CHAPTER 11
Cole had been traveling for a good part of the day when he came into view of a valley. From his high up vantage point he could see there was a large town in this valley and he also realized that the river he had been following flowed into two other rivers. He had found that following the river was his best option when he left Ludolf in Vipiteno. He was uncertain how long he would be on the road before he would see another town. Of course now that he knew he was in the late 1800s he was not as concerned about being too isolated in the wilderness. There would be many towns on the way to finding Arlana.
Last night had been quite cold sleeping near the road. He looked forward to finding a hotel and getting a decent night’s sleep. Yesterday had been rough. A couple of hours after leaving Vipiteno he found a couple of men dead on the road. They were wearing what looked like guard uniforms. He found no one else with them so he assumed it was just the two traveling on the road when they met their fate. Cole found it quite unnerving since there was money still on the bodies. Cole had remained very alert all day and did not sleep well.
He would report what he found to the town constable and then find a place to sleep.
As he got closer to the town he saw a castle in the distance to his right. There were also several church spires. Cole knew very little about Italy during this time era and was not sure what to expect.
“HELP ME!!!! SOMEONE PLEEEEAAASE HELP ME!”
Cole looked towards his left where he heard the call come from. All he saw was a dense tree line. As he scanned the area a figure came running out of the woods. It was a woman running towards him. From the distance it looked as though she had run into some great misfortune. Cole turned his horse, Krieger, towards the woman and galloped towards her. As he moved towards her several men came running out of the forest after the woman. They looked furious and vicious. The woman had a good lead on the men and Cole believed he would reach her well before they got to her but then she tripped and fell. The men were gaining on her position quickly. Cole pushed Krieger harder and managed to ride him between the men and the woman at the last minute. There wasn’t time to grab her and run. Cole had only one option. He leaped off of Krieger and landed on the lead man. He grabbed the man by the neck and squeezed. From his peripheral he saw another man coming at him with a knife. Cole flipped around while still holding the neck of his first attacker and threw him at the oncoming man. Both men flew backwards. Cole took that moment to turn grab the woman fling her on the horse and hop on behind her. Krieger flew towards the town in the valley leaving the men behind in a cloud of dust. “I have you. You will be alright,” Cole said reassuringly to the woman
The woman turned her head and nodded; there were tears in her eyes.
When they reached the town he asked where the local constable was. He dismounted and led Krieger and the woman to the constabulary. The woman began to cry. “I am sorry if I seem unstable sir. I was so afraid they would do something awful to me. At first I thought they would only hold me for ransom but then one of them…he tried to … he …I kicked him as hard as I could and ran!” She said to him when they reached the constable’s office. “My husband is very rich and he warned me of desperate men. I should have waited for him to meet me in Vipiteno instead of coming to Bolzano with just my guards. I was so restless in that little town. My German is not so great and the Italian they speak there is not like where my husband is from. I wish I had studied harder in school but I never anticipated marrying an Italian man. I…I am sorry I am rambling aren’t I.” The woman said sounding flustered.
Cole smiled reassuringly at her. While she had been speaking he had been shocked to realize that her Italian was heavily accented. As he took in her appearance he felt slightly at a loss. She was beautiful. She had Strawberry Blonde hair and amazing blue eyes. If Cole didn’t know better this woman could be related to Arlana. Perhaps this was a sign he would find Arlana soon. As he stared at her he realized that she had stopped talking and was staring oddly at him. “Oh, I am sorry to stare you just look like someone I know. Let’s tell the constable what happened. I am sorry to have to tell you this but your guards are dead. I saw them on the pass yesterday. The men who took you were very good at hiding their tracks. There was no sign that a woman had been with the guards.” Cole said feeling slightly flustered himself.
“Bruno and Mercutio are dead? Oh no! It is my entire fault! I shouldn’t have left Vipiteno!” The woman began to cry.
“I am sorry for your loss. Let’s go inside and see what can be done.” Cole said sympathetically.
After the woman relayed her story to the constable and Cole had relayed the location of the guards the constable had them escorted to a nearby inn. The woman, who introduced herself as Alicia Giordano, asked him to stay near her.
Cole tried to decline Alicia’s request but he could see her holding back her tears and he felt he couldn’t leave her in good conscience. He hoped it would not delay his search for Arlana. He did not have a lot of time.
The next day Alicia asked Cole to walk with her to the Constabulary’s office to see if there was any news. The Constable smiled sadly at Alicia. “Dona Giordano, you were very fortunate to have gotten away from those criminals. It is unfortunate but the pass has been riddled with these cruel acts. We believe the men capture women on the pass and sell them to slave markets overseas. No matter what my men and I do we cannot find these unsavory characters. They leave no trace. For that matter you are the only person to have seen their faces and live. I fear you are at great risk. I am sorry to have to ask you this but would you be willing to describe the men you saw to one of my men who draws well?”
Alicia grabbed Cole’s hand tightly. He looked at her and realized she had turned quite pale. “Dona Giordano! Are you alright? Do not worry I will protect you until your husband and his men arrive.” Cole said alarmed at how pale she looked. He turned towards the constable “I am not sure she is up to describing the men. They did not touch her but when they tried she fought back and got away. Perhaps remembering them would be too much for her …”
“No! Please, Cole, thank you for looking after me but I must stop these men from harming anyone else. I just was shocked that they sell women. I can’t believe that that could have been my fate.” Alicia said composing herself. “Please take me to your artist.”
Cole walked with Alicia to the back of the station. He waited outside the room they had Alicia in and spoke with the Constable. “How long has this been happening?”
“I am embarrassed to say several years now. We have no leads.”
“I did get a good look at two of them. One should be sporting a very sore neck with possible hand marks on his throat. “
“We could use your help. Any men who have come across them before never live to tell us what happened.” Perhaps you will save our town from the misfortune these men have brought.” The Constable said sounding hopeful.
Cole nodded at the Constable but felt an inner turmoil brewing inside of him. If he stayed and helped he could lose the opportunity of finding Arlana in time. For all he knew he was within the distance parameter that Diokles had set. How could he leave these people in such misery though? Besides he had to believe that Alicia was a sign that he would find Arlana here. Fate was not so cruel to bring him someone that seemed so much like her and not have him find her. Could it?
Meeting Alicia did bring him a small comfort because of her resemblance to Arlana, but she was not her, hearing her voice did not make his heart race, her beauty was only a small ember to Arlana's flame. He felt that he would only find true peace if she was by his side, in his arms, and within his sight at all times. He especially felt this way after seeing what almost became of Alicia. What if Arlana was already taken, he wondered, and he started to tremble with anxiety and rage.
“Cole, are you alright? Did you hear me?” Alicia softly touched Cole's shoulder to get his attention.
Coming out of his thoughts Cole responded, “Oh, I'm sorry, I have a lot on my m
ind right now.”
“That's ok, I understand. I have so much on my mind as well. They have sent word to my husband and they think he will be arriving early tomorrow morning, sooner if possible. I was just letting you know that you are welcome to come back to our villa if you would like, you could take some rest from your travels. I'm sure my husband would also like to reward you in some way for saving my life, as do I.”
“Oh, thank you but no. I do not need any reward, I'm sure anyone who was put in my place would have done the same. I'm sorry I can't take you up on the offer to stay at your villa, I am looking for someone who is very special to me that is missing and I can't give up the search until I find her.”
“Oh, I am so sorry to hear that, I shouldn't be holding you up like this, I am perfectly safe here, please go and continue your search.” As she spoke she first met his eyes but then she gazed down and her shoulders slumped.
Cole could see that Alicia was still afraid and hurting from what had happened. “Thank you Dona Giordano, but I will stay here until your husband arrives. I know that if the person I was looking for was in danger and there was someone there to help keep her safe I would not want that person to leave her.” And Cole hoped that soon that person would be him.
“Thank you for your kindness, if there is anything we can do to help please let us know,” Alicia let out a sigh of relief.
“Are you done working with the artist?” Cole asked Alicia.
“Yes, I hope those men are found as soon as possible, before anyone else is hurt.”
Cole looked at the sketch the artist had rendered from Alicia’s description and added in features he had remembered. As the artist was completing the sketch Cole fantasized about going after them himself, he felt that it would take some of the edge off his anxiety and help him get some aggression out. He also considered that it would make the area safer for Arlana with them out of the way. But as he thought it over he decided that he needed to stay on course in his search for Arlana. He would only deal with them if they got in his way again. When the sketch was done Cole escorted Alicia back to the Inn. He tried to get her to take some food into her room but she said that she was too exhausted and needed to get some rest. Cole took his meal to his room. He felt nearly starved. Being immortal he could go longer without food. But food helped give him energy and the amount of physical and emotional energy he was using right now had left him drained. He quickly devoured the roast and bread and finished it off with a thick vegetable stew. After he ate he went outside to check the security of the building that they were staying in. Everything seemed pretty quiet. He went back inside and scouted out the layout of the lodge. After he was sure everything looked good he finally felt that he could rest. He fell asleep right next to the wall that bordered Alicia's room, he felt he would be more likely to hear that way in case she needed him.
Cole had only slept a few hours when he heard a hard pounding coming up the stairs. He was up in a flash and stood guard in front of Alicia's room.
It was still dark but he could make out three forms coming towards him. “Which room is hers?” One of the voices said. “It's over there,” said another, it sounded like the voice of the innkeeper and he was pointing straight at Cole. As they ran toward him Cole called out,” Don't take another step towards this door or you will be sorry,” Cole's voice was thick with animosity. “What do you mean don't take another step, that is my wife in there, get out of my way!” Two of the three men started rushing at Cole and just at that moment the door swung open behind him and Alicia came running out. “Darling is that you stop, it's ok, this man saved my life.” Alicia stood between Cole and the men who were coming at him.
At that moment the man who was speaking to Cole wrapped his arms around Alicia. He put his face in her hair and started to weep. “No my darling, it is not ok. What was done to you will never be ok. And as for the men who did this they will not escape my revenge.” Alicia started to weep too and her husband pulled her closer. “You are safe now my love and I will not let you out of my protection again,” he gently stroked his wife's hair. “And as for this man, “ Mr. Giordano looked up at Cole and squeezed his hand, “I am forever in his debt.”