The Dark Side of the Moon

Chapter 45: Benjamin

-Benjamin’s P.O.V-

It took all of two seconds for the phone to be clicked off after the line hung up. Unceremoniously, it was tossed onto the silken black sheets of my double bed as I strode out of the room with purpose evident in my posture.

The halls of the Sergio house had long since been a maze of confusing pathways that befuddled my mind as a boy, but now they unwound before me and successfully led me to my father’s study without fail. Anger clouded in my mind that our enemy had the upper hand, and I didn’t pause to knock on the old wood. My entrance consisted of slamming the door open and striding up to my father’s desk, where he was presently in deep conversation with one of our men, not even acknowledging my presence in any form.

I pulled to a stop at the head of his desk, and my ears tweaked to the words of ‘rogue’ and ‘perimeter’ that appeared in their speech, but still they talked. It was obvious that the guest was conscious of my presence and nervous that they were studiously ignoring me, the heir of the pack. His fingers fumbled together and a fake smile betrayed this so evidently that I resisted a cruel smile, instead settling on glaring at my father’s face which was turned away from me. After a minute of ‘kindly’ waiting, I had had enough. Clearing my voice, I spoke.

“Amoretti.”

It was interesting how that one word stopped all conversation that clattered around the vast room. How a simple name could render my father speechless, as well as finally gain his attention. He turned towards me with a baffled look, which he quickly covered up with a false smile.

“You are dismissed Evan,” he ordered the man to take his leave, which Evan nodded and sped out of the room faster than the blink of an eye. “Can I help you Benjamin?”

But I had already seen enough. I noticed that past his fake bravado that he wore, he was a scared little man at the mention of the name. I could almost see a slight nervous shake in his shoulders, though he covered it well. All these years of growing up beside my father, I’d never seen him for the weak being that he was.

“I just shared a call with a man named Amoretti. Would you care to tell me who exactly he is?”

David Sergio gulped and looked away. His eyes held fear, and curiosity welled inside me as to why he would feel so because of one man. “I met him once, a few years ago in another continent. I was travelling with a past girlfriend of mine and her family, though how he figured out what we were was beyond me. It was the middle of the night when he arrived, and he killed them all just like that,” he snapped his fingers and stared sadly at me. “He spared me so that I could warn others of his presence, as well as the fact that I bargained my life for just about anything he would want. To this day I am unsure of what he will ask of me, only that it will not bode well for any of us.”

“He’s the pinnacle of their order you know, the leader of the hunters. I’m sure of it, and if he isn’t then he would most definitely be the right hand man. He stands high up in ranking and has reputations to go with it of course, few which have seen him live to tell the tale. He’s a truly horrible man with a black heart and cold soul really. I wouldn’t ever want to cross paths with him ever again.”

David finished his tale and looked up at me, his façade of bravery long gone. “Why were you on the phone to him?”

“He’s in Banff,” I spoke my speculation out loud and turned on my heel, heading towards the door. My father was of no use to me for what I planned now; he may as well be a stranger. Soon the game would change and I could hopefully send him far, far away.

“That’s impossible!” my father screeched hysterically behind me, and I heard a scrabbling noise before he gripped my arm, trying to stop my departure. “Why are you leaving so soon? We need to do something about this!”