Greeks Bearing Gifts
"Is this how it happened the first time you came here?" Lilith asked as she and Dante pulled themselves from the water. It didn't seem so tiring when the water level had dropped to her knees.
"Yes, and it wasn't fun then either." He heard Lilith gulp. "Are you all right?"
She gulped again. "Only if nausea's a good sign." Dante held her by her arm as she leaned to the side. Most of what she vomited was salt water. When she was done, she took a handful of clean seawater to wash her face. She stood up and saw Deanna already walking along the beach. "Where's Mom going?"
If she's still your mother. "She's going home."
"Shouldn't we stop her? What if she gets caught? No one knows the condition of the place nor the people in it."
"I have a hunch. Just follow along."
*
The palace was a blurry spot against the horizon. Deanna was in her own dreamworld. When she reached flat land, she saw a sparkle of light in the distance. "That's it. I made it." She inhaled several times to ease the aches in her chest. With her mind stranded on her destination, she skipped towards the lights. The sound of percussion music greeted her ears as she got closer. After trekking nearly three miles, she finally saw the palace clearly up ahead. She stepped within the city limits. By the standards of most modern Earth civilizations, the city was ancient. The buildings were made of stone. Two people took her hands and carried her towards the palace along a dirt street with broken cobblestones. Everything was exactly as she recalled. It never seemed unusual to her that these people took her. She didn't notice their appearances either. She was home.
*
"There is something terribly wrong here," Lilith whispered. She and Dante had reached the city limits two hours after Deanna had. They were in no hurry to get there, and Lilith was obviously in pain, though she tried to disguise it.
"Don't worry about that right now," Dante said. "Just keep going." He noticed the townspeople turning to stare, though none of them attempted to deter him and Lilith. Their eyes were alien at first, then became strangely human. One of them clutched Lilith's arm. She screamed in pain. A bolt of electricity shot from Alastor, through Lilith's body, and into the man's hand. When Dante turned to face the one who grabbed Lilith, all he saw was a blur in the corner of his eye. Then it was gone. No one acted as if they noticed anything happened.
Lilith pulled Alastor free and leaned against it. Electricity swirled across her hands. "I guess it pays to be a lightning demon after all."
Dante placed a hand on her shoulder. "What happened? Did you see something?"
Lilith looked at him. He knew she was terrified. "They're all tainted. Every single one of them." She attempted to stand up, but another painful shock dropped her to the ground. Alastor fell beside her.
Dante sighed. "You might not be cut out for this, kid." Then again, who can survive impacting a wall at 100 mph? Who can survive having a mother who doesn't care if you're even breathing?
*
Memories resurfaced as Deanna let her guides lead her into and through the palace. "Where are you taking me? I'll know the way." Neither answered. They led her onward to the dining area. Much to her surprise and delight, there was a party going on in there. Aristocrats and courtesans from her childhood were eating, drinking, and conversing merrily. The only person she didn't recognize was a tall woman in a black bra and panties under a diaphanous gown. Her long blonde hair was tied up on her head. Everything stopped cold when Deanna entered. All eyes turned to her.
The blonde woman put down her glass of what appeared to be thick red wine and stood. "What do we have here?"
"Who are you?" Deanna asked.
"My name is Lineia. I have come to welcome you home."
Deanna ignored her gut feeling. This was almost her dream come true. "This isn't as I expected."
"What? Did you think we were going to kill you?" The room exploded in laughter. Lineia gestured towards an empty seat. "Don't worry. No one will bite." Deanna accepted the offer. She could not remember why she had really come to Shangri-La in the first place.
*
"You can't come in here!" The sentinels surrounded Dante with halberds brandished. He wasn't worried.
"Get the hell out of my way."
"I said you can't come in here!"
"What is going on!" All turned to the two women walking down the hallway. Dante sucked air through clenched teeth when he saw them. It wasn't the blonde in the clear dress that caught his attention. It was Deanna beside her. "What is happening?" the blonde asked.
"This man," the sentinel pointed his halberd towards Dante's face for emphasis, "tried to just waltz in here."
"Point that thing in my face again," Dante threatened, "and I'll shoot you."
"It's all right," Deanna said to the woman. "He's no threat. You can let him through."
"Very well, then. Let him pass." Lineia saw the body he carried over his shoulder. "Is she injured?"
"I don't know. She lost consciousness in the street." He glimpsed at Deanna to see a change in her expression. There was none.
The woman nodded at one sentinel. "Take her."
"No," Dante said. The sentinel Dante had threatened earlier pointed his halberd at Dante's face again. Keeping his word, Dante whipped out Ebony and plastered the man's brains against the wall at point blank range.
"Stop!" the woman demanded before anyone else moved. "Take her!" she ordered again. This time Dante let them take Lilith from his shoulder. As they carried her away, the blonde asked, "Who is she?"
Dante opened his mouth to answer, but Deanna beat him to it. "His daughter." Dante could not recall the last time he was shocked speechless. Then he realized it was because he never had been.
"She's your daughter?" the woman asked him.
"Yes."
"Where's her mother?"
"I wish I knew."
"You don't say." She smirked. "What's her name?"
"Lilith."
"How lovely. I hope she'll be all right."
So do I. "And who are you?"
"My name is Lineia. Welcome. I can tell you're not from Shangri- La."
"Is that so?" Dante didn't wait for an answer. He pushed past her, but she seized Sparda by the hilt. "What?"
"No weapons."
"You can't be serious."
"No weapons. If you are truly no threat, then why would we threaten you?" She called forth more sentinels who stripped him of Alastor, Sparda, Ifrit, and all his guns. The entire time he scowled at Deanna. "Don't fret. You can have them back when you leave. In the meantime, why don't you join us?"
"No. I'd rather be with my daughter right now."
"Okay," Lineia said slowly. "If you hurry, you can catch them."
"No rush. I can find her. I always find her." On a whim, he took one look at the sentinel dragging Alastor across the floor. "Be careful with that. Carry it over your shoulder." When the sentinel attempted to do so, Alastor flipped itself into the air and fell pointed downward. It impaled the sentinel to the floor. Amused, Dante watched him choking on his own body fluids. "You know," Dante said, "that happened to me once."
"Help me," the sentinel managed to beg.
"Why? Just get up the same way I did."
"H-how?"
Dante pretended he honestly didn't know what else to say. "I just stood up."
As he strolled after Lilith, Lineia spun around to face Deanna. "That must be Dante."
"That would be him."
"The girl."
Deanna shifted her weight. "What about her?"
Lineia smiled. "Nothing. She is a lovely girl. But it is sad when a child must grow up without a mother. I wonder where that woman could be." Completely ignoring the sentinel still nailed to the floor, she tugged at her ear as she walked back towards the dining room. Then she stopped and turned back to Deanna. "Before I forget. There's someone here who wants to meet you."
"Really? Who?"
"Arkyle."
*
Lilith shifted on the bed in restless sleep. Tossing his gloves aside, Dante sat beside her and affectionately took her hand. He could sense that she was having a dream about Deanna. She whimpered several times in her sleep until a final cry of terror woke her. She gripped Dante's hand with adrenaline enhanced strength. Lilith leaned her head back to breathe easier. When she calmed down, she cried again. It was blood.
"Everything's okay now?" Dante asked softly.
"I feel like I just gave birth." Lilith stretched out her legs. "Why'd she do it?"
"What do you mean?" He already knew the answer.
"I heard what was going on. I heard what Mom said."
Dante relaxed his face. "You heard all of it?"
"She didn't even claim me. She said 'his daughter' instead of 'our daughter.' Why did she do that?"
"Everything's been going wrong for the past few years."
"She's been more concerned with coming home than taking care of me. It's like she never wanted to be with us."
"That's not true."
"You didn't see what I saw. Then there's the whole fiasco of the past two years."
Dante wiped the blood from her eyes. "There's something going on with your powers. First it was the visions. Now there's the tears of blood. I worry about the blood the most. The same thing happened the day Guess died."
"I never cried blood until you started looking for that damn gem."
"Don't worry about Deanna. You're still mine, and I won't leave without you."
"Thank you." Lilith pushed herself to a sitting position. "Whatever happens, don't trust her. She's just like everyone else here. She has been since we arrived in Switzerland. Sadly enough, she might not truly know it."
"Are you sure?"
"It probably began before you started missing my birthdays."
"That will never happen again. So tell me what you know about this place."
Lilith leaned forward and smiled. She said in her best creepy voice, "They're all tainted." The smile faded. "There isn't a single Shangri-Lan left alive. They have all been replaced by demonic minions. The smell of death lingers in the air, almost like there was a slaughter."
"Do you know of Lineia?"
"She's one of them, but there's something else about her. There's something I can't put my finger on. It's as if she's deliberately hiding it from me."
Dante put his elbow on his knee and supported his chin on his fist. "I wish I could share your vision. Then maybe I could help you."
Lilith rubbed her hand. "You should have given me Sparda. Alastor bit me."
"Sparda is my father's sword. There is no way I'd let you have it while I live."
Lilith rolled her eyes. "We'll see." In an abrupt change of emotion, she punched the bed. "I seriously wish we weren't here right now."
"There's no point in whining about it. If we don't deal with it now, then someone else will have to deal with it seven millennia from now."
"Would it still be our problem?"
"I'll be honest with you. I don't know my own lifespan. What if we're both alive 7,000 years from now?"
"That would both rock and suck. I don't know how, but I know it's true."
Dante laughed. "Don't worry. From now on, you are the priority. You always have been. If we must make a certain sacrifice, then so be it."
"Are you honestly prepared to do that?"
"If I have no other choice, then yes."
*
The dining room emptied methodically as Lineia chased everyone out like they were children she wished she could kill. Eventually, there were only Deanna and Arkyle. The only sound was Arkyle tapping his fingers on the table. Deanna sat on the other side of the table.
"Why sit all the way over there, dear wife?" he asked. "Come over here where I can touch you."
"I'm fine over here. Thank you. And don't call me wife."
"Right. So, how have you been these past eighteen years?"
"Homesick."
"Good. Is the family all right?"
"What family?"
Arkyle stopped tapping. "Don't play innocent. I know you brought Dante with you. Everybody knows. It appears I'm the only one who hasn't seen the little bundle of misery you disgracefully brought into the world."
"I am no disgrace. I am still Min Ná."
"Min Ná are all dead. You are nothing."
"You are nobody to tell me such things."
"Then you won't mind if I be honest with you. Why did you return?"
"This is my home."
"Not anymore. Anyone with the least bit of sense would have stayed on Earth. You only think you belong here. You can thank Lineia for that."
"That's bullshit, and you know it."
"You are bullshit, and you know it. Nobody wants you. The only reason we summoned you is because we really want the girl."
Deanna raised her eyebrows. "Summoned me? No one summoned me. I came here of my own free will to reclaim what's rightfully mine."
"Think what you want." Arkyle smirked. "Nobody wants you," he repeated. "You are nothing to us. When we get what we want, you will all die, starting with you."
"What is it about Lilith that any of you would give a damn about?"
"Her name is Lilith? You'd be able to answer your own question if you were a better mother."
"A better mother!" Deanna slapped the table and stood. "How dare you say such a thing about something you know nothing of!"
"Then why don't you ask Lilith? She knows more about your parenting skills, or lack thereof, better than anybody."
Deanna sat down again. "Is that why you called me to the dining room? To torture and offend me?"
"You torture yourself. You're blind to what's going on around you. As soon as we're done, you're dead. Don't believe me if you don't want to. It won't change the outcome. Why do you think I'd be so brazen to tell you any of this?"
"You're pathetic. You can do nothing to me."
"I'm not the one who's doing it."
"I don't care what you say. My life has been fine on Earth, but I belong here."
"Where do they belong?"
"They belong anywhere they please."
"Even Lilith?"
Deanna scratched her head in frustration. "Whatever. I will ask. They won't complain."
"Will you bet your life on it?"
"Why not?"
"You have no idea what you're getting into. You'll lose that bet."
"We'll see." Deanna stood. This time she intended to leave. "This is my land. This is my empire. That is my throne. Not yours."
"Were they worth it?"
"What?"
"Dante and Lilith. Were they worth your betrayal of your sacred vows and centuries of tradition?"
"There were no sacred vows. We were married in name only."
"But we were married, and we still are. Therefore, you are at the mercy of your own traditions. Don't think you will not pay for your actions."
"That's fine by me." Deanna knocked her chair over deliberately. She took only three steps when Arkyle asked her a question. "What was that?" she asked.
"What was Lilith's first word?"
"What difference does it make?"
"Just food for thought."
Deanna raised her fist and casually lifted her middle finger. Then she turned and marched out of the dining room. She went straight for where she'd been told Lilith was staying. It occurred to her only briefly that she had asked for the location only because she saw Dante follow Lilith. She pounded on the door as if she intended to raze it. She was startled when Dante opened the door.
"What do you want?" Dante asked.
"I want to talk to Lilith."
"Why? She doesn't want to talk to you."
"I'd rather be the judge of that. Why are you here?"
"She's my daughter. It's my job to give her that shoulder to cry on when she's been backstabbed."
"It's not what you think!"
"No, it's what she thinks."
"You're right, okay? So, may I please come in?" Dante stepped aside to let her through. She saw Lilith lying on the bed in the fetal position. Lilith's back was turned to her. "Lilith? It's Mom."
"She won't answer you," Dante said.
"How do you know?"
"She said so."
"Did she say that to you?"
"Would you prefer she said it to you?"
Deanna flailed her arms in desperation. "Why would she say that?"
"Maybe it had something to do with the whole 'his daughter' thing earlier. Before that, it was your need to run up here and leave us behind in the water. To drown, for all you knew. The list is several years long. Where shall we begin?"
"I knew you would make it up here. As for the whole semantics issue, I did it for your own good."
"Why? Don't try to believe that no one knows. Everyone knew when you left nearly twenty years ago. Wait, you didn't leave. You were kicked out."
"Okay. I see where this is going. I didn't come here for that. I came to talk to Lilith. Do I have your permission to do so?"
"Can it wait? She's still trying to recover from the trip."
"Whatever. I'll talk to you two in the morning, then?"
"Only if she wants to, which I seriously doubt."
"We'll see. She doesn't hate me."
"I'd more wisely hear that statement from her. She's most qualified to make that judgment. Don't you agree?"
"This is ridiculous. Just let me say something to her. Please."
Dante scratched the side of his mouth. In the corner of his vision, he saw Lilith curl tighter. "She's counting on me to be the better parent. That requires that I keep my promises. That, in turn, means I can't let you go anywhere near her."
Deanna huffed as if he had told a bad joke. "Why would she ask for such a stupid promise? She's a grown woman. She doesn't need you to watch her back all the time. Can't I at least hug her and hope she gets well soon?"
"Hug her? How many times have you hugged her in your entire life?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know exactly what I mean. You always had an excuse for keeping your distance. Your head hurt. You were busy. You didn't want her to ruin your clothes. Your back hurt. You were too tired. My personal favorite: you didn't want to accidentally incite something she couldn't control, only to actually do it later. Whether she was happy, angry, sad, or sick, I took care of everything.
"Who beat up the monsters in her closet? Who attended every school play and band recital? Who was at the soccer games? Who played with her in the rain puddles? Who comforted her when she cried? Who got up at 6:00 to suffer through Saturday morning cartoons with her? Who taught her how to ride a bike? Who stayed up by her bed every time she had a bellyache, the flu, or a fever? Every single answer to those questions is the same. Me, and only me."
Deanna swung her palm at Dante's face. He parried it with his hand and pushed her away. She braced herself against the doorpost. "You're full of it." Deanna hastened to Lilith's side. She seized Lilith's arm and began shaking her. Before Lilith had to react, Deanna found Dante's hand crushing her wrist.
The sour look on his face was enough to keep her silent. "If you touch her again," Dante said, "I swear, I'll kill you."
Deanna took that as a cue to leave. She winced in pain just before Dante's grip began breaking bones. When they both realized what was happening, he forced himself to slowly release her and gave her room to leave. She saved Dante the trouble of closing the door himself. A few seconds after Deanna left, Lilith started crying again. This time it was just water.
"I'm sorry you had to hear that," Dante said. Lilith didn't respond. "What is it this time?" Dante asked with genuine concern.
"I know you're tired of this."
"I'll have time to grow tired of it when you stop doing it. Now what's wrong?"
"She doesn't know. She doesn't know what they've done to her."
"Deanna? What have they done to her?"
The words were out of Lilith's mouth before she realized she had thought of them. "She has my mother's face, but not her fire."
*
"Indeed," Lineia said as she poked the sparkle of light in her palm. "Children!" Her call was followed by growling, howling, and cackling from the surrounding darkness. "It's dinner time!"
"Is this how it happened the first time you came here?" Lilith asked as she and Dante pulled themselves from the water. It didn't seem so tiring when the water level had dropped to her knees.
"Yes, and it wasn't fun then either." He heard Lilith gulp. "Are you all right?"
She gulped again. "Only if nausea's a good sign." Dante held her by her arm as she leaned to the side. Most of what she vomited was salt water. When she was done, she took a handful of clean seawater to wash her face. She stood up and saw Deanna already walking along the beach. "Where's Mom going?"
If she's still your mother. "She's going home."
"Shouldn't we stop her? What if she gets caught? No one knows the condition of the place nor the people in it."
"I have a hunch. Just follow along."
*
The palace was a blurry spot against the horizon. Deanna was in her own dreamworld. When she reached flat land, she saw a sparkle of light in the distance. "That's it. I made it." She inhaled several times to ease the aches in her chest. With her mind stranded on her destination, she skipped towards the lights. The sound of percussion music greeted her ears as she got closer. After trekking nearly three miles, she finally saw the palace clearly up ahead. She stepped within the city limits. By the standards of most modern Earth civilizations, the city was ancient. The buildings were made of stone. Two people took her hands and carried her towards the palace along a dirt street with broken cobblestones. Everything was exactly as she recalled. It never seemed unusual to her that these people took her. She didn't notice their appearances either. She was home.
*
"There is something terribly wrong here," Lilith whispered. She and Dante had reached the city limits two hours after Deanna had. They were in no hurry to get there, and Lilith was obviously in pain, though she tried to disguise it.
"Don't worry about that right now," Dante said. "Just keep going." He noticed the townspeople turning to stare, though none of them attempted to deter him and Lilith. Their eyes were alien at first, then became strangely human. One of them clutched Lilith's arm. She screamed in pain. A bolt of electricity shot from Alastor, through Lilith's body, and into the man's hand. When Dante turned to face the one who grabbed Lilith, all he saw was a blur in the corner of his eye. Then it was gone. No one acted as if they noticed anything happened.
Lilith pulled Alastor free and leaned against it. Electricity swirled across her hands. "I guess it pays to be a lightning demon after all."
Dante placed a hand on her shoulder. "What happened? Did you see something?"
Lilith looked at him. He knew she was terrified. "They're all tainted. Every single one of them." She attempted to stand up, but another painful shock dropped her to the ground. Alastor fell beside her.
Dante sighed. "You might not be cut out for this, kid." Then again, who can survive impacting a wall at 100 mph? Who can survive having a mother who doesn't care if you're even breathing?
*
Memories resurfaced as Deanna let her guides lead her into and through the palace. "Where are you taking me? I'll know the way." Neither answered. They led her onward to the dining area. Much to her surprise and delight, there was a party going on in there. Aristocrats and courtesans from her childhood were eating, drinking, and conversing merrily. The only person she didn't recognize was a tall woman in a black bra and panties under a diaphanous gown. Her long blonde hair was tied up on her head. Everything stopped cold when Deanna entered. All eyes turned to her.
The blonde woman put down her glass of what appeared to be thick red wine and stood. "What do we have here?"
"Who are you?" Deanna asked.
"My name is Lineia. I have come to welcome you home."
Deanna ignored her gut feeling. This was almost her dream come true. "This isn't as I expected."
"What? Did you think we were going to kill you?" The room exploded in laughter. Lineia gestured towards an empty seat. "Don't worry. No one will bite." Deanna accepted the offer. She could not remember why she had really come to Shangri-La in the first place.
*
"You can't come in here!" The sentinels surrounded Dante with halberds brandished. He wasn't worried.
"Get the hell out of my way."
"I said you can't come in here!"
"What is going on!" All turned to the two women walking down the hallway. Dante sucked air through clenched teeth when he saw them. It wasn't the blonde in the clear dress that caught his attention. It was Deanna beside her. "What is happening?" the blonde asked.
"This man," the sentinel pointed his halberd towards Dante's face for emphasis, "tried to just waltz in here."
"Point that thing in my face again," Dante threatened, "and I'll shoot you."
"It's all right," Deanna said to the woman. "He's no threat. You can let him through."
"Very well, then. Let him pass." Lineia saw the body he carried over his shoulder. "Is she injured?"
"I don't know. She lost consciousness in the street." He glimpsed at Deanna to see a change in her expression. There was none.
The woman nodded at one sentinel. "Take her."
"No," Dante said. The sentinel Dante had threatened earlier pointed his halberd at Dante's face again. Keeping his word, Dante whipped out Ebony and plastered the man's brains against the wall at point blank range.
"Stop!" the woman demanded before anyone else moved. "Take her!" she ordered again. This time Dante let them take Lilith from his shoulder. As they carried her away, the blonde asked, "Who is she?"
Dante opened his mouth to answer, but Deanna beat him to it. "His daughter." Dante could not recall the last time he was shocked speechless. Then he realized it was because he never had been.
"She's your daughter?" the woman asked him.
"Yes."
"Where's her mother?"
"I wish I knew."
"You don't say." She smirked. "What's her name?"
"Lilith."
"How lovely. I hope she'll be all right."
So do I. "And who are you?"
"My name is Lineia. Welcome. I can tell you're not from Shangri- La."
"Is that so?" Dante didn't wait for an answer. He pushed past her, but she seized Sparda by the hilt. "What?"
"No weapons."
"You can't be serious."
"No weapons. If you are truly no threat, then why would we threaten you?" She called forth more sentinels who stripped him of Alastor, Sparda, Ifrit, and all his guns. The entire time he scowled at Deanna. "Don't fret. You can have them back when you leave. In the meantime, why don't you join us?"
"No. I'd rather be with my daughter right now."
"Okay," Lineia said slowly. "If you hurry, you can catch them."
"No rush. I can find her. I always find her." On a whim, he took one look at the sentinel dragging Alastor across the floor. "Be careful with that. Carry it over your shoulder." When the sentinel attempted to do so, Alastor flipped itself into the air and fell pointed downward. It impaled the sentinel to the floor. Amused, Dante watched him choking on his own body fluids. "You know," Dante said, "that happened to me once."
"Help me," the sentinel managed to beg.
"Why? Just get up the same way I did."
"H-how?"
Dante pretended he honestly didn't know what else to say. "I just stood up."
As he strolled after Lilith, Lineia spun around to face Deanna. "That must be Dante."
"That would be him."
"The girl."
Deanna shifted her weight. "What about her?"
Lineia smiled. "Nothing. She is a lovely girl. But it is sad when a child must grow up without a mother. I wonder where that woman could be." Completely ignoring the sentinel still nailed to the floor, she tugged at her ear as she walked back towards the dining room. Then she stopped and turned back to Deanna. "Before I forget. There's someone here who wants to meet you."
"Really? Who?"
"Arkyle."
*
Lilith shifted on the bed in restless sleep. Tossing his gloves aside, Dante sat beside her and affectionately took her hand. He could sense that she was having a dream about Deanna. She whimpered several times in her sleep until a final cry of terror woke her. She gripped Dante's hand with adrenaline enhanced strength. Lilith leaned her head back to breathe easier. When she calmed down, she cried again. It was blood.
"Everything's okay now?" Dante asked softly.
"I feel like I just gave birth." Lilith stretched out her legs. "Why'd she do it?"
"What do you mean?" He already knew the answer.
"I heard what was going on. I heard what Mom said."
Dante relaxed his face. "You heard all of it?"
"She didn't even claim me. She said 'his daughter' instead of 'our daughter.' Why did she do that?"
"Everything's been going wrong for the past few years."
"She's been more concerned with coming home than taking care of me. It's like she never wanted to be with us."
"That's not true."
"You didn't see what I saw. Then there's the whole fiasco of the past two years."
Dante wiped the blood from her eyes. "There's something going on with your powers. First it was the visions. Now there's the tears of blood. I worry about the blood the most. The same thing happened the day Guess died."
"I never cried blood until you started looking for that damn gem."
"Don't worry about Deanna. You're still mine, and I won't leave without you."
"Thank you." Lilith pushed herself to a sitting position. "Whatever happens, don't trust her. She's just like everyone else here. She has been since we arrived in Switzerland. Sadly enough, she might not truly know it."
"Are you sure?"
"It probably began before you started missing my birthdays."
"That will never happen again. So tell me what you know about this place."
Lilith leaned forward and smiled. She said in her best creepy voice, "They're all tainted." The smile faded. "There isn't a single Shangri-Lan left alive. They have all been replaced by demonic minions. The smell of death lingers in the air, almost like there was a slaughter."
"Do you know of Lineia?"
"She's one of them, but there's something else about her. There's something I can't put my finger on. It's as if she's deliberately hiding it from me."
Dante put his elbow on his knee and supported his chin on his fist. "I wish I could share your vision. Then maybe I could help you."
Lilith rubbed her hand. "You should have given me Sparda. Alastor bit me."
"Sparda is my father's sword. There is no way I'd let you have it while I live."
Lilith rolled her eyes. "We'll see." In an abrupt change of emotion, she punched the bed. "I seriously wish we weren't here right now."
"There's no point in whining about it. If we don't deal with it now, then someone else will have to deal with it seven millennia from now."
"Would it still be our problem?"
"I'll be honest with you. I don't know my own lifespan. What if we're both alive 7,000 years from now?"
"That would both rock and suck. I don't know how, but I know it's true."
Dante laughed. "Don't worry. From now on, you are the priority. You always have been. If we must make a certain sacrifice, then so be it."
"Are you honestly prepared to do that?"
"If I have no other choice, then yes."
*
The dining room emptied methodically as Lineia chased everyone out like they were children she wished she could kill. Eventually, there were only Deanna and Arkyle. The only sound was Arkyle tapping his fingers on the table. Deanna sat on the other side of the table.
"Why sit all the way over there, dear wife?" he asked. "Come over here where I can touch you."
"I'm fine over here. Thank you. And don't call me wife."
"Right. So, how have you been these past eighteen years?"
"Homesick."
"Good. Is the family all right?"
"What family?"
Arkyle stopped tapping. "Don't play innocent. I know you brought Dante with you. Everybody knows. It appears I'm the only one who hasn't seen the little bundle of misery you disgracefully brought into the world."
"I am no disgrace. I am still Min Ná."
"Min Ná are all dead. You are nothing."
"You are nobody to tell me such things."
"Then you won't mind if I be honest with you. Why did you return?"
"This is my home."
"Not anymore. Anyone with the least bit of sense would have stayed on Earth. You only think you belong here. You can thank Lineia for that."
"That's bullshit, and you know it."
"You are bullshit, and you know it. Nobody wants you. The only reason we summoned you is because we really want the girl."
Deanna raised her eyebrows. "Summoned me? No one summoned me. I came here of my own free will to reclaim what's rightfully mine."
"Think what you want." Arkyle smirked. "Nobody wants you," he repeated. "You are nothing to us. When we get what we want, you will all die, starting with you."
"What is it about Lilith that any of you would give a damn about?"
"Her name is Lilith? You'd be able to answer your own question if you were a better mother."
"A better mother!" Deanna slapped the table and stood. "How dare you say such a thing about something you know nothing of!"
"Then why don't you ask Lilith? She knows more about your parenting skills, or lack thereof, better than anybody."
Deanna sat down again. "Is that why you called me to the dining room? To torture and offend me?"
"You torture yourself. You're blind to what's going on around you. As soon as we're done, you're dead. Don't believe me if you don't want to. It won't change the outcome. Why do you think I'd be so brazen to tell you any of this?"
"You're pathetic. You can do nothing to me."
"I'm not the one who's doing it."
"I don't care what you say. My life has been fine on Earth, but I belong here."
"Where do they belong?"
"They belong anywhere they please."
"Even Lilith?"
Deanna scratched her head in frustration. "Whatever. I will ask. They won't complain."
"Will you bet your life on it?"
"Why not?"
"You have no idea what you're getting into. You'll lose that bet."
"We'll see." Deanna stood. This time she intended to leave. "This is my land. This is my empire. That is my throne. Not yours."
"Were they worth it?"
"What?"
"Dante and Lilith. Were they worth your betrayal of your sacred vows and centuries of tradition?"
"There were no sacred vows. We were married in name only."
"But we were married, and we still are. Therefore, you are at the mercy of your own traditions. Don't think you will not pay for your actions."
"That's fine by me." Deanna knocked her chair over deliberately. She took only three steps when Arkyle asked her a question. "What was that?" she asked.
"What was Lilith's first word?"
"What difference does it make?"
"Just food for thought."
Deanna raised her fist and casually lifted her middle finger. Then she turned and marched out of the dining room. She went straight for where she'd been told Lilith was staying. It occurred to her only briefly that she had asked for the location only because she saw Dante follow Lilith. She pounded on the door as if she intended to raze it. She was startled when Dante opened the door.
"What do you want?" Dante asked.
"I want to talk to Lilith."
"Why? She doesn't want to talk to you."
"I'd rather be the judge of that. Why are you here?"
"She's my daughter. It's my job to give her that shoulder to cry on when she's been backstabbed."
"It's not what you think!"
"No, it's what she thinks."
"You're right, okay? So, may I please come in?" Dante stepped aside to let her through. She saw Lilith lying on the bed in the fetal position. Lilith's back was turned to her. "Lilith? It's Mom."
"She won't answer you," Dante said.
"How do you know?"
"She said so."
"Did she say that to you?"
"Would you prefer she said it to you?"
Deanna flailed her arms in desperation. "Why would she say that?"
"Maybe it had something to do with the whole 'his daughter' thing earlier. Before that, it was your need to run up here and leave us behind in the water. To drown, for all you knew. The list is several years long. Where shall we begin?"
"I knew you would make it up here. As for the whole semantics issue, I did it for your own good."
"Why? Don't try to believe that no one knows. Everyone knew when you left nearly twenty years ago. Wait, you didn't leave. You were kicked out."
"Okay. I see where this is going. I didn't come here for that. I came to talk to Lilith. Do I have your permission to do so?"
"Can it wait? She's still trying to recover from the trip."
"Whatever. I'll talk to you two in the morning, then?"
"Only if she wants to, which I seriously doubt."
"We'll see. She doesn't hate me."
"I'd more wisely hear that statement from her. She's most qualified to make that judgment. Don't you agree?"
"This is ridiculous. Just let me say something to her. Please."
Dante scratched the side of his mouth. In the corner of his vision, he saw Lilith curl tighter. "She's counting on me to be the better parent. That requires that I keep my promises. That, in turn, means I can't let you go anywhere near her."
Deanna huffed as if he had told a bad joke. "Why would she ask for such a stupid promise? She's a grown woman. She doesn't need you to watch her back all the time. Can't I at least hug her and hope she gets well soon?"
"Hug her? How many times have you hugged her in your entire life?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know exactly what I mean. You always had an excuse for keeping your distance. Your head hurt. You were busy. You didn't want her to ruin your clothes. Your back hurt. You were too tired. My personal favorite: you didn't want to accidentally incite something she couldn't control, only to actually do it later. Whether she was happy, angry, sad, or sick, I took care of everything.
"Who beat up the monsters in her closet? Who attended every school play and band recital? Who was at the soccer games? Who played with her in the rain puddles? Who comforted her when she cried? Who got up at 6:00 to suffer through Saturday morning cartoons with her? Who taught her how to ride a bike? Who stayed up by her bed every time she had a bellyache, the flu, or a fever? Every single answer to those questions is the same. Me, and only me."
Deanna swung her palm at Dante's face. He parried it with his hand and pushed her away. She braced herself against the doorpost. "You're full of it." Deanna hastened to Lilith's side. She seized Lilith's arm and began shaking her. Before Lilith had to react, Deanna found Dante's hand crushing her wrist.
The sour look on his face was enough to keep her silent. "If you touch her again," Dante said, "I swear, I'll kill you."
Deanna took that as a cue to leave. She winced in pain just before Dante's grip began breaking bones. When they both realized what was happening, he forced himself to slowly release her and gave her room to leave. She saved Dante the trouble of closing the door himself. A few seconds after Deanna left, Lilith started crying again. This time it was just water.
"I'm sorry you had to hear that," Dante said. Lilith didn't respond. "What is it this time?" Dante asked with genuine concern.
"I know you're tired of this."
"I'll have time to grow tired of it when you stop doing it. Now what's wrong?"
"She doesn't know. She doesn't know what they've done to her."
"Deanna? What have they done to her?"
The words were out of Lilith's mouth before she realized she had thought of them. "She has my mother's face, but not her fire."
*
"Indeed," Lineia said as she poked the sparkle of light in her palm. "Children!" Her call was followed by growling, howling, and cackling from the surrounding darkness. "It's dinner time!"