Chapter 56
Fifty-Six
Dante sauntered around the twin watering holes as Autumn skipped along the gray rubbly ground. The sky twinkled with billions of stars. The pale crescent moon shimmered over the town of Monroe, illuminating the trees and structures. Long shadows danced across the green. How grateful he was that the phase wasn’t full. He didn’t want to risk frightening her with his transformation. One he never enjoyed and one he couldn’t control.
Did she know the truth about him? No, she couldn’t. He didn’t suspect she did. She was innocent and trusting.
Suddenly, she quickened her pace and his heart leapt to his throat as she approached a crater he’d created out of pure anger?—
Anger he couldn’t be closer to her. Why was he always so quick to snap? It was something he needed to work on.
Fearing for her safety, he raced after her, sweeping her into his arms. She giggled and his insides smoldered. It hurt to be around her. Deep down he knew he’d wind up hurting her even if he didn’t mean to.
“Thanks, I missed that,” she pointed to the damage on the ground as he placed her back onto her delicate feet. She was so sweet and helpless and beautiful all at the same time.
He ran a hand through the hair of his human disguise. “Not a problem.”
She hugged him, burying her soft cheek against his chest. His body grew rigid. Nobody had ever hugged him like this before. Nobody had ever hugged him, period. Not since Maeve.
A star skipped across the sky; she smiled and pointed at the stream of light, following it with her large gray eyes.
She tilted her head to the side, her dark curls falling over her shoulder. She stared up at him with her mesmerizing moonlit eyes. “You have to make a wish.”
“A wish? But why?” He asked.
She snorted. “They don’t have stars where you’re from? Or wishes?”
He went dead silent, and she shook her head. “I’m just kidding. I’m sorry. I’m surprised you haven’t heard of this before.”
He shrugged. “No, I haven’t, but I’ll make a wish.”
It sounded simple enough to him.
“I made mine already,” she twined her fingers in his. “Make sure you keep it a secret or it won’t come true.”
He quirked a brow. “Okay, I’ll never tell a soul.”
He inhaled, holding her close to his body. He could feel her heartbeat quicken as he leaned over and rested his chin on her soft curls. He made a wish like she asked. Just one.
He wished Maeve would forgive him, because although he loved her and always would, he loved Autumn more.
Bright orange lights played off Dante’s eyelids as they fluttered open slowly. He squinted and tensed, as his vision cleared. He surveyed his surroundings. The room was dark. Cracks spanned along the walls and floor. A sliver of light from the setting sun shone through the long, fractured windows.
Where was he? He tried to sit up, but a sharp pain crashed through his abdomen, causing him to grit his teeth. Bandages were wrapped tightly around his stomach. He made a fist, laying back down on the makeshift cot, tensing his fingers against the fabric. He groaned.
He couldn’t believe the damage one of Valdez’s arrows had inflicted. It must’ve been laced with acid.
He had to get out of there.
Although Valdez would never pose a problem to anyone ever again, he needed to rescue Autumn’s father. She was counting on him.
How he missed her. He’d really messed up, but the temptation was too strong. He didn't regret his decision to take Valdez out. She more than deserved her end but especially so after what she confessed. She was pure evil, murdering her own flesh and blood and making him feel responsible for her sister’s death for all these years. Maeve deserved better and so did he.
Autumn was probably worried sick about him. He hoped her father was still alive or else she’d never forgive him.
He could never look her in the eyes again. There’d be no redeeming himself.
Dante did a double take, snapping himself from his panicked thoughts as an alien woman entered the room. Her green skin shimmered in the setting sun. Her long dark hair was secured in a low neat ponytail.
He tried to sit up again, but she raised her palm, willing him to stay in bed. “Please don’t get up, you’re injured. It took hours to dislodge the arrow and stop the bleeding.”
His hand covered his stomach; the arrow had indeed been removed. He recognized her as the mother inhabitant from earlier, trying in vain to protect her helpless children. She was gentle and soft spoken like a whisper floating on a breeze. She moved like grace itself in a simple floor-length gray smock. She appeared to float along the stone floor with each step she took.
She pulled up a chair beside him, holding a damp cloth in her hand. She blotted it along his forehead.
“Do you know who I am?” he asked.
She stopped, her dark brown eyes flickering towards him with uncertainty. “Of course I do. Everyone knows who you are, Dante the Great Conqueror.”
“Then why are you helping me?” His voice was dry and hoarse as he assessed her from a lying position. “Aren’t you afraid of me like everyone else?”
She squeezed the water from the cloth in her hands into a metal bucket on the floor. Droplets trickled down the sides. “Yes, of course I am, but you looked like you needed help. And I wanted to thank you for saving me and my family from that monster.” Tears welled in the corners of her dark brown eyes, but she blinked them away.
“How do you know I’m not a monster too?” He tilted his head toward her, straightening his features. “How do you know I won’t do the same to you once I recover?”
“I think it’s always a possibility,” she glanced at her small hands. “But I think you would’ve done it by now. I think you’re different than she was, better somehow.”
A fair assumption, he watched her in silence.
He sat up in bed and sighed. “You don’t have to worry, no harm will come to you or your family, at least not while I’m around. You have my word. Do you have a name?”
“Luz,” she said quietly.
“Well, Luz, thank you for your hospitality, but I must be leaving.”
He slid his legs to the side of the bunk and every single muscle in his body screamed in agony. Cold sweat beaded against his brow as he came to an unsteady stand. He struggled to breathe. Nausea racked his stomach. He had to get out of there, had to continue his mission. He couldn’t let his soldiers see him this way, weak and pathetic. Victorious but at the same time defeated.
Autumn was counting on him to come through for her.
As he went to walk, his knees buckled beneath his weight, and he stumbled. Drat, he was still too drained to go anywhere in this condition.
Luz shot to her feet, ambling after him. “Here, let me help you, please.”
She wrapped his arm over her shoulder and propped him up. His face heated, how humiliating. He’d never taken such a beating in his life. But he accepted her assistance nonetheless, despite his panic as the time he had remaining dwindled.
They made their way together in slow steady steps. His legs wavered so much he could scarcely stand. Valdez had really done a number on him.
When they arrived outside, dark smoke churned through the crisp night air. A rich burning scent drifted everywhere. Demolished buildings laid to rest under the black starry sky. Not a soul could be seen anywhere. His eyes drew to Valdez’s dead body, propped up against the steel wall. Shadows dulled her glorious golden armor. Her head hung forward; her mask still affixed to the left side of her face. Her choppy hair frayed in strands.
Vermin festered through the hole in her chest, squeaking and biting away at her remains. Who would’ve thought that not so long before she was the second mightiest warrior in the universes; a title that would fall upon him with her gone. His lips flickered with self-satisfaction as he admired his handiwork before he winced.
She deserved every bit of pain she experienced and so much worse. One issue remained. He couldn’t stop dwelling on it. Valdez had mentioned immortality for not only herself but the Grand Supreme. It was clear she wasn’t immortal, but was he? Dante shivered with fear.
“Which way is your ship?” Luz glanced at him.
He hesitated, body shaking. His mind spun with a better idea than going straight to his destroyer. Valdez’s ship had to be nearby. He could take her weapons and supplies and tactical plans. She no longer needed them where she’d gone.
Dante scanned the area for any sign of the vessel. Valdez wasn’t known for traveling light. She always made a dramatic entrance.
In the distance he spied one of her luxury cruisers.
Excellent , his face lifted.
As he approached, his chest sank as another ship crash-landed through the city. The vessel was mighty in size, causing debris to swirl in thick heavy puffs. From where he stood, the origin was unrecognizable.
Please no , he clung to Luz for support. He was in no condition for another fight. He could barely walk let alone defend himself.
He was in a world of trouble.