Caelian
Dresden is a city divided.The rich live in an entirely different city than the poor. The streets transform from dirtied and decayed to bright and clean on the wealthy side. Police patrol the neighborhoods and keep order there. On the other side of the gate dividing upper Dresden with the rest of the city, residents aren’t so lucky.
Buildings are old and in need of repair. The air reeks of smog, the pollution a hazy presence wherever you go. Colors are duller and the ground’s gravelly and potholed. An hour could pass with no emergency attention when dialing 911…
As we drive into the deepest part of the city, I’m acutely aware we’re passing through Nevaeh’s old stomping grounds. We drive by the squat building known as the dormitories for the ballerinas dancing for the Dresden Dance Company. The area couldn’t be more depressing with its chipped brick and barren courtyard where trees wither and die, brown leaves scattered across the cement floor.
Visions of Nevaeh coming and going materialize before my eyes. Nevaeh in a winter coat limping from exhaustion after another long day at practice. Nevaeh scurrying after dark to make it to one of Ignazio’s dinner parties. Nevaeh as a smaller girl wandering out to the vacant courtyard in hopes she could enjoy the afternoon but finding the dead leaves at her feet.
All while Ignazio, the dance company, the Vorones, and Nero, more than anyone, made a profit off her talent.
If I’d known where to find my angel, I would’ve bought her sooner. An aspect of our relationship she would probably be horrified by, but she wouldn’t understandwhy. The thought of her suffering for years in the contract she was in tears away at me. So much time we spent apart that was wasted; so much time she spent living in squalid servitude when she could’ve been mine.
Why doesn’t she understand she’s better off with me? How can she not see she belongs by my side?
Disgruntlement festers inside me. Tension lances through my jaw and makes me bite down harder. I scowl at the glass pane of the car window.
Matteo’s with me, behind the wheel as I sulk. He throws a glance to his right. “C, something wrong?”
“Keep driving.”
“Those were her dorms, weren’t they?”
“What’s your point?”
He gives a shrug. “You seem pissed off. Well… you’ve been pissed off for a while now.”
“My wife ismissing!” I growl. “She fled from our home in the middle of the fucking night. What part of ‘this is very fucking serious’ don’t you understand, Matteo?”
“I didn’t say I don’t understand.”
“Then shut the hell up or I’ll jam my pocketknife in your esophagus.”
Matteo being the careersoldatohe is, merely grins at my bloody threat. He’s no stranger to violence; he’s aware of what our lifestyle entails and what I’m capable of. I once murdered his twin brother in cold blood before his eyes.
“We’ll find her,” Matteo mutters, almost more to himself.
Though I’m aware he’s speaking to me. He simply doesn’t want to piss me off any further.
Night falls over the cityscape. Decent, law-abiding citizens rush to make it home on time. Being out after dark in Dresden normally poses a real danger to anyone easily preyed upon. The creeps and criminals come out at night.
The divide between the city is never more pronounced—the rich and famous hide behind the gate leading into their neighborhood while the rest of humanity struggles for survival.
Even the city lights are not enough to banish the malevolence that lives and breathes in the darkness.
From the time I was a young boy I’ve understood how fucked up it all is. As the son of Carmine Ziccardi, I was privileged compared to most. My family lived behind the gate. We vacationed out of the state for holiday. Sometimes out of the country in Southern Italy.
Once I was older, I worked my way up to capo. I earned my own wealth so I could move out to the middle of nowhere in the mountains.
I might not’ve lived in poverty, but I get the plight of the people who do.
Yet Nevi wants to return to this?
Or did she truly believe she was saving her family? Did she believe their lives were on the line? Why wouldn’t she come to me with this news?
I would’ve done what was necessary to get them help. I would’ve ensured her mother lived.
Apparently, that wasn’t good enough for her.
