4 Saint Peter's Basilica

Tired, my eyes puffy from crying, I sniff controlling my dam. I can't keep on crying forever and wallow on things. I need to accept that no amount of tears would change the fact that my parents are dead and I am all alone. It is sad and depressing but it is my reality now. I inhale deeply, wiping off my face with the blanket covering half of my body then, I take a look of my surroundings. I glance at the bed once more, realizing I am not in my room. The night play in my head for the umpteenth time, of how the man, I mean Kane did something so I would fall asleep; the weird words he uttered to me. Making me do things.

I feel groggy as I stand up. I walk, rummaging my eyes through the vast place. The room seems to have been vomited from a movie scene. It is Victorian style: flowered wall papers, heavy draperies, big bed with four poster corners, tables with different flowers, a vanity mirror on the side, shelves and assortment of couches. It looks really amazing but crowded at the same time that makes me uneasy and I wonder where I am. I walk further, finding the big wooden door with heavy metal knob. I turn it but someone beat me. The Kane man stands in front of me, holding a tray of food. I turn my attention to his face, analyzing him. He's blonde, I didn't notice it before and he got this weird scar on his face, just below the corner of his left eye. It's not ugly but rather charming. He is maybe in his early forty's, I wonder if he got a kid too?He then clears his throat, getting my attention, I must be staring for too long. I look down blushing to the meowing Boris at his feet.

"So you're awake now," he comments closing the door as he enters.

I reach for the tray, silently making my way back to the bed; sitting down to the still warm spot, I start stuffing food to my mouth . Kane eyes me over the chair he's sitting on by the foot of the bed that he pulled from the vanity. "I'm hungry okay," I say as involuntary tears flow down my eyes. He only shrugs his shoulders to answer me. My mom used to make me the exact melon bread. I misses her and I hate using past tense when referring to her. Damn it. I wipe away the tears and swallow the big lump on my throat. I can't be weak, I need to be strong. I inhale really deep, tucking away the fear inside me to a corner of my head, I won't let it dictate my every move. "You said my parents would be possess if they didn't--" I trail off not wanting to finish the question. He just nod. "Then do you know who did it? Who would posses them? Is it that Beelzebub guy?" I spurt questions after questions.  I got so much that I need to know and I think I am running out of time. I need to hurry and avenge their death.

"No. It's not the lord of flies, Beelzebub. It might be Ammon and... or the devil's son," he says not looking me in the eyes, as if he too is not sure about it. Though, something about what he said catch my attention; what did he mean of the devil's son? What do I have to do with them.

"Devil's son? And what do all these demons need from me?"

Kane's face scrunch up, his brows  furrowed, thinking really hard.  Somehow contemplating if he would answer me or hide it away from my grasp. He sigh, taking a long deep breath. "Yes, the devil's son, Cain." He finally manage to say, but not answering all my questions.

"Hey! You didn't answer all my questions!" I snap at him. "And, Cain as in Adam and Eve's son?"

"Yes him, I can't really explain it to you. I'm more on incantation and divination. I will let the headmistress answer all your questions."

Huh? Crap, my head is hurting with all the information I can't seem to process. Wait, where exactly am I? And my friends and those people I left behind; the ones I've known my entire life.

"What about my parents...um bodies? Can I at least know where they were buried?  And my friends? The people there, won't they be looking for me? One more thing, where the freak am I exactly?" I'm out of breath before I can finish. Nothing seems to register in my brain. It is so surreal, like I'm still in that dream. These things are suppose to happen in screens, in movies, not in real life, especially not in someone like me. Ordinary people. The universe must be playing a goddamn trick on me!

"As far as they know, you're dead. Some psycho killer went to your home and killed your whole family. That's the story we gave them. We've taken care of it all, you don't have to worry."

What? "No! You can't do that! You made them believe a lie! My friends Connie and Milo, they would be heartbroken! I know those people there my entire life! You don't have the right!" I jump off the bed, waving my hands in the air, swatting invisible flies, making emphasis of my every words.

"Yes I do. I am your guardian now, you might not know but it's for your own safety."

Gah! "Guardian? Since when, huh?"

I know, acting like a five year old is of no help but no one can blame me though. My sadness just transforms into anger and frustrations that I don't have any idea where to unleash them, making me more confused that I am ever been.

"Since your parents are dead and I made a promise to your dying mom." I guess I don't have a choice. I don't have any relatives beside Karen and Hayden and Kane is the only one who knows the truth about what really happened. I glare at him and slump back down the bed. "One more thing, we're at Saint Peter's Basilica, well underneath it exactly," he adds.

I gawk at him. That cannot be, I haven't sleep that long. He couldn't just take me to freaking Vatican within couple of hours. That is freakin' impossible! But I guess I am not a good judge of what is possible and impossible. These things only happen on the books I read! "Yeah. Great, so we entered through a portal like the voodoo you used to make me sleep," I say sarcastically.

"Yes, actually we did used a portal. You got that right. We got one stationed near Santa Monica and I don't use voodoo. Those are for witches. I am a demonist."

"Your turning me into a lunatic," I say rolling my eyes to him. I refuse to believe even though through everything I saw. My mind just can't fathom the possibility of everything that happened, I don't even believe in superstitions. It is as if my whole world is crashing down from all the lies I have been living in my entire life.

"Says the one who got attacked by demons," he says, clearly mocking me.

"What's this place?" I try ignoring his comment, redirecting the conversation.

"Let me show you." Kane lead me to the door, Boris following along.

We walk in silence through series of passages until it leads to a big wooden door. He open it and..."This is clearly not a church. We are not in Rome."

People are roaming the streets. They are all in uniforms; a school uniform to be specific! Animals in tow with them, much like Boris. What's this? I look up, we can't be in an underground there's a sky. A clear as it can be with freaking flying birds!

"That's a glamour, not a real sky," he explains looking at me, as if reading my mind. He then hold up his pointer finger barely touching my lips to stop me from asking my endless lines of questions. "Come on." He grabs my arm and drags me to the street and again through series of passages. Once more, we come to a stop in front of a door but unlike the one before it is much bigger, a lot bigger. So big that someone five times my height could get through. Kane look at me before saying an incantation--as he calls it -- to the door.

"Apertum." The door magically opens.

Now this is Rome. People of different raise hustles through the streets. With normal clothes, emphasis on that. We just exit through the back wall of the church.

"So is this Rome now?" He asks me with a grin. His hands spread wide, welcoming me to the foreign place.

I punch him on the shoulders. It still makes me confuse. How on earth? "Won't people see us walking out of that big door?" I point to my back to where we came from but 'voilà' there's no door. It vanished through thin air.

"I told you, it's glamour. Don't make me explain. I'm not really good at that. The headmistress could explain it to you much well." I roll my eyes.

As if that helps me through anything, as if it will explain everything to me.

"You keep saying about the headmistress. Is this some kind of a school?"

"Yes. This a school for very talented kids and you'll be attending it." I look at where the voice came from. It's from a woman with black hair in a tight bun, wearing big glasses and black clothes-- black sweater, black pencil skirt and black platform shoes. Everything screams...

"Hi, welcome. I'm Headmistress Cortez. It is so nice meeting you Mariah." The woman extends her right hand to me, waiting for me to shake it. I take it with my cold clammy  hand and we start shaking.  My heart won't stop galloping, only one thing keeps running on my head: this is not going to be good.