A/N: Okay, guys, early New Year's present. For all of you who complained about a short chapter last update, here is a seven-page update for ya all. ^_^
"Oh bugger," Rose sighed before dropping back into a crouch. She waited till the demon-worshipers were only a few paces away from her before she did the opposite of the sane thing: she ran toward them instead of away.
"Um, what is she doing?" Diana demanded.
"I have no idea…" Kairan answered.
Rose heard their voices, but didn't pay much attention to them as she weaved out of the way of long blades that were almost short swords. She wasn't sure how well-trained these men were, but she was hoping she could stall them at least long enough for her friends to get the hell out of there.
Becca, Kairan, Metowaka, and Diana were all four steps and one flight of stairs ahead of her. Unfortunately for them, they were stopped at the trapdoor to the upper levels as it opened and a large from blinked down at them.
"Professor Kain!" Metowaka yelped in surprise. His golden eyes narrowed as he glanced down the stairs.
"What have you girls gotten yourselves into this time?" he sighed. The girls moved to the side quickly to let him pace down the stairs. He headed into the large room beyond to see Rose dodge away from one of the robed individuals to have another one behind her slam his blade through her heart.
The girls, who had sneaked slowly after Kain, saw Rose get backstabbed, and screamed, "Rose!" which was promptly followed up by shouts of "Bastards!" and other obscenities and cries of sorrow. Kain just stood there for a long moment, glaring at the humans.
"That had better not have been my Rose you just killed."
There was a moment of silence as the leader of the demon-worshipers moved to the front, then stopped suddenly Becca gave a yelp of surprise. Everyone glanced to see what had surprised her except for Kain who continued to glare at the humans. The girls and the demon-worshipers paled as they saw Rose standing there, cracking her knuckles, her fingers now two sharp claws and a thumb claw, her eyes glowing faintly white.
"That HURT." She stepped passed her friends who were all staring at her in amazement. Kain chuckled and stalked slowly around the demon-worshipers, shedding his nice professor form and slipping back to his true form.
"You made a very dangerous mistake when you chose to attack these girls," Kain stated as he continued his circuit around the humans, making them extremely nervous. "Not only do they have me protecting them, but one of their own isn't very human either."
Rose smirked, letting a fang show, concentrated, and her wings exploded out of her back. She fixed her eyes upon the worshiper that had run her through and smiled cruelly. The human twitched nervously with her hungry yellow-green orbs fastened onto him. Kain noticed her gaze.
"How long has it been since you've fed, Rose?"
"Nearly a month," she answered in an almost pouting tone.
"Girls," Kain looked past the worshipers and Rose at her friends, "you might want to escape while you can. This is going to get…messy."
The four girls quickly darted out of the room, and got as far to the stairs before they all exchanged a look. Curiosity began to nag at each of them and in an unspoken agreement, they crept silently back to peer around the corner. They just couldn't let the chance of finally knowing what was going on with their friend slip passed them because they were afraid of a little bloodshed.
Kain calmly grabbed one of the closest worshipers to him by the face and lifted him into the air. The boy waved the ritual knife at him, and Kain caught his wrist with disgust, snapping the weak bone with only minimal effort. The worshiper let out a scream of pain and the vampire simply threw him against the wall. A sickening crack sounded into the thick silence as the human's cries ceased. Kain picked up the knife, eyed it with disgust, and tossed it to Rose. The crossbreed, taught by her father since before she could remember to hold sharp, pointy things, caught it easily.
"I'd suggest running," Rose giggled.
"And what good would that do us?" the leader demanded. "We'd have to get passed you."
"Yes, but you running would make it more fun for us."
The worshipers moved together and the leader chuckled dryly.
"You will strike at no more of us. Set will not let you."
This caused both Kain and Rose to hesitate a moment.
"Who?" Rose asked blankly.
"What are you babbling about now?" Kain inquired irritably. "Is this some 'mystical' savior who's going to come help you?"
The leader of the cult looked like he was about to explode in annoyance.
"No, Set! Not a savior, but demon-god, a being stronger than God Himself! He will not allow you to strike down his favored servants—"
"I don't know about you, Rose," Kain interrupted, "but I think I'm getting tired of this little religious rant."
"It is extremely boring," Rose agreed.
"Boring?" the leader snapped. "I'll show you boring!" He tipped his face back, so he was looking upward, but his eyes were tightly shut.
"Set, lord of death and night, hear my plea! Protect your worshippers from these upstarts!"
"Upstarts?" Kain repeated with a raised eyebrow and kept himself from laughing at their idiocy.
"Set, aid us!"
"I grow tired of this," the master vampire sighed as he almost lazily released a telekinetic blast to slam into the leader. It dove toward him, but when it hit the fire, the flames changed to black as obsidian, catching the blast in its depths. Kain watched this with a raised eyebrow, finally interested.
"Now, that has never happened before."
"You see?" The cult leader sounded smug. "Our lord will not allow us to be hurt."
Kain wasn't given the time to respond as the fire suddenly pulled back and spat the bolt back at him. Instinctively reacting, Kain shifted to mist form and dodged away, leaving the blast to smash into the wall and leave a crater. Kain reformed his body and smirked.
"This just got more interesting."
The eminent all-out brawl finally exploded when Rose finally got too annoyed with the leader and threw a punch at the back of his head. The man should have gone flailing forward onto his face. Instead, he stepped forward once to regain his footing before turning on her with a glare. He slashed at her with the blade and she dodged quickly, dropping and moving away, her wings pumping slightly to add to her movement.
Several screams of pain and absolute seconds of anarchy later, Kain and Rose found a moment of rest back to back in the center of the worshipers, some down, hurt, others dead, but a good portion remained alive. A good portion were still alive specifically because Kain was toying with them. He wasn't in the mood to kill them all quickly. Besides, it was good training for Rose.
"Enjoying yourself?" he asked the crossbreed as he dug his claws into one of the humans who had drawn too close. Rose panted for a moment before nodding.
"Immensely." She brought the blade to her lips and licked a bit of the blood there, feeling it invigorate her and infuse her body with energy again. She could keep this up for hours. Her enemies were only human, after all.
Suddenly, the fire leapt up again. It had remained black the entire fight, but now it actually lifted entirely off its base, shifting into the form to two, long snakes that swung quickly through the air, seeking something. The leader, ribs broken and bruised, looked up just as both lunged on him, burying into his eyes. He gave a scream, which stopped mid-way and collapsed. The humans pulled back, uneasy, not sure what to do. Then, their leader stood in one, flawless, inhuman movement. His eyes were entirely gone, replaced by black flames.
"Who art thou who would attack my children?" a voice oozed out of the leader's mouth, deep, dark, and sounding like it was reverberating through a hundred catacombs.
"Ah, so does these humans' mysterious 'Set' finally choose to reveal himself?" Kain moved slightly, making sure he was ever so slightly between Rose and this creature. Humans, he knew she could handle. Possessed humans, he wasn't quite so sure of.
The creature turned toward him slightly, and cocked its head to the side, as if considering the vampire.
"You are like one of us, but you have something in you that keeps you distinctly separate from what we are."
Kain eyed the creature before him.
"And just what do you mean?"
"It means," the creature pulled its human body up, as if not feeling the wounds, "that you will die easily!"
It moved forward to attack the vampire, and a tongue of black flame shaped like a snake slid down its arm to swallow up the knife, turning it into a writhing, poisoned-looking kriss. Kain quickly moved out of the blade's way, and smirked. Here was a battle worth his time.
"Take the humans, Rose."
"Gotcha."
The four girls who were still watching winced as they beheld not a bit of blood or a normal brawl like they expected, but a bloodbath of intense proportions, and the only thing that made it bearable was the fact that there was magic being blasted back and forth between Kain and the creature wreathed in obsidian flames. It added the necessary touch of illusion that it wasn't real.
Kain found himself hard-pressed to get through the creature's fire aura at first, until he kicked up one of the discarded ritual knifes and threw it with deadly accuracy into one of the glowing eyes. The thing let out a screech of agony, and the fire all down the left side died out. It pulled away, hissing, and Kain pressed his advantage, slashing with claws into the creature's still-human body.
Rose, on the other hand, was having an easy time of it. The humans had been re-energized by their demon-god's hand, but seeing him falter and fail under Kain's assault was slowly eating away at their morale. When she was down to a few, Rose took hold of one, pulled him close, and bit into him, overtaken by the battle lust and far beyond caring. The other humans stumbled away as their compatriot screamed in pain. Rose let him drop when he was low of blood, close to the brink of death, but not quite. She'd finish him later. She turned her attentions to the last remaining few and slaughtered them with very little resistance.
At the same time, Kain moved in for a killing blow. The body crumpled, leaving a form of fire. It screeched and pulled back, slowly loosing its solidity.
"Fine," it hissed. "You win this round, brother of the night. But you will not win next time." In its clutches, it held a single white ball.
"But I will be taking this with me."
"Oh, no you won't," Rose retorted, having watched the last strike. She concentrated a moment and pulled in, dragging what she knew to be the soul of the cult leader away from the form and into her mouth. She fell back a pace and wobbled on her feet, the soul's vibrant life force running through her veins. The fire being let out a screech of anger as it faded completely.
Kain glanced around and found one of the still-alive cultists. He picked the man up bodily, ripped away the hood, and bit down, ignoring the cried protest from the human. He stopped suddenly, leaving the wound bleeding, and pulled Rose roughly over, twisting the human's head so she could reach the wound. Her awoken vampiric hunger caught the scent, and without complaint, she bit down onto the bleeding wound. Kain watched her feed for a moment before neatly biting into his wrist. The human didn't have nearly enough blood to fill either of the two if they had been truly hungry, but Kain needed only a small amount to fill up what was used in the fight, and Rose was just dealing with the vampiric needs.
Once it was drained completely, Rose let the body drop, and stepped over it, pressing her lips to Kain's. With the hunger for blood satisfied, she still had to deal with the following lust. The vampire tightened his grip around her, fangs brushing her skin. He pulled back and licked away a touch of blood that had crept from the corner of her lips. He watched in amusement as she tried to catch his tongue between her teeth, but was nowhere fast enough. She let out a slight pouting whimper, but he shushed her.
"We have guests."
Rose looked at him uncomprehendingly for a moment, and he glanced over toward the hall where the four girls were peeking over, eyes wide. The girls were a reality check for Rose, and she shook her head a few times, trying to regain control. She forced down the inhuman sides of her that were clamoring for attention and grinned sheepishly at them. As one, the girls' eyes went wide and Rose winced, realizing she probably still had blood on her lips and teeth. Kain, who was standing behind her because of the way she turned, wiped her lips with a handkerchief.
"Clean up after your dinner, Rose."
"Merf!" she protested. She glared back at him. "You're a lot of help."
"Well, what would you like me to do?" he asked sardonically. "Make them forget this ever happened?"
"No, that won't help," she sighed. "They need to know."
"As you wish." Kain walked passed her, ignoring the destruction around them, and headed for the stairs back up. The girls pulled away from him, almost comically. He stopped and looked down at them.
"I don't bite…" He laughed at their stares and continued up. Rose walked out of the pile of bodies and over to the girls who eyed her nervously.
"Ah-heh, how about we go up?"
Rose walked up the stairs to the first floor of the house and plopped down on the floor. The girls eyed her worriedly, but sat down in a semi circle in front of her. A long moment of tense silence passed.
"So, does this mean you're a vampire?" Diana finally asked excitedly. Rose's eyebrows shot up, having not expected the enthusiasm.
"Not exactly…"
"Did sleeping with a vampire start turning you into one?" Kairan asked curiously.
"Er… no."
"Are you a half-breed vampire/human like BloodRayne?" Metowaka queried.
"No! Would you guys listen to me before you ask?"
"So, are you a bitten human servant?" Becca finished.
"Does this look like the set of Blade to you?!" Rose sighed. "No. I am, for lack of a better term, a freak of nature. I am human, but I am also vampire, and, additionally, made up of something called a soul wraith, a creature that feeds off the souls of the dead."
There was a long moment of silence before Becca finally said, "That bites." A round of groaning filled the group and Metowaka threw the flashlight Diana had recovered at her.
"Well, I have to say, that ball of light that the fiery thing had was certainly sucked into its doom," Kairan added cheerfully. Rose groaned and Diana and Metowaka threatened Kairan's life.
"I'm so glad my existence gives you the thing you need to survive."
"Blood?" Metowaka teased.
"No, puns."
"But they're punny!" Diana laughed. Rose glared at her.
"Someone please take her out to the street to be shot. Seriously, guys, I wanted you to know what I actually am. I was serious when I told you that it was dangerous being my friend. And no, I did not mean because I'd eat you. I have no intention of doing that! You're my friends, after all."
The girls exchanged a look.
"Well, we'll be honest, Rose," Metowaka sighed. "You have to give it to us, we are kinda nervous about it. I mean, considering your uncle, or professor, or guardian, or whatever the hell Kain is to you, is a vampire, and you're some…thing. It does give us reason to be worried." The girl put her hand out for Rose to take. Rose accepted the offer, her fingers back to being normal human hands.
"You can count on us," Metowaka finished. "We may be a bit freaked of you now, but we won't leave you alone. You can count on us if you need it."
"Thanks, guys," Rose smiled. "That means a lot to me."
"Good!" Becca stood. "Now, Rose, if you'll excuse us, but we are going to get plastered to forget about tonight."
"Have fun," Rose answered with a laugh. "I'll pick up your pieces when you get back to the car."
*****************
Rose groaned deeply. She was up early, it was Monday, school had started again, it was cold, and she hadn't seen Kain for two days. She was tired, grouchy, and generically in a bad mood. The other girls had gone home to catch up on much needed sleep and to do last-minute homework, so she hadn't heard from them, either.
"Good-morning to you, flower," a voice sarcastically teased. Rose looked up, her frustrated expression dissolving as she recognized Kain's voice.
"Morning!" she greeted, suddenly much happier than she had been a second before. Kain stepped up to her, standing closer than was normally accepted and smirked down at her.
"That was quite a mood change."
"That's cause I finally get to see you."
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" a male voice roared abruptly. Rose's eyes widened and she looked around just in time to see a tall form grab her and sweep her away from Kain.
"What in hell?" the vampire lord demanded. He growled deeply in his throat and took off after the creature that would dare take Rose from him. Rose, meanwhile, struggled in an iron grip, unable to see her captor's face. She hissed and continued to squiggle.
"Let me go!"
"Stop struggling!" he snapped back. "I'm saving your life! He was going to kill you!"
"Why the hell would he do—"
She was stopped mid-sentence as he jumped from his running path up on top of one of the buildings. Rose stared at the scenery change. No human could jump like that, especially with Rose's weight. As light as she looked, the vampire and soul reaver in her made her body more heavily built than her frame would look like it would weigh.
Her captor stopped, and she could see out of the corner of her eye two more pairs of booted feet.
"He's following. Keep him busy while I get this human to a safe place."
"All right."
"He's going to kill us, you know," the second voice of the two newcomers sighed. Both were male.
"Just do it."
The two men darted down the roof and dropped to the ground below, and Rose's captor lifted her like she was a rag doll so she could see his face. It was pale, and had high cheekbones, with dark eyes set into the face. He wore a cap, urban camo pants, and a thick, leather jacket. Rose did the most sensible thing she could think of upon being kidnapped; she punched him. His head twisted with the blow, but he stayed standing.
"Put me down!" she demanded.
"You must be Rose Croft," he sighed deeply.
"How'd you guess?" she asked dryly.
"The potent right hook was a clue." He set her down. "Now, will you stop struggling? I saved you from getting eaten."
"Eaten? By who? Kain?!"
At the same moment, an explosion sounded from the ground, and the two men who had jumped off came flying back through the air to smash in hurt piles near Rose's captor. There was a moment of silence before Kain lithely jumped up onto the roof.
"Sebastian," the master vampire hissed. Rose's captor turned to focus entirely upon him.
"Hello, Kain."
Kain stalked closer to him and tossed a disgusted look at the two heaps on either side of Sebastian.
"I see you brought along Marcus and Faustus." He cracked his knuckles. "Tell me, just how are you all still alive? I seem to remember quite vividly when I killed the lot of you."
Sebastian winced slightly. "Yes, well, it seems when Mrs. Croft came blithely through our world rearranging things, it somehow twisted it so that we were revived." He hesitated, as if he was having trouble getting the next sentence out of his mouth.
"We're here to offer our… apologies for what happened. We were also sent by Vorador to keep an eye on you two."
"So don't kill us again, please?" the one who was presumably Faustus coughed. He reached into his coat, a long, red leather trench coat and handed Kain a letter.
"Raziel sent this. Can we get off the roof now?"
"I heartily agree," Rose sighed. "We're going to draw a crowd soon."