“You going to look me up and down like a piece of meat or are you going to invite me in?” she asked, her impatience winning out over her courtesy.
Dante almost laughed to himself. “You’re not exactly what I was expecting,” he replied honestly. “Come on in. I still have to ready my things, so have a seat.”
She entered his home and sat on a stool near the kitchen. “What were you expecting?”
Dante shrugged, closing the door. “Some little girl fresh out of her parents’ house looking for an adventure, I suppose. Plus you’re Gerard’s granddaughter, so… I dunno, maybe someone a little more comfortable wearing a sword.”
She shifted on the stool as Dante walked past. Her hand absently brushed the hilt of her sword. “Well, not all of us have had your training,” she quipped.
Dante smiled and looked over his shoulder at her. “Nor have you lived by the sword nearly as long as I have, child.” He withdrew into the lower levels of the submarine and tossed his coat over his chair. Dante took up his sword belt and buckled it in place, then pulled a shirt on. He reached into his closet and took out his armored vest, a relic from the war worn by his father. As he attached the clasps, he unconsciously ran his fingers over the thick threads he had used to stitch the hole left by the sword that had killed Nikolai. The vest fit a bit more snugly on him than it had on his father, but the material was flexible. Ceramic plates, no more than a quarter of an inch thick, were layered between the liner and the hardened outer layer of the vest, offering moderate protection to the vital areas while still offering maximum movement. The black material blended with his dark red shirt and black coat and pants.
Fully dressed and with his sword at his side, Dante went back to the main room where Gerard’s granddaughter still sat.
“By the way,” Dante started, “what should I call you?”
“I’m Erin,” she replied.
“Dante,” he muttered. “I’m ready. Let’s head out, then. Might as well start while the sun’s still out.” He walked to the door and heard Erin slip off the stool to follow. Opening the door, Dante motioned for her to go through first while he placed his hand on the hidden amulet on the wall behind the door. He felt the warmth of the magic in the amulet and sensed the powerful wards activating. The wards would remain active until either he died or he returned home and deactivated them, whichever came first. He walked outside, shut the door and locked it. Turning around he saw Erin looking at him with a confused expression.
“What?” he asked. “Don’t you lock your door when you leave?”
She rolled her eyes and asked, “Where’s your pack? If we’re to travel the world, don’t you think you’ll need some supplies?”
Dante shook his head and motioned for them to start walking. “Only if I plan on blazing my own trail, which I don’t think anyone has done since… well, not for at least a millennia. No, I plan on stopping off in each town I come to. I’ll rest and eat when I stop there, and continue on my way with a few extra supplies to last me until I reach the next town.”
Erin still looked a little confused, but seemed satisfied with the answer. “I suppose I’m just not used to being around demons,” she sighed.
“So your grandfather told you about me, then?”
Erin nodded. “He’s quite proud of his friendship with you. He says you two trained and traveled together.”
“We did,” Dante nodded. “So he’s probably told you about how little I actually need to eat or sleep as compared to you humans.”
Again, Erin nodded. “I simply thought he was exaggerating, like he tends to do when he’s telling his stories.”
Dante smiled at the thought of the old man and his endless tales. Some were so far-fetched that they had to be made up. If not for his own experiences, Dante would have written them off as simple tales made up to entertain a group. “Seems he is always good for a story or two,” he grinned.
Erin smiled at that and the two walked on in silence for a time. They made their way out of the borders of Old New York and pressed on for several hours, stopping to make camp for the night. Dante was feeling rejuvenated after walking all day and wanted to press on, but Erin stopped him, telling him she needed to rest even if he didn’t. She was, after all, still just a human.
That night they sat at the small campfire. Erin looked at the flames, mesmerized by their dance while she ate some of her rations. Dante rested on a fallen log and stared at the stars in the sky, taking in the soft glow of the moonlight and the crackling of the flames.
“I don’t mean to seem intrusive,” Erin said, “but I can’t help wondering why you seemed to be in such a hurry to leave this morning.”
Dante closed his eyes and breathed in the clean air, smelling a hint of pine coming from the nearby woods. “Just felt it was time to see the world again. Last time I was out and about, the world was a different place.”
Erin thought about his answer and shook her head. “But you seemed almost rushed to get out of there. Why?”
Dante gazed at the stars again and shrugged. Would she understand his motives? Not likely; she was only a child in comparison to him. “I have enemies,” he said at length. “One of them found where I live. To be quite honest, I was fairly shocked to find out he’s still alive. Also, I have no wish to face him again. I buried our dispute when I stopped his heart. He holds a grudge spanning millennia and I feel it is in my best interest to avoid him at all costs.”
“Is that why you’re traveling? To run away from an old enemy?”
Dante shook his head in disappointment. She didn’t understand. Then again, she didn’t know the full story so he forgave her for her misunderstanding. “No. I decided to go on this trip before he showed himself. I’m not running from him so much as I’m trying to avoid useless conflict. I’m not like the rest of my kind. I’m not some bloodthirsty demon bent on killing everyone I meet. I just want to live my quiet life. I’d like to someday meet a woman whom I can marry, start a family and raise my children, all in the quiet comfort of my home. What use is fighting all the time if there’s no actual reason for it?”
“You say that, but the way you move is like water,” Erin replied. “Every move I’ve seen you make today has been smooth and deliberate. You move with a warrior’s passion, a dancer’s grace. I’ve never seen anyone so perfect for wielding a sword before. I’ve been around warriors and soldiers all my life, Dante, and I have never seen someone so fluid in his motions.”
Dante craned his neck to look at her. She was looking right into his eyes and somehow he could feel her assessing him. “You haven’t even seen me fight,” he countered. “You’ve got quite the way with words, though.”
Erin shrugged noncommittally. “Doesn’t matter. Your feet always find perfect purchase wherever you step. The level of comfort you have with wearing your sword belies your fighting spirit.”
Dante was rather amused by her assessment of him. He had always prided himself in his capability as a fighter, but had never thought himself to be the best. “You can tell all that just by watching me walk?”
Erin nodded. “I’m observant. Plus I’ve been all over these parts gathering herbs for my grandfather, so I watched you rather than take in the same old boring scenery. Grandfather was right when he told me you about you.”
Dante looked back to the stars, unsure of what to say. In just hours of knowing him, Erin had summed up the majority of who he was. The thought brought a pang of unhappiness to him. Was that all he was? Was he only a fighter? Was he only good for killing? Reflecting on his past, Dante realized that all he had ever really done was fight and kill and travel. He was very good at fighting and killing. Perhaps he could use this trip to expand on what he could do. Maybe he could seek out someone to settle down with and have a few children. He knew of a way to extend the youth of a human, so falling in love wasn’t as painful a thing as it could have been. Another thought came to him then. How was it he had never fallen in love before? He had met many beautiful women in his life
, and had even bedded a few of them, but he felt as if he never actually loved anyone. Then his mind wandered through the ages back to the city of Istros. He thought of Staci, the young woman he had killed in order to come back home. A wave of guilt washed over him and he had to physically shake the thought from his mind. No use worrying about the past.
A light snore brought Dante out of his contemplations and he realized he’d been deep in thought for a long while. Erin lay on her side, asleep and curled up near the fire. Dante shook his head and smiled. Perhaps with her help during their travels, he could find the man beneath the warrior.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Dante awoke to the smell of meat cooking. He rolled over to see Erin flipping a piece of ham. The sizzling meat brought a welcome scent to Dante’s nose. He had forgotten how long it had been since his last real meal.
“Good morning,” Erin said cheerfully. “Nice to see you’re a morning person.”
Dante stood and stretched. “Force of habit, really,” he muttered. “I had to take care of myself at an early age, so sleeping in wasn’t much of a luxury. Got any of that food for me?”
Erin looked up at him, feigning annoyance. “You dare ask for my food when you could easily have packed your own? Your plate is over there.”
Dante went to where she pointed and sat on a rock. He picked up the plate and began eating, wondering just how much food Erin had brought with her.
As if sensing his thoughts, Erin said, “I figured I’d cook more food than I originally planned, seeing as you like to travel from town to town. Whatever I run out of, I can restock in the next town.”
“Means bigger meals for us on the road,” Dante reasoned.
Erin nodded and served her own plate. “So what’s your plan for this journey?”
“Exploration,” Dante replied between bites. “It’s been a lifetime since I last saw the world. Just wanted to see what’s changed.”
Erin paused before continuing. “My grandfather said that you’re nearly eighty years old. Is that true?”
Dante shook his head. “No. A few days ago, I’d have said yes, though,” he said with a wry smile.
Erin responded with a confused look.
Dante laughed and said, “I’m actually over a hundred and twenty. You see, I went back in time for forty years. According to this timeline, I should only be around eighty.”
“Back in time?” Erin balked.
Dante nodded nonchalantly. “I was given a task by the Reaper, Lord Death.”
“What was the task? How did Death send you backwards in time?”
Dante smiled, reveling in the fact that she’d taken the bait. “The task was to save our timeline.”
Erin scooted closer, eyes wide in wonder. She was like a child listening to a grand tale of heroes and villains.
“You know of the Fifty Year War, right?”
Erin nodded. “Of course. My teachers have said it’s the reason for the world’s state.”
“Indeed,” Dante nodded sagely. “The world used to be very different, according to the historians. You see, I went to the far distant past. I went to the time before technology as we know it. I saw the world before the birth of the Christian faith.”
Erin gasped. “But that’s over two-and-a-half thousand years ago! How is this possible?”
“I learned a lot while I was in the fourth century B.C. I learned that the world we live in is not alone.”
“Well, thanks to the war, that’s old news,” Erin sighed.
Dante nodded. “This is true, but humans don’t live nearly as long as the rest of Earth’s inhabitants. Demons and angels, vampires and werewolves, so-called demigods and their monsters, they’re all hidden, mixed among the mortal races. The generation that survived the war has given birth to two more generations since then. Humans are slowly forgetting the existence of people like me. Doesn’t help that we’re almost invariably capable of hiding what we are to humans. But did you know that Christians have it wrong about who actually rules Heaven?”
Dante stood and began helping Erin clean up the dishes.
“But I thought angels did exist?” Erin asked, rinsing her plate with a bottle of water. “Otherwise Earth would simply be an extension of Hell.”
“You listened to your grandfather pretty well,” Dante praised. “That part is true: angels do live in Heaven. But they aren’t ruled by God, as the Christians believe. They are ruled by Amun-Ra, the ancient Egyptian sun god.” After breaking camp, they began walking along a trail, heading further west.
“How could you know that? I thought angels and demons were enemies?”
“I know an archangel. Personally.”
“Then, who rules Hell? If the Christians were wrong about their God, then were they wrong about Hell?”
“Not entirely. They knew of Lucifer, though they got his origins wrong. Most of it was his fault, though. But when Satan took over, that was the last time the Christians were right. All of their other stories were just that.”
“You learned all of this in the past?”
“Most of it. A lot of it came from the archangel I know. But do you know who rules over Earth?”
Erin shook her head.
“Lord Death. He‘s been around since Earth was formed, set to watch over all life on this little rock.”
Erin looked shocked, her mouth agape and eyes wide. She truly was a child at times. Dante smiled at the reaction.
“You’re kidding,” she hissed.
“I am not. He rules over all of us on Earth, seeing to everything from the birds in the sky to the creatures in the seas.”
“So what was the task he gave you?” she asked. It was obvious she was still skeptical of Dante’s story.
“As I said, to save our timeline. I was sent back to make certain of the destruction of key places. These places had to be wiped out in order to save a larger portion of Earth from the bombs.”
“But why send you to that particular time period?” Erin asked. “Couldn’t you have gone to a more recent time period and done the same?”
“Excellent question, Erin. I asked the same thing of Lord Death. He told me something I didn’t know about myself. See, when a demon destroys a population, the ground is tainted, leaving a curse behind for all those who later inhabit the area. The curse draws people in, people who never realize the place is cursed in the first place. These people rebuild, repopulate, and live their lives. What the curse really does is systematically kill off some of the more successful people of the land. Not always the most successful, but the most influential in the long term. Suppose the man who invented the first wheel was killed. Huge disaster to the timeline. Now, imagine if the man who created the car died off. Terrible loss, sure, but the world would survive.”
“But that’s worldwide. You’re talking about a town or city.”
Dante nodded. “Yes. Now, think of the person who decided to build a new city next to the one in which he lived. That city could in turn create a new city, and so on. The curse kills that man, leaving the city alone. Someone else comes along and thinks to build a successful shop. The curse leaves him be, while still stopping that shop from expanding too much and eventually trading with other cities. The economy stagnates and the city goes nowhere for a long time. Eventually, the curse wears off, but that can take centuries. Luckily, the by the time the war was over, the curse was gone. Now the cities can flourish in a new world, rather than burn in the old one.”
Erin considered the words and shook her head. “Then that means you’ve killed thousands of innocent people.”
“Millions,” Dante corrected flatly. “Unfortunately, their deaths could haunt me for the rest of my very long life. Honestly I doubt it, but it is possible. I did it to save billions more lives that would have been lost in the war.”
Erin was shocked at his callous words. “How can you be so cold?”
“You live as long as I have and lose what I have, then tell me you’re not a little frigid.” Dante’s words came out
much more harshly than he had meant, but he was not sorry. He had meant the words, if not the sharpness in the tone.
Erin quieted, not wanting to anger him further. Her grandfather had told her about Dante and his temper. “Just as Grandfather said…” she whispered.
“Careful what you say,” Dante stated. “Might make me curious to know what you mean.”
Erin sucked in a breath, surprised he had heard her. “I only meant that… Well, I didn’t mean to offend.”
“What did your grandfather tell you about me?”
Erin paused, unsure of how Dante would react to some of the things her grandfather had said. “Well… First, he warned me of your temper. But he said you are a good man, otherwise.”
Dante smiled. Gerard calling him a good man was nothing new. “A good man with a penchant for killing is more like what he would say,” he laughed.
“Yes, he did say that. But he also told me that you don’t kill without good reason.”
“He’s right about that. I have to have a very good reason to kill someone. So, seeing as your grandfather and I are such old friends, nothing you tell me about what he said will give me reason to kill you.”
Erin breathed a little easier. Dante scared her more than she was willing to admit. “He told me that you are a ruthless fighter and an honorable man, for a demon. He says you make quick decisions and act according to your instincts. He also told me that you will let nothing stand in the way of your goals.”
“All fair descriptions,” Dante nodded. “Did he tell you anything else?”
“Just that he’ll break you in half if I come to any harm,” Erin quipped.
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