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Chapter 2 - Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

The flames of Hell enveloped him, licking his tortured soul with a thousand scorching tongues. Every cell of his being screamed as he fought against the flames, writhing in agony as his body was raked across glowing coals. His very bones ached, stiffened from the blazing fire. Spirals of pain blossomed in ever increasing increments, rhythmically thumping through his carcass.

So this is death.

He had not expected this anguish, though he supposed he should have. He had spent the ages wreaking vengeance against his enemies, tearing them limb from limb, feeding off their life-blood. Not exactly deeds that would open the gates of Heaven. But he had hoped, no...prayed...with every fiber of his being, for one last chance to see her again. His beloved bride, whose love had been the only thing keeping him alive through the years. He had fought for her after her death the way he'd not been able to do before. His soul had long ago been consumed with fury, his heart burning with hatred against those that had desecrated what they feared.

Another jolt of pain encased him and his eyes flew open. Shadows wavered against bare, earthen walls and the drip-drop of water echoed loudly with his enhanced hearing. A whisper of air brushed against his cheek, bringing with it a familiar scent. That moment of recognition pierced his fevered brain with a blinding clarity.

"Raze?" his voice rasped; a mere ghost of its former, confident self.

The bald head glistened with sweat, like beads of oil on night blackened water. A feral grin alighted on his friend's face and Raze's voice washed over him.

"So, you've finally awakened." The gravelly tones hummed through the quiet chamber.

Awakened? There were thousands of questions flitting through his mind, but the fire was still raging within him, stealing his breath away and he could barely think coherently, let alone speak. He was not dead, as he had first thought, though he very much wanted to be. The pain surging through him was beyond measure.

"How long? Where?" It hurt, forcing the words through his dry throat.

Rightly interpreting what his friend was asking, Raze replied. "Two months. We've set up a safe house in America. The mountains in Colorado, to be exact."

With a great effort, he raised his hands, staring at the blackened veins running across what had once been powerful and solid, but was now only wasted flesh. He could only imagine what the rest of his body looked like and that thought didn't do much to comfort him. Taking a closer look at his surroundings, a sorrowful dread filled him.

"Where...precisely...are we?"

Raze cleared his throat, avoiding his friend's eye. "An old silver mine..."

"We are living...in caves..." He blinked to clear the pain from his eyes, trying to focus. "...like animals?" After all the centuries he'd spent trying to raise his species to higher ground, it had ended like this. They were once again relegated to the wilds.

"Nowhere else is safe. The clan has scattered and we're hunted harder now than ever before." Raze defended himself, "But, there is another reason we chose this place."

The fire flared in his veins, white-hot and scorching. He despised himself for crying out, but was unable to stop it. His naked form shook on the thin mattress beneath him and he felt Raze pull the quilt back up over his sunken chest. He remembered the vampyre then; Kraven. That cowardly fool had shot him as though he were no better than a rabid dog growling in the gutter. Kraven would pay for this insult...oh, how he would pay.

"Michael Corvin's blood has saved you thus far, but you need more." Raze continued, "We've found another Corvinus descendant...one that escaped our notice before. An abandoned female that lives at the base of the mountain, in the city."

His attention was dragged back by the words. "Impossible...we were thorough..."

"So we thought, but it's true. I've seen her with my own eyes and Jonas has Singe's notes. He believes he can replicate the tests, to see if her blood is the same as Michael's."

It took only a shadow of a moment for him to give the order. Raze nodded imperceptibly before rising to leave.

"And Raze?" The massive body turned back to him, "Make sure...she's unharmed."

He could smell the excitement his order had generated, but could feel little of it himself. He wished it were not necessary to bring another innocent into the war, but, then again, the war had begun with the spilling of innocent blood. Why should one more life matter, if it could finally end everything? He could feel the Corvinus blood fighting against the silver nitrate within him. Kraven had done the job well, but, with luck, he would be able to repay the spineless vampyre a hundred-fold.

Lucian welcomed the surge of vengeance in his breast. It gave him a new reason for living...and live he would, if only for the chance to see Kraven's eyes as he ripped out his throat.