In an old industrial yard, a Gangrel leaned against a shed wall. He enjoyed
the solitude of the area, a place no one ever came to during the night
these days. The other Vampires could keep their Elysiums and their
cotories. All he needed was a night's feeding and the stars above his head.
"It's a cold night to be alone."
Leland was suddenly alert, all his senses searching the yard for the intruder. In the shadows across the yard, he made out an outline of a Vampire from the direction of the voice, but it made no sense. It was a female Vampire, but the voice had sounded male.
"No greeting for a fellow traveller, Vampire?"
Now the voice was female. The intruder stepped from the shadows into the moonlight. It was a Vampire he recognised.
"You? What are you doing here?"
Leland ducked as an attack came from behind. The attacker, a Nosferatu, sailed over his head. Leland was back up in a moment, but in that moment the girl's hand was fast around his neck.
"Come play my game, young one."
***
For the first time in decades, Julian Luna wished he could stay in his slumber past dusk. He was normally an early riser, sometimes rising before sunset. But the recent events were starting to get to him. He'd almost hoped that on waking this night, he'd find that all the events with Caine, Raziel, the Sabbat and this demonic creature that had taken over Cameron's body had all been just some bad dream. He was disappointed.
Caine had refused to answer any questions on the demon, and had left right away to try and hunt the creature out. Raziel had been a little more helpful, thanks mainly to his friendship with Daedalus, a relationship that Luna was still unsure how he felt about. Raziel had mentioned fighting demons before, and that the black demons like Hazzak-Kit (or whatever unpronouncable name Caine had used) were the strongest type he'd encountered, much to Luna's dismay. Lillie had asked about the Pillars that Caine had mentioned, which was answered by a long tale that had, to be honest, confused the hell out of Luna. He had gathered the Pillars were some kind of monument built by a Vampire called Janos and some of his friends. Then came the confusing bit where a Sorceress named Ariel was killed, driving her lover Nupraptor mad and causing the Pillars to crumble...somehow. Apparently, Caine was tied into this event somehow, but the link remained a mystery as Raziel had started to rant on about some human called Moebius. Julian wasn't clear about what Moebius had done, but it was apparently bad enough to warrant a lot of old-fashioned profanity and several gory death descriptions from Raziel. Eventually, Daedalus had calmed the ruined being down, and Raziel had made his exit. Julian had hoped that the night would hold no more nasty suprises. He was wrong.
Those two unknown Vampires that had ended up with Frank and Sonny during the Sabbat attack. They'd slipped out at about the same time as Raziel, but the male had had his jacket shredded during the fight. Cash had checked the remains for signs of Sabbat involvment. Instead, he found scraps of a letter that bore the mark of the Tremere. This discovery, piled on top of everything else, had very nearly caused Luna to frenzy.
Caine! Demons! Sabbat! Tremere! And all in the space of a week! And that wasn't to mention the likely reaction of the Brujah Clan when they discovered that they'd lost two Primogens in less than six months. Things had been bad when Fiori had been killed by Lillie after the Assamite incident had Fiori's attempt on Luna's life. Now Cameron, for whom Luna's hatred had been well-known, was dead as well. The way Luna's luck was holding, the Brujah would probably hold him responsible for this. And his own Ventrue Clan still had to replace Archon as Primogen. Julian couldn't imagine what else could go wrong at this point.
"Julian!" Cash burst into the room.
"Please tell me you have some good news, Cash."
Cash flinched. "It's about the Brujah. They're fighting for the Primogen position, and..."
Cash was acting oddly, as if unsure whether to be frantic or nervous.
"And?"
"And the most likely candidate seems to be...Sasha."
Julian Luna was renowned for his calm exterior and total control over himself, even by other Ventrue. All that control now fled away as fast as his jaw could drop.
"Sa...SASHA?!"
Cash nodded, clearly as unhappy about the news as Julian was. The Prince groaned and rubbed his temple. He was starting to appreciate the old saying "hitting rock bottom".
***
"Well that was a disaster!" Tenor groaned as she and her companion finally made it back to their haven. They hadn't made it back the previous night, and had ended up camped in the basement of a block of flats. By some good fortune, they had been undisturbed during the day, and had managed to slip out unnoticed at sunset.
Neither Tremere looked in good shape. Tenor had several bruises on her arm where she'd been hit with gunfire the night before. Avid still had some burn marks and ragged clothing for his part. More serious, though, was the matter of the letter which Avid had been forced to abandon at the Haven, which Avid had been intending to send to his superiors about the current situation. Hopefully it had been destroyed, but if Luna found enough to identify the Tremere, Avid would prefer to be in another city very quickly.
"Your planted evidence implicating the Sabbat in the Sewer Rat's death a few nights ago must have been very convincing." Tenor snapped. "So convincing that it actually conjured some damn Sabbat Vampires!"
"And how was I supposed to know that the Sabbat actually had a presence in this city? Nothing before this mission even hinted at their presence here!"
"Fine. Then how about explaining what the hell happened to the Brujah Primogen? Brujah don't regularly turn into huge monsters after having their heart ripped out! Even the Tzimisce would find that a tough trick!"
"I don't know!"
"Is that what you're going to put in your report? 'A bunch of insane stuff happened, but I don't know anything about it'? That'll look..."
Avid punched Tenor in the jaw hard enough to send her flying into the wall. "That's ENOUGH!"
Tenor pulled herself up. "Ugh...t-temper, Avid..."
Avid slumped onto the bed and sighed. One way or another, he had to find out what was going on in this city. He didn't relish having to go up against Luna, Caine, Raziel, or whatever this thing that had killed Cameron was, but he considered the alternative worse - facing his Tremere superiors without knowing the truth.
***
Kain paced around the room in impatience, not even bothering to activate his Disguise. He would much rather have been beating information out of Hash'ak'Gik than having to explain the situation to a bunch of unevolved (and, in his opinion, unintelligent) Vampires. Unfortunately, his search for Hash, during the remainder of that night and most of the following day, had been fruitless. It pained Kain to admit it, but he needed help from those who knew the territory better than he did.
Raziel had watched as the situation between Kain and Luna had disintegrated. It had started as tense, with neither fond of dealing with the other. Luna had grown frustrated at dealing with Kain's superior air, and Kain had grown ever more angry at having to explain everything to Luna over again. At Raziel's prompting, Daedalus had suggested that he and his Nosferatu comrades start searching the city for Hash. Kain had calmed a little at this, but the tension had quickly returned when Luna demanded to know more about the Nosgothians. Kain had, as Raziel could have predicted, responded with scorn and sarcasm, and the two were engaged in a verbal sparring match that seemed more violent than some of the battles Raziel had had with the Sarafan in Nosgoth's past. Raziel had a bad feeling that if something didn't ease the situation, and quickly, he'd be treated to a battle between the two Vampires that would leave the neighbourhood in ruins.
"While you are in my city, you will obey my rules." Luna said angrily.
Kain snorted. "I don't recall pledging my allegiance to you, 'Prince' Luna."
"Don't try my patience, Caine. It is not unlimited."
"Don't make threats you don't have the power to back up, Luna. I have yet to see any sign of real power from you, or your Primogen for that matter. If I weren't so intent on returning to Nosgoth, I would be tempted to dethrone you just to show you how far below me you are."
Luna had had enough. He looked the green-skinned monster square in the eye and started to speak, bringing all the powers of Domination he posessed into play. His voice, his eyes, his aura, everything about him demanded obediance. Humans would have dropped to their knees in a heartbeat, and the majority of Vampires would have found Luna's power almost impossible to resist.
Kain flinched under Luna's gaze, and took a step back. Raziel was impressed. He never would have guessed that Luna had the power to break through Kain's defences this much. But at the same time, he didn't believe that Luna was strong enough to overpower Kain's mind.
Suddenly, Kain's body seemed to flash a little, then stood still. Luna was the one to flinch now, as his powers flailed mentally, confused by whatever Kain had just done. And then, without warning, Cash was pointing his gun at Luna's head.
"What...? Cash?" Luna gasped.
Cash smirked. "Guess again, Luna."
Lillie's eyes widened. "Caine? Is that you?"
Cash-Kain laughed. "A little trick called the Spirit Wrack. One of my many powers." The posessed Gangrel glowered at Luna. "Powers that you will experience the full wrath of if you ever try your little mind games on me again, Luna!"
Luna growled, but stood down. Cash sighed and looked around in confusement as Kain returned his mind to his own body.
"How did you do that? Just like that demon..." Lillie whispered.
"Hardly. That was just a spell to wear the body of another for a while. The Unspoken is like a parasite. He inhabits the body of his host, taking control when he needs to and allowing the host to carry on of their own free will at other times, unaware of his presence."
"How do you purge the victim?"
"I have only seen him in one previous host before your Brujah friend. A Necromancer called Mortanius. I killed Mortanius then, just as I killed Cameron last night. In both cases, Hash'ak'Gik manifested himself immediately afterwards. I would surmise that he is forced back into his original form on the death of his host."
"So, you'd have an innocent person die to get at him?" Luna snapped.
Kain sneered. "If a few must die for a greater purpose, then is the correct course of action not clear?"
"Of course." Raziel whispered. "You killed me for a greater purpose, after all."
Kain ignored the Reaver of Souls. "If your stomach is too weak, Luna, then I would suggest you step aside for those of us who aren't lacking in courage to do what must be done!" With that, Kain strode out of the room.
"Well, that's just great!" Cash cried. "Has anyone considered that we don't even know where Hash is, never mind how to get rid of him?"
"LUNA!" Kain's yell came from the corridor. Luna, Raziel, and the two Primogens rushed out to the corridor. There, they found Kain standing by a dead guard and a message written on the wall in blood stating "I'm watching you, Kain".
"I would increase your security if you hope to sleep safely at day, Prince." Kain quipped.
***
Kain knelt on one knee, crouched on the roof of an old church. Only here did he allow himself to relax, if only a little. He would never admit any weakness, but despite his bluster earlier, Luna's probe into his mind had shaken the ancient Vampire. He hated to lose control, and control over his own self was one of the things he prized most of all. He was reminded of an event centuries ago, when a Vampire named Marcus had tried to take control of Kain's mind. Though the attempt had failed, Marcus had penetrated Kain's mental defences enough to read his thoughts, a concept that had disturbed Kain deeply. Thankfully, that same night, Marcus had died at Kain's hands. With that, combined with the power that had grown in Kain over thousands of years, Kain had thought such a threat to no longer apply to him.
Unfortunately, Luna had just destroyed the attractive idea of mental invunerability. Kain had felt his control slip under Luna's power, and had only defeated the Prince's mental intrusion by suprising him with the Spirit Wrack spell on his Primogen. But even after all this time, a spell as powerful and complex as the Spirit Wrack took a lot of magical concentration. If Luna ever caught Kain at a weak moment, Kain wasn't sure that he could defeat Luna's power.
Kain sighed. The Vampires here were very different. He'd taken their lack of obvious power as a sign of weakness. A mistake. The powers of these Vampires were much more subtle than those of Nosgoth, but Kain was starting to realise that they were quite potent in their own right.
Kain's musings stopped instantly as he sensed that he was not alone. He span around to see a Nosferatu a few metres away, leering wickedly. Although that may just have been how his face was disfigured.
"This roof is taken." Kain growled. "I suggest you return to the sewers that your Clan seems to prefer."
"If I only could, but that option is now closed to this Vampire."
Kain frowned, then decided to take the bait. "And why would that be?"
"For a simple reason. I have my own quest, and the object of that quest is you, Kain. I told you I was watching you."
Kain stood up and flexed a claw. "You tread carelessly, Unspoken. Did you not hear me when I warned you how superior I am to you? You could not beat the fledgling Kain. How do you propose to beat me now?"
Hash-Nosferatu laughed. "I am not as foolish as you might believe, Kain. Perhaps you could defeat me. In fact, in mortal combat, you could probably best me. But there are other ways to fight, and by the time I choose to battle you, you will have already lost."
"And if I was to kill you now? That would bring your game to a premature end."
"Perhaps. Maybe you should find out for yourself." Hash-Nosferatu spread his arms out, as if presenting himself to be a target. "I will tell you one thing first, though. There are more than one. Many more."
Kain said nothing. His body crackled with energy, and a blast of lightning suddenly shot from his hands, blasting clean through Hash-Nosferatu's chest. Kain readied himself, preparing to attack Hash'Ak'Gik when he manifested.
To his suprise, Hash-Nosferatu simply fell onto his back. From his mouth, something that looked like a large, furry, black maggot crawled out, Kain blinked in suprise, then quickly squashed it under his boot.
Moments passed in silence as Kain contemplated the event. He turned away from the corpse and looked out over the city.
'So, that is his game. That was clearly not the real Dark Entity, yet I could feel his aura, his presence.' Kain thought. 'He is nothing to me one- on-one, but it would seem his is a game of psychological warfare. What was it he said? More than one? How many in this city have become hosts for these spawned creatures his infected this Vampire with? And out of all those infected, how do I find the real host before he finds my back?'
"It's a cold night to be alone."
Leland was suddenly alert, all his senses searching the yard for the intruder. In the shadows across the yard, he made out an outline of a Vampire from the direction of the voice, but it made no sense. It was a female Vampire, but the voice had sounded male.
"No greeting for a fellow traveller, Vampire?"
Now the voice was female. The intruder stepped from the shadows into the moonlight. It was a Vampire he recognised.
"You? What are you doing here?"
Leland ducked as an attack came from behind. The attacker, a Nosferatu, sailed over his head. Leland was back up in a moment, but in that moment the girl's hand was fast around his neck.
"Come play my game, young one."
***
For the first time in decades, Julian Luna wished he could stay in his slumber past dusk. He was normally an early riser, sometimes rising before sunset. But the recent events were starting to get to him. He'd almost hoped that on waking this night, he'd find that all the events with Caine, Raziel, the Sabbat and this demonic creature that had taken over Cameron's body had all been just some bad dream. He was disappointed.
Caine had refused to answer any questions on the demon, and had left right away to try and hunt the creature out. Raziel had been a little more helpful, thanks mainly to his friendship with Daedalus, a relationship that Luna was still unsure how he felt about. Raziel had mentioned fighting demons before, and that the black demons like Hazzak-Kit (or whatever unpronouncable name Caine had used) were the strongest type he'd encountered, much to Luna's dismay. Lillie had asked about the Pillars that Caine had mentioned, which was answered by a long tale that had, to be honest, confused the hell out of Luna. He had gathered the Pillars were some kind of monument built by a Vampire called Janos and some of his friends. Then came the confusing bit where a Sorceress named Ariel was killed, driving her lover Nupraptor mad and causing the Pillars to crumble...somehow. Apparently, Caine was tied into this event somehow, but the link remained a mystery as Raziel had started to rant on about some human called Moebius. Julian wasn't clear about what Moebius had done, but it was apparently bad enough to warrant a lot of old-fashioned profanity and several gory death descriptions from Raziel. Eventually, Daedalus had calmed the ruined being down, and Raziel had made his exit. Julian had hoped that the night would hold no more nasty suprises. He was wrong.
Those two unknown Vampires that had ended up with Frank and Sonny during the Sabbat attack. They'd slipped out at about the same time as Raziel, but the male had had his jacket shredded during the fight. Cash had checked the remains for signs of Sabbat involvment. Instead, he found scraps of a letter that bore the mark of the Tremere. This discovery, piled on top of everything else, had very nearly caused Luna to frenzy.
Caine! Demons! Sabbat! Tremere! And all in the space of a week! And that wasn't to mention the likely reaction of the Brujah Clan when they discovered that they'd lost two Primogens in less than six months. Things had been bad when Fiori had been killed by Lillie after the Assamite incident had Fiori's attempt on Luna's life. Now Cameron, for whom Luna's hatred had been well-known, was dead as well. The way Luna's luck was holding, the Brujah would probably hold him responsible for this. And his own Ventrue Clan still had to replace Archon as Primogen. Julian couldn't imagine what else could go wrong at this point.
"Julian!" Cash burst into the room.
"Please tell me you have some good news, Cash."
Cash flinched. "It's about the Brujah. They're fighting for the Primogen position, and..."
Cash was acting oddly, as if unsure whether to be frantic or nervous.
"And?"
"And the most likely candidate seems to be...Sasha."
Julian Luna was renowned for his calm exterior and total control over himself, even by other Ventrue. All that control now fled away as fast as his jaw could drop.
"Sa...SASHA?!"
Cash nodded, clearly as unhappy about the news as Julian was. The Prince groaned and rubbed his temple. He was starting to appreciate the old saying "hitting rock bottom".
***
"Well that was a disaster!" Tenor groaned as she and her companion finally made it back to their haven. They hadn't made it back the previous night, and had ended up camped in the basement of a block of flats. By some good fortune, they had been undisturbed during the day, and had managed to slip out unnoticed at sunset.
Neither Tremere looked in good shape. Tenor had several bruises on her arm where she'd been hit with gunfire the night before. Avid still had some burn marks and ragged clothing for his part. More serious, though, was the matter of the letter which Avid had been forced to abandon at the Haven, which Avid had been intending to send to his superiors about the current situation. Hopefully it had been destroyed, but if Luna found enough to identify the Tremere, Avid would prefer to be in another city very quickly.
"Your planted evidence implicating the Sabbat in the Sewer Rat's death a few nights ago must have been very convincing." Tenor snapped. "So convincing that it actually conjured some damn Sabbat Vampires!"
"And how was I supposed to know that the Sabbat actually had a presence in this city? Nothing before this mission even hinted at their presence here!"
"Fine. Then how about explaining what the hell happened to the Brujah Primogen? Brujah don't regularly turn into huge monsters after having their heart ripped out! Even the Tzimisce would find that a tough trick!"
"I don't know!"
"Is that what you're going to put in your report? 'A bunch of insane stuff happened, but I don't know anything about it'? That'll look..."
Avid punched Tenor in the jaw hard enough to send her flying into the wall. "That's ENOUGH!"
Tenor pulled herself up. "Ugh...t-temper, Avid..."
Avid slumped onto the bed and sighed. One way or another, he had to find out what was going on in this city. He didn't relish having to go up against Luna, Caine, Raziel, or whatever this thing that had killed Cameron was, but he considered the alternative worse - facing his Tremere superiors without knowing the truth.
***
Kain paced around the room in impatience, not even bothering to activate his Disguise. He would much rather have been beating information out of Hash'ak'Gik than having to explain the situation to a bunch of unevolved (and, in his opinion, unintelligent) Vampires. Unfortunately, his search for Hash, during the remainder of that night and most of the following day, had been fruitless. It pained Kain to admit it, but he needed help from those who knew the territory better than he did.
Raziel had watched as the situation between Kain and Luna had disintegrated. It had started as tense, with neither fond of dealing with the other. Luna had grown frustrated at dealing with Kain's superior air, and Kain had grown ever more angry at having to explain everything to Luna over again. At Raziel's prompting, Daedalus had suggested that he and his Nosferatu comrades start searching the city for Hash. Kain had calmed a little at this, but the tension had quickly returned when Luna demanded to know more about the Nosgothians. Kain had, as Raziel could have predicted, responded with scorn and sarcasm, and the two were engaged in a verbal sparring match that seemed more violent than some of the battles Raziel had had with the Sarafan in Nosgoth's past. Raziel had a bad feeling that if something didn't ease the situation, and quickly, he'd be treated to a battle between the two Vampires that would leave the neighbourhood in ruins.
"While you are in my city, you will obey my rules." Luna said angrily.
Kain snorted. "I don't recall pledging my allegiance to you, 'Prince' Luna."
"Don't try my patience, Caine. It is not unlimited."
"Don't make threats you don't have the power to back up, Luna. I have yet to see any sign of real power from you, or your Primogen for that matter. If I weren't so intent on returning to Nosgoth, I would be tempted to dethrone you just to show you how far below me you are."
Luna had had enough. He looked the green-skinned monster square in the eye and started to speak, bringing all the powers of Domination he posessed into play. His voice, his eyes, his aura, everything about him demanded obediance. Humans would have dropped to their knees in a heartbeat, and the majority of Vampires would have found Luna's power almost impossible to resist.
Kain flinched under Luna's gaze, and took a step back. Raziel was impressed. He never would have guessed that Luna had the power to break through Kain's defences this much. But at the same time, he didn't believe that Luna was strong enough to overpower Kain's mind.
Suddenly, Kain's body seemed to flash a little, then stood still. Luna was the one to flinch now, as his powers flailed mentally, confused by whatever Kain had just done. And then, without warning, Cash was pointing his gun at Luna's head.
"What...? Cash?" Luna gasped.
Cash smirked. "Guess again, Luna."
Lillie's eyes widened. "Caine? Is that you?"
Cash-Kain laughed. "A little trick called the Spirit Wrack. One of my many powers." The posessed Gangrel glowered at Luna. "Powers that you will experience the full wrath of if you ever try your little mind games on me again, Luna!"
Luna growled, but stood down. Cash sighed and looked around in confusement as Kain returned his mind to his own body.
"How did you do that? Just like that demon..." Lillie whispered.
"Hardly. That was just a spell to wear the body of another for a while. The Unspoken is like a parasite. He inhabits the body of his host, taking control when he needs to and allowing the host to carry on of their own free will at other times, unaware of his presence."
"How do you purge the victim?"
"I have only seen him in one previous host before your Brujah friend. A Necromancer called Mortanius. I killed Mortanius then, just as I killed Cameron last night. In both cases, Hash'ak'Gik manifested himself immediately afterwards. I would surmise that he is forced back into his original form on the death of his host."
"So, you'd have an innocent person die to get at him?" Luna snapped.
Kain sneered. "If a few must die for a greater purpose, then is the correct course of action not clear?"
"Of course." Raziel whispered. "You killed me for a greater purpose, after all."
Kain ignored the Reaver of Souls. "If your stomach is too weak, Luna, then I would suggest you step aside for those of us who aren't lacking in courage to do what must be done!" With that, Kain strode out of the room.
"Well, that's just great!" Cash cried. "Has anyone considered that we don't even know where Hash is, never mind how to get rid of him?"
"LUNA!" Kain's yell came from the corridor. Luna, Raziel, and the two Primogens rushed out to the corridor. There, they found Kain standing by a dead guard and a message written on the wall in blood stating "I'm watching you, Kain".
"I would increase your security if you hope to sleep safely at day, Prince." Kain quipped.
***
Kain knelt on one knee, crouched on the roof of an old church. Only here did he allow himself to relax, if only a little. He would never admit any weakness, but despite his bluster earlier, Luna's probe into his mind had shaken the ancient Vampire. He hated to lose control, and control over his own self was one of the things he prized most of all. He was reminded of an event centuries ago, when a Vampire named Marcus had tried to take control of Kain's mind. Though the attempt had failed, Marcus had penetrated Kain's mental defences enough to read his thoughts, a concept that had disturbed Kain deeply. Thankfully, that same night, Marcus had died at Kain's hands. With that, combined with the power that had grown in Kain over thousands of years, Kain had thought such a threat to no longer apply to him.
Unfortunately, Luna had just destroyed the attractive idea of mental invunerability. Kain had felt his control slip under Luna's power, and had only defeated the Prince's mental intrusion by suprising him with the Spirit Wrack spell on his Primogen. But even after all this time, a spell as powerful and complex as the Spirit Wrack took a lot of magical concentration. If Luna ever caught Kain at a weak moment, Kain wasn't sure that he could defeat Luna's power.
Kain sighed. The Vampires here were very different. He'd taken their lack of obvious power as a sign of weakness. A mistake. The powers of these Vampires were much more subtle than those of Nosgoth, but Kain was starting to realise that they were quite potent in their own right.
Kain's musings stopped instantly as he sensed that he was not alone. He span around to see a Nosferatu a few metres away, leering wickedly. Although that may just have been how his face was disfigured.
"This roof is taken." Kain growled. "I suggest you return to the sewers that your Clan seems to prefer."
"If I only could, but that option is now closed to this Vampire."
Kain frowned, then decided to take the bait. "And why would that be?"
"For a simple reason. I have my own quest, and the object of that quest is you, Kain. I told you I was watching you."
Kain stood up and flexed a claw. "You tread carelessly, Unspoken. Did you not hear me when I warned you how superior I am to you? You could not beat the fledgling Kain. How do you propose to beat me now?"
Hash-Nosferatu laughed. "I am not as foolish as you might believe, Kain. Perhaps you could defeat me. In fact, in mortal combat, you could probably best me. But there are other ways to fight, and by the time I choose to battle you, you will have already lost."
"And if I was to kill you now? That would bring your game to a premature end."
"Perhaps. Maybe you should find out for yourself." Hash-Nosferatu spread his arms out, as if presenting himself to be a target. "I will tell you one thing first, though. There are more than one. Many more."
Kain said nothing. His body crackled with energy, and a blast of lightning suddenly shot from his hands, blasting clean through Hash-Nosferatu's chest. Kain readied himself, preparing to attack Hash'Ak'Gik when he manifested.
To his suprise, Hash-Nosferatu simply fell onto his back. From his mouth, something that looked like a large, furry, black maggot crawled out, Kain blinked in suprise, then quickly squashed it under his boot.
Moments passed in silence as Kain contemplated the event. He turned away from the corpse and looked out over the city.
'So, that is his game. That was clearly not the real Dark Entity, yet I could feel his aura, his presence.' Kain thought. 'He is nothing to me one- on-one, but it would seem his is a game of psychological warfare. What was it he said? More than one? How many in this city have become hosts for these spawned creatures his infected this Vampire with? And out of all those infected, how do I find the real host before he finds my back?'
