Chapter Three
Kain followed Khila's eyes to the clock and saw that it displayed the time of night as being three fifty five.
"What are you talking about?"
"At four O'clock demon guards will come to collect me from where I was chained...when they see I am not there they will activate a Glyph Strike on me."
"Explain."
She patted the collar about her neck. "This is not merely for decoration; it is a means of control and it can be activated even from a long distance to cause discomfort, pain, paralysis and even death to the wearer. That is what a Glyph Strike is; they can strike you down no matter where you are or where you hide."
"They already know that you are gone. I was, apparently, reported."
She thought about this for a moment. "It does not matter, really. Guards are sent to check on my presence every hour to ensure I do not escape any of my punishments. If I do manage to, however, they do not tell Lord Caucahn and try to retrieve me before four O'clock. If they do not succeed the Glyph Strike is called and then they inform Lord Caucahn of my demise."
Before she realised what was happening Kain grabbed a claw full of her hair and used it to yank her head to the side. She screeched, dropped the muzzle she had still been holding and pulled at his hand whilst he inspected the offending collar. It was made of tough, thick and durable dark leather that, like the muzzle, seemed to have never been designed to be removed. He tried to break it and had his hand zapped with Glyph magic for his trouble. He shook his hand while the tingling, burning sensation went away.
Khila rubbed her head. "You could have asked." She mumbled.
He looked at the clock again...three and a half minutes left.
He growled something indistinct under his breath and drew the Soul Reaver.
Khila began to back away from him. "W-w-what are you d-doing?"
"Come here and stand still." He laid a claw on her shoulder and drew her closer. "I wouldn't want to cut you now would I?"
She did as she was bidden with her eyes firmly closed.
Kain tilted her head to one side and brushed her hair away.
Khila whimpered as she felt the sharp tip of the Reaver against her skin as Kain slid it in between her neck and the collar. "Do. Not. Move." He warned, his voice dripping with concentration.
With a flick of his wrist the blade jerked up and slit the leather cleanly. As it broke each of the Glyphs that were embedded in the tanned animal hide gave of small explosions, although the most that happened because of this was Khila's hair was unnoticeably singed and she hurt her elbow as she felt to the floor in shock.
Kain put the Reaver away again. It was almost an insult to put it to use on such menial tasks. "Problem solved."
Khila looked up at him from the floor. "Why do you keep helping me?"
"It is in my interests to keep you alive as long as possible; you are far more use to me whilst you are capable of speaking and answering my questions."
She shakily stood up again. "And what are these questions?"
"For now my only question is where we may we go where we will be safe from prying eyes and ears. Once such a place is secured I will have further questions for you."
Khila's face creased up in thought. "I'm sorry, there isn't really anywhere...well...maybe there is...I can only think of two places that might be of any use; the old museum and the abandoned slaughterhouse."
"Where are these places and which would be the easiest to defend?"
"Uh...the museum is where we were before, where the Pillars are and the old slaughterhouse is in the eastern part of the city. I think the latter would be best." She suggested.
"Do the Hylden have any way of tracing you?"
"No. Just usual tracking methods."
"In that case we can head for this slaughterhouse in relatively plain sight, then double back and make our way unseen to the Pillars."
"But why? The slaughterhouse will be far safer; it is a more remote area."
"Exactly my point; they will expect us to head for the safest place and would not expect us to return to the place in which we were last discovered."
"Unless they knew how you thought and already thought of that." She pointed out.
Kain had, in fact, thought of this but still wanted to return to what remained of the Pillars if only to be near something that he recognised. He was stranded in a strange new world and wanted to keep familiar things close. "We return to the museum." He said again and made for the broken window across the room. "We will head straight there. No de-tour."
"Have you made up your mind then?"
"Yes, now be quiet and follow me." He hopped neatly out of the window and waited for her to drop down beside him. She did so, but slightly less gracefully. "We will use the rooftops."
"We will? How? Do you expect me to shimmy up a drainpipe in this dress?"
"No, I have a far simpler method." He grabbed her hand and before she could protest he teleported to the nearest roof.
"What just happened!?" she squealed as the rough cobbles gave way to smooth slates in an instant under her foot claws.
"It was magic." He said somewhat tiredly and began to jog. "Now do be quiet and follow my lead."
Taking orders came as second nature to her. "Yes, sir." She ran to catch up with him and then followed in a steady jog that echoed his pace perfectly.
Now that he had an idea where he was going and was not simply wandering aimlessly he predicted that it should take them half an hour at the most to reach the Pillars again. The houses were tightly packed together and thus there were only small gaps in between the roofs that even a human could clear without expending too much effort so the going was quite easy. Kain just hoped fervently that Khila could keep up with him but found to his great surprise that she had quite amazing stamina for a woman who had been oppressed and kept as a slave all her life.
As they made their way a thought occurred to Kain. "Once the guards call this 'Glyph Strike', surely they would not bother to look for you and presume that you are dead."
"Most likely." She had to agree. "I think that we should be safe enough from being tracked and hunted so long as we are not reported by any of the workers." She gave a quiet little grunt as she jumped another gap.
"Good. Let us just hope that no-one looks up."
"Let us just hope that when they called the Glyph Strike they did not realise the collar was broken...if they know what has happened they will continue their search. Lord Caucahn will be very annoyed when he hears that someone has stolen his favourite toy."
"Toy? Is that what vampires are reduced to in this age?" He couldn't believe it...correction; he didn't want to believe it.
"That's right. Toys or pets or slaves. Usually pets. We are kept for amusement, somewhat like court jesters but sometimes...sometimes they prefer us to be toys and sometimes...some-sometimes..." her voice trailed off.
"Sometimes what?" he asked to encourage her to speak.
"Sometimes...sometimes they play with their toys to roughly and sometimes they break them. Caucahn plays too roughly." She added sadly.
"He hurts you? Tonight was not the first time this has happened?"
Khila's voice seemed very small as she replied. "Not everything leaves a mark on the outside."
Kain left it at that. He got the distinct feeling that it wasn't an avenue that needed to be explored in depth. Her tone told him all that he needed to know.
For the remained of the journey Kain could think of nothing to say to spark up ad conversation and neither was he in the mood. Khila observed her own silence for lack of conversation making skills and soon the wooden mass of the old museum came into focus. They headed for it and were shortly inside, unseen and unreported just as had been planned.
The three guards were still lying in bloody heaps around the Pillars dais so Kain decided to tidy them away. He grabbed the nearest one by the foot and set about storing them in the hall that he had first arrived in to get them out of sight.
"Does death follow you?" Khila asked, referring to the fact that wherever she had been awake with him she had seen corpses; first the human family and now the guards, not to mention all the stories she had heard and read.
"No." Kain replied sincerely. "We walk side by side."
"How comforting." Khila wandered almost absentmindedly over to the throne and took a seat. She was rubbing her claws irritably. Kain had noticed that she had a habit of doing that; she would hold her hands to her chest and rub her claws as though there was something on them.
"Do your hands itch?" he asked her.
"Hmm? Oh...no...habit." She laced her claws together in her lap. "I'm sorry if it bothers you."
"How old are you?"
"What...oh, I can't remember. I think I was twenty-something when I was picked to be turned but after that it all just turned into one long night. I just stopped counting the years but I think I might nearly be one hundred. Why do you ask?"
"I was just curious."
"Oh..." she wriggled and then stood up. "That seat is very hard."
"I know." He agreed with a sigh. He knew very well. He had had it built as a statement but had regretted it a week later. Sure, it looked impressive but it was not in the least bit practical. Not only was it solid stone but the back of it was the Balance Pillar itself and thus had a curve to it. It was, admittedly, nearly perfectly straight...but not exactly and it was noticeable after leaning against it for long enough. There had been many a time in the far past where he had had to sit in that cold, hard throne and listen to his lieutenants rambling on and on and on about the pathetic little wars they were having with each other whilst his poor spine started wanting to curve in entirely the wrong direction and his arse slowly began to fall asleep. He had frequently given in to some of his sons' demands and requests simply to get them to go away so he could perform the undignified but necessary act of rubbing some feeling into his backside in private.
But that was a long time ago.
"Khila, are there no resistance groups at all, if not from vampires then from the humans?"
"No one dares to form a resistance; life is tolerable whilst sovereign rule is accepted. If protests are made it is the faithful and the docile who are punished. It just isn't worth the risk or the cost to go against the sovereigns."
"You said a moment ago that you were chosen to be reborn, so am I correct in thinking that the Hylden actually want to vampire bloodline to continue?" even after they have spent so long trying to obliterate it.
"Yes. I think that they keep us because they do not see the total annihilation of out race as a fitting enough punishment for the sins of the past."
"Why did you chase after the old history when it is forbidden? That is what you said, isn't it?" he remembered what she had said when she had briefly woken from her coma the first time they had been here.
"Yes, you are right. I wanted to know because...well, because I wanted to know about you. Caucahn always said that I reminded him of you; he said I look like you when you were younger...and that's why he hurts me more than his other pets. Sometimes he even calls me by your name, I wish he wouldn't." she sounded as though she was trying to hide an anger that was boiling inside.
"Do you hate me?" You should. It seems I've caused you nothing but misery. You have every right.
"Do you want me to?"
"I would rather that you didn't. It would make speaking with you rather awkward."
"Then I shan't." she said and started rubbing her claws again.
Another awkward silence ensued between the two of them again, although it didn't seem as awkward for Khila as it did Kain.
Kain had a million questions to ask but didn't know how to ask them and neither did he think Khila would be able to answer many of them.
Khila, on the other hand, was quite used to this sort of thing. It was normal for her to answer a question and do as she was told then lapse into bitter silence and await the next demand.
Kain couldn't help but notice her ability to stand as still as a statue and almost fade into the background. If it were not for her habit of constantly rubbing her claws you could have walked straight past her and swear she was not there at all. Like all good slaves she had learned to be mute and invisible until she was called. He tried to imagine what she had suffered at the hands of her 'owner' Caucahn but found that he didn't really care; he was a cruel and heartless bastard ninety percent of the time no matter what his good intentions might be. Sometimes he wondered if, over the years, he had simply grown cold to the emotions of others. It had begun almost as a talent; the gift of being able to turn his own emotions on and off at will but now...now it was as though he had truly become stone inside. No, that wasn't right...things still did get to him, things such as Raziel's sacrifice (it was impossible to ignore that) but most things just washed over him without a second thought.
He found himself continually glancing over to Khila to reassure himself that she was still there, seeing as how she seemed to be able to vanish from his senses. She also seemed to be swaying slightly on her feet.
"Are you feeling unwell?" he asked.
"No, sir." She said.
"Then why can you not stand still?"
"I am just a little tired, sir. It's nothing important." Although she had spent a long time in a coma that did not mean she had spent any time actually asleep. It is quite common for people who have been unconscious to feel tired.
"I don't need you collapsing on me again." he said.
"I will try not to, sir."
He couldn't help but roll his eyes and sigh. She had seemed alright before. For a few moments she had seemed like any other vampire he had known; free, but now her brain had selected him as her new master and authority figure. He was now her new owner; it was as though she just didn't know how to live without commands.
"Khila, can you do nothing for yourself? Stop calling me 'sir', do you hear?"
"Yes, sir...oh, sorry, si- uh..." it seemed he had just confused her. "I am sorry, Kain." She used his name in the same manner that she used the word 'sir'.
"Do you know this building well?" If you can call it a building.
"Not really, but I can still remember when it was a museum."
"Good; you're going to rest whether you like it or not so where in here would be convenient?"
Khila led him somewhat cautiously through one of the halls to a door which led to a half decayed wooden staircase that had once been staff only access to the guards room; a space in the ceiling barely high enough to stand straight in. Amazingly the roof was in good order, the floor still intact and the two beds and a few chairs had all survived as well as a few other items that had been crammed into the space.
"I suggest that you sleep as best you can." Kain said but it was less of a suggestion and more of a demand.
"I don't need to, honestly. I am fine." She tried to assure him; she felt she had already spent too long with her eyes closed.
Kain gave her his very best glare.
"Perhaps five minutes." She said, if only to stop the looks she was being given. She crossed the room and did her nest to make herself comfortable on the straw mattress of one of the beds. It was quite cold and the straw inside was sharp and she couldn't help but give a little shiver. Moments later she felt something soft and vaguely warm drop over her. Opening her eyes she examined the length of red cloth with the white symbol and gold clasp...
Looking back across the room she saw Kain leafing through some rat nibbled, dusty documents that had been left behind in an old trunk, his back and shoulders bare.
"This is yours." She said.
"How observant you are." He said without turning.
She waited for a moment to see if there was anything else he had to say but no further conversation was offered, he just continued to brood over the semi disintegrated parchments and books he had discovered.
He may have been looking at the papers but his mind was somewhere else entirely. What am I going to do with myself? Everything I have been working for will be an utter failure, none of my time manipulations will succeed...wait...time manipulations...of course! How could I have been so blind!? All I have to do is go back, I know how this happened so I can ensure that the events that lead to it do not occur, I can be prepared and stop it before it begins...
With the half cloak spread over her and clutched in her claws like a security blanket Khila finally fell asleep while Kain contemplated past, present and future.
She slept for at least eight full hours, which was quite an achievement as her time as Lord Caucahn's pet had turned her into somewhat of an insomniac and she was usually grateful for just two to three hours before her body decided to wake her up. For the first time in years she actually felt refreshed. She put it down to the blood she had drunk, she had felt different ever since she had had her teeth in Kain's wrist...speaking of Kain...
He was no longer pawing through the contents of the trunk, now he was lying on the second bed with one leg dangling casually over the edge, one arm over his eyes and his chest rising and falling in the steady rhythm of a man happily asleep and intending to stay that way for as long as possible. The Soul Reaver was on the floor beside him.
Even the Scion of Balance needs a well earned kip every so often.
Khila decided that it would be a bad idea to wake him and instead went to take a look at the papers he had been so interested in. She crept over to them with the half cloak draped around her shoulders like a shawl and picked up the first she came across.
The documents were old records of what had been displayed in the museum, where they had come from and to what new owners they had gone to after the museums closure. Some of the items listed she knew because many of them, many of the most important, were now in Lord Caucahn's private collection in his castle in the centre of the city. Most of what was written on the records were just shortened names or codes for the items; these were not the originals - only rough copies and so did not contain the details but one item stood out from the others and she was sure that this was the one he had been looking so intently at – 'Skeleton Of The Abomination.' She knew that one well.
She had been to the museum only once while it was open, when Caucahn had gone to buy the items he now owned. It was the tapestries and paintings she had seen in this very structure that had sparked her fascination and obsession with the vampire that now lay peacefully sleeping not three meters away.
So, what did all of this mean? The great vampire Kain had returned after thousands of years, he knew nothing of the events from between his re-death and his miraculous reappearance and, it seemed to her, that he was very confused...not exactly how she had imagined he would be. In her dreams he had been far surer of himself, he had answers for everything, and he knew what to do and needed no aid. But reality and dreams were rarely similar.
"Still...I'm glad you came back." She said as she looked over at him, even though she knew he couldn't hear her.
Not much later Kain was rudely awoken by a scream. Eyes snapping open she sat up and scanned the room for threats and exits...but it was empty...and Khila was gone.
The scream came again, a woman's scream; it had to be Khila. He snatched up the Soul Reaver and headed for the source of the sound.
He found Khila in the main Pillars chamber; she still had his half cloak around her shoulders. She was kneeling in the centre of the dais and digging her fingers into her temples and ears as though trying to claw something out of her head. Blood rolled down her hands, face and neck in thick dark streams and she screamed over and over again. "Shut up! Shut UP! SHUT UP!!"
Her eyes were shot with pain as she looked up at him while he hurried forwards. "Help me! Please help me!"
To be continued......