Mortals (Devil may Cry book 2)

Taking Action

I woke with a jolt. My breathing was heavy, and I was covered with sweat. I sat up, clasping my forehead as I replayed my meeting with Jasmine. Was it a dream?

Of course not.

I sighed. It was defiantly real. Jasmine was helping me now. God I missed her...

I groaned, pulling myself from the bed and stumbled downstairs. The floor was cold, but my skin was colder.

I pulled a bag of blood from the fridge,  placing it in the microwave. I had to thank Vergil for stopping at the blood drive.

When the microwave dinged, I hurriedly poured the blood into a cup, downing the warm liquid. I stood there for a moment, relaxing as I let the blood warm my skin. I began having more and more attacks like this, and they got on my nerves.

The stairs creaked, and I cringed. I woke someone up...

"Cassi? Are you okay?"

I glanced up to see Vergil coming downstairs. I quickly nodded, rinsing the cup and tossed the bag into the garbage.

He gently grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly, "No you aren't. Tell me what's wrong."

I sank against him, listening to the beating of his heart, "I saw Jasmine."

He stayed quiet, running his fingers through my hair.

"She contacted me through my dream. Told me that we had to kill Tobias. Told me to protect Brook, and that I had a role. But she wouldn't explain what my role was."

He chuckled, "That sounds like her. Did she say anything about why we should protect Brook?"

I shrugged, "I dunno. She said she'd be helpful."

"Hm."

I sighed, "Vergil, I'm afraid of Tobias attacking us."

"Well you know he will."

"But... can't we stop him first?"

Vergil shook his head, "We have to find him first. I planned for tomorrow to start searching. We will check Silver Saks Tower. Maybe just for a start."

I nodded again, rubbing my eyes. The warmth of the blood made me sleepy again.

Vergil patted my back, "But we need to sleep first."

~o0o~

"Vergil..."

I squinted at the voice, straining my tired eyes. I was suprised to see Brook poking Vergil's cheek.

"Vergilll..."

He jumped, "What do you want?"

"I'm hungry."

"Then eat."

"But there's nothing to make. What should I do?"

Vergil groaned, "There's pancake mix in the cupboard above the sink."

"Okay!"

I heard her running footsteps disappear down the creaky stairs.

"Vergil," I groaned.

"Hmm?"

"Should we really trust her with cooking?"

He was quiet for a moment, then sat up groggily, "No. Hmm...."

He slowly made his way downstairs. I sighed and rolled out of bed, following him.

Brook was cheerfully mixing the ingredients together as I sat at the table. She poked her head into the dining room, making eye contact with me, "Hey how hungry are you?"

I stared at her.

"Sorry, " she adverted her gaze to Vergil, "How hungry are you."

"Mmmmm." he groaned, waving her off, "Not very."

"Hmm okay. I'll make twelve."

I watched as she whipped up a batch of pancakes, singing random songs and dancing weirdly.

"DANTE!"

Vergil and I covered our ears at her screech. She smiled sheepishly as Dante pounded down the steps.

"What?!"

"Breakfast is ready."

He sighed, sitting across from Vergil. They ate silently, thinking of different places Tobias might be.

"Dante," Vergil began, "I'm heading to Silver Saks Tower. I'll check there. You head to the abandoned apaerment complex south of here. It mau be suitable for him, I don't know. But I want to leave as soon as possible."

"What about me?" I asked

"You stay here and protect the mutt."

Brook scowled at him, but said nothing. I nodded, looking at Dante's tired features.

"Can you pick up Buttons from my friend Juliette?" I asked Vergil quietly.

He nodded, "I suppose. I guess we left her there long enough."

The Nephilim twins hurried up and dressed, leaving as quickly as I could. I paced most of the time they were gone, in between my constant glances out of the curtains.

Brook collapsed back on the couch, "Relax, Cassi. They'll be fine."

I sighed, "You don't know that."

"Bah, I have faith in them."

An hour later my phone rang. It was Vergil. I hurriedly answered it.

"Well? Find anything? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. The Hell Gate was destroyed in the tower. There must be another place he was at. He wasn't here. I haven't heard back from Dante yet. And I got your dog."

I sighed, "Good. I guess we'll-"

"Hold on, it's Dante."

He put me on hold for a moment.  The silence was excruciating. I bit my nails with anticipation. Finally he came back to my line.

"Dante stirred up trouble over there. He's got SWAT and CIA members after him. You're in trouble. Hide. Now."

"Okay, Brook and I will-"

Three loud knocks banged on the door. I almost dropped the phone.

Were they already here?