Chapter Four
"What are you doing?! Stop that at once, you're hurting yourself!" He dropped the Soul Reaver, grabbed her hands to prevent her from tearing at herself anymore and causing greater damage. She struggled against him but it only made him hold on tighter. "What is wrong with you?"
"They won't stop shouting at me, please just tell them to stop!" she collapsed against him, the voices tearing through her mind were becoming too much to bear and the pain was like fire in her mind. "Tell them to leave me alone, I don't want them in my head any more..."
"What do you mean 'any more'? Did you call them?"
"No! Ahgh!" she tensed up all of a sudden and went quiet.
"What happened? Are you hurt?"
She gave out one last whimper and then pushed herself away from him. "I-I'm sorry about that..." she said, one hand rose to her mouth and a dark embarrassed blush beginning to flare on her cheeks.
Kain stood and brushed Pillar dust off of his trousers. "I take by the tone of your voice that is not the first time that such a thing has occurred, and that it was merely the pain and not fear that made you call out to me. More comfort than aid."
She closed her eyes and stayed on the floor, rubbing her claws.
"Answer me, girl."
"You're right; this isn't the first time...but it's just something that happens. And...I did want you to...help...I though you might be able to stop them for good...stop them coming back."
"Who are 'they'?"
"I don't know, they are different every time...they aren't just voices that I can hear, it's as though they are trying to invade my head, trying to force their way into me and they're always screaming."
"Can you understand what it is they are saying?"
"Not really, I think they just want help...and can't find it." she sighed and stood up. "Oh, here; you should take this back." She pulled the half cloak off her shoulders and offered it to him.
He took it back from her, fastened it around him again and then replaced the Reaver which until that point had been forgotten on the floor.
"Yesterday you said that wanted further information from me." Khila reminded him.
"Hnh? Oh, yes, I did."
"Well, I cannot help unless you ask me some questions."
"True. In that case...do you know Nosgoth well?"
"I know only what I have been told and some very old maps I have seen, sir."
"What did I tell you about calling me that?"
"I'm sorry."
Old maps are better than none at all. "Is the time streaming device still in working order? It is a little while from here, deep underground; it should be accessible through a mountain complex."
"Through the Oracles Caves." Khila said almost dreamily.
"How did you know that?" there were few people who knew the caves by such a name and none should in this time.
"I told you; I spent a long while studying the legends. You told your sons of your journeys as a fledgling, they told their children and eventually the stories were recorded. Lord Caucahn has a copy in his library, although he only ever read it once."
"I'm sure such facts are fascinating but please return to the point of this conversation; is Moebius' chronoplast chamber still active?"
"I don't know. Most of the mountain has been demolished but I know there is still a tunnel that can lead to the chamber..."
"I can hear a 'but' about to arrive in that sentence."
"...but...it has been many years since anyone had actually been down their and it could have been devastated by the earthquakes. Once the sovereigns established their rule they saw little point in trying to fidget with the past in case it ruined their perfect new present...they never demolished the chamber itself just in case they should ever need it again but it has been many years since they have bothered with its upkeep."
"Do you know how to reach the chamber?"
"I know of it and about it but I have never been down to it personally. I could get you there...why? What do you plan on doing?"
"I plan on reaching the chamber and returning from whence I came. Now that I know what is to happen to Nosgoth I can be prepared and can prevent it." Such high hopes. But hope is all that's left.
"You're going to leave?" she did not sound too happy about the idea.
"Yes. I have no business in this time. I cannot change what has happened by remaining here, so I must and will go back."
"Then why did you come here at all?" Now she sounded ready to cry.
"I had no choice in the matter. My arrival here was nothing of my doing. I was forced from a past time line and into this once. I am not the resurrection of the Kain you know. He is who I am to become unless I change things, not who I am now."
She stood up and brushed her hair behind her ears. "Is it dark outside?"
"Yes. It was first light when you fell asleep and it has been a good while since...it's also winter so the day is much shorter...it's dark, just about."
"Good." She headed for the doors that lead to the street. "I'll show you the way."
Kain followed.
They took to the rooftops once again and Khila returned to her silence; however this time it was different...it was not her usual empty quietness that Kain had almost grown accustomed to, this time it seemed to be a dejected inability to bring herself to speak. Her movements were slow and lazy, as though she just didn't have the energy even though she was fully rested.
She brought him, eventually, to what was left of the 'Oracles' caves'. What had once been mountain had been reduced to a hill. This was partially caused by earthquake that still wracked the land but mostly because of the Hylden: they had wanted the stone and had thought the mountains were an eyesore, plus the fact that they were in the way of city expansion.
A set of heavy metal double doors blocked the path Kain needed to use. Khila laboriously pushed them open and then stood back. "They tend not to lock doors because they know that no pet or worker would ever be so foolish as to do anything without being told to. As far as I know it is a single path that leads to a lift shaft that will take you down to the corridor just before the chamber itself. I hope you find what you are looking for." She began to walk away.
"Where are you going?" Kain enquired.
"Do you have further questions?"
"No. I now have all the information I should require."
"Then just as you I have little reason to remain in this world any longer." She kept on walking as she spoke and didn't once look back...nor forwards; she kept eyes fixed firmly on the ground.
He watched her until she was out of sight. Where is she going to go? He wondered to no one but himself Hnh, it is no matter of mine. He discarded such thoughts, she was none of his concern and he had no further use for her thus she could go ahead and do what ever she bloody well liked. He was going to go back and forget this place...hopefully he could he could ensure that this did not happen in his timeline.
He turned his back on the city and headed into the tunnel.
The tunnel had to have been one of the most depressingly boring places that he had ever had the misfortune to travel through. He would have thought that the Hylden might have done something to it, they had spent enough time and care on all of their other ventures...it seemed like they had no intention of using this place ever again except in emergency situations. Also, there was not a single guard to be seen and thus no-one to pick a fight with. He was so used to turning corners and running into Sarafan patrols and huge great demons that it was rather disappointing when he found clear areas such as this...empty spaces tended to signify either another bloody puzzle to solve or a very hard singular enemy to kill, neither of which he was particularly fond, but they did add a little spice to his voyaging.
He let his claws drag along one smooth stone wall and the scraping sound echoed around him, growing louder rather than fading and then simply disappearing into silence at its peak. Just as Khila had told him the tunnel opened out into a room into one wall of which the elevator had been built. Judging by the healthy green glow of the symbols flickering above the switch within it the lift was still operational but untouched for a very long period of time. A thick layer of dust covered every open surface and strewn here and there were the odd few rocks and boulders dislodged by the earthquakes.
He kicked a few aside and stepped into the lift after scoping the room out for any lurking dangers. With that complete to his satisfaction he threw the switch and let the lift do the work for him. The doors slid closed with a resounding and ominous thud and then the travelling room shuddered into life as it began its descent.
It did not take very long at all to reach the bottom of the shaft, he was glad now that it had been built otherwise it could have taken him an infuriating amount of time. He didn't dare teleport when he did not know what to expect of the area he needed to get to.
When the lift doors opened again he found himself facing a short length of very familiar corridor which ended in a double door emblazoned with an elaborate and portentous face.
He was not going to hang around any longer, it was time to get back to where he aught to be, no more delays.
The doors slammed back against the wall as he threw them viciously open and stepped into the Chronoplast chamber.
At first glance it was obvious that all was not well, what he saw before and around him made him want turn and hit his head repeatedly against the nearest wall in frustration and despair.
For once could something PLEASE go right!
Although the gate itself was intact the switches that operated it were not and neither was the orrery-like contraption that had once been on the ceiling. The earthquakes had broken them all and caused them to come crashing to the floor, shattering stonework in the process. There was no point in even contemplating fixing it, he possessed neither the skills nor the means to tackle such a colossal task.
This is not happening to me...what have I done to deserve this...this can't be happening to me...
But it was, it was very definitely happening to him whether he wanted it to or not. He sat himself down on the edge of the tier he was on and let out a deep and meaningful sigh, hoping to calm himself before he punched a hole through the wall through the sheer stress of the whole situation. Now, what was he going to do? He was at a complete loss. He just wanted to get back and fix history like he had sworn he would do but now he was trapped, stranded, in this place with seemingly no hope of escape. The Chronoplast chamber had been the only time streaming device active in his empire thus it was the only one in this new Nosgoth...his only link to the era he sought; shattered with no hope of repair.
So what was left? Sit here and rot? That seemed to be the only plausible option he had left now that he was stuck it this Nosgoth that had been so cruelly stolen for his self-to-be...him, his Nosgoth.
My Nosgoth.
Yes, his Nosgoth...if this was to be his world now then he would take it back, he would regain rule, claim the land as his own once more as it should be and release the vampires kept in tortured oppression.
If he could not redeem the past then he would have to heal the future.
But how? It was impossible. No matter how many different ways he thought of the situation he could find no sensible answer or solution. Before, he had always had aims and goals; he knew what he had to do. Before, he had had an army behind him to conquer Nosgoth or only needed to change a few historical events to reset the time line but now he had nothing...he had no army and no time streaming devices, he would be one man alone against the entire Hylden population.
He didn't know how long he sat down there with his eyes part closed; he lost all concept of time as his thoughts slowly wounds themselves like vines around the problem he faced. The only way he could figure this working the way he wanted it to was by thinking of the Hylden rule a bit like a house of cards. If he removed just a few select cards in the bottom row, the foundations, those with the most influence and power, the keystones of society, then the rest may come tumbling down...and who would be there to pick up the pieces? He would. He could salvage the people of the city from the wreckage of his own design.
At least he hoped it would work out that way...
He stood and then made his way back to the lift.
So, all he had to do was find out who those keystone Hylden were and take them out. Unfortunately this revealed yet another set back and problem to him for he did not know who they were and he had hardly seen a single member of their sickening species since he had first arrived in this damned time. He could easily believe that they no longer existed if it were not for the mentions of them from Jor, Khila and those three Hylden he had fought and killed.
It looked as though he was going to need information yet again. It made him feel quite stupid, having to rely on someone else to tell him everything. He used to have most of the answers himself or at least could make some damn good educated guesses but now he was completely out of info. Right, next task was to find Khila. So where had his walking library gotten to?
Oh...but what was it that she had said before departing?
Just like you I have little reason to remain in this world.
Realisation hit him like a tidal wave that left his mind reeling. He hadn't realised what she had meant by those words until now.
She's going to kill herself.
No! She couldn't do that to him! He still needed her, she was the only person who he could get answers from and not risk and army of Hylden chasing him to hell and back. Where in this world would she go, what would she do?
Now that he had freed her he doubted that she would return to the Hylden even if she was going to commit suicide, so the most logical place he could think she would go was back to the Pillars seeing it was the place she had spent most of her 'free' time.
But this was a very big city and she knew it far better than he. In truth he did not know it at all; she had been his guide and he wasn't sure if he could remember the exact way back. It could take a lot of backtracking. No, wait a second; it wouldn't take any time at all.
It took but a few minutes for the lift to raise him back to ground level and after that just a few moments more to reach the outside.
Now he just had to hope that what was left of the mountain was high enough to provide him with a useable vista.
The mountain/hill was not the easiest of things to climb; the process of demolition had turned most of the top layer of stone into loose slate like fragments that slid and slipped under his weight and skidded away from his claws, clattering down the steep sides and shattering as they hit the ground along with the minor landslide they would drag with them on the way.
When he finally reached what might jokingly be called the summit he was granted with what could only be described as a descent panoramic view of a great deal of the city.
It was awful. It stretched far beyond his field of vision and it hurt him deep inside to see how much of Nosgoth had been buried under this huge Hylden made monstrosity. He tried to find anything that he could recognise but found that there was nothing that even resembled what he knew. And there was something missing in this scene...something he felt should be here even with the passage of so much time. He couldn't think of what and it was rather annoying.
He scanned what he could see and finally saw the sprawling wooden mess that was the 'old museum'.
He focused on it and felt he changes commence.
A pattern began to form across his skin like frost on a window, but unlike frost these were thin black markings that seemed to dig into and come from within his body. The pattern then began to peel away, taking his skin with it and eventually his entire self. His form disintegrated in a dense cloud of bats that swarmed towards his desired destination like the dark heart of midnight itself.
It was always rather disorientating having your body in numerous different, separate, pieces but he had long since grown accustomed to it.
The city rolled past as the bats flight took them directly to the museum, they made a pass then circled round to flap their way to the main doors and come together once again; each clawing hold of the next until the swarm became a recognisable shape that faded into life.
Once Kain had reassembled himself fully he stepped into the main chamber.
Of Khila there was no sign, the museum was as empty as it had ever been. He was about to dive into a lengthy cursing session to relieve some more stress when he realised that he had been somewhat careless in his searching of this place; he could hear voices coming from one of the connecting halls.
At first it sounded like two voices speaking quite casually to one another even though he could not make out the exact words the tone was pretty clear. However these amiable speakers did not retain their friendly tone for very long, the voices raised in anger and this was followed by yelps and strained pleas made by a third voice that he recognised as Khila's.
He dashed forwards to the open entrance of the hall, the same hall that contained the corpses of the Hylden guards, and sure enough Khila as within; cowering on the floor between two live Hylden of the warrior kind Kain had seen in the maze surrounding the 'Mass' so many centuries ago.
The two Hyldens bladed arms rose and fell with terrible accuracy, raining down an unstoppable barrage of blows upon the vampire girl who could do nothing but curl herself into a protective ball and raise her own arms defensively over her head. From her mouth escaped a high pitched, shaky, continual moan; the kind of quiet but heart piercing sound that was usually produced by terrified children when they cried.
Kain didn't wait even five more seconds; telekinetic blasts saw to it that the Hylden were no longer interested in beating Khila.
As they picked themselves up off the floor and recovered what was left of their dignity after tumbling head over arse into the far wall and took a good long stare that their bold assailant. For a moment nothing more than pure, utter disbelief was firmly fixed behind their eyes as they shared a confused glance as though hoping the other would have an explanation. One of them shook his head and the other continued to study Kain critically, as though sizing him up.
Kain himself began to stroll purposefully into the room as though he owned it (which, as far as he was concerned, he did) with the Soul Reaver drawn and held loosely in his right hand.
"You, you're dead." One of the Hylden said, gaining the prize for most idiotic statement of the year.
Kain was not really in the mood to come up with a retort and so said nothing at all. And there wasn't really much point seeing as they were going to die any minute now at any rate, speaking to tem would just be a waste of time and effort.
The Hylden too were not really concerned with small talk or boasting. They were far more interested in a) finding out how Kain had returned from the grave (again), and b) how they were going to send him back there (again).
They both started forwards at the same time, their faces were masks of determination and in an instant they discarded Khila from their mental list of priorities; Kain had shot straight up to number one.
Kain decide to wait for them to come to him. Why bother to needlessly expend energy.
Noticing that he was making no move to neither attack nor defend they became somewhat cautious and dropped into a steadier pace as though their steps echoed a silent heart beat as they continued to advance.
"Such faith in your skills, I see." Kain mocked.
He didn't, thankfully, have to wait too long for the first to decide he was ready to attack, but it was a nervous strike as though he wasn't sure how he should be dealing with the situation and was just testing things out to see what might happen. The hesitant blow was simple enough for Kain to bat aside without really having to try. After deflecting the minor threat he swung the Soul Reaver in a swift, high, horizontal arc that left a brief silver streak in the air towards the unfortunate Hylden's unprotected head and a thin, wet, red one after it cut cleanly through the top half of his skull.
The Hylden blinked, looked at the white haired vampire with a gaze of vague bewilderment and then fell smartly over backwards as his eyes glazed over in death. There was little a body could do without two thirds of the brain and said parts of Hylden brain were now rolling serenely away from the body across the floor in the cup of their supposedly protective skull and were leaving a red trail behind them as they went on their merry way.
Kain chuckled quietly and turned his eyes slowly and steadily to the second of the Hylden.
The Hylden ignored his fallen companion and faced his foe...that was no longer there. He had just enough time for the thought 'where did he go' to form in his mind before he was struck solidly from behind. The Reaver cut him from right shoulder to left hip and the two halves of his body fell limply away from the blade between them.
Kain was almost disappointed by how easy it was to dispatch them; he remembered them taking somewhat longer to get rid of.
Now that the distractions were well and truly taken care of he could return to the task at hand.
Khila had tucked herself into one corner of the room, with her legs drawn up tight against her and her hands scraping furiously against each other...her hair was matted with new blood that showed vivid against the white and her dress was now stained, torn and split in dozens of places under which her skin was healing. Her eyes were locked on the corpses, but the emotion behind them was hard to decipher; it seemed to be a synthesis of fear, pain and rage. "They always find me." She said almost silently, she was not whispering but her words were barely audible. "Always. It never matters where I try to go or what I try to do, they always find me...even when I'm supposed to be dead. He wants me back; he's not going to let me go."
Kain stood before her but she seemed to be looking straight through him. "Are you injured?" he inquired.
"They'll keep coming." She continued.
"I do not take kindly to being ignored, Khila."
"Is there not somewhere you need to be right now?" she said, although still was not actually looking at him.
"There has been a...uh...change of plans."
"Oh really? So now where are you going?"
"I'm not exactly sure; I was rather hoping that you might be able to point me in the right direction."
She waved one hand vaguely in a dismissive gesture. "There are lost of directions, north, south, east, west, just pick one."
"I shall warn you now that I am not in the best of moods, so do try not to make it worse."
"Why didn't you go? I thought you didn't have any business in this time."
"I have my reasons."
"Hmh." She grunted to no one in particular. "So what was the general direction you were hoping to be pointed in?"
"Who is in control, Khila? Who holds the highest position in Nosgoth?"
"There is no single ruler of Nosgoth, there is a council formed of the heads of each city."
"Who is the head of this city?"
"Lord Caucahn."
"Caucahn? That name...isn't he your 'owner'?"
"Yes." She said as she finally looked up. "I suppose that you will be asking me to take you to him next...that seems to be the way you do things. Are you going to kill him?"
"I am, but I will need you to tell me how to get to him; you will know him better than most because of your previous closeness to him. I will need to know where to find him, what defences I will be up against in the place, his weaknesses and strengths-"
"Alright, alright." She interrupted. "I understand, there is no need to make a list."
She slowly stood up and began to walk towards the Pillars, avoiding the blood on the floor.
Kain followed a good few steps behind while she talked.
"He's usually at his castle fort at the centre of the city and I could tell you everything about that place but that will not help you in the slightest. He isn't there at the moment. He is seeing to some business with his advisor Lady Lorfae, so that means he'll be at her Manor House, I am not privy to a great deal of information about her. In regards to defence all I can say is that Caucahn will have his usual four guards...and the Soul Reaver." If he hadn't been behind her she would have seen an almost sickened and disgusted expression wash over his face. "If you want to know about the workings of Lady Lorfae's manor you'll need to gain an audience with one of the workers or her pet."
"Jor." Kain said a he remembered the scrawny, frightened vampire male.
"How do you know him?" she seemed surprised.
"We met, briefly, twice. Once was when I found you; he told me to leave you alone and run."
"That sounds like Jor." She said, stopping at the edge of the Pillars dais. "I've never really spoken to him but he seems very obedient to Lorfae...yet harbours some hope that one night in his lifetime vampires might be free. He does so hate to see the dead Vetus when they are displayed."
"Would you know where to find Jor?"
"I have an idea. He spends most of his time at the stables, I don't know why. It seems Lady Lorfae prefers him to stay with the other animals. Her dogs sleep out there too...the cat tends to stay inside though; she just can't keep it out, it always finds a way back in." she added conversationally.
"You had better show me the way, there are things I must do."
"Can you not stay in one place just for a moment? Why must you always be doing things?" she wailed bitterly.
To put her at ease with the situation he gave her an answer that he thought she would appreciate "If we stay in one place all of the time we will be easy targets; the more we move the harder it will be for them to pinpoint us." Once again the infamous 'them' came into play; it covered all the bases.
"Alright." She said quietly. "It's about an hours walk from here."
"Then begin."
To be continued......