Lyssa had no idea what to do with two, dire wolves, now that they had found their way into her care, but she wasn't about to send them away. Her demon heart was still too soft to deny a pair of cute pups.

She wandered further past the dryad's corpse, weak and injured from the fight, unsure of where to go, especially since Dante was no longer here to aid her. "Dante!" she called out into the forest, but was given no response.

The wolf pups suddenly ran off, as if they had been frightened by her panicked voice.

Alone, Lyssa took a few more steps, heavy breaths escaping her as she struggled to hold her weight, then called out again.

From overhead, bright, crimson leaves began to sprinkle through the air. This was different, and Lyssa tealized it had to be a sign.

Yet, she was too tired to walk anymore, and her energy was quickly giving out with every motion she made. She collapsed against a nearby trunk, her entire body feeling heavy and nearly impossible to hold upright for any longer.

She sank to the ground, the leaves crumbling beneath her weight. An engraved stone stood further ahead, standing to about knee's height. As she crawled closer, she was able to make out the symbols upon the cracked surface. Translated, they read:

Only her blood will open the door

To the effigy of her mother

At the foot of the slab was an empty bowl made of stone, seemingly fixed to the front.

Even in her exhaustion, it seemed pretty straightforward, what she had to do. Lyssa, who was already bleeding from her battle with the tree spirit, rose a hand to the gash on her forehead. Her fingertips wiped some of the blood from her temple. From her hand, the crimson would fall in droplets into the basin, and Lyssa waited.

And waited.

She sat up in confusion. What had she missed? Was it possible she might have misunderstood the writing?

Did she need more blood? Hating the idea of having to mutilate herself on a whim, she inhaled anxiously.

"Here. Try this."

Lyssa practically jumped at the voice that sounded behind her, and as she turned to see Dante had approached, he was tossing a rounded shape towards her side.

In disgust, Lyssa looked at the head of a black-haired woman, her eyes blacker than coal, and onyx blood dripping from her voided eyes, her mouth agape as if she had been beheaded in the midst of terror.

She took the head by the roots of its hair, hovering it over the bowl to let the black blood trickle into it, joining Lyssa's blood within. Then, suddenly, a massive tree before them opened its trunk, emitting an orange glow inside. Lyssa immediately felt the presence of the icon as the barrier opened.

For a moment, she was wrought with confusion. The engraving seemed so clear, and yet...

"Why didn't my blood work?" she hesitantly asked as she rose to her feet. She didn't want to admit that she felt a bit inferior, when this woman's severed head rolling into the basin seemed to do the trick.

Who was she?

"I found out some interesting things from our friend, Anansi," Dante said, coming up beside her. "Why didn't you tell me you had a cousin?"

There was something comical about his voice. He wasn't asking her a serious question, was he?

But then, it hit her like a smack in the face.

"Wait... Are you serious? How?"

"Turns out your Auntie Lilith has a bunch of little rascals running around the planet. She was one of them."

"And her blood worked?" Lyssa was still baffled.

"All part of the same lineage. I guess we found a loophole." She felt his hand take her arm, and she was pulled in towards Dante. "Hey." His hands then found both sides of her face. Lyssa looked up into his eyes. There was a sincerity she didn't think she had seen before. "I'm glad you're okay."

She might have swooned. Lyssa smiled, her heart quickening its pace in the casing of her chest, like a bird flapping its wings inside a bird cage. "I'm glad you are, too. I thought I lost you for a minute there."

She kissed his lips sweetly, but was interrupted by what felt like a muscle tremor invading her entire body. As much as she wanted to stay close to Dante a little while longer, she needed to finish the job.

Once the effigy was destroyed, it was time to return to civilization. They had no cellular service in order for Dante to make his phone call, and it was already too dark to navigate any further than they had to - but also, too dark to stick around here.

They came across the outskirts of a small town, the electric lights glowing through the fog to give it away. Once it was in sight, Dante checked his phone for a connection. He was able to send out a message to someone, but Lyssa didn't get to see who it was. After all, she was far too tired at this point to care. Leaning her face against his back, Lyssa took in the scent of leather and earth, her eyes fluttering to a close. Even as they started moving again, she only tightened her arms around his waist, otherwise unmoving as the Cavalier rode into town.

When her eyes opened again, Lyssa was no longer leaning on Dante's back. She was in a bed, the light of the sun shining through the window and straight into her eyes caused her to grunt and thrust her face into the pillow.

"Hey, there she is."

A voice chimed from the other side of the room, joined with a chuckle. It wasn't Dante's voice. Instead, it belonged to a woman. Lyssa, who was certain she had slept through the entire night and possibly all morning, lifted her head in curiosity. The woman stood on the other side of the room, wearing black, leather pants and a corset that exposed her midriff. She had incredibly long, golden hair. Lyssa had to admit, she was beautiful; but who the hell was she?

The door behind the stranger opened, and Dante came in, cradling a trio of two-liter bottles. Behind him, another woman came in, carrying a couple of pizza boxes. Instantly, the smell of food filled the room, riling Lyssa into full, alert consciousness.

Lyssa was getting ready to ask what on earth was going on, and why these two women were in the room, but Dante had already detected the confusion written on her face.

"This is Trish," Dante said, handing the blonde one of the bottles he was carrying. "And this is-"

"Lady," the other girl, who had short, black hair and a white, cropped jacket, looked annoyed as she set down the pizza.

Lyssa opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She was still trying to get her bearings, and didn't really know which question to ask first. Finally, she backtracked to something basic.

"Where are we?"

"Little town called Lion's Field." Trish said, crossing over into the next room. Though she was now out of sight, she spoke loudly so she could be heard. "Dante brought you in late last night, told us what you guys had been up to, and we came in this morning to help out." She came back in, wielding four, solo cups that she would spread out on the coffee table. Using one of the 2-liter bottles to fill them up with soda, she allowed herself to continue the explanation, no doing having predicted that Lyssa would have a lot of questions.

"So, family squabble, huh? Good thing it was short-lived. Anansi is psychotic by nature. She was bound to kill you herself if Dante hadn't gotten to her first."

"Yeah," Lyssa said slowly, and as a cup was handed to her, she gulped it down quickly. The sugar helped to get her energy back. "Still trying to wrap my head around that."

"Good news for you both, though," Trish now pulled out an envelope from the top of her corset. Lyssa couldn't help but wonder how she managed to shove that thing in there. "Your next icon is a slab in a luxury hotel. They hold an annual masquerade in honor of Lilith and Jezebeth.

"Big get-together of demons," Lady chimed in. "You know, the usual... Blood sacrifices, mass orgies..."

"Oh, the fun stuff," Dante teased. Lyssa, who was still trying to process everything, hardly acknowledged it.

"So, what's that?" As she gestured to the envelope with a nod, it was soon handed to her. Lyssa reluctantly took it. The paper was still warm from being tucked against Trish's cleavage.

"Your cousin's invitation to said event," she clarified. "To which you will attend, with your one guest, and pretend to be Anansi."

Lyssa's eyes flickered with contemplation. She was beginning to see a scheme unfold, but something told her that Trish already had this all planned out.

"So, how are Dante and I going to find this icon without getting caught?"

Trish smiled in amusement. "Oh, Dante's not your guest. He would draw too much attention with his reputation."

"What?" Dante complained. "Then, who is?"

"Trish is!" Lady chimed in energetically.

It was a solid strategy, all things considered. The plan was for Dante and Lady to keep to the shadows while Lyssa and Trish got the layout of the hotel. Only when they figured out exactly where the icon was would they be able to crash the party.

The icon was under heavy security - more sophisticated than the first two settings. Trish stressed multiple times how necessary it was for everyone to stick to the plan like super glue. Over the next couple of days, preparations were made. It was Trish that tutored Lyssa on how to behave like Anansi. A big part of the act required her to embrace her demonic side. As a succubus, allowing her instinct was a big part of the performance, but she needed that confidence.

Meanwhile, Dante disappeared to make his own preparations, though Lyssa wasn't allowed to know what that actually entailed. After all, her focus needed to be drawn away from the demon prince, and entirely on perfecting her charade.

On the night before the event, the trio of girls went out to select a gown and mask for Lyssa. It felt like a reward for all of the hard work, and although she wasn't one to typically wear dresses, she had a feeling that once she slipped into it, it woud complete her embodiment of the demon she was impersonating.

Her entrance was a grand one, to say the least. As Anansi could take on any appearance she so wished, it was expected that she could sport Lyssa's without raising any suspicions. Lyssa perfected her strut into the grandiose lobby of the hotel. The gown she wore truly was a bewitching creation, designed to enthrall and captivate. Crafted from luxurious, deep crimson silk and adorned with inteicate lace and velvet accents, the bodice was form-fitting, and the skirt cacaded out in numerous, elegant layers, flowing like a blood fountain.

The neckline plunged daringly, revealing just enough to tantalize, and long, flowing sleeves draped over her arms, their edges detailed in delicate, black lace. Her mask was a mesmerizing extension of her enigmatic presence. Crafted with the same attention to detail as her dress, it was intricately designed in black lace with red filigree, framing the deep eyeshadow of her eyes and enhancing her facial features with an air of mystique.

In her hand, she held a white-gold chain, and on its end was Trish, in her usual leather attire, her number two staging as her pet for the evening. She provided her invitation to the man at the door, who appeared mortal, and most certainly had the aura of servant about him.

Trish fell behind, all part of her performance as reluctant attendee, and in response, Lyssa gave the chain a convincing yank. She had to admit, having such power, even if it was all a display, sort of felt good. "Keep up, sweetheart. Or I will ensure every guest here gets a piece of you tonight."

As Trish stumbled to her side, Lyssa grabbed her by the chin firmly.

"You wouldn't want that, would you?"

"N-no, mistress..." Trish responded timidly, avoiding her eyes.

For a good while, the stunt worked like a charm. It took time, gaining the trust and acknowledgement from other guests that were there. Pretending to be a daughter of Lilith really wasn't so hard when she was only a bit more loosely related.

Food and drinks were offered only to the demons - their captives were not offered anything more than hungry stares, and Trish was no exception. Lyssa had to keep her close, as on more than one occasion, she was getting grabbed and groped without any permission from her owner.

Yet, Anansi would have typically been more than keen to trade pets.

"My, Anansi, don't you just look ravishing tonight," came a chillingly familiar voice from behind them. Lyssa swallowed. How could they have overlooked the possibility of Damien showing up here? She only hoped that her mask did enough to shield her identity. "And what is this delicious looking creature on your arm tonight?"

"A once demon slayer," Lyssa said, trying to keep her head angled in such a fashion that her long, black hair might cover her some. Trish, however, was unaware of the pair already being familiar with each other. "Poor thing stumbled into my den. I think she was lost."

"Is that right, dear sister?" She felt a hand snag her free wrist. "Tobias, will you escort Anansi's pet to the chamber with the other sacrifices?"

Sacrifices? Lyssa thought in alarm, unable to hide the alarm in her face.

"We certainly wouldn't want a former slayer wreaking havoc in a room full of demons."

Lyssa said nothing, her body tensing uncomfortably as Damien pulled her closer. Even with his simple half mask, was easily recognizable, with his damask-patterned, black and silver overcoat and black tunic underneath.

His voice dropped, laced with danger. "Don't think I don't know what you're up to, Lyssa," he said, placing his hand on her waist. "I'm well aware of Anansi's fate at the hands of your dear demon prince. Ah-!" Lyssa tried to yank herself away from him, but his grip only tightened. "Let's not cause a scene, my dear. I would hate for everyone here to recognize you as a fraud. That would cause you and your friend a lot of trouble." He lured her into a dance, both of them swaying from side to side to the haunting, orchestral music in the background.

"And what is it you want, Damien?" she muttered with hostility.

"Why, we're both after the same thing. I know there's a certain icon that you're after, and as fate would have it, I've been on my own hunt for my mother's icons." His breath tickled her ear.

Lyssa gasped, once again yanking back her arm. His grip was painful on her hand as he pulled her close. "Your mother...?"

"Ah, I should clarify. My mother is Lilith, but her own icons scatter across the world, just as Jezsbeth's do." Lyssa felt sick to her stomach. After all this time, the man stalking her and trying to corrupt and seduce her was her cousin?

"You're a creep, and you're dead wrong if you think I'm going to help you now."

Damien gave her a twisted grin. "I was already under the impression that you would be uncooperative. But don't fret. You'll succumb to me eventually."

"Damien!"

Dante's voice bellowed from the grand entrance.

"You know that shit stain that you just can't get rid of? That's you."

Trish, who was nearly out of the foyer as a man was yanking her away from the scene, looked at the demon hunter with wide eyes. Then, she shared a look with Lyssa.

Shit. This was not part of the plan.

"Son of Sparda. I'm sure you didn't receive an invitation."

"Nope. Came to crash the party, but come to find out, you already beat me to it." Dante made a sweep with his arm, a giant sword materializing in his grip in a shroud of red and orange flames.

Then, from behind him, a bright, red motorcycle roared, wheeling in to intercept. Lady was mounted on top, wielding a rocket launcher on her back, and she was aiming it towards Trish. The blonde demoness was prepared to leap away at the missile flew through the crowd, obliterating the man that was holding her chain. With graceful precision, Trish landed on the balcony railing above the explosion.

Masked guests attacked from all sides, but as Lyssa tried to pry herself from Damien's grasp, she realized that for some reason, she was unable. She had grown so strong. Why did she feel incapable of unleashing her powers?

"Dante!" Lyssa shouted desperately as Damien dragged her away from the fray, but as he tried to get to her, numerous people swarmed him to slow him down - vampires, demons, and the like, all in human guises. Clearly, the most notorious of demon hunters was not a welcomed guest here, in this house of the supernatural.

Her heels dragged on the stairs as Damien dragged her up, and still perplexed as to why she was so helpless to fight back, she wrestled against his grip like a mortal captive. An angry scream pierced from her lungs, watching as Trish, Dante, and Lady fought off the onslaught around them.