Chapter 46: Reunion

“I can talk to my family back home?” Vito breathed. He could barely believe the words he spoke.

“Yes, I believe so,” Morgaine confirmed.

He gritted his teeth and turned to her. “Why did Ivalis bring me here?” The question long plagued his mind, and he didn’t want to contact his original family if it meant putting them in danger.

Morgaine wiped the tear away and faced him. “I can’t say with absolute certainty, but it's possible that you died before your time,” she began. “In such rare instances, when a soul may tip the balance of life, death, and rebirth, that soul is reborn into another world. In this instance, Ivalis appeared in your world to take you here to Rhavina.”

“See? There’s no grand conspiracy concerning you and the goddess,” Delwyn comforted him.

Morgaine placed her hand on the mirror frame. “Place your hand here, focus on a person, and speak their name. It is best to speak the name of a person with whom you share a strong bond.”

Vito took a deep breath and placed his hand where she had hers. “Cristoforo DeCapio.”

A brilliant flash overtook the mirror. The light quickly faded and gave way to a vision of an office. A desk stacked with numerous papers, a painting of a kind family hanging above a chair, with windows flanking on either side showing the Sicilian countryside. It was John DeCapio’s office.

“Chris?” Vito called. He kept the nervous anticipation out of his voice. A figure ran into the office. Though Vito could only see his back, he recognized his older brother. He was already dressed for business, which meant that he had taken more responsibility in the family. “Chris, turn around.”

Chris drew a gun and faced Vito. “What the hell is this?” Anger burned in his voice. He pushed the barrel of the gun forward and watched it phase through the magic projection.

“Magic. A goddess took my soul to another world. That was over nineteen years ago, and you haven’t aged a day, frati,” Vito replied.

Chris didn’t look convinced. He scanned the office for a trick. Vito continued speaking all the same. “Remember when you had just turned 17 and you took Father’s car out for a joy ride with your friends and hit a tree? The car still drove, but it was wrecked. I told Father I did it to cover for you. He laughed and taught us the importance of omertà, and how we should always keep the secrets that protect the family.”

The anger drained from Chris’s face, replaced by surprise and longing. “Vito?” His arm dropped to his side, and his grip on his firearm weakened until it dropped to the ground.

“Yeah.”

“Wait, nineteen years? It’s only been nineteen months since you…”

“Nineteen months? One year here is just one month over there?” Vito was surprised.

“I’m more surprised that you’re alive,” Chris commented.

“What about Rosa?” Vito finally asked.

“Rosa? Well, she’s not here,” the older brother replied.

“Is she alive?” Vito angrily hissed. “Did she survive that night?”

Chris blinked in surprise. “Yes, of course,” he answered. “She only suffered a broken heart that night, a pain we all shared.”

“The Votta family let Father adopt her into the DeCapio family. You were never officially married, though Father Lorenzo always said that God recognized your love. She gave birth to a son. Both she and Father wanted to name him after you. When Rosa told him that you wanted to name him after Father, he nearly broke.”

“Oho, you’re a father,” Delwyn teased him.

“Vito? Who else is there?” Chris asked.

Delwyn, Morgaine, and Iris came into view.

“Rosa, with blue hair?! Wait,” Chris was alarmed to see her.

“I’ve already been through this misunderstanding. My name is Iris Maxwell.”

Chris laughed for a moment. “That’s why you were panicked! No, Vito, she is fine. She lives with us, and our parents dote on their grandson daily.” He wiped away tears of happiness.

He noticed Vito’s grim expression. “He’ll know who his father is and what he did, don’t worry about that. He’ll never know a day of loneliness.”

Chris changed the subject. “What have you done with your second chance at life? Your friends are wearing medieval gear, but you’re still dressed like a good and proper mafioso.”

Vito grinned. “I founded the DeCapio Famiglia guild here in Rhavina. Just in case any more of our relatives end up here.”

Chris laughed again. “A true DeCapio, no matter the world.”

“Yeah. Some rotten nobleman started a conspiracy against us and the royal family. He got my adoptive father, Greye, killed. I hired a dwarven blacksmith to build a rifle and bullets, and Iris here made the gunpowder.”

Chris smirked. “I’m so proud. Vito performed his first hit. Where’d you get him?”

“The head from a guard wall outside, right in the middle of a self-serving speech at a ball.”

Chris clapped his hands once. “That’s my brother!”

“What happened after I died?” Vito finally asked.

Chris took a deep breath. “Backup arrived. We wiped out the rest of the guys who ambushed you. Then Father went on a warpath to finish the job. Even families that didn’t like us either got out of our way or lent us a hand.”

“Who was behind it?”

“The damn Salviati family. Can you believe it? After all we did for them!”

Vito shook his head. “I always had a bad feeling about them. Baxter always growled whenever they showed up.”

The mirror began to flicker, and his brother’s image began to dim. “Time is running out,” Morgaine explained.

“What’s next on the agenda?” Chris asked.

“The king should have the conspiracy wrapped up, but these guys tried to start a war. This might be like the Scapelli affair, and you know how long it took Father to wipe those guys out.”

Chris grinned. “You got this handled.” He placed his hand out to his brother.

Vito placed his hand on the cool mirror glass. “This trick only works once a decade, but I swear to find a shorter solution.”

“We’re with you, no matter what. You got an army at your back, so act like it.”

“Yeah. I’m with you, too.”