32.
Desires
All sound in the room left after Mundus’ exit. It was a comfortable silence that allowed contemplation. Dante and Reyna remained seated next to each other, gazes affixed on the floor, each pondering the same thing that could only be spoken when alone. While their thoughts fluttered of unresolved pasts, Amon scrutinized the chocker around Reyna’s neck.
There were spider web cracks on the silver pendant that was pressed again her throat, evidence that she was learning to control her powers. The necklace feeds on Reyna’s unstable powers that the pendant filters out when she’s using her Magika. If there is none, it begins to break. The moment of its complete shattering would mean Reyna’s basic control over her Magika would be whole.
Amon gave a small smile.
“Uncle Amon?” Reyna’s voice chimed through the long held quietness. “Has it really been two years?”
Before he could answer, a knock vibrated on the closed door followed by a strong male voice. “Mr. Sones? Dante? Dinner is ready.” The voice paused. “We made some for you too, Reyna.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “How does he know my name?”
Dante cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I’m sure you were too distracted to notice. That’s my dad. He was the man sitting in the living room.”
“Oh.” She didn’t know what else to say.
“Would you care to eat then?” Amon asked them.
Something then dawned on Reyna. She hadn’t eaten at all during her stay of what felt like over two weeks’ worth of time in the demon world. Even more shocking was her lack of hunger at the moment.
I haven’t eaten in two years and I’m not hungry? she mentally joked to ease her panic. However, her anxiety was neatly chiseled on her face, and Dante was quick to note it. He placed a hand on her shoulder.
“I’ll stay with you,” he said. “I’m not that hungry either.”
Reyna opened her mouth to protest but a loud noise drowned out her voice. The crescendo of metal rubbing on metal yawned through the room as Amon expertly maneuvered his wheelchair to the door and opened it. “I will see you two after dinner, then. I believe it only appropriate I should explain to our frightened guests the reason for Mundus’ appearance in our hideout,” he said and left, closing the door behind him.
Reyna immediately stood up and walked away from Dante to where his sword lay. He observed her with curious and fascinated eyes. Though she was wearing clothes he had not seen on her in quite some time, she still looked the same since he last sighted her. Usually two years doesn’t change someone as much, physically speaking, but it was a little strange that Dante was two years her senior now when before he had only been older by a few months.
“Happy Birthday,” Dante said. She turned to him. “Happy Birthday times two.”
Reyna couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah. I guess so, huh?”
He stood up and leaned next to his sword to face Reyna. The giant weapon was the only thing between them. Its blade was not traditional silver and steel but a bland ivory. Dark lines ran through it giving it the feel it was just a long, polished bone attached to a crude guard and handle.
“I still can’t believe you’re here,” he said in disbelief.
“I still can’t believe a lot of things.” Reyna eyed the sword. She touched the smooth blade and tiptoed to reach the simple black hilt; she tried to lift it, but it hardly budged. She added another hand and pulled, but it still wouldn’t move. Dante chuckled.
“No one can move it but me,” he said. “Not even your new super strength can cut it. At least I’m guessing you acquired certain powers, right?”
She brought her arms down and leaned on the wall. “What I want to know is how did you discover your powers?”
Dante sighed but a small smirk played on his lips. “It was mostly because of you. I noticed your obsession with that Sakuya’s Collection book we all had to read back in high school. Man. High school. That was a different world.” He shook his head. “Anyways. You would always carry it with you during school, and I saw your notes on it that time you accidently lend it to me when I needed Social Studies notes instead.”
Reyna frowned. “I thought I had lost it. I didn’t know you had it.”
“I didn’t tell you. I had seen how you wrote chapter summaries on chapters that didn’t even exist in our book. I thought it was weird, but because this caught your interest so much, I wanted to know why. That’s why I didn’t tell you had lent me the wrong spiral.
“It wasn’t till Kris called me that night before he died and said that name: Mundus. It was the same name in the book. Kris said he heard you call out for him.”
Reyna flinched. “I–”
“No,” Dante said. His eyes darkened. “I now know Mundus killed Kris. I just don’t understand why you were with Kris that night that he died.” He stopped talking and looked at her, urging her to answer.
Her throat dried out under the weight of his stare. She tried to swallow, debating on what to tell him. “That day I went to the park hoping to find you,” she slowly spoke. “He said you’d be there. That you told him to tell me to meet you there but I went to only find him. Kris told me he liked me. That he wanted me to be with him. He kept on begging me to. He didn’t really do anything to me. He was just very...insistent.”
Dante’s eyes flashed with rage. “He hurt you.” The words came out as a statement. He said nothing more for a few seconds only to continue his tale as if uninterrupted at all.
“That night at your house when you confessed to me the existence of Mundus, it all clicked. I don’t know why, but it did. Though I have to admit, I did have a little bit of a dawning during Kris’ funeral. I kept thinking, ‘If only I could have helped him in some way.’” Dante sneered. “I don’t think I want to help him anymore after hearing what he did to you. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because!” Reyna pushed herself off the wall only to slump against it again. “Because Mundus had killed him, and I was afraid he might do that to you.”
His sight lingered on hers. Once more the exhilaration of being able to look into her eyes visited him. “It doesn’t matter anymore. We’re here now.”
“Yeah,” she whispered.
“That night,” Dante continued, “when Master Amon tried to hide that memory from me, it didn’t work. I knew the truth and recognized it, so my Berserker anti-Magika skill kicked in. I pretended to have been affected by it because I wanted to know what you would do, but you just left.
“You were gone and not even Julie knew where you were. For months your house was empty. Then, Master Amon approached me one day saying he could sense something from me. It wasn’t Magika, but something just as powerful. He hadn’t noticed my essence before because it was so different.”
“What exactly are you?” Reyna interrupted.
Dante laughed. “Can you let my finish my story, Reyna? I’m getting to that part.”
“Oh. Right.” She blushed.
“Master Amon brought me up to speed with what was going on with you. As Master Amon said, Ram attacked us and made us believe we had escaped him. He attacked us while we were all at my house. It’s how my dad came with me.” At the mention his parent, Dante quickly paused and eyed Reyna. She nodded, encouraging him to proceed. He did.
“We arrived here through whatever transportation we could find, but as you know, Ram was waiting. Once he left and we were able to relocate under the old house, Master Amon trained me and taught me to control my strength. He also helped me forge my blade. It’s made from my bones. Just a small piece was all I needed, but it was hard to extract it. I’m pretty much invulnerable,” Dante grinned.
“From your bones?” Reyna stared at him.
“Yeah.” He nodded and gave a sheepish smile. “Only Berserkers can make their own weapons, so I did. Apparently, we’re a genetic disorder in the Magika and are pretty rare to come by. Master Amon says the only other Berserkers he’s heard about were a few handful, including Kibito.
“It was hard to train me, especially while trying to stay under Ram’s radar, and I hurt myself a lot. I self-heal though. Pretty fast too. My skin and muscles at least. Bones are a different story. It would take me days sometimes to heal those wounds. Doesn’t matter though because it’s hard to break my bones either way ‘cause I’m pretty much a walking shield.” Dante placed a hand on the blade. “That sword is all mine though. It only answers to me.”
Reyna also looked at it. “There’s no Spirit in it, is there?”
“Spirit?” He cocked an eyebrow at her.
“Um. Never mind.”
“Oh. You mean the Spirits that some demons carry in their weapons? Don’t worry. There is no Spirit there.” He paused, looking at Reyna.
“That night though,” he spoke up again, “that night you tried to tell me your secret. That night I told you I loved you. I waited for you to tell me again. Waited for you to ask for my help, but instead you left.” He shifted past his sword and walked up before Reyna.
She stood her ground, watching him.
“I shouldn’t have waited,” he said. “I should have spoken up. I’m sorry. I regret it so much.”
His words dragged her sight down to the metal floor. “No. I’m sorry. I didn’t want you dragged into this. I–”
“It doesn’t matter now. I am in this.”
“Yeah, but–”
“Reyna, I still love you. You don’t have to pretend nothing is wrong anymore. We can go through this together.”
The moment had arrived. This had been the reason for their entire conversation and both of them knew it. They stood in front of each other. Though Reyna’s eyes were still glued to the floor, Dante’s gaze on her bowed head pleaded to be told what he wanted to hear.
“No.” Reyna’s head snapped up and locked eyes with Dante. “I love Mundus, Dante. I always have. I’m sorry.”
The words hit him like a singeing hot iron. No. No, he thought. The demon would not have her. She had just been in need of someone and the demon was the only one who had been there. If only she had turned to him instead. If only Dante had spoken up to her over choosing to wait.
Reyna held his vision with hers. His hurt outlined his face, yet he did not move away. His overwhelming reaction was testing the neutral pose she was trying her best to keep.
“Reyna,” he finally spoke, softly. “You know that you and him can’t be. He’ll outlive you and then what? Are you sure he loves you? Are you sure you’re not a replacement for Ayame? Did he even truly love Ayame?”
Everything crashed. The doubt that had been weighing on Reyna since her visit to the demon world suddenly drenched her. It then evolved into self-disappointment for never having thought of such questions. She had blindly trusted Mundus since the first day she met him, but what had he shown in return?
Reyna drowned in her unbelievable stupidity. It was now Dante that was seeing her aching emotions flash through her face.
He gave a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just want you to think about this. I’m here for you. Know that always.”
With the soft touch of his finger, he tilted her chin up to him and kissed her.
~*~*~
The hum of dimming lights swirled throughout the rusting factory. It was one of the few buildings that had electricity; however, it was now running on generators that would soon give out. Those massive walls once held machinery and people that produced water bottles, but all that was cleaned out. Only old pallets and decaying boxes that were stacked on top of each other and pushed up against the wall were left. There was now an abundance of cold floor space. It was there that Ram, dressed only in jeans, stood. He was talking with another figure.
“What did you find out?” he asked the demon before him. His voice was soothing as if talking to a friend.
The demon, a lower level one that resembled an upright Rottweiler, flinched slightly and quickly replied, “She wishes you to get stronger because she wants to take your place once you have overrun the entire human population. She also lets you live because she wants you to kill the mortal girl Reyna. She can’t do it on her own because she believes Mundus would probably detest her for it and leave her side. But if you kill this mortal girl then Mundus cannot blame her for her death.”
“Mundus doesn’t know about her plan?” Ram asked in innocent surprise.
“No, he doesn’t know. She called a temporary truce until you are dealt with. In reality, she is just giving you more time so you may go overseas. She is using you to do her work. That is her plan.”
Ram laughed. “She’s so deviant! Hating Sister because her son loves her!”
“Anything else?” the demon asked, eager to leave.
“Yes. Where did you get this information?”
“Superior ranking demons from her own army. Cerus and Erian I believe they are called. Though they travel with Mundus, they have not told him anything of what I told you. They also said she is unaware of your knowledge to her plans.”
Ram warmly smiled. “You can go now. I hope you have a nice day,” he said.
The demon nodded and left.
A voice suddenly floated throughout the factory. It sounded like the buzz of a million whispers. “Pray, what shall you do now?”
Ram turned to the shadow next to him as it peeled off of his own.
“You will kill Faith soon?” it spoke again, odd, dark olive orbs glaring.
Ram smiled, his own crazed eyes not matching the gesture. “Yes, but first I need to bring Sister here for our family reunion. Mother and Father would be happy to see her. Happy to have the family complete.”
“You will play with them again?”
“Yes, but first…”
If the shadow had eyebrows, they would have shot up in surprise. “Something eludes you from your play?”
Ram remained silent for a few minutes. His eyes gleamed as he spoke, “The portal we have outside this building connects us to the demon world.” His lips curved into a child’s smile but radiated a demon’s malice. “Why should I die and allow this demon queen to take over what I created? If I bring Sister and that demon Mundus here, it may bring Blethinette here as well. Then, I shall kill her along with everyone else. Though the time difference may present a variable, with you being invulnerable to it, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Right, friend?”
The shadow did not immediately answer; its body began to twist as if in a blender. “Blethinette is the Demon Queen for a reason. Pray, do not forget,”it said before quietly disappearing.
Ram stared at the spot where the Shadow had been. He turned around and began walking towards the stacked containers ahead of him. Each step he took caused the factory walls and floor to disappear and blur. The wooden corners of the pallets and cardboard sides of the boxes melted and began to round off into the circle of a table and chairs. Others stretched up into white kitchen walls, extend into counters and cabinets, and break off into multiple pieces of décor.
As Ram made his way to the table, the image enclosed itself into a furnished dining room. A warm, yellow light glowed from the ceiling. Steaming food appeared on four white plates resting on top of the red tabletop that now covered the wooden table. Two figures were already seated. They turned to face Ram, smiling.
“Ram,” one of them, the male, said. “Come sit.”
“Where is Reyna?” the other, female, asked.
Ram went up to the woman and kissed her on her yellow head. “Mother,” he said. “I love you.”
“I love you too, dear.” Mrs. Felix returned the gesture.
“Reyna!” Mr. Felix yelled in an aimless direction. “Come down for dinner!”
Reyna entered the kitchen, appearing as if placed there by an invisible giant hand. She grinned. “Sorry. I was finishing my homework.”
“Dear Sister!” Ram came up to her and kissed her lightly on the lips.
She hugged him and spoke, “I love you, Brother.”
“I love you too, little sister,” he said, clasping her closer. “I love you so much.”
They parted and grinned at each other.
“Ready, Sister?” he asked. She nodded.
Ram walked up behind the sitting Kathy and Reyna behind the seated Walter. Simultaneously, they placed their hands on their parents’ necks, fingers digging into their throats. Kathy and Walter continued to smile even as their oxygen was cut short. Streamers of blood oozed out from the burrowing fingers. Then, two loud cracks popped into the air as red erupted out from Kathy and Walter’s throats. Jet of gore steamed onto Ram and Reyna’s face. Mr. and Mrs. Felix slummed forward, squishing the food in front of them, their smirks still in place.
Ram walked up to Reyna and with his hand wiped the blood off her face but only succeeded in smearing it. “Sister,” he said keeping his hand on her cheek. “I will do the same to you.”
Reyna’s face began to deteriorate along with Kathy, Walter, and the rest of his conjured Illusion. Ram was now staring at the floor where the real Kathy and Walter lay. They were surrounded and bounded by heavy blankets like birds in a nest. He sat between them and stared at their sleeping bodies. Ram placed a hand on Kathy’s blonde dyed hair.
“Mother,” he said. “Why did you cover your beautiful dark locks with this filthy color? If only you hadn’t, you would have looked just like Sister.”
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Author's Note: Hi again!
Just so you know, Mr. Sones is Amon. "Sones" is Kathy's maiden name. It's something I'm going to mention in the earlier chapters, but I'm pointing it out now in case you got confused. :)
Thanks for reading and for your support. I do hope to hear from you guys! ^.^