"But there should some way to find them, no? Maybe online?" Joseph says, trying not to lose hope.
"Maybe... It's a long shot, but who knows?" Everyone goes quiet as Carlyle considers the possibilities. "The closet Order library is in Nix University, at Serra da Bruma, a few miles from the capital."
"We need to go soon!" Yura says, anxious with the chance of getting some answers.
"We can't leave this apartment yet, we have to wait for Angiolina. And, like I said, it's a long shot. It would be very lucky if the tome with our answers is a few miles from here. I don't believe in luck. But at least I believe we can find some way to communicate with headquartters."
"Your friend may be dead, Lord Carlyle. I don't think it's safe to wait." Yura says.
Carlyle, who understands the reason behind her words, says firmly: "Don't be foolish, Yura. I wouldn't risk other lives over love. Angiolina has one of the most important gifts to us, at the moment. We need her mediumship. Also, as far as I know, she s alive. Probably in trouble, but I believe in her strength and in Nathan, who is with her."
"Nathan? The Watchdog?!" Yura asks, astonished.
"Yes, that one. Victor answers, still firmly. He knows that her beast side only respects strength and that she can not be allowed to lose control. Few people have seen the Ukranian overcome by anger. In fact, few have witnessed it and lived. Carlyle is one of them.
"So she is alive! We wait! Your girlfriend is alive, Carlyle!" She answers excitedly, like she had a winning lottery ticket in hand, and seats backwards on the chair.
"A question. What did the letter say? Do we have any idea what's going on?" Joseph asks now, looking for answers.
"Yes, doc. Read this here. I transcribed all the fragments of information onto this sheet of paper." Aaron says, showing him a sheet of paper.
Joseph sits down and starts reading, concentrated. His companions eye him, waiting for him to finish reading. Some minutes later, the look of tension and worry in the doctor's countenance is obvious. When he finishes, he looks at a Victor, who looks back gravely.
"Is there any way for us to change what is going to happen?"
"There has to be. And the beginning of our crusade might be at Serra da Bruna, in an underground library." Carlyle answers Joseph.
"Nix University?" Joseph asks confidently.
"Exactly." Victor answers.
After talking abotu the trop, Joseph starts pacing back and forth, thinking about his life, about Andreas and if he managed to go back to the apartmen, if he is safe there. Meanwhile, his companions Aaron and Yura trace the safest route to Serra da Bruma.
Joseph thinks back to his years a student in Africa. He sae the worst the human nature had to offer, yet he never gave up. Mayve because there was still hope. Maybe knowing his beloved was back home safely while he was in conflict zones changed everything. Or worse, maybe he got addicted to disgrace, agter all he was considered a hero in the communities he helped but here he was only a doctor in an emergency ward. Anyhow, this is a big moment.
"Yura, Aaron, can you teach me to fight like you?" Joseph asks, next to the table, in the living room.
Yura looks at her doctor friend and then towards Carlyle. "I told you he'd make a good agent!" She celebrates.
Victor gazes at him, still in disbelief about the doctor's request. "I'm not sure about this yet. Of course, in a situation like this, the need to learn self-defense is real. But being trained this quickly might not be a good idea. You could die during training."
"Better than being eaten or, even worst, becoming onf them. I want the right to choose. I know I'm not a soldier. I've seen a lot of war and death in my life, but I've always been on opposite side to death. Had I known how to defend Andreas, he'd be here with us. Safe. Instead of lost in the city... " Joseph breaks down crying, hopeless. He doesn't want to think about the possibility that he lost Andreas forever.
Carlyle eyes Aaron. Yura looks at them both, apprehensively. But it's Victor who breaks the silence. "You have given me all the answers I needed, dear friend. I have no doubt you will strive to be the best. Let's begin your training."
Yura takes a few steps forward after she listens to the lord's confirmation. Victor waves for her to stop and points towards Aaron. "Not you, sister. Aaron will be in charge of Joseph's initiation.
"Why?! Do you think I can't do it?" She asks, outraged.
"I'd rather Aaron take the reins now, Yura. We are in an atypical situation, I prefer someone more experient." Yura doesn't discuss, she just lowers he head and stays quiet.
Joseph is standing in the room's center. Aaron is in front of him, looking at his new apprentice. Yura is by his side, acting as a witness. Victor Carlyle walks solemnly towards the master and apprentice, stopping next to them. Aaron salutes Joseph with this arm crossed and the fist closed over the chest.
"Joseph, by walking through the columns of knowledge, your life belongs to us. Is your heart ready to dismiss its old practices?" Carlyle aks, laying his hand on Joseph's shoulder.
"Yes, it is."
Carlyle then puts a hand on Aaron's shoulder. "Brother Aaron, the responsibility of having a new apprentice falls upon your shoulders. By taking Joseph as a student, do you accept taking the place of the hand of fate? Do you accept putting an end to his life in case he fails?" Carlyle asks. Then, Yura closes her eyes.
"Yes, Lord Carlyle. There are only two ways of leaving the training. As a Brother. Or in a coffin." Aaron answers confidently.
"And should you fail?"
"Should I fail, may life shall be in the Blade's hands."
"May the Blade be ever sharp!"
"Gladius!" Aaron repeats. "Gladius!" Yura repeats. "Gladius!" Carlyle repeats.
Chapter 20
Rafaella
Angiolina is in the bedroom getting Rafaella dressed. Her latest vision left her stunned. She had to take medication to sleep at night. In the morning she helped Nathan dress his leg wounds, who hurt like hot iron burns. And she helped her niece shower.
In her latest vision, Angiolina could feel everything Melissa felt. The fear, the horror, the hopelessness. No one deserved to go through that. She decided to be a rock, so that she could help everything.
As Rafaella got dressed, she told how her mother drove her to the aunt's house while several 'mad people' followed the car. But her mother had sent her ahead to Angio's house, while she left the car to 'talk to the mad people'.
"Auntie, will mom be here soon? It's already morning."
"She is not coming back, dear. She went to heaven, just like your grandma, remember?"
Angiolina held back her tears. What the girl went through was not pleasant at all. Nor was Angiolina's attitude while the Shadow was defeating Vorta'hu. Angiolina tries to find a way to decrease the future damage and traume. The child pouts, confused.
"But maybe one day you'll see her! Meanwhile, why don't we eat the rest of that strawberry cake she baked? Hm? It's in the refrigerator" Do you want juice or chocolate milk?"
"Chocolate!"
As she watches her niece eat, she thinks about the rest of the family. She can't eat. Not now.
As soon as he wakes up, Nathan looks out the window. It's noon. He overslept. Then, he starts hearing a noise, like the sound of something vibrating. Nathan's senses are sharper than those of an average man. Inside the Blade's rows he is known as Watchdog because of his abilities. He goes to the living room, takes a glass, fills it with water and puts it on the ground. The water shakes. There is indeed a vibration, like a minor earthquake. Intrigued, he wonders when this phenomenon started.
Sunrise's urgency leads Nathan to get back to practical matters. They need to find Carlyle. As soon as Nathan goes to the kitchen, Angiolina offers him a plate.
"Are you hungry? I made you some snacks." She offers, pointing to the table where her niece is eating.
"I'm concerned about the time, but I think eating a little won't harm me." Nathan says, putting his thoughts in order.
"Aunti
e Angel, I'm done." Rafaella says, looking at Angiolina and waiting for the next order.
"Go brush your teeth and grab your bag. Wait for us in the living run. You can draw for a few minutes, is that okay?"
"OK, good." The girl agrees and leaves the kitchen.
Both wait for the door to close before they start. "Do you think we can do this? I almost broke down in front of her. I'm not sure if I can stand seeing her suffer." Angiolina asks, aggrieved, letting her emotions speak for now.
"We will. We are going to need a safe path until Hotel Azzurra." Nathan answers peacefully.
"Do you have a car? I'll get the bags. We should take some supplies as well."
"I do, I got a Hummer that was in the hotel's garage, it's a safe car."
Rafaella finishes packing. She doesn't understand much of what's going on. But one thing she does understand. Her mom is sleeping just like her grandma. She can't avoid crying. She is going to miss mommy.
But one day she will be as astrong as Auntie Angel. Who can speak to those that are sleeping forever. One day she is going to talk to her mom again. She is going to ask her to bake a strawberry cake, to sing her to sleep. Until then, she'll be with Auntie Angel. It's good not feeling completely alone.
When she gets tired of drawing, she goes looking for Nathan and her aunt, who are in the sewing room. Nathan is packing a bag. Meanwhile, her aunt is filling other gabs with tuna and shrimp cans. Both are visibly tired, especially her aunt, dripping with sweat. Rafaella notices the guns. Just like the movies mommy didn't let her watch.
Nathan puts several firearms in the bag, all heavy caliber pistols. Angiolina explained they were a precaution of her brother-in-law, Rafaella's father.
"Uncle Nathan, are you angry at something?" The innocent Rafaella asks.
The Watchdog looks at her curiously, not fully understanding the question. "No, of course not. Why?"
"Only angry people use these things."
"No, dear, no one is angry here." Nathan says. "But do you remember that big, ugly slug? I can't let it catch you, right? It's only because it's dangerous today."
"Got it."
"Rafa, you have to be very close to auntie today, okay?"
"Right!"
At afternoon's end, after taking the day planning and checking supplies, the three companions start going down the stairs. The plan proposed by Angiolina included taking as many supplies as they could. So they took three trips with bags and luggage. Always vigilant. But the street was deserted at five thirty pm.
As soon as they get in the car and Angio puts Rafaella in her lap, Nathan speeds out, sparks flying off when the bumper hits a ramp. The noise scares Rafaella who was in the back seat with Angiolina, holding strongly onto the car's seat.
"Easy, dear, uncle Nathan is getting us out of here. Soon we'll be with friends, with uncle Carlyle!" Angiolina tries to remind her niece of something good.
The Hummer takes it well, being guided quickly through the streets filled with waste and plagues. Inside the car, Nathan is concentrating on the path, trying to avoid accidents. Angiolina holds her niece, even hitting her head a few times because of the high speed driving. Soon they'll be at Azzurra.
Chapter 21
The Initiate
Aaron and Joseph are at Hotel Azzurra's rooftop. The day has passed and the sun is almost setting. The city's view is magnificent. From the rooftop, it stretches to its boundaries. The last rays of solar light, in an orange-tinged yellow, reflect on the windows. With it, the metropolis gains a golden shine. The sky is clear. No clouds.
On the streets lay the almost clean ramains of the previous downtown residents. Rats and other hungry crawlers have already removed most of the flesh from the bodies and fled.
With the exception of one insane or another roaming the streets, the city is deserted. Only the waste, the debris and the abandoned cars inhabit the city. No sound comes from the city which once was the beating heart of crowds surviving in the modern world.
Joseph is wearing loose simple cloths he found in the hotel, shorts, a tank top and no shoes. Aaron is in front of him, wearing a similar ourfit, but no shirt. Both are unarmed. Aaron's body, as his apprentice can see, is covered by strange tattoos, like arcane runes. The pattern of the drawings is varied. The impression Joseph gets is that each one comes from a different culture. Also, Aaron has several scars. One cuts his chest diagonally, a debt with death.
"Are you ready? Do you remember the sequence?" Aaron asks after taking his fighting stance.
Aaron's stance resembles a snake. The agent is an excellent martial artist and has known many cultures, learing the ancient ways of magic and fighting from those peoples.
If Angiolina or any other psychic was here, they would see that as he falls into his fighting stance some runes in his body light up with blueish flames. This blue fire is a feature of Aaron's gifts. He is known as Bearer of Rigel's Light. The blue star of Orion's constellation, the hunter giant.
As soon as Aaron takes position, Joseph's eyes start scratching. Something is bothering him. He rubs his eyes and after taking the fingers from them notices a slight blue glow coming from his instructor's tattoos. This glow's intensity goes up and down, like the flame of a candle in the wind. Joseph cannot believe what he is seeing and his rational side takes over.
"I think I'm not doing so well, Aaron, I need some time to rest." The doctor says as he rubs his eyes, still in disbelief.
Aaron walks to him, dropping his attack stance, whichmakes the runes stop burning, and lays his hand on this apprentice's shoulder. "What are you feeling, doc?"
"I don't know, for a brief moment I taught I was seeind things. It must be the stress." Joseph answers, looking to the runes, which are not glowing now.
"And what have you seen?" Aaron asks, hand still on Joseph's shoulder.
"It' like you were on fire, a blue fire."
Aaron takes a few steps away from Joseph, opens his arms and screams. "DRACONIAN!" As he screams the word of power with his arms open, all the runes in his body light up. Joseph takes a few steps behind.
"Like this? Do you still think you're seeing things? Wake up!" Aaron says severely, looking fiercely towards his apprentice.
Joseph tries to resist the fear. His self-preservation instincts scream for him to move away. For him to run away as far as he could from the Bearer of Rigel's Light's blue flames. He can't, he thinks about Andreas, about his years taking care of war victims. Aaron starts walking towards him. The feeling of danger increases with every step. Joseph feels his body burning.
"Resist the flames, Joseph!" Aaron orders as he approaches Joseph.
The doctor tries to remain standing. All the muscles in his body ask him to run away from there. The pain is unbearable, eh can feel the flames ripping his skin.
Joseph keepts resisting, eyes on the fire that wants his destruction. Aaron hugs him.
"Resist, doctor! Beat Rigel's flames!" Aaron commands once again, holding Joseph, who tries to break free from the hug.
The pain is almost unbearable. Dozens of thoughts rush through Joseph's mind now. Happy memories of Andreas, the few happy trips they had. The paradise days he lived when he fell in love with him. The anger of not having him at this despairing time. The sadness of thinking his lover is dead. All these emotions and feelings together, felt at the same, like an avalanche.
Suddenly he shoves Aaron. He shoves so strongly that his master is thrown backwards, hitting the wall parapet. The flames on Aaron's body dim little by litle as he gets up. He is smiling and it doesn't take long for him to laugh, almost celebrating his student's progress.
"What's up?!" Joseph asks, outraged.
"Not much, my friend, not much. You have just passed your first test. And on the first try! Yura was right, you really are a natural! Come, that's enogh for today." Aaron keeps laughing as he walks toward's the rooftop's exit.
Both, master and apprentice, are almost leaving when a noise catches their attention. It's the engine of a nearb
y car. Both companions rush to the parapet to watch it.
A Hummer finds a way through the avenue that leads to Hotel Azzurra. The vehicle is in high speed and opens a path through debris and abandoned cars. Behind it, a crowd of insanes, dozens of aggresos, drawn by noise, trying to reach the car.
Aaron imposes his hand next to his own face and starts reciting his sight spell. "Sah, Enu, Riaki, Ka!"
Joseph, who looks at him, fascinated, can once again see the arcane symbos lighting up when the conjurer performs a ritual. The sight of the light bearer sharpens, allowing his to see further. In the front seat, Aaron recognizes Nathan, his Order brother.
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