Providence

Disclaimer: Legacy of Kain belongs to Edios and Crystal Dynamics, not me. I am making £0.00 out of this fic, it is written purely because I have a burning need to create. Although I would like to own Vorador . . . then he'd be mine.

Rating: PG-13

* \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ *

Chapter One

Providence was proving difficult.

They'd been trying for weeks to take the town, but despite its small size, the town's capture was an impossible feat. The high walls and well-organised humans combined with the still low number of vampires to create a perfect storm of failure. A storm Kain could not weather.

It was not the first time a town had boasted larger numbers.

The undead were smart. They had made smash and grab raids throughout Nosgoth. Kain and Vorador had planned tirelessly to hit towns in a pattern that would be almost impossible to predict. They purposefully hit low value areas almost as often as high-value ones. Their goal being to capture more than just the strategic value the location may hold. Bolstering numbers and weakening the supply chain to Meridian was the goal.

Providence had been on Kain's hit list for some time. He'd been so sure that the town wouldn't be ready for them. He knew the arrogance of the gentry; that they would think they were too big for the meagre vampire forces to consider. He'd been confident that they wouldn't be prepared. But when the vampire forces had turned up, the town gates were closed, the walls defended, and the townsfolk forewarned.

Kain wasn't sure how the humans inside had gotten word that they were the next target, but he supposed it didn't matter. What mattered now was that after two weeks, the vampire's numbers were growing thinner. Each night the siege dragged on, the townsfolk killed more of them and, with all the humans behind the walls; the vampires had no opportunity to replace those lost.

The situation was dire.

"We should pull back," Marcus, the snivelling wretch, said. Kain glanced at Vorador out of the corner of his eye and saw the ancient vampire sigh. Kain growled.

"I don't like it any more than you do," Vorador turned to face him, standing as he did so. "But we are losing this fight."

"It's not a fight, it's a standstill," Sebastian gestured at the map, laid across the table. "We've gained no ground in weeks."

"It's a siege." Kain rolled his eyes. "Hardly known for their speedy resolutions. We have the advantage as the aggressor. We have to wait them out. They'll run out of supplies soon enough."

"Wait while they chip away at us?" Vorador raised an eyebrow. Faustus coughed, trying to gain attention, but went ignored.

"We can send out hunting parties to other areas to recoup numbers." Kain dismissed. Faustus coughed again, louder this time.

"What!" Vorador glared at his youngest.

"Um, about the supplies," Faustus said. Kain snapped his attention away from Vorador to the young vampire. "Well, the thing is, they might be, and by might be I mean they are, sending runners out in the daylight."

"What!" Kain rose to his feet.

"We couldn't stop them." Faustus spoke rapidly, his words running together. "They waited till daylight." Kain said nothing for a long moment, slumping back into his chair.

"I can't believe you let them walk past you." Vorador said what Kain couldn't voice without swearing.

"What did you expect them to do?" Sebastian slammed his hands down on the table. "Immolating themselves wouldn't achieve anything."

"I'm surrounded by morons," Kain said. Faustus and Marcus both looked like they would object but did not get the chance. "Do you not have archers? Or arrows? Could you not shoot them as they passed? Did you ignore the opportunity to stop them from gaining supplies? The opportunity to stop them requesting aid?"

The room fell silent.

"Imbecilic." Kain let his head fall into his hands.

"This is hopeless." Vorador turned to Kain. "We need to refocus, continue to build our numbers and focus on some much-needed training." Kain glared at him

"We can still take Providence."

"A sensible leader would withdraw," Marcus mumbled.

"I suppose asking you to take a small town is asking too much." Kain spoke through his teeth. "Asking you to use some initiative, to have some small cognitive capacity, is too much. I didn't realise you'd need me to hold your pathetic hand the entire time."

"What would you do then?" Sebastian snapped.

"I would send scouts. To search the walls for a weakness, I'd find a weakness, then I'd send in small groups or competent individuals to destroy the town's supplies and defences from the inside."

"You make it sound straightforward." Magnus spoke up for the first time this evening.

"That's because it is." Kain pinched the bridge of his nose, his head starting the throb.

"If it's so easy, why don't you do it your damned self?" Marcus threw his cup to the ground. Kain raised an eyebrow and glanced at Vorador. "Or are you all mouth and no trousers?" Vorador smirked and gestured to Kain.

"Sounds like a challenge to me." The elder vampire chuckled.

"Very well." Kain stood. "I'll take the town myself and you can pull yours back for some sorely needed education."

And with that, he stalked from the room.

"I did not expect that," Marcus said eventually.

"He can't be serious?" Sebastian said. "He can't take a town by himself." Vorador shrugged.

"Kain is formidable, and hot-headed."

"And arrogant," Sebastian said. Vorador nodded.

"And arrogant."

"He's going to get himself killed," Marcus said.

"Can we stop this take over Nosgoth nonsense if he dies?" Faustus said.

Magnus watched as his brothers and sire made light, his mind ticking over the possibilities.

End Chapter

Authoress Note: Thank you for reading, please comment/review, I'd love to hear what you think.

For information on published works and upcoming projects, release dates, as well as weekly blogs, check out www. katiemariewriter . co . uk