Pi-Ramses. They were even big in the US. Their stage set was pretty impressive as it was covered with Egyptian hieroglyphics, and large pyramids were mechanically lowered on cables from the rigging above. They even had a sphinx with glowing red eyes. When they launched into their big hit single, My Septic Girlfriend, Michelle recognized it and was swept away by the music. It was the same song that Samantha had been so eager to dance to at the Prom. Michelle forced the prom memories out of her mind and tried to just enjoy hearing the sound of something in English for a change. A fine guy with tattoos in the shapes of blades on each side of his neck made his way over to where they stood and passed her and Vilna a couple of Ursus beers. Vilna turned around and kissed him on the cheek while Michelle welcomed his company. Vilna yelled over the music that Togor was a family friend. Michelle whispered into Vilna’s ear that she thought he was cute. Vilna obviously agreed, raising her eyebrows in mischief. “You want me to tell him?” she asked.