Blood Feast
Eryc deliberately kept his distance as he followed Dante into the street. The city was eerily quiet in the darkness. Dante was standing in the street amid what Eryc thought were shiny black stones twinkling under the moonlight. Eryc circled around so he could look Dante in the face.
Just to get the interrogation started, Eryc asked, "What happened in there?"
Dante's right eye twitched. With an indiscernible twist of his foot, something cracked on the ground. He politely moved his foot aside as Eryc kneeled to pick up the object. It was a knife with a blade made of jagged bone.
"What the hell is this?" Eryc asked.
"It's Lilith's," Dante answered. "She was fighting out here. It's the only way she could have lost it."
Eryc shrugged as he handed it over. "Maybe it was taken from her."
"Hardly."
Eryc kneeled to the ground to pick up one of the shiny black stones. It was frigid in his palm. To his surprise, it wasn't adamant like real stone. It wobbled like gelatin for a second before instantly melting. The liquid "rock" flowed over his palm and splattered onto the ground. Eryc stood and habitually wiped his hands against each other.
Dante inhaled deeply as a cool breeze blew through the city. He stifled a cough as the smell of blood filled his nostrils. Without another word to Eryc, Dante spun towards the city and walked away at an excruciatingly restrained pace. Eryc followed him into the city. They casually watched as hundreds of people somberly left their homes in a macabre parade. Some of them were carrying dismembered and partially decomposed corpses from their houses. Others were picking the bodies off the ground. The smell of blood and death increased as they drew closer to the center of town. Dante stopped when the smell of burning flesh was added under the other odors. He saw the tips of flames in the distance.
"A pyre," Eryc said beside him. "I'd like to see that from above."
Dante raised an eyebrow as the thought crossed his mind. "What are you contriving?" Eryc asked. "I hope you're not thinking of flying up there."
Dante responded with a knowing look before carefully pushing his way through the crowd. Eryc watched him approach the nearest building. No one else noticed him leap up the side of the building and land silently onto the roof. Eryc shook his head. "What a kid."
(X)
Dante stuffed his fists into his pockets. Below, a great pyre was ablaze in the middle of a plaza. People on the edges of the crowd were picking up corpses and passing them overhead to others. The corpses were ushered in this manner to the people in the center of the crowd, who tossed the bodies into the fire. Most of the youngsters lamented loudly in a collective howl. However, most of the older folks carried cold expressions of stoicism, as if they had seen this scene too many times to continue caring about it. Some of the people in both groups stayed on the edge of the crowd where they could vomit discreetly in back alleys.
Dante avoided sighing to keep the odor of death out of his throat. "A thousand words."
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
Dante watched Kaliel appear in his peripheral vision. "They do this all the time," Kaliel said. "Sometimes for days at a time. It's a real wonder there's any of them left to do it."
The two stood on the edge of the roof in silence as the mass funeral continued below. Dante was the first to break the silence. "Where is my daughter?"
"Right to the point. I like that."
"Where is she, damn it?"
"Sleeping. She's a lot safer where she is now than she could be anywhere else on this island."
Kaliel's breath fell short when he found Dante's hand suddenly appear around his throat. Dante spoke with his teeth partially clenched. "Don't play games with me. What happened to her? I know she was with you."
Kaliel grabbed Dante's wrist and drew a labored breath. "Be careful. How do you know that by harming me, you won't be harming her as well?"
"How do I know I would?"
"Are you willing to take that chance?"
Dante growled as he gradually pried his fingers from Kaliel's neck. He placed his left hand over his right fist. "You might as well come clean, or I'll try to kill you anyway."
Kaliel turned back towards the show below. "She was right about you, true son of Sparda." Kaliel didn't have to look to know Dante's reaction. "I know. She blabbed right before I put her away." Kaliel looked at him. "Don't worry. She is safe."
"I know. But for how long?"
"That depends on you."
"I hope you don't expect me to just up and disappear without a trace."
"I thought it would be too much to ask."
Dante shook his head. "I'm not leaving empty-handed. Kyra is trying to convince me I have to do something for her here."
Kaliel slightly lowered his head. "What are you to Kyra?"
Dante merely shrugged. Kaliel dared to ask, "Were you lovers?"
Dante's eyes widened, then he narrowed them as if looking for an ambiguous answer. "No," he finally said. "Far from it."
"What, then?"
"None of your damned business."
Kaliel chuckled. "Granted, this is an inauspicious environment. Let's have a talk over dinner."
"Now you're making fun of me."
"Not totally. I just want a chance to explain myself, and Kyra can explain herself to me."
Dante grimaced. "What's to explain? I don't want to eat anything with your name on it anyway."
Kaliel was momentarily distracted by a sudden explosion of wailing below. "Then let me help you build an appetite. There's something I want to show you tomorrow. A favorite sport of mine."
Dante shrugged again. "Oh hell. Why not?" He glanced back towards the fire. More bodies were still being thrown into the flames. "What happened to these people?"
Kaliel stepped closer to him as if expecting someone to eavesdrop. "Just trying to survive."
(X)
Kyra paced across the room for nearly an hour. She counted fifteen steps both ways. She slapped her palms together in anticipation until she heard the door open.
"Kaliel?"
"Who else?" Kaliel let the door shut completely before continuing. "Do you have anything else to report, Pythia?"
"Report?" Kyra tilted her head. "What did you do to Lilith?"
"Why? What is she to you?"
Kyra threw herself towards his voice. Kaliel sidestepped. She ran into the wall, bounced back, and slid to the floor. "You buried her in the cathedral! Didn't you! You bastard!"
Kaliel approached her from behind. "What difference does it make?"
Kyra didn't answer. Kaliel kneeled behind her and placed both hands onto her shoulders. He leaned closer to her. "Why? What does she matter to you?"
Kyra didn't answer immediately. Kaliel felt her shoulders quiver under his hands. Then she suddenly erupted in a fit of tears. "She's all that's left. She's all I have."
Kaliel shook his head. "I don't understand."
"You can't understand." Kyra leaned her head against the wall. "You never will."
Kaliel pressed against her shoulders. "She is alive, Kyra. She is young and strong. It will be a long time before she dies. I can taste it."
Kyra pulled her shoulders from him. "She's not just another one of your dinners for the Blood Feast. You will die for this."
"And I'll take everyone with me. Is that what you want?"
"It's better than this. I should have let the people kill you. I should have left you hanging on that pole all those years ago."
Kaliel leaned closely to her again. His hand reached around to touch her abdomen. "Where would that have left you? Who, other than I, would have taken care of you? You're just a blind little witch. You are nothing without me."
Kaliel seized Kyra's arm and pulled her to her feet. Before she could react, he turned her to face him and forcefully kissed her. When he pulled back, she pulled one hand free and slapped him. Kaliel was deliberately slow to recover from it. He stepped away from her and wiped his mouth.
"You'll learn, eventually. Gratitude does not stop me from seeking vengeance."
