Chapter seven ; Deliverance
Tarian ignited a raft of lumbers that floated on the river and went back to Jasmine and Adella who stood a couple of paces away. They were more than relieved to see night above them once they left the Eternal Prison leaving that constant orange dusk behind but it was only one spark pleasantness in their sorrow. They were back in their regular clothing and thus they gave last remnants of their brides to oblivion. Dry pile of wood upon the raft swiftly caught flame that glittered in the night shrouding the body of General Leiman with its blazing arms. Burning raft went down the stream of river Faidan and vanished behind the next curve on the horizon. Adella quietly shed tears that darkened the scars beneath her eyes and Jasmine held her by her hand silently sighing every now and than.
" It takes a great man to aid the likes of us… "; Tarian said :"… and even greater to give his life for… "
Kain limped out of tree shades with a bad right knee. He seemed just as he left without a change in his wounds or injuries. One would think that it healed within the last three hovers, but it didn't, which made them wonder. The soul reaver was in his right arm though now it sort of dragged along with him, rather than being carried. It was obvious that he didn't like much being this way and even less having they see it. Tarian spotted him first and asked with concern :
" Is… Is the fiend… "
" He won't bother us again. "; Kain said
" Did you take his blood ?"; Jasmine asked
" What would I do with more power ?"; He limped closer to Adella, now having a bad left knee :" It is time to go, my child. We must rescue your houses. "
" I'd like to stay… "
" Don't you love them ?"; Kain asked her referring to her Sumnali
" I… I do. "
" If you don't come, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. "; Adella nodded and Kain turned to Jasmine :" Have the Zatarra uncovered the secrets of bat form ?"
" Nature has bean kind enough to grant us the knowledge. "
Tarian and Adella turned their attention. The bat form was still unknown to them, for Kain said he would have them learn on their own. Jasmine and the Zatarra house were allied with nature and they managed to find some clues to its secrets first of all.
" Good. "; Kain said :" I'll need your help in educating the others. Open your minds and let us all join together… "
Three vampires quieted their senses until only a pure thought remained free and their streams merged together in one that Kain guided from somewhere beyond. In a couple of moments he too joined them and together with a part that was Jasmine begun to lift veils of the ancient spell. But during the process, all three sensed strange efforts colliding within their sire. He was somehow only partially focused on them and with another part he struggled with something inside him like a kind of illness, and though he did his best to conceal it all three knew that something was wrong with him. Finally the last lock clicked open and the last riddle vanished replaced by an answer. The bat form was no longer hidden from them. It was almost like cheating on a test, but none the less they were more than eager to try it out. To fly on the wind above the land and push the power of the ancients to the limit.
A second Later Adella dispersed her self in a small group of black bats that rose in the night. Tarian followed in the same manner and Jasmine managed to change only in one large brown bat that flapped after the others, but her excitement was not running late behind her siblings. Kain followed last with a huge dark flood of tiny creatures that caught all three and mixed with them, leading the way to Wasserbunde. At first Adella got a little confused. She was still aware of her self like she was still one being, but she was now just a cloud of wings and her parts got entwined with the others. She got scared thinking that some of the creatures which made her would get lost within all the commotion, or that she would replace one of her bats for one of the others, but there was no danger for she realized that each bat was her self and she was all of them. All were her eyes and ears and it felt like she was at sixteen places at the same time, which was hard to adjust to. She could even recognize those bats that belonged to the others and after a while she stopped thinking about General's death and got lost in the joy of flight. Of course, being a NUC captain she has flown before, but newer like this.
In a short amount of time the city of Wasserbunde appeared beneath them with sharp cliffs of mountain Traseen nestling an ancient ruin of a castle. Its keep almost resembled like a giant collapsed scull with a smaller waterfall streaming out of its jaws. Perhaps it was once, but now it was barely recognizable except for the broken upper jaw and a crumbled nose socket. Upper part of the castle was completely collapsed revealing a huge howl trough which they entered and formed again. Tarian formed him self three feet above the ground which caused him to fall on his back. Adella was already formed and she laughed at it, still amazed about the trip they've experienced. Tarian smiled at her glad that she managed to surpass the grief of General Leiman's death and her laughter warmed his undead heart more than anything ever has. Jasmine's single bat flapped to them and hovered a while before she appeared again with a small red flash and all three stretched smiles of achievement over their faces.
The large chamber without a ceiling was old dusty and dry. Once it was a museum dedicated to something forgotten but some nobleman bought it and now it was just a place where he would store useless things. It was filled with broken shelves older than they seemed, silver and gold candle sticks all scratched and rusty, pokers, furniture and many other antiques that were more junk than anything else. Plentiful rains colored every bit of softness and wood with green mold and every scrap of metal with rust.
But Kain wasn't there. His bats appeared out of the night and started to circle the room chaotically, like they couldn't join together to form him again. The creatures were acting like insane, running around braking and knocking things over in their swift chase. The three had to jump down on the dirty stone flour to avoid being scratched by their passing tiny claws and teeth and in a great concern and fear they observed the chaos around them. Finally, after causing considerable damage, Kain formed exhausted on the flour reclining on the soul reaver. He still wasn't healed of his wounds and Vorador's scars, and he was breathing heavily and loud. They approached him with worry and misunderstanding, but he just stood up as if nothing happened.
" What's the meter with you ?"; Jasmine asked first of all, taking Adella's words out of her mouth.
He snorted and turned to them but none of them could see whether that snort was caused by the question or some pain within him :" Your progeny are beneath us. "
At first, Adella couldn't feel anyone. She got frightened that they were all dead, but suddenly Velako, the first in her house appeared in her awareness so suddenly it felt like he jumped into her mind :
" Mistress Adella ! I can't tell you how happy I am to feel you near by !"; his thoughts were filled with burning joy, coming from somewhere inside the mountain. The old museum was just a cower for the complex beneath
A huge stone fell of Adella's heart, despite the fact that his persistent habit to call her " mistress " still annoyed her but she didn't care right now. She opened her thoughts letting him in. He was in darkness but aware, like he couldn't see and she asked swiftly :
" Are you hurt, my child ?"
" Yes, but I'll be fine. At the moment they are leading me to another experiment. I'm blind folded and my arms are bound by shackles that sear me whenever I do something that humans consider violent. Fortunately they can't notice my whispers. By the sound of heartbeats, I'd say that there are four humans around me. "
" I can't sense the others. What have they done to them ?"
" They hold us in glass bells that radiate with purple light and buzz with sharp sound. Once within, we are unconscious and they only let one or two at the same time when they take us to perform all kind of tests. I fear that now I'll be dissected or something worse. "
" You won't. "; Kain interfered in that conversation
An even grater sense of hope bloomed in Velako's mind :
" Hurry, my sires ! I hear a dour opening. We have arrived to a test room. "
As Adella regained her senses she saw Kain, Tarian and Jasmine close around her. Kain was preparing to transport them inside, and to do so he had to muster a grater amount magic, but still he was talking during his focus :
" Vorador placed a grim artifact in hands of these humans. They now have a device that can instantly knock a vampire out. They have used it to capture your thrall and to contain them. Fortunately, there is only one such device and I intend to burry it once and for all. "
" That's not possible. "; Adella rebelled :" Every NUC complex is obligated to report to higher organs. The council of generals must be making more of these machines by now. "
" This isn't a NUC complex. "; Kain said still focusing :" It was made by NUC, but they got arrogant and cut the bonds that held them… ah, there it is. We go. "
They vanished in four flashes of white light.
Velako stood in a room with three other heartbeats though only two were the same as the ones that escorted him to this chamber. The third belonged to their superior officer and a man who was about to stab his scalpels in his flesh. Though still blindfolded Velako remained calm even smiling.
" Place the creature within. "; the third heartbeat said and than spoke to him :" You are going to die now, but just before that we'll find out to which frequency of light is your kind most sensitive. "
Velako's lips stretched in a smile and his fangs came out. He seemed like laughing but not out of fear. A sharp electric sting in his shackles brought him to his knees, but didn't remove the smile from his face. The third heart beet approached to him obviously in wonder :
" Why do you laugh, monster ?"
" My sires are here… "; Velako whispered :" My sires have come… "
The beating of all three hearts got faster and than the third came to what must have bean an intercom :
" Is there any anomaly in the complex ?"
" No, General Madalty… except that the sensors in your quarters short circuited. "
" When ?"
" About five minutes ago, General. The repair teem is on it. "
" Go to yellow alert. We might be having visitors. "
" Yes, General. "
Velaco felt him approach again :
" Ether way, you get a ten. Put him inside. "
Two others lifted him up and led him on to what must have bean a metal chamber or something. As dour opened two crunching sounds followed simultaneously, a half loud scream of General Madalty and the sound of bodies falling on the flour. Kain removed Velako's blindfold, standing between two corpses with broken spine. General Madalty was in Tarian's grasp and Adella and Jasmine appeared near by. Velako bowed before Kain with a happy smile and his eyes started to shed tears of joy as Kain broke his shackles off :
" I knew you'd come !"; Velako whispered while the teardrops intensified the scars beneath his eyes :" I've almost lost hope. "
Kain turned to captured General. Tarian held him by the throat, pressed against the wall. Surprisingly, Kain's numerous wounds finally vanished and he was as terrible as ever.
" What shall we do with him ?"; Tarian asked
" He's going to deliver my message further up the ladder. "; Kain said approaching the General's face :" Tell them that I have head enough !"
With a precise hit, he knocked him unconscious and left him lying on the ground. In that moment the wounds cowered Kain's skin again and he stretched his neck, while others stared amazed. He would have healed a dozen times by now, but instead he had to hide his wounds under an illusion. It was obvious that he didn't want General Madalty to see them.
" Stay here. "; he said
" Can you… make it ?"; Adella asked
He just vanished in a flash.
" General Madalty… "; a soldier's voice startled them trough the intercom on a wall :"… we found that the security system crashed in another room. Shall we go to red alert ?"
At the moment they were increasingly nervous. Even if they could wake the General up, he won't cover for them. As soon as his mouth would get close to the speaker he would blow their cower.
" General ?"; the soldier asked
If only they could wake him up, and have Adella or Velako mesmerize him, but Kain's blow was more than efficient. Suddenly, Velako came to the intercom and acted as if his throat was inflating :
" No, soldier. "; he said exactly impersonating General's voice :" Fix the bugs and don't disturb me any more. I'm in the middle of my experiment. "
" But ser, it's the room with the " orb "… "
" I'm aware of it, soldier !"; Velako ordered with General's voice :" Fix it. And I'm not to be disturbed again unless it is really important ! Am I understood !"
" Yes ser… "
Velako deactivated the intercom and bowed before the applause of his sires. As all Sumnaly, his main dark gift was mesmerize, but each vampire had his own unique abilities. He could twist his bones and bend his organs to assume shapes of different people. It seemed that one day he will be able to shape-shift into animals or even objects by will. Shape-shift was a rare ability amongst vampires.
Kain was passing by two long lines of big glass bells placed in a large room. From the entrance, left and right stretched these prisons for his slumbering grandchildren, placed in two large squares which occupied most of the chamber. Each bell was radiating with pink energy that had a mortifying effect on its resident, placing the vampire in a state of deep sleep like a coma, but at least they were all safe. At the other end of the room were men and women in white coats, some wore large black glasses with a rubber band, and all of them worked on the machinery that distributed power to the cells. Power originated from a big pink crystal orb on the upper half of a broken wooden staff, around which was the upper half of an also broken wooden snake whose jaws were stuck to a side of the orb. The pink energy the orb radiated with was being conducted, refined and amplified before being distributed to each bell and the men around carefully monitored its flows to make sure the system was stabile.
Kain was invisible in his mist form, watching the staff of Moebius glittering about twenty meters away. He couldn't get much closer, not to be affected by its dark sorcery. The machine could transmit the energy of the staff to a satellite that would mirror it back on any point in Nosgoth. That's how the humans were able to incapacitate all three houses at the same time. Such a weapon was a trait to any vampire, including Kain, and he marveled in the human's genius.
There newer was much clue as though where or how did Moebius get the staff, but it was definitely made by the Hylden. Fortunately it seemed that they've only had enough of this pink crystal for one orb, or they would make more. He observed it with hate and loathing. The thing that cost Yanoss his heart, Vorador his head, and him his pride while he growled before Moebiuse's feet was now used again on his more than innocent progeny. It was time to smash it once and for all.
A large control device stood left of him practically unused at this point, with its buttons and dials flashing and beeping. The thing seemed heavy enough to serve as a crystal-hammer. But as Kain came to lift and toss it, a sudden sting of pain bit his knees and elbows. Before he knew it he lost his mist form and fell down unable to move his limbs.
" By all that is holy !"
" It's one of them !"
" Quickly you fools activate it !"
Kain swiftly restore his joints again and jumped on his feet only to be blinded by a bright pink flash exploding from the orb. His heart was gripped by its chains turning his blood into mud, and he collapsed barely conscious back on the flour, groaning trough his teeth. The reaver was still in his hand with the scull hilt just under his face, but now it seemed like it had a thousand pounds or even more. The pain was excruciating, forcing him to fight for every heartbeat with much more effort than he remembered. The machines seemed to pour more energy into the staff than even Moebius could.
" Give it more power !"
" Get his sword !"
" Are you crazy ! I'm not going near that thing !"
" Get it, damn it !"
Kain was about to faint every second now, but he didn't. He had to stay awake. If he would faint, Tarian and Adella and Jasmine would never leave here alive and nether would the others. He had to hold on. He had to stay focused. If he could only…
The reaver begun to separate from the flour. He couldn't see what he was aiming at, except in his fade memory. Just a little higher… Just a little higher… The blade flashed with magic and a bolt of energy lunched it self out of the sword. A loud metal bang and a bunch of sparks followed instantly, but the orb was undamaged. It still flashed, though not as intense as before. He must have missed and hit a part of the machinery instead, thus diminishing its power, but he was still stuck to the ground. The men around ran chaotically trying to maintain the systems, but it didn't meter. He was paralyzed. He razed his sight at the hated boll and Moebius laughed from within it :
" How remarkable that the great Kain should sub come to the scepter's power like any common vampire…Still so arrogant after all these years… ? You know nothing ! The future says you die !"
Another voice came in his memory ; the voice of Rahab who of all vampires dead or alive had a complete immunity to water :
" You of all should know the prize of overcoming your weaknesses. Save us from our selves !"
He strained every muscle in his body. The bones ached and muscles shivered like jelly, but still he begun to rise from the flour. In vane. He fell back down again and the reaver banged on the metal surface. There was nothing he could do. He finally fell. They will kill them all now and the Hylden will brake free. At least it is over. He bore the world on his shoulders long enough, longer than any creature could. It was finally time to lie down and rest…
" Get up Kain !"
This time the voice was not in his mind. He opened his eyes and gazed into a fanged scull before him. The reaver flashed with pretty light that made his eyes water, but still he retained his sight :
"… Raziel… "
" On your feet, Scion of balance !"
" … Raziel… I'm… tired… "
" Will you rest when things fall apart ! Do your duty, guardian ! Do your duty, damn you !"
Kain clenched his jaw. His yell mixed with scream shook the glass chambers and his slumbering offspring shivered in their sleep. He was standing with the soul reaver in his claw like the last pillar before the collapse. A step was made forward... and another… and another… He was running trough waves of weakness and flashes of misery, closer and closer to the orb. The reaver buzzed in his hands with a familiar voice whispering to him :
" Keep running. I'm with you. Use my strength. Run Kain ! Run !"
The orb was upon him turning his stomach out searing his senses and chocking his thoughts. The blade flashed trough the air and at its merest touch the crystal ball burst into a cloud of fine pink dust and evaporated everywhere around. The pain was gone instantly and all the captured vampires woke up. They broke trough glass cadges and attacked the resident humans with appetite for both blood and vengeance, while Kain just stood with his shocked eyes stuck on the reaver's hilt.
" The soul reaver is with you, Kain… Always. "
Kain's laughter grew beyond all other noises and sounds in the entire room making his grandchildren turn and pause. At the same moment Adella, Tarian and Jasmine entered the chamber and even as he walked for the dour he laughed like a happy child.
There was no time for formalities, but all expressed their gratitude trough their thoughts which made their three sires a little dizzy. As they regained their grip, Kain was near the exit with the reaver on his back. He was turning away from their sight and doing something with his arm. It seemed as if he ripped a peace of his skin and shattered it on the wall like it was made of brown glass.
" What the hell is wrong with you !"; Jasmine yelled
" They've activated the self-destruct system… "; Kain sighed out :" We must teach the others the bat form. "
Again he changed subject, but he was right. They nodded and went in silent concentration though still annoyed by his stubborn denial. Something was happening to him but there was no time to ask about it now. Together all four of them managed to pass the knowledge on to everyone and once it was done Kain broke the dour open and yelled :
" Now go ! I'll hold them back !"
" Don't kill them !"; Adella shouted :" We have to accept them for what they are !"
" Get out !"; He yelled before jumping out with the reaver in his hand. He was gone.
" Kain ! Don't hurt them !"
" Adella, we must leave here !"; Tarian grabbed her for her shoulder
" But he might form the eradication groups again ! This might even lead to a war !"
" And we will be buried alive if he doesn't clear our way !"
Adella grudged and sighed :
" Damn it !"; She shifted in a bat-form and the others followed.
Kain approached the main exit of the complex. Beyond those dour was a small clearing at the back of Nupraptor's ruined castle and further on stretched slopes of its nesting mountain. He could hear their heartbeats out side and he knew they were waiting for him. The reaver blazed in his arm :
" The sarafan… "
" …yet again… one last time… "
" One last dance… before the end. "
"… to play now ?"
" To play together !"
He broke the dour and faced his foe. A small battalion of heavily armed men with two combat shuttles, a hover-tank and two Mandrex-type robots greeted him as he stepped fort :
" Surrender or we'll open fire !"; one of the humans sounded on a speaker
" Viae VICTUS !"
" For blood and souls !"
In a mighty leap, Kai jumped on a nearest shuttle and the reaver broke trough its armor stabbing in the main reactor. As Kain jumped away, the craft exploded and the men around had to move back not to get squashed by the falling machine. There were more than enough of them and Kain couldn't avoid or dodge every shot, but still he stood on his feet dancing between mechanical tentacles of two giant robots. Just like the Mandrex at Grand Marshal Larevos's mansion, these things appeared like giant crabs with a clamp on one arm and a spinning disk saw on the other. The round body held two red triangular sensors that served as eyes, but this time, the metallic tentacles were no mach to him and his sword. The reaver cut of five of them and both robots fell down in a crush. Kain had burns all over him and more new came every moment, braking trough his defenses, but still he struggled. Men vanished before him and the reaver, machines tore apart in metal and flame, and the screams of pain and rage dominated the fire. But Kain laughed despite the pain he endured, and the reaver laughed with him, until at last the main cannon on the hover-tank nailed them both in the mountain wall. The blast was enough to make Kain fall down on his knees and the mighty cannon aimed again, but this time a giant green figure landed on it from the night and broke the barrel off.
" You're an idiot, Kain !"; Vorador said :" There's no time for games now !"
" I make my own time !"
" Arrogant, fool !"; he said and tossed him a bundle of his red cloak :" Go and do what must be done ! I'll take care of them !"
" Damn you. "; Kain said with a smile and dispersed in a horde of bats
The ruined keep hid the fire behind him as the men screamed for help.
" … REINFORCEMENTS ! REINFORCEMENTS !"
" Ha-ha-ha-ha ! Call your dogs ! they can feast on your corpses !"