Dancing With the Devil

Chapter 17

I growl in frustration. That growing power we,d been following is gone now. It's probably still there. Might just be too faint for me to pick up on it. My increasing urge to destroy something becomes extremely difficult to resist when I turn to see Nero shake his head at me. That vanishes, though. Because a distant and achingly familiar flicker of power turns my head to face my two o'clock.

"You think that was her?" The kid must have felt it, too, then.

"Not a doubt in my mind," I answer.

"We have to hurry, Dante," he says as he races ahead.

"You think I don't know that-?"

"That direction leads to the only ferry that goes to Fortuna!"

If anything could get me to run at breakneck speed before today, it most certainly couldn't hold a candle against my reaction to that specific sentence. Heartbeats after it settles in, my demon triggers, and I pick up the kid as I take off in the direction of the ferry. We close the distance quite rapidly, and within less than two minutes, the damned boat comes into view. I force my demon to let go of the Devil Trigger, I guess which leads to me dropping Nero at the far end of the port. I push past civilians waving at their departing loved ones before it hits me, the ferry has already set sail. What really pisses me off is the fact that, even if I were to force another Devil Trigger, I wouldn't be able to make the jump. Besides, there are too many damn people.

"Dante!"

I scour the main deck for her the moment I recognize her voice. Then I see her on the top deck, frantically waving.

"Old Man, I'll give you a boost," Nero says as people begin to clear out of the way. They're afraid of the glowing, blue apparition of the kid's demon arm.

"But how will I get back without-?"

"No time!" he snaps, picking me up with the apparition of his arm.

He reels back, and throws me clear across the open water, right onto the ferry. The next thing I know, a panicked shriek follows, and a familiar shape jumps down from the top deck. I manage to grab her by the waist to minimize the impact on her ankles as she lands. The first thing she does is look up to where she'd jumped from, her gaze meeting that of my livid older brother. At the sound of people gasping and pointing to the shore, I turn and instinctively start running, carrying Rose under one arm. I don't really realize Nero's plan until I've already jumped the guard rail and started falling. The kid's apparition of his arm catches us, then brings us safely back to shore.

After setting her down, Rose hugs me tightly, shaking all over. I can smell the terror on her, but even more distinct is my brother's scent. I don't have to look back to know he's glaring at me. Besides, looking at him would invite a challenge.

"C'mon. Let's go back to my place," I suggest, looking over to Nero, then back at Rose, who's holding some sort of demonic weapon. It looks like her own handiwork. My suspicion is confirmed when she looks at it, then promptly throws the damn thing into the ocean. "I was gonna suggest that we could destroy it at my shop, but I guess that works just as well."

We take our time walking back to my shop, though I'm constantly checking over my shoulder. Because I don't know if Vergil's gained any power since we last fought. Looking over at Rose, I can tell that he's at least become more cold. No surprise there.

Along the way, Rose stops in at The Devil's Lair, getting a pizza for each of us. Thankfully, she remembers how I like mine, and I thank her with a kiss on her forehead. This causes her to blush quite dark, though she doesn't look away. Taking hold of her hand makes her blush even more, the color now extending to her ears.

"You know I wouldn't have let him take you away, from me, forever, Kitten," I tell her quietly.

That seems to reassure her, and we pick up the pace a little bit, in favor of making it back before our pizza gets cold. We arrive just as our food reaches the optimal temperature for chowing down. Instead of sitting in a normal chair, Rose is adamant that she's going to remain in my lap until she falls asleep. To be honest, I'm not against just falling asleep right here in my chair with her. She's already fallen asleep, with only a quarter of her pizza eaten. I let her rest for a while, amused when she's briefly woken by Nero draping a blanket over her. After sleepily rubbing her eyes, she takes another slice of her pizza, leans her head on my chest again, nibbling away until the slice was gone. As she's closing her eyes, she grumbles a sentence to me that makes me realize-.

"How much longer do I have to wait, Dante?"

I love this woman.

"I'll tell you when you've slept long enough, Rose."

And I'm never letting her go again.