Sparda's Sorrow
"I can't sleep here," Lilith said. "We need to leave. Now."
"What's the hurry?" Dante asked.
"I just have this feeling that if I fall asleep, something will try to sneak in here and slit my throat. I hate this palace. I hate this city. I hate this entire realm of existence. We should have stayed on Earth."
"I agree with you, but we can't leave without our weapons."
"Then we'll just have to find them. The traditional way."
"Looking?"
Lilith smiled. "You read my mind. When do we start?"
"Right now." Dante slipped his gloves on and reached into his pocket. "Do you feel like you could take on a demon without collapsing?"
"I could take on an arena full of them."
"You're lying, but I'll ignore it. Hold out your arm."
Lilith extended her left arm. Dante pulled what she thought was a watch out of his pocket and tied it around her wrist. When she got a closer look at it, she saw it was actually a strange bracelet. "What is this?"
"It's called the Bangle of Time. I picked it up on a job long ago."
"The one where you fought Mundus?"
Dante furrowed his eyebrows. "How did you..."
"About Mundus? Grandpa's former employer? The Lord of the Underworld Grandpa rebelled against to protect Earth from a demonic invasion? And then you had to do the same thing? How could I not know?" She slid off the bed and looked at the bracelet again. "What does this thing do? How do I use it?"
"You'll know when you need it. Trust me."
"That sounds reasonable, considering who just said it. What do we do now?"
"We find my stuff, and then you get caught."
Lilith placed her hands on her hips and leaned forward. "I'm sorry. I missed that last part. I do what?"
"We can't leave Deanna behind without at least attempting to get her out of here. If anything comes up, then we can leave."
"Oh come on! Why? Did you try to save YOUR mother when she betrayed you?" As soon as the words left her mouth, Lilith threw both hands over her face as if to ward off a strike. "I am so sorry! I didn't mean that!"
After a long silence, Dante said, "I know." Lilith lowered her hands to her mouth. "The only reason you said it was to find a reason not to go back for Deanna. I won't take it personally. THIS TIME!"
Lilith bowed her head. "You're right. Just don't use the glowing eyes thing that was so popular when I was little."
"Fine. Remind me later to tell you that story, so you'll know what really happened."
*
Lineia rolled the sparkle of light back and forth across her palm. She rocked herself on the throne to a tune only she heard. The door opened to admit three people into the throne room. Two of them were palace sentinels. The third was Deanna. The sentinels were dragging her limp body across the floor. When they got as close as Lineia would allow, one of them grabbed Deanna's hair and pulled her head up. Her face was covered with her own blood.
"Oh dear," Lineia said in mock concern. "Did they hurt you? I'm so sorry. I told them only to bring you here." Lineia motioned to the sentinels to leave Deanna with her. They dropped her to the floor and exited. Deanna managed to push herself to her knees. "Is something wrong?" Lineia asked. She continued to sound concerned.
Deanna didn't raise her head. "Why did they do this to me?" she asked weakly.
"Because you have something I want." Lineia spoke as if she were struggling with an accent. "And I want it now."
"What are you talking about?" Deanna put a hand on her chest to ease the pain.
Lineia put her hand on Deanna's chin and lifted Deanna's face. "I'm talking about Lilith. Your daughter. She is your daughter, isn't she? Don't think I didn't know. Everybody knew."
"What? What is it about Lilith that you want?"
"It has to do with her lineage. We would have taken Dante if he were younger. Lilith, on the other hand, is still practically a baby. She's easier to control."
"That doesn't answer my question. What are you talking about?"
"What am I talking about?" Lineia released Deanna and stood. "I'm talking about the blood of Sparda!"
"Sparda," Deanna whispered to herself.
"That's right. It is better that we take Lilith anyway. She has latent powers that even Dante doesn't understand. Her soul would be such a precious commodity. Imagine if I could fuse those powers with my own. Those powers came down from a being who successfully rebelled against Mundus. Just imagine the possibilities! Besides, she was next on my list."
"You're starting to sound like a damn child."
Lineia licked her lips. "Really? Maybe I'm being a little selfish. Maybe you would like to know the real reason you just had to come home, despite the fact that no one wants you here. Other than me, of course." Lineia dropped the sparkle of light onto the floor next to Deanna. "Do you see that, Deanna? That is why you returned."
Deanna reached out to touch the sparkle of light. An aura of cold air prevented her from attempting to hold it. "What is that?"
"It's your soul." Deanna looked at her with wide eyes. "Well," Lineia corrected herself, "it's half of your soul."
Deanna stared at her in disbelief. "How?"
"The night before your unfortunate exile, your soul was extracted from your body while you slept. We needed you alive, so we split your soul in half and gave you just enough to keep you functional. The part we kept was used to summon you back when Lilith was ready. Sadly for Lilith, the part of you that had any maternal instinct stayed here with us." Deanna opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. "Don't act like that hurt," Lineia said. "You know you were a negligent mother. When's the last time you even got a Mother's Day gift? You killed her dog, for crying out loud!"
Deanna pretended not to listen. She reached out for the sparkle again. Lineia's heel descended upon it. Deanna shivered in horror as she heard the sound of glass shattering under Lineia's foot. She curled on the floor and wept. Lineia covered her mouth with her hand. "Oops! Did I do something bad? Don't worry. It'll clear right up. Look, we have visitors!"
Deanna didn't turn around to see what Lineia was referring to. She didn't realize what was going on until more sentinels dropped Lilith on the floor beside her. Despite the pain in her chest, Deanna screamed.
"Stop it!" Lineia scolded. "I declare, you sound like someone's killing you."
Deanna crawled to Lilith's side. "I'm sorry," Deanna said, "for everything, now that I know why it happened like this." Lilith closed her eyes as if not to listen.
"That is so," Lineia sighed, "disgusting." She nodded to one sentinel. "Please do something about this."
The sentinel stepped forward. Deanna was completely unaware of him. He raised his halberd over his head and plunged it straight through Deanna's neck. Deanna could not cry out. Lilith did it instead. She was greeted by the sight of her mother dying beside her. The sentinel pulled the halberd free as a flame shot through Deanna's neck and severed her head before she hit the floor. Lilith covered her mouth with one hand and tried to push herself away, but her feet kept slipping in the blood puddle. She accidentally tasted some of the blood on her hands, but refused to admit to herself that she liked the flavor.
"Don't bother crying," Lineia said. "You don't have the time." She leaned over Lilith's head. "Now, where is Dante?" Lilith didn't answer. "It's like that? I don't suppose you let yourself get captured on purpose? I imagine you're almost if not just as strong as he is. It would require several grown men simply to slow you down. Am I right?"
Lilith tried to stand up. Lineia snatched her to her feet by her shirt and slammed her into the throne. Lilith fought to prevent the chair from falling backwards. "Well, I'm stronger than you are," Lineia pointed out. "There is no way you're leaving this place alive. You will soon be just like her." Lineia pointed to Deanna's head on the floor. Lilith's face twitched. "You're not going to cry, are you? By all means, do so."
"What's it to you?"
"Your mother is dead. She's fresh worm food. Do not pretend that means nothing to you. You're halfway to being an orphan."
Lilith resisted vomiting on Lineia just because Lineia was so upbeat. "Don't talk about my mother that way."
"If I don't, you will."
"That's not true." Lilith watched Lineia grin as her vision blurred. Fresh blood flooded her eyes. This time, they were not tears of sadness. They were tears of hate.
"That's what I want," Lineia said. She leaned forward and brushed away a blood tear with her finger. The blood droplet balanced on her nail. "Do you know what this is, Lilith? This is your birthright!"
"What do you mean?" Lilith asked slowly with authentic curiosity.
"This blood is linked to the power that makes you what you are. When these tears are shed in hate, they make you stronger. Can't you feel it?"
Lilith definitely felt something. Her knuckles were ashen from grasping the armrests. "I don't understand."
"Look at that." Lineia pointed to Deanna, but Lilith's gaze didn't follow. "You hate me, don't you? Don't hold it in. Use it. You have the outside world convinced that you're human, but you know you are not. End the charade right now, and let me see the real you."
There was a cold silence for a few seconds. "No," Lilith said at last. "I don't care what the world thinks I am. There is no charade."
More blood gushed from Lilith's eyes. Lineia took another drop. This time she licked it. "There is a name for these, you know? They are called Sparda's Sorrow."
"Why is that?"
"You're shedding the blood of Sparda. These tears were spawned by sorrow. It's a beautiful name. Don't you agree?"
Lilith turned her head until she saw Deanna in her peripheral vision. "Why did you kill my mother?"
"She was a tramp. Don't try to make me feel guilty. You tried killing her yourself once."
Lilith shot Lineia a nasty glare. Her eyes appeared as if they were fighting the urge to shoot fire. "My mother was no tramp!"
"Says who? Face it. Your mother's only purpose in life was breeding. You are the only thing she ever gave your father that made him happy without a catch-22. Of course, he won't have you for long."
Lilith leaned forward as she felt knots forming under her shoulder blades. She resisted the urge to transform. She longed for Lineia's blood, but she knew she should not have it.
"What's wrong?" Lineia teased. "Is the monster having a little trouble?"
"The only monster," Lilith managed to say between gasps, "is your own."
"There's one I've heard before. You've probably never transformed under duress. No doubt Dante forbade it to protect the people you were around, but he should have known that such a thing could not be kept from you. It is your birthright as much as it is his. Stop fighting it. Let me see the real you."
"This is the real me."
"No, it's not. The real you wants to kill me right now and pretend none of this ever happened. Now's your chance. Go for it."
"No." As Lilith spoke, more blood flowed down her face. A lot of it dripped down her chest to her abdomen. She felt herself losing the battle.
"Stop fighting it!"
"No!" Lilith sat back when she heard a whistle. Something red slashed across Lineia's face and embedded itself into the floor. Lineia shrieked in fury and spun to butcher whomever did that. Dante stood on the other side of the room. He was fully armed and ready to do some butchering of his own.
"You are indeed very resourceful," Lineia said while wiping blood from her face. "I like that in a man, especially a human one." Lineia tilted her head. "Then again, that doesn't really apply to you, does it?" She stuck her bloody fingers into her mouth.
Dante dared not make a move. The sentinels dropped their halberds. One by one, they released their human visages to mutate into their own demon forms. Dante didn't even pay attention to them. His eyes were strictly glued to Lineia. "I suppose you know where this is going."
"Fight you now?" Lineia whined. "But I have a cake in the oven waiting to finish baking! You can't interrupt."
"What!" Dante said it more out of bewilderment than any other way he could have. Then he saw Lilith stand up behind Lineia. Lilith saw Sparda poking through the floor. She grabbed it with one hand and thrust it towards Lineia's head. The extending tip grazed Lineia's cheek as she spun and slammed her fist into Lilith's abdomen. It wasn't that she had been punched in the stomach that shocked everyone, excluding Lineia. It was that Lineia's fist had gone straight through Lilith's abdomen.
Dante was already on the move when he saw Lineia turn around, but so were the sentinels. At every step he was challenged. Though he was outnumbered, he sped through them in black light. Lineia looked back just in time to see him before he tackled her. They skidded clear across the room and slammed into the wall. Dante reached for Lineia's neck, but his hands stopped in midair when she opened her hand. A glowing black sphere sat in her palm. He could sense a familiar essence spreading from it. If he didn't know better, he'd swear Lilith was inside it.
"Get off me," Lineia said, "or your daughter will join her mother in death."
Dante dared not reach for it. It was evident the sphere would break at the slightest mishap. He was fortunate it received only a minor fault when they collided with the wall. He coerced himself to stand and back away.
"Go get the girl," Lineia said. "I don't need her anymore."
Forcing himself not to look at Deanna, Dante rushed to Lilith's side. Her abdomen had not been torn open as he had thought. The only blood on it was Sparda's Sorrow. Lilith rolled onto her side and vomited blood. On the verge of actual panic for the first time in his adult life, Dante picked her up and slowly walked out backwards. His eyes were still fixed on Lineia as she stood and shook her gown.
"You probably already know this," Lineia said, "but she won't survive the night."
"It doesn't matter."
"I know," Lineia responded. As soon as Dante and Lilith were out of sight, Lineia turned to the nearest sentinel. "He'll be back. We'll be ready." She stepped over to Deanna's body and poked at it with her foot. "I suppose this will have to do for dinner. How ironic, how it is so easy for the mighty to fall."
*
Lilith struggled with every step. Every effort she put into it felt as if it were sucking a bit of her life. Once again everyone acted as if no one noticed them, which was the preference this time.
"How long has it been since we last came through here?" Lilith asked.
"Just a few hours." Dante dragged her along until he heard what he thought was rustling. Then it grew louder until he recognized it as a voice. Someone was talking to him, but when he rotated every which way to find the source, the townspeople continued ignoring them. There was nothing.
"What's wrong?" Lilith asked. His gyrations were making her back throb.
Dante stopped but didn't look at her. "Nothing."
"You're lying. I don't need to be complete to see that. You are totally on edge."
"Very funny."
"It's no joke."
Dante paid her no heed. He gave her a nasty surprise when he got a surprise of his own. Standing in front of them, in commoner clothes, was Deanna. At least, Dante thought it looked like Deanna. Though her mere appearance was enough to upset him, the fact that she was motioning for him to approach her caused him to release Lilith. He did not comprehend doing so until he heard a thud followed by an outcry of pain.
"Oh, shit!" He kneeled beside her and hauled her to her feet. "I am so sorry."
"Whatever." Lilith bent her arm to ensure it was all right. "What happened?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Like all my friends believe you're a bounty hunter?"
"Very funny."
"No joke."
Dante pulled Lilith in the general direction the figure had gone. He saw Deanna again further along. He released Lilith again, but this time he caught her before she completely toppled over.
"Please!" Lilith pleaded. "You've got to stop doing that!"
"Didn't you see her?"
"See who?"
"I guess not." Dante ignored Lilith's inquiries. She stopped asking when she felt her heart skip a beat. "What's happening?"
Lilith began panting. "I don't know."
"Come on."
Lilith pulled away from him. "I can't! I can't keep up! I'm not like you anymore. She took it from me."
"And I'll get it back," Dante promised, "but you have to keep going."
"I'll die if I go on."
"You'll die if you don't."
Rather than give her a chance to argue with him, he picked her up and carried her. He saw Deanna a third time. This time, he didn't drop Lilith. He obediently followed Deanna outside the city. The figure pointed the way they had come hours earlier and disappeared. Dante followed the trail back towards the ocean. Footprints dotted the sand. Following his intuition, he traced the prints half a mile down the beach. When he saw the partially submerged cave, he stretched Lilith across the ground and left her there.
Just as Dante entered the cave, a blast of cold air hit him. The voice spoke to him again from inside. Going on his intuition again, he followed the voice. A bright blue light shimmered at the end of the cave. The air became colder as Dante neared it. The voice silenced itself when he was far enough inside to see the true source of the light. By the time he got there, ice crystals had already formed on his hair and skin. Before him were several pillars of crystal. Most of them were more than twice his height.
"Is this what I was supposed to find?" Dante had no idea whom he was talking to. He touched the nearest crystal. The cold hit him instantly despite the gloves. He walked along the path the crystal towers formed. At the other end was a glowing pond surrounded by smaller crystals on three sides. The pond was frozen. "What is this?"
The voice did not return. Instead, a sense of dread fell over him. Dante heard a faint screeching at the cavern entrance. "Lilith!" Dante ran nonstop up the cave and outside. Nothing was there. He hurried to where he had left Lilith. She was untouched. Farther up the beach, screeching human-dog hybrids inched towards her. "Oh no, you don't." Dante pulled Sparda free and lifted Lilith over his shoulder. As soon as one canine moved, Dante threw Sparda at the dog in the lead. The red scythe sliced through five of them before returning to Dante's hand. While the remaining canines tried to sort through the chaos, Dante ran back to the cavern. He headed straight for the frozen pond at the end of the crystal path. He placed Lilith against the wall and wrapped his coat around her.
"Where are we?" Lilith inquired weakly. "Why is it so cold in here? It feels like a meat locker."
"I don't know, and I don't know."
"Why did you bring me here?"
"I don't know that either. Something led me here." Dante was sure he knew what happened. Since Deanna was dead, her soul had reconstituted itself and was trying to make amends by helping them.
"What about you? Won't you freeze in here?"
"I'll be fine. It's you I'm worried about."
Lilith tried to sit up. A severe pain forced her back against the wall. She convulsed as if she were being electrocuted. Dante grabbed both her arms. The seizure suddenly left her. Lilith looked at Dante and struggled to say something. She never got the words out. She gasped twice and fell limp.
"Lilith?" Dante shook her. She didn't respond. Dante laid her down and put his ear to her chest. Her heart had stopped. He positioned his hands as if to begin CPR, but his attention was stolen by more screeching further up the cave. "Damn."
There was only one other thing he could think of to keep Lilith alive while he returned to retrieve her powers from Lineia. He stepped to the frozen pond and put on an Ifrit gauntlet. In one hefty punch, the ice cover shattered. Ice cold water splashed into his face. He took off Ifrit and pulled some of the ice out of the way. He put his coat back on since Lilith wouldn't be needing it. Then he hoisted her up and slowly lowered her feet first into the water. When her head went under, he placed the ice over her.
"I'm sorry Lilith," he said as he watched her silhouette sink, "but I have work to do." He positioned Alastor blade down and plunged it into the frozen ground. Alastor went through easily. Bolts of lightning flashed from the sword across the frozen cave. "Take care of her," Dante whispered to Alastor before leaving to prepare for his final confrontation with Lineia.
"I can't sleep here," Lilith said. "We need to leave. Now."
"What's the hurry?" Dante asked.
"I just have this feeling that if I fall asleep, something will try to sneak in here and slit my throat. I hate this palace. I hate this city. I hate this entire realm of existence. We should have stayed on Earth."
"I agree with you, but we can't leave without our weapons."
"Then we'll just have to find them. The traditional way."
"Looking?"
Lilith smiled. "You read my mind. When do we start?"
"Right now." Dante slipped his gloves on and reached into his pocket. "Do you feel like you could take on a demon without collapsing?"
"I could take on an arena full of them."
"You're lying, but I'll ignore it. Hold out your arm."
Lilith extended her left arm. Dante pulled what she thought was a watch out of his pocket and tied it around her wrist. When she got a closer look at it, she saw it was actually a strange bracelet. "What is this?"
"It's called the Bangle of Time. I picked it up on a job long ago."
"The one where you fought Mundus?"
Dante furrowed his eyebrows. "How did you..."
"About Mundus? Grandpa's former employer? The Lord of the Underworld Grandpa rebelled against to protect Earth from a demonic invasion? And then you had to do the same thing? How could I not know?" She slid off the bed and looked at the bracelet again. "What does this thing do? How do I use it?"
"You'll know when you need it. Trust me."
"That sounds reasonable, considering who just said it. What do we do now?"
"We find my stuff, and then you get caught."
Lilith placed her hands on her hips and leaned forward. "I'm sorry. I missed that last part. I do what?"
"We can't leave Deanna behind without at least attempting to get her out of here. If anything comes up, then we can leave."
"Oh come on! Why? Did you try to save YOUR mother when she betrayed you?" As soon as the words left her mouth, Lilith threw both hands over her face as if to ward off a strike. "I am so sorry! I didn't mean that!"
After a long silence, Dante said, "I know." Lilith lowered her hands to her mouth. "The only reason you said it was to find a reason not to go back for Deanna. I won't take it personally. THIS TIME!"
Lilith bowed her head. "You're right. Just don't use the glowing eyes thing that was so popular when I was little."
"Fine. Remind me later to tell you that story, so you'll know what really happened."
*
Lineia rolled the sparkle of light back and forth across her palm. She rocked herself on the throne to a tune only she heard. The door opened to admit three people into the throne room. Two of them were palace sentinels. The third was Deanna. The sentinels were dragging her limp body across the floor. When they got as close as Lineia would allow, one of them grabbed Deanna's hair and pulled her head up. Her face was covered with her own blood.
"Oh dear," Lineia said in mock concern. "Did they hurt you? I'm so sorry. I told them only to bring you here." Lineia motioned to the sentinels to leave Deanna with her. They dropped her to the floor and exited. Deanna managed to push herself to her knees. "Is something wrong?" Lineia asked. She continued to sound concerned.
Deanna didn't raise her head. "Why did they do this to me?" she asked weakly.
"Because you have something I want." Lineia spoke as if she were struggling with an accent. "And I want it now."
"What are you talking about?" Deanna put a hand on her chest to ease the pain.
Lineia put her hand on Deanna's chin and lifted Deanna's face. "I'm talking about Lilith. Your daughter. She is your daughter, isn't she? Don't think I didn't know. Everybody knew."
"What? What is it about Lilith that you want?"
"It has to do with her lineage. We would have taken Dante if he were younger. Lilith, on the other hand, is still practically a baby. She's easier to control."
"That doesn't answer my question. What are you talking about?"
"What am I talking about?" Lineia released Deanna and stood. "I'm talking about the blood of Sparda!"
"Sparda," Deanna whispered to herself.
"That's right. It is better that we take Lilith anyway. She has latent powers that even Dante doesn't understand. Her soul would be such a precious commodity. Imagine if I could fuse those powers with my own. Those powers came down from a being who successfully rebelled against Mundus. Just imagine the possibilities! Besides, she was next on my list."
"You're starting to sound like a damn child."
Lineia licked her lips. "Really? Maybe I'm being a little selfish. Maybe you would like to know the real reason you just had to come home, despite the fact that no one wants you here. Other than me, of course." Lineia dropped the sparkle of light onto the floor next to Deanna. "Do you see that, Deanna? That is why you returned."
Deanna reached out to touch the sparkle of light. An aura of cold air prevented her from attempting to hold it. "What is that?"
"It's your soul." Deanna looked at her with wide eyes. "Well," Lineia corrected herself, "it's half of your soul."
Deanna stared at her in disbelief. "How?"
"The night before your unfortunate exile, your soul was extracted from your body while you slept. We needed you alive, so we split your soul in half and gave you just enough to keep you functional. The part we kept was used to summon you back when Lilith was ready. Sadly for Lilith, the part of you that had any maternal instinct stayed here with us." Deanna opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. "Don't act like that hurt," Lineia said. "You know you were a negligent mother. When's the last time you even got a Mother's Day gift? You killed her dog, for crying out loud!"
Deanna pretended not to listen. She reached out for the sparkle again. Lineia's heel descended upon it. Deanna shivered in horror as she heard the sound of glass shattering under Lineia's foot. She curled on the floor and wept. Lineia covered her mouth with her hand. "Oops! Did I do something bad? Don't worry. It'll clear right up. Look, we have visitors!"
Deanna didn't turn around to see what Lineia was referring to. She didn't realize what was going on until more sentinels dropped Lilith on the floor beside her. Despite the pain in her chest, Deanna screamed.
"Stop it!" Lineia scolded. "I declare, you sound like someone's killing you."
Deanna crawled to Lilith's side. "I'm sorry," Deanna said, "for everything, now that I know why it happened like this." Lilith closed her eyes as if not to listen.
"That is so," Lineia sighed, "disgusting." She nodded to one sentinel. "Please do something about this."
The sentinel stepped forward. Deanna was completely unaware of him. He raised his halberd over his head and plunged it straight through Deanna's neck. Deanna could not cry out. Lilith did it instead. She was greeted by the sight of her mother dying beside her. The sentinel pulled the halberd free as a flame shot through Deanna's neck and severed her head before she hit the floor. Lilith covered her mouth with one hand and tried to push herself away, but her feet kept slipping in the blood puddle. She accidentally tasted some of the blood on her hands, but refused to admit to herself that she liked the flavor.
"Don't bother crying," Lineia said. "You don't have the time." She leaned over Lilith's head. "Now, where is Dante?" Lilith didn't answer. "It's like that? I don't suppose you let yourself get captured on purpose? I imagine you're almost if not just as strong as he is. It would require several grown men simply to slow you down. Am I right?"
Lilith tried to stand up. Lineia snatched her to her feet by her shirt and slammed her into the throne. Lilith fought to prevent the chair from falling backwards. "Well, I'm stronger than you are," Lineia pointed out. "There is no way you're leaving this place alive. You will soon be just like her." Lineia pointed to Deanna's head on the floor. Lilith's face twitched. "You're not going to cry, are you? By all means, do so."
"What's it to you?"
"Your mother is dead. She's fresh worm food. Do not pretend that means nothing to you. You're halfway to being an orphan."
Lilith resisted vomiting on Lineia just because Lineia was so upbeat. "Don't talk about my mother that way."
"If I don't, you will."
"That's not true." Lilith watched Lineia grin as her vision blurred. Fresh blood flooded her eyes. This time, they were not tears of sadness. They were tears of hate.
"That's what I want," Lineia said. She leaned forward and brushed away a blood tear with her finger. The blood droplet balanced on her nail. "Do you know what this is, Lilith? This is your birthright!"
"What do you mean?" Lilith asked slowly with authentic curiosity.
"This blood is linked to the power that makes you what you are. When these tears are shed in hate, they make you stronger. Can't you feel it?"
Lilith definitely felt something. Her knuckles were ashen from grasping the armrests. "I don't understand."
"Look at that." Lineia pointed to Deanna, but Lilith's gaze didn't follow. "You hate me, don't you? Don't hold it in. Use it. You have the outside world convinced that you're human, but you know you are not. End the charade right now, and let me see the real you."
There was a cold silence for a few seconds. "No," Lilith said at last. "I don't care what the world thinks I am. There is no charade."
More blood gushed from Lilith's eyes. Lineia took another drop. This time she licked it. "There is a name for these, you know? They are called Sparda's Sorrow."
"Why is that?"
"You're shedding the blood of Sparda. These tears were spawned by sorrow. It's a beautiful name. Don't you agree?"
Lilith turned her head until she saw Deanna in her peripheral vision. "Why did you kill my mother?"
"She was a tramp. Don't try to make me feel guilty. You tried killing her yourself once."
Lilith shot Lineia a nasty glare. Her eyes appeared as if they were fighting the urge to shoot fire. "My mother was no tramp!"
"Says who? Face it. Your mother's only purpose in life was breeding. You are the only thing she ever gave your father that made him happy without a catch-22. Of course, he won't have you for long."
Lilith leaned forward as she felt knots forming under her shoulder blades. She resisted the urge to transform. She longed for Lineia's blood, but she knew she should not have it.
"What's wrong?" Lineia teased. "Is the monster having a little trouble?"
"The only monster," Lilith managed to say between gasps, "is your own."
"There's one I've heard before. You've probably never transformed under duress. No doubt Dante forbade it to protect the people you were around, but he should have known that such a thing could not be kept from you. It is your birthright as much as it is his. Stop fighting it. Let me see the real you."
"This is the real me."
"No, it's not. The real you wants to kill me right now and pretend none of this ever happened. Now's your chance. Go for it."
"No." As Lilith spoke, more blood flowed down her face. A lot of it dripped down her chest to her abdomen. She felt herself losing the battle.
"Stop fighting it!"
"No!" Lilith sat back when she heard a whistle. Something red slashed across Lineia's face and embedded itself into the floor. Lineia shrieked in fury and spun to butcher whomever did that. Dante stood on the other side of the room. He was fully armed and ready to do some butchering of his own.
"You are indeed very resourceful," Lineia said while wiping blood from her face. "I like that in a man, especially a human one." Lineia tilted her head. "Then again, that doesn't really apply to you, does it?" She stuck her bloody fingers into her mouth.
Dante dared not make a move. The sentinels dropped their halberds. One by one, they released their human visages to mutate into their own demon forms. Dante didn't even pay attention to them. His eyes were strictly glued to Lineia. "I suppose you know where this is going."
"Fight you now?" Lineia whined. "But I have a cake in the oven waiting to finish baking! You can't interrupt."
"What!" Dante said it more out of bewilderment than any other way he could have. Then he saw Lilith stand up behind Lineia. Lilith saw Sparda poking through the floor. She grabbed it with one hand and thrust it towards Lineia's head. The extending tip grazed Lineia's cheek as she spun and slammed her fist into Lilith's abdomen. It wasn't that she had been punched in the stomach that shocked everyone, excluding Lineia. It was that Lineia's fist had gone straight through Lilith's abdomen.
Dante was already on the move when he saw Lineia turn around, but so were the sentinels. At every step he was challenged. Though he was outnumbered, he sped through them in black light. Lineia looked back just in time to see him before he tackled her. They skidded clear across the room and slammed into the wall. Dante reached for Lineia's neck, but his hands stopped in midair when she opened her hand. A glowing black sphere sat in her palm. He could sense a familiar essence spreading from it. If he didn't know better, he'd swear Lilith was inside it.
"Get off me," Lineia said, "or your daughter will join her mother in death."
Dante dared not reach for it. It was evident the sphere would break at the slightest mishap. He was fortunate it received only a minor fault when they collided with the wall. He coerced himself to stand and back away.
"Go get the girl," Lineia said. "I don't need her anymore."
Forcing himself not to look at Deanna, Dante rushed to Lilith's side. Her abdomen had not been torn open as he had thought. The only blood on it was Sparda's Sorrow. Lilith rolled onto her side and vomited blood. On the verge of actual panic for the first time in his adult life, Dante picked her up and slowly walked out backwards. His eyes were still fixed on Lineia as she stood and shook her gown.
"You probably already know this," Lineia said, "but she won't survive the night."
"It doesn't matter."
"I know," Lineia responded. As soon as Dante and Lilith were out of sight, Lineia turned to the nearest sentinel. "He'll be back. We'll be ready." She stepped over to Deanna's body and poked at it with her foot. "I suppose this will have to do for dinner. How ironic, how it is so easy for the mighty to fall."
*
Lilith struggled with every step. Every effort she put into it felt as if it were sucking a bit of her life. Once again everyone acted as if no one noticed them, which was the preference this time.
"How long has it been since we last came through here?" Lilith asked.
"Just a few hours." Dante dragged her along until he heard what he thought was rustling. Then it grew louder until he recognized it as a voice. Someone was talking to him, but when he rotated every which way to find the source, the townspeople continued ignoring them. There was nothing.
"What's wrong?" Lilith asked. His gyrations were making her back throb.
Dante stopped but didn't look at her. "Nothing."
"You're lying. I don't need to be complete to see that. You are totally on edge."
"Very funny."
"It's no joke."
Dante paid her no heed. He gave her a nasty surprise when he got a surprise of his own. Standing in front of them, in commoner clothes, was Deanna. At least, Dante thought it looked like Deanna. Though her mere appearance was enough to upset him, the fact that she was motioning for him to approach her caused him to release Lilith. He did not comprehend doing so until he heard a thud followed by an outcry of pain.
"Oh, shit!" He kneeled beside her and hauled her to her feet. "I am so sorry."
"Whatever." Lilith bent her arm to ensure it was all right. "What happened?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Like all my friends believe you're a bounty hunter?"
"Very funny."
"No joke."
Dante pulled Lilith in the general direction the figure had gone. He saw Deanna again further along. He released Lilith again, but this time he caught her before she completely toppled over.
"Please!" Lilith pleaded. "You've got to stop doing that!"
"Didn't you see her?"
"See who?"
"I guess not." Dante ignored Lilith's inquiries. She stopped asking when she felt her heart skip a beat. "What's happening?"
Lilith began panting. "I don't know."
"Come on."
Lilith pulled away from him. "I can't! I can't keep up! I'm not like you anymore. She took it from me."
"And I'll get it back," Dante promised, "but you have to keep going."
"I'll die if I go on."
"You'll die if you don't."
Rather than give her a chance to argue with him, he picked her up and carried her. He saw Deanna a third time. This time, he didn't drop Lilith. He obediently followed Deanna outside the city. The figure pointed the way they had come hours earlier and disappeared. Dante followed the trail back towards the ocean. Footprints dotted the sand. Following his intuition, he traced the prints half a mile down the beach. When he saw the partially submerged cave, he stretched Lilith across the ground and left her there.
Just as Dante entered the cave, a blast of cold air hit him. The voice spoke to him again from inside. Going on his intuition again, he followed the voice. A bright blue light shimmered at the end of the cave. The air became colder as Dante neared it. The voice silenced itself when he was far enough inside to see the true source of the light. By the time he got there, ice crystals had already formed on his hair and skin. Before him were several pillars of crystal. Most of them were more than twice his height.
"Is this what I was supposed to find?" Dante had no idea whom he was talking to. He touched the nearest crystal. The cold hit him instantly despite the gloves. He walked along the path the crystal towers formed. At the other end was a glowing pond surrounded by smaller crystals on three sides. The pond was frozen. "What is this?"
The voice did not return. Instead, a sense of dread fell over him. Dante heard a faint screeching at the cavern entrance. "Lilith!" Dante ran nonstop up the cave and outside. Nothing was there. He hurried to where he had left Lilith. She was untouched. Farther up the beach, screeching human-dog hybrids inched towards her. "Oh no, you don't." Dante pulled Sparda free and lifted Lilith over his shoulder. As soon as one canine moved, Dante threw Sparda at the dog in the lead. The red scythe sliced through five of them before returning to Dante's hand. While the remaining canines tried to sort through the chaos, Dante ran back to the cavern. He headed straight for the frozen pond at the end of the crystal path. He placed Lilith against the wall and wrapped his coat around her.
"Where are we?" Lilith inquired weakly. "Why is it so cold in here? It feels like a meat locker."
"I don't know, and I don't know."
"Why did you bring me here?"
"I don't know that either. Something led me here." Dante was sure he knew what happened. Since Deanna was dead, her soul had reconstituted itself and was trying to make amends by helping them.
"What about you? Won't you freeze in here?"
"I'll be fine. It's you I'm worried about."
Lilith tried to sit up. A severe pain forced her back against the wall. She convulsed as if she were being electrocuted. Dante grabbed both her arms. The seizure suddenly left her. Lilith looked at Dante and struggled to say something. She never got the words out. She gasped twice and fell limp.
"Lilith?" Dante shook her. She didn't respond. Dante laid her down and put his ear to her chest. Her heart had stopped. He positioned his hands as if to begin CPR, but his attention was stolen by more screeching further up the cave. "Damn."
There was only one other thing he could think of to keep Lilith alive while he returned to retrieve her powers from Lineia. He stepped to the frozen pond and put on an Ifrit gauntlet. In one hefty punch, the ice cover shattered. Ice cold water splashed into his face. He took off Ifrit and pulled some of the ice out of the way. He put his coat back on since Lilith wouldn't be needing it. Then he hoisted her up and slowly lowered her feet first into the water. When her head went under, he placed the ice over her.
"I'm sorry Lilith," he said as he watched her silhouette sink, "but I have work to do." He positioned Alastor blade down and plunged it into the frozen ground. Alastor went through easily. Bolts of lightning flashed from the sword across the frozen cave. "Take care of her," Dante whispered to Alastor before leaving to prepare for his final confrontation with Lineia.