Secret Of The Crest (19 page)

   After the couple had breakfast Gregor asked, ‘Where would you like to go today? Have you any plans or shall I take you to the city later and buy you something pretty?’

   ‘Even if I had plans, love, I would definitely change them to spend the day with you! It’s a date!’

   ‘I will call on you at half past ten.’

   ‘I’ll be ready and waiting. Now go see what your grandmother needs and if I can help let me know.’

   ‘I will’ he said letting her hand go as he left her at the table.

   This, he would usually consider rude. To leave a lady at the table unescorted but he had seen her friends coming in and let them take his place.

   ‘Good morning newlies!’ said Sarah. Gregor said good morning and excused himself.

   ‘Good morning, Sam, Sarah. There isn’t much help today so breakfast might be a little late.’

   The friends did their daily routine.  Gregor saw Marina just sitting there and that shook him up a bit. It was not like her to sit around when so much needed to be done, something was very wrong.

   ‘Grandmother, what is it? What is bothering you?’

   ‘Brace yourself, my son. The chief… your friend Nicko has been attacked. He is no longer alive, I am very sorry, he was a good man.’

   ‘No! That can’t be possible. Here? In the hostel?’

   ‘I went to your room to bring him fresh towels this morning but when he didn’t answer the door I stepped in to lay them on the chair. Poor, poor Nicko, it is a horrid sight. Gregor ran up the stairs to see for himself. Marina followed.

   Upon entering the room again his eyes fell on a gruesome sight.  The slaughter was horrid. The man’s eyes had been ripped out of their sockets and his heart, like Mikhail’s, was torn out it seems while it was still beating and thrown to the floor. There was blood everywhere. Gregor had lost a friend this time and still had no clue what was going on.

   ‘I thought you said it was Fani’ Marina said.

   ‘Obviously there is someone else attacking. I need to find out who.’

   ‘We are not safe, Gregor, no one is.’

   ‘Do not lead anyone to panic, grandmother. I will take care of it, I swear I will!’ Gregor was upset to extremes. He had lost so many loved ones to the ghouls and the rest of his family and his friends were now at threat as well. He had to find who was doing this and put and end to it. 

   Cassandra had overheard their conversation and sat in the lounge waiting to console her brother when he came back down. To her surprise though, Gregor seemed more raged than devastated at the loss of his friend and as he came to the bottom of the stairs, he took a jacket and went for the door not noticing Cassandra sitting there.

   ‘Gregor, I’m coming with you!’

   ‘It’s too dangerous, I can’t take that risk.’

   ‘I am the one who is taking the risk. If I am a true Dracopoulos I will have it in me to be strong enough to handle any situation.’ Cassandra was always very insistent. She didn’t take well to taking no for an answer.

   ‘Alright, then. Let’s go.’

   They stormed off and quickly went through the trails. This trail was one that Cassandra had never been on before.

   ‘Do you have a clue as to who is responsible?

   ‘No, but we will get some answers today. Prepare to meet your parents!’

   Cassandra felt a knot in her stomach. She waited for this moment but she wasn’t fully prepared to meet them, to accept them. How would she react? How would they react? Could they begin their family relationship? Those thoughts passed through her mind in seconds as they practically ran along the path. Finally they came to a small cave. Large branches camouflaged the entrance. Gregor walked straight up to the right side of it and pulled a branch revealing a passage. Only a few steps had they made inside the cave when they heard a voice.

   ‘Why are you here, Gregor?’

   Cassandra looked toward the point the sound was coming from but could see nothing in the absolute dark. Slowly two glowing red eyes appeared in the distance. Cassandra’s heart raced. The pounding she felt took place outside her chest.  Only a moment passed as a second set of eyes appeared. Now she stepped back and took hold of Gregor’s arm.

   ‘Don’t be afraid,’ he told her, ‘They will not harm you.’ He then turned to them. ‘The reasons are two. I want to speak with you and I have also brought someone you should meet. Show yourselves.’ Gregor had already begun lighting a torch.

   Two shadowy like figures came out of the dark into a safe distance.

   ‘Who is that with you, Gregor?’ asked the other voice, now a man’s.

   ‘Come out and meet Cassandra, your daughter.’

   ‘No!’ cried the woman. ‘Why would you want her to see us like this?’

   ‘The day your paths crossed was the day she found out that you were her real parents. She wants to know you.  You both owe it to her to come out.’ The woman moved slowly forward to a distance about ten feet from where Cassandra stood.

   ‘Cassandra, you have become even more beautiful than I have ever imagined.’

   The man came to stand beside his wife. Cassandra looked at both of them realizing that they weren’t all that frightening. She was in a state as if in a dream, overwhelmed by feelings of all kinds. She felt love, compassion, anger. What was she to say?

   ‘We have no rights as parents; we sent you away to be free of this madness and now here you are’ said the man.

   ‘Yes, why did you separate me from my brother? I may have become like you but at least we would have been together, a family in whichever circumstances. Why did you take away my choices, my life?’

   ‘We only wanted you to be safe. At the time we did not know what was to happen if we would survive. We knew ghouls in the area meant complete death. We wanted you to live. You were only an infant and you deserved a normal full life. Your brother wasn’t as fortunate as you but he coped’ the woman answered.

   ‘Yes, he did! And I would have too had you only given me the chance. I forgive both of you for what happened in the past but you must change your thoughts and let me live my life the way I see fit. That is for all of you to be part of it! I was going to leave this place and never come back but then I realized that I belong here with all of you, with my family. I have decided to stay.’

   Gregor was shocked at her decision. He was sure that she wouldn’t want to be in the very place that she had been refused so many things. He felt relieved that she had made her choice to stay though.  Cassandra took a few steps until she came face to face with both her parents.

   ‘I don’t care if you were turned into ghouls; I want you both to be part of my life. Nothing can change the fact that you gave me life.’

   Her mother was crying of joy and her father consoled her. Cassandra hugged both of them.

   ‘Let me hold you in my arms again’ her mother said and squeezed her tightly.

   ‘Cassandra, we are sorry we caused you so much pain. Forgive us’ her father said.

   ‘I have forgiven you already and now we can finally be a family again, starting today. We will cope with each problem together as it comes. All four of us.’ She turned to Gregor and pulled him into the huddle.

   ‘I hate to interrupt this reunion so quickly but there was another reason we came here. We need your help in the woods.’

   Their father, Vasili, looked at him as if he knew what Gregor was about to say.

   ‘What is it? Is it happening again?’

   ‘Yes, there have been some attacks. Two of them in the forest and one in the hostel. One of the victims was killed by Fani but I took care of him.’

   Gregor was looking at Cassandra who heard this for the first time. She gave no reaction it was as if all of this was normal to her.

   ‘There is someone else out there though and is very messy with the victims. They were killed brutally. Whoever they are, they do not only feed, they are out to kill.’

   ‘Your mother and I will gather some others and scan the woods thoroughly. Come to where the two rivers connect tonight and we will tell you what we have found. Until then, keep Cassandra and your tenants safe.’ Cassandra smiled. It was nice to hear her real father care for her.

   ‘At the river at eight then?’

   ‘Yes, we will get to the bottom of this.’

   ‘Cassandra, you have given us a great joy wanting to be a part of our lives. Thank you for making that choice and accepting us as your parents’ said Vasili. ‘Come, Maria, we have work to do.’

   Maria went up to Cassandra, stood on the tips of her toes reaching up to her and kissed her on the cheek, then kissed Gregor and said, ‘You have my blessing for bringing my daughter to me. You both have our blessings. They parted and went in different ways.

   Gregor was now running practically to a point where Cassandra could not keep up. ‘What’s the rush?’ she said.

   He knew had a date with Rebecca and he was going to be late if they didn’t hurry. ‘I have promised your friend that I would take her into the city today. I don’t want to stand her up, you know.’

   Walking back into the hostel, Cassandra turned to Gregor and thanked him for the opportunity he gave her to meet their parents.

   ‘Cassandra, I’m happy you are here and even happier that you have decided to stay. Everything here belongs to you. Enjoy it. Now I have got to get going; I’ve got a date!’ He dashed off to call on Rebecca.

   Sarah and her fiancée were coming down the stairs with their suitcases.

   ‘Oh, Cassandra, good you’re back. I was afraid we were going to be late’ Sam said.

   ‘Yes, well, about that… ah... I’m not leaving. I mean I’m going to stay a while longer.  Besides, Becca can use the company.’

   ‘Just great; four of us came, only two of us are leaving. Hey, Sam, maybe you’d like to stay on too!’ Sarah said sarcastically.

   ‘I’m sorry Sarah. I need to get to know my family better before I leave and Rebecca is your sister. Aren’t you glad she will have me to keep her company for awhile?’

   ‘You’re right. I hate it when you’re right! You’ve always been the sentimental one and I the selfish. I’m a little jealous that we can’t stay too.’

   ‘Come on, sweetie, I’ll be home soon. My other home I mean… you know what I mean!’

   Marina had come to the door to escort the couple out.

   ‘Mrs. Marina, thank you for your hospitality. Considering all the unexpected events that took place, we still had a wonderful time’ Sam said shaking the woman’s wrinkled hand.

   ‘You’re welcome, my boy. The next time you visit, I hope that there will be a next time, I want to see that you have married pretty Sarah.’

   ‘I sure will!’ They said their goodbyes to everyone else and left the hostel feeling and ache at heart. 

   Marina followed behind and gave them an umbrella to fight off the drizzle that had silently begun. ‘It’s only a drizzle now but by the time you get to your car it may be a shower.’

   ‘Thanks again, for everything!’ said Sarah.

   Cassandra held the door open until her grandmother came through it once more.

   ‘Come, my dear, join me for a snack.’ The two women sat in the diner and had a light brunch brought to them.

   ‘You have really decided to stay with us?’

   ‘Yes, grandmother. At least until I get to know all of you and especially my parents better.’

   ‘What about your life’s dream; the competition for the scholarship? New York?’

   ‘Family, is priority. The competition is held once a year. I can take part next year. My family comes first, my career second, perhaps even third.’

   ‘Has Mano taken the second place in your heart, my beautiful Cassandra?’

   ‘You already know me much to well. Yes, he has. I don’t know him all that much but I believe we connect very well. I have met many nice men but none made me feel the way Mano makes me feel. He’s serious and makes me feel that I can count on him, that he can keep me safe. The only other men hat have ever made me feel that way were my father and Gregor.’

   ‘He’s a wonderful young man and he suits you. You have chosen wisely.’

   Cassandra smiled shyly and blushed. ‘Then I have your blessing.’

   ‘You’ve had my blessing since the day you were born.’ She kissed Cassandra as she got back up. ‘Back to work. You enjoy your day.’

   Cassandra was about to get up when Gregor sat down at the table. ‘Not so fast sister! We need to talk about tonight! I’m having second thoughts about you and Mano coming along tonight.’

   ‘Why? You said yourself that I can take care of myself!’

   ‘Cassandra, this is serious. I don’t want you or Mano getting hurt out there. Besides, if you two are with me, truth be told, I will be distracted. Please do me the favor and stay here. Enjoy your evening with him. He seems to be a so interested in you, Cassandra. I’m asking you, it’s not an order. No Dracopoulos would ever take orders, why would you?’

   ‘Alright, brother. I will stay behind. You have convinced me with your sneaky sweet tactics and those begging eyes. I’ll stay here but I can’t speak for Mano. You’ll have to take it up with him.’