Dawn sat by Arson's side as he lay in a cold sweat in bed. His face still had not regained any colour, and his breathing was unsteady. Rayne came into the room and shuddered slightly.
'The whole place reeks of angels…no offence.'
'None taken.' Dawn placed a damp but warm cloth on Arson's head. 'I just hope he gets better soon. I'm worried.' Rayne said nothing but sat down beside her.
'He'll be fine soon.'
'Will he? He's incredibly weak.'
'Just keep him warm. I wouldn't worry so much about it if I were you.'
'I have a right to worry. If he dies, then our chances of helping Dante and Trish are almost nil. That's why I came to him in the first place.'
'What's so great about this Dante guy anyway?'
'He is Arson's grandfather. And not only that, he has saved humankind twice from evil. If we can free him, Dante would be a powerful ally.' Rayne folded his arms.
'If this guy is so powerful, then why has he been trapped by Mundas in the first place?' Dawn didn't answer but then grew silent as Arson stirred slightly.
He shivered, his teeth chattering. H moaned weakly and then froze as though in sudden fear. Dawn pinned him down as he began struggling in his sleep. He thrashed about wildly, with feverish energy before he began to lie still again. Tears leaked out from underneath his closed eyes.
'No…not you again…' he whispered thickly. 'Get away from me! Get away!' He began to struggle again and he managed to lash out at Dawn. Dawn sprang backwards before his hand made contact. All energy seemed to desert Arson once more as he turned onto his side and curled up into a foetus position, still shivering uncontrollably. Rayne frowned.
'I've never seen him do that before. He never strikes out at anyone unless he has to.'
'You're his best friend…but yet you know nothing about his past, do you?' Rayne shook his head.
'Even as a kid, he was always quiet. He never talked about his family if he could help it.' Dawn said nothing but pulled up the covers closer to Arson's chin. The shivering lessened slightly but it did not stop. Arson gave vent to another weak moan before he fell silent. Dawn straightened up and looked towards Rayne but still remained silent. Arson slowly opened his eyes.
'W-where am I?' he whispered. Rayne placed a bowl of hot soup on the bed side table that stood by his side.
'Relax.'
'But…' Arson suddenly shuddered again. His eyes looked around wildly, as though searching. 'Oh Gawd…' He burrowed his head under the covers and shivered miserably.
'I know you don't like being here Arson, but it was the safest place we could get to' explained Dawn. 'Demons hate this place as much as you do. After all, the presence of an angel fills them with a deep fear.'
'I don't fear this place because of that…' said Arson dully. 'When I was a kid…' his voice petered out. Rayne looked towards him curiously. 'I used to live here…and none of the memories I have of this place are any good.'
'But she's gone now, Arson. She's gone.' Rayne looked from Dawn to Arson. They were talking of something of which he had no knowledge. That much was obvious. And it was even more plain that Arson was having difficulty talking about it. He frowned. Arson had closed his eyes again, as though hoping to get some more sleep. Dawn however had other ideas.
'That water was very cold, and it sent you spiralling into this condition. Drink some of this,' here she picked up the steaming bowl of soup. 'It will help you.' Arson said nothing but continued to shiver. 'Please?' She gently laid the soup back down and rolled him over onto his back. She gently tilted his head back and poured some of the contents into his mouth. Arson struggled slightly but then lay still. Rayne watched on, suddenly feeling a stupid tinge of jealousy. He looked away, ashamed. A vampire with an angel…yeah like that would ever happen.
Arson fell back into a deep sleep, still too ill to say much. Rayne moved closer to Dawn and smiled.
'How long do you think it will be before we get moving again?' Dawn shrugged.
'I'm not sure. As soon as he's ready, we'll go.' Rayne's smile broadened.
'I'm kind of glad I'm coming now.' Dawn looked up at him.
'You are?'
'Well…there wasn't much for me to do there. But now…I have a purpose.' Dawn smiled and nodded once, almost like a how of respect.
'I'm glad you feel that way.'
Dante slowly opened his eyes to find that he was strapped down on a torture bed. Not only that, but he was completely naked as well. He snarled, angry and tried to struggle free. Orissa suddenly came into the room and laughed as she saw that he was awake.
'How nice of you to join the conscious world at last, Dante.' No answer. Dante continued to strain forward, trying to loosen the bonds that pinned him down firmly onto the bed.
'What's the matter, Dante? Embarrassed?' Orissa moved towards him teasingly and ran her fingers through his silver hair. Dante tried to jerk his head away but Orissa persisted nonetheless.
'Where's Trish?' growled Dante. Orissa shrugged.
'Who knows…maybe Mundas is having some fun with her. Maybe she's slowly being bled to death…who knows…and who cares…' The dark eyes bored into his own. Orissa moved her hand towards his face again, and this time Dante did not pull away. Their eyes locked and held, fascinating Dante, ensnaring him into their trap.
'You bitch…' he mumbled. The tone of his voice sounded half hearted. Orissa smiled almost tenderly at him as she moved her hand elsewhere. 'Get away from me…'
'Best do what he says. We don't have the time to waste for you to be having your sick fantasies,' said a voice. Orissa turned away, shielding Dante from view with her own body. She folded her arms obstinately.
'Father says I could do whatever I wanted if I managed to capture them. Dante's my prize. You can ask Father yourself if you don't believe me, Cypher.' The newcomer narrowed his eyes in disgust and walked off.
'You can ask him as well if you don't believe me. He wants us both now. He says it's urgent. Now come on.' Orissa waved him off dismissively. Cypher breathed out heavily in frustration, his green eyes blazing with cold anger. Dante had closed his eyes again, trying to concentrate on a way to get free.
'Give the man his clothes back at least,' spat Cypher contemptuously. Orissa sighed wearily and looked towards the bed again. 'It's cold enough down here anyway. Do you want him to catch pneumonia or something? Now hurry up!'
'All right…all right…calm down. I'm coming.' Cypher allowed his sister to go out before him but then turned to look back at Dante. His face was grave. Dante slowly opened his eyes again to see the green eyes watching him keenly.
'I wouldn't worry about your girl if I were you,' he said at last. Dante was too keen on getting information to bother correcting him. 'She isn't dead…and she won't be. Right now, I'd be more bothered about trying to save your own skin. Orissa and my father will not be held back for too long. They'll be coming soon and when that happens, you'll have Hell to pay.' Cypher threw him a bundle of old clothes and stuck something into the bed without another word. He gave Dante one last cold smile before he left the room.
Dante cursed. There was no point in trying to tease him with the idea of getting clothes to wear. He was pinned down firmly enough. He couldn't even bend his arm a tiny fraction. But there was one thing he was thankful for. At least the pains in his sides were gone now. He was fully healed again. Something glittered out of the corner of his eye. Dante struggled to turn his head towards it and was greeted by the sight of a hairpin. But what was the use of that? He had to get his hands free first.
He began to strain forward again, trying to get even one part of his body free. As he did so, his thoughts turned back to Orissa. What the hell had she been doing to him? He hated her with all his heart, and yet if she had gone any further, he wouldn't have minded. Maybe he had finally cracked. And what about this Cypher person? Was he a friend or a foe? The way he had talked to him seemed as though he didn't approve of his father's plans. He had tried to force Orissa into giving him some clothes as well. And not only that, Dante hadn't missed the part when he had failed to mention his own name.
"Orissa and my father will not be held back for too long". Shouldn't that have been, "we will not be held back for too long"? Questions ran through his mind. What he was really worried about though, was Trish. Maybe Cypher was right. But if he was Mundas' son, then he could very well be lying too. Orissa suddenly came back into the room, her face gloomy.
'Looks like we'll have to wait for another time…' he said in a low seductive voice. She caressed the side of Dante's face before she slipped her tongue into his mouth. Dante tried to pull away, but the straps held him down firmly. Orissa pulled away, smiling mischievously before she pulled out another needle, filled with a golden coloured liquid.
'We have plans for you, Dante. I'm sure you'll like them as much as we do…and if you don't…then we'll simply have to force you into them…sweet dreams…' Dante felt the point pierce his skin again. He sighed and allowed his head to fall forward as the drug began to take effect once more.
Read and Review please! I'm really trying hard here to make the chapters longer and more exciting. The story is beginning to get a little more clearer from now on. Keep reading!