Elementary Virtue: The Prophecy (36 page)

Gregory slowly began to see clear, the old goat in Malta had babbled something about a certain Marcos and the Second Advent. Sometimes he wondered if he had only been dreaming, or if it had been real. "What does all of this have to do with my friends and family? The Vultures will certainly kill me before I’ll be able to find the third amulet. I mean even if I should manage to take the first two amulets to the crater, they most certainly won’t let me go back to Malta and so to speak let me pass by without shooting me. "
"No one can hurt you, once you have thrown the two amulets into the crater, you attain immortality."

He gave him a meaningful look, "Nothing, and no one can kill you after that, but you will not age either, which means that you will remain eighteen years old forever, and everyone around you will grow old and die. You’ll become immortal. That is the part where trouble with girlfriends, friends and family come in." Gregory sat there in silence, and he felt paralyzed. "Boy, don’t worry too much, everything will be all right." How could everything be all right? If everyone he loved grew old and eventually died around him. It was like a new curse, and he couldn’t do anything about it. Giovanni understood that he was close to despair. "The elders certainly know a way to get rid of the immortality once the time has come and your mission is over. Think of it as protection, so that you can pull off your thing being able to survive," Gregory nodded. Giovanni was right. He thought of Leyla. He would find a way to grow older. She was two years younger than him. In these two years, he would find a way. First, he had to climb this volcano. "You're right. Will you help me climb that volcano then?"

"Yes, I'll do whatever is in my power, and I’ll give you all my knowledge so that you will be able to reach the crater without being perished by toxic fumes or some falling rocks. Forget the Vultures, because nature has its pitfalls and the weather is your smallest problem because you can influence it. We will spend this evening at the Rifugio Sapienza. Then I'm taking you to the Torre del filosofo. From there, you're on your own. Don't worry. Our Yolanda here gives you a head start. It is a special version for the sharp off-road track, and as soon as the amulets are in the crater, the vultures can’t hurt you anymore."
"My friends are on their way here, and I'm worried that something happens to them." "Do your friends have any elementary skills?"
"Some of them do."
"Then they will prevail against the vultures and distract them for a while. We will get there first because they probably have to get up there with the cable car and then rent an SUV. We are at an advantage because we have Yolanda. Therefore, we certainly take the lead." Gregory nodded, "Promise me that you will not wait for me after I start the climb. I don’t want to have you on my conscience and make Yolanda a widow." Giovanni grinned. "I promise, tomorrow morning, as soon as I’ll unload you at the Torre, I’ll clear off."

They arrived at their destination and disappeared in a hut, reserved for the mountain guides. If Gregory only knew that Leyla and the Akandos spent the night in the nearby Casa Bonaventura and the Vultures in the opposite House of Agriturismo Monte ARSO and that Shane was at their mercy, he would have felt even worst, then he already did. He looked out for Keanu or any of Milan, as he thought that they should have arrived meanwhile, but there was no trace of any of them, as they had been getting by cable car to La Montagnola and stayed there at the Retreat. Outside, snow was falling, and it was freezing cold. That would become some cheerful adventure once he reached the crater, Gregory thought ironically.

Mila was completely beside herself. Shane had suddenly disappeared and no one knew where he was! Something was wrong, she felt it. There was no damn reason for him to disappear. She sat in front of the Casa Bonaventure. It was still early in the morning, and day broke slowly, but she hadn’t slept all night, her fear that something horrible had happened to Shane was simply too overwhelming. She looked brooding, taking a sip of coffee, which she had picked up from the kitchen. It was so damn strong and bitter that she had to gulp down a glass of water afterward to avoid coughing.

Finally, Shane had noticed her and seen the girl in her, not just the tomboy. But even before something fascinating could happen between the two of them, he had disappeared from the scene. If she caught the people responsible for kidnapping Shane, she would make them pay for it. For Mila, there was no other explanation for his disappearance. Someone had kidnapped him no doubt about that. She kept her head down, brooding when she saw someone coming out of the opposite climber’s hut. She quickly hid behind a wooden barrel and peered sideways to the front. There were two people in front of the hut an old man and a tall-grown boy with a backpack who had pulled the hood of his jacket down over his face. They went past her without seeing her and got into a huge black SUV with Bull horns on the hood. As they passed by, she saw the boy's face. It was Gregory. She was about to jump to report Aiden and Leyla the news, as the door of the other opposite hut opened, and a girl came out. A boy followed her. Mila only saw the outlines of the two and could not tell whether she knew them or not. She bent down again behind the barrel and tried to catch a glimpse sideways. Once they both passed by under the streetlamp, she would know more. She shuddered. It was bloody cold out here, she crossed her arms and rubbed her hands on her upper arms.

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.

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 losing 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.