Malevolent

Chapter 37

In a second, the already weak angel was hit so hard in the head, the cement split and the ground shook.

He wasn't dead... no... Dante was not that stupid. Even though the demon within him was lashing, howling, and clawing to destroy the angel... Dante waited. Now was not the time... he had other plans.

MiSss heRrr. His Demon clawed.

"Dante, watch out!" Lily's voice urged beside him as the force of a blade came swooping towards his head. 

With a tilt to the side, and a swivel, Dante caught the blade, however, before he could prepare for the attack of the last remaining angel, a massive thud, from the back of the angel's head stopped Dante in his tracks.

The angel fell forward, unconscious, and right behind him stood a breathy, green-eyed Arlo with a proud little smirk. Guess he'd made it after all.

"Fucking angels." Arlo rested his blade beside him.

With the angels unconscious, and the shield down, Dante could finally leave, and he'd have to work quickly if he wanted to save Amra. With the demon mostly in control and fully fed, Dante knew it would be only a matter of time before full control was lost and... well, Dante grunted, knowing his actions would no longer be his after that.

"Take Lily and leave." Dante barely looked over at Arlo. His eyes were trained on the two unconscious angels. His mouth salivating as he spoke, wanting nothing more than to tear the two to shreds, patience.

"Wait, what? N-no, I...I can hel—"

"Why didn't you free her then!" Dante snarled towards Lily, if Arlo hadn't been there to place himself between the two, he was sure that he would've hurt the girl. Yet... it was her resemblance to Amra that had kept him from doing just that.

"B-because she asked me to."

A pause. "What?"

"She knew you'd escape and find her. She has a plan, Dante."

"And you listened to her?!" Dante roared, because of that, he had lost her. She could be hurt, tortured or worse. His demon roared viciously for her.

Lilly scattered back as a demonic face shone from beneath him.

Dante had no idea what he'd be walking into. Only knew that if Camiel had hurt her in any way, he would have no problem becoming a full demon.

"Dante!" Arlo's steady hand clasped onto Dante's shoulder, holding the demon back from getting any closer to Lily. "You're losing it." He said in a threat.

"Arlo... it's okay." Lily bravely, foolishly, stepped beside Arlo, facing a dark eyed Dante. "I know you won't hurt me." She said with more confidence, as if there was something Dante was missing, there was a look in her eyes that made him feel she was searching.

"You don't know anything, leave before I do lose control." He turned away, back toward the angels when Lily spoke behind him again.

"I... I knew you looked familiar when I first saw you, but... but I wasn't sure."

"What are you talking about?"

"You're D." Her eyes widened and her mouth hung open as she blinked up at him. "Yes... you're D."

D? D? Dante thought, as the name echoed in his head, and suddenly the name began to echo louder and louder and louder until it was no longer in his voice... but rather... in a girly, childlike tone... a young Lily that called him. 

A violent pain pulsed through his mind, raking his body as a hidden memory resurfaced. One of a young girl with gray eyes and short dark hair. 

"D, you're here!" "D, my daddy was mean to me again." Sniffling. "Will you protect us, D?" "D, help my sister please!" Her young voice, a memory in his mind, ringing in his ears.

He forced his eyes open, locked onto Lily's now familiar face.

She was much older now, grown into her round cheeks and big eyes...this was the girl from his lost memories.

"You were my guardian angel." Lily looked up at him in awe. "I thought you were imaginary, b-but seeing you here. Alive. You were the one that protected us that night too and... that's why I know you won't hurt me... and why I know you'll save my sister."

Dante took a moment to stare at the young girl who he had guarded in his time as an angel. 

So he was right, Camael had lied when he'd told him and Amra that he was her guardian. 

He couldn't help but wonder why he'd lied. Simply to give Amra a reason to hate him all the more? 

As it turned out, he'd been Lily's guardian, and that night, he remembered clearly why he had possessed Amra.

Lily had called to him, pleading with him to help her big sister and Dante could not stand back anymore.

Lily had been too young to possess...as was Amra, but he knew, being the eldest, that perhaps she would have a better chance of surviving an angelic possession. 

So, he'd done it... taken over her body to protect them all... and in turn, he had been cast from heaven, memory wiped of them, and thrown into hell to suffer unimaginably for eternity...only, he'd escaped.

Fallen to earth after.

Hunted for sinners.

Killed, devoured, destroyed... until he'd come across Amra, and the familiar scent of her sin had appealed to him.

He knew they were alike in some way when they met. And though at first, he thought that the appeal was simply because she was like him... abandoned, lonely, full of self-hatred— it turned out, it was because they were connected, pulled apart only to come together again.

"I am not an angel anymore, Lily. I haven't been in a long time."

"Well, your wings are different..." she eyed his sharp featherless wings. "...and so are those horns." She gave a soft chuckle. "But you're still protecting my sister and you brought her back to me... so, as far as I'm concerned, you're still the good guy."

"I've done a lot of bad Lily. I'm not the angel you remember."

"I hope so, cause it looks like we're gonna need that demon side of you to get my sister back from the angels. Plus..." She looked down at the unconscious angels. "You could have killed them, but you didn't."

"I—"

"I believe in you, Dante, and although I've only just met my sister, by the way she looks at you, I can tell she believes in you too."

Dante fell silent, nodding his head. "I'll get her back," he promised.

"I know," she replied. "I will help."

"I'm not going to save your sister only to lose you... but you can do me one favor."

"Anything to help."

"Got any duct tape in that backpack?"