Book Two Chapter 8: Standing Still

Eliza

June 22, 2035, Earth Time, Palermo, Sicily

Sitting still on a chair was taking a toll on her nerves. It reminded Eliza of the times she was sick, or when the Chief Scientist did tests on her.

God rest his soul, she sighed. At least, I'm not restrained.

"Don't move, please," the painter asked. She didn't know his name, only that her father had brought him to make her full-size portrait, since she couldn't be photographed anymore.

"I only sighed," Eliza complained.

"You're wiggling the tip of your foot, and it messes the shadows. Please, stay still."

"Try when she sleeps in her coffin," Dorian joked.

"Don't joke with this!" Eliza snapped. "Don't worry, Dad, I don't sleep in coffins. I'm a Realm Vampire, not an Earth one. It's totally different."

"I know, I know," her father smiled, and she smiled back. Tall, looking barely fifty, albeit he was nearing seventy years old, he was what people called an old money gentleman. Wise and considerate. Eliza had missed him a lot.

"I can give you an update," a young woman with round glasses said from an armchair.

"Go on," Eliza's father said.

"As long as we write her name Liz, or Eliza, we can store her phone number. Anything adding de Lavalois or Princess Erszebeth wipes the number clean. By the way, Sir, I hacked into the police records. Your file has been wiped clean by association."

"Interesting," Eliza's father said, finishing his espresso and putting the cup on the table. "Can you write things into the database? Add her name to Mario's file, for instance?"

"I could try," the woman said.

"Don't!" Eliza hissed. "I don't want to help criminals."

"I beg you, don't move," the painter said.

"Mario's the sweetest guy. Won't hurt a fly. And we owe him, right?"

[Eliza]: Dorian, ask my father since when he's been in the Mafia. I can't move without ersatz Michelangelo scolding me.

"How long have you been in the Mafia, sir?"

"I've never been in the Mafia," Eliza's father shrugged. "Her mother, on the other hand, was a Don's daughter."

"Really?" Eliza widened her eyes.

"Don't. Move!"

"There are plenty of family members who are ordinary people, living normal lives, having normal jobs. They're kept apart from the business. She told me before we married, and I didn't care. Mario is your mother's cousin, by the way. I don't even know what he does in the Cosa."

"He's a Godfather for a small branch specialized in art and luxury items," the painter said.

"Are you in it?" Dorian asked. "No offense, but—"

"Yes. I'm a forger," the man said. "Not to brag, but my works are in the best museums in the world."

"Really?" Dorian asked, moving behind the painter to look at the canvas. "Is this in someone's style or your own?"

"Both. It's a bit in Boldini's style—"

"Giuseppe?"

"Giovanni."

"C'mon, Dorian, you don't know your Boldini?" Eliza joked.

"Don't move!"

"I beg you, help Mario clear his file," Eliza's father said. "We're using his hospitality after all."

"Hm…" Eliza frowned.

"We're the good Mafia, you can trust Mario," the hacker said.

"And who is the bad Mafia?" Dorian asked.

"The government?"

"Have you decided if you're staying?" Eliza's father asked.

"Can you two stop talking?" the painter said. "I must finish today; tomorrow I'm doing a Rembrandt."

"In a day?" Dorian asked.

"It's just a sketch. Sells fast."

[Eliza]: Dorian, tell my dad that if the portal doesn’t open, I'll stay; if it does, I'll return to the Realm and come visit.

[Dorian]: If the portal stays closed, you're staying anyway, right? It's redundant to say that.

[Eliza]: You still feel pain if you're hit, right?

"Eliza says that if the portal reopens, she'll return to the Realm, but will come visit. Hey, I just had an idea! Why don't you go there?"

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"That’s a great idea!" Eliza's father exclaimed.

"How do you know what she says? Are you telepathic?" the hacker asked.

"By chat. It's like in the games."

"Wow…"

"I'll have a quick snack," the painter said, putting his palette on a table. "Talk your heart out. When I'm back, stand still, for goodness sake."

"Great," Eliza sighed with relief, slumping her shoulders. The pose and the elegant dress were uncomfortable.

"I don't see your wedding ring anymore," Eliza's father said.

"Sam and I divorced, but we’re still friends."

"Are you and that handsome young man an item?" her father asked immediately.

"Tristan? No. He's just a protégé. I like being single for now."

"I see," her father said, with that look in his eyes. He was about to bring up her age and push her to find a good husband. Eventually, suggesting a few choices.

"Before I marry, I want to be sure I can have children," Eliza said directly. "My class is weird."

"I have to say… I didn't imagine you becoming a Vampire," Eliza's father said. "Is this… widespread?"

"No. I was just a normal Third Order, and on the low spectrum."

"Err… Third what?"

"That means somebody able to perform a bit of Magic. Then, there was this experiment Sam devised to enhance our powers. Only about forty people managed to break through. I got lucky."

"You are special, Liz. You always have been," her father said with pride. "So… no chances that the young man and you—"

"Not even if hell freezes over. He's a prick!"

"He thinks Eliza's ugly," Dorian laughed. "Tristan's tastes are more… all about that bass."

It was rare to see her father slack-jawed. Eliza took advantage of the moment of silence and went to the buffet set near the wall to make herself a French press. Earth coffee was definitely better than what they had managed to grow on the Realm.

"Can you change class?" the hacker woman asked.

"It depends. Tristan did. He was a Vampire and evolved into a Dark Knight. I got a rank upgrade and stayed a Vampire. And I'm at the third tier, which is the last, so it's not an option anymore."

"You don't know it's the last tier; you're just assuming," Dorian said. "Maybe there are more evolutions possible. Who knows, you could become an elf."

"I sure hope not!" Eliza said.

"You have elves?" the hacker asked, widening her eyes.

"Micky's a big fan of elves," the painter said, returning to the room with a sandwich in hand.

"Not of the Realm's Elves, I guarantee you. They're hideous."

"And dangerous," Dorian added. "By the way, what should we do with our builds from now on? Any idea?"

Eliza opened the mouth, then jerked, stopping short of speaking. A finger was crawling under Dorian's skin, crawling past the forehead, then neck, and toward his right arm. The man's parts were still rearranging themselves.

"Arcane Power helps with doing magic on Earth, so if the portal stays closed, that's a must. Every stat you get to a hundred gives a massive boon. Constitution gives Rezz, but that's not something you lack. How high are your stats, by the way? And what's your level again?"

"Level fifty, and I'm also fifty in all my stats. Some are fifty-one."

"Really? That's about nine hundred points in total. More than I have. How did you manage it?"

"My Endurance and Constitution grow easily, considering my condition. I invested the free points to raise everything, and there were many ripple effects."

I have to train my Magical stats by casting spells wherever they're off CD.

The painter returned. "Should we?" he gestured toward the armchair.

"Five more minutes, please. Let me enjoy my coffee."

"Can I wipe Mario's file, please?" Micky asked, looking at the laptop screen and typing as she spoke.

"Dad?" Eliza asked, looking at his father.

"I vouch for him."

"Fine, go for it. But if he's a bad guy, I'll personally make sure—"

Eliza's phone rang, and she rushed to answer it because she recognized the personalized ringtone.

"Sam?" she yelled. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I managed to take back the base. Are you okay?"

"We're on Earth!"

"I know, we watched the security cameras. There was a big group with some awakened in it, Georgescu's people, and then Tristan and Dorian were walking and talking to an invisible person. I guess that was you."

"Where are you? Realm or here?"

"Realm. We opened a communication portal."

"We arrived in Sicily. Why did the portal open here?"

"Georgescu had connections with the Italian government."

"Georgescu? The general?"

"He was the brains of the coup. An obscure elven clan helped him with the portal. Georgescu is history; now they work with us. Listen…"

"I'm listening."

"We're working on stabilizing the portal as we speak."

"Is that thing going to work? I mean… it didn't look stable. We're stuck here, after all."

"There are a few details to be settled first."

"The crowning ceremony," someone said, but very faintly.

The crowd in testimony? Eliza furrowed her brow, because a crowning ceremony made no sense.

"The question is: Could you keep your end under control?" Sam asked.

"I don't know. Maybe? Some of our magic works, some doesn't, some so and so. Having high Arcane Power helps."

"That's great news."

"How strong is that group that went through before us?"

"About fifty Orders and six awakened. Two kids, sisters, very young, nicknamed Dragon and Zappy, a fire mage, a space mage, a bruiser, and Tremor."

"I know Tremor; he's gonna be a problem. The Space Mage could probably be countered by Tristan's AOE. I can take the care of the rest, no worries."

"Try not to kill the kids, if possible."

"C'mon, who do I think I am? Of course I'll spare the kids."

"Hi, Sam," Eliza's father interjected. "It's your loss, you know."

"I do. Trust me, I'm a lousy husband; she's better off without me."

"You're a good husband, Sam, you just had to find the right woman for you," Eliza said.

"Thanks for your kindness, Liz."

"Sam, I want you to know that this place is a haven for anything logistics," Eliza's father said.

"So, you say it's okay if we let the portal open there?"

"Where else can you open it?"

"Tibet easily; anywhere else will be a pain. For Sicily, they worked for a year. The good part is once it's on, it will stay on."

"I can arrange a talk with my friends, and they'll ensure it's secured."

"Friends?"

"The Mafia," Eliza groaned.

"The good mafia," Micky said.

"OK, here's what we're going to do. In the morning, I'm sending in Pops, Aldric, and Cloud Carpenter to secure the location… Aldric could build some sort of ramparts."

"If his magic works," Eliza pointed out.

"Yeah… We'll see. Pops and Cloudy would counter Tremor if he shows up."

"If their magic works," Eliza repeated. "How would they counter him?"

"They fly, duh. Could you ask your friends if they have contacts in the government, Mister Lavalois? Maybe we can negotiate; after all, this is about the portal, not Georgescu. We must have a legal basis to keep the portal open."

"I bet Mario has the proper contacts, but it's better if you speak with them directly. This kind of thing needs a personal touch."

"Very well. Let your friends know I'm coming as soon as things are settled here. Are you staying there, Liz?"

"For now, but I'm planning to get back on the Realm."

"Is Tristan near you? I tried to call him, and his phone is off."

"He's on a job. Playing bodyguard or something. Why?"

"I was thinking of sending him on a mission in Moldavia."

"I'll pass the message."

"Forget it, I'll think of something else."

"When do you plan to open the portal?"

"Told you, in the morning."

"In how many hours? Here it's ten AM, and it's summer."

"Ah… yes, I forgot about that. It's five in the morning here. Ten our time?"

"Great. Tristan should be back by then. We'll be there to make sure there are no problems."

"How many more of the other teams are on the run, or hostile?"

"Dunno yet, I have to check."

"How about the Juggernaut? Is he on the run too?"

"He saw reason and changed sides."

"Really? He's one of the most stubborn people I know. Almost as dumb as the Smiths."

"He's near me, says you're hurting his feelings."

"Oh… sorry, Jug."

"I'm not saying anything!" the Juggernaut's voice said. "His Highness likes to joke."

"His Highness?"

"Have to go, will call you back," Sam said, shutting off the call.

"His Highness?" Eliza repeated, shaking her head.