Wolf Omega: The Lykanos Chronicles 2

Chapter Twenty-One

 After Duccio finished his speech, he offered again to answer any question I might have, but I could think of nothing. It all seemed like an illusion; a dream brought on by the wine. The only thing I was sure of was that I didn't want it to end.

When I thanked them for their hospitality, Duccio commanded his majordomo and footmen to return to the dining room and continue their service. The rest of the meal was devoid of any talk of lycan. I remained mostly silent, responding to direct questions, but concentrating on Duccio's words.

When they served me a beef dish, I tasted the red wines at Dionisio's urging and discovered another unexpected delight. His wines were nothing like the acidic swill I'd swallowed in Morbegno. I told him he made me feel as if I'd never tasted wine until that evening. The recognition obviously satisfied him, bringing out a youthful exuberance to his conversation, filled with humor and even small pranks to make the other's laugh.

After dinner concluded, the party moved to a drawing-room where Dionisio soon brought me a small, clear glass filled with sauternes. Though it smelled heavenly, and though I had finished little of the three wines at dinner, I knew it would be a mistake to attempt another drop. Instead, I held the small cup graciously in my hand.

"I'm unsure of how to ask you about yourself," I said, offering only a smile in gratitude for his gift.

"Whatever do you mean? You may ask anything you like," he answered.

"Are you happy here?" I asked.

"Of course," Dionisio smiled mischievously. "Whatever might make you think otherwise?"

"You're different from the others. You reject them; their offer of... I don't know what. Life everlasting?" I said, thinking back to words Father Piero once used to describe the point of Christ's sacrifice. It was another life to come after death, but only if I stood before God with a pure soul and unconditional acceptance of his love.

Dionisio smiled generously, but he bowed his head to let me know that he understood my question. He gestured that we should separate ourselves in the room to speak just away from the others. I followed him to a corner where he seemed to give thought to his answer before responding.

"When I first came here, I was a boy," he began, "younger even than you are now. Fourteen, perhaps. Don't think for a moment that I misunderstand how this all seems to you. I don't require our gifts to know how different it from the world in which you've lived."

I smiled to hear the acknowledgment—to know that someone might recognize the sensation. I lifted the brandy to my lips without thinking.

"I came here after a childhood of abuse, most of which happened to me after I was orphaned. All of it came at the hands of men."

He paused as if to consider his words, then shook his head mildly once resolved.

"I won't show you the memories. They no longer harm me the way they did for so many years, but I still cannot stomach to allow others to witness them unnecessarily. Those men discovered something about me, a mannerism they felt invited their abuse. Some of it was incidental, even filled with the guise of warmth; most was cruel and violent. All of it, however, damaged my will to live.

"I found myself in this same room seated beside Duccio, sharing what they had done to me, the nightmare of their crimes. 'Come with me now,' he rose from his seat, 'and guide me to them so I may destroy all of them for you. Let us destroy them together.'"

"The idea seized me, and I led Duccio to the home of a man in this very town who had once paid for the privilege of abusing me. I showed Duccio every second; the images drenched in each sensory detail kept by my mind; I let him hear the vile words spoken to me, then smell the man's stench upon me, and feel the sharp pain between my legs I thought would kill me. These were but one night's memory among dozens that tortured me daily. And though I usually did everything I could to lock them away and pretend none of it ever happened, I unleashed a potent, undiluted sip for Duccio and withheld nothing.