First of all, apologies for the lack of updates! I'm a busy little girl,
you know ^_^. And secondly, thank you thank you thank you to my reviewers.
You gave me the motivation to carry on with this little piece of fiction.
Disclaimer – still don't own anything. Want Raziel (preferably giftwrapped)
Chapter 3: Defiance.
After that night, Raziel and Kain took Lara out with them on their nightly patrols, hoping that somehow she would trigger the book into action or draw Janos out of wherever he was hiding. Both Raziel and Kain were in no doubt that Janos was in Oxford – he would not let such an opportunity for power pass him by, not since that thing (as Raziel called it) possessed him.
Many nights passed without any significant progress, and Kain was starting to think this was all some massive hoax cooked up by Moebius just to piss him off. He divulged this fact to Raziel and Lara.
'It's possible,' Raziel said, stirring his tea with the end of his pen. They were sitting in a café, enjoying the autumn sunshine. 'The old git has played games with us before.'
'He's probably planning some stupid scheme to take over Nosgoth,' Kain said, moodily ripping a paper napkin to shreds. 'And he figures that he can do it while I'm not there.' The vampire slammed his fist down into the table, spilling a little of his coffee. 'Damn him! I won't let him touch my country.'
'Calm, Kain,' Lara said, with a giggle. Kain amused her. 'I think this might be genuine. Otherwise, why didn't he just kill you?'
'Kain is extremely hard to kill,' Raziel said, looking over his sunglasses at his sire. 'Aren't you?'
Kain gave a low growl and his green eyes flashed their vampiric yellow for a moment. 'Speak for yourself. I thought I'd got rid of you when I threw you into the Abyss.'
Raziel's eyes narrowed. 'And for what? I caused you more grief undead than I did alive. By trying to kill me, you only made me stronger, Kain. Strong to the point where I could tear your heart out and use it to resurrect Janos.'
Lara yelped. 'YOU resurrected Janos?'
Kain laughed. 'This whole predicament is Raziel's fault. He removed my heart, the Heart of Darkness, on Vorador's instructions, and used it to bring Janos back to life. He thought he would be doing the old boy a favour.'
'I didn't realise something would possess him,' Raziel snarled.
Kain continued. 'But your kindness was your weakness, Raziel. He begged you to kill him – but something stayed your hand.' He leaned forwards, putting his elbows on the table. 'What happened to the vicious killer I created, my little Sarafan?'
Raziel stood up so fast he knocked his chair over. His eyes were blazing with white heat. Sunset was coming, and he was losing his human form. 'He died the instant you threw him into the Abyss,' Raziel said, his voice dangerously low. 'You created me as a meaningless killer. You didn't expect that I would turn out the way I did, did you? You were trying to replicate the way I was as a Sarafan, only more lethal. And you had that, for a time. Until you killed me, and I saw the light. I saw what you were really trying to do.'
'And what was that?' Kain asked, mildly.
'Destroy Nosgoth and reclaim it for the vampires.' Raziel spat the words and abruptly turned on his heel, leaving Lara and Kain alone.
'Should I go after him?' Lara asked.
Kain shook his head and looked at the sky. 'Leave him,' he said. 'Raziel has always had a temper.' He sighed and stood up. 'I must get somewhere where I can transform in peace. I shall see you tomorrow, Lara. It looks like Raziel is not going to want to take you on patrol tonight.'
'That's ok,' Lara said. 'I'll catch up on some coursework.' She said goodbye to Kain and started to walk home. On her way, she passed a couple kissing in a doorway – at least that's what it looked like. She hurried past, but her whole body began to tingle as she walked on. As she passed, the man looked up, his eyes burning with blue fire. Lara didn't see that, but she recognised the girl as Kat, the redhead that hated her. So the slut finally found a man, Lara mused, as she entered her tidy flat. She walked into the kitchen and turned on the light. And nearly died of fright as she saw Raziel and Moebius sitting at her kitchen table. 'What the hell are you doing here?' she demanded.
Moebius stood up and bowed to Lara. 'Just checking up on my two little vampires,' he said. It was then Lara noticed the point of the Reaver placed in a very strategic spot. 'I was just leaving.'
'You most certainly were,' Raziel said. The wraith blade hummed. 'Get out of my sight before I do something I regret.'
'With pleasure...' Moebius vanished in a cloud of purple steam.
Lara turned to Raziel, who was fiddling with the torn edge of his wings. 'You ok? You stormed off pretty fast.'
Raziel sighed. 'I just get angry with Kain sometimes,' he said. 'I love him and hate him by the same degree. But...' He shrugged, something his skeletal form was rather good at. 'I don't know. Come here.' He enveloped Lara in a hug. She was getting used to his boniness now and wasn't scared of his true form. In fact, she found it rather endearing. As they stood like that, Lara looked up at Raziel and he realised that she had tears in her eyes. 'What's wrong?' he asked.
'Nothing,' Lara said, quietly. 'I...' She buried her head into his shoulder, smelling his smell of death, the smell of a vampire. 'Raziel... I can't say it...'
'I know,' Raziel whispered, closing his eyes. 'I know...' Lara loved him. She had accepted him for what he was and she loved him. And as he held her, he realised he loved her too. If I could keep my human form for just one night, he thought. Just one night...
'Done...' Moebius' voice floated out of nowhere and Raziel felt the strange tingly feeling of a transformation. Lara gasped as the bony body she had been hugging turned into solid human flesh once more.
Raziel didn't dare open his eyes. 'What do I look like?' he whispered.
Lara's response was a kiss on the cheek. 'Beautiful...'
Across the city, away from where Lara and Raziel were getting better acquainted, Kain was sitting on the roof of the Bodelian Library, kicking his heels against the stonework. He was bored, and a bored vampire is a dangerous thing. He had only eaten one human since his arrival in oxford, and that had been the drunk that tried to mug Lara. He was hungry for blood, bored out of his mind and, although he didn't want to admit it, he was lonely without Raziel by his side. His lieutenant had been beside him for centuries, first as a vampire and then as a soul in the blade of the Reaver. He was always unsure where he stood with Raziel. After all, the boy had sacrificed himself to the sword. He laughed. He was still referring to Raziel as a boy even though he was a good thousand years old. 'I'm going mad in my old age,' Kain chuckled, getting to his feet and sniffing the air. He was in the mood for hunting, and he could smell the warm flesh of a young human female nearby. With no sound, Kain shifted to bat flight and began to track his prey.
Back in Lara's house, Lara and Raziel were cuddled up in front of the television, watching a documentary without interest. Lara snuggled into the crook of Raziel's shoulder and nosed him lovingly. 'This is dull,' she said, stifling a yawn. 'Perhaps we should go to bed.'
Raziel laughed. 'After what we've just done? I don't think so.' He bowed his head to kiss Lara again.
'You are starting to lose your human form,' Lara said, sadly. 'Moebius must have only granted you this for a few hours.'
'But it was long enough,' Raziel said, heaving a slight sigh as he turned back into his wraith form and wrapped his cowl about him. Lara leaned on him, gazing up at him once more. 'You really don't mind what I look like, do you?'
'Nope.' Lara tousled Raziel's hair. 'You're my Raziel. You always will be, no matter how weird you look.'
'I don't look weird,' Raziel said, feigning annoyance. 'I'm just... I'm...' He double-taked at the television. 'I'm on TV. And so is Kain...'
'What?' Lara sat up and turned her attention to the TV. 'That's... that's a trailer for a game! What are you two...?'
Raziel stood up. 'Someone knows we are here – someone apart from Moebius. It's got to be Janos.'
'But... that game...' Lara was confused. 'It says it's the continuation of a series. How can Janos have created a whole series of games based around you guys if you've only been here for... a few...' Light dawned. 'The Time Streamer!'
Raziel nodded. 'Janos could have been here for the equivalent of years,' he said. 'We don't know how much Nosgothian time is relative to English time. And the Time Streamer distorts time anyway.' He tapped his hoof on the floor, thinking. 'Perhaps Janos wants our story known to the world. Maybe he is trying to make people think we are evil or something.'
'Or perhaps he is trying to make the story known,' Lara suggested. 'I suggest we go out and get that game. I want to see what it's like.' She got up, wrapping the blanket around herself. 'It's late. We should go to bed.' Raziel didn't reply. 'Raziel?' He was on his knees on the rug, shaking. 'Raz? What's wrong?'
'It's Kain,' Raziel said, as if speaking through gritted teeth. 'Something has happened to him... he is in great pain.' With what seemed like a tremendous effort, he stood upright. 'I must go to him. He could be in danger.' He caught Lara's chin in his hands. 'Sleep well, my pet. I will see you in the morning.' And with that, he was gone.
In a back alley, a stray tabby cat was frightened out of his wits as a cloud of bats consolidated into the form of Kain. Kain laughed as the cat shot out from between the bins like a bat out of hell. 'Still got it,' he said, straightening his armour. He always felt a little peculiar after bat flight – sort of like he had hundreds of legs and he felt like he should be hanging upside down. Shaking these feelings off, he crouched down and sniffed. The female human had been here – and she was close by.
'Hi, handsome.' She was infact right behind him. Her hair was a flame red, and she was wearing a black outfit that left very little to the imagination. Kain felt strange stirrings inside that he hadn't felt for centuries. The girl slunk over to him. 'Looking for a good time?' She wasn't in the least bit scared of him as she ran her hands over his face and body, tracing the knobbly bits from all his years of evolving.
'Er...' Kain said.
'Hush.' The girl trailed her fingers through his hair. 'Just enjoy yourself, vampire.'
Kain froze. 'What...?'
The girl laughed. 'I believe, you see. I believe that vampires are real.' She suddenly grabbed Kain's face and pulled him down to her level. 'And I've always wanted one to screw me,' she whispered. Her green eyes were narrow and sultry. 'Or are you scared?'
Kain made a purring noise at the back of his throat. 'Not at all.' He instantly went for the girl's neck. She didn't even make a sound as his fangs pierced her jugular vein. He closed his eyes and drank deeply, feeling the warmth of her blood as it flowed into his mouth, the burn as it raced down his throat, burning more than the finest whisky known to man.
He kept on feeding until the girl went limp in his arms and he released her. But instead of falling to the floor, she simply stood up and smiled at him. 'Pleasant dreams, Kain,' she said, vanishing into the shadows.
Kain was puzzled. 'What? Agh!' He doubled over as he felt a pain course through him. Pain was too weak a word – he was in agony. It felt like hundreds of needles, burning needles, were being stuck into every cell of his body. He howled as the agony increased, as the burn went through him, boiling his very blood. Feeling light headed, he staggered into the back of the alley and sank to the ground. Now he was cold, shivering as if he was encased in ice. The fluctuating temperature of his blood was slowly killing him. Resigned, Kain closed his eyes and waited for death, something he had cheated for far too long.
A rustle and the familiar sound of hoofed feet on cobbles brought him partially back to his senses. But when Kain opened his eyes, all he could see was red. 'Raziel?' he said, thickly. 'Is that you?'
'Not Raziel,' a very familiar voice said. 'But someone who can help you.'
Raziel sped across the city, clambering up walls and gliding between buildings in an effort to locate Kain. Intermittently throughout his journey, he had felt stabs of hot and cold, pain so great that it nearly knocked him out. He had been using the Reaver as a compass, the wraith blade glowing red as it got nearer to Kain's position.
When the Reaver started to whine and glow white hot, Raziel knew he was nearing where his master was. Sneaking around the final corner, he peeked into the shadows to see if Kain was there. Kain was indeed there, sitting against the wall. He looked feverish and faint. And someone was sitting with him. Someone that Raziel knew well. 'Vorador?'
Vorador inclined his head in Raziel's direction. 'Good evening, Raziel. I trust you are well.'
'I'm fine.' Raziel approached cautiously. 'What in the name of all the gods are you doing here?' The Reaver hummed into life on his arm again.
'There is no need to be afraid, Raziel. I do not intend to harm you.' Vorador turned his attention to Kain for a moment as the vampire gave a low moan. 'And I came here to help Kain. I knew he was in trouble, see.'
Raziel moved closer. 'What happened to him?'
'He drank blood from someone Janos has touched,' Vorador said. 'Janos somehow managed to poison the girl's blood. He knew Kain was hungry. He knew that he would go for any easy prey that was around. And...' Vorador sighed. 'Kain went for the bait. And he may not pull through.'
Kain suddenly hissed and his eyes snapped open. 'It'll take more than anything that bastard Janos can throw at me,' he growled. But his eyes closed and he sank down to the floor. 'I feel so weak...'
'You drank Hylden blood,' Vorador said. 'That is usually fatal to vampires.' He appeared to be thinking. 'Perhaps there was some human left in the girl after all.'
'Did you see what she looked like?' Raziel asked.
'Red hair,' Kain muttered. 'Beautiful...' He sank into silence.
Vorador looked at the sky. 'We've got to get him inside,' he said. 'If the light hits him while he's like this, he'll die. Where do you live?'
'Too far,' Raziel said. 'Lara lives near here – we'll take him there.'
Vorador lifted Kain easily. 'Who is Lara?'
Raziel paused. He was glad that he couldn't blush any more. 'My... girl,' he said.
Vorador smiled. 'You always had an eye for the girls, Raziel.'
Raziel did not reply. He just led the way back to Lara's house in silence, thinking. 'You did not answer my question, Vorador,' he said, eventually. 'Why are you here?'
'I came to protect you,' was the answer. 'I have been here for years, laying out the path of this mission for you. I know what happened to Janos and I know about the book. If Janos finds that book, he will be invincible.'
'I don't see what's so special about that book,' Raziel commented, leaping lightly over a parked car. 'What is in it?'
'It's not what is in it,' Vorador said. 'It is what can be in it that scares me.'
'I don't understand.'
'If Janos writes in the book, his thoughts will come to life. And now he is under the control of the Hylden, who knows what he will write?' Vorador shifted Kain into a more comfortable position in his arms. 'Janos used to be a good man, as you know. But now...' The old vampire shook his head in dismay. 'He is not himself. And the powers of that book are not to be underestimated. The last time someone wrote in it, those murals in the citadel came into being. And half of the nasties you lot had to beat off are a result of someone's random scribbles.'
'The pen is mightier than the sword,' Raziel said, thoughtfully. 'Here we are.' He hammered on Lara's front door. She opened it, still wrapped in a blanket. 'Lara, it's Kain...'
Lara looked past Raziel to Vorador, took one look at Kain lying unconscious in his arms, and let them in without hesitation. 'What happened to him?'
'He drank Hylden blood,' Raziel explained. 'Some girl that Janos managed to infect... a redhead.'
Lara paled. 'What does Janos look like?'
'About Vorador's height, grey hair... why?'
'I-I think I saw him with Kat earlier today,' Lara said. 'They were... you know...'
'Then she is under his power,' Vorador said. 'She is your enemy now, Lara.'
'She was never my friend,' Lara said, bitterly.
'That isn't the point,' Raziel said. He was looking at Kain with worry in his eyes. 'She is on his side now, Lara. And I don't know what she will do. We don't know what she is capable of. After all, she is under Janos' control now.'
Vorador made a small noise. 'Raziel, there is something I feel I should tell you now. It would help with the mission. Just... just promise you won't kill me.'
'Let's hear what you have to say before I decide whether or not to kill you,' Raziel said, folding his arms. 'Go on. We're waiting.'
'Well...' Vorador coughed nervously. 'Have you seen the trailers for that new game?'
'Yes...' Raziel gave Vorador a suspicious glare. 'Go on.'
'I made that game so that people would be aware of your plight.'
There was a ringing silence. Then Raziel started to laugh. 'You thought a game would make people believe? Oh Vorador! You are classic!' He sat down on the sofa, still laughing hard. 'You put the story of my descent into the Reaver into a game? That's priceless!'
Vorador looked uncomfortable as Lara started to giggle. 'I thought if people realised what happened to make Janos the way he is, then perhaps...' He mumbled into silence.
Raziel eventually composed himself enough to talk. 'Vorador, nobody here knows who we are. And they don't care.'
'I beg to differ,' Vorador said. 'Nosgoth's entire history is documented in games. They are my way of making the world aware of our existence and, from what I have seen, some people really like our world. And they would be willing to help if anything bad happened.'
'But they can't!' Raziel protested. 'To them, we aren't real! We're just pixels.' He looked puzzled. 'Do these games have any bearing on the mission, Vorador, or are they just further evidence you are going loopy?'
'They are just documents,' Vorador said. He sighed. 'I just thought it would be a good idea...'
'What if Janos gets hold of one of the games?' Kain's voice was scratchy and he looked weak. 'Tell us, Vorador.'
Vorador grinned, his fangs lengthening as he spoke. 'That is the clever thing, Kain. If Janos were to see what he was like before he was possessed, then perhaps the little bit of Janos Audron that is still... him, as it were, will fight the Hylden.'
'So Janos can save himself,' Raziel said. 'But...'
'...You've got to stop him from getting that book,' Vorador said. 'If he finds it and writes in it, the Janos we know will be lost to the world forever. His kind soul will be destroyed and not even you, Raziel, can help him.'
^_^ There we go! Chapter 3! So Janos isn't as bad as we all think... or is he? Next time: Kain finds out Kat's true power, Raziel has a rather frightening encounter with a bookstore owner, and we find out just why Blackwells in Oxford seems so damn big! Keep reading! Peace out!
Disclaimer – still don't own anything. Want Raziel (preferably giftwrapped)
Chapter 3: Defiance.
After that night, Raziel and Kain took Lara out with them on their nightly patrols, hoping that somehow she would trigger the book into action or draw Janos out of wherever he was hiding. Both Raziel and Kain were in no doubt that Janos was in Oxford – he would not let such an opportunity for power pass him by, not since that thing (as Raziel called it) possessed him.
Many nights passed without any significant progress, and Kain was starting to think this was all some massive hoax cooked up by Moebius just to piss him off. He divulged this fact to Raziel and Lara.
'It's possible,' Raziel said, stirring his tea with the end of his pen. They were sitting in a café, enjoying the autumn sunshine. 'The old git has played games with us before.'
'He's probably planning some stupid scheme to take over Nosgoth,' Kain said, moodily ripping a paper napkin to shreds. 'And he figures that he can do it while I'm not there.' The vampire slammed his fist down into the table, spilling a little of his coffee. 'Damn him! I won't let him touch my country.'
'Calm, Kain,' Lara said, with a giggle. Kain amused her. 'I think this might be genuine. Otherwise, why didn't he just kill you?'
'Kain is extremely hard to kill,' Raziel said, looking over his sunglasses at his sire. 'Aren't you?'
Kain gave a low growl and his green eyes flashed their vampiric yellow for a moment. 'Speak for yourself. I thought I'd got rid of you when I threw you into the Abyss.'
Raziel's eyes narrowed. 'And for what? I caused you more grief undead than I did alive. By trying to kill me, you only made me stronger, Kain. Strong to the point where I could tear your heart out and use it to resurrect Janos.'
Lara yelped. 'YOU resurrected Janos?'
Kain laughed. 'This whole predicament is Raziel's fault. He removed my heart, the Heart of Darkness, on Vorador's instructions, and used it to bring Janos back to life. He thought he would be doing the old boy a favour.'
'I didn't realise something would possess him,' Raziel snarled.
Kain continued. 'But your kindness was your weakness, Raziel. He begged you to kill him – but something stayed your hand.' He leaned forwards, putting his elbows on the table. 'What happened to the vicious killer I created, my little Sarafan?'
Raziel stood up so fast he knocked his chair over. His eyes were blazing with white heat. Sunset was coming, and he was losing his human form. 'He died the instant you threw him into the Abyss,' Raziel said, his voice dangerously low. 'You created me as a meaningless killer. You didn't expect that I would turn out the way I did, did you? You were trying to replicate the way I was as a Sarafan, only more lethal. And you had that, for a time. Until you killed me, and I saw the light. I saw what you were really trying to do.'
'And what was that?' Kain asked, mildly.
'Destroy Nosgoth and reclaim it for the vampires.' Raziel spat the words and abruptly turned on his heel, leaving Lara and Kain alone.
'Should I go after him?' Lara asked.
Kain shook his head and looked at the sky. 'Leave him,' he said. 'Raziel has always had a temper.' He sighed and stood up. 'I must get somewhere where I can transform in peace. I shall see you tomorrow, Lara. It looks like Raziel is not going to want to take you on patrol tonight.'
'That's ok,' Lara said. 'I'll catch up on some coursework.' She said goodbye to Kain and started to walk home. On her way, she passed a couple kissing in a doorway – at least that's what it looked like. She hurried past, but her whole body began to tingle as she walked on. As she passed, the man looked up, his eyes burning with blue fire. Lara didn't see that, but she recognised the girl as Kat, the redhead that hated her. So the slut finally found a man, Lara mused, as she entered her tidy flat. She walked into the kitchen and turned on the light. And nearly died of fright as she saw Raziel and Moebius sitting at her kitchen table. 'What the hell are you doing here?' she demanded.
Moebius stood up and bowed to Lara. 'Just checking up on my two little vampires,' he said. It was then Lara noticed the point of the Reaver placed in a very strategic spot. 'I was just leaving.'
'You most certainly were,' Raziel said. The wraith blade hummed. 'Get out of my sight before I do something I regret.'
'With pleasure...' Moebius vanished in a cloud of purple steam.
Lara turned to Raziel, who was fiddling with the torn edge of his wings. 'You ok? You stormed off pretty fast.'
Raziel sighed. 'I just get angry with Kain sometimes,' he said. 'I love him and hate him by the same degree. But...' He shrugged, something his skeletal form was rather good at. 'I don't know. Come here.' He enveloped Lara in a hug. She was getting used to his boniness now and wasn't scared of his true form. In fact, she found it rather endearing. As they stood like that, Lara looked up at Raziel and he realised that she had tears in her eyes. 'What's wrong?' he asked.
'Nothing,' Lara said, quietly. 'I...' She buried her head into his shoulder, smelling his smell of death, the smell of a vampire. 'Raziel... I can't say it...'
'I know,' Raziel whispered, closing his eyes. 'I know...' Lara loved him. She had accepted him for what he was and she loved him. And as he held her, he realised he loved her too. If I could keep my human form for just one night, he thought. Just one night...
'Done...' Moebius' voice floated out of nowhere and Raziel felt the strange tingly feeling of a transformation. Lara gasped as the bony body she had been hugging turned into solid human flesh once more.
Raziel didn't dare open his eyes. 'What do I look like?' he whispered.
Lara's response was a kiss on the cheek. 'Beautiful...'
Across the city, away from where Lara and Raziel were getting better acquainted, Kain was sitting on the roof of the Bodelian Library, kicking his heels against the stonework. He was bored, and a bored vampire is a dangerous thing. He had only eaten one human since his arrival in oxford, and that had been the drunk that tried to mug Lara. He was hungry for blood, bored out of his mind and, although he didn't want to admit it, he was lonely without Raziel by his side. His lieutenant had been beside him for centuries, first as a vampire and then as a soul in the blade of the Reaver. He was always unsure where he stood with Raziel. After all, the boy had sacrificed himself to the sword. He laughed. He was still referring to Raziel as a boy even though he was a good thousand years old. 'I'm going mad in my old age,' Kain chuckled, getting to his feet and sniffing the air. He was in the mood for hunting, and he could smell the warm flesh of a young human female nearby. With no sound, Kain shifted to bat flight and began to track his prey.
Back in Lara's house, Lara and Raziel were cuddled up in front of the television, watching a documentary without interest. Lara snuggled into the crook of Raziel's shoulder and nosed him lovingly. 'This is dull,' she said, stifling a yawn. 'Perhaps we should go to bed.'
Raziel laughed. 'After what we've just done? I don't think so.' He bowed his head to kiss Lara again.
'You are starting to lose your human form,' Lara said, sadly. 'Moebius must have only granted you this for a few hours.'
'But it was long enough,' Raziel said, heaving a slight sigh as he turned back into his wraith form and wrapped his cowl about him. Lara leaned on him, gazing up at him once more. 'You really don't mind what I look like, do you?'
'Nope.' Lara tousled Raziel's hair. 'You're my Raziel. You always will be, no matter how weird you look.'
'I don't look weird,' Raziel said, feigning annoyance. 'I'm just... I'm...' He double-taked at the television. 'I'm on TV. And so is Kain...'
'What?' Lara sat up and turned her attention to the TV. 'That's... that's a trailer for a game! What are you two...?'
Raziel stood up. 'Someone knows we are here – someone apart from Moebius. It's got to be Janos.'
'But... that game...' Lara was confused. 'It says it's the continuation of a series. How can Janos have created a whole series of games based around you guys if you've only been here for... a few...' Light dawned. 'The Time Streamer!'
Raziel nodded. 'Janos could have been here for the equivalent of years,' he said. 'We don't know how much Nosgothian time is relative to English time. And the Time Streamer distorts time anyway.' He tapped his hoof on the floor, thinking. 'Perhaps Janos wants our story known to the world. Maybe he is trying to make people think we are evil or something.'
'Or perhaps he is trying to make the story known,' Lara suggested. 'I suggest we go out and get that game. I want to see what it's like.' She got up, wrapping the blanket around herself. 'It's late. We should go to bed.' Raziel didn't reply. 'Raziel?' He was on his knees on the rug, shaking. 'Raz? What's wrong?'
'It's Kain,' Raziel said, as if speaking through gritted teeth. 'Something has happened to him... he is in great pain.' With what seemed like a tremendous effort, he stood upright. 'I must go to him. He could be in danger.' He caught Lara's chin in his hands. 'Sleep well, my pet. I will see you in the morning.' And with that, he was gone.
In a back alley, a stray tabby cat was frightened out of his wits as a cloud of bats consolidated into the form of Kain. Kain laughed as the cat shot out from between the bins like a bat out of hell. 'Still got it,' he said, straightening his armour. He always felt a little peculiar after bat flight – sort of like he had hundreds of legs and he felt like he should be hanging upside down. Shaking these feelings off, he crouched down and sniffed. The female human had been here – and she was close by.
'Hi, handsome.' She was infact right behind him. Her hair was a flame red, and she was wearing a black outfit that left very little to the imagination. Kain felt strange stirrings inside that he hadn't felt for centuries. The girl slunk over to him. 'Looking for a good time?' She wasn't in the least bit scared of him as she ran her hands over his face and body, tracing the knobbly bits from all his years of evolving.
'Er...' Kain said.
'Hush.' The girl trailed her fingers through his hair. 'Just enjoy yourself, vampire.'
Kain froze. 'What...?'
The girl laughed. 'I believe, you see. I believe that vampires are real.' She suddenly grabbed Kain's face and pulled him down to her level. 'And I've always wanted one to screw me,' she whispered. Her green eyes were narrow and sultry. 'Or are you scared?'
Kain made a purring noise at the back of his throat. 'Not at all.' He instantly went for the girl's neck. She didn't even make a sound as his fangs pierced her jugular vein. He closed his eyes and drank deeply, feeling the warmth of her blood as it flowed into his mouth, the burn as it raced down his throat, burning more than the finest whisky known to man.
He kept on feeding until the girl went limp in his arms and he released her. But instead of falling to the floor, she simply stood up and smiled at him. 'Pleasant dreams, Kain,' she said, vanishing into the shadows.
Kain was puzzled. 'What? Agh!' He doubled over as he felt a pain course through him. Pain was too weak a word – he was in agony. It felt like hundreds of needles, burning needles, were being stuck into every cell of his body. He howled as the agony increased, as the burn went through him, boiling his very blood. Feeling light headed, he staggered into the back of the alley and sank to the ground. Now he was cold, shivering as if he was encased in ice. The fluctuating temperature of his blood was slowly killing him. Resigned, Kain closed his eyes and waited for death, something he had cheated for far too long.
A rustle and the familiar sound of hoofed feet on cobbles brought him partially back to his senses. But when Kain opened his eyes, all he could see was red. 'Raziel?' he said, thickly. 'Is that you?'
'Not Raziel,' a very familiar voice said. 'But someone who can help you.'
Raziel sped across the city, clambering up walls and gliding between buildings in an effort to locate Kain. Intermittently throughout his journey, he had felt stabs of hot and cold, pain so great that it nearly knocked him out. He had been using the Reaver as a compass, the wraith blade glowing red as it got nearer to Kain's position.
When the Reaver started to whine and glow white hot, Raziel knew he was nearing where his master was. Sneaking around the final corner, he peeked into the shadows to see if Kain was there. Kain was indeed there, sitting against the wall. He looked feverish and faint. And someone was sitting with him. Someone that Raziel knew well. 'Vorador?'
Vorador inclined his head in Raziel's direction. 'Good evening, Raziel. I trust you are well.'
'I'm fine.' Raziel approached cautiously. 'What in the name of all the gods are you doing here?' The Reaver hummed into life on his arm again.
'There is no need to be afraid, Raziel. I do not intend to harm you.' Vorador turned his attention to Kain for a moment as the vampire gave a low moan. 'And I came here to help Kain. I knew he was in trouble, see.'
Raziel moved closer. 'What happened to him?'
'He drank blood from someone Janos has touched,' Vorador said. 'Janos somehow managed to poison the girl's blood. He knew Kain was hungry. He knew that he would go for any easy prey that was around. And...' Vorador sighed. 'Kain went for the bait. And he may not pull through.'
Kain suddenly hissed and his eyes snapped open. 'It'll take more than anything that bastard Janos can throw at me,' he growled. But his eyes closed and he sank down to the floor. 'I feel so weak...'
'You drank Hylden blood,' Vorador said. 'That is usually fatal to vampires.' He appeared to be thinking. 'Perhaps there was some human left in the girl after all.'
'Did you see what she looked like?' Raziel asked.
'Red hair,' Kain muttered. 'Beautiful...' He sank into silence.
Vorador looked at the sky. 'We've got to get him inside,' he said. 'If the light hits him while he's like this, he'll die. Where do you live?'
'Too far,' Raziel said. 'Lara lives near here – we'll take him there.'
Vorador lifted Kain easily. 'Who is Lara?'
Raziel paused. He was glad that he couldn't blush any more. 'My... girl,' he said.
Vorador smiled. 'You always had an eye for the girls, Raziel.'
Raziel did not reply. He just led the way back to Lara's house in silence, thinking. 'You did not answer my question, Vorador,' he said, eventually. 'Why are you here?'
'I came to protect you,' was the answer. 'I have been here for years, laying out the path of this mission for you. I know what happened to Janos and I know about the book. If Janos finds that book, he will be invincible.'
'I don't see what's so special about that book,' Raziel commented, leaping lightly over a parked car. 'What is in it?'
'It's not what is in it,' Vorador said. 'It is what can be in it that scares me.'
'I don't understand.'
'If Janos writes in the book, his thoughts will come to life. And now he is under the control of the Hylden, who knows what he will write?' Vorador shifted Kain into a more comfortable position in his arms. 'Janos used to be a good man, as you know. But now...' The old vampire shook his head in dismay. 'He is not himself. And the powers of that book are not to be underestimated. The last time someone wrote in it, those murals in the citadel came into being. And half of the nasties you lot had to beat off are a result of someone's random scribbles.'
'The pen is mightier than the sword,' Raziel said, thoughtfully. 'Here we are.' He hammered on Lara's front door. She opened it, still wrapped in a blanket. 'Lara, it's Kain...'
Lara looked past Raziel to Vorador, took one look at Kain lying unconscious in his arms, and let them in without hesitation. 'What happened to him?'
'He drank Hylden blood,' Raziel explained. 'Some girl that Janos managed to infect... a redhead.'
Lara paled. 'What does Janos look like?'
'About Vorador's height, grey hair... why?'
'I-I think I saw him with Kat earlier today,' Lara said. 'They were... you know...'
'Then she is under his power,' Vorador said. 'She is your enemy now, Lara.'
'She was never my friend,' Lara said, bitterly.
'That isn't the point,' Raziel said. He was looking at Kain with worry in his eyes. 'She is on his side now, Lara. And I don't know what she will do. We don't know what she is capable of. After all, she is under Janos' control now.'
Vorador made a small noise. 'Raziel, there is something I feel I should tell you now. It would help with the mission. Just... just promise you won't kill me.'
'Let's hear what you have to say before I decide whether or not to kill you,' Raziel said, folding his arms. 'Go on. We're waiting.'
'Well...' Vorador coughed nervously. 'Have you seen the trailers for that new game?'
'Yes...' Raziel gave Vorador a suspicious glare. 'Go on.'
'I made that game so that people would be aware of your plight.'
There was a ringing silence. Then Raziel started to laugh. 'You thought a game would make people believe? Oh Vorador! You are classic!' He sat down on the sofa, still laughing hard. 'You put the story of my descent into the Reaver into a game? That's priceless!'
Vorador looked uncomfortable as Lara started to giggle. 'I thought if people realised what happened to make Janos the way he is, then perhaps...' He mumbled into silence.
Raziel eventually composed himself enough to talk. 'Vorador, nobody here knows who we are. And they don't care.'
'I beg to differ,' Vorador said. 'Nosgoth's entire history is documented in games. They are my way of making the world aware of our existence and, from what I have seen, some people really like our world. And they would be willing to help if anything bad happened.'
'But they can't!' Raziel protested. 'To them, we aren't real! We're just pixels.' He looked puzzled. 'Do these games have any bearing on the mission, Vorador, or are they just further evidence you are going loopy?'
'They are just documents,' Vorador said. He sighed. 'I just thought it would be a good idea...'
'What if Janos gets hold of one of the games?' Kain's voice was scratchy and he looked weak. 'Tell us, Vorador.'
Vorador grinned, his fangs lengthening as he spoke. 'That is the clever thing, Kain. If Janos were to see what he was like before he was possessed, then perhaps the little bit of Janos Audron that is still... him, as it were, will fight the Hylden.'
'So Janos can save himself,' Raziel said. 'But...'
'...You've got to stop him from getting that book,' Vorador said. 'If he finds it and writes in it, the Janos we know will be lost to the world forever. His kind soul will be destroyed and not even you, Raziel, can help him.'
^_^ There we go! Chapter 3! So Janos isn't as bad as we all think... or is he? Next time: Kain finds out Kat's true power, Raziel has a rather frightening encounter with a bookstore owner, and we find out just why Blackwells in Oxford seems so damn big! Keep reading! Peace out!