He comes in the night

Part4

In front of the open fire, without tenderness he fulfilled his need and mine, leaving me more completely satisfied than the sweetest lover could ever have achieved. I closed my eyes and tried to take hold of the contentment to fill my whole being with it.

I heard Vergil return and sit down on the sofa. I knew he had poured a glass of the expensive whiskey that I kept just for him. He usually did.

"Your attempt at seduction is futile. I am no longer interested. Cover yourself."

"You bastard," I said, grabbing the last remnants of dignity I possessed.

"I can assure you I am not. Sparda and Eva were joined in several ceremonies: human, devil, and demon ones. She wanted to be sure about their union before allowing him to touch her. You on the other hand …"

He didn't finish his sentence. I picked up a cushion from the sofa and threw it at him with perfect accuracy. I hit the glass as he was raising it, and I smiled when the whiskey went over his clothes instead of in his mouth. I walked past him, ignoring the growl and the dangerous light in his eyes.

He grabbed my arm as I went by and pulled me round to face him.

"Don't you ever dare do that again," he said, still with the deep growl to his voice.

"Don't you ever call me a whore again," I retaliated.

"But you are a whore. I don't recall that we shared vows in front of witnesses."

"No, we didn't, but you know full well that no other man has touched me since I became yours. So don't insinuate I can be had by anyone."

"You could have stopped me the first time. Who knows, I might have respected you for it. Perhaps I would have made you my wife and mate, as Sparda did with Eva."

"Don't make me laugh. You're not the marrying kind; you're the using kind."

His grip on my arm had slackened. I pulled it free and left him to put some clothes on. Upstairs instead of getting dressed, I collapsed on the side of the bed. Why did I put up with his treatment of me? Why didn't I just tell him to fuck off and leave me alone? Because I had, and he had pulled me close, kissed me, aroused me, until he made me apologise to him for having used such words.

I cried because he could never give me what I wanted most: his whole self. I cried because I was willing to put up with getting the crumbs he occasionally threw at me.

"I am sorry, that was dishonourable."

I nearly jumped out of my skin when he talked. He had managed to come upstairs without touching the two creaking steps, or treading the squeaky floorboards.

"Eva would have been dismayed by my behaviour, and Sparda would have been disgusted. He would have challenged me to a duel to beat some sense into me. I know you want love. I cannot give you that. Love is a weakness that makes vulnerable and drains away power. Nothing can come in the way of the power I need."

"Love? I've given up on that idea long ago, Vergil. All I want is a bit of respect. Instead you make me feel used and discarded. You care more about your boots and gloves than you do about me. I wish I could dismiss you from my thoughts as easily as you do me, but I can't. You've made me say that I am yours repeatedly, and I am. It doesn't matter if you hurt me or reject me. I am yours. And even if you stop coming because you are bored with me, I will still be yours."

I was surprised he hadn't interrupted me and looked up to see if he was still there. I met his gaze but his eyes didn't show the usual cold indifference. Instead he studied me as if I were an unusual variety of well-known species.

Without breaking eye contact he came to the bed and sat down next to me. He was only half dressed; probably because I had made him spill his whisky all over his coat and vest. He caressed my face so gently. Little butterfly kisses landed on my eyes, my cheeks, my mouth. He gently nibbled my lips. His tongue flitted in as I opened my mouth. His taste filled me. His caresses made me giddy with anticipation. He stood up and unfastened his trousers. I scooted to the middle of the bed, admiring his body and the grace with which he moved. He joined me on the bed. In the game we played he was a master and I a mere beginner. He was in control and I was losing it.

"You are mine," he growled. "Say it. Say it. You are mine."

I could not think clearly any more. His voice filled the last bit of conscious thought.

"You are mine. Say it. Say it."

So I did.

"You are mine," I mumbled. Then more clearly I repeated, "You are mine."

He filled me completely, took me to a dizzying climax. I shouted out, a cry of victory.

"You Are Mine!"

For the first time since we had become lovers he too lost himself completely in our climax. I must have satisfied him before, fulfilled his need, but there had always been a part of him that remained in control. The part of him that could leave me and insult me immediately after a glorious orgasm; the part of him that sometimes decided to hold me and play with me for a bit.

This time nothing had been held back.

He did not leave me immediately. Raised up on his elbow he looked down on me.

"You are a witch," he said. "How else did you know you should say that?"

I was confused at first, until I realised what he had made me say.

"You told me so. You kept insisting I should say 'you are mine'. I just did as I was told, like a good little plaything."

He fell back and lay staring at the ceiling, no doubt replaying the whole thing in his mind. Suddenly he started to laugh, cold and mirthless as usual. It was a laugh that sent shivers down my spine. The laughter stopped suddenly. He turned towards me. I couldn't understand why he looked at me with such a penetrating gaze. Then he started to laugh again, deep, rumbling. Joyful? I had never heard him laugh like that before.

"Vergil? Vergil, are you okay?" I asked.

I couldn't believe I was actually worried because he sounded happy. Only with Vergil.

"Yes, woman," he said. "I am fine."

He didn't sound angry which made me ask, "What happened?"

"There is an old demon ritual used by demons and devils alike. A dominant partner makes the object of his desires say, 'I belong to you'. It is binding for the weaker partner until the stronger partner dissolves it by saying, 'I don't want you any longer'."

"Charming," I interrupted. "The countdown has started, has it?"

He chuckled, which sounded strange coming from him.

"If the dominant partner instructs the weaker partner to say, 'You are mine' and the weaker partner complies then they have completed the oldest and simplest demon mating ritual, and it is as binding as any contract signed by twelve dozen witnesses."

"What do you mean?" I asked, certain it couldn't be that he and I … that we … surely not.

He rolled on top of me, held my head in his hands, and in a solemn voice said, "I am Vergil, Son of Sparda, and you are my mate."

"M…m…mate?"

"Mate, wife, partner, whatever you want to call it."

Before I could ask or say anything else, he kissed me, gently at first, then more demanding. When it finally dawned on me that he truly was mine, I responded with all the feelings I had held back before. It was the sweetest, most fulfilling, exhilarating and satisfying lovemaking ever.

Afterwards he still didn't leave me, but held me close to him.

"As my mate you have the right to know the story of my family and me. Your curiosity will finally be satisfied, but you may not like what you hear."

"Obviously you're the black sheep in the family. It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out. Ouch! Did you just bite me?"

"Shut up and listen," he said as to a naughty child. "I will tell you all, but afterwards never ask me about this again. I will not respond."

He paused. To gather his thoughts? To put memories in chronological order?

"I know the legend of Sparda," I said. "My history teacher considered it part of the history of our town and the city. She said that about two thousand years ago a devil named Sparda woke up to justice and fought for the humans against his own kind. He was victorious and closed the gates that connected our world with … with the Demon Realm you called it. He did the same in the island kingdom of Fortuna and became its ruler."

"Did she say anything else, your teacher?"

There was mockery in his voice, but I continued.

"She also said that he married a human who bore him a son, and the son continues to protect the human race. Obviously she got that one wrong."

"Your teacher was remarkably well informed," he said. "That is indeed the true story, except that Eva didn't bear Sparda a son. She gave birth to twin sons, white-haired and blue-eyed like their father."

"Oh my god, you're the evil twin."

"Do not interrupt," he said and I realised that this was not an easy story for him to tell.

He continued, "The boys showed their father's inheritance, and he started training them from an early age. They were still no more than children when Sparda disappeared. His fate remains a mystery. Eva kept the children safe and continued their training for a few more years until the day demons found them and attacked. Eva told her children to hide while she took on the demon horde singlehandedly. The children from their hiding place saw how she was losing the battle. One child cowered in fear; the other jumped up, sword in hand to defend his mother. He was too weak. He saw his mother die as he was dragged into the Demon Realm. His own sword was stabbed through him, pinning him to a grave stone that bore his name. His devil was awakened and he took revenge on those that had taken him there."

I knew it was his own story he was telling me, but his voice was even, emotionless, as if he were reading an event in a book.

"I'm sorry," I said. "How old were you?"

"Eight."

It was blurted out, and I realised what superhuman effort it took for him to remain detached from the things he told me.

"He wanted Sparda's power to kill the Demon Emperor, Sparda's former Lord and worst enemy of anyone of Sparda's bloodline. He was nineteen when success was within his grasp … and he lost it all, stopped by his twin who did not care for Sparda's legacy. In the end he chose the Demon Realm, Sparda's home or so he thought."

There was contempt in his voice when he said, "Foolish! Arrogant! He challenged the Demon Emperor Mundus and was defeated. Not killed. That would have been honourable. Instead he became a mindless puppet. Champion to Mundus, and slave to Solaris, Mundus' sister."

"You were young," I said and caressed his face.

He pushed my hand away.

"I was a fool, and I paid for it. For nine years I was enslaved by Mundus and Solaris, used and abused by both. Then an enemy came, strong, dangerous. I was sent out to kill him, and would have, but an amulet he wore tore at my mind, pushed against walls I hadn't realised were there. I retreated, challenged him again, and had to retreat a second time. The third time Mundus gave me back the power he had taken. He wanted to destroy the enemy so badly."

I sat cross-legged on the bed, and had seen emotions flitting across his face: pain, contempt, disgust, but never fear. It pained him to relive the past.

"You don't have to tell me all this if-"

"I do!" he snarled. "You need to know who your mate is."

"Bit late if I wanted to change my mind, isn't it?"

He pulled me down on top of him.

"Witch," he said. "Succubus."

"Cute petn-"

He shut me up with a kiss. A long while after he continued in the same even, unemotional voice.

"He was strong, this enemy. In the end all my strength was not enough. And then the walls crumbled. I knew that I was Vergil, son of Sparda, and that I had been defeated again by my brother who reeked of humanity, who had only found his devil because I had forced it on him. Nine years earlier I had stabbed him with his own sword when he stood between me and my goal: Sparda's power."

I gasped audibly, but he ignored me.

"I was pulled back into the Demon Realm, vanquished, stripped of my powers, a mere human. Mundus would have killed me, but Solaris hoped that in my weakened condition I would finally say that I was hers. With all his champions defeated, Mundus answered my brother's challenge. Solaris watched the fight, and I – a crumpled piece of humanity at her feet – saw it too. Sparda's power. My human-loving brother, who had never wanted any part of it, had found Sparda's power, not in the Demon Realm, not in the Human Realm, but within himself. A son of Sparda banished Mundus to a corner of the Demon Realm. I hated him for succeeding where I had failed."

"But he's your brother, your twin! You can't have hated him all the time!"

"I believe we were close as children. Dwelling on the past is futile. One forgets to focus on one's goals."

"And yet, if we forget the past we are doomed to repeat its mistakes."

"You frequently repeat mistakes. Such as interrupting me," he said in his most ice-cold voice.

He waited a while as if to make sure I would keep quiet. I just wanted him to hurry up. I wanted to know how he had ended on my porch.

"Solaris used all her powers to make me hers. Starvation and torture followed by tenderness, and more torture when I still did not give in. But there, in my weakest moment, I found a spark of Sparda's power within me. I pretended to be feebler than I really felt, and when the opportunity presented itself I broke out of my prison.

"Escaping from the Demon Realm proved more difficult than I anticipated. My strength ran out too quickly, forcing me to hide like a weakling. Injuries didn't heal instantly making me lose more time. Eventually I found an exit, a portal to the Human World guarded by minor demons. I studied, chose my target, acquired its weapon, attacked, and left de Demon Realm.

"I was free. Badly injured, exhausted, a pitiful wreck, but free. I kept running, walking, crawling until I found a lonely house. There were no demons anywhere near it. I wanted to rest, heal, eat, find some clothes, and be on my way again, but I collapsed and passed out before I reached the door."

"And that's where I found you."

"Yes, my witch, my succubus, that's where you found me, and cared for me."

"But if you despise humans, why make me yours? Or was that just your usual cruelty?"

"I did not intend to. I have no need for a female in my life. Your obvious desire aroused a response within me, but had you not touched me I would not have taken what you offered."

"I see. My fault for finding you attractive. But that could have been a one off. Why make me say I was yours alone, turning me into your … what? Sex slave?"

"Property," he said so casually it made me shiver. "Marked as mine. Even Dante has enough Devil sense to know he couldn't save you from me. I will always find you, in this Realm or any other."

"Dante? Your brother I presume. That's really taking sibling rivalry to the limit."

"But you had your revenge, because I could not stay away from your fire and spirit. I hated you for it and wanted to punish you for using some spell on me."

"So you decided to introduce me to your devil and nearly frightened me to death."

"And nearly lost my fire-breathing witch." He looked pensive. "It was despicable and dishonourable. I cannot forgive myself for what happened then."

I realised we had both been scarred by that moment.

"Don't dwell on the past, remember?"

"But don't repeat its mistakes. I do not know if I will always be able to control my devil, especially since you can be most infuriating"

"Let's not dwell on it. It may never happen. Just remember that you don' like me timid and quiet. And you haven't told me the complete story. Your clothes and sword, they really are yours, aren't they? How did you know where to find them?"

"I told you what you needed to know. I also said I would not answer more questions."

"You didn't tell the whole story, so I have to ask questions."

"Tonight only. Yes, they are mine. My clothes and Yamato had been taken from me after my defeat by Mundus and had been made the price in a card game. I knew the cheating demon that had won them. I knew where he played his cheating games in the Human World. When I was ready I went to see him and requested he return them to me."

I remembered the wound he'd had when we'd come back from the city. I was sure the demon didn't survive Vergil's 'request'. I had another question.

"So, Vergil, son of Sparda, what will you do with the rest of your life? Continue what you've been doing these last few months?"

"Yes."

"And that is?"

"Why do you need to know?"

"Are you my mate or just a passing stranger?"

He looked at me with that cold, emotionless expression of his.

Then as if he had come to a conclusion he said, "I am a Son of Sparda and I will follow in his footsteps."

"Join your brother perhaps? That's his line of business too, isn't it?"

"It is, but the idea that we could work together is a foolish one."

"But-"

"No! You infuriating witch. I will try not to kill him if our paths should cross, but that is all. And now the subject is closed."

He growled out the words and what happened next was no surprise. His devil claimed me, but I was more than ready for my mate. I gave him my whole self, and I believe he didn't hold back either. Afterwards he held me close to him instead of getting up and leaving me. I snuggled deeper into his embrace and he chuckled again, as if he still couldn't quite believe he had made me his mate. I felt satisfied, fulfilled, complete.

In the morning when I woke up he was gone already.

I have no idea where he goes to and only a vague idea of what he does. I know that he still wants his revenge, and that he doesn't care about the danger.

I also know he'll come back to me in the night out of the darkness.

And I will open the door to him, because I am his.

And I will open the door to him, because he is mine.

THE END

A.N.: As you can see this was the last part of the story. I hope you've enjoyed it. Thanks to everybody who read it, reviewed it, followed it, and/or added it to favourites lists.