In Blood
by Neesah
Chapter 3: When the 'End' in Endless comes
He saw a group of people running out of the house before it burst into flames. He smiled. Well, no sane human being should be smiling when his own house got burned down but then again, who said he was sane? Or a human being for that matter? Still, it was beside the point. That wasn't the reason why he was amused.
They thought he, the oldest vampire alive and actually the last remaining Vampire Duke, was inside being roasted as well. Foolish slayers, Cain said to himself, his green eyes flashing. He involuntarily stiffened as he sensed a presence not that far away from where he was hiding. A human. Just a human. Realizing what he just did, he silently reprimanded himself. Things surely had changed.
Thirteen years ago, no vampire would be afraid to go out in the dark. It was the humans who feared the dark, for the vampires ruled the world. But now…
It was because their Queen died thirteen years ago, thereby weakening them. And even though the King was still alive, they lost him with her. For he never woke up from his coffin since that night. It was the Advisors who were leading in his steed. And because they were more than capable, things would have gone smoothly, as they wait for the King to recover from his stupor. But disaster struck once again.
The burnings increased eight years ago. Somehow, the slayers found a way to exactly pinpoint the resting places of most vampires. They started with the young ones, the fledglings. Still, the old ones, even the Four Advisors weren't worried. But when the slayers started finding the lairs of even the old or powerful ones, everybody began to panic.
The Advisors decreed for the immediate siring of more vampires. As long as the slayers were occupied with killing the young ones, they wouldn't go after the old ones. And they also started hunting the slayers, wanting to know how they were finding the vampire lairs.
So far, the first decree was more of help than the second, though it only delayed matters, not permanently stopped them. And they still didn't know how the slayers became that powerful. As a result, the rest of the humans became braver, wanting to get back the world originally theirs.
His thoughts were cut short when he felt the human's aura disappear. He frowned. That was impossible. Then, he realized that the aura didn't really disappear, it just changed. A smile suddenly curled on his lips. "Witch," he whispered, somewhat excited. He hadn't hunted a decent witch for years now. They were fast becoming an endangered species. But it wasn't the vampires' fault entirely. True, vampires had hunted witches since the beginning, believing in the saying 'You are what you eat'. A witch's blood was more powerful, more potent, and definitely had a stronger kick to it. But humans had hunted witches too, though for a different reason. Fear. It was a common reaction for one to try to kill the thing he feared, the thing he didn't understand.
He carefully glided to where the presence was, trying to mask his own aura. Witches, especially the powerful ones, had the ability to sense other powerful beings. He felt the witch stiffened, sensing his approach. The witch ran. Oh well, he thought. Not bothering to mask his aura anymore, he pursued his prey.
Following the witch's aura, he found himself in a secluded alleyway. He suddenly stopped, surveying the area. Strange, he couldn't see anybody, and he ceased sensing his prey. "Damn," he muttered. He had been played. He should have thought this out more carefully. Hunting when it was almost sunrise was never a good idea. It made him slower, weaker, as his body was inevitably pulled to a deep slumber. And besides, the witch was more powerful than he thought.
Out of the blue, he sensed his prey right behind him. But being that near to it this time, it felt somewhat familiar. He shook his head. It couldn't be. She's dead.
"Are you looking for me?" the witch asked.
Cain didn't immediately turn to face him. All things said, he still wanted his fun to last a little while longer. "What if I say I am?"
"We're both hunting each other then," the witch answered in an even tone. Cain finally turned around to face his prey, but nobody was there. He then felt a presence behind him. Not the witch but someone so familiar, it stunned him.
"Your Highness?" he greeted, whirling around. But what greeted him back was a blinding blast of light.
Quatre sat on the throne, waiting for Wufei and Trowa to come back from patrolling. Duo and the girls were also out, trying to sire as many vampires as they could. If only he could, he wanted to be out there with them, not cooped up like this. But since Heero decided not to wake up, Trowa, Duo and Wufei decided that Quatre, being the only one among them who was good at dealing with public relations and vampire politics, he should lead in Heero's place. The Four of them share power, and were equal in power. But they were even in number. They needed someone to have that veto power. So Quatre was it.
He felt two vampires approaching the castle. Being the Prime Minister, he waited for them to telepathically ask permission to enter his abode. He gave it to them then waited for them to appear at the throne room.
A girl who looked like an eight year old stood before him, bright brown eyes were set against her pale, round face, framed with long black hair. Beside her was a tall guy of sixteen with blue spiky hair and light blue eyes.
Quatre couldn't help but smile, remembering the first time he had seen them like this, thirteen years ago. The Queen's death and the news of the King's 'prolonged' slumber fueled the fear and turmoil in the Vampire Royal Court. That was why vampires all over the world flocked towards the castle, wanting to commune with what remained of their leaders. And amidst the throng, they saw the two, standing beside Cain, the oldest Vampire Duke, who decided to take them into his care until the time when they could make it out on their own.
The moment her bright, brown eyes met his blue ones, he knew. All of them knew. She was Heero's fledgling. She and his companion. The boy was powerful in his own right, just like what was expected from one who was sired by the most powerful among them but compared to the little girl…
And through the course of thirteen years, they grew in power even quicker than was usual.
"Teelah, Ilian."
"Good evening Master Quatre," Ilian greeted, a tinge of fear lacing his voice. With all his power and arrogance, the boy was still scared of the Advisors, like any other vampire. Smart.
Teelah, on the other hand, was a different story. "It's nice to see you again, Quatre. How are you?"
Quatre smiled warmly. "I'm well, thank you." As always, her sincerity and innocence was a breath of fresh air. She wasn't scared of any of them. She never would be. And that was endearing and disconcerting at the same time. Because that meant that in every sense, she was their equal. "How about you?"
She smiled back. "I'm fine as could be expected. But…" The smile on her face was suddenly wiped out clean. She reached for Ilian's hand.
At the same time, Quatre felt a sharp pain in his chest, making him close his eyes to steady his breathing. Being an empath just like her, he could feel other people's emotions. And he was currently feeling their pain.
"Why? What's wrong?" he asked, opening his eyes.
"They got Cain too," Trowa answered as he and Wufei entered the room. Ilian muttered a quick, "Master Trowa, Master Wufei."
"His lair was set on fire right before dawn. His attendants, his fledglings--- they were all already inside their coffins. Nobody survived," Wufei informed them.
Quatre shook his head. "The others I believe would have died in that fire but not Cain. He's too old, too powerful and too cunning, not to mention too arrogant to let a few slayers fry him."
"But he did," Teelah said softly. "I felt him burn." She shivered and Ilian squeezed her hand "I felt him die right before I went to sleep."
Quatre, Trowa and Wufei looked at each other. They knew for a fact (gleaning it from Ilian's mind before) that, just like with Ilian, Teelah let Cain drink from her, and Cain let her drink from him also, forming a bond between them. That was the reason why Teelah could feel him, even when they weren't that near to each other. Besides the fact that she was that powerful an empath.
"And don't you think that if he were alive, he would have shown himself already?" Trowa added. "Not only to tell us not to worry but also to plot revenge."
"Cain. I never would have thought…He's even older than the five of us. The oldest…" Quatre softly said.
All of them became silent for a while. Quatre then turned to Teelah and smiled. Or tried to. "You can go see him now, Teelah." Throughout the years, Teelah had visited Heero from time to time, talking to him, sometimes sleeping beside him inside his coffin. She looked up to him as her father --- he gave her solace, made her feel safe. And from what had happened to Cain, who was like a mentor to her, they knew that she needed his presence more than before. She was powerful, but she was like glass --- fragile. Maybe it was because she was a kid when she was brought over.
"Thank you." With that she floated out of the room. Ilian bowed to them first and followed her out.
Duo and the girls arrived only a few moments after Teelah and Ilian went to Heero's chamber. "Have you heard about Cain?" Duo asked. He suddenly paused, as if realizing something. "Is it Teelah and Ilian I'm sensing?"
"Yes, Duo, to both questions," Wufei replied.
"This is terrible. They're really serious on killing us one-by-one," Hilde remarked.
Sally nodded her assent. "It's understandable. This was their world. They have the right to try and take it back."
"But we couldn't just sit back here and wait for them to come after us. We have to do something," Catherine told them.
Dorothy walked towards her husband. "Cathy is right. They started with the vampires lowest in the hierarchy then slowly moved up. And they are doing a great job at it, if I do say so myself. Successfully killing someone as powerful, as old and as high in the hierarchy as Cain was meant only one thing."
"They'll come after us next," Quatre finished for her. "I know. Even having more fledglings would never divert their attention from us now. But I don't know what to do."
Trowa tried to put his two cents in. "Heero would know."
"He might, but seeing that he fuckin' bailed on us, we have to find a solution to it ourselves," Duo said bitterly.
Trowa would have said something back but they heard something, making them pause.
Teelah was crying. They could hear her, feel her, even from that distance.
"Heero, please. Please wake-up. We need you," Teelah cried out, shaking him by the shoulders. Heero remained lying inside his coffin, hands on his chest, his eyes closed.
Ilian was standing a few feet away, leaning by the doorway. Even if it was the King who sired him, and even if he was asleep, there was enough power in the room to make any vampire wary. But not Teelah. He would never cease to be amazed on how Teelah seemed to always be at ease with everything. It might be because she was that powerful, as powerful as the Four Advisors. She drank from the King's neck after all. He, on the other hand, drank from his wrist and was the last one to be sired of all the Vampire children the King made that night his Queen died. He, Teelah and most of their townsfolk kids became his Vampire Children whom, at the end, he tried to wipe out.
But the King warned Teelah to flee first before setting the whole village on fire. And Teelah, not wanting to be alone, warned Ilian and took him with her, choosing him as her companion. As her friend and companion, he has a duty to help her through this. They both have that duty to help each other out. Though truthfully, he wasn't in a very consoling mood. Teelah might have looked up to Cain as a mentor but to Ilian, he wasn't only a mentor but also a Father. And losing Cain, he lost a Father. Again.
He went beside her, pulling her hands away from the King's shoulders. "Come on, Teelah. Cain is dead and there's nothing we could do to change that except for revenge. I don't think the King could do anything about it either. We should just let him rest."
"No! We're all in trouble and he's the only one who could help us." She pulled back from Ilian and grabbed Heero's hands. "Wake up, please, Father. Save us. Save what remains of your people!" She collapsed against Heero's body, sobbing against his chest. "Do something, Father, please. I beg you, save us…."
But Heero remained unmoving. Teelah's sorrow flowed throughout the castle, mingling with the sorrow from the rest of them.
****************************
"Good mornin'," 17 yr-old Helena mumbled sleepily as she entered the kitchen. The other three occupants of the room looked up upon hearing her voice.
"Since it's already ten past six, technically it's not mornin' anymore, chickie," the man with dark brown hair chided, his aquamarine eyes glinting with mischief. He was about 31 years old.
"Give Helena a break, Rafe," the woman with short, purplish hair said. "You know that she just arrived today at 12 in the afternoon from St. Louis."
"I know, I know. Helena here knows that rattling her chain is one of my favorite past times." His face then became solemn. "So, how was the hunt?"
"Come on, Helena. Sit down first before you answer any of his questions. I know you're starving," the woman told her. "I made your favorite."
"Chicken fajitas! Wow, thanks, Lynn," Helena exclaimed grabbing a chair, sitting down between Rafe and Phoebus. Lynn handed her plate and she dug in. Rafe watched her ate, shaking his head lightly while 18-yr Phoebus just continued eating. After finishing off one fajita, she answered Rafe's question. "The hunt went off without a hitch. We burned two vampire lairs, killing all its occupants. But they were all fledglings. It's nothing compared to the hunt we did two weeks ago, in Greece. Remember that, Phoebus?" she asked, turning to the blonde youth.
His sky blue eyes met her hazel-green ones and she felt her heart jump. "Yes," he answered then resumed eating.
"It was the lair of the last Vampire Duke, right? There were fledglings there too I know but he also had attendants of varying ages. And we roasted them all."
Upon hearing that, Rafe and Lynn gave Phoebus a quick glance. Phoebus just remained eating. Helena grabbed herself another fajita then looked at Phoebus as well. "Why didn't you come with us to St. Louis, Phoebus?"
"I don't usually come to your hunts."
"But you came to Greece. Then to Mexico before that. And Rome…Come to think of it, when you're with us, we always end up hunting one of the big shot vampires. Like the Barons, Counts, Dukes, or the really old and powerful ones." She paused to take a bite of her fajita, chew and swallow. "I really envy that clairvoyance thing of yours. It really is handy."
He met her eyes again but he quickly turned away. "It's really nothing to get envious about," he replied blandly.
"Well, you're taking it for granted because you have the gift. I don't have any magical abilities at all." She finished her fajita. "I think next time, I'll only go if you're going, that way I know the hunt will be exciting." Lynn poured her some orange juice. "Thanks," she murmured. After drinking, she stood up and brought her dishes to the dishwasher. "I better go take a shower if I want to go out and patrol. See ya later." With that, she left.
The kitchen was silent for awhile after Helena left. Rafe's voice broke the silence. "You know who the last of the 'big-shots' are, don't you?"
Phoebus nodded. He stood up and took his dishes to the dishwasher.
"So when do you think we could go out and hunt them?"
Phoebus was almost by the door when he answered. "Soon."