Page 102 of Fratelli: Eternal Bloodlines

“All I know is she gave me life. I’m not Shakespeare, I’m Beaux—again.”

“Your Draca is in you. It’s there. And it will take her when it wakes and realizes what she’s done. It’ll use you to take her. So, stop with the puppy love games. We need to focus on gettinginside. And if that means she must bring us in, then she has to do it. Or we all die,” Tristan said.

Shakespeare grimaced.

Tristan went back down to deliver the news. Shakespeare had no choice but to follow.

Chapter 43

The First and the Last

Mojave Camp Ground Zero - Nevada

April 19, 2018

(2 Days Before Death)

TheScarabof Sekhmetglowed with a dark, malevolent energy. Its golden surface, which had intricately carved ancient hieroglyphs, seemed alive as the symbols twisted and writhed. Each cast eerie patterns across the bunker walls beneath the tent. Entering the space had been deceptively easy—Nzinga led the way drawn by a singular purpose, her steps steady, yet her eyes vacant, as though caught in a trance.

Charmaine felt the weight of Liora’s presence intensify the closer she came to the artifact. The surrounding air thickened, charged with an ominous power that made her skin prickle. As they approached, the scarab seemed to stir. It reacted to Charmaine’s proximity. It shuddered, then began to shift, its form breaking apart with a series of mechanical clicks. The pieces rearranged themselves with a sinister precision, the scarab doubling, then quadrupling in size, its beetle-like legs emerged then it flipped onto its back, ready to strike.

Charmaine’s breath caught in her throat. She instinctively took a step back, her heart pounded so hard it felt as if it were going nuclear toward an explosion. Liora’s anguish flooded her mind. A torrent of grief and longing so intense for her sister Aries to absolve her of her crimes nearly brought Charmaine to her knees. The guardian within her ached for the world she had lost, for her fallen sisters, for a mother she could never hope to embrace again. Charmaine’s sorrow mingled with Liora’s, a shared pain that left her breathless. The realization hit her like a blow—this artifact, this cursed scarab, was the source of Liora’s suffering.

“There it is, Guardian. It’s been waiting for you,” Nzinga’s voice cut through the heavy air, smooth and sly. A twisted smile curled the corners of her lips as she watched with delight.

“Welcome,”the professor greeted them, his voice a cold whisper that echoed in the sterile air.

Dolly kept her eyes shut for a moment, desperate to hold on to her connection with Lucio. But when she reached out to his heart, she felt only an icy void. Was he truly alive? Doubt gnawed at her.

He’s alive.Darlene’s voice echoed in her mind through their telepathic link, laced with an urgency that heightened Dolly’s anxiety.

This place is tearing us apart. I can feel it. Something is keeping us separated. Lucio needs us. He needs us both to get whatever secrets they keep and help him. Stay with me. Focus.Dolly said.

“Why are we here?” Darlene asked the professor.

Dolly opened her eyes and returned to the room. She glanced at her sister. Her heart sank. Darlene’s once radiant, ethereal glow had dimmed. She noticed the cryo chambers lining the lab, the sterile smell of experimentation thick in the air. This was no accident—the First People had orchestrated their arrival, and Dolly realized they had walked right into their trap.

“I am your mother’s brother,” the professor began, his tone flat. “Our relationship was... complicated. She never believed in what our parents taught us about Julia Brown, not even after Lucio ensnared her.”

“Don’t speak his name,” Darlene spat, her fists clenched, the flicker of her power barely visible.

The professor nodded and showed a rare moment of respect. “Okay, it’s not my story to tell. But before you were born, your mother came to me for help. Lucio had revealed his true face to her. She was a believer then, in the old and new laws of this universe. She knew I could protect her. And he never knew I was her brother. That is my truth to tell.”

Greenlee leaned heavily on her cane. She approached with a gentile smile. Still, she had the eyes of a predator. “Eric brought her back to where she belonged, with us. This is our legacy, our union. He entrusted her with me while he traveled to Egypt for the missing key to help us prepare for the great atonement. Papa, Legba’s lesson.”

Dolly’s eyes narrowed in disbelief. “You two created this? All of this? Together?”

The professor nodded, and Greenlee’s smile widened.

“Why?” Darlene asked.

“Julia Brown wanted more than revenge,” Greenlee explained. “Think of it as reparations for the humankind that labored and suffered thanks to the supernatural’s—for all of us—those hunted, enslaved, and persecuted because of our melanin are the first in line. Her magic was about creating a new worldorder, breaking the laws of the sacred realm to do it. She bargained with Papa Legba, offering a vampire’s soul for the salvation of the chosen people.”

As Greenlee spoke, a young woman with brown skin and the striking features of indigenous ancestry emerged from the back of the tent. Her long, black hair flowed like a river down her back, and three scientists, or perhaps doctors, flanked her.

The professor stepped forward. “Here is the bargain. Vittorio will die—either by the curse’s hand or his son’s. When he stole those babies from the swamp, he sealed his fate. We cannot change Julia Brown’s curse. But we can change the outcome—to gain our own power. I know all the tenants of Hoodoo. I know what she did and how she did it. Ifwegive the old Don the true death he deserves, we can stand before and defeat the supreme Draquria when it is released.”

“No! That Draca will kill Lucio! It can never be released.” Dolly’s voice broke with desperation.

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