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I was in a natural place. Trees were hemmed in all around me. A ruby wash of light hovered over the landscape. I knew where I was headed. It was sunset. To the southeast was a mystical aura. A location I had visited before. I remembered.
I instinctively knew the way. The sparkling light grew with strength the nearer I got to the keystone of Nosgoth. The glowing salmon-shaded clouds seemed to approve, floating their wispy tails towards the spot.
The Pillars never ceased to amaze me. It had crossed my mind more than once. Who were the architects of these magnificent structures? I followed the orange spots emanating from the setting sun that highlighted the slender-tipped grass to the center of those nine columns and found someone--or something--else there.
The creature definitely wasn't human, but it was scarcely vampiric. The being's skin was cobalt blue and had the downy black feathered wings of a raven. A winged vampire. The creature reminded me of somebody I heard about or someone I read about…
The creature was frantic, walking from column to column, finally stopping at States, the Pillar of my birthright. It was if it were searching for some elusive enemy. Me?
I approached the being carefully, but my quiet footsteps alerted it anyway. It could sense my presence. I was shocked to see the fear welling in the creature's yellow eyes when its head snapped in my direction. Was it afraid of me?
"They're coming, " the being said.
"Who?" I asked, heedless of my own fright.
"The demons who cursed me," the creature replied. "We haven't a weapon strong enough to fight them. Nosgoth is lost. A corrupted world in a stalemate for all time."
"Which weapon?" I had to know.
The angelic demon just gazed at me. "Soul Reaver," it finally whispered.
I shook my head. "Kain bears the Soul Reaver."
The creature chuckled. A bitter sound with an incomprehensible suffering edged to it. "No, he hasn't."
"A sacrifice must be made so Nosgoth can have a future," a new voice echoed in the gathering twilight. The voice of the graveyard.
Mortanius came into view cloaked in gloom. His eyes glowed with white-hot intensity. "Death and rebirth is a cleansing cycle. This cleansing will be done by the clear, green waves of water."
Mortanius suddenly gasped and almost doubled over. His head fell forward in exhaustion and when he raised it again, I could plainly perceive it wasn't Mortanius. I saw that sickly emerald glow in the depths of his eye sockets.
I quickly glanced from "Mortanius" to the blue creature and saw…something of a pattern. They were enemies. Two beings—two races battling against each other. For eternity.
The scene slowly faded out and only the evil green luminescence remained. The exact coloring of the Abyss. Winged being. Raziel. Soul Reaver…
***
My eyelids fluttered open and felt something cold and hard beneath my cheek. Strangely, I had the distinct sense of misgiving. Another dream. So many of them now. But what did they truly tell me? That this was right? That Raziel should be a sacrifice for the eventual well-being of Nosgoth? Enough was enough. Raised myself up on one elbow and turned to my right. And there, I saw them. The Pillars. Although decidedly different from what I had seen in my dream. Not mentioning Kain's throne of course, built right in the heart of them. However, this seat of power was mysteriously vacant. Never a good sign.
"Marina? Can you hear me?" a concerned voice inquired.
I switched my gaze to Rahab and Melchiah. Both were standing over me seemingly disturbed. Anxiety was written all over them. Melchiah looked just about to jump out of his skin. After seeing the two of them, everything came to me in a flash.
"Where's Raziel? How
did I get here?"
Melchiah's face pinched into a
pained expression. "Raziel has been charged as a traitor. Nothing can be done
for him now. He has committed a grand offense: evolving before the master and
then having the nerve to flaunt it about."
Rahab sent his brother a sharp look, then sighed and gave up. "He has committed a grave infraction."
"Did you see them?" Melchiah asked in a low-tone.
Guilt came over me like a tidal wave. I saw them before anyone else did. Except…
"Yes," I admitted ruefully. "That was the reason I fainted. Not that it matters now, but who brought me here?"
"Kain," Rahab replied with a slight curl of contempt to his lips. "He instructed us to watch over you until you awoke."
Why here? I could only wonder. Why would he bring me to the foot of his throne, Nosgoth's place of power? Wouldn't it make more sense to simply bring me to my room? Finally, it hit me. Kain was playing his own little game. His rules, not mine. I surmised he wanted to show me who was still in control and that if he thought necessary, he could stomp me down as well. Or worse. If it was indeed a subliminal warning, I got the message.
Without warning, a surge of revulsion boiled up within me. Kain. That fratricide dared carried me here. To think that his hands were on me…yet it paled in comparison to the intimate nights we'd shared. Like last night. Kain had been so good to me ever since we met. He loved me. He must. I could no longer deny my feelings for him. Even in the midst of murdering of his own son. Besides you're no better than he is. You're an accomplice. You knew. Oh, Raziel's blood would be on my hands for eternity.
"Also, Kain commanded that we witness Raziel's punishment," Rahb went on, clearly uncomfortable at the prospects he would be viewing. "However, he said that you could remain here if you wish. He stated that your prescence would not be required—"
"I'm going," I interrupted smoothly. "I have to see him one last time."
"Don't do anything stupid," Melchiah warned. "You yourself know the law as well as we do."
"I feel as if it is my solemn duty," I said with finality.
"Then we best hurry," Rahab murmured.
Not too appear suspicious or seem like I knew too much information, I decised to ask my question. "Where is Raziel being taken?"
"Where else?" Rahab threw up his hands in exasperation. "The Abyss. The site where traitors and cowards meet their fates."
***
I had torn out of the Sanctuary of the Clans with Rahab and Melchiah right behind me. Coincidentally, as in my dream, it was sunset. There, it had been beautiful to look upon; tranquilly washing the landscape in soft golds and turning the wispy clouds pink and lavender. In this reality, it was harsher and far too bright with its glaring, war-like orange shade. Presently, it carried an ominous note. Raziel would never see another.
Blindly, I ran ahead into the stony mountain passes with their tops illuminated with the tawny glow of the dusk and their bottoms drenched in darkness. The brightness above made me progressively dizzy, yet I pressed onward. As I ran, more details of the dream came back to me. Sacrifice…cleansing… How could killing Raziel save Nosgoth? I hadn't the slightest idea what I would do once I got to the Abyss, but I knew I must make it in time.
Minutes, or perhaps hours later, I skittered to a stop and stared around me in amazement. Clusters of vampires stood on the outskirts of that terrible place. Automatically, I recognized Zephon standing apart from the crowd on the bridge itself that led to that accursed gap. Dumah and Turel had positioned Raziel on the edge of it. Kain himself was a few feet away, surveying the scene like an overseer.
My insides lurched when I glimpsed Raziel's back. His beautiful wings had been ripped to shreds. They were hanging limply, bloodied and torn, with a broken framework of delicate bone; transformed into useless pathetic flaps of skin with clinging threads of sinew. Who could commit such a despicable deed? I dared not think on it.
"My brother…" murmured Rahab in disbelief. He walked as if in a daze to where Zephon was. After a moment, Melchiah followed. I remained frozen in place, my eyes fixed on Kain. Surely he couldn't…could he? He could call if off anytime he wanted. And so could you.
Kain was striding towards the edge of the Lake of the Dead, his crimson cape whipping around him. From out of nowhere, great gusts of wind had started to blow. This time, I wasn't the only one to notice it. It was almost as if the elements themselves were bearing witness and voicing their opinions. On that note, the eddies of the greenish water below seemed to be welcoming its new guest. There was no mistaking the roaring and splashing from the Abyss was indeed getting louder. It seemed like it couldn't wait to wrap its icy fingers around Raziel and drag him down to its depths.
I watched as Kain just knelt at the verge of the Abyss, looking down. Contemplating? Then, it occurred to me that I too could wield power here. True, I wasn't as powerful as Kain or have had as much practice with it, but there was no doubt in my mind that I could throw telekinetic energy at Kain and make him tumble down instead of Raziel. It would be poetic justice.
What was I thinking? I couldn't do that to Kain, or condemn any other vampire to die. Zephon, on the other hand, remained an exception. In the end, all I could do was watch. Watch Kain walk back to his original spot and glare straight ahead. Due to my placement in the mass, I alone was able to see Kain's face. Surprisingly enough, there was raw anguish shining in his eyes. It made me gasp. The tiny fraction of movement made Kain's golden orbs flick in my direction, but he quickly diverted his gaze. In shame? I tried my damndest not to notice Raziel cringing in pain and apprehension. Selfishly, I was secretly grateful he didn't see me skulking around. Doing nothing.
"Cast him in," Kain stated flatly.
I wasn't prepared for what happened next. My mind wouldn't register it at first, but I heard it. Raziel's agonized scream. And they did it. Turel and Dumah. Without question. And I had stood back and let it unfold.
Dumah and Turel quickly hurried away, intent to move onto other things and forget what they had done to their brother. Their shoulders sagged with resignation and their faces were haggard. They expressed no triumph over their actions. You could plainly view that everyone shared those exact sentiments. For once, even Zephon wasn't jeering and looked as sober as a priest. I had half-expected to dance with glee.
"Everyone here has witnessed the fate of a traitor. If any other dares defy my law, they too shall be eliminated." How hollowly Kain spoke those words. I'm sure that he was truly heartbroken over losing his son under the roughened exterior. This was information only a lover would know. But why did he do it? Had he too saw another vision in the Chronoplast?
"Now, let us return to Sanctuary," Kain's voice boomed over the echo of rushing water. I tried not to think of Raziel down there, presumably suffering still. How long would it take for him to die? It could've been my imagination, but every so often, I swore I heard a muffled cry. A cry of anguish.
Kain marched towards the Sanctuary of the Clans, expecting us good lieutenants and generals to follow, as always. No one could understand why Kain had done what he'd done, but one thing was clear. If Kain was capable of killing his favored son, no one was safe. Including me.
So, we meekly obeyed Kain's order and shuffled along to Sanctuary in a manner befitting a funeral. Raziel's loss was already an acute blow. What would become of us now? And by us, I meant Kain and I. We supposedly loved each other. How much was really enough?