Review Responses:
shalisa: Wow, thank you! Glad you enjoyed it! Those pesky finals. Well, they're done now. Bye finals, hello vacation! Thanks for reviewing!
Varyssa: I tried to make Vorador as likeable as possible since I hate him too. I surprised even myself when I reread it. Speaking of which, are you continuing "The Seventh Lieutenant?" Good story.
Vatra: You registered! Good! I appreciate your continued support! :)
bahamut: Thanks for reviewing my story! The heirloom will be featured in this chappy though. Oh, and I've e-mailed you.
phoenix: They will reunite soon, but I'm still figuring out the best time for it since Kain technically would be 500 years away. Thanks for your continued support!
Chibi Lunnie: 5 hours? Yeah, the fic's getting pretty long. Longer than I expected actually. Thanks for your kind review!
The swamp rode up around me on all sides like a cocoon. It nurtured me. The pale light of the moon lit up the green interior and made every leaf stand out sharply so that each resembled evening emeralds. The vines literally glowed in this silver glow. I forgot any fear. Instead, I had been blessed by a new kind of resolve.
I would go to the town of my birth. I could not remember the name, but I could recall the location. Then, I would have to find a way to save myself. Lucius would never harm another woman; I would make sure of it. I sought to find him before he used the Time-Streaming Chamber. There was one in the swamp, but I couldn't wait all night and the entire morning in the hopes that he would walk past. However, if the opportunity arose, I would deal with him personally. Kain and Raziel had a mission. Now I had one of my own.
I threaded my way through the ancient, crumbling monuments. I knew which one held the Time-Streaming Chamber. I knew, but I would not use it. It had occurred to me that I could trail Kain myself or leave this era altogether, but, one had to move on. If I could help change anything for the better, so be it.
Gradually, the moon slipped down into the mountains. Dawn was approaching. I quickened my pace. The more I could travel under the stars the better. The world of daylight was an impediment itself. There was the telltale sign of birds chirping above and the faint pink tinge on the horizon. I was walking west towards the Pillars. The town of my birth would be there. If I remained hidden within the dense forest, I could minimize my contact with the zealous mortals that hunted vampires for sport or their "duty for humanity".
The woods narrowed to the south I noticed. They encircled the Pillars themselves. Logically, if I kept moving south and west, I would reach my destination. The wilderness for the most part had quieted down around me. Either the creatures that inhabited it were avoiding me purposefully or they simply took no notice. Meanwhile, the skies were lightening into a cerulean blue and the pink clouds had changed from salmon to orange. This could be the last sunrise I ever witness, I thought sadly. This was certainly true, but I couldn't stop now. It was all or nothing at this point.
In the distance, I could see a familiar, welcome sight. All nine punctured the rosy clouds around them. The Pillars could easily touch the stars themselves. However, they had been taller before. In a few hundred years, they would be reduced to stumps. I parted the last of the tree branches and skipped down the grassy embankment that was a bit slippery from the dew. However, as soon as I approached them, a copper light streamed out and struck each structure, bathing all in a burnished glow. The morning sun had risen. Dawn had broken at last.
I hoped that this was indeed a good omen. When the solar beams touched the Pillars; for a brief shining instant, they appeared aflame. Perhaps it meant they could be reborn. Myself as well. That was if one believed signs and prophesies. I slowly strode around them. I would on my way soon enough. But first—
In the center of the architectural magnificence, a misty shape formed. It was unadulterated colorless mist in the shape of a woman. I knew this woman. Ariel. The spirit had finally decided to show herself. Still, she did not know me personally. And yet, she may have something important to say. I was sure she only appeared to only the pestilent vampires that had an adequate amount of power to help her.
"Spirit? You are the slain Balance Guardian, are you not?" Intentionally, I baited her.
She swung around angrily. An eerie illumination emanated from her incorporeal body. I could see her familiar features through the film. She was a newer spirit now; her flowing dress still white. Two thousand years from now it would fade to black, and her appearance would become more distinct. Practice made perfect I was sure.
"Who are you, vampire?" she demanded.
"Someone who knows of your plight," I responded.
Her roaming gaze drank me in. She was considering something. Perhaps, she half recognized me. Or heard about me. But since she hadn't heard of Kain's private conversations with me amongst the very same Pillar, she had no proof I was this daughter of the States Guardian.
Finally, she spoke again. "Well, I don't wish to know you, wench. Each and every one of your degenerate race will soon be brought to justice. My heir will cleanse this world. Indeed, I have recently sent him on his quest. His destiny has been revealed to him and Nosgoth will become purer than before. Kain will do this. It is his duty." She sounded rather smug about these developments.
I couldn't help smirking. Ariel would be seriously disappointed by her "heir." Still, I would let the ghost have her gilded fantasies. I wouldn't spoil the surprise, yet I would not stop Kain either. Kain… His fledgling self was here, and was walking the same roads as I. Another person I would have to take care to avoid. Neither my human self, nor Kain's younger self could see me. Before I could retort, Ariel fled to the spectral. I was of no use to her. Sharply, I turned and left the Pillars. Let Ariel have her schemes. I needed to plan my own. I reentered the thicket of trees and was off. Prowling under the shade of the pines, I stuck relatively close to the main road, intending to spot any situation that may arise.
The road that was empty minutes ago now held more than a several humans. Three loggers were entering the forest opposite from me, ready to start their work. A lone vampire hunter sporting an axe swaggered past, ready to start his day with the scent of a fiend's blood. Two maidens wearing aprons swept past, baskets swinging from their arms; ready to gather wildflowers or berries of some sort for breakfast. All the townspeople were coming from the same direction. West. From Ziegsturhl.
Like a shadow, my boots silently glided across the brush. I wanted to keep out of public view. There could be a riot, and all chances at spotting my original home would be ruined. Gradually, as the sun rose higher, I spotted the town itself. Strangely, I had no memories of this place. There was no nostalgia or special meaning. It was just a settlement on the outskirts of Nosgoth. Was this the wrong place?
Muddy earth streets crisscrossed between small cottages and larger, proper houses of Ziegsturhl. Mean log cabins occupied the edges of the town. Was I rich or poor in my human life? Which domicile had I lived in? I watched as several ladies, wives and mothers presumably; went to the fruit and vegetable carts and haggled with the merchants while a group of children chased chickens. It was an idyllic day. Everyone looked happy. All the more reason to stay away. No need to disturb the general populace.
Further out, the metallic scent of water wafted in the air. Curiously, I wound around the town, and discovered a blue, babbling brook. Beyond, I could make out more dwellings. Yes. I vaguely remembered a river. Perhaps I would find more clues in the rural area. The houses outside of Ziegsturhl were clearly farms. Nearly six or seven of them were clustered together.
I walked across the convenient wooden bridge, and wandered up a slight hill. Furtively, I scanned the area. No one was around. Good. More confident now, I strolled to each abode. I heard pots and pans clanging from the second cabin and water rushing from the third, but nothing seemed familiar to me. Until…
"Marina! Go to the well! That tea isn't going to get boiled by itself you know."
I heard giggling. "Yes, mother. You make it sound like a chore."
"Well, don't roam too far. There are bandits and cutpurses in the wilderness." And vampires.
"Of course."
A door opened and a girl emerged from the fifth farmhouse. A girl that bore a striking resemblance to me. It was me actually. The resemblance was unmistakable. She was wearing a simple peasant's dress with puffed sleeves—an azure color naturally. Her curling hair was a rich mahogany with sparkling, friendly brown eyes that possessed the slightest hint of gold. She seemed so carefree and innocent. I envied the mortal girl I once was, and bemoaned the embattled vampiress I had become. Where her skin was the color of summer peaches; mine was the color of winter moonshine. Whatever the case, my human self was going my way, and the woods had thinned out. I required a hiding place. Being in plain sight would do neither of us an honor.
Thankfully, I spotted a golden haystack. Perfect. I ducked behind it just in time when my human self passed by humming a sweet song. Her eyes were dazedly fixed in front of her. I'd seen that expression before. She was in love, and I bet I knew who exactly the man was. But I couldn't bother myself with that now. How much of history could I afford to change? Kain had never taught me those lessons.
When the other Marina was at a safe distance, I prepared to inspect the three-room stone house, but I was forced to retreat yet again when another figure darted through the field. The figure was male I could see, and was dressed in a steel gray cloak. A hood hid his features. Numbness spread over me. It was Lucius. He had come to abduct me sooner than expected.
But no. The cloaked stranger wanted to remain as unseen as I. He gazed in human Marina's direction and scurried to her house's front door. Reaching inside the folds of his robes, he pulled out an indigo velvet pouch. I watched him place it on the single doorstep with great care. Again glancing in both all compass points, he fled from the stone farmhouse itself, disappearing as smoothly as he had come. I could catch a glimpse of purple fabric under his drab gray disguise. Purple silk. Still, it couldn't be…could it?
Someone had left a gift for a lady of the house. Was this the heirloom Vorador had hinted at? In spite of this, I couldn't just steal it from my former self. The Marina of the present could need it. In the midst of my deliberation of right and wrong, I realized I was not alone. Another had witnessed what had transpired.
In the sixth farmhouse, right next to the human Marina's, a sandy head poked out of a kitchen window. Freckles dusted the girl's cheeks and her eyes were a brilliant green. Zara. The name came to me easily. Suddenly it all made sense. I knew how Zara's descendents ended up with the object inside the pouch. She had stolen it. Zara, always so jealous, always so disapproving, let her envy get the better of her. She had taken the trinket, and somehow her younger sibling laid claim to it. This was the wedding present Zara's younger brother Brendan gave to my younger sister Katie. Although, I did wonder, how did Zara lose it? Well, she was always the unpopular one, the only female in a household of men besides her mother. Maybe she'd been forced to give it up.
Nonetheless, these various implications did not matter. It wouldn't change what I had to do. I would have to steal it back. I would never get the chance to use it in this era anyway, and Vorador had instructed me to assert my birthright.
Without further hesitation, I ran to the farmhouse and seized the pouch. When I heard a door slam, I streaked across the field and occupied the cool shady forest once again. I wasn't worried if I had been noticed. So be it. Zara would have yet another elaborate yarn to weave that no one would believe. Indeed, I was thinking cruel thoughts about this "friend" of mine, even though such trivial issues no longer mattered. I would have to look out for myself for the time being; and if this object could help me, it might help Kain, should the Fates be so kind to reunite us. Raziel too.
I untied the pouch and turned it over. A precious gold chain tumbled out and attached to it was a single sparkling ruby. It was the infamous necklace that had been haunting me for eight centuries. Who was the giver? No wait. I already knew the answer. It was after all a family inheritance. There was no other option. I would have to take the gem. I very well couldn't deliver it to myself safely under the circumstances.
Clasping the jewel around my throat, I felt a warmness I couldn't explain. I examined the jewelry critically. As far as I could see, it was a simple necklace, but it had to be magical in some form, or the giver would've never bestowed it on me. Perhaps it was made out of an alchemical substance. I was genuinely surprised it looked precisely as I had remembered it. The years had not tarnished its beauty a bit. Either it was extraordinarily well made, or it was supernatural. I suspected the latter.
Without hesitation, I broke through the circle of trees again. I had a hunch about one of the derelict ruins in the swamp. Afterwards, should I still be alive, I would continue onto Avernus. The cathedral had been mentioned twice already: once by the oldest vampire in Nosgoth and once by a member of the Circle, so I could be guaranteed of the validity that something significant was hiding there.
A ray of sunlight hit the ruby, dotting the immediate area in crimson sparkles as I moved through the woodlands ahead.
Raziel skirted over the wild grasses, darting through the marsh. He hadn't time to spare. The ancient vampire Vorador had instructed him well. In Avernus Cathedral, he hoped to find the heart of Janos Audron and return it to him.
Would Janos help him? What could he have to say? Did he really know anything more? According to Janos, he was the vampire messiah, but other legitimate sources were depicting otherwise. Even Vorador shrank away from him, as though he were a threat. Still, Raziel was desperate.
Less importantly, the fallen being could sense the presence of another. It had started as a vague inkling, but now it was lucid reality. She was here. Somehow, this sixth sense had increased over the past several minutes. Indeed, she could be here in the surrounding wilderness. But, this did not concern him. He would not waste precious moments considering how she got here or how she could still live after plummeting into the waters of the Abyss.
He would leave her be at present, but if Marina opposed him, he just might be forced to finish what he had attempted.
TBC
In the next chapter, I promise that Kain and Marina will be reunited in some form. Wow, everyone seems to like the pairing! Btw, if there are any Inuyasha fans, I wrote some fics if anyone's interested, but they're a little dark. (Naraku is hot.) ;)