Luca eventually got bored from sitting around. He could hear Ari still rummaging through the boxes at the back. He listlessly drew some figures in the dust covering the table. Just as he was about to add a pair of eyes to his magnificent masterpiece, Ari finally came back with a large jar of herbs, and clothes, which were a size too big for the kid, but still better than what he currently had on.
“Took you long enough.” Luca said, without looking up. Just to spite him, she tossed the clothes on the table Luca was drawing on. Unfortunately Ari overestimated her aiming skills, and the clothes landed nowhere near the spot on where Luca drew. Luca’s gaze was still on the table, but he snickered at her failed attempt to annoy him. Instead, Ari had become the one who was annoyed.
Ari huffed, “Who asked you to come so late at night? What do you think this place is, a 24/7 rest stop?”
“I’m a mysterious figure, wanted by many, and only at night is it that I can move freely.” Luca said, finally looking at her, and winked conspiritationally.
Ari snorted. “Well, don’t trouble me with your presence then. I don’t want to be guilty by association.”
“And yet you never kick me out.”
“Even a dangerous person is a potential customer, but it’s better to spend less time with such people.”
“To think you’re only after my money.” Luca said, clutching his chest in pain.
“You’re paying me for my job.” Ari said, rolling her eyes. Then deciding it was a waste of time to pay any attention to Luca, she focused on the current task. Luca leisurely leaned back against the table and watched Ari work, making himself as comfortable as possible. Besides, there’s not much he could do to help out. Ari was perfectly capable of doing her work on her own, while Luca was less than qualified.
Ari, already used this habit of his, remained unfazed. She emptied out the jar of herbs, and started making the poultice. She measured the amount needed, and skillfully crushed them using a pestle. Her fingers worked quick, alternating between throwing in the necessary ingredients, and smashing the herbs into smaller bits.
She made the action look easy, but it took a lot of control and focus to keep the motion steady. The green mixture slowly turned brown, when Ari decided that the poultice was ready. She scooped the mixture into a small container.
“Don’t just stand there staring. Make yourself useful and apply this on him.” Ari ordered, shoving Luca the container, before turning around to make more.
Luca obliged. He dipped a piece of cotton in the container. He gently lifted the boy’s hands, and applied the brownish-green mixture on his cuts. The boy’s eyes were still closed, but he still involuntarily shivered, when the cool balm was applied on his skin.
‘He’s awake,’ Luca realized. Before he could think more on it, Ari interrupted him from his thoughts.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“So, now can you explain what happened?”
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“Vb sbe’gf afiilcu wf atja akb ragjcufgr pera mjwf lcab atf obgfra, atgfk atlr qbbg xlv lc atf wlvvif bo cbktfgf, jcv sbe pera tjqqfcfv ab yf atfgf?”
Luca himself felt that this was an unbelievable string of coincidences, but nodded.
“Are you sure you’re not making up some story because you’re the one who caused this?”
“I have more self-control than to ever do this.” Luca said, feeling slightly offended.
“Right, sorry. It’s just . . . strange for you to help someone you don’t know.”
Ari was right. He usually never went out of his way to help someone, unless the situation directly involved him, but this time . . . it was more of a stroke of chance. What were the odds of him having the dream, and meeting the same person the very next night?
Luca gave her a small smile. “Perhaps I have some use for him.”
“What use could you have for a child?”
“Don’t you believe in fate?” Luca countered.
Ari rolled her eyes. She cleaned up her temporary workstation and dumped the excess poultice into an unused jar, probably for later use.
“Fine, don’t tell me. So, what did you want? The kid’s not the only reason you came here, right?”
“That’s what I love about you, getting straight to business.”
“That is my specialty, but unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be yours. Though it’s quite ironic considering your occupation.”
Luca ignored her jab, and silently dipped a new piece of cotton in the container, and continued putting the poultice on the cuts on the kid’s arms.
“I’ll tell you about it later, in private.” He finally said.
“There’s no one here but us.”
Luca silently pointed to the kid. Ari looked over and finally realized though the kid’s eyes were closed, he was probably somewhat aware of his surroundings. Ari sighed, and gestured Luca to a private corner. Luca followed.
“Now are you willing to tell me your secrets?”
“Well . . . I think that I had a prophetic dream.”
Ari’s eyes widened. “You don’t mean -”
Luca nodded, confirming Ari’s unsaid thoughts.
“I thought your powers were-”
Luca sighed. “They still are. That’s why it’s so strange. Not to mention it’s the first time I had one.”
Ari was silent for a while.
“Are you sure it wasn’t just a normal dream?”
Luca dismissed the notion. “I know what a normal dream is like. This one was . . . very different. But I don’t understand how it’s possible.”
Ari had a thoughtful look on her face.
“I’ve never heard of this happening with vampires. It seems even more unlikely with you, because of your . . . special condition. But with these things you can never know.”
Luca sighed. “I guess only the future can tell.”
Though Ari’s answer wasn’t a complete denial, it was obvious she thought this was impossible. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry. Even the slightest bit of chance of the dream being real was a possibility.
“What did you see in your dream?” Ari asked curiously.
Luca was silent for a while, before smirking.
“My death – I was killed.”
Ari stilled when she heard his words, at first. When Luca didn’t elaborate, Ari thought he was making it up.
“Stop joking around. If you don’t want to tell me, then just say so.”
‘But I’m telling the truth.’ Luca thought helplessly. However, it was better if she thought that he was joking. She had enough on her plate without needing to worry about him. He didn’t blame her for not believing him, he had his own doubts too.
The idea of the injured “lump” growing up to kill him only made Luca laugh. It sounded so absurd. Truthfully, many people were after his life in the past, but none succeeded. All of them were a lot more intimidating than the kid resting outside.
But . . . No one knew better than him that appearances were deceiving. After all, it was the person who he should have been able to trust the most that betrayed him in the end. However that person was long dead while he was still alive, though not in the best condition. He was dying. He was suffering, just like that person wanted him to. What hurt more was that person was his own mother.
Luca wasn’t someone who actively seeked death, nor was he tired of life, but he had made peace with the fact that he would die early. Time was ticking, his life was ending. How he died didn’t matter much. Might as well observe what his future killer was like.
I didn’t expect that he is already dying. I wonder what his mother did?