I could hear my heart pounding in my chest. The deafening silence passed between us as Dante presses the button to go back down to the office. My mind wanders back to the sim.
Demons? Rouges? New species?
My thoughts spiral out of control. All things we were taught as kids about the boogeyman or the monsters in the closet seemed more real now. The elevator door dings open. I don't move. I hear Dante sigh. He slips his hand into mine and tugs me along. Any other time I would be screaming on the inside at the gesture, but now that was the last thing on my mind.
"Have a seat." He gestures towards the island stools.
Finally regaining some conscience back, I beckon my body to move. I trudge and sit down on the stool. Putting my chin in both of my heads I stare at Dante as he mixes coffee into the mixture. Seconds later the sweet aroma of hot chocolate fill the room. I close my eyes and sigh contently. Filling two mugs he turns and slides one towards me.
I take the the mug into my hands the warmth of the cup releasing some tension from my body. Silently thanking him I take a sip. It was surprisingly delicious. The warm liquid slowly calms my heart and I relax my posture. Noticing this Dante smiles. Not a smirk with seemingly bad intentions behind it but a full blown, gentle smile. I stare at him appalled.
He's full of surprises isn't he?
I blink and then it was gone, his usual hard line back on. I sigh and decide to ask something that's been on my mind for a while.
"Hey Dante..?" I ask timidly
"Hmmm?" He responds distractedly, staring into his mug.
I take a breath and release. " Are you a demon?" There. I said it.
His head turns towards me, his eyes hard. I gulp. Maybe not the smartest choice I've made. Panic rises inside my chest without meaning to. For a sudden his eyes soften before he nods.
"Yes." He states. He stares at me as if expecting me dart out the door. Not going to lie, the thought did cross my mind. I nod.
"Oh"
Surprise flickers on his face, " That's it?" I stare at him once more. There's nothing really to be afraid of.
"Yep" I respond popping the 'p' in the end. He raises an arched brow and amusement flicker in his eyes for a moment.
"Any more questions?" He asks while walking over and putting his finished mug into the sink.He extends his hands for mine. I pass my now empty mug to him and nod.
"The people I saw in the lobby when I got here, are they demons as well.?"
He turns his head towards me with a raised brow. "What makes you ask that?"
"Well, for starters they walked funny." I stated. Dante burst out laughing at this. His laughter booming around the room. I smile. He calms himself before speaking.
"No they aren't. Since my dad recently passed away they're following his policies. It's how it's always been."
I nod.
"You remember Scarlet?" He asks.
"Uh huh" I nod
"She's a demon." He states as if a normal thing to tell someone. I did sense something different about her.
"Gotcha. So about the 'rouges'..."
"Go on" He gestures with his hands to continue.
"Do they overpower you demons?"
"Not really. It's more like insect control. There are a lot of them but they're not that strong." He states, "I myself can take about ten of them alone." He gloats while smiling proudly. I chuckle at this.
"Are all demons hell bent on hunting down 'rouges'?" I ask.
His eyes darken for a second before responding, "No. Since we demons are slowly dying some become desperate for power and immortality. Earlier this century a myth arose and spread like wildfire.."
My curiosity heightens. " What myth?"
He sighs and rubs his forehead making him appear older. He looks distressed and tired. " I don't know the exact myth, no one does actually. It states that a mark will awaken inside a mortal body and will heighten the power of demons if used properly. Over the decade the person who is said to carry this mark has been called the Silver Tear"
My mind wanders back to the spear in the office. The note. I remember something that Dante spoke of.
"Did the note mention anything about this?" I ask
He looks and me and smirks. "Did you overhear me?"
I nod sheepishly. "Hey, you can't really blame me." I defend. He chuckles while shaking his head.
"Yeah."
"Can I see the note?" I ask unsure.
He stares at me for a second and nods. Reaching into his pocket he pull out a crumpled, folded piece of paper. I take it out of his hands and smooth it out on top on the counter.
This is a warning. She has awakened, the prophecy has shown this. She now resides in the town which you call 'home'. He knows. Be Careful... Disaster approaches.
-The Council
I look up at Dante with furrowed brows wanting an explanation.
"They say the mortal body which the mark resides in is a she, and is in this town. Doesn't that pose a threat to not only her but the whole entire town. I don't know much about you demons, but I'm pretty sure this town doesn't want to be caught in the crossfire." I state this calmly. Carefully assessing my words.
Dante nods. "Exactly. Which is precisely why I've decided to find this girl before some other demon does.. If she falls in the wrong hands things will not end well."
I nod. " I'll help" I state adamantly.
Dante's eyes widen."Absolutely not, it's way too dangerous for a mortal to get involved."
"That's not fair." I state childishly before a smirk of my own forms. "Aww, are you worried about me?" I coo at him. His cheeks flush with a light pink color.
Did he just blush. I thought with amusement.
"N-no. I just don't want you to get caught up in middle. You'll hold me back anyways." he finishes off.
Irritation strikes in me at his words. "Don't shove me away now. It's because of you I'm already in this mess. I'm going to help whether you like it or not."
Hurt passes through his face and I instantly regret what I said. He masks it up later and sighs. "Fine.. You can help." He states distastefully. I smile. My eyes dart towards the clock before widening. I'm late! Mom's going to kill me.
I abruptly stand up. " I have to get home. I told my mom I'd be home an hour ago. I left my car at home and came on a bus." I ramble before a thought crosses my mind, " Shoot. I don't even know if a bus runs by here right now. I'll have-" My rambling is stopped when Dante shakes my forearm. His eyes twinkle with amusement. I scowl as he finds my panic to be amusing.
"Calm down Laura. I'll take you home." He states. My eyes widen at his offer.
I shake my head "Oh no. You don't have to."
His eyes bore into mine. " I want to" My heart flutters at this before nodding slightly, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
"Follow me." He stands up and walks towards the elevator. I follow after him. He presses the button for the basement. I fidget slightly as the elevator moves. I focus on the moving numbers that appear on the top of the elevator. A comfortable silence passes through us. Finally the elevator opens. Dante steps out and I step outside and go stand beside him. There were at least a dozen of different cars all around us.
Turning he walks over to a car and raises an eyebrow as if asking me if I'm coming. I follow suit. My eyes dart to the side of the car and my eyes widen. It's the same car I crashed into. Dante's eyes follows my line of vision and smirks.
"You're quite the driver." He mocks me. I blush.
"Shut up." I retort. He chuckles and turns on the ignition. The car coming to life with a soft purr. I tell him the direction to my house and before I know it the car comes to a stop. I look up and sure enough my house stood directly in front.
"Thanks for the ride, Dante." He nods with a genuine smile.
"I'll see you tomorrow then Laura." I nod and wait as he backs up from our driveway and out of sight.
Sighing I turn towards my house and walk up the stairs. Holding my breath I insert the key and turn. The lock click softly and I cautiously turn the knob. The lights are all out and I release the breath I didn't know I was holding. Slowly I tip toe my way toward the stairs. I freeze when the light clicks open. I turn towards the figure sitting in the armchair. Mom's holding a cup of coffee in her hand and her eyebrows are raised silently asking for an explanation. Her eyes had bags underneath and I feel horrible for making her worry.
"Where have you been Missy?" She asks her voice slightly scratchy. I sigh and make my way over to her.
"I'm sorry. Remember I told you I was getting a job because of the accident." She nods.
"Well it turned out longer than I thought. I forgot to keep track of time and I didn't take my car." I sigh. "I'm really sorry."
She smiles softly. Her eyes crinkling. "It's fine honey. Just tell me if you're going to be late next time, alright?" I nod and hug her. She hugs me back. I never knew the reason my mom's so over protective but I just go with it. She already has enough on her plate as it is.
"By the way who was the young man who dropped you off" She speaks up wiggling her eyebrows in my direction.
"Mom!" I state.
"What? I've never seen you look twice at a boy before. It's my job to keep an eye open if you have a crush." She defends
I chuckle. "He's my employer mom. Nothing romantic going on there."
"You never know." She shrugs. I smile at her before a yawn escapes from me.
"You seem tired. Did you eat already?"
"Yeah mom. I'm going to go to sleep." I kiss her goodnight before trudging up the stairs.
Closing the door of my room I exhales a long tired breath. I replay today's events in my head. I change into my pajamas. As I was about to reach my bed the familiar searing pain from before makes me tumble to the ground. My birth mark burns again. After the pain resides I get ready to go to bed before I freeze.
My birthmark?!
What if it's the mark that Dante was talking about in the myth. My eyes widen at the realization.
I'll tell him about it tomorrow.
I nod to myself before engulfing myself in my comforter. I feel my eyes become heavy and I'm dragged into a dreamless night.
++++++++++++++++++++
I open my drowsy eyes at the sound of the blaring alarm. 7:30 am. Groaning I repeat my morning routine which was now embedded in my brain.
Finishing my breakfast and I get put my dishes in the sink while kissing my mom on the cheek.
"Bye mom. Love you."
"Love you too" She replies smiling. I make my way over to the car and find Diana already seated. I back out the driveway and drive towards Diana's school. My mind was still processing the information from yesterday.
"Earth to Laura." Diana snaps her finger in front of my face. I turn towards her.
"What?"
"Mind opening the lock on the door so I can get out?" I click on the child lock and she scrambles out of the car. Sighing I make my way over to my own school.
Trudging in the crowded hallways I make my way over to my class. Entering, I sit into my usual seat. Aubrey comes and sits beside me.
"Morning gal!" She chirps. I smile at her. She's still as cheery as ever. The bell rings signaling Mr. Casper to begin class.
"Today I'll be assigning an assignment." A collective of groans erupt from the classroom. Mr. Casper ignoring this continues. "This'll be done in pairs, and before you get any ideas I'll be assigning them." The hopefulness aura from before disburses. He reads from a paper he had written the pairs on. I strain my ears to listen.
"Mr. Dimitri and Ms.Clinton." I shrug and turn towards his desk, surprise to see it empty. How did I not notice he wasn't here?
"I guess you'll be working alone for now Ms.Clinton. You can go over the specifics of the assignment with him later." I nod and turn back to my desk.
Where is he?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The bell to indicate the start of last period rings. Knowing I have a spare I turn towards the exit of the school to go home. As I was passing through my eye catches a figure walking to the back of the school. The figure looks left and right before continuing his journey. The sun rays catches the face of the figure causing me to gasp.
Dante
I remain frozen for a moment before making my way over and silently follow him. He turns into a alley at the back of the school I didn't know existed. I stand beside the wall and peek inwards. Dante's talking to a person. He seemed distressed and is waving his hands frantically around. The other figure just shakes his head. I try to move forward so that I can hear what they were talking about but something makes me freeze in my tracks.
The eyes of the figure Dante was talking to were black. A 'rouge'?! What's Dante doing talking to one? How's the 'rouge' not attacking him? The questions swirl in my head as my suspicion towards Dante increases by the second. A thought crosses my mind before I can stop it.
Can I trust him?