Love Begins in Hell (The Moon Journals: Part 1) by Ally Thomas Page B

bench out of the trunk of a fallen palm tree, I realized I needed to know more about him.  Did he know what happened to my sister and aunt?  Now and then, as I watched him, he glanced over at me.  Maybe he wanted to talk.  Words failed me because I couldn’t process everything going on.  He was a son of Lucifer?  Impossible!
    I wandered around the grove of palm trees picking up small pieces of wood for an evening fire as I stole a few glances at him.  “How did you discover the Fanged Realm, Dante?  When you were a boy, perhaps?”
     
    ***
    “My father and I used to get along,” he began.  “You wouldn’t expect me to say that, but it’s true.  I idolized him when he and my mother were together.  She brought out the best in him.  Unfortunately, my inaccuracy with a bow and arrow damaged our relationship.”
    “Why’s that?” I asked, immediately recognizing that both of us had lost our mothers.  I strolled along behind him like I was in a sort of a daze, only half-heartedly listening.  It was like my mind had split into and I was hearing two worlds, the thoughts of my own and his voice.  I pulled my focus solely on Dante as he spoke.
    “One day my father and I went hunting.  Tigers were the big rage then not were…” He paused, stopping his work instantly and shifting his eyes towards me.
    “It’s okay,” I said.  “Don’t hold back.”
    Dante nodded and kept talking.  “We were hunting for tigers across the wasteland.  I wasn’t that good with a bow and arrow, so I missed the kill-shot for the cat.  The tiger escaped into the water.”
    “Tigers like water?” I asked.  There was still so much I didn’t know about.
    “They don’t care when they are running for their lives, but yes, to answer your question, tigers are fond of water.”  He laughed at my sudden curiosity.
    “When the tiger plunged into the water and disappeared, my father insisted I jump in and wrestle the animal out of the water.  I hadn’t learned to swim at that time, so I refused.”
    “There’s no time like the present,” he had replied.  “And he threw me in the water.  He refused to let me get out of the water until I came out with the tiger in a bear hug.”  Dante paused again as he finished fashioning one side of the bench to match the other side, waiting to see if I’d get his joke.
    I forced a smile across my face.
    He continued.  “I struggled for the longest time to stay afloat, but after I grew tired I began to drown.  My father stood there and watched me, not once helping me.”
    “Your father is an asshole,” I blurted out, forgetting my ladylike disposition I needed to maintain.
    “I totally agree.”  He smiled at me, signaling a complete consent that I thought he wouldn’t show me.  I had thought he would be offended that I had called his father a name.  He wasn’t, quite the opposite.  My heart swelled again.  This is a moment I’ll always cherish, I thought.
    Dante went on talking as he worked.  “Once I fell beneath the water, I gave up.  I assumed I had drowned and that it was all over for me.  Suddenly some force dragged me to the bottom of the sea.  I woke up on this beach here with two dragons peering intently over me.  I thought they were going to eat me, but I soon discovered that they were more fearful of me because they had never seen a creature that could walk on two legs.”
    “You were the first human they had ever seen?” I asked.  “Well I mean demon.”
    He nodded, glancing my way and directing all of his attention towards me.  With a sudden shift of determination, he stopped his work and propped his fist on his hips.  “I have the same bright blue eyes, pale complexion, and shiny raven black hair as my mother did.  From her journals and letters that I found, she dreamed about my growing up to overthrow my father someday and becoming a ‘great divine warrior’ as she phrased it.”
    “I understand,” I offered.  I was leaning against