Dante

Her thin brows knit and he knew he had definitely caught her off guard with his last statement. There was no doubt this was a difficult situation to explain and he appreciated she was an understanding, coherent adult and not the lanky child lingering in his vast memory.

She'd grown tall, but was still shorter than him as most humans were. Still, he liked not having to look too far down when talking to her.

The fabric of the dark green sweater dress she wore was bulky, probably meant to hide her body but still hugged her in a way that had caught the attention of a few men she'd passed tonight. Not that it appeared she'd noticed, she seemed too in her head, recklessly oblivious to her surroundings.

It came just above her knees, cupping her thick thighs and ass nicely but the black tights unfortunately prevented anything of importance from actually showing. The sleeves were long and down to her knuckles, probably to keep her warm in the chilled fall air, as well as the cowl neckline brushing her chin.

Despite the fact she was well covered he found himself liking what he saw. The green complemented the warmth of her skin tone, a deep russet like the natural clay he'd once worked between his fingers as an adolescent. Her cheeks were round like her face which was hiding behind her wild onyx coils.

No onyx wasn't right, he'd noticed the loose waves collecting highlights under the city's lamp posts earlier. Maybe a deceptively dark, deep dark umber.

She had clearly grown out of her awkward tiny human phase and matured into a ripened fruit ready to be fermented.

Her chest still rose and fell in rapid motions, moving her breast in noticable ways that she definitely didn't inherit from her mothers flatness.

He noticed the lips of her round full mouth twitched and he was certain it was from his quick assessment of her being. But, despite what most thought about him, he was only a man.

A man who liked many different body types, but the full figured ones most definitely tasted the best.

However that wasn't the task at hand. And even if it was, it wasn't as if he would take her.

While this girl stood tall and held defiance in her high shoulders, he could see the fear in her eyes, almond in shape and cognac in color. The fear that was within all humans when he was near, some more than others.

And it was in this, and other reasons, he chose to keep his distance from humans. They were dangerous when they were scared.

"Okay, you're clearly insane." Her tone brought his mind away from her features and back to the job he'd been paid to do.

"No, what's foolish is your inability to accept the truth in the answers you wanted."

She began to shake her head, causing a disturbance in the stale air to her rather small apartment. He had done an initial sweep of the home when he'd first arrived to make sure it was secure for her arrival and he noted just how insignificant the place was. Granted he wasn't judging it based on the office he slept in at the bar. But to have downsized from the townhome he knew her parents owned, to living in a borderline scum apartment was...something just didn't add up. He would have to ask her a few questions on how she'd acquired the place and if it was initially her idea to move out.

He hadn't scouted any demonic disturbances within the building which was strange but not uncommon. Harmless lower level demons chose to live in groups such as apartments to shield their scent but Dante's skills were well equipped for such things.

"No." She smiled, though he couldn't find anything comical about the situation. "Come on, that's...no, because...actually...?" She thought to herself for a moment and became unpredictable. "Actually, that could make sense."

Dante nodded. "Your family is a part of an organization whose job is to clean up the mess demons make."

"And what are you?" She asked truly curious. She brought her hands back to her sides and stopped looking for what he had presumed was a weapon.

Dante had expected that question, just not so soon. He'd assumed they would go through a round of denial about her parents and their life's work. Shock that they'd lied to her for years about the world beneath theirs, fear of said world and then finally reluctant acceptance but she was surprisingly jumping to the final step.

He had no problem answering it, of course. She needed to know what her parents had hired to look after her.

"I'm a half-breed. Able to spend my existence resembling a human but with the abilities of my counterparts." He searched her face for any signs of a meltdown but found none, only knit brows.

She leaned back against her counter with crossed arms and for a moment he thought he could read her mind. She was thinking how impossible this all sounded.

As he began to relay his thoughts she cut him off mid-sentence.

"Actually, I was thinking something completely different. Are my brothers...?"

Dante nodded and she let out an exasperated chuckle, her fingers pulling at the tips of her sleeves absentmindedly.

She didn't look at him but the space just in front of him as her brain processed. Her brows were still knit but more so in hurt rather than the confusion from earlier and her almond eyes narrowed.

"Why wouldn't they tell me? Did they think I couldn't handle it?" Dante had been right about the disappointment in her eyes.

He gave a shrug, unsure how to answer her question. He honestly wasn't sure she was even asking him or just thinking aloud.

He left her alone with her thoughts to go sit on the uncomfortable and hideously patterned couch.

She was handling this a lot easier than he'd expected. She was more disappointed in her family lying to her rather than showing the normal signs of existential horror.

Existential horror he could handle, but disappointment...

When she slowly followed him into the room and stood on the other side of him he knew she was going to be an easy assignment.

She was choosing to stick close because she needed answers but not because she was afraid. Maybe it was possible that Keepers were naturally fearless.

No, that wasn't true. He'd come across many who were scared shitless of him and any demon they came across. He could smell it on them but curiously not on this girl.

"It's human nature to fear the unusual." He searched her expression for any sign of distress. "Why don't you?"

Her slender shoulders lifted then fell slightly, ruffling her hair a bit.

"I don't know." Her tone was almost infant-like but also giddy as a small smile played at her lips. "I guess I'm waiting for the punchline."

"There is none." He became firm, knowing it was the only way she was going to understand.

He noticed her quick mood change from whimsical to annoyed. Her eyes hardened and her mouth turned down in vexation."Well, you're blunt, aren't you?"

Dante smirked. "I strive to be, doll-face."

Her frustrated demeanor never changed. "Don't call me that."

He just shrugged, laid his back against the couch, and shut his eyes, feigning resting.

"What are you doing?" She asked in a disbelieving tone.

"What does it look like? It's late." He opened one eye before closing it again. "I'm settling in."

"But I have questions."

"And I'm not a library." He retorted with a snort. "It's late. Ask your folks tomorrow."

He wasn't actually going to sleep tonight, he hardly slept on a job; he just needed her to sleep so she wouldn't be a problem.

He could feel her standing there, ambition emitting from her person yet he still did not lift his lids until he heard her gruff huff and the soft swoosh of her boots on the carpet as she made her way from the living-room to her bedroom.

She was in there for a while before she exited, still dressed in her daywear but smelling of cigarette smoke.

He'd noticed the lighter on her nightstand but no cigarettes and now wondered if that had been her reason for keeping the windows not only unlocked but wide open.

She went to the kitchen for a minute then came to stand behind him on the couch where he'd put his feet on the coffee table.

"I don't suppose I could offer you a late dinner...do half demons eat pizza?"

He resisted the urge to chuckle at her attempts. "Yes, we eat. But I'd much rather have a cigarette."

Her body went rigid. "I'm sorry, I don't smoke."

Dante tilted his head back to look at her skeptically. "If you lie that horribly with your parents it's no wonder they don't trust you on your own."

"Are you hungry or not?" She nearly snapped.

"No, I told you what I wanted." He brought a pack of cigarettes from the inside breast pocket of his jacket. "Do you have a light?"

He could feel her staring at the back of his head though couldn't see her expression. She left then came back almost immediately to toss the lighter he'd seen earlier into his lap.

"Don't smoke in the house," she snapped as he began to light up on the couch. But her tone eased with her next request. "And...don't tell my parents."

While he'd long since learned how awkward humans were, her statement confused him. If she didn't want her parents to know she was a smoker, why do it? She knew what it could do to her body, her lungs, so...why?

"I don't do it often." She babbled. "It's just...a nervous habit I guess I picked up."

"Biting your nails is a nervous habit." He told her as he stood and went to sit in the sill of one of the large open windows. "Smoking destroys your body."

"I don't see you quitting," she mumbled under her breath, looking at her couch disgruntled.

She looked up from staring at the misshapen patterns, her innocent eyes locking with him with a tender bite of her bottom lip, face full of curiosity.

And for a moment he wanted to screw what her parents had demanded.

They knew his history more than they knew most other demons, and he definitely lived up to his reputation. He'd been a womanizer in his early years, sleeping with human women for fun when he didn't care if he harmed them and killing mortal men just for the hell of it.

He'd seen this woman in her early years as a girl, remembered her noisy, awkward adolescent self. Remembered her limp body in his arms and just how she'd gotten the second degree burns on her left side of her body that he'd just seen a moment ago when she thought she was alone.

He remembered and for this reason, he chose not to corrupt her innocence and let her go to bed alone.

He enjoyed the sweet ones the most.. Most likely they weren't as innocent as they appeared and he wondered if that was the case with this lost little fox.

She didn't like his abrupt dismissal yet took her plate and did as she was told.

Tomorrow would be a new day for her. She'd have to confront her parents about the information she'd learned and he knew it wasn't going to be easy for them.

There was rain in the air, normally a foreshadowing sign for trouble or misfortune, however there hadn't been rain the night she earned her burns. There had been no warning as the fire engulfed their home.

Despite The Society's strict rules for their factions, the Oswald's had been radicals, offering their home as refuge to demons as long as they did no harm.

Not many trusted this, but they seemed to be heretics to their cause. They knew what most everyone in The Nether knew. That humans could be just as dangerous as the demons The Society, their bosses, worked so hard to control.

Their organization saw all those who came from The Nether as corrupt. Which was true. But the same could be said about their realm.

The Oswald's had broken the rules, fraternized with demons and paid the price.

He'd ventured to their home on previous occasions for weapons, potions, even information. While they were always watchful of the demons who showed, they never caused any harm.

It was a small dinner party on the first level of their two story home. Demons, Casters, and most other night creatures were invited; a variety that would normally never associate with those in The Society, but the Oswald's had grown a reputation. They were good people.

The night had been going well, until it wasn't.

One wouldn't expect a modern home to burn as quickly as it had...but it did. The flames spread quickly and everyone evacuated.

Lindsey didn't want to leave but her husband dragged her out, reassuring her that he'd seen the boys playing outside and they both knew their daughter wouldn't be far behind. Only, she wasn't.

Dante remembered the anguish on their faces after they'd finally located the boys and questioned where their third child was only to be met with tiny confused glances.

He'd heard many human screams but the agony of a mother realizing her kid was about to die a horrific death, that still haunted Dante.

He remembered not thinking, just reacting. The girl was only seven, a child who hadn't caused harm to anyone. And the Oswald's were actively trying to make changes in the system. So, no he didn't think when he ran back into the inferno. He was near indestructible anyway thanks to his fathers blood.

He ran back in through the front doors and dashed up the stairs to where he knew the girls room was located. The door had been jammed so he used his shoulder to break it down, ignoring the loud cracking around him.

The room resembled the lower floor with many beams and pieces of the ceiling falling to the burning furniture.

The thick smoke obscured his vision but he managed, searching her room.

When he'd pulled back the blankets to her bed, she wasn't there, she hadn't been anywhere in the room and for a split second he thought it had all been an elaborate plot to kill him.

He'd prepared to leave, exiting the room but heard the faint cough come from down the hall where the flames were most rampant.

He made his way to the boys room, careful to avoid the new holes in the floor, and found the girl pinned underneath a wooden beam.

Fire licked at her flesh, searing through her pajamas in places but she didn't scream. Her body was far too still and he wasn't sure if he'd made it in time.

Quickly, he pulled the beam that had trapped her and wrapped her delicate body within his duster. As he'd turned to leave, the door to the room broke down with a loud cracking that shook the house and he knew it wasn't long before the structure collapsed completely.

The bay window was the only means of escape and he jumped just as there was a loud explosion from somewhere on the first floor.

His body impacted with the ground roughly, the unexpected explosion causing him to miscalculate and tumble with the poor girl.

He thought she was still unconscious but he could see her weak eyes where his jacket had opened slightly in the fall.

She opened her mouth but only a strained cough came before she was out again, probably due to smoke inhalation.

He didn't have to open the jacket to see the burnt flesh, he could smell it and it caused a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach that he'd never felt before.

Why was it that this girl who'd never hurt anyone was now damaged while the only proof he'd been inside the burning home were his burnt clothes revealing patches of his slightly reddened flesh.

When he went to return the girl, the mother was on her knees bawling next to her husband who was doing his best to console her.

He held Evanora in his arms and before he could place her down, she was being taken by her distraught parents and rushed to the hospital.

That night he felt something for someone else that he hadn't felt in nearly three hundred years. Pity.

He felt sorry for this little human girl and it had been a long time since he'd felt anything other than resentment towards humans. At least with demons he knew what side they lied on. With humans it was difficult to tell until it was too late.

However something else happened that night that confused him.

As he unwrapped the girl from his jacket to hand her off, the crystal around her neck touched the side of his right hand and burnt him when the flames hadn't. When he drew back, the girl's father noticed yet avoided eye contact as they rushed her to emergency care.

It took him a lot of digging to find out what was so special about this one pendant. That it was able to cause him harm easily when nearly nothing else could. And once he'd found the information he sought he knew he couldn't reveal it without causing a serious uproar in the The Nether.

If anyone knew this girl had the pendant containing a demonic presence that could bring about the destruction of the human world and rule the Nether, they would all have a serious problem on their hands.

If released, there was no doubt in his mind Lilith would seek vengeance for being contained for centuries. So, he'd kept that information to himself.

And keeping it and Evanora safe shouldn't be too difficult. Especially if he could keep from sleeping with her.

No, if her parents could find another Keeper to sleep with her, then that moron could be their lackey and protect the girl.

Dante didn't sleep, though could hear the soft snoring of his charge in the next room. Her gentle lull nearly made him want to do the same. Nearly.

While the pendant had been safe for the twenty two years around this one girl's neck he didn't want to take any chances.

He spent the night lurking around her home, making sure each entrance was covered, and soon morning came. He'd been staring out her bedroom window when her alarm clock sounded next to her bed. When she woke, realizing he was in her bedroom, she gave a tiny shriek.

"For fucks sake, I forgot you were here." She mumbled clutching her neck. "Why are you in here?"

"Scouting," he said simply as he turned and walked towards the door but stopped and gave a smirk. "You talk in your sleep."

The rosiness that warmed to her cheeks was amusing. There was no need for embarrassment. It was common for women to dream about him, especially when he was with them.

"Do you always get up this early on a Sunday?" He asked from the living-room.

She groaned loudly and pushed herself roughly out of bed.

"No," she nearly snapped. "I promised my freaking parents I'd go to church with them this morning before work."

He knew that. He just wanted to make sure she remembered. Apparently she hadn't, as she rushed to get herself ready before her parents arrived to pick her up. It was strange to him that she didn't own a car at her age but he knew her parents didn't let her leave home often and doubted that would change even now that she was on her own.

She showered and dressed quickly but wasn't ready in time for someone to knock on the door.

He answered it, expecting her parents and not the tall man who owed him a large sum of money.

Simon stood in the hallway, vision obscured by the black shades and IPhone he was looking down at. When he realized the door was open and his baby sister did not greet him as usual, he glanced up and set his mouth into a hard line.

"Simon." Dante commented watching his face drop.

"What the fuck are you doing in my sister's apartment?" His reaction was expected though he didn't dare push past the half-breed.

"What do you think?" He crossed his arms hoping to torture the boy with his assumptions.

Now he did push past Dante, shouting Eva's name and if she was alright.

Evanora rushed from her bedroom, placing the mate to her earring in the other hole. Again she wore a dress that covered her body well, though she wore lacy sandals and stockings instead of boots and leggings. Her dark locks were wavy around her almond face but didn't shield her neck as she probably wanted.

It wasn't hideous but the pale tawny was a noticeable difference than her original warm brown skin. It almost reminded him of someone with vitiligo. Where the melanin in her skin just wasn't present.

As if sensing Dante's eyes on her, she averted hers and fluffed her hair to cover her exposed flesh more.

"What's wrong?" Her curious gaze was set solely on her brother.

Her brother who stared between Eva and Dante accusingly and only Dante knew what he was implying.

When his sister acted as if she didn't understand his anger, he sobered and posed the same question as when he'd first entered.

"Are you...alright? He didn't..."

It took incredibly long for her to realize his meaning and when she did she laughed nervously.

"God, no. I don't even know the...man?"

Her tone had turned upward towards the end when she questioned Dante's species and he nodded.

No, he wasn't a full blooded human but he was still a man. Or at least he liked to think of himself as such.

Simon stood there, dressed appropriately for church in a designer suit and red tie, tightened around his neck that appeared to bite into the flesh there. The expensive sunglasses that once sat on the bridge of a button nose that closely resembled his sisters, now sat atop his head, pushed into his dark terracotta fro that looked nothing like his sisters.

From the chin up he resembled the reckless man in Dante's thoughts and he thought it strange humans dressed in monkey suits to appease a false God. Simon straightened a bit more, slender shoulders squared and chest puffed to feign power when he noticed Dante sizing him up.

Dante not only had nearly a foot of height on this child, but centuries. He should watch how he reacted or Dante would have to reconsider revoking his not killing idiotic humans rule.

Simon was a perfect example of what was wrong with humans. He thought he was the baddest thing out there but he was wrong. His gambling habit had gotten him into more trouble than he could handle and the fact that his parents had to pay out of pocket for his debt against Dante was not only ridiculous but childish.

He was a grown man who needed to act as such.

However, it didn't bother Dante any. He knew this boy didn't have the required potions or weaponry to go up against him.

Evanora looked between the two men and Dante could tell she was confused with her brother's strange reaction. He was still waiting on her reaction, good or bad, about this whole situation.

It was a moment before anyone spoke and before they could, another voice sounded from the ajar door.

Lowell, who was the near splitting image of Simon, save a shorter hair cut, stood in the doorway looking between the three of them.

After a few seconds, he spoke, voice a little deeper in tone than his twin.

"Mom and dad said they're already there." He stared between them, brown eyes surveying the scene.

"Did you know about this?" Simon nearly snapped. He was trying to keep his cool around his sister in case she didn't know what was going on.

Instead of Lowell answering, Eva crossed her arms quickly and with an angry note in her tone.

"I think the better question is when the hell anyone was going to tell me?" She tapped her foot impatiently. "I mean seriously? I think I deserve an explanation."

The two men were quiet, not wanting to say anything to upset or confuse her. But she was an adult. She could handle it, or at least it's what she put off.

She pulled the necklace from the inside of her dress and clutched it.

Lowell sighed, clearly the level headed of the two brothers. "You should talk to mom and dad."

"Why, what aren't you all telling me?"

She wanted to know so Dante told her.

"The Pendant harbors Lilith. Devourer of Souls, Destroyer of worlds. A Primordial "

The glare he received from Simon was unneeded and angered him. He still owed Dante a rather large sum of money his parents hadn't been able to cover.

"I think," Lowell said pointedly. "This would be better explained with the help of our parents."

Dante shrugged his shoulders. "That's fine. I have business I need to handle, anyway. I'll be back tonight."

Before he even thought Evanora was going to refuse, he cut her off. "Take an umbrella. You're going to need it."