Invincible
Disclaimer: Legacy of Kain belongs to Edios and Crystal Dynamics, not me. I am making £0.00 out of this fic, it is written purely because I have a burning need to create. Although I would like to own Vorador . . . then he'd be mine.
Rating: PG-13
Part: One of Three
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He had been showing off, he knew it and he hadn't cared.
He was the eldest of the lieutenants, the strongest, the best and he had to admit he enjoyed reminding people. His skills came easily to him and he revelled in the power they brought, the strength he wielded. He enjoyed the looks of both admiration and fear by equal turns and celebrated the ease with which he caused them.
He was Raziel, firstborn of Kain and he would remind all those who sought to watch of his power and position.
The disparity between him and other vampires was something he was always aware of to an extent, but it was never quite so clear as it was on the field of battle. He charged through the mortal numbers like the wind through a field of wheat, effortless and calm.
He and his ilk had been tasked with taking a relatively small human settlement, one of the few remaining. Its location was of no great import, hence why it had been left, why it had been allowed to fortify itself while more valuable locals fell to them. He had expected the attack to be straightforward, they would suffer minor losses no doubt, there were always foolish and/or weak fledgelings in any brood. These little skirmishes were doing a fine job of strengthening his clan by weeding out those who were unworthy.
It was so mundane that the last thing he had expected was an audience.
But he had sensed his Sires presence early on in the evening before the attack had even begun. He had felt eyes on him and could not help the swell of pride that brought. He knew Kain enjoyed watching him. So, with that in mind, he decided he would give his sire something to look at.
He'd led the charge.
A full-frontal assault, a standard for the size and resources of the human settlement. It wasn't worth putting more strategic effort into taking it. The wall was high but not so high to be a problem for his older fledges, the gate was heavy but not so heavy to be a problem for his children and the battlements were armed but this was not a concern, for he and his were swift and agile. Let the human's land a blow if they could.
He'd pulled up short when his forces struck the main gate, the wood creaked but did not give. It would in time, and while the strongest took to tearing down the wooden barrier his more agile children set the clambering over the walls. He watched with pride, his clan was a wave of destruction to the mortal foe, unstoppable and unforgiving. He wondered briefly if this was how Kain felt about his children and their children, did he feel such pride?
The question reminded him that his sire was present and was watching, so he tensed to leap into the charge, he'd be first over the wall, the first to taste blood. But a sound stopped him, there was yelling behind him. Turning he spotted a regiment or mortal fighters coming out from what appeared to be tunnels. The crafty bastards had dug tunnels out of their home and were using them to get behind his clan.
"Clever," he smiled to himself. "But pointless."
He had not been the only one to notice the sudden enemy behind them and already his well-organized fledgelings were dividing their attention between the enemy at their back and the settlements fortifications. Heading down into the fight Raziel watched as a small branch of the mortal force broke off and headed for him. He grinned, baring teeth at the audacity of them.
It wasn't until he'd been made to take several steps backwards that he realized the mortal fighters were up to something. They were all armed with pikes, weapons with enough range to keep him out of arms reach, or more importantly out of swords reach. He couldn't land a blow, every time he aimed for one, the others would effectively put up a barricade of pikes. He couldn't harm them without putting some unwanted holes in himself. The defence was simple but effective, but he'd seen it before, he could get around it. Yet what gave him pause was when he left them an opening, a way to strike him, they didn't take it. He frowned and deliberately left himself open again, and again no strike landed, instead he was pressed into taking a step backwards, then another and another.
He flinched when his back hit the wall of the settlement. He wasn't sure what they were planning but something was wrong. Several of the men kept their pikes aimed at him to prevent an advance, while others lifted theirs upright to prevent a leap over them. They were very clever and for the first time in a long, long time Raziel felt concern. Not true fear but mild concern. He noticed the excitement in the men and finally realized what they were planning when three of them glanced up to the top of the wall.
On the rim perched a vat, no doubt full of water.
He'd watched as it started to fall, tumbling gracefully down, the droplets catching the moon and firelight, making them shine like falling stars. It was beautiful.
As he watched, it was as if time had slowed, he was able to see the individual droplets as they fell, getting closer to him where they would turn his pristine skin a horrid black. Yet he was unable to tear himself away. He knew it would burn him, kill him, but he was frozen in place, unable to even brace himself, hypnotized by the tumble and fall of the shining water.
The blow that struck him was unforgiving, it was like taking a battering ram to the chest. His brain careened inside his skull, making lights and shadow dance in his vision. His ears sang a high-pitched whine that blocked out everything else. He managed to remain conscious, and his awareness and focus slowly returned. He could feel something warm and wet at the back of his head, bringing his clawed hands up he touched it and they came away bloody. His head had cracked against the wall.
"Raziel," Kain's voice snapped him out of his distraction and he realized his Sire was barely an inch away from him.
With that realization, reality came flooding back with vengeance. The sound of the battle, the stink of the smoke in the air, the perfume of blood. He smiled foolishly, his brain still rattled.
"Hello, Kain," he said. The noticed the smell of burning flesh and under that the smell of Kain's blood. Panic seized him, brushing away the last of his daze he flinched when Kain sighed and turned, facing the remaining Pike men who had not been torn asunder by his Sire's earlier charge. Raziel watched as they fell to his father's talons, but it was not the battle he watched.
The water had fallen; most of it uninterrupted on its journey to the ground, but not all of it. The entire left side of Kain's back had been caught in the blow. Raziel watched aghast at his skin, crusty black in places, melted away in others, revealing raw muscles beneath, Raziel felt bile rise in his throat when he caught a glimpse of pristine white spine. His legs went out from under him as he realized what his arrogance had cost him, what it had almost cost them. He could have died, Kain could have died.
By the time Kain had finished the remaining pikemen and turned Raziel had vomited twice, a combination of blind terror and revulsion.
"Get up," Kain said. Silently Raziel did so, bracing himself for whatever reprimand his father decided he warranted.
End Chapter
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