Fratelli: The Awakening (The Vampire Cartel #1)

60. Call to Duty

Chapter 60

Call to Duty

C ane River Creole, Louisiana

April 16, 2018

(5 Days Before Death)

“Something has happened to Dolly, hasn’t it?” Charmaine asked when she saw the large entourage. Sonya stood still in disbelief. Charmaine approached and stopped at her side. It was hard to see from the blinding lights, but her vision cleared.

Nzinga went to her knee. She bowed before the woman who walked out ahead of the headlights in black and grey fatigues with a weapons vest on. There was an air of authority with this woman. She had long, silver-grey, curly locs, and looked younger and wiser than her true age. They spoke in the ancient language Nzinga had been attempting to teach them—the language of the First People. It was funny how Nzinga painted them as tribal women from Africa. The diversity and modern look of these women made Sonya suspicious. The elder glanced at Sonya as if reading her mind. Her eyes then shifted to Charmaine, then she touched Nzinga’s shoulder and gestured for her to stand.

“Hi, ladies,” said the woman. “My name is Greenlee.”

“Hi,” replied Charmaine.

“What’s going on?” Sonya asked and crossed her arms in defense.

“I apologize for the urgency. There has been a development. I think I should show you.” She pulled her phone from her back pocket and turned it so the girls could see the video. Two men, identical twins, faced off with each other. A crowd gathered, and others who were at the gambling tables in the casino watched. Next to one of them, holding his hand, was a petite, pretty black woman in a short, sexy sheer with rhinestones, mini dress.

“Dolly? Is that Dolly? Damn, look at her body. What the fuck? She looks good.” Charmaine took the phone from the elder woman. Sonya strained her neck to watch the video with her.

“That’s not Dolly,” replied Greenlee. “That’s Darlene. Who Nzinga has been warning you about.”

Sonya used her fingers to expand the image of Dolly who had turned into Darlene. She was drop-dead beautiful. Far from the ponytail, thick glasses, uniform-wearing Dolly who binged flaming-hot Cheetos and drank strawberry soda for breakfast. Darlene smiled at the men, who looked powerful and dangerous. She said something sassy to one of them that made others in his entourage snicker. Sonya could not get over the transformation in just a few days. Darlene had a fresh, youthful look to her. Of course, she was Dolly, but different. Gone was the strained, hard edge that life in their neighborhood brought. Her body was never imperfect, but in her sparkling minidress, she had the curves of a goddess. Every man’s eyes were on her. And she was not afraid.

“Last night, Dolly—or Darlene—arrived with Lucio Di Salvo at the Bellagio Casino’s Gamer Con in Vegas. Darlene was on his arm and paraded through the casino for all to see. When Lucio’s brother confronted him, Darlene stood by his side. She announced she was his mate. This is huge. Lucio had kept her a secret. Not out of the kindness of his heart. He’d done it because it served him best to keep her under his control. To bring her in public meant Darlene was coming into her powers, and he knew more about what she was capable of than even us. We had hoped we had more time for Dolly’s sake. What he did has changed everything. Not only do his brothers know about her, but others do, too. Our people were there. They tell us that Darlene is so fragrant and magnetic when she entered the casino, every supernatural noticed.”

“Fragrant?” Sonya looked up.

"Think of it like a pheromone for supernatural’s—an irresistible, sexual scent as alluring and dangerous as a Venus flytrap to its prey," Greenlee said.

“That’s insane. Does Dolly even know this is happening to her?” Charmaine asked.

“What does it matter? It’s done!” Sonya walked away. “Christ!”

“You said this wouldn’t happen,” Charmaine reasoned. “You said that Darlene and Dolly don’t know what they are, that they are too inexperienced in their powers to use them. That we had weeks before she reached that level of control.”

“There’s more to it,” Nzinga chimed in. “Lucio took her brother out of Louisiana. He is now the host of the National Gamer Convention. The young man is on every streaming service, the news stations, and all of social media. She’s locked in with him now.”

“Brother? Russell? What do you mean, took him? Did he… make him a vampire? He’s crippled for God’s sake.” Sonya frowned.

“No. Not yet. But I’m sure there’s a threat that he might do so to keep Darlene or Dolly in line with his plans.” Greenlee replied.

“Then we’re all fucked,” Sonya said.

“Our contacts in Vegas report Lucio has locked down the Bellagio. Information is buzzing on all frequencies, likely reaching Sicily soon. Don Vittorio is the most vicious of them all. We must act quickly before he finds her. I’m sorry, ladies. We had hoped to prepare you more naturally, without disrupting your lives, but there’s no time.”

“What can we do? It’s over. He has her!” Sonya exclaimed as she threw her hands up in defeat. “I’m not going anywhere. Hell no. This is done. Time to call it quits, Char.”

“Sonya,” Charmaine pleaded and tried to calm her. The silver-haired elder’s gentle smile hardened at Sonya’s defiance. Even the blinding headlights couldn’t hide the shift in her demeanor.

“I understand your frustration, Sonya. But we don’t quit. And that we includes you.”

“Fuck off, lady. You messed this up. You should’ve never let that dingbat go with that vampire. This is your problem, not mine!” Sonya spat back at Greenlee.

“What about your mother?” Greenlee asked.

“What did you say?” Sonya paused. Charmaine’s eyes widened. As Sonya stepped forward, Nzinga intervened, spinning her staff like a baton until it extended on both ends. A clear warning.

“We have your mother,” Greenlee continued from behind Nzinga. “She’s already in Australia. What should we do with her if you quit? Should we quit?”

Sonya screamed obscenities and charged blindly at the woman. Nzinga swiftly knocked Sonya in the chest with a maneuver that swiped the staff under her legs to throw her several feet into the air. Sonya went down with a hard crash to the ground. She nearly lost consciousness. Charmaine rushed to her side.

“You’re insane!” Charmaine yelled. “Get away from her.”

“Stay down,” Nzinga warned.

“What can we do now? If we go to Vegas, those vampires will eat us alive. You’re trying to get us killed. We aren’t fighters!” Charmaine cried.

“I see both of you,” Greenlee said. She stepped forward and stopped before the girls, towering over them. “Especially you Sonya. I see a woman who’s had to fight her entire life to be heard, seen and respected—even though she had to use her body to do it. I see a warrior. Someone who knows pain and doesn’t turn away from it but runs into the darkness and helps the people she loves no matter what. That comes from a place inside of you, so deep, so raw you could never change it. You are what we refer to as a Defender of the Pain. You were born in darkness, you dwell in darkness, you understand darkness, you can take darkness and change it.”

“What are you talking about?” Charmaine said through her tears. Sonya said nothing. She just stared at the women with rage and immense discomfort.

“Sonya knows. It’s the guilt that eats away at you, day after day. Isn’t it Sonya?” Greenlee asks.

“It’s not Sonya's fault that Tyrone shot her brother. They were trying to protect Dolly.” Charmaine shouted at them.

Greenlee gave them a sad smile. “But that’s not her guilt. Tell Charmaine what you are really guilty of?”

Sonya lowered her gaze.

“Sonya? What is she talking about?” Charmaine asked.

“Dolly didn’t belong in that club with you two. She was three years younger than you both. You were all too young for the life, but you two were older, and wiser to the game. She trusted you.”

“We protected her. We were the ones who protected her!” Charmaine argued.

“That may have been who you were in your past lives—protectors. The cosmos is very ironic for us all in this life. She understands what I’m saying. Sonya was tired of stripping, tired of the violence, the poverty, the disrespect. She saw Tyrone move on Dolly and she looked away.”

“That’s a lie!” Charmaine said.

“You were Dolly at one time, and no one protected you. Tyrone took Dolly’s innocence far earlier than you knew Charmaine. Right Sonya?” Greenlee asked.

“That’s a damn lie! Sonya had nothing to do with that! Tyrone preyed on Dolly. We didn’t know. She didn’t tell us anything!” said Charmaine.

Greenlee smiled. “She told Sonya. She was terrified. Sonya gave her liquor and pills to calm her down.”

“How do you know that?” Charmaine shouted. “Tell her Sonya! She’s a fucking liar!”

Sonya dropped her head, weeping.

“Sonya? Tell her. We’re sisters. We protect each other. You would never do that, not to Dolly. Never!” shouted Charmaine.

“I didn’t mean to. I was just so tired, and I needed the money,” Sonya wept.

“What? Money?” Charmaine gasped in horror.

Sonya wept openly in front of all the women. “I couldn’t continue fighting for her, and you and me... taking care of my mom and brother… it was too much!”

“We know everything,” said Greenlee. “Don’t we Sonya. You carried that guilt through the years he groomed her. The intense guilt you felt led you to want to atone for what you didn’t prevent. When Tyrone almost killed Dolly, you put the gun in your brother’s hand and told him to get street justice. We saw it all. We heard it all. We were there,” said Greenlee.

Sonya broke down into more tears.

“Sonya? Is she right? Dolly was sixteen when Tyrone preyed on her. Did you put Tyrone on her?”

“No, I would never… I don’t know… I didn’t... I didn’t stop it…” Sonya sobbed. Sonya regretfully acknowledged, “I should have stopped him, but I didn’t, I had taken the money...”

“Oh, my God! How the fuck do you live with yourself. You fucking bitch!” Charmaine shouted in disgust.

Sonya continued to confess, “I tried to fix it, but Tank was dead, and I didn’t have any power. So, I told Darrell to teach him a lesson. Not kill him but warn him to stay away from Dolly. I just wanted to fix it, because it was my fault.”

“Oh, Sonya! Oh my God,” Charmaine said. She moved away from her friend.

Sonya's sobs did not end. “It’s all my fault. She’s so fucked up in the head because of this. So traumatized that she makes up shit, and pretends not to remember stuff, she’s just all fucked up in the head because of me. And now my brother’s dead. It’s all me!”

“No. It’s Dolly,” Greenlee said. “She draws darkness and light to her. You have the dark energy in you, Sonya, you just don’t know it.”

“Shut the fuck up, lady,” Charmaine said. She wanted to kill Sonya, but instead she reached for her. She tried to console her friend.

“I’m sorry I can’t. We don’t have time. Sonya, listen to me. Dolly and Darlene have their way of surviving. What you see is just the surface. Dolly can protect herself. And she did, by using her sister. Look what happened to Tyrone,” Greenlee reasoned.

“Leave her alone!” Charmaine shouted. “Just shut the hell up!”

“I’m in no position to judge you, Sonya. You watched Dolly stumble from one disaster to another just as we all did. In a way, we all failed her. Made it easy for Lucio Di Salvo to find her.”

“Not me! I didn’t fail her! Go to hell, bitch. I would never sit back and watch someone destroy a young girl. I protected Dolly. Always!”

Sonya stopped weeping and kept her head down. She remained silent. She held her wounded arm to her chest.

Greenlee turned to Charmaine. “That’s true. You were always looking for the good in Dolly, always rescuing her. You are the Protector of Light. But your protection was one of enablement. After her trauma, it was your idea to convince Sonya to pretend that Tyrone was still alive when you two found her dismembered body. To let her live in the delusion. In my opinion, you’re no saint. You come from a place of peace, but you too have never had a good understanding of what it takes to achieve it.”

“Let’s go, Sonya. We’ll get you to a hospital and find Dolly ourselves. Fuck these people,” Charmaine said and tried to help Sonya stand.

The good news, ladies, is that we haven’t lost everything. Every generation a guardian is born, and it’s not a righteous birth. Your mistakes are your sins. Your sins are your armor. You have to live it to understand the consequences if you don’t prevent it. What is out there is far worse than Tyrone, or any other demon you’ve escaped in life. There is no good and evil in the world anymore, just a lot of darkness, and it gets darker every day. You were foretold to us,” said Greenlee.

“I don’t care what you say. Life is hard where we come from. Sonya spent a lot of nights in hell fighting for girls like me and Dolly. If she made some mistakes, so what? So, what! If I made them too!”

Greenlee smiled. “Life is a circle, connecting and reconnecting us. In this realm and the next. You are Sonya and Charmaine. In your past lives, you were both light and darkness. That is why we call you Guardians.”

Charmaine recoiled. Sonya rolled her eyes.

“They protected our ancestors, the First People, over the years. They also protected the dark matter that glues the universe together. They keep the balance between dark and light. It’s a heavy burden to reveal. The First people are gone. Only a few of us remain.”

“I see almost a hundred of you now!” Charmaine said to the entourage in the surrounding woods.

Greenlee smiled. “These ladies are followers of the old teachings. They aren’t like you, like Dolly, me, or Nzinga. They are just here because of the sisterhood we share, and their beliefs in protecting the balance of the universe.”

“So, you’re a cult,” spat Charmaine. “Lying bitches. You tricked us with all that melanin shit. A cult!”

“We have not lied. I told Nzinga not to test you, just to train you to lure Dolly away from Lucio. I didn’t want to repeat our past mistakes with Wanda by using magic. And the Guardians are gone now—extinct. We’re out of time. We need you.”

“Are you okay?” Charmaine asked Sonya. She ignored the elder. Sonya pushed her hands away.

“Let me help you stand,” Charmaine offered.

“No! Just get away from me. You heard what I did. What I did for money. Stop pretending you don’t hate me!” Sonya said in a shaky voice. Charmaine knew how hard Sonya fought to hide her pain and embarrassment. It was apparent Sonya's arm looked broken from the fall. The two of them argued over how injured she was. Both did it to shut up Greenlee. Both needed an excuse to escape.

And then they paused. They noticed two women approaching from a truck and stop before its headlights. The ladies had carried a large golden box adorned with intricate hieroglyphics and jewels. It glowed like the sun.

Sonya scooted back from the women and the box, and Charmaine fell silent.

“The ritual we performed on Wanda gifted her twins with light and darkness. It wasn’t done to merge them into one. That mistake was because we are not as experienced in these customs as we should be. We need balance restored in the universe. Light cannot exist without darkness. We failed. We created something we don’t understand. With you, the gift will be different. I don’t know why or how. I just know that nothing is the same because of Julia Brown.”

“And if we do this?” Charmaine asked.

“You will be guardians, and that is all I know. We have never met a true guardian. They were once enemies. Each protected their realm. They united when the Draca took control of the underworld. They became sisters—the correct definition of sisters. Each guardian was a pair, and they fought side by side. They died fighting side by side to save us from the dark days. There is no further documentation about them. And we do not know which sisters will return,” said Greenlee.

“Then why resurrect them?” Charmaine asked.

“Because Lucio will never let you near Darlene or Dolly if you’re just mortals. You have to reach her. When you become guardians, you will be targets for supernatural’s, they won’t be able to resist you. Just like Dolly.”

“What does that mean?” Charmaine asked.

“You’re an aphrodisiac. It’s the lure, a weapon. Supernatural’s, especially wolves and vampires, who are often seduced by lust, will be attracted to you, so you need to be careful in all spaces,” said Greenlee.

“With our guardians gone, the surviving descendants of the First People cannot create a better solution. There just isn’t enough time, and supernatural’s are in numbers we couldn’t compete with. But maybe we never had to. When we watched the three of you develop as young women, we saw your bond. No matter what the crime, you stuck together. This means part of you knows the truth. Dolly and Darlene chose both of you as her protectors. The sisters were drawn to you. We are living in the last days, and we need you in the fight,” smiled Greenlee.

Sonya struggled to stand without assistance. “This is a death sentence. Don’t you see it, Char? They are trying to make us part of their cult. They have been stalking us our entire lives. Bugging our homes, listening in on our conversations. I see the game. I know what you did. How you got your information. Whatever this is, it is dangerous.”

“What difference does that make now?” Charmaine reasoned. “They have your mother. Our families are vulnerable. We’ve seen that vampires and all the rest of this nonsense is true. Can you really go back to your life after knowing who they are? Do you think we have a choice?”

Sonya limped away while holding her broken arm to her chest. She left Charmaine to address the women. She needed a place to escape her grief and guilt alone.

Charmaine stood and brushed the dirt off her hands. “I will talk to her. But we need to get her medical attention. You hurt my friend, Nzinga!”

Nzinga bowed her head in regret.

“Don’t worry, after we perform the ceremony, you and Sonya will be able to self-heal many hurts that you carry. There will be a clarity in you, like nothing you’ve ever experienced. We need to act now. We don’t have many hours left before sunrise. Every day we delay the harder it will be to reach her.”

“Give Sonya a minute. And me too.” Charmaine said before she turned and walked away.

“Are you sure these women are the guardians?” Greenlee asked Nzinga.

“Yes, mam,” said Nzinga. “I have shadowed them for a decade. My report is accurate.”

“Well, if they don’t survive the test of the lyrical box, we kill them both,” said Greenlee.

“And if they do, survive, mother?” asked another woman.

“Then God help us all, for what they will become. We will kneel before the guardians as I taught you and mask our thoughts, so they do not read our minds, or our true intentions. I will do all the speaking. If that goes wrong, then we beg for our lives,” said Greenlee.

“How is that our only choice?” asked another woman.

“Julia Brown. That’s how. That witch has set us on this path,” replied Nzinga. Greenlee sighed again. She was so weary all she did since the vampire took hold of Dolly ahead of schedule. Now she had to take action. Her decision to wake guardians who have already served and lost their lives to a cause not resolved is hard.

“Nzinga. Go get the ladies. It’s time.”