The rain was beginning to fall heavily. Arson paused under a tree and then ran down the road, his heavy school bag thumping painfully against his leg. He slowed down and then walked leisurely in the rain. A bit of water wouldn't hurt him anyway. Devil May Cry finally came into view. The rain began falling even harder. Thunder crashed in the sky. Arson ran the rest of the way, wincing slightly as his bag slammed against his thigh. Being fifteen is no joke! Why did I have to be moved up a year? And why do they have these dumb exams anyway?
Arson drew out his house keys and then allowed himself entry. He locked the door behind him. Dante and Trish were always warning him about keeping the door unlocked. They said it was unsafe. Arson was sure he'd be able to handle any trouble but still, he didn't ever want to get on Dante's bad side.
He saw a note that was lying on the table. He quickly scanned it and sighed. Trish and Dante always went out somewhere or another. He knew the job they did only too well, but still it must be exciting. He had often asked them whether he could come with them but they always refused. He guessed it was for his own good. In the middle of his chemistry exam, he couldn't think about killing demons. Besides, he didn't really like killing anyway. So why was he always eager to go with them? He shrugged and then sat down on the couch and opened up his school bag. Revision beckoned.
Arson tried to concentrate but then threw his pen down. It clattered onto the wooden floor, the sound echoing hollowly through the room. He could not be bothered today. It was his birthday after all. And birthdays were meant to be full of happiness, right? Not studying and giving yourself a headache trying to learn how to balance equations.
He grabbed the remote and flicked through the channels. There was nothing on. He sighed with boredom and switched it off. He looked at the table for his pen, remembered that he had thrown it and then looked about on the floor. He gasped as a strange sight met his eyes.
His pen was floating! Arson frowned and dropped to his belly, so then his eyes were level with the pen. He put his hand under it, and found that there was nothing holding it up. He waved his hand over it, and found again that there was nothing that was suspending it in the air. He looked around in bewilderment.
'Gran'pa?' No answer. 'Gran'pa, are you playing another trick on me?' Nothing. Arson frowned. Dante and Trish had definitely gone out. This was no trick. He wondered whether this was his doing. He cleared his throat and held out his hand.
'Come here!' he yelled. The pen did not move. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. Come here! Arson squeaked with surprise as he felt a heavy weight hit him on his forehead, sending him crashing him down on his back. He opened his eyes and sat up, rubbing his head. He stared in shock as he saw a sword lying by his side. Force Edge. Dante had rarely used the sword. So why had it come to him all of a sudden? Arson struggled to pick it up and then staggered over to the case where it was safely kept. The glass had been shattered. Arson looked at this in surprise and then gulped. Dante was not going to be happy about this. Not one bit. He quickly got out the dustpan and brush and started sweeping up the broken fragments of glass. He tried to concoct a story that he could tell. Maybe he could just tell Dante that it had suddenly happened. Maybe it had already been like that when he had come in. Yeah that sounded plausible. He could say that someone had been in to try and burgle the house and that he'd only found out about it when he had got into the house. But that would mean that his grandfather and Trish would search the house trying to figure out what else was missing. And even worse, that would mean lying. Arson sighed. He was doomed.
Arson went upstairs and into the bathroom to take a shower. It had been PE last lesson and he had ended up smelling like a lawnmower. Arson took pride in the fact that he was good at sports, as well as his lessons. Trish too was pleased for him, but Dante tended to treat this like a bad thing. Arson didn't understand why, nor did he care. He had no idea why he worked so hard, but work hard he did.
Arson turned on the hot water and closed his eyes as the water bounced off his skin. There was nothing like a hot shower for taking away the day's worries. Arson suddenly hissed with pain and looked down at his arm, where a sudden pain had made itself felt. An angry red sore had appeared on his arm. Arson felt another painful sting on his leg. And again, another sore he had somehow failed to notice.
---
Trish and Dante slowly walked into the house, Dante checking his sword for any spots of blood. At last he nodded in satisfaction and then sheathed his sword. Trish stopped short in the doorway.
'What the hell happened here?' Dante peered over her shoulder and saw the shattered case of Force Edge.
'Arson?' he called. There was no answer. Dante unsheathed his sword and slowly walked in, his pale blue eyes glowing with anticipation of another battle. Trish was more concerned about the well being of the boy.
'He's definitely here. His books are out.' Dante looked at the desk in disbelief.
'It's his birthday and he still studies. Jeez…' Trish ignored him.
'Maybe not. Look, his pen's on the floor.'
'So what?'
'Dante! Look at this!' Trish picked up the pen and turned it around. An ugly black mark greeted her sight. It depicted a phoenix and a Chinese Dragon intertwined. It was similar to a mark that Dante knew very well.
'Razzia?'
'No, I don't think so. His was a dragon and a serpent.' Trish looked up. 'Where's Arson?' The two looked up as they heard someone screaming in pain. Arson crashed through the bathroom door, fully clothed. Tears of pain were in his eyes. He staggered down the stairs and then collapsed in a heap. Trish noted the dark red patches on his skin, where the water had tried to eat away at his body. Arson gasped with pain, his eyes turning red and then into a dark unreadable black.
'What's happening to me?' he choked. His vision was suddenly engulfed by flames. A raw unexplainable anger rose in his heart. Someone had to pay for this. Someone needed to be punished. He snarled and rose to his feet, the strength of anger fuelling his body. Trish and Dante backed away from the wall of flames that was Arson.
Arson sprang at the two. Dante pushed Trish out of the way and grabbed a bottle of water. As Arson came closer, he smacked him on the back of the head with it and then somersaulted to one side. Arson's momentum carried him forwards. Dante sprang on him from behind, using the bottle like a weapon. Arson gave vent to another wild untamed snarl and turned. Dante quickly unscrewed the cap of the bottle and hurled the contents in Arson's face.
The flames died down immediately. Trish pounced on Arson with a towel and hastily dried him from the water. Arson gasped and panted.
'What the hell is happening to me?' he whispered. Dante grinned.
'Looks like your powers are kicking in again.'
'But I thought I'd grown out of that!'
'What d'you mean grown out of that? You're a devil! You can't fight facts.'
'But…when I was little…water hurt me like this and I got mad like just now. I haven't ever got out of control…until now. Why?' Dante looked thoughtful.
'How were you feeling before you morphed?'
'Scared. Very scared. I saw the blisters and I wondered whether I was going crazy or something.'
'That's it. When you were a kid, you were under a lot of stress and pain. That's why they kicked in early. But now, it's just because you're growing up.' Arson gave Dante a withering look.
'If that's true, then why don't you ever treat me like an adult?'
'Because you pull faces like that.' Arson got the hint.
'Sorry Gran'pa…' he said sheepishly. Trish stopped herself from laughing. It always made her feel amused when she heard Arson calling Dante that. The fact that Dante looked as though he was in his mid-thirties didn't do much to help. Dante caught another glimpse of the shattered case and understood what had happened.
'Your other powers must have taken effect as well.' Arson nodded.
'Watch.' Arson moved his hand so then his palm was facing Force Edge. 'I meant to go for my pen but then this happened.' Force Edge trembled spasmodically and then was still. Arson closed his eyes, frowning slightly in concentration. Force Edge slowly rose and came towards him, smacking him hard in the head again. Dante helped Arson up to his feet.
'Looks like you need to practise that.'
'Yes…' Dante handed Arson the sword. It glowed slightly, humming with energy. Trish frowned.
'Force Edge never did that when you handled it.'
'I know. Arson has been chosen as its wielder.' Arson smiled, unsure as to whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. 'Of course…I'll need to make some changes to the sword. Make it lighter.'
'No wait…look!' Trish called out. Dante watched as the sword suddenly split in two, even dividing the hilt into two. The sword burst into flames, much to Arson's fright. Despite this, he didn't drop it, his hold only tightened in panic. The flames didn't hurt him but only licked at his hands harmlessly. When the flames died down, Arson found that he was holding two cutlasses in his hands, both of them a dull red colour. Along the hilt was a flame pattern. Set deep inside the grooves of this motif were red jewels, presumably rubies.
Arson looked up at Dante and Trish, bewildered. He tried to pass them to Dante, but he refused.
'They're yours now, kid.' Arson looked down at his new weapons. 'From tomorrow onwards, you won't sleep. I'll train you and teach you how to use your powers. By Monday, you would have learnt all I know, and maybe more.' Arson said nothing but nodded mutely.
'You'd better go and get as much rest as you possibly can,' said Trish gently. Arson picked up his bag and meekly went upstairs, shock from the latest developments in his life leaving him dumbstruck.
Dante looked towards Trish.
'I know that sign. I read about it.' Dante walked over to his bookshelf and pulled out a musty old book. The pages were yellowed and stained. The edges of the paper had been run smooth and were mostly tattered because of overuse. Dante flicked through the pages, ignoring it when several fell out.
'Here! Take a look at this.' Trish read from the book.
' "The mark appears as thick black slashes. The slashes will then form into the shape of a dragon and a phoenix. This is the mark of Kryder's strength. All of his victims were marked with this insignia, a sign of retribution and rebirth." Arson's pen is marked with Kryder's emblem?' Dante nodded.
'I don't like the idea of this.' Trish laughed nervously.
'It was just the pen though.'
'No…Arson's arm has also been marked. I saw it just after I threw water at him.' Trish's face went pale. 'I'll have to teach him everything his older self and I knew. God knows what else he can do. I mean, he's half angel. If I can somehow find something else about them, then I could try and get him to tap into that power as well.'
Arson had been listening to the conversation from the top of the stairs. He had wanted a drink but then when he had heard the serious tone of Dante's voice, he had chosen to wait until they had finished talking. Arson looked down at his arm and uncovered the mark. He had thought it had looked pretty cool, but now he thought otherwise. He wondered about his father and was then filled with hope. Maybe it meant his father, not the Kryder of old…maybe he was somewhere near and trying to find him. But maybe Kryder wanted to kill Arson for what the other half of him was; an angel. Maybe he was just like Ophelia and hated angels as much as Ophelia had hated demons.
Arson cradled his head in his arms and then thought back to the conversation. His older self…what the hell did Dante mean by that? Arson looked up as a shadow fell over him. He hunched down. Dante sighed wearily.
'How long have you been sitting there?'
'I heard the whole thing.'
'Looks like I've got some explaining to do…this is going to be one hell of a long night.'