Adeline was completely frozen where she was standing. The morning cold was suddenly taking hold of her bones at a great pace. The thirst for water was suddenly gone. Her eyes were just fixed on the person standing right there in the foyer.
The pale moonlight cast him as the devil that had just crawled out from hell. He took two heavy and steady steps and found himself in the house. Adeline was stunned. The man had blood all over him.
What happened? Where could he have been coming from?
"Viktor?" Her voice was merely a ghost of a sound.
"You are not supposed to be awake," Viktor said firmly.
He didn't expect to see her awake. His breathing was heavily jagged and rigged. But he was putting in all the efforts not to break down…at least, not in her presence.
"I came to drink water," she replied.
Viktor winced. Adeline could see his conscious attempt to retain the devil's composure. But it was clearly not that easy. From where she stood, she could see blood spreading all over the fabrics of his clothing. The place he was standing had blood over it.
"Okay," he managed to say. "I'll be in my…room."
He tried to move but lost his step, almost collapsing into the couch. But he gained his balance.
"I told you I would be late," he said. "I wasn't expecting to see you awake."
Adeline moved to him even before her brain could protest against it.
"Come here. Let me help you."
She tried to grab his hand but the man wouldn't have it. He brushed her off and straightened his posture.
"I'm okay."
Adeline sighed. "Viktor, you are bleeding."
Viktor looked at her. For a moment right there, Adeline saw the flint of the demon that had aimed a gun at her yesterday. Her heart raced. But she kept it down.
"It's not my blood," he said, his voice having signs of protest. But the way he winced in pain suggested the complete opposite.
Adeline muffled a chuckle. Somehow, the almighty Viktor Constantino was acting like a small child. And she found it interesting.
"Come here," she said. This time, it felt like a command.
"I said I —"
Before he completed those words, Adeline cut her off.
"Shhhhh."
He was shocked at the ease at which he obeyed and shut up. Adeline grabbed his hand and placed it over her shoulder. Then, slowly she led him through the stairs and into his room. They got into his bathroom and she made him sit over the edge of his tub and lean against the wall.
She stared at his body for a moment. His clothing was completely messed up.
"Hmm," she exhaled heavily and bent over. "Be calm, okay?"
She gradually began to peel off the wasted fabric off his muscular skin. After a few minutes, she had stripped his upper body bare. There was no bullet wound. He had cuts but no deep stabs.
She grabbed a towel and got it soaked up. Then, gently, she began to wipe his body clean.
"There's a kit in my wardrobe," Viktor said. "The things you need are in there."
Adeline nodded with a swift smile. When she had cleaned him up, she went and grabbed the kit. It was fully packaged. In fact, it went a long way to say what sort of life Viktor lived.
She grabbed the spirit and opened it.
"This will hurt a bit."
Viktor hissed. "Get on with it."
She poured the liquid over his wounds. The Mafia gnashed his teeth brutally. It seemed like he cursed the one who inflicted those wounds on him.
"Sorry. I'll just stitch them up now."
Viktor looked at her. "Where did you learn this? You are not a doctor."
Adeline smiled partly. Memories.
"My mother was," she replied. "I learnt a lot from her, you know."
Viktor kept mute. She just went on with stitching him up. The pain was there, but he was no stranger to it.
"Who did this to you?" Adeline asked him. "Was it Julian? Did he have a hand in this?"
Viktor could not hold it down. He let out a humourless laughter that got Adeline a bit confused. She didn't ask a funny question. So, why was he laughing?
Viktor noticed how displeased she was about his laughter.
"Sorry," he said. "I had to laugh it out."
Adeline sighed. "But Julian is dangerous. You even told me about him."
Viktor adjusted his position. "Julian is simply a child still playing with the matchbox. He has no say when the big boys play with the furnace."
She could see the ego right there. He boasted about being the big dog in the big game.
"This?" He continued. "This is a message."
His words confused her. "A message? What sort of message and from who?"
Viktor thought about it and sighed. "Don Carlo Constantino," he replied. "He sent a message to me tonight. He was simply letting me know that he was coming. That's all."
Adeline stopped and looked at him. It made no sense to her.
"You mean your father is behind this. Damn it. How can this be? Why would he do that? You could have died."
Viktor giggled. "Then, it would make me weak. He thinks staying too long in America has made me soft. Besides, he now knows about you. He probably wanted to test me. In my family, there's no room for weakness."
Adeline was shocked. With every passing moment, she came to understand more the reason Viktor was the way he was. The only way for him to survive in his world was to be a monster.
"Get on with it."
Adeline took the next couple of hours to finish up and wrapped him up with a bandage.
It was morning already. The orange sun was already streaking through the curtains into the room. Adeline was done.
Viktor got up. Once again, he was looking the beast he was.
"Thank you," he said to her.
"Be careful next time," she said calmly.
Viktor stared into her eyes. Then, he used the tip of his index finger to raise her jaw a bit.
A cunning smile crossed his lips.
"My family thinks you are a weakness to me. They will test you. They will want to see what I'm protecting. I need you to be ready. When they come here, I need you to be my wife… a Constantino."
Adeline pulled away and nodded her head. Viktor left the bathroom. Adeline stayed back to gather everything. While grabbing his fabric, a small piece of metallic object hit the tiled floor.
It glistened. A golden piece of ancient artefact. A ring stained with blood.
She picked it up. Then, her thoughts danced a bit. It looked familiar. She had seen it before. But where? She couldn't just remember.