Chapter 29

As soon as they were back in the outside world, the first thing that Dante was struck by were the mundane brown streets, the ash grey buildings. After witnessing the grandiose splendour of the harpies' royal palace, the dreariness of the normal streets came as a huge shock. For a second, he had lived in the illusion that the world was indeed a fabulous place, that it was worth fighting for. But it was ironic really, that as soon as he had stepped back into the real world, his real life, that the illusion slipped away as though it had never existed, showing that there really was no point in struggling to live, in fighting for the lives of others.

All these thoughts occurred to him in the space of a single moment and were quickly forced from his mind in the space of another second.

The second thing Dante did as soon as they left the palace was to check the time. This he did while they ran after Jay, who was again acting as their guide. He frowned, had time really gone by so fast? It barely felt as though they had done much and yet it was already three in the morning. His body suddenly felt exhausted as his mind finally remembered all the events of the night.

First there had been the walking. He should have taken his bike to save time but he hadn't thought of that. Besides, it probably wouldn't have been a good idea in the first place; it didn't appear as though the palace had a car park available though Dante would have found it amusing if they had. Then there had been the whole thing with the vampires. What good had any of that achieved? It had all been a waste of time, precious time. They should have just ignored them and should have just focussed on getting to the Queen.

The Queen. What an immature, arrogant, irritating little bitch! She was like a big kid, a big selfish spoilt brat. He felt vaguely sick as he remembered the sight of her face. He had never really disliked anyone to such a point. But Romana? Oh God…she was enough to make him want to actually puke! And he had thought that Jester had been bad enough. No, that bitch truly took the biscuit, the cookies and a huge bag of potato chips! Truly sickening…

Now his thoughts caught up with him and joined him in his present situation before fast-forwarding so then his thoughts were in the future. What was he going to do? Sure he had Infe- the phoenix on his side but could a single creature really go up against the dragon? The bird was tiny in comparison to the hulking giant of a beast and to be quite frank about the whole matter, Dante would be surprised if the phoenix wasn't eaten and swallowed in one fluid action in the first five seconds. He sighed heavily at that point as they continued to steal through the shadows. Now was not the time to be doubting anything; he had come so far now. Sure, he had been doubtful a lot of time but now he could not afford to be. He really had no real reason to be when he thought about it in great detail. He had doubted the validity of the legend that had been described in Reiko's book, yet he had travelled to the mountains anyway. As he had spoken the words that had been set out for him, he had still been extremely sceptical. Yes, he had had a scary moment there when nothing had happened at first; after all the legend had never said anything about there being a test that he had to pass. But despite his disbelief it had still happened. He quickly glanced to his right and couldn't help but smile when he saw the phoenix flying beside him, his neck stretched out as though filled with purpose. Dante still couldn't believe that all of what had passed had actually happened. The idea seemed to fantastical, so unreal that he had to keep reminding himself that he wasn't in some kind of a twisted dreamscape, that this all was not part of some sort of illusion. It was all real, it was all happening; he was running, Inferno was flying, Jay was leading, Rose's feet were pounding the ground, Trish's energy was really zinging through the air as she became increasingly filled with the excitement of the pending battle. He looked towards her swiftly before turning his eyes back to the path that lay ahead. He wondered briefly whether Trish even truly realized the dangers that they were facing. Did she even worry in the slightest about what would happen if it all went horribly wrong? Then he told himself immediately that he was being an idiot, that he was secretly patronizing her and was under-estimating her and her capabilities. Trish had a certain innocence about her to the ways of the world but she was not a fool. She was anything but stupid, anything but a ditz who favoured revealing clothes.

Dread began to fill him at that moment as they ran down the street where he had come face to face with a certain doomed young boy. He blinked, and in that instant he saw the blood-stained teddy bear loom before him, a harsh reminder of his failure. What if he failed again?

He gave himself a mental shake, told himself not to be stupid, that there was no reason for him to start panicking now. He might have failed that one time but there were many more things he had actually succeeded at; like the fight against those strange demons that had tried to ambush him at his agency, like when he had defeated Vergil, like when he had sealed Mundus away. But the thing that buoyed his spirits the most was the fact that he had seen the legend come true before his very eyes, and that he himself had been the one that had brought the whole thing about.

The pub he had visited on the night of his failure raced past his vision as he ran on after the others. He heard as Trish gave a distinct gasp as she laid her eyes upon the dragon for the very first time, seeing as all the stories and as all of the descriptions came to fruition.

The dragon was every bit as awesome as usual, and was as every bit as frightening. Dante licked at dry lips as soon as he saw the glistening scales, heard the growling hiss, the maddened eyes. Then Rose drew his attention to something else.

'Look. On the pier. Standing before it.' Dante looked, and followed with his eyes the direction in which Rose was pointing. His eyes fell upon the man and even from the distance he was from him, he could see that the figure had unusual shimmering grey eyes. The second thing he noticed was the scar that ran down his face. This was obviously the man that Lorelei had described to them. He remembered the sketch that Trish had drawn. It was almost uncanny how much the picture resembled the man but then again, Trish had always been able to imagine things vividly in her mind. It had proved more than useful many a time before.

He growled and shook his head, angry and irritated with himself as he struggled to keep the thoughts in his head ordered. He had to stay alert; he had to keep his eyes on the target. His gaze slid over to rest on Rose as she began to speak again.

'He threatened me before the dragon came for me. I would have died that day had it not been for Reiko.'

'What were you doing out here anyway?'

'My sister died, as well as her husband. Their son, my nephew, he also died. I saw a puddle of his blood. I was grieving for them.' Dante shuddered, realizing suddenly how exactly Rose had been related to that boy. Instead of discouraging him from fighting, it gave him all the more fuel and it strengthened his resolve.. He would avenge her, and him, and all of those who had been killed mercilessly. His eyes locked onto the dragon-master and he growled again, his rage rising, beginning to threaten him with the blindness of hatred. Trish seemed to sense this and immediately placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to placate him. It helped, giving Dante the clarity he needed to know that now was not the time to go for a headlong charge. He had to think this through carefully before he ventured any kind of an attack, knowing instinctively that he and the phoenix would have to work together in a team in order to defeat their foe. So be it; he would think for as long as he had to, for as much time as the dragon would permit him. He watched as it arched its long neck, forming a graceful arc as it released a soft sibilant serpentine hiss to the night air. His eyes darted here and there eagerly, searching pedantically for some sort of a weakness, some sort of an area that was not covered totally by scales. There appeared to be no such place and Dante fell back, stumped. Rose watched him, shifting her weight from foot to foot, nervous in the awesome presence of the dragon.

'What are you waiting for?'

'I don't know. I think…some sort of sign…'

'The dragon's there! What other sign do you need?' There was a sudden gasp and Dante and Rose turned to look towards Trish, who had clamped her hands firmly to her mouth, her eyes wide. Dante sighed and rolled his eyes.

'What?' he snapped, his own anxiety making him particularly vicious. Trish stuttered incoherently before lifting a hand away from her mouth and pointing hysterically, a real fear shining in her eyes. Dante snorted. 'Yes, I know there's a dragon. I'm sure everyone who's awake can see it!' Rose nudged Dante in the ribs, hard.

'I think she's trying to tell us something!'

'You think?'

'Wait…wait…'

'If you hadn't already noticed,' Dante returned sarcastically, his eyebrows quirked, 'I already am waiting.'

'Where's Inferno?' Dante looked at the harpy blankly. 'Inferno. You know! Inferno! The phoenix?'

'He's flying right beside me! He has been all this time!' Dante frowned at the both of them, Trish still looking highly alarmed, spluttering from time to time, Rose's face stern but concerned at the same moment.

'I think you should look again, Dante.' Trish nodded in agreement at Rose's words. A slow scowl spread upon Dante's features. He looked at them uncertainly before slowly turning his head, wary as to what he would see. Nothing. There was nothing there for him to see. The bird, Inferno was gone, and not a trace of him could be found. He bit his lip before turning to the other two.

'I guess it's just me then. Me and the dragon.'

'Bullshit. You've got us two as well you know,' Rose replied quickly, her eyes hard. Trish nodded again before her tongue loosened and she was once again granted the gift of speech.

'I've been with you through thick and thin, Dante. You think a dragon is really going to scare me away? I'm sure we've faced worse than this somehow! What about Mundus? What about Argosax?'

'Trish can fight with me but Rose, I can't let you fight. It's your race that the dragon is after. It's too dangerous.'

'Which is precisely why I must fight. I can provide a distraction. I know I can. And even if you say no, you are no master over what I choose to do. If Earth and Sea cannot hold me back then why should a single man try and do the same?' At that point, there came a fierce roar. Jay cried out with fear and ran for his life. Dante made as if to go after him but Rose stayed his hand. 'Let him go. He is no fighter. Let him go to his child.'

'Great…who'd have thought that the harpies have an equivalent of Remy?' Dante grumbled to himself in a low voice. There was no time to come up with a reply, for at that moment the dragon scented the air and gave vent to another hissing snarl before turning its sight directly onto them, before locking onto Rose. It surged forwards towards them, its eyes wild, its teeth bared.

'Scatter…' Dante growled. Trish nodded and stood still, waiting for the dragon to come closer. Rose quickly snapped out what little advice she had.

'It's slower on land! Whatever you do, don't lure it into the water. It's just as powerful and fast as it is in the air!' The ground trembled with each clawed step the dragon took, threatening to make them loose their footing. Dante quickly turned his head.

'Where the hell did you find that out from?'

'Reiko jumped into the water when he was cornered. He thought the dragon wouldn't have gone in after him but it did. I had to pull him out before the dragon broke every single bone in his body with its tail.'

'Tail's the strength then.' The dragon was now even closer, so close that Dante could smell its breath, could note the mad yellowed gleam in its eyes. Rose shifted uncomfortably as she was pierced through by the dragon's eyes. 'Not yet.' A whimper answered his command and she stopped moving altogether, her eyes wide with fright. Trish darted a glance towards her friend, noting the harpy's sudden paralysis. 'Not yet.' The dragon moved even closer before it reared up, it's mouth opening. 'Not yet…not yet…' The muscle's in the beasts neck had begun to tense. 'NOW!'

At this instant, two things happened at once. Dante and Trish, who had wrapped her arms around Rose's waist ran in two opposite directions as the dragon's head came crashing down, almost too quick to see. It met with nothing but the hard stone of the ground. It yowled with pain, it's tail thrashing about, looking almost snake-like as it flailed. Dante dodged away from it before darting underneath the dragon's belly, trying to discern whether there was any part he could try and pierce through. The dragon howled before rising again. Dante rolled out of the way as the beast lay down altogether, hoping to crush him under its weight. Dante rolled to his feet and smirked, drawing his sword.

'You have to try better than that!' he laughed derisively. The dragon seemed to glare at him, as though it understood before Rose's scent caught its attention. It hissed again before suddenly whirling around and smashing him against the wall using its tail. Dante gasped, blood spraying out of his mouth as he collapsed in a heap. He tried to move, but screamed out in agony as his body refused to obey him. His back was broken, he could feel it, his arms and legs were in cocoons of pain, he couldn't feel the ground below him, nor the cold winds that he knew were blowing against him. All he could feel was the agony.

He slowly opened his eyes and growled when he saw that the dragon had turned to face Trish and Rose. Trish carefully backed away, still holding Rose to her, her teeth gritted, her eyes brimming with determination. Rose still appeared to be in the trance but she had regained some movement now, able to follow Trish's commands, even though her eyes were glassy due to her fear.

The dragon continued to move closer, until Trish found herself cornered on the edge of the pier, nothing but the ocean standing at her back. Rose whispered something under her breath but it was lost in the roaring winds, not allowing Trish to listen. The dragon growled before lowering its head so then its head was level with Trish's face. She let out a howl of anger as yellow energy surrounded her, the electricity crackling about her as she transformed, turning into her demonic form, in a last-ditch attempt. She let out a roar, releasing Rose from her grip and darted forward, yellow sparks leaping out from her hands, her eyes turning amber. The dragon reared back and let out a high scream of agony as the electricity made impact with its eyes. It shrieked and thrashed about, its tail creating chaos and destruction as it flailed, breaking wood, damaging the already unsteady pier. Rose seemed suddenly to break out of her trance as she clung onto Trish, the wood creaking and groaning under their feet.

'Look out!' And with that, their pier snapped and came crashing into the sea, taking them both down with it, Trish quickly turning back in her human form before she hit the water. Rose surfaced quickly, shaking dripping hair out of her eyes, the salt water stinging them, blurring her vision. She took in a gasp of air before diving down, finding Trish and dragging her up to the surface. Trish shivered and held onto her, her teeth clenched together, struggling to stay afloat because of her leather clothes. The dragon had calmed down, for reasons that the two soon came to understand.

Music was floating through the sky, the tune melodic and sorrowful. Trish turned her head slowly, trying to track down the source of the music. Her eyes soon found it and they narrowed. Lorelei hadn't been wrong. It really did seem as though it was this man who held the strings of the dragon, that it was him who was controlling the great leviathan by using the power of song. The dragon turned it's head at that moment, it's face twisted with pain. The girls gasped in surprise. Trish blinked, stunned. She hadn't thought that she had the power to blind a dragon. For that was exactly what she had done; she could see that as she stared into the white foggy depths of the dragon's eyes. Still, she knew that this didn't give her much of a reason to celebrate; after all, the dragon still had the power to sniff them out, and Rose and her kind were its prey. The dragon would have no trouble in finding them. Not only that, but the dragon was still more than able to hear them, just as it was listening to the music now. Trish blinked at that point. Speaking of music…

'It's stopped,' she whispered. She looked towards Rose uneasily. Rose held up a hand, beckoning for silence, her eyes narrowing.

'He's speaking.'

'I can't hear him.'

'Ssh! I need you to be quiet. Let me try and hear what he's saying.' Trish licked at dry lips, shivered as the water progressively made her colder and colder. Rose growled under her breath suddenly, startling the hybrid.

'What? What is it? What did he say?'

'Well, I think it's a good time for us to move!' And with that, she propelled herself out of the water, spreading out her wings and taking to the air as the dragon surged forwards. Trish shrieked and dived, acting on pure instinct.

The dragon growled and stood for a moment before scenting the air. It howled once again before chasing Rose, guided on only by its hearing and scent. Trish surfaced and quickly looked up, tracking Rose's flight anxiously. Then she caught sight of Dante and gasped to see him in such a vulnerable state. She looked again towards the dragon, saw that it was well distracted by the harpy and then checked on the grey-eyed man. He too was distracted, watching with a sick type of excitement as the dragon twisted and turned in the sky, desperate to spill the harpy blood it knew was close by. Trish swam silently to the shore and hauled herself up onto the dry land, her clothes heavy and cumbersome because of the water. She staggered slowly to Dante's side and fell to her knees, beside him, exhausted by her struggles against her leather clothes.

'Dante!' she gasped, stroking back a lock of her hair. He opened his eyes in response and stared directly at her, watching as she breathed out a huge sigh of relief. 'Thank God, I thought you were dead!'

'God's got nothing to do with this,' came the gruff reply, his eyes catching sight of Rose as she soared through the air, turning momentarily, waiting for the dragon to come closer before shooting upwards, as though fired by an arrow. 'She can't keep this up for long,' Dante growled. Trish nodded her agreement.

'Five minutes at the most.'

'That's all I need to finish healing myself.'

'Dante, I can't move well now that my clothes are wet. But Lorelei told us that the man was the one who was controlling the dragon.'

'Right. Go for the power source. Got it.'

Rose was quickly becoming exhausted, her wings refusing to beat the air effectively. She had no choice but to fight. She zoomed towards the ground and landed heavily, stumbling before whirling around just in time to see the dragon bearing down upon her, jaws wide open, beckoning. She screamed and closed her eyes tightly, crouching down, shielding her face with her arms, as though it would protect her.

A sound rent the air, the sound of steel. Rose blinked several times before daring to raise her head. Dante stood before her, his sword shielding her, his coat ripped, ragged and torn, billowing out around him as the wind shrieked past. She realized then that the sword was the only thing that had saved her; the dragon's teeth were braced against it.

The dragon shoved forward and Dante cried out as he triggered, his hair flying out of his eyes as he transformed, trying desperately to match the dragon's strength with his own. He turned his crimson eyes onto her, his arms shaking, the sword screaming out in protest.

'Run!' he hissed out, causing Rose to flinch at the deep growling tones of his new voice. Rose was about to move when Dante lost the struggle and fell backwards, bowling her over, stunning them both. Rose screamed and clung to Dante tightly as she heard a voice ring through the air.

'Yuva! Now! You have her! Claim your reward!' The dragon reared back, gave vent to a triumphant growl and plunged its head down.

'No!' Rose cried out again as Dante rolled himself over, giving vent only to a grunt of pain as the teeth found their mark on his back, ripping him open. 'Dante!' The dragon lifted the demon-slayer bodily in its mouth and was about to do away with him when there was a sudden burst of music, sending shivers down Rose's spine. Dante stirred slightly in the dragon's jaws, moaning weakly as he did so.

Trish's eyes had widened and she mouthed out something as though it were a prayer, but Rose could not understand what it was she had said. Even the dragon-master had stopped playing his music, a look of surprise shining all too clearly in his eyes. The dragon paused before letting its jaw hang fully open, releasing Dante from its deadly grip. It hissed before turning slowly, its wings spreading out. Then, without any warning it took to the skies, a low growl rumbling deep in the pit of its belly.

Trish took the opportunity to dash over to Dante and Rose, dropping to her knees and examining the slayer's wound. She sighed with relief; though the wound was pretty serious, Dante would not die. Already she could see that his blood was trying to reverse the damage. Rose shivered, and continued to look panicked. Trish smiled at her, gazing steadily at her.

'Don't worry. I know that song. It's Inferno. It's the song of the phoenix. He came back.' Rose knew immediately that the hybrid was right. She wondered why it was that she hadn't realized it before. Only a phoenix could sing a melody that beautiful. Dante opened his eyes and watched silently as the dragon gave vent to another battle cry before flying up; Dante followed it with his eyes and stared in awe at the fiery red thunderbolt that came racing down from the heavens, the song transforming into an eerie shriek, like that of an eagle's.

Dragon and Phoenix crashed into each other, the piercing wail of the crimson bird sounding alongside the angered roar of the scaled beast. The two seemed to melt into one as they thrashed and bit, pecked and clawed at each other, feathers and scales raining down upon the ground below. The bird seemed to have grown to about the same height as a griffon, matching the dragon equally in size and weight. As Dante watched, he could see that the phoenix was merely toying with the dragon, not even coming close to showing his full strength. Inferno gave vent to another throaty cry and this time, Dante could detect clearly a note of mockery to it. The dragon roared in answer and charged towards it but the phoenix merely dodged away, tucking in its wings and flying below it, whirling around to face the dragon again. Dante saw immediately what the plan was; the crimson warrior was trying to wear it down.

He seemed to be doing a good job too. The dragon hissed before coming to land heavily, its legs trembling under its weight. The phoenix soared in a circle overhead, crying out his song again before dive bombing against it. The dragon bent its head, summoning a tidal wave, pelting the bird with water, causing Inferno to shriek in protest as he climbed the skies again. The dragon hissed before beating its wings heavily, snarling as it tried to face the phoenix once more. Dante knew at once that the dragon had lost.

He watched, his face impassive as the bird dived once more, striking the dragon sharply on the head. The dragon abruptly jerked, the wings ceasing to beat the air. The already fogged eyes misted over as the dragon crashed to the sea, a soft muted growl escaping its throat as it submerged. The dragon-master gasped, his eyes wide with rage and shock.

'No! Yuva! Yuva!' He brought his flute to his lips and began to play a frantic tune, the notes moving quickly, like running water. Dante sat up carefully, healed, and stared at the water, his heart falling to his stomach as he watched it churn, as the dragon raised its head. The dragon-master stopped playing, a look of joy and relief passing over his face as he ran towards the water's edge. But a change had come over the dragon and it looked away from him, hissing warningly at him. 'Yuva! Turn around and finish them off! Obey my commands!' But Yuva would listen no longer, giving vent to a fearsome cry as its tail snaked out towards him and dealt him a quick but sickening blow, sending him crashing to the ground, a broken heap. Then, without a sound, it submerged.

Dante ran across what was left of the pier and peered down into the murky depths of the water, just in time to see a serpentine shape glide through the deep, out into the middle of the ocean where it would return, defeated, to its deep slumber.

'Dante!' Trish's voice called him back. He looked towards the water again, only to see that the dragon had disappeared. He shook his head slowly before tilting his head back, looking to the sky, watching Inferno as he flew in circles. The phoenix began to sing as flames started licking at the edges of his body before he descended to land again on Dante's shoulder, the flames fading as the phoenix returned to its normal size. Then and only then did Dante return to Trish's side.

The dragon-master was miraculously alive even after the dragon had dealt its last blow. He bared his teeth, drawing his lips backwards in a weak attempt to appear intimidating. Dante kicked him roughly in the side, and the man coughed up blood as a response.

'You thought that hurt, right? If you don't work with me I'll make it hurt a lot more,' Dante threatened. He watched as the grey eyes widened and as the dragon-master's skin turned pale. He cleared his throat.

'A-all right…I'll tell you everything! Everything!' Dante smiled thinly at this.

'Good.'

Who are you working for?' Rose asked in a low voice. The man tried to shift his legs but screamed, forced to give up. His body was utterly useless to him now. He really had no choice but to answer.

'T-the…the Empress of the Underworld…'

'I thought Mundus was the-'

'No. Mundus is nothing but a pretender. It is only by her mercy that he is allowed to live. She likes to remain anonymous, a secret that strikes terror into the hearts of all when it is revealed.'

'So you're working on her orders then?'

'I was more than happy to.'

'Why?'

'My name is Baal. You,' he nodded towards Rose at this point, 'You may remember an ancient race that went by the name of the Wyvernites. I am the last of them. And when I die, so will an ancient, lost civilization. I joined the Empress, long may she live, because she promised me revenge on your cursed race. She said I could wipe you all out, just as you did with my family and my people.' Baal fell silent and Trish and Dante looked towards the harpy, who's face had become hard with anger.

'The Wyvernites were a peaceful race. They didn't believe in fighting. But Romana wanted their domain and so she killed them all.'

'No, it wasn't just that,' Baal spoke up again. 'It certainly played a strong part but it certainly wasn't that. She thought we were demons, because of our ability to communicate with dragons. She thought that if a war erupted, we would side with the vampires. We were unfairly prosecuted…' Choking coughs racked his body as blood oozed out of his mouth.

'How strong is the Empress? How many is her number?' Trish asked, her voice sounding unnaturally high due to stress.

'Her numbers so far amount to…to…I don't know. I can't tell you. They number as many as the stars in the sky. And they increase with every second as more and more join her ranks.' Baal's eyes closed slightly before he allowed a twisted smirk to cross his face. 'You'll never defeat her, you know. Never. She's too strong. Stronger than Mundus, Argosax, than anything you've ever faced all combined in one!' He let out a choked laugh, sounding gleeful. 'You'll never gather the forces in time. She shall march out after another ten months.'

'Ten months?' Dante whispered, his brow creased. 'That's December…'

'When in December?' Rose gasped. But Baal only laughed harder before biting off his own tongue, fighting his body's efforts to stay alive as blood entered his lungs, sliding down his throat. In his last moments, he gurgled and threw a small pouch on the ground, which exploded as soon as it made contact. Inferno cried out in alarm and flew off, leaving Dante, Trish and Rose to choke in the gas as it sent them into a deep death-like sleep.

---

Dante opened his eyes and stared about in confusion. He was in a room that reeked of disinfectant. He wrinkled his nose and slowly sat up before taking a proper stock of his surroundings. It appeared as though he was in a hospital. But there was something wrong; there were no humans. He smiled wanly as he spotted Inferno perching by his side. The phoenix must have flown off to get them help. Clever bird…So, he was in the harpy palace, in the infirmary. He wondered how long it had been since he had been brought here.

'Six days you've been unconscious now,' said a voice. Dante turned his head towards the sound to see Jay standing by him.

'Six days? What about the others?'

'They both woke up four days earlier. They said you were closest to the bomb when it was thrown and when it exploded. They've been kept in the infirmary though, just in case they had some sort of a relapse.'

'Right…' But to Dante's surprise, the harpy continued to look upset. 'What's wrong? Your sister's fine.' The harpy seemed quite beside himself with distress and Dante couldn't work out why. Then it suddenly clicked. 'Shit! Has anyone told the Queen that the dragon's gone?'

'No…she didn't want to see you three until you were properly discharged and that won't be happening for another four days.'

'So Reiko hasn't been let out?'

'No.'

'Shit! How long has he been held in your dungeons now?'

'Today is his ninth day. By the time you get out, it would be thirteen days.'

'Do you think he'll last?' The harpy's downcast face told Dante all he needed to know. 'Shit! Get me out of this place, now! I need to speak to your Queen immediately!'

'But she won't listen to you! You wouldn't have been discharged properly!'

'Look,' Dante handed him five twenty pound notes. 'Here's one hundred pounds. Give that to the guys in charge and tell them to discharge all three of us.'

'But-'

'You want Reiko alive or not?' Jay nodded mutely. 'Then do it!' The harpy needed no second bidding and immediately scuttled off, not wanting to invite Dante's wrath any further.

---

It appeared as though harpies were no strangers to the idea of bribery, nor did they really look down upon it, grabbing money and stuffing it in their pockets hungrily and happily. Within minutes, the three had been discharged from the infirmary and were racing through the grand hall-ways, past magnificent tapestries and majestic paintings of the monarchs of the past. Jay was leading them as they flew past the people of the court, as the world seemed to move under their feet, turned by their power, bringing them closer and closer…

And then they were there, standing in front of the massive ornate doors, which seemed almost too heavy to move. Jay moved to talk to the guards but this time, Dante was more than aware of the minutes being wasted by such formalities. With every second that passed, Reiko's life ebbed away.