Darkest Desires → Caliban [CAOS]

vi. the vision

THE VISION
CHAPTER SIX

The thin pages of a book flickered past Dahlia's thumb, searching for a point to stop at. She was buried under the comforter of her bed, the skin on her body freezing from the coldness of the chamber and the icy loneliness she felt in her heart. Books were the only thing that kept her warmer than the thin blanket of her bed did. They were a place she could bury her nose in, a place where she could choose any world she desired and become a part of. She was grateful for the library in Hell that provided her with her newly found form of warmth.

She struggled to tear her eyes away from the book, both out of tiredness and disinterest when there was a knock on her door and Caliban slowly stepped in. Her eyes slowly shifted to the tall man that stood expectantly by the doorframe and gave a cocky smile when he noticed Dahlia finally look at him.

"What do you want, Caliban? I thought the next quest of the Unholy Regalia wasn't announced yet." Dahlia's voice was colder than it had ever been, her tone dripping with a distaste for the man standing before her.

"Exactly," Caliban trailed, "so I need you to help me figure out what the next quest is."

Upon hearing his request, Dahlia sat upright and forced a laugh. She was in disbelief that Caliban still somehow found the audacity to ask her to help him cheat after seeing her reaction to the last time he cheated. Were her glares that were like daggers, her shouts of frustration and insults to him not telltale enough that cheating was far beyond her boundaries? She couldn't even find it in her to be angry at him now; her blood didn't boil, her chest didn't heave, she didn't grit or grind her teeth. She merely let out a cold laugh. "I can't believe you're asking me to cheat again. Why don't you just get one of your goons to tell you what the next quest is?"

"Goons?" He raised an eyebrow, amused by her shameless choice of description.

"The Infernal Court," Dahlia clarified as though it was obvious. "The demons that are constantly kissing your butt?"

Caliban couldn't resist the laugh that bubbled his throat. "I couldn't ask them; that would be unprofessional."

"But asking me to cheat isn't unprofessional?"

"It's not technically cheating..." He squinted his eyes as he tried to think of a better way to appeal to Dahlia, but sighed when he failed. Surprisingly to Dahlia, he didn't continue to pressure or nag her to help him like she expected him to; instead, with slumped shoulders, he silently approached the door to leave the room and figure it out himself.

"Wait," Dahlia called, entertained by his slight change in behavior. "I'll help you." She almost regretted the words as they left her mouth, but she sat firmly, pretending to be indifferent to her choice. What could go wrong? She would help Caliban figure out what the item might be, and with the fact that they both hadn't seen it before, there was barely a chance they would even obtain an answer.