KING IN THE SHADOWS

I stood over the legendary Teatro La Fenice as it burned down for the eighth time… or was it ten? I had gotten tired of keeping count so I just let them do whatever they wanted these years. Couldn't care more or less really, they had a knack for rebelling from time to time, and it became rather tiring than exciting. Because I always knew I would win. But then again, the intrigue of them coming up with new weapons and spells just to overthrow me was still the good part of it, let me test my limits. If there were any, that is? Standing on the roof of St. Mark's Campanile, looking down into that fire, I knew one thing was certain. I needed to leave Venice and continue my life elsewhere, probably France or New Orleans. I jumped down the roof to the ground floor. The Priests and his aids, along with the secret assassins - which he found rather amusing, were all fallen on their faces, or hanging from poles and whatnot. Father Giovanni; the orchestrator of this madness was still alive. Damn that man was a pain, I muttered quietly to myself. “Just won't stay dead would you, Father.”, I walked over and stood above the psycho who had despised my very existence, and that of my kind. Or was it just me. Couldn't care about that now anyways. “You monster! You'll never get away with this… this horrid act of yours! It'll hunt you for as long as you live! You'll die a horrid death, you mongrel! You'll nev…AHHH!!!”, I cut him short as I placed a foot on his injured left leg. “ Sorry were you still saying something. I thought you'd finished already. But damn you talk a whole lot for a weakling. Do you know that? And plus, all those curses of yours are rather far fetched imaginations, barely dreams even. Because you seem to forget their not possible.” I said as I withdrew my foot from his cut. He groaned in pain as he tried his best not to resist touching it in an attempt to make it feel better. He kept cursing and throwing little tantrums like a six year old. “ You better get someone to look at that… oh yeah! There's no one to look at that anymore. Damn!, how did i forget i killed the top brass of the coven. Well you can always visit the hospital, but they're all in a panicked state. So as it stands the whole town's in total chaos.” “Why?”, he managed to ask despite the increasing pain. The question was a rhetorical one to me because that was obvious. And I couldn't help getting angry. “Why?! You're asking why? You all got power hungry, that's why. What were thinking would happen when you challenged me? I would submit to your tantrums and leave? No, that was never gonna happen. But you all tried anyway.” I looked him dead in the eye as he forced himself to his feet against his will, and turned round, heading straight for the flames. I turned and walked away with his screams ringing into the air as he burned himself alive. I kept walking, I don't remember how long I walked but I kept at it, without stopping until I found a boat and hopped in. Then with one last look, I took in the last view I would get of this place for another decade or more, maybe forever. I laughed at that last part. FOREVER, like that was a possibility in my world. Then I started the engine and sailed into the night, hoping to forget about Venice. And the life I lived here. Maybe it was for the best or maybe it's what has to be done for now, because no matter where I went, I had a target on my back that would follow me for as long as I lived - which was a pretty long time. CHAPTER 1 PRESENT DAY, VENICE. “Elena!! Come on you dummy, we're gonna miss a place in the front row, if you keep moving like a slug.” Maria yelled as I approached the school main hallway. My name is Elena Domenico, I'm 17 and a high schooler in Venice. I'd rather not say I'm your perfect type of high school queen but I am not that bad either. Maria La Rousseau was my long time friend and cohort in a lot of evil doings. More of a twin than a friend, she's the perfect person to call on when in need, or trouble, and has a way of getting you to be your best self when you lose all confidence. She was on her way to watch her all-time hottie dominate the pitch with his good looks and incredible skill. Really how do teenagers have time to fall in love with all the pressure from society - It's nauseating. “Fine, I'm coming, I'm coming”, I said as I was pulled to the basketball court unwillingly. The game was just about to start, Maria gave me her “Your Lucky” eyes, ‘cause if she had to miss any minute of this game, I'd get killed. We took the front row seat just behind the cheerleaders, where my worst enemy and nemesis was in the lead; Vittoria Lorenzo. I hated her so much for being so cool and popular, she literally ruled with her picture perfect face. We had first come across each other three years ago at camp. I bumped into her and did not see the last of it. It was a mere bump, not on purpose, excluding the part where she fell into the mud, with her thousand dollar shoes from England. Her parents were rich so she barely had to lift a finger to do s**t. Lucky her, my parents left me when I was a baby, and I got adopted by the Questore. She's been my everything ever since, other than Maria that is. The whistle snapped me out of my thoughts, and back into the real world. The game against the New Orleans, Salvatore School Of The Gifted was an annual competition that helped keep our mutual relationships strong. Which was weird because they came from another country just to play a competition. Well why could I care. “Go Francesco!!”, Maria screamed at the top of her voice to cheer her hottie on. He was a tall, good looking blonde, with a lot of muscles for his height. Don't blame me, I thought short guys needed more flesh and and ’long’ ones already had their height. But nature is not exactly the best at fair play is it. The room was filled with a lot of cheers and shouts as the A-Guard of the Salvatore Stallions scored an incredible dunk, getting the first score and the upper hand in the game. “ Whoa! Did you see that! That jump was insane.”, Maria said shocked. But honestly this was getting interesting. That jump was impossible by human standards, who were thus guys anyway, he took off from the three points line and made it back to the ground with ease. Like really, how'd he do it. I started to take interest in the game. Not sure why, either I wanted to see Maria's crush fail so she'd dump him - sorry I can't help it. Or because there was something more to this game. But either way, in the next quarter I was up and jumping, screaming at the top of my lungs for our boys to take back the lead. It was actually fun though, never thought I'd see myself cheering for them. Just then Francesco scored an incredible three points putting us in the lead with two points. But as he scored and started backing up to his half of the court, a guy from the opposing team walked dead into him knocking him to the ground and he didn't get called on by the umpire or referee. “Hey! Didn't you see that!”, he called out to the referee but was told to carry on. A few minutes later his teammate who had been giving some critical passes was fouled and broke an ankle, but the referee said it was unintentional, and let it slide with a warning. That wasn't done anywhere, but obviously just happened here. The boy was substituted with another guy who clearly didn't match Francesco's playing style. The game ended up in a hundred to forty-five points, and they won. It was so messed up, Francesco started a fight with them after the game, clearly one of the dickheads said something to piss him off, and even that ended in their favor. Most of our students took a beating from the Salvatore students and a lot of people were pissed, because come to think of it they won every year. Maria and I walked to class, but obviously she wasn't happy with the results of the game. “You know if you get all pouty, I'll have to break down in tears and I won't stop till you cheer up”, I told her as we approached our lockers. She gave me a half smile, “Whoever taught you to sympathize was a horrible teacher, or you were a horrible student.”, “Ouch! Maria with a comeback, she's not holding back…and she hits her mark.”, I said in a commentator-like voice laughing. We both laughed for a second or two, and then down the hallway came our torturous devourers of happiness. “Stallions In The House!!”, their captain roared as they all cheered loudly. “Wow, talk about the embodiment of pride.”, Maria said as she leaned on her locker, watching them walk by. Then a voice came from behind them in pure anger, which would be the voice of our failed Francesco, “You only won ‘cause you cheated, you jerks. Next time I'll shut your holes for good.”, the hallway roared with the voice of angry students backing their all time favorite student. Apparently they had another the next week, the day before our annual party. Looks like whoever was in charge decided to bring prom night a little earlier than expected. “Ok, shut up Francesco. We beat you guys every year and you still think you can do anything about it. My God, bro. Grow up and learn when to bow to those above you. Then maybe you could learn a thing or two from down there.”, the captain said with a smug look on his face. This annoyed Francesco as much as it annoyed a lot of students in the hallway. Francesco took a step forward, charging right toward the kid who I later learned was Anthony Danvers. He casually took Francesco fast incoming right hand mud air and surprisingly subdued him in an instant. Francesco was visibly shaken and this obviously bothered Maria who almost walked up to help. A lot of boys were on the move too. But a single individual stopped it all in a flash. “I need you to take your hands off him, now. We don't want any problems now do we? You might out match the rest of them but not me.”, the guy who grabbed Anthony's hand said calmly. OK! Maybe, just for a second there my heart skipped as many beats as possible. Who was this guy?! He was so calm and yet his aura overtook the entire hall in an instant. He was dark, a proper proof that slave trade happened. His complexion was a distinct kind you didn't find anywhere, anyhow. It had the right amount of sexy, or probably overloaded with it. Was he a god or something? Oh, he was definitely something with those perfectly blue eyes, and physique like a premium boxer, or a centurion. Wait, am I falling in love here! Obviously, I wasn't the only one to take all this in, because the Salvatore girls were doing the same too, you could tell from the gasps coming from their angle. He held a firm grip in Anthony's hand and wasn't letting go easily. I don't know if it was just my head still in the clouds or I was seeing things, but I could swear I saw both their eye pupils changing colors one after the other. First Anthony's went from black to a light yellow almost gold, and this new guy's went a deep blue. But then again maybe they didn't. Because the Salvatore students went cold the same minute I saw it. Their gasps went silent and all eyes were on him, Anthony was suddenly shaking all over, and he let go of Francesco. The new guy smiled as he placed a hand on Anthony's shoulder and calmly said, “Thank you very much. Now how about you all head back to your hotel, and prep yourselves for the next game. Because I'll be in the team by then. Let's see how you can keep up, kids.” They all walked away quietly. Like man! Talk about respect. But really who was that guy. “I know right. Like he's all sexy and aura farming and all”, Maria said, clearly reading my mind wrong. “Sorry, Marie. I'm not talking about your crush.” I said leading her by the hand to class. “Yeah, I know. I meant the other hottie you were drooling over, the black one.” I stopped dead in my tracks, as I turned to face her. “ Sorry, what now?” “Yeah, I could see your mouth drop at the first sight of him, girl. Like you were literally in there and all. Should probably talk to him? Maybe invite him for dinner?”. “ Woah! Marie slow down here. Nobody is talking to anyone, let alone invite him for dinner. So get off your high horse.”, I said resuming the walk to class while still pulling her along. “Oh, come on. At least one should have a live life. You were totally into him back there. And I think he's hot too.” Ok, one thing is for sure. Marie never looks at another guy the way she looks at Francesco. And here she was calling another guy hot. “Elena Domenico!” Someone called out to me from behind, and I was as stunned as Marie was to find out it was the new kid. “Drason Marvelson. New transfer student. Mr Lorenzo said I should meet you to do some catching up and all.”, he said with a hand out to shake mine. Literally the whole hallway had eyes on us, and my nemesis was among them. Vittoria walked up to us and took the hand before I did, with a smile that told me everything I needed to know - she was out for me. Maria was ready to step up and snatch the hand from her, but Drason did something I did not expect. “I'm Vittoria, one of the best you can find around. I would be delighted to show you ar…” she was cut short by Drason who pulled his hand away and smiled. “Sorry, but I don't remember asking. I'm sure Mr. Lorenzo knew why he sent me to her. So thanks, but no thanks. Do you mind Elena, don't wanna be late on my first day.” He stretched his hand back to mine and this time I didn't hesitate to take it. “Sure, let's go. Come along Maria, don't wanna be late.” Maria followed me, running. And I'm pretty sure she stuck her tongue out at Vittoria, who was still shocked at being rejected. There's a first time for everything, this was her first. I led Drason into the classroom, at this time he was still firmly holding my hand. “Sorry! Forgot to let go.”, he said as he let go. Though I wanted him to hold on a little longer, maybe forever. The classroom was neat as always, with its polished stone floors and high ceilings. The building itself sat beside a narrow canal. As most of Venice was built on water. We usually got here by the school's vaporetto or on foot. The desks were metal framed with laminated tops, each desk had spaces underneath for bags and textbooks, the walls were decorated with maps of Italy and the world, and a list of Venice Doges over the years. I walked Drason in and introduced him to a few students, like Paulo - The class nerd, Emilia and her gang of slay queens, and then offered him a seat next to me and Maria, obviously. “So, tell me more about yourself, we don't get many transfer students around here. Not exactly your best choice for a five star education”, I said with a smile. He gave a light smile, “There's too much about me that shouldn't be known, rather not draw attention to myself. I like my privacy a lot.” “Either way, I don't think that's gonna work after you chased off our guests, pretty strong grasp you had back there. You do a lot of weight lifting? Or you're just naturally strong?”, I said, raising a brow. Then he muttered something about the difference between him and mortals, I didn't really hear him. “Sorry, what was that?”I asked, a bit surprised. He turned suddenly and gave a quick reply, “Nothing, it's nothing. Just…I'm not quite the regular kind of guy that moves around. That's all.”, just then Mrs. Phillipe walked in and demanded silence while we all settled down. I suddenly forgot about what we were talking about and focused on the teacher. “You could meet Ms. Domenico for help showing you around, she's a great student.”. Mr. Lorenzo was a short, bulky man with a perfect beard and a well trimmed moustache. “Thanks for the help, really appreciate it.”, I said as I walked out of his office and into the hallway that was filled with students. Most who couldn't help but stare. I was used to the staring, but obviously I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. I casually walked in the direction I would bump into the Domenico girl I came for. But then I ran into a little fight between the visiting students and ours. But the fight wasn't even; the visitors weren't human. The lead boy; obviously the alpha of the pack of wolves that played with a couple of witches and two vampires. They were obviously abusing their superiority, because they weren't allowed to use their powers on ignorant humans. Humans who weren't aware of their existence were naturally exempted from any attack, this was to avoid too many knowing about them. Because they all ended the same way; hungry for power and longing to be immortal. This had been the reason for so many wars in the past. Ordinarily I wouldn't bother myself interfering, but then something caught my attention. The boy who got into the fight wasn't human either. At least for now he was. But he needed to unlock the power sleeping inside him, maybe I needed to keep this one for a little while. By now the Alpha had grabbed his wrist and was squeezing it quite tightly. “I need you to take your hands off him, now. We don't want any problems now do we?. You might out match the rest of them but not me”, i said calmly. He looked me in the eye and instantly realized he couldn't beat me. He glared his eyes at me making them a light gold, I glared back. He saw the light blue in my eyes and understood what kind of problem he was in, so did the rest of the Salvatore students. He let go of the boy as I placed a hand on his shoulders and said calmly, “Thank you very much. Now how about you all head back to your hotel, and prep yourselves for the next game. Because I'll be in the team by then. Let's see how you can keep up kids”. OH! What was I thinking? There was no way I'd join the stupid team of proud jerks, but either way I had to stop whatever would get in the way of my new puppet, sort of. They turned away and left, as I tapped the kid on the back. “Didn't ask for your help.”, he said, shrugging his shoulders in protest of my help. The guts of this kid, not even a thank you. “Wasn't doing it for you, twerp.”, I said without looking back. I walked faster to catch up with the Domenico girl; she was pulling her friend to class already half way across the hallway. I finally caught up to and overtook her. “Elena Domenico!”, I said as she seemed stunned to see me. I already heard her and her friend talking about me from a far way off. She turned almost frozen, “Drason Marvelson. New transfer student. Mr Lorenzo said I should meet you to do some catching up and all” I said with a hand out to shake her. Literally the whole hallway had eyes bearing down on us. Though she hesitated a bit.Then this blonde girl walked up taking the hand. Personal space lady! Her friend; ever vibrant and venomous, was ready to step up and snatch the hand from the blonde, but I decided to keep it simple. I wasn't good at handling girl fights. “I'm Vittoria, one of the best you can find around. I would be delighted to show you ar…”, “Sorry, but I don't remember asking. I'm sure Mr. Lorenzo knew why he sent me to her. So thanks, but no thanks. Do you mind Elena, don't wanna be late on my first day.”, I said as I pulled my hand away and extended it back to Elena. This time she didn't hesitate to take it, and called on her friend to come along, as they both walked me to class. She was a different kind of person and also very cute. She showed me to class and we had a little chat, she basically asked about me. But I'm not one to share information about myself. Though I didn't like that I had to tamper with her memory to not ponder on my response or what I muttered. But it was for the best. At least for now.