Ion awoke to a searing light. He yelled and scrambled back away from the light source, shielding his eyes with his arms. As eyes adjusted, he found himself near the edge of a ledge in a giantic cavern. Spread out before him was a huge white glowing pit that emitted a strange low hum. The rocky cavern walls were illuminated by the milky glow, throwing the shadows of thousands of nooks, outcropping and ledges. Above him stalactites studded the cave ceiling in every place except for one area - a circular hole at the very top about a hundred feet up. Ion could just make out a few dim stars.
"It takes some getting used to doesn't it," said a deep voice from behind him.
The Contra Mundi. Cain.
Instinctively Ion reached for his dagger but -
"Oh dear, were you looking for this."
A dagger, his dagger, was pressed at his throat.
"Hello Ion. It's such a pleasure to meet you." Ion felt Cain's hot breath tickle the back of his ear. He flushed, feeling scared; and angry at himself for feeling so.
"You smell so sweet, so very sweet. It's no wonder brother keeps you close. I would do the same, were you mine."
Ion had heard enough. "Where are we, you cur," he snarled. And what do you plan to do to me?
"This is my own little cathedral of light, a little shrine you might say." As he spoke, Cain lightly dragged the tip of the dagger across Ion's cheek, tracing out an invisible heart. "Abel has no idea how much I want him to see this. I've done it all for him, it's been my pet project for awhile. The energy you see before you is enough to change his body, vaporize it as mine was. I want him to understand how it feels, this wretched body." Cain sighed, moving the knife tip slowly back down toward Ion's neck.
"It's all been prepared. And you, sweet boy, are just the final touch. Don't worry your pretty golden head about it though." Cain's lips drew closer and they brushed against Ion's ear as he whispered, "She barely leaves a mark." He flicked the knife lightly, breaking Ion's pale delicate skin.
"...most of the time."
A thin line of blood bloomed out of the scratch.
Ion felt a hand choking him. He struggled mightly but he ended up stumbling backwards as Cain moved away from the pit.
Methuselah knife in one hand and Methuselah boy in the other Cain entered a narrow hallway off the main cavern. Ion could only look up a the underside of Cain's elegant face as he was dragged down the long hall. Cain wore an unusual white, gold trimmed uniform and, from the position Ion was being held, he could see the beautifully gilded handle of a long dagger. There was something that was familiar about it, something sinister. Ion was struggling to remember why the dagger made him uneasy when he heard a latch flip and the sound of a heavy door opening. A second later he was flung backwards onto the grimy concrete floor.
"Feeding time my little pet," Cain said looking over Ion's head into the the darkness. He turned and shut the metal bar door. Walking away slowly he called behind him, "She's so picky with your kind, but if you're not to her liking I'll gladly have a taste of you later. Good bye, Ion Fortuna."
As Ion watched the crusnik's retreating back, he remember what it was about his blade that made it so sinister. Radu had shown him a similar one when they were children. Ion had coveted it for it's beauty, but it was not the beauty that iced his heart. The intricate fleur-de-lis pattern on the blade was not solely for decoration; a latch at the hilt would release poison that would saturate the blade in a fraction of a second. A mere scratch could be fatal if a strong enough toxin was used.
"You coward, you can't even fight fairly," he screamed, throwing his small body against the prison door. "You will never be like him, Cain. You are not the same. You will never be the same. Do you hear me you vile monster. Never!"
Cain just continued gliding down the hall, back toward the cavern light.
Ion heard his name called out softly behind him and he turned towards the darkness.