Malevolent

Chapter 40

The angels had not lied when they told Dante that the place was heavily guarded. He crouched behind the foliage, dark shadows cocooned him, as he surveyed the fortress a short distance away.

They had obscured the place well, it blended into the mountain and forest that surrounded it. A vast gate with equally massive wooden doors protected the entrance. No guards there, which told Dante it was more than likely a set up, probably warded with demon traps.

Red and Black eyes moved towards the stone bridges that connected to the two towers at the front of the fortress.

Angel, his demon purred.

He knew Amra was there, although there was no demon blood left in her, his demon could still somehow sense her...

He'd fed the demon plenty, surprised himself when the demon had left each victim alive... hurt but alive. Dante assumed the demon must've been as eager as him to get Amra back and was just trying to hurry through each victim to gain enough strength to save her.

Although the demon was voraciously ready to strike, Dante held for just a moment, until he saw the very faint movement of a shadow walking along the bridge. 

Two guards, then another two at the other end. His talons flexed in anticipation.  He would relish in making those angels pay, he—

"Are we going or not?"

Dante lashed around, gripping a man's throat to the point of decapitation. Had the person not dematerialized from his grasp and come back standing inches in front of him, Dante would have succeeded.

"Remind me never to sneak up on you." The man touched his throat as it rapidly began to heal.

"Arlo." Guess he too had fed. "Why are you here?"

"To help obviously. And from the time on my watch we have like 10 seconds to get moving."

Why on earth would they have 10 sec— ah, Dante groaned, clearly Arlo did not come unaccompanied. "Arlo, where is Lily?"

"You mean Lily and Alexie." Arlo corrected.

"WHAT!" Dante roared. "You would dare put them in danger! Put your female in dange—"

"I trust my human woman," Arlo uncrossed his arms and brought out his blade. "Dante, trust us, we can help."

"How can you—"

A massive explosion erupted from the back end of the fortress. Dante turned to see a thick cloud of debris in the air as the floor shook below them. The guards at the top of the bridges ran toward the explosion, leaving the side unguarded.

"Well apparently Alexie is quite the Chem major."

Without a second thought, Dante rushed toward the bridge, Arlo closely behind. He scaled the wall, examining the grounds before flashing himself down there. 

Two angels came out of the dust, but Dante's mind only saw red, running on sheer feral instinct. He could feel how close he was to Amra and his demon took control.

Blood, grunts, crunches of bone pierced the night air, until Dante stood before a door. 

Angel, his demon roared. She was definitely behind it, but when Dante tried to touch it, golden sigils lit up the door and he was thrown violently backwards. 

The warded door sent him crashing against a wooden structure until he tumbled to a stop.

"D!" 

Dante sat up, looking over his shoulder to see Lily making her way over. A young man was by her side. Dante quickly surmised that that must be Alexie.  

Behind them, Arlo, just in time, had taken down what appeared to be the last angel.

"I thought I told you to stay away." Dante sat up with a grunt.

Lily scoffed, "Shut up, you need us. We are family now."

Family?  An odd feeling tightened around Dante's dark heart, even his demon stopped its homicidal pacing.

"This should open that door." Alexie spoke up beside Lily. To Dante's surprise, he didn't seem fearful of him. "It's not magic," Alexie continued, "but it should work." He held a small black device in his hand, his brown eyes landed on Dante as if waiting for him to give him the go-ahead.

Dante looked between the siblings, their stubbornness reminded him of Amra. They stood before him tenaciously, willing to risk their lives for a sister they had only just met. 

He didn't like the idea of putting them in danger, but he knew they weren't going anywhere.

Dante nodded to Alexie, but as he tried to come to a stand, an invisible force held him in place. 

"Dante." Arlo's voice called his attention. Arlo too seemed to be stuck in place, unable to move. "The sigils, it was a demon trap."

Dante looked towards the door he had touched, unknowingly setting off the demon trap. The sigils came off the door like spider webs and ran across the ground, around Dante and Arlo.

Fuck, Dante cursed, feeling like his body was seconds from tearing itself apart. Amra was so close and yet he was unable to reach her. His body ached, their severed bond consumed him, leaving him in a feral state of withdrawal...for her.

He realized then how vital she had become to him— without her light, darkness would swallow him whole.

She'd promised to be there for him in that dark and he was going to make sure she upheld that vow.

"Open that door, now." Demon and man commanded.

Alexie set the makeshift bomb and retreated with Lily. The minute the explosive went off, the door broke apart, taking down the sigil trapping him and Dante entered the room.