114 - Benjamin Scott

114 - Benjamin Scott
Benjamin Scott

I looked at the Bishop, who just placed the pistol on the stretcher where the sole survivor of the possible attack lay. But he is as much in shock as Petter, who has his gun pointed at him, fearing he might do something.

As soon as I saw the Bishop take a step back and move away from the table, looking directly at me, I noticed he’s as shaken as everyone else here. His gaze becomes terrified, and we watch as he sits in the chair at the far end of the room.

“What the hell was that?” Augusto breaks the deadly silence.

I keep my eyes fixed on the Bishop, who can be as treacherous as a serpent. But he might just be trying to gather information, it’s obvious he would discard anyone to get what he wants.

I would do the same in his position!

With my mind blank, I walk over to where he’s seated and pull up another chair, hearing Henrique trying to speak to the man on the stretcher, who I’m sure won’t survive.

“What happened?” I ask as soon as I sit down.

“I was late, found out too late, and was hindered from getting where I should’ve been…”

There’s something in his eyes that shows he isn’t talking about this moment, he’s remembering things, and it’s probably why he’s here now. I keep my eyes locked on the man who could be our worst enemy right now.

Still, something feels off. His shoulders are slumped, as if he feels too guilty about something I don’t yet understand.

“What happened, Gianni? What are you really doing, and what went on there?” I point with my thumb over my shoulder.

Even while keeping my eyes on him, I notice Augusto sitting in a chair next to me, pulling out a pocket flask. From the smell, it’s a Scott, our whiskey’s aroma is unmistakable.

He gestures in my direction, offering it, and I shake my head while watching him kick Gianni’s foot. Gianni sighs.

“I only drink wine. Got any here? Or maybe a cigarette?” he says, a corner of his lips curling into a smile.

“I’ll owe you. Wine’s for drinking with my Ebony Queen!” Augusto says with a love struck gleam, and I turn back to Gianni, who seems ready to tell us a story. “Come on, kid. Stop brooding over the past by yourself and tell us what happened. Maybe we can help…”

I glance at Augusto again, who seems to have the right words for the moment.

“What? My wife’s a psychologist. I’ve picked up a few tricks for my profession.”

I roll my eyes and feel Henrique’s hand on my shoulder. I look back and notice him shaking his head, confirming the man on the stretcher had died right there.

“Tell us what happened. I still need to find my friend!” I insist.

“I didn’t see your friend. I only heard there might be two nomads in the city. Like I said, I’m looking for two…”

“So, what do you know about what happened here?” Petter asks.

“We arrived the morning after the attack. The community doesn’t know what happened. Apparently, no one saw the person who came in here…”

I watch him reach for the pack of cigarettes in my hand. I hand him one and wait for him to light it, taking a drag to calm his nerves, which must be as frayed as mine right now.

“We were victims, you of Antony, who took advantage of what happened to you to make you a pawn, just as happened to me!”

“You turned against those who trained you?” Augusto asks beside me.

I wanted Gianni to be honest with every answer, to be quick. I need to piece together what he knows so I can go search for Ralf.

“I haven’t been one of them for a long time. I just use their means to get what I truly need…”

“And what do you need, Gianni? Why did you kill the people who were by your side, helping the man who was attacked by a werewolf?” Henrique asks him.

I keep my eyes on the man who looks nothing like the teenager I grew up with. For an Italian, Gianni is utterly different from what one might expect.

A red-haired man with grayish eyes and a striking gaze. It’s as if we’re staring into evil through his eyes. As kids, he was nicknamed Demon because of his fiery red hair, a nod to being the devil’s child.

Another thing that always caught our attention was that the Bishop wasn’t someone who exercised, yet he was always trying to hide his well-defined body. Now, he’s scratching his red beard, which isn’t much longer than mine. It simply frames his face, giving it a symmetrical look.

I’m still analyzing his every expression when he pulls the collar of his cassock and tosses it to the floor, along with other accessories from his robe.

“To find my brothers. We were separated many years ago, and only now have I finally been freed from the walls of the church…”

I lower my gaze to the white piece that carries so much meaning within the church, now lying on the floor, ready to be trampled.

"Who assures you I know who your brothers are?" I ask, still not trusting the man in front of us.

"I don't need your trust. I'm telling you what I'm going to do, and don't try to stop me…" I’m startled by something I hear coming from him.

"My God…" Petter exclaims.

"I still don't believe you, even if you're one of them!" I rise from my chair, even more suspicious. "You could very well be trying to find whoever to take to the Bishops and kill my friends."

I may not be among the Bishops who hunt wolves, but I will be naive enough to believe this man deserves to know anything about Ralf. Let alone that his niece is hunting as many as she can to avenge his death. That is, if he really is Axel, the little wolf who fell out of a window while his parents were hunting those who had kidnapped them.

After all, he looks nothing like Ralf. I don’t know his niece, so I have no idea if he’s telling the truth.

We've been here more than long enough, and from the little he's told us, Gianni hasn’t seen anything we need to know at the moment. I look at the growing mess and then back at him, knowing he'll need a big lie to make it home.

I notice Henrique glancing at his watch and decide it’s time to leave. We can try to find him in one of the cathedrals in New York; I’m sure Ralf will try something. I imagine he needs to vent his anger from breaking his bond to as many Bishops as he encounters.

"I have no idea how you’ll explain what happened here!" I smirk, glancing at the Bishop’s body with a bullet to the head, along with the nuns’. "I hope you make it out of the Vatican alive!"

I finish my sentence as we hear someone approaching.

"Mr. Scott?" Victor calls my name, sending a chill down my spine.

I step away from where Gianni is and head toward the entrance to the basement, which had served as a hideout and tomb for everyone present.

"Victor, here…" I call out without climbing the stairs, perhaps just because we've taken too long.

I hear his steps descending the dark staircase, his breathing heavy. When he appears at the bottom, he looks pale, and it’s clear something has happened.

"What is it? Is everything okay up there?" I ask, concerned.

"Yes, but something happened to Mrs. Scott. She was taken to the hospital with the other women…"

"Hospital? What do you mean, hospital?" I ask, pulling my phone from my suit pocket.

I glance at the screen and see there’s no signal down here. Anxiety surges within me as I look back at Gianni, trying to decide what to do with him.

"So, Benjamin?" Petter asks, his gun aimed at Gianni's head. "You have a family that needs you. Are you going to risk it?"

I return my gaze to those secret-filled eyes and decide to give a vote of confidence to the man who seems not to know even his own story.

"Let's go, leave him here!" I say, watching as Petter, Augusto, and Henrique step away from him.

"I'm trying to reach Laís, but the phone won’t even ring…" I hear, while keeping my eyes fixed on the man who looks lost.

"I shouldn't help you, Gianni; you haven't earned my trust. But I’ll give you a clue about what you seem not to know…"

I see him straighten and approach me, but Victor quickly steps between us, shielding me from anything.

"A castle in Venice, where Ágata and Echo were rescued as children by a team of Bishops trying to capture their mother, Jade," I say.

I watch as something in those names seems to shake him, destabilizing him. I let everyone leave the basement, and even though I’m in a hurry to find out what’s happening with my wife and children, I can’t leave this unfinished.

"Good luck, Axel. I hope the goddess is benevolent with you after so many deaths by your hand!"

"I didn't, I didn’t…" He begins to say, but his body collapses to the floor, and I decide it’s time to leave.

I turn my back, leaving him there, with the pain of knowing who he is. If he doesn’t already know.

"Call Camilla right now…" I asked Victor as we leave the church as fast as we can.

The moment I get in the car, Victor hands me the phone.

"Love, forgive me. I didn’t realize there was no signal in the building. We’re leaving the Bronx now," I say, feeling the car speed up. We were on the other side of the city.

"Then come quickly to the hospital. It seems Julian is in much more of a hurry than his siblings…"

Hearing that freezes me. None of my children are ready to be born; they won’t survive.

I glance at Petter beside me and grip the driver’s seat back.

"Everything will be fine, my love. Julian won’t be born…" I say. "Stay calm; I’m on my way."

I end the call and close my eyes for a moment.

"Lord, you know everything. You are the one who decides when to be born, but at this moment, I beg you to guide the doctors’ hands so they can give my son a little more time inside his tiny home to survive out here!"

I pray, feeling my heart race. I can’t show how panicked I am about losing any of the four.

"Drive faster; I need to be there…"