Elementary Virtue: The Prophecy (37 page)

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.

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.

So, his loss of reality had at least one positive aspect so far. It was quite touching how they took care of him, like two very anxious breeding hens. He smiled and brushed his hair from his forehead. Damn, he should have insisted and convinced these two hens to visit a hairdresser. They both felt it an unnecessary expense after he had overdone himself using Yaros credit card before he went to Sicily. Moreover, no one would recognize him with the long hair, they argued, because ultimately he was supposed to be dead. But still, he looked like some hippie dude of the seventies and Leyla would perhaps, turn away disgusted once she saw him like that; that was if she was coming at all. She didn't know if he was still alive, maybe she wouldn't even show up. Why should she waste her time coming down here?

He sighed. He still hadn't found out anything about the third amulet. He hadn't been able to find Marcos yet, and the Church was a dead end; besides, he had been too weak for investigating until lately. The Milan however, had become his friends, some of them were even big fans because he had thrown the amulets in the volcano and there would be no more threatening from the Vultures to stop the water supply. He was their hero now, and they all tried to help him find the man with the tattoo, who was supposed to be in possession of the third amulet and once he found him, hopefully, would help him get rid of immortality. In case, they ever found him. So far, it didn't look so good. Nobody on the island seemed to know Marcos and the hint about the St. Patrick Church had been nothing but a dead end. They knew as much as before, after the quest of the Second Advent.

Gregory’s head shot up as he heard footsteps. A silhouette approached through the darkness. Eager and anxious at the same time he looked up.

Leyla strolled along the shopping center, passing the sandstone arches, the passage was decorated for Christmas, and the salty taste of the sea was in the air. There was an incredible view in front of her.

Although the agreed time had already passed, she was unable to speed up her step. She was afraid that he would not be there. Afraid that Shane was wrong. Afraid that Gregory was dead or if he was not, that the magic between them was somehow gone. Besides, the Vultures were absolutely sure that he was dead. She overheard a conversation between Greyson and Gabe in which Gabe braggingly claimed to have seen him die. He said Giada shot him several times and a bullet had pierced his chest. When Greyson saw her, he gave her a sympathetic look. Leyla almost lost it that day and if she had the chance, she would have pushed Gabe in front of the school bus passing by. He noticed her, turning around, smirking insidiously screwing up his face to a tearful grimace. As if he was crying, he made a ludicrous gesture over his cheek to remove his imaginary tears.

Mila stopped her from saying anything, whispering, "Forget that jerk, Gregory is not dead. I believe Shane. You know that he is clairvoyant. He would feel it," she looked imploring at her, "he also felt that Moonworthy and Natalie didn't make it before rescuers found their bodies." Leyla wanted to believe her with every inch of her heart and she was still filled with an immense sadness that Natalie and Moonworthy lost their lives because of this Onenda legend. She lowered her head avoiding Gabe's gaze. "I'm trying to believe it Mila, but I find it damn hard, especially since I know that Natalie and her father are dead." She heard Gabe's amused laughter. Mila hissed at her, "This monster had indeed coped damn well with the death of his pal if I may say so. Well, we will see how he will cope with the fact that Greyson and Angel are an item. If he gets it, Greyson will probably be next in line to bite the dust." Surprised, Leyla looked at Mila, "Greyson and Angel are together? I didn't know, but wasn't she the mean beast standing on Gabe's side?"

"Girl, there is quite a lot of stuff going on around you lately, apparently unnoticed. Since the events in Sicily, Angel has changed, she is not as mean anymore, and it seems she really cares about Greyson. After all, I have seen them together in town. “Cute, the two of them, together."
"But aren’t they going to poison the whole school, as they both rule the earth?"
"Leyla, what is wrong with you? Not only have the Akandos lost their skills, but the Vultures as well. None of us can control the elements any longer they no longer obey our command." She shrugged, "Except for my unbeatable herbal mixtures of course.”

Gregory, therefore, must have thrown the amulets into the volcano. There is no other explanation about it. Gabe is furious about him succeeding, and he is convinced that Gregory is dead. In anyway, Gabe lost his powers too. Apologizing, Leyla shrugged, "Sorry, I was a bit down and absentminded and I haven't really thought about it recently."
"Don’t worry about it. Gabe is still an arrogant mean bastard but in a very human way. Well, I know he's still a narcissistic and intriguing asshole and nothing is ever going to change that. He will always gather a bunch of servants around him, but he doesn’t have elementary power any more. Besides, his father survived the accident and he is feeling better, so in this area he also experienced disappointment and is still dependent of Carmine Grande. As the saying goes, bad karma, and the universe has probably struck back with all its forces, even his former bitchy girlfriend has turned to someone else and changed favorably." She encouragingly squeezed Leyla’s hand, "When are you leaving?"
"The day after tomorrow."
"And you really don’t want Aiden and me to come along, are you sure?" Leyla nodded and looked at her, "Yes, I'm sure, because I have to get through this by myself, whatever happens, but it's nice that you’d like to help me in case he won’t be there."

"He'll be there," Mila said encouraging Aiden and Brooklyn came strolling up hand in hand towards them. "Well Leyla how is it going? How did your parents react to your travel plans, what kind of fairy tale did you tell them this time?" Leyla smiled saying, "I tried it with the truth this time."
"Really?" Aiden looked worried.
"We will smuggle you to the airport and, if necessary, we’ll get you out of the house by force and I'll finance your trip." Brooklyn had talked herself into a rage and when Leyla didn't answer, she looked at her visibly irritated "What did they say? For how long are you grounded this time?" Leyla reached out for her hand. "They agreed to letting me go, can you imagine that? They said they trusted me, and let me go on the condition that I'll get him safe and sound to his step-parents as soon as possible. They are worried sick about him. That is, if he is still alive." Brooklyn took Leyla's hands, "he is alive. We are sure about that., Shane has never been wrong before."
"And why didn’t he contact me then meanwhile?"
"Maybe he's lost his phone during the battle, or he was really badly injured. Don't give up hope, girl." Leyla was moved. Her friends tried to support her the best they could in this difficult time.

They truly had done everything in their power to encourage her and now she was standing here at the bridge close to the banister for her- uncertain rendezvous -, her nerves were fluttering like wild bees buzzing around her head. She buried her hands in the pocket of her coat, fumbling nervously for the padlock. Then she squeezed it fiercely until her hand hurt. Her whole body was as tense that she was afraid it could burst any second into thousand pieces. She walked slowly toward the banister, past hundreds of padlocks having been attached by loving couples. The view of the Cathedral of Valletta was a breathtaking sight and the moon was high in the sky illuminating the dark night

But, she had no eyes for the spectacular view. Leyla’s eyes darted around, searching. There, from the left side of the banister a tall shadow stepped out and was slowly approaching her. He was there, my God, she could hardly believe it. He was alive! With each single fiber of her body, she wanted to run to him, but something held her back. She wasn’t able to move, and stood riveted to the spot. He stopped in front of her, and they stared at each other; none of them saying anything. They just stared at each other for a while, in silence. Gregory looked different, like a warrior after a long battle. He looked tired. His hair had grown and fell to his shoulders. There was something wild about him, something that had definitely not been there before. He had grown up; the fight had matured him. With an uncertain gesture, he brushed his long hair from his face and looked at her with his clear blue eyes. God, it hit Leyla like a lightning bolt, he was just as nervous as she was. She freed herself from her numbness and threw herself into his arms. Caught off-guard he enfolded her in his arms and they both slammed quite hard against the banister of the bridge.

For a moment they remained in the embrace, and then Leyla withdrew to an arm's length. She looked into his eyes and whispered, "You're alive, I can't believe it. You are really alive." She left him no time to say anything, and kissed him with a passion that she never believed she had in her. For one thing, this passion deeply shocked her; then again, it was the most normal thing in the world. It was like a valve bursting free, after all this time, when she didn't know whether he was still alive. If she would ever see him again and now, there was just no holding back. She couldn't help it. Honestly, if it had been an option she would have crawled inside of him. A scary thought but this feeling was simply overwhelming, like a force of nature. People passed by laughing, nudging each other and amusingly looking at them. Leyla suddenly became aware of what she was doing here in public on the bridge full of people. She pulled back and cleared her throat. "I'm sorry. I've let myself be carried away somehow." Gregory smiled and that smile was so ravishing that she had to restrain herself not to throw herself once again at him. He took her hand putting his other hand on her chin so that she had to look at him. "Did you bring the padlock?" She rummaged in her coat pocket and pulled out the small metal padlock. He kissed her on her nose and pulled her to the bridge's banister to the other countless paddocks. He took out a slightly larger padlock and they attached them both on the wiring of the bridge. Then he grabbed Leyla's shoulders turning her towards him. "Oh, by the way, hello, beautiful, I couldn’t even say hi properly, you've tied me down on the spot." Leyla looked embarrassed to the ground. "I'm sorry; I don't know what came over me."

He touched her chin again and she lifted her eyes. "I would have been disappointed if it hadn't been like that. I love you," he said, and this time he kissed her. His kiss was soft and gentle as the touch of a butterfly, yet Leyla remained breathless. Holding each other tightly, they stood at the banister, overlooking the bay. For a long time neither of them said a word. It was a perfect silence full of harmony. At this moment, the world stood still and everything was fine. After a while, Gregory took Leyla’s hand pulling her with him. "Let's go, I want to introduce you to someone." Leyla pulled him closer, "Wait." She put an arm around his neck and ran her other hand over the contours of his face. Then she pulled his head down to her and whispered something in his ear. He grinned. "I knew that, but it's nice to hear it from you.” He clasped her waist and they walked arm in arm along the sea promenade. Gregory led them into a side street to a white house decorated for Christmas. He fumbled in his jacket pocket for the key and they entered the building. Leyla followed him upstairs. He opened the door of an apartment whose interior was unexpectedly large and luxurious. A small round elderly woman came to meet them and spread out her hands. She hugged Leyla and patted her shoulder. She let her know with a gesture that she should follow her. Leyla looked at Gregory quizzically. He nodded encouragingly. "This is Veronica; the housekeeper she wants to offer you something to drink."

"You have a housekeeper?" Leyla looked at him in astonishment. The woman came back into the hall. "Come in my dear, you have to be hungry and thirsty from the long journey." Leyla hesitated looking around for Gregory. "Just go, I want to introduce you to Keanu." He disappeared over the stairs to the upper floor. "Come on in child, I don't bite. Let me look at you, Gregory has told me so much about you." Leyla followed the housekeeper into the kitchen and sat down at the big wooden table. Veronica looked at her conspiratorially. "You're a real beauty!" She winked at Leyla, I can understand that Gregory speaks all the time about you."
"Oh, he does?"
"Yes, he does, even when he was seriously injured and most of the time unconscious, he spoke of you in his confused dreams." Leyla raised her eyebrows." So how bad was he hurt?" "Well, I would say that he has miraculously survived. He's a tough guy, your Gregory." Leyla laughed. "He really is."

With a great rumbling, Gregory came down the stairs, accompanied by a young man, probably around somewhere over twenty years old, who strongly reminded her of Aiden. Except that his Indian origin was even clearer visible instantly, otherwise the two of them could have been brothers. The same grim look, the same dark piercing raven eyes, incredible muscles that emerged under his black Super Dry T-shirt. Only his hair was different, it was not rumpled sticking out, but straight falling likes a black curtain to his shoulders. "Leyla, may I introduce, this is Keanu, and without him I would have gone to the happy hunting ground." She raised her eyebrows and held out her hand to Keanu. "No kidding" Gregory said, sitting next to Leyla. He moved his chair as close to her that their bodies touched and put his arm around her shoulder and she instantly laid her other hand on his thigh. The two of them obviously were unable to keep their hands to themselves even though they both desperately tried to. Somehow cute, Keanu thought amused, but he had to admit that he felt even a bit of envy. What would it be to like to feel like that? To be attracted to each other that much?

Well, he'd probably never find out, how that felt unfortunately. But, he was glad for Gregory, he totally had earned to get all the affection he could get, after all he had been through lately. Nice to know that his Arielle girl was still into him, so why should they keep their fingers off one another, it did not bother him at all. One should strike while the iron was hot, and this iron appeared to be damn hot, the way it looked. Leyla looked at Keanu. "Then I would like to sincerely thank you for keeping Gregory alive. We were all immensely worried about him and I was frankly incredibly afraid that he wouldn't make it and I’d never see him again." She gave Gregory a languishing side-glance. Keanu laughed exposing a row of dazzling white teeth, which emphasized his resemblance with Aiden. "What can I say, Gregory is my friend and friends help each other, right? That he has survived, however, is not merely my merit. I think he needs to explain you a few more things yet." He pushed his elbow in Gregory’s ribs. "Huh, kid, you'll surely explain everything to Arielle."

Leyla squinted. "Why do you call me Arielle?" Keanu grinned cheekily, looking years younger than he probably was. "Our mutual friend here had a picture on his phone of you in a turquoise bikini. He stared at it for hours with a transfigured look on his face maundering that you looked like Arielle, The Little Mermaid." Gregory, who had only just recovered from the ungentle kick and was going to drink a glass of water, choked with Keanu's remark having a coughing fit. Veronica put steaming bowls, a bottle of mineral water and a bottle of red wine on the table. "Let's eat," Gregory said, ignoring Keanu’s remark. The two guys began stuffing themselves with food, like there was no tomorrow. Leyla poked thoughtfully around her plate. "What did you mean, Keanu, when you said that you have nothing to do with the fact that Gregory survived?" Keanu smirked back at her, his black eyes full of mischief, "I think wonder boy here will best explain it himself. You're staying here a couple of days, won't you?" Leyla squinted, they both concealed something and the way it looked, it was something damn important. She nodded thinking to herself that she would figure it out whatever it was, she was going to squeeze it out of Gregory for sure.