Chapter 10 #2
A hard grip around my arm almost made me shriek, but a hand wrapped around my mouth to hold it in.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Dante hissed at me, clearly enraged.
I was too shocked to fight him off as he dragged me through the shadows and down another corridor, leaving the prisoners none the wiser of our visit.
When we were finally out of earshot, I bit him and he cursed, but didn’t let me go.
I tried to scream, but any sound was muffled by his tight grip over my mouth.
“If you think I’m going to let you mind-control me again with seductive words, you’re insane,” he growled in my ear, holding me close to him as he hauled me along. For a guy with one arm, he had amazing strength.
It wasn’t until we arrived at a door did Dante let me go, giving me a glare for good measure.
I thought about testing out my succubus powers on him, or just bolting, but I had no idea where we were, and I was curious where he’d brought me.
First I’d get answers from him, and then I’d kill him later for being such a psychopath.
He clearly knew about the human prisoners and was scowling at me like I was the one being crazy.
He slammed his hand up against the palm reader and the door opened with a soft click. “Come inside,” he said, the words an order.
I thought about defying him just for the sake of it, but my stomach rumbled when I smelled something delicious as a mouth-watering aroma wafted from the room.
“You’re going to explain what I just saw, first,” I demanded even as my stomach protested again.
Dante sighed. “I’ve been helping the Dean gather the prisoners, but I’m not the one locking those people up, okay? I’ve been working with Kaito to try and free them. If you just come inside, I can explain. It’s not safe to talk out here.”
I glared at him for a moment and he just glared back. Damn, the Hunter was stubborn.
He rumbled a growl and entered the room, leaving the door open and the promising aroma of meat tickled my nose. Okay, I was pretty hungry. Maybe I could eat and murder him at the same time.
I followed Dante into a surprisingly sparse chamber, but I instantly knew this was his home.
The only sparkle of decoration was an array of weapons that lined the wall.
The display was centered, obviously meant to be a focal point, and overlooked a small collection of furniture.
A doorway led to a dark room that I couldn’t quite make out, but I assumed was his bedroom.
In the corner sat a tiny kitchen; Dante went to it and unplugged a pot.
“It’s a slow cooker,” he explained as he dug out a large spoon and stirred.
“You cook?” I asked, slightly bewildered. The big bad Hunter was full of surprises.
He glanced at me, his orange eyes a glimmer of color that was otherwise lacking in the simple room.
“You don’t?” When I didn’t respond, he chuckled and dipped the spoon into the pot again as he fixed me a bowl.
“It’s just a slow cooker. I throw the ingredients in and hopefully make it back to my room before it cooks out all the water and burns.
” By the scorch marks on the counter, that had happened more than once.
He motioned to a chair and I settled into it, cradling my bowl when he handed it to me. The aroma made my mouth water and all my rage towards him wavered. He handed me a spoon and I didn’t wait. I dug in and let the first mouthful melt on my tongue.
I groaned with pleasure and Dante chuckled again. “If I had known a warm meal was how to get you to comply, I would have done it a lot sooner.”
After I’d finished half the bowl, I remembered I was supposed to be angry with the Hunter.
“So are you going to explain now?” I asked, my muscles going tense.
There was something about being in Dante’s room that felt intimate and I wasn’t sure I liked it.
Perhaps it was the Virtue connection. I wanted to trust him, to believe that he had some logical explanation for what was clearly a fucked up situation, but he actually lived here.
How could he sleep knowing that there were human prisoners within walking distance?
He scowled and sat down, stirring his bowl without taking a bite. “You first.”
The nerve of this guy. “I was down here because I followed Hendrik.”
He stiffened, then the flash of surprise swept off his face. “Didn’t know the Dark Mage was fighting again.” He paused, considering me. “I meant, what are you doing in the West Wing?”
“Jess is here,” I answered honestly. “I want to see her.”
“Why?”
I fisted my skirt under the table, resisting the urge to kick him.
There were a lot of reasons I wanted to see Jess, but the most prominent one popped out of my mouth first. “She’s my friend.
” No matter what had happened that night when Dante had taken me, I refused to believe Jess really would have turned on me without a good reason.
If she thought I was a Hunter like him, capable of kidnapping and imprisoning entire families against their will, then yeah, I couldn’t blame her for trying to kill me.
I leaned in. “Now you go. Why are you here? And why did you kidnap those poor people?”
He stared me down for a moment, then finally conceded.
“I’ve worked for the Dean ever since I graduated,” he began.
“I don’t just find monsters for her. I also bring in humans who have triggered positive for mutation.
If I had let them stay out there, they would have mutated into supernaturals and most of them would likely be dead from the unnatural change.
It has something to do with the Third Echo of Calamity and the Dean insists these people are dangerous—or in danger.
She said I was doing the right thing for them.
But, when I saw how you just looked at me, I wasn’t so sure anymore.
” He swiped a hand over his face, then looked down at his food as if he’d find answers there.
“I’ve been around monsters for so long, Lily. What if I’m turning into one?”
The question hit so close to home that I swallowed hard and put down my spoon. “You’re not a monster.” As much as Dante pissed me off, I knew that to be true.
His orange gaze flashed up to meet mine and he smirked, rewarding me with a hint of his dimples. “Not what I expected you to say.”
“You gave me food better than the dud counter crap I’m forced to eat at the cafeteria,” I said with a shrug. “It helps.”
He flinched at that. “Yeah, about that. I know you haven’t Awakened completely yet and…”
I rested one hand on his wrist and he stilled under my touch.
My dark powers were still in full force and the succubus in me wanted to make him bend to my will, but I wanted him to be honest with me on his own accord.
I wanted him to prove that I could trust him, so I pushed that raw hunger down into the cold pit of my stomach.
“I know it’s been over a year for you,” I explained.
“Hendrik said that the Dark Mages have been pushing Fortune Academy further away from the other realms by order of the Dean.” I sighed, running my fingers over the raised scars that patterned Dante’s skin.
“Hendrik thinks we’re actually closer to a Hell realm.
Maybe it’s why my powers are on the fritz. ”
He flinched away, making me curl my fingers into my palm. “Proximity to Hell affects you?”
I studied his flat expression for a moment before deciding to go with the truth. If he wanted to throw me into the cage with the other monsters, then he’d have a fight on his hands. “Because I’m one-third demonspawn. I thought Kaito told you.”
Dante huffed and leaned back. He ran his fingers over the scar across his neck that made me wonder how he’d survived getting his throat slit and what kind of monster would have done that.
When he caught me staring, he frowned and rested his hand on his dagger.
I knew the motion was subconscious, but it still stung.
“Yes, Kaito told me. It’s just… sometimes it’s easy to forget what you are. ”
“Is that supposed to be a compliment?” I snapped. “Because it’s not.”
He shrugged and we both fell into an uncomfortable silence. I picked at the tender meat in my bowl, but the contents had gone cold. I’d lost my appetite anyway.
“So what happens to them? The humans, I mean,” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “The ones that act up get frozen, and then when the Dean sends her Mages to collect, they’re the first to go.”
“Collect them for what?” I pressed.
He shrugged. “That information is a need-to-know basis, and I just procure.”
The way he worked his jaw said he was not comfortable with this situation, so at least he had something of a conscience. But it was not okay to just stand by while this happened. “What do you plan on doing about it?”
He chuckled as he thrummed his fingers across the table.
“I not only forget what you are at times, but also how na?ve you can be.” My hackles raised at that statement, but I pressed my lips into a thin line and let him continue.
“Until you Awaken your full potential, I’m going to do what I’m told.
I’m the only reason you’re not in one of those cages, Lily.
The Dean knows something is off about you, but she thinks Kaito and I are keeping an eye on you and will report anything suspicious. ”
My blood ran cold to hear that the Dean had noticed me. Perhaps I wasn’t keeping quite the low profile I was hoping for.
“So, what have you told her?” I countered. Dante was a skilled Hunter and the Dean wouldn’t be dumb enough to think he couldn’t recover basic information, which meant that he had to tell her something useful. I just hoped that it didn’t involve any of my other Virtues.
He shrugged again. “Just enough to keep her happy. She knows you’re working for the Dark Mages.
I checked in with Hendrik and it sounds like he’s keeping you busy.
The Dean thinks if there’s something off about you, Hendrik will eventually figure it out.
” He raised a brow. “Is he getting close? Because that would be unfortunate if he learned the truth.”
“He doesn’t know what I am,” I lied. To anyone else, Hendrik just saw me as his pet and he was too shortsighted to see anything more than that.
Playing his game was humiliating, but it protected me.
“I mean, even if he doesn’t know about my demonspawn and succubus powers, there’s a third component even I’m not sure about.
Kaito won’t tell me.” I leaned in, placing my bowl down so I could grip the table.
“Do you feel like sharing? Maybe if I know what the fuck I am, I can do a better job of Awakening.” And I wouldn’t have to do Hendrik’s bidding anymore.
He shook his head. “That’s something you’re going to have to figure out for yourself.”
Growling, I slammed back in my seat. “I’m so tired of all the secrets.”
His features hardened, taking on a stillness that reminded me of a predator. “You and me both.”
I studied him, but it wasn’t like I was keeping secrets, not on purpose, anyway. I was just clueless, as much as that irritated me to admit.
Maybe Dante was right. Maybe I was na?ve, but there was a cure for that.
Time to get my hands dirty.
“Thanks for the food,” I said, shoving away from the table as I wiped my hands on my skirt and headed for the door.
“Where are you going?” he barked.
“I’m going to find Jess.”
He moved so fast that I bit down on a squeak of surprise when his fingers clamped on my arm. His metallic orange eyes glimmered with warning. “You need to show patience. I just spent a year of my life finding her for you, but I need to break her first.”
“You say that as if I should be grateful you abandoned me and kidnapped my friend and put her in a cage. Well, newsflash! I’m not.
” I tried to yank myself out of his grip, but power glimmered over him as he kept me in place.
I didn’t know exactly what kind of powers a Hunter had, but I had a feeling Dante was capable of a lot more than he let on.
“She won’t be any use to you if she’s trying to kill you.” He leaned in, his lips twisting with a snarl. “And if you think she’s your friend, you’re far more na?ve than I painted you out to be.”
The reminder of Jess’s betrayal made my stomach twist. “I can take care of myself.” I glanced down at his grip on me, his fingers lightly glowing with a golden aura that reminded me of his eyes.
“Now, if you’re done manhandling me, I’d like to get on with my evening because it’s going to take me all night to find her in this underground shithole you call home.
” I leaned in, making sure to enunciate my words.
“I’m going to find her, with or without you, Hunter. ”
He worked his jaw as his fingers flexed before he finally released me with a curse. “Stubborn creature.”
“Oh, I’m a creature now?” I snapped. That sounded too close to “monster” for comfort.
Maybe that’s all I was to Dante.
Maybe that’s all he was to me.
“Takes one to know one,” he said in confirmation of my thoughts.
Weren’t we a pair.