And then there was the problem of her love for the demon. Why did a newcomer so deserve Staci’s love over a friend she had known nearly all her life? Was Victor not more worthy of her love than Dante? However, through Dante’s own actions, Victor had come to realize the demon was not as evil and bloodthirsty as he had once thought. He remembered watching Dante volunteer at Staci’s school, helping the teacher with her pet project. The demon helped the students improve their reading comprehension by finding a stash of books from before the war and helping them figure out the tougher words. That, coupled with Victor’s occasional trips to Heaven to gain more information on Dante, helped the angel to properly piece together what had happened three thousand years ago, when the two of them last met. He knew that Dante was on a mission from Death to allow more life to thrive after the devastating war. Although it meant the murder of countless innocents and the destruction of entire civilizations, Victor knew that Dante’s work had saved billions in the long run. He didn’t agree with the means, but the outcome was undeniably better than what would have been. Dante was by no means a hero in Victor’s eyes, but at least the angel could allow himself to grudgingly respect the demon.
The thought of holding respect for a demon brought a light smile to Victor’s lips. “Perhaps not all demons are alike,” he mused to himself. He walked around the corner of a building and came within view of the school. He smiled again upon seeing a light on in a window. He figured Staci was up late grading papers again. She certainly worked hard at her job. Her love for her students was evident in everything she did for them.
A flash of silver moonlight glinting off steel across the way caught Victor’s attention. He saw a young woman drawing a short sword, murderous intent clear in her eyes. The angel realized the woman was staring at Staci, and his hand immediately gripped the hilt of his sword.
“Stop what you’re doing,” he commanded, catching the woman’s glare.
Erin jumped at the sudden voice and slid her sword back into its sheath. Panic welled up inside her and she bolted away from the scene.
Sighing heavily, Victor chased after her, hoping the woman did not have any associates nearby. He ran with all his speed and followed the woman through alleyways and empty streets. She was fast, but as far as Victor could tell, she was merely human. He silently cast a spell to grant him more speed and he easily overtook her. Tackling her to the ground, Victor held her hands behind her back with one hand and pinned her legs with his own. His free hand brought a length of rope from a pocket in his robes and bound her hands. That done, he roughly hauled her to her feet and turned her around to face him. A small scrape marred her otherwise pretty face, but did nothing to quell Victor’s ire.
“Who are you?” he demanded. “What are you doing here?”
The woman stiffened as she felt the power of a spell forcing the truth from her mouth.
“My name is Erin Sykes, and I’m here to bring an end to the relationship between Dante and Staci.” Her eyes lowered in shame at her poor resistance to the spell. She had taught herself to be more resistant to such spells when she traveled, but this man had pulled the truth from her as easily as plucking a hair from her head.
“By killing her?” Victor shouted.
Again, the words left Erin’s mouth without her permission. “If that became my only option,” she grunted.
Victor was taken aback. As underhanded as it was, he still felt a twinge of curiosity. “Why?”
“I… I love him,” Erin hissed. “I want him.”
Victor almost smiled. This woman was easier to interrogate than the rabble he was accustomed to. He had not made any threats against her and had only used a very minor truth spell to coerce her into spilling her plans. Then there was the potential solution to the problem of Dante standing in his way to Staci’s heart. Could this woman be of use to him in ridding Victor of the demon and his affections for the woman he loved? There was definitely the possibility of using this woman for just that.
Erin glanced around, looking for a way to escape while her captor was lost in thought, but the truth spell was still too powerful; it was making her more honest, and escaping when she was about to commit murder was too much. The spell kept her rooted to the spot.
“So, if you could accomplish this task without breaking any of the laws, do you think you could pull it off?” Victor asked unexpectedly.
Erin snapped her gaze back to him, too shocked to speak. Her confusion was apparent on her face, making her captor chuckle.
“Would it help if I untied you?” he asked.
Erin nodded.
Victor waved his hand and the rope slid free and returned to Victor’s pocket.
Erin rubbed her wrists and looked cautiously at him. “What would you gain by letting me go free?” she asked.
“You love Dante,” he stated. “I love Staci. I believe we can help each other out.”
The woman narrowed her eyes. “The catch being I have to do it without killing her,” she said for him.
“You must do it without breaking any of the laws I fight so hard to protect,” Victor corrected.
Erin thought for a moment and nodded. “It may be a little more difficult than I had anticipated, though.”
“But now you’ll have help,” he grinned.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Victor paced in his office at the church, trying to formulate a plan. Erin sat in a chair across from his desk, still shocked by the unexpected turn of events. She had thought she would be completely alone in her endeavor, never once thinking she would need help. Or get it. She was content to simply improvise all of it, but now that she had the aid of this man, Victor, she felt as if the task was becoming much simpler. She even began to come up with a new, less murderous idea of convincing Staci that Dante was being unfaithful while away. She could act as if she were the other woman, and that when she found out Dante had another woman - one pregnant with his child - she was forced to break it off with him and come immediately to tell Staci about her unfaithful man. The plan was fairly straightforward and, with Victor’s help, could even be credible. All Victor had to do was play the part of concerned friend and solidify Erin’s claim.
“So how do you know Dante?” Victor asked.
“Through my grandfather,” Erin replied. “Why do you ask? How do you know him?”
Victor’s hand subconsciously stroked his sternum, tracing area once held by a hard scar left there from his last meeting with the demon. “I thought he was an evil that had to be vanquished. I was wrong. I met him three thousand years ago in what’s now France. We… had a disagreement.”
Erin nodded. “He told me about you.” Sudden realization lit up her face. “You’re an angel,” she breathed.
Victor glanced at her and wondered. “What did he say about me? How did his words color me?”
Erin shrugged. “He said you were an angel who tried to stop him in his quest. He said you were a good fighter and a vicious opponent.”
Victor felt his face flush. “I was very angry then. He disappeared shortly after our battle, though. I thought he had died. When I found out he had resurfaced just recently, I sought him out to seek vengeance. When I found out he was back, that old anger was reborn in me. I never thought of how the millennia may have changed him.”
Erin couldn’t suppress a chuckle. Her laugh brought Victor’s attention out of his thoughts and back to her.
“What amuses you?” he asked.
“He’s actually not as old as you think he is,” she giggled. “He was sent back in time, then sent back here when his work was finished. He disappeared because he no longer existed in that timeline.”
Victor nodded in understanding. It made sense. His meetings in Heaven never made that clear. All Victor knew was that Dante was there one day, then gone the next.
“So what’s the plan, then?” Erin inquired.
Victor shook his head. “I’m not sure. What we’re thinking about doing goes against all of my morals and personal sta
ndards. Plus, Staci is my closest friend. Doing this would break her heart, and I would do anything to keep her from any pain.”
“Except let her continue to be with Dante,” Erin added hopefully. If Victor was going to become spineless before even setting out, she wanted to be rid of him soon.
Victor shrugged in defeat. “I want her to be happy, and she is very much so with him, but I can treat her so much better than he can. I won’t go gallivanting off so suddenly.”
Erin felt a bit of anger well up inside of her. “He left to pay his last respects to my grandfather. Be careful what you say.”
“I apologize, then,” Victor offered. “I had no idea. How much longer does he have?”
Erin looked away. “No one knows. We’re all surprised he lasted this long after it got worse.”
“What ails him?”
Erin chuckled a bit. “Old age. Other than Dante, he’s the last surviving orphan from the war. He’s been sick a long time, but he just isn’t as strong as he used to be.”
“My condolences, miss.”
“So the plan, then?” Erin asked, forcibly changing the subject.
“I’m not sure. Do you have any ideas?”
“Tell her he’s been unfaithful to her?”
Victor almost laughed at the notion. “And how would we do that?”
Erin shifted, taking on a more seductive pose. “Well, he did receive a letter from a woman before he left, did he not?”
Victor shrugged.
Erin sighed. “He did, it was from me. I sent it to him to tell him about my grandfather. He then met with me before leaving town at my side. I’m certain many of the townsfolk can testify to that.”
Victor nodded, the plan unfolding in his mind.
“And then, I come all the way back to this place,” Erin continued, “because I found out he had a woman here already. I couldn’t, in good conscience, let our tryst continue, and I felt I must make his transgressions known to her.”
“That actually sounds rather convincing,” Victor applauded. “But I think you should also tell her something that would make your haste more believable.”
Erin smiled. “She’s also pregnant.”
Victor’s shock was overpowering. He staggered into his chair and slumped into it. “She’s… pregnant?”
Erin nodded. “I assume she hasn’t told you yet?”
“I haven’t had the occasion to speak with her recently. I’ve been busy with other matters around town. But… she’s carrying the spawn of a demon… I cannot allow the possibility of that child growing up to be like the rest of its kind.”
“You’re going to kill the child?” Erin balked.
Victor’s horrified visage calmed her. “Of course not! We will succeed in our endeavor, and I will raise the child as my own. He will never know his heritage. He will be raised as a human, with no knowledge of his abilities or of his true father.”
Erin smiled. “Then we better not fail.”
Staci hummed a happy tune to herself as she went about her household chores. She had been so busy lately with her students and their work that she had been neglecting some of the regular cleaning around the house. Also, without Dante around to help out, the chores had begun to stack up. She paid it no mind, however, because it gave her something to do to pass the time. She missed Dante and was feeling lonely without him around. He had already been gone longer than expected, but Staci knew that he was comforting a friend and that was good enough for her. Besides, she had survived the rest of her life without him; she’ll survive a bit longer while he’s away. Every now and again, Staci would fiddle with the ring Dante had given her, toying with the notion of contacting him to talk, but she did not want to take him away from his best friend’s side. Gerard needed Dante more than she did at the moment and she was content with that.
Just as she sat down for a quick rest, Staci heard a knock at her door. Sighing in defeat, she rose and answered the door. There stood Victor with some unknown woman next to him.
“Hey, Victor,” Staci greeted warmly. “It’s been a while.”
Victor smiled at her and said, “Hello, Staci. Might we come in? We would like to speak with you.”
Confused and a little worried, Staci nodded. “Sure, come on in.” She led them to the sitting room and motioned to the couch and chairs. “Have a seat. Pardon my mess, I’ve been cleaning today.”
“Oh, your home is beautiful as always,” Victor comforted. He sat in a chair directly across from Staci and motioned to his associate for her to sit as well. “This is Erin,” he introduced.
Erin nodded a greeting to Staci.
“Nice to meet you, Erin. What’s this about, Victor?” She worked hard to keep the worry from her voice. Very seldom did Victor come directly to her home with such a somber expression of his face. It always preceded terrible news.
Victor heard the worry in her voice and winced. He knew he would be breaking her heart with what he and Erin were about to tell her, but it had to be done. He could not risk her child growing up to become an evil creature. Especially after finding out what its father was to become himself. “It’s about Dante,” he stated quietly.
Staci sucked in her breath and could feel her heart pounding. “Has something happened?” She was so distracted that she could not feel her ring warming up, indicating that Dante was trying to establish contact with her. Staci felt a dull throbbing in her head and dismissed it as the beginnings of a headache.
Erin placed her hand on Staci’s and tried to calm her, saying, “He is well. But I have something to confess.”
Staci looked at Erin, wondering what this woman had to do with Dante. “What is that, then?” she asked.
Erin took a deep breath, making a show of trying to steady herself. “He has been less than honest with you, I’m afraid.”
“What do you mean? I’ve been in constant contact with him since he left.” Staci’s eyes unconsciously went to the ring on her finger.
Erin saw the look and realized that Dante must have enchanted the rings he and Staci wore to allow them to communicate. What would happen if the ring were to be removed? She took her eyes off the ring and made eye contact with Staci once more. “I feel I must tell you the truth of what your man has been doing while away. I met him along a journey long ago and fell for his charms. Had I known that he was already spoken for, I would never have allowed myself to revisit those feelings.”
“What are you talking about?” Staci demanded. “Are you saying Dante cheated on me?”
“I am just as shocked as you, Staci,” Victor soothed. “I have been keeping an eye on him since he first came here, and I knew nothing of this. Erin came to me just last night for help in finding you so she could tell you what has happened.”
Staci’s head swam. She could not believe that Dante would be unfaithful at all. She did not believe it. Who was this woman to come to her home and spout lies about her beloved? “Where is he now?” she asked.
“Manhattan,” Erin replied. “He came with me to stay at my grandfather’s side while he passed away, but took me to bed in the meantime.”
Staci could not believe her ears. Her head pounded. She thought she heard Dante’s voice in her mind. “But, he told me that Gerard was still alive.”
“A lie, unfortunately,” Erin stated. “My grandfather passed away weeks ago. Dante has been staying ever since to comfort me. I had no idea that he had left you here.”
“But… he wouldn’t,” Staci countered. She firmly believed that Dante was still faithful to her, but this woman’s testimony was beginning to shake that confidence.
“Perhaps you don’t know him as well as you thought,” Victor offered. “I know it hurts to hear this, Staci, but it is true. I was keeping a secret vigil over him during his travels and saw him with this woman leaving the town.”
Staci looked over to Erin, who nodded grimly. “No… How can this be true? I’m having his baby.”
Erin gripped Staci’s hand tighter and summoned a tear
to her eye. “That is exactly why I made haste to tell you of his infidelity. That man would not make a fit father to any child. I wanted to tell you myself as soon as I knew so you can make the right decision to leave him and move on to better things in your own life.”
Staci searched Erin’s eyes for the truth. Something felt out of place, but the throbbing in her head was too distracting. But there it was, some glimmer of false intent that seemed to shout at Staci. “You’re lying,” she stated flatly.
Erin’s soothing and heartfelt expression turned instantly to anger and she gripped Staci’s hand so tight it hurt. She pulled her hand away and took the ring with it, drawing her short sword in the same motion. The movement was almost too fast for Victor or Staci to react, but the angel had his sword to Erin’s throat before she could complete her attack.
“What are you doing, Erin?” he demanded.
“You want the truth?” Erin hissed. “Dante is dead! You probably felt him trying to contact you this whole time, didn’t you?”
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