DEAREST

PART 1: FEAST OF WAR, Ch. 8

8

Who would have thought that person would become a healthy and determined warrior with a new found purpose? Luciana took her appreciation seriously. Actually, even though she tries to explain it to me, I can't fathom the greatness of the will that has led her to do this. In spite of the disagreement, I must accept it. That's the only way she can see that it's been worth it. Otherwise, it's probable that she won't allow it to herself and forever wander in insecurity.

Luciana isn't worried about seasons. She can watch the snow around us in the garden, but she only acts as my companion. Whatever I tell her about the birds that I feed, it serves only as a mouthful of information for her, something to be written down in a mental log.

Also, she stays watchful to each one of my movements. If I direct my eyes to the window, even for a brief moment, she takes this opportunity to study my face. I'm sure that by the end of breakfast she'd have memorized my features by heart.

In the morning it has started to snow. Before that, the villa was surrounded by a strong blizzard. During that transition between storm and calm, it began to snow, which seemed to perturb Luciana. I try to see her reaction from the point of view of war.

In front of the window in the drawing room, with her hands clasped behind her back, Luciana nods once. She does it every time she reflects on what she hears.

"Is this place enchanted or something?" She asks, genuinely curious.

"Well, you could say it's a little corrupted," I tell her. "The protection barriers, for example. I purify them whenever I can. However, for now I can't."

"You must use your strength to adapt the Lightning Scepter in your body."

Sitting on a sofa, I stare at Luciana. She seems to pick up more than it seems.

"I'm not an Atavist, but... I think I perceive some strange vibe coming from this place."

"Anyone can do it, if you concentrate enough."

Luciana frowns, and looked at me over her shoulder.

"It's one of the principles of Atavic magic," I explain, trying to dispel her impending confusion. Luciana raises her head almost imperceptibly and opens her eyes a little more, as if she were following me. "Well," I continue, now too self-conscious about the fact that I must leave it as clear as possible for her, "it's what it really must be done if one wants to, uh... feel... supernatural forces. Of any type."

I hadn't noticed until this moment, but I got nervous, and I rubbed the back of my hand using a little too much roughness. It must be because I'm explaining all of this to an ordinary human and I don't want her to think I'm crazy.

"Last night, the protection barrier was crossed," Luciana surmises. It seems that she confuses my nervousness with desolation because she speaks to me in a compassionate tone, as if that was the reason for my sadness.

Still with my head low to hide my frustration, I nod.

"I created it, but it didn't work in the end."

Through the corner of my eye, I can see that Luciana has turned slightly to me. She may be watching me, feeling sorry for me.

"Maybe," she says, after a brief pause, "you still lack training."

When I look up, it's not pity what I see. Rather, she has adopted a kind—if not entirely warm—expression.

"Is that what you believe? I'm twenty-five years old," I let her know, and my tone is a bit rough. I'm frustrated and only mentioning my age and what that entails irritates me. "An Atavist my age should dominate most of the inherited knowledge. Apparently," and this last word I spill it with contained anger, "it's the only reason why I was born. Even so, I can't master the simple act of creating a protective barrier."

I let out a sigh, and with it, some of my frustration.

"I'm sorry," says Luciana. "I hope I can understand you someday, soon."

"The only thing you must understand is that all this family wants is success, at all costs. Trying to understand something else is useless."

I don't want her to see me lamenting again, so I stand up to leave the room.

When I get to the door frame, I'm hit by a wave of demonic presence. Luciana approaches me at once, but my instinct is to look towards the garden, and then I head as fast as I can towards the outside, which is covered in snow.