Page 5 of Fratelli: Eternal Bloodlines

Lucio’s laughter returned, warm and genuine this time, and the tension between them melted. Their laughter mingled. It filled the inside of the tent with a rare sense of joy.

But his mood shifted again, more serious now. “We have to leave soon,” he said, his voice low.

“Why? We should stay,” Dolly countered. She tilted her head. “We’ve got everything we need. Though I’ll admit, I’m going to need more than fruit and deli meat. You make me so hungry!” She giggled, then added with a smirk, “Maybe Iampregnant.”

Lucio shook his head, laughing with her, the sound echoing softly in the confines of the tent.

Darlene, who had been silently stewing in the corner, suddenly stood and stormed out of the tent. Her movements were sharp, like she couldn’t contain her anger any longer.

Dolly’s laughter faded as she glanced after her, a frown creasing her brow. It was almost as if Darlene had a physical presence, as if she trulycouldwalk away.

“I have to tell you something,” Lucio said.

Dolly's gaze left the opening of the tent to land on Lucio. “Tell me what?”

“My brothers. They know about you and Darlene. They know everything,” Lucio confessed.

Dolly stopped chewing. The tent flap re-opened. Lucio glanced up at what he thought was the wind. Darlene had returned, but only Dolly saw her. She smirked and stared directly at Dolly. Did she hear Lucio from outside of the tent? Of course, she did. Darlene was only a manifestation. She was in her and she was observing. Dolly ignored her sister and touched Lucio’s hand. “I know. I saw Darlene’s conversation with your twin. I felt her excitement and her fear. She was afraid. So many supernatural’s, and your brother all coming at her at once. I felt that intensity.”

“Yes, well, that wasn’t just her lesson. I orchestrated that meet and greet to reveal you to my world. Now that my brothers know, they’ve given me a week to figure out what and who you are—and how that could benefit the brotherhood,” he confessed.

Dolly looked up to Darlene, who now paced back and forth in the tent. Darlene kept glancing back at Lucio with growing concern.

“Do you really believe I’m a destroyer?” Dolly asked.

“After what we shared in the night no, no one can convince me you are,” he said.

“Strange,” Dolly mumbled.

“Why is that strange?”

“Because in under a week, I’ve gained perfect vision, a sister or split personality, or some kind of possession…”

Darlene shot Dolly a middle finger.Dolly rolled her eyes at her and pretended again that it was only her and Lucio.

“Now I have a boyfriend who drinks my blood. There is so much that happened in five days. How could we possibly know where it will all end? I’ll probably grow wings and fly around the tent next,” Dolly sighed.

“Never knew you were this funny,” Lucio smiled.

“You learn something every day about me, don’t you?” Dolly teased.

“I do,” he agreed. He paused for a moment before he spoke again. “I don’t believe you are here to destroy. I agree. We need to understand your powers. I must stop Julia Brown’s curse. That is my mission. From there… we figure out how to survive in this new world,” Lucio explained.

“New world?” The statement puzzled Dolly. “I like how it sounds.”

“That’s what Manman Julia called it. Whenever we wanted to leave the swamp or wandered away too far.Beware of the new world, she would say.”

“Was she afraid of the world?” Dolly asked and drank her champagne with berries.

Lucio blinked as if just remembering something from his childhood. “I was young, a babe. But I… I think she was afraid. She rarely left the cabin, and when she did go hunting or trapping, she always carried a weapon. She had her fears.”

“Interesting. Is it still there? The cabin, the swamp?” Dolly asked.

“Ah… after the hurricanes and modernization, I doubt it exists,” he shrugged.

“Why did you never check, go back?” Dolly asked him.

“I—I—I, dunno,” Lucio said. “I never thought to.”

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