True Colors

The morning twilight left an unusual chill on Dante's skin. A cold breeze rustled through the open balcony doors. Dante sat on the edge of the bed. He used Lilith's knife to pick at the skin under his fingernails until blood began to drip onto the carpet. The pain was the least important thing to him. He had been in this same position throughout the entire night since he and Eryc returned from the overblown funeral in the city. He had spent the entire night mentally seeking Lilith, but her presence seemed to be forever silent.

A sudden gust carried the smell of carbon and burned flesh into the room. Still partially in a trance, Dante stood and walked to the balcony. The gust became stronger as he leaned against the railing. He felt the all too familiar sensation of blood surging from his tearducts.

"All right," he said to himself. "What is it this time?"

The smell on the wind began to fade with his consciousness. In a deep meditative state, he closed his eyes and waited for any signal he could get from Lilith, his father, or even the Universe. When nothing came, he straightened his back. The death smell in the air increased sharply. Dante jumped back, only to realize he was not on the balcony. He, or rather, his mind, was within the main hall of some apparently historical building.

"Now we're getting somewhere."

The building was a large stone hall, like a medieval church. The stone floor tiles were misshapen, as if they had been repeatedly uprooted. A giant caryatid was centered against the back wall. Kaliel was sitting on the floor next to a hole in the floor. A body was stretched out in front of him. Dante got just close enough to realize that it was Lilith. Kaliel leaned over her with a dented bloody fork.

"What are you doing?" Dante asked too softly to be heard.

Kaliel responded anyway. He looked up with a smile. "Sit and eat." Kaliel stabbed Lilith with the fork and lifted a bleeding chunk of flesh from her body. She remained perfectly still as if dead. Caught off guard by the sight, Dante clenched his teeth. The death smell suddenly hit him again. Before Kaliel could stick the fork into his mouth, Dante quickly reached down to grab his wrist.

Kaliel smirked and dropped the fork. "I really wish you hadn't done that."

"I bet you do."

Kaliel pulled his arm free. With a swift wave of both hands, a powerful gust blew Dante into the air and backwards. He landed on his feet several meters from Kaliel. The wind did not completely die down. Dante moved forward as if to charge at him. Kaliel raised a hand, and an invisible barrier pushed Dante back another meter. Dante glanced at Kaliel's arm. Familiar curved spikes were protruding from them. Dante watched in feigned apathy as a pair of wings slowly emerged from Kaliel's shoulders. Dante then gave himself away when a second and third pair pulled out from behind them.

"See something you don't like?" Kaliel taunted. Dante tried to step forward, but the invisible barrier was still in place. Parts of it rippled where it was touched.

"There is nothing you can do," Kaliel continued. "She has no idea how powerful she is, or how powerful she has made me."

"You're not ready," Dante suddenly said. "The power will reject you."

Kaliel lowered his hand. "I doubt that. You can't defeat me in body, and I will crush your mind." Kaliel's wings pushed him into the air with one mighty flap. Before Dante could react, the barrier sucked air towards itself, then exploded. Blinding light burned his retinas as a searing wind ripped the flesh from his body.

With a sharp intake of breath, Dante opened his eyes. A few seconds passed before he realized he was in his body again. He gazed up at the ceiling dimly lit by the first sunlight. He sat up and massaged his hands, which had a dull ache that reminded him too well of his vision. Then he allowed himself a cocky laugh.

"This will be easy."

(X)

Kaliel sat on the bare cave floor while Kyra sat in her elevated chair over the crevice. She inhaled deeply as she tried to find an answer that did not want to make itself known. Kaliel stared into her face as torch light flickered across it.

"He was here," Kaliel suddenly said. Kyra opened her eyes, though she saw nothing.. "He was in my mind," Kaliel explained. "Just moments ago. He knows I have his daughter."

Kyra's mouth moved up and down as if speaking nonexistent words. "I have told him nothing," she finally said.

"It doesn't matter now. Have the gods spoken to you yet?"

Kyra shook her head as if accepting a death sentence. "They have severed themselves from me. There is only silence."

"All the more reason to hurry. Let's finish with our last two guests, and then we can go on as if nothing has happened." He stood and extended a hand towards Kyra. She hesitated. "What's wrong?" Kaliel asked.

Kyra finally lifted her own hand. Kaliel took it and pulled her from the chair. "Come on. I have to take care of some business. Would you care to join me?"

"You know I don't like to," Kyra said. "Your sense of law and justice is too much for me."

Kyra felt Kaliel tower over her. "Traitors are all around me," he whispered to her. He placed a hand against her cheek and tilted her head up. "I would've hoped that you, of all people, would understand that, especially after my little accident a few years ago."

"If I had no faith in you, then why did I save you?"

"Why, indeed? You too are full of deception."

The conversation died there. Kaliel jerked Kyra behind him. She felt the terrain change under her feet from grass and rock to stone pavement. There were few voices around to give away anyone's presence. The smell of the last night's funeral still lingered in the air.

"Hearty meal?" Kyra asked sarcastically.

"Very," Kaliel answered, to her surprise. "If only they knew the truth, then they would be grateful to give themselves to me."

"Sometimes death is better."

Kyra stopped when she felt Kaliel do so first. His grip on her hand increased for a few seconds. Then he relieved the pressure and jerked her on. "I suppose you would know," he finally said.

Though the rest of the trip was completely silent, Kyra knew exactly where Kaliel was taking her. Isolated about a mile to the left of the cathedral, another stone building waited for them. It appeared from the outside to be a fortress. The stone was a pale shade of blue. Kyra subconsciously placed her hand against it, but quickly drew it back as the cold made her skin prickle.

"Hurry," Kaliel said. "I believe we have an unexpected guest."

"Was he really unexpected?"

Kaliel chortled at the suggestion. "No. I guess he wasn't."

Kaliel carefully pulled Kyra up the staircase through a narrow corridor. He led her to a balcony that extended all the way around an apparent arena. Though it was designed to seat a few thousand, the seating area was empty. At least fifty people, however, were crowded in the arena below. All of them had their hands bound behind their backs with barbed wire. Most of them were screaming and crying as if expecting something horrible to pop up from the ground or fall from the sky to swallow them whole.

Kaliel placed Kyra in front of a seat. She felt for the armrests before dropping herself onto the cushion. Kaliel walked away from her without announcing himself. She leaned forward to listen to his footsteps as she visualized his path around the arena. A few meters away, Dante was waiting with his back to Kaliel.

"I was wondering when you'd get here," Dante said before Kaliel reached him.

"How did you know about this place?"

"It was in your mind. There were many things in there I wish I could have avoided."

"Yeah. Kyra says that a lot, too."

Dante glanced at Kyra before looking back to the people crowded below. "What is this place?"

"I think you already know."

"Humor me."

Kaliel snorted and walked to the edge. He whistled to get everyone's attention from below. "How shall we do this?" he asked Dante. "One at a time or en masse."

"It depends. What did they do?"

As if in answer to his question, Kaliel nodded to one of the armored guards below. The guard, who carried a giant axe, seized one haggard looking man and dragged him forward to a wooden block. "You have all been tried and found guilty of treason against the throne, blah blah blah. You know the drill. Any last words?"

The man shrieked as if he had lost all ability to speak. "Yeah," Kaliel said stoically, "I get that a lot, too."

Kaliel waved his head. Another guard pushed the man forward and forced his head against the wooden block. The first guard raised the giant axe. The second one did not move until the first one swung the axe down. In a single swipe, the axe crushed through the man's neck and severed it. Bright blood gushed over the wooden block.

Kaliel chuckled. "He's lucky. It usually takes more than one swing."

"What did they do to deserve execution?" Dante asked.

Kaliel shrugged. "There's so many of them nowadays. I don't even remember." Both remained silent as three more people were executed by decapitation. Then Kaliel whistled again. "Enough!" he called. "Choose something else!"

The next hour continued as such. Several people were hanged, then crucified, then burned alive until there was only one person left. Dante took note of a red tatoo on the last man's left arm. Kaliel whistled again.

"Get the big one for this!" he called to the guards.

Dante lowered his eyes as a large brass statue of a bull was pushed and pulled by several men into the arena. Upon seeing it, the man began to shriek, kick, and thrash about. Two guards had to hold him down.

Kaliel noticed Dante was looking away. "You know what this is, don't you?" There was no ridicule in his voice, but sincere curiosity instead.

"One of the worst things to ever come out of the ancient world," Dante said. "A brazen bull."

Kaliel turned back to the arena. "Why do you look away?"

"I am a killer by trade," Dante said, "but I am not immune to the suffering of the innocent."

"They are not innocent!" Kaliel growled through clenched teeth. "These animals deserve everything I give to them for what they've done."

"What would that be?"

Kaliel remained silent as the executioners below created a small fire beneath the statue. As the victim was dragged to the device, he looked up towards Dante and Kaliel. "Bastard!" he screamed. "The son of Sparda will doom us all!"

Dante flinched as if he had been the actual target of the accusation; in the back of his mind, he felt it was true. The victim continued struggling until they shoved him into the statue's hollow center. The fire beneath was stoked until the man within the device screamed with unimaginable agony. The screaming was quickly overshadowed by the artificial sound of lowing coming from the pipes in the statue's throat. Before the execution was complete, Dante turned and stormed away without warning. Kaliel's eyes remained on the execution. He shook his head as if in sorrow.

"I thought he'd be entertained." He turned and ran to Kyra. He plopped into the seat beside her. "Don't you think it rude of him to run off like that?"

Kyra stared blankly ahead. "He didn't run."

"Hmm." Kaliel remained in his seat. All they could hear was screaming from below. "Are you doubting me?" he asked.

"Why do you keep asking me that?" Kyra said.

"Because I don't trust you. I know there is some connection between you and Dante. You practically admitted it yesterday."

"I am loyal to you, Kaliel," she said as if she were trying to convince herself. "It is all in your head. Remember that I am the one who saved you when your family was slaughtered."

"I have not forgotten. I hope you will make sure your friends will be at dinner tomorrow night."

Kyra slowly nodded. "Of course."