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

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Chapter Two

"This is insane," Magnus panted as he raced along the path through the woods. "Absolutely bonkers."

He'd been running since sundown, and by nearly midnight he was feeling the strain. As a man he'd been formidable, as a vampire he was even more so, with the enhanced strength and stamina that all his kind boasted. But even with the gifts given via death, Magnus could not keep up such a pace all night and he had to slow. Providence was a fair distance from the swamp. It would have taken several days of solid marching if he were taking a troop with him. At least alone he could run, and that shortened the time considerably. But that being said, he was no Sebastian, gifted with unnatural speed, even by vampire standards. Nor was he Kain who could fucking fly, apparently.

"Could have told me he could bloody well fly," Magnus grumbled as he caught his breath. His legs quivered and burned. He slumped back against a tree and slid to the ground, his legs feeling more like jelly as each moment passed.

In the end, it took Magnus two nights to reach Providence and, when he arrived; he was exhausted.

They had sent a messenger on horseback to the troop, failing to hold the siege, but Magnus had been faster. So, when he arrived to find the troop rapidly breaking camp, he was surprised.

"You can't have received word yet," he said, entering the main tent and finding those in charge packing just as fast as everyone else.

"We received word yesterday at sundown," one of them said bluntly. Magnus frowned. There was a healing bruise on the vampire's jaw. The vampire saw Magnus staring. "I questioned said order; I should not have."

"You were lucky," another spoke up. "I heard others have met worse fates for less." Magnus frowned harder.

"Lord Kain told us of our 'removal' from the field himself." The third vampire finally explained. Ah, that made more sense. Kain was not known for his gentleness of temper.

"Where is Kain?"

The three looked at each other and shrugged.

"Right now? Unsure, just tried to get away as fast as possible," the first said. "I've heard Kain can use magic, like Vorador, and that he's not as... patient or restrained regarding who he uses it on." Magnus sighed. He hadn't known Kain's temper was this infamous among the soldiers.

"Very well. See that you're ready to move by dawn."

"Sooner than that," one of them muttered. "I don't want to be here when..." he trailed off. "I mean, sir." Magnus headed out of the tent.

He walked towards the town wall, figuring Kain must have already started on his plan to find a weakness in the walls. Though, given that Kain could fly, perhaps he hadn't bothered and had simply gone over the walls. Magnus jogged around the edges of the town twice and found no sign of Kain, but he found, as suspected, a small weakness in the walls. Nothing so overt as a hole or weakened construction. But there was an area where the river entered the town that was poorly guarded.

Most of the town was watching the vampire camp dismantle itself and humans knew the vampire weakness to water well. It was likely they had always left this part of the wall poorly guarded simply because they thought the river would be enough of a deterrent. To be fair, it was a deterrent for a large number, but for Magnus alone, not so much. The lack of guards and a few easy footholds made getting over the wall and into the town simple.

Keeping to the shadows, Magnus moved carefully, keeping his nose to the wind, and his eyes and ears pealed. Fortunately, the bulk of the human forces were focused on the camp dismantling outside. The wind carried a distinctive scent, the ozone smell of magic and blood. For humans, it would be almost undetectable unless they were close, but for Magnus, it was like an illuminated path, effectively saying 'this way'.

He found the warehouse first, the door's damaged. It had once held food, a dry store perhaps. Now it stank of magic, rot, and decay. A green revolting mush covered the floor and walls. Magnus had seen this and smelled this before. This was a spell, one he had seen Kain use. It caused rot to spread like wildfire through organic material. So Kain had already started his plan, no doubt using the camp's noisy activity as a distraction.

Magnus continued onwards, following the trail and found two more stores in much the same condition as the first before he eventually found Kain on a rooftop.

"We could burn this easily," Magnus commented, coming up behind Kain and pulling some of the thatch free.

Kain flinched and frowned at him. Magnus couldn't help the small swell of pride at having snuck up on him. He schooled his face to not let his amusement show.

"What are you doing here?" Kain said after a long moment.

"Taking on a town alone is dangerous." Magnus shrugged. "Let alone one the size of Providence." Kain continued to stare. "I spoke to the camp before following you in here. They hope to be gone before sunrise." Kain said nothing. "So, you'll lose your distraction." Magnus felt sweat pool on his lower back.

"I was not relying on the distraction," Kain said eventually.

"Fair enough." Magnus felt his chest tighten under the scrutiny. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end and every instinct he had was telling him he was about to be attacked. "I came to help," he drawled, making sure his hands were visible. "I'm not-"

"Why?" Kain interrupted.

"Why what?" Magnus swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Why help? Why come all this way? I can manage this alone." Kain took a step forward. Magnus took one back.

"I'm sure you are. I meant no disrespect. I only thought that an extra pair of eyes couldn't be a bad thing." Kain glared, but did not advance more. Magnus felt his muscles unclench a little. Kain said nothing, but he turned away and crouch on the roof's edge. Magnus felt he could breathe again. "So, what's the plan?"

"I've taken out three large food stores." Kain glanced up as Magnus crouched next to him to see what Kain had been watching. "I was considering taking out either a weapons store or a means of production, but I'd rather not."

"Why not?" Magnus said. "It would reduce the human's ability to fight."

"It would also rob us of potential resources."

"I see." Magnus nodded. "If you're concerned about resources, you're, uh, spell, the one you used in the warehouse might not be the best thing. Not if we want to preserve potential recruits."

"That's a diplomatic way of telling me to control myself." Kain smirked. Magnus frowned. "But yes, we should preserve as much as possible."

"Then we treat Providence like a snake, take off its head, and hope it doesn't grow another one while we're 'recruiting'."

"Yes." Kain stood and turned towards one of the large buildings. "Come if you're so set on helping. But stay where I can see you."

Magnus headed after Kain as they made their way towards what Magnus assumed was the town hall. The building was larger and far grander than any around it, save the church to the east of town and the Lord's mansion on the South edge of town.

"Why did you come here?" Kain said again once they were closer.

"This is dangerous." Magnus frowned. Why was Kain asking again? "Providence is a big town. It has a large enemy force. We were always going to suffer losses in taking it. To do so alone would be suicide for anyone else."

"I'm not most people," Kain said. "I'm perfectly capable."

"I don't doubt that."

"But you came anyway. You see my confusion."

"Is it truly that odd to you that someone might want to help you not die?" Magnus' frustration overrode his survival instinct for a moment. "Your capability is not in question. But you cannot eliminate risk simply by being competent. You can reduce it certainly, but all it takes is for one guard to get lucky."

"It'll take more than that." Kain stopped their approach and turned to face him. "And in my experience, those who are helping me not die are more often than not working in self-interest. So, I ask you plainly, what is your self interest in my not dying?" Magnus frowned. Vorador had said before that Kain was distrustful, paranoid even, but this was more than Magnus had expected.

"I share your goal," Magnus said at last. "I'd rather not live cowering in shadows, regardless of how luxurious those shadows might be. I want to live freely and I think we can manage that though you."

"I see." Kain turned back to face the hall. Magnus once again felt his frustration rise up, overriding his common sense.

"But I am less sure of this when you let Marcus and Sebastian goad you into taking stupid risks because you're impatient." He felt his face heat. "Providence wasn't going anywhere. Pulling back and planning would have set us back a little, but we have the potential to live forever. Time is something we have in spades. So, this little stunt." Magnus gestured at the town. "It's foolish, and I came here tonight to make sure you don't die because of foolishness." Magnus felt the cold spread through him. Kain's famously short temper will flare under such criticism. It had flared for less. Just a moment ago, Magnus had been thinking Kain was about to attack him simply for showing up. It was not a fight he would relish; hell, chances are it wouldn't even be a fight.

So, when Kain remained perfectly still and silent, Magnus tensed, ready to flee if need be.

"I am many things," Kain said eventually. "But I am not above fair criticism." Magnus frowned. Was he really going to get away with that? "Regardless, I do not have the time, patience or inclination to support your brother's cowardice." Kain tensed and leapt across the gap between buildings, putting them as close to the hall as they could get.

"I..." Magnus tried to form a cohesive sentence.

"I will not let them delay our progress through incompetence. I cannot abide incompetence." He gestured at the building across the road from them. "Your snake's head is inside. Show me you came to help."

The hall where the local government was cowering was better guarded than the rest of the town had been. The town had boasted an impressive guard count. It was simply that the camp beyond the walls distracted most of them. The guards in the Hall were not so distracted as the street guards.

Fortunately, Magnus was perfectly capable of gratuitous amounts of violence. At least he had always thought so. He was, however, somewhat surprised at the glorious amount of violence Kain could inflict with minimal effort. He hadn't once drawn his blade, but that did not diminish the number of men who fell.

"That was not fair," Magnus said after they had breached the entrance hall.

"What?" Kain frowned, though Magnus suspected he could see a hint of smugness in his face.

"You know perfectly well what?" Magnus shook the blood from his blade. "You challenge me to prove that I came here to help and then you kill everyone in the room faster than I can keep up with."

"You were slow." Kain smirked.

"I was not slow!" Magnus couldn't help the chortle that escaped. "How was I supposed to know that you would pull the blood from nearly everyone in the room in one fell swoop?" Magnus paused for a moment. "Could you teach me that?"

"Do you have an aptitude for magic?" Kain raised an eyebrow and headed towards the stairs. Magnus followed.

"I've never tried." The stairs creaked noisily under their weight as they walked. "Magic was always somewhat taboo, at least where I was raised." Kain scoffed.

"It was taboo where everyone was raised. The guardian's descent into madness made sure of that."

"Point. How did you learn it then?"

"You assume someone did not already teach me before the guardians made it taboo?" Kain paused at the top of the stairs, glancing left then right, before deciding on right and heading down a hall.

"It's not an assumption. Vorador claims your youth makes you foolish often enough. I assume that means you are as old as you appear, which I would wager wouldn't make you over 30, maybe 35." A guard came from around the corner and Magnus threw himself forward, determined to at least draw blood before Kain snatched this kill to. Unfortunately, the man fell dead seconds before Magnus reached him.

"They did not teach me." Kain looked extremely smug when Magnus turned to look at him. "Or rather, I was self-taught. I picked it up as I went along."

"That's a skill," Magnus admitted. "What the hell was that?" he pointed at the dead guard. "He fell with no interference."

"Someone might have pushed his soul from his body." Kain stopped next to Magnus.

"Was that someone you?"

"I told you I need no aid." Kain stared at him, leaning down a little to put their faces closer.

"Guess I'll just go home then." Magnus chuckled and continued on. "Teach me that one, at least. If I could do that, then I'd be unstoppable."

"You'd certainly have the ability to force your brothers into submission." Kain opened a door, glancing inside the room and closing the door again.

"Excuse me?" Magnus frowned. "What makes you think I would want them to submit to me?"

"I may be impatient and prone to bouts of pique when pushed." Kain kept walking, finally locating more stairs. "But I am capable of rational thought when it suits me. Don't think I haven't noticed that of your kin, you seem to be the most capable and the least prone to cowardice or excuses when things do not go your way. You could easily bring them to heal."

"Thank you, I think." Magnus couldn't help the sting of pride.

"It wasn't a compliment," Kain said as they reached the top of these stairs. "You have the ability, but you don't use it. You're lazy." The hallway they emerged onto held several guards. These seemed to be trying to construct a barricade. Magnus watched as Kain clenched a fist and drew it back. But before Kain could unleash whatever, he was about to Magnus reached up and tapped Kain's shoulder. Kain glanced at him and Magnus smirked.

"Prey, wait, just a moment."

Magnus leapt forward, hoping that Kain would not unleash whatever devastating attack he'd been pulling together before Magnus stopped him. He landed a few feet back from the barricade and launched himself upwards to avoid the barrage of attacks from those behind the makeshift shield. He cleared the shield, and the weapons aimed at him, landing behind the men. He turned and drew his blade before lancing forwards. He was fast and brutal; the men dropped.

"How's that for lazy?" Magnus grinned when Kain kicked the barricade down behind him.

"I did not say you were not capable. Only that you could do more if you were more focused or perhaps more motivated."

"I could do more if I had that spell you used earlier," Magnus pressed.

"I wouldn't know how to teach it," Kain admitted. "I was self-taught. It's instinctual."

"Likely excuse," Magnus said. "Fine, I'll just have to develop my own spells."

"You do that." Kain headed forward, approaching an ornate set of doors.

"Council chamber?" Magnus said.

"One would assume so." Kain leaned back, raised a leg and kicked hard enough the shatter the doors.

The screaming started almost immediately. It did not last long.

"Again, I stress I did not need your help," Kain said when the men were dead.

"Why do you keep saying that?" Magnus snapped. "I've already said your capability was not in question."

"Help offered when not needed…" Kain trailed off.

"You really are paranoid," Magnus huffed.

"The last time someone saw me as a means to their freedom, it ended badly, for both them and I."

"Really?" Magnus frowned. "Care to elaborate, or are you content with being cryptic?" That earned him a small smile.

"They misled me as to their intentions and the full extent of what they required of me. I was not prepared to meet their demands and as a result, I ended up dead and they ended up trapped."

"Oh, well, then I guess it's a good job that I'm too lazy to lie to you."

End Fic

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