Chapter 35

-Chase-

“Like trying to stop a truck…”

I stared at the monitor in front of me, the one connected with the cameras inside Dante’s cage, listening in to the quiet conversation the demons were having by the stairs. I couldn’t take my eyes off Dante, who was sleeping on the cold floor of his cage, still in his beast form.

“His form was now much bigger than last time,” Roe spoke. “When my magic still worked on him…”

“What the hell is he?” Izha whispered. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“It is a very rare mutation,” Ben explained. “He is still a werewolf, but…” he shrugged.

“How are we supposed to handle him?”

“We’re not – we’ll find the cure and end this madness,” Roe said with a hostile voice. “And then we end those who caused this.”

“Look at you. The mighty Roeruiz doing something nice for others,” Paraz spoke, gently mocking him. “Why are you so invested in this?”

Roe didn’t reply to him, so I finally looked up to see what they were doing. Roe was looking at me, so the others did that too. I didn’t say a word, and quickly turned to stare at the monitor again.

“For a mridien,” Paraz muttered, probably thinking I couldn’t hear him.

“How are we supposed to take him to Njizrski?” Izha asked.

“With Mjyrna,” Roe replied shortly. I heard his footsteps coming my way, but I kept staring at Dante. “You still have the ring, right?” he asked once he stopped behind me.

“Yes.”

“Good. We can’t take any chances,” Roe said apologetically.

“I understand.”

He placed his hand on my shoulder – a rare gesture from him. I looked up while he was turning back to human, and once his transformation was complete, he smiled at me. “This will be over soon.”

“You look creepy when you’re trying to be friendly,” I muttered, and turned my attention back to the monitor. “It doesn’t suit you.”

“What an ungrateful mridien I have,” he said quietly, but I knew he was joking, just like he knew I was, too. “How long has it been?”

I checked the time from the bottom corner of the screen, and sighed. “Thirty-five minutes…”

“Longer than before,” he murmured. “He really is in phase two of… whatever the fuck we’re dealing with.”

“It happened so fast… I don’t understand…”

“Adrenalin,” Ben spoke, and I nearly jumped off my seat – I hadn’t noticed him behind the monitor. “I should’ve seen it coming. All this excitement and preparations and… guns… I’m guessing it was too much for him.”

“Well, we need to make sure he doesn’t see all that once he turns back to normal,” I said, but the rest of our group was already on it, taking the equipment through another portal to my parents’ house to be packed into our vehicles.

“And he’ll be using the ring. If that’s going to be any good…” Roe muttered in annoyance. “There are creatures that are immune to magic, but I never thought he’d be resistant, too.”

“He is growing stronger,” Ben sighed. “But this was news to me as well. I never had the opportunity to test magic on them – and quite frankly, I didn’t even want to do that.”

“Why?” both Roe and I asked in unison.

“Every test I conducted, I started with their blood samples. I ran the same tests many times before even considering doing them on the patients – I couldn’t risk making their condition worse. Using magic… It felt dangerous.”

“Hmmh…” Roe uttered, rubbing his chin. “I’d like to have a few drops of his blood for my own tests.”

“I still have a vial left that I don’t need,” Ben told him.

“I’d like to have it.”

“You’ll get your blood,” I said, staring at Dante who was now moving. “But not now,” I added and stood up as the whole house was suddenly shaken by the loud, painful roar Dante let out as his transformation finally started.

“Wait!” Ben grabbed me when I tried to get to the stairs. “Let him change first.”

“I’m not letting him wake up alone,” I told him, yanked myself free, and ran to the stairs.

I didn’t waste a second as I flew down the stairs to the first door. As heavy as it was, it took me a moment to open the locks and pull it open. The second one wasn’t any easier. Dante was still partly howling, partly screaming as his transformation was nearing to its end. I didn’t hesitate to open the door of his cage, even though it was clear he wasn’t still done.

“Dante! I’m here!” I spoke as I pulled the heavy door open, giving only a brief look at the scrapes and scratches on the supposedly indestructible surface. “I’m here, baby…”

He was twitching and withering on the floor, his breathing hurting my ears as I hurried to him. When I picked him up in my arms, his fur was still retreating, vanishing back under his skin. The bones on his face were still moving back to where they were supposed to be, making me sick to my stomach, but I didn’t look away.

His eyes were darting from left to right until they found mine.

“C-Cha…” he breathed out with such a scared voice my heart broke.

“I’m here – you’re safe,” I whispered, giving him a shaky smile. “You’re all right. I got you now…”

I pulled him into a hug, and I wasn’t going to let go of him anytime soon.

“I got you…”

“It… never hurt so much… before,” he mumbled against my chest, taking in deep breaths.

“It was worse this time,” I muttered in his ear. “But this is over soon. We’re almost there. We almost got it.”

He was silent for a moment, relaxing on my lap little by little. Then, he looked up at me with red, tired eyes. “What happened?”

I told him what Ben had told me. He listened quietly, and nodded after my short explanation.

“I just… blacked out. I can’t remember anything,” he said quietly. “There’s nothing… I usually see images… something that’s going on around me…”

“We knew that was going to happen,” I said soothingly.

“Did I hurt you?” he asked, lifting his hand to touch my face.

“No,” I smiled at him. “You dragged the demons around the house, but you didn’t hurt anyone.”

“What?”

“Magic didn’t work on you, so they tried to chain you up. But don’t worry about it. The beast is growing stronger, but tomorrow we’ll have the cure.”

“Right,” he muttered, clearly not believing me. He tried to sit up, but it ended in a painful groan, and he rested against my chest again, breathing heavily. “I want out of this cell…”

“It’s not a cell,” I said sternly, but he wasn’t listening.

“Cage or whatever,” he said, ad tried to get up again.

I figured it was better to get him out of there before the beast would come out again, so I helped him up. He was shaking so badly that it seemed nearly impossible to get him up on his feet, but somehow, we made it to the door.

But then, he stopped and turned to look at me. “Are you all right?”

“I already told you–”

“No… Are you all right?” he asked again, and it took me a moment to realized what he meant.

“Well… I’m a bit shaken,” I admitted, and quickly continued when his self-hate started showing, “but I’m fine. I was more worried about you.”

“You shouldn’t be…” He started, but I grabbed his chin and made him look at me.

“No. We are not going down that path, you hear me? You’re mine, Dante Gray. I chose you. The whole package – the beast and all,” I told him. “I’m allowed to be worried.”

He stared at me for a brief moment, and let out a defeated sigh. “You have a poor taste in men.”

“I used to have,” I corrected him. “Now it’s exquisite,” I added just before I kissed him.

*****

After getting Dante to bed, I had to force myself to leave him to sleep alone. The rest of our group was waiting for me downstairs since we still needed a plan – one didn’t simply just stroll into the Death Zone and survive, no matter how big of a lunatic they were.

It was tedious. Part of me just wanted to go make sure Dante was all right, so focusing on the plan was annoying as hell. We had maps laid out on the table in the lounge, and we marked down several possible routes to the highlands in case one or two of them were blocked. We didn’t leave anything to chance, so we also planned how to get up there in case all normal routes were blocked. With a lot of firepower, mostly.

Two hours later, we were as ready as we could be, and everyone left to get a good night’s sleep. I hurried back to Dante, finding him wide awake in the bed. I could sense his sorrow all the way to the door, so I conjured a smile on my lips and went to sit down next to him.

“Can’t sleep?” I asked, and he shook his head. I brushed my hand through his hair, but he still didn’t say a word. He didn’t even look at me. He just laid there on his side, staring at the window.

I wanted to remind him that we’d have the cure by the end of tomorrow, but that was not what he wanted to hear. He didn’t believe that, and to be honest, I wasn’t allowing myself to celebrate it just yet. We still had to actually get it.

“I’ll go brush my teeth and I’ll be right with you,” I told him, but when I tried to get up, he grabbed my hand. “What?” I asked gently.

“Nothing…”

“I need to brush my teeth,” I told him, but it took a while for him to let go of me. He let out a sad sigh as he did so. “I’ll be back in two minutes,” I promised.

I was as fast as I could as I did my business in the bathroom and returned to our bedroom. Dante was still staring out the window.

“Do you want your potion?” I asked as I was changing my clothes, but he shook his head. “You sure?”

I didn’t get a reply. I joined him in the bed and pulled the covers over us. At least now his eyes were on mine, but I was still worried because of his silence. “Are you all right?”

“I guess,” he murmured, suddenly pulling me closer. “I can’t wait for this to be over…”

“It will be soon,” I whispered in his ear, wrapping my arms and legs around him. “Try to get some sleep.”

“Sure…”

I thought it would take a while for him to fall asleep, but I was wrong. It didn’t take longer than a few minutes for him to start snoring lightly against my chest, and hearing it made a smile appear on my lips.

“This’ll be over tomorrow,” I said and kissed his temple.

I didn’t sleep much that night, but I was glad that Dante didn’t wake up even once. I spent the long hours watching him, feeling too excited, nervous, and restless, almost unable to stay still. The only thing keeping me somewhat calm was Dante. Playing with his hair, touching his smooth, hot skin, and holding him tightly against my chest soothed me down.

Maybe I nodded off at some point. I woke up to my alarm blaring loudly, but instead of being annoyed by, I snapped awake from the very first sound, and the restlessness immediately washed over me.

Dante woke up too, and for a short moment, we just stared at each other, listening in to the blaring of my alarm clock.

“It’s time,” I whispered, and he nodded.

None of us really spoke while we ate our breakfast and started getting ready to leave. The atmosphere was nervous, and I couldn’t wait to get on the move. When it was finally about time to leave, I took Dante’s hand in mine to gain his attention.

“You know we can’t take any chances, right?” I asked, feeling miserable when I pulled out the Mjyrna from my pocket, showing it to Dante.

He grit his teeth together and nodded, not looking straight at the ring. “I know,” he sighed, taking it from me.

“This will be over soon,” I said, touching his cheek. He glanced at me but didn’t reply to my words.

“Let’s just get going,” he muttered, and I held back a sigh.

“Sure.”

He had taken his potion, but we both knew it wasn’t enough, so he had to use the ring. Hell, even that probably wasn’t enough. I kept a close eye on him when we grabbed our bags and walked to the portal with Eru at our feet. Dante was taking deep breaths and keeping his eyes on the ground, but I feared that he would still turn. He had to be nervous. He had to be afraid of the beast suddenly taking control. That was not the right mindset, but we needed that cure now. We didn’t have enough time to make him comfortable with this. I doubted it was even possible.

At least we’d taken every possible precaution there was. The portal we stepped through led to a shed my parents had in the yard. Once we got out, the car that was meant for us was waiting only a few feet away, so I led him straight to it and watched him get in.

“I’ll see you there, I guess,” Dante said as he took the ring.

“I’ll see you there,” I smiled, but my heart broke when he looked at the ring, his expression turning completely blank right away.

I waited for a moment, making sure he was completely under the spell of the ring before I leaned in to kiss his cheek. “This will be over today,” I whispered in his ear, before I stood back up and looked around, trying to stay strong for him.

My mom peeked through the curtains in the kitchen, so I gestured at her that it was safe for them to come out. Only a short moment later, the front door opened, and our entire group started pouring out.

“Is he all right?” Zane asked when he stopped next to me, peering at Dante.

“No,” I murmured. “We need that cure.”

“You’ll get it,” Zane said with a reassuring voice. “We’re not coming back without it.”

I nodded, not really understanding why I was so shaken. This was not the time for that! I tried to gather my composure, but only a short glimpse of Dante in his nearly unconscious state almost broke me down. Maybe it was the lack of sleep or the fear I felt or both, but I was not doing that well, either.

“We are leaving very soon,” Zane said in a calming manner.

“Good, because I can’t stand seeing him like that,” I admitted, looking at Dante again. “We need to get this over with. He deserves a normal life.”

“You both do,” Zane said, patting my shoulder. “Come, let’s get this party on the road.”

After he said that Eru jumped in the car and curled up in Dante’s lap, being careful not to break his eye contact with the ring. I smiled at them both before I turned to look at my childhood home, trying to get a grip on myself.

I had missed that place. It had been a while since I stepped a foot in this property. It used to be a farm before my parents bought it. The old barn had been remodeled into an exhibition building where they had stored all their trophies, treasures and books from all around the world. The good memories flooded my mind, and I wished I’d be able to spend some time in that place once more, preferably with Dante by my side. He’d probably find so many exciting things to learn more about…

That image of a better future gave me the courage I needed. I took a deep breath, pushed my shoulders back, and turned to look over the yard.

“Good morning everyone. Let’s get going, shall we?” I said with a clear voice as I walked around the car, and then sat down next to Dante while Zane took the wheel.

The rest of them followed my example. Zane started the engine and drove the car right behind Aaliyah’s, who was traveling with the twin brothers. I watched my mom as she walked at the end of the old barn and pushed open the double doors, revealing an area where people used to store their farming equipment. The doorway had been turned into a place for a portal that was big enough for a truck to drive through. She activated it, walked to Dad’s van, and climbed in to sit next to Ben.

The demons were already waiting for us outside when we got through the portal. Seeing the darkness and the snow all around us made my heart beat faster.

The dark side of Njizrski. Another place I hadn’t visited in a while.

The place we were at was the last village before the Death Zone. No one lived there anymore, but it was a popular place for lunatics to pop up their portals.

We stopped next to Roe, Paraz and Izha, and before getting in our car, Roe closed the portal so nothing from Njizrski could accidentally wander into our world. Once our little convoy started moving again, Roe turned to look at us.

“Is the ring working on him?”

“It is,” I nodded.

“Good. Just make sure he keeps staring at the ring,” Roe said and turned to look out the window.

“You don’t need to remind me,” I snorted, but as on cue, Zane drove over a bigger bump, making us all jerk sideways. I quickly grabbed Dante’s hand, keeping it still in front of his eyes while the car continued jumping for a bit.

“Right,” Roe said slowly, clicking his tongue. “Also, don’t take your eyes off the surroundings. We may be attacked at any moment.”

“Can’t wait,” Zane smirked.

“Has anyone ever told you you’re completely insane?” Roe asked him.

“My shrink once said that,” Zane replied.

“Ah, well it’s good you’re aware of it.”

“We’re all insane,” I sighed, trying to see outside, but it was too dark.

“That’s the spirit,” Zane chuckled.