Lilith/Cain

The trio made their way deeper under the earth, further away from the sky and sunlight, till they reached a more hospitable area. Though not by much.

The room was large and a mixture of stone and crystal. The walls, floor and ceiling were carved out of the rock, crystal veins gleaming in the pale blue light coming from a dozen lanterns. There were no doors, only arches carved into the stone.

The briar was thick here as well, running along the floor, walls, and ceiling. They all led to the same place, a massive throne carved out of the stone on the far wall. The tangled black vines all came from one central point in the wall above the throne.

The throne was occupied. A silent figure watched them as they entered.

A sheet of platinum hair fell down to her waist. Electric blue eyes pierced through the trio. Her skin was pale like alabaster and looked just as cold. It glowed unnaturally in the light.

"Is that a statue?" Chris asked. The figure's eyes shifted to him. "Guess not." He reached for his gun.

The black briar twisted tighter all around. Azri and Chris glanced at it nervously. Chris' hand stayed on his gun, but he did not draw it.

Angie only had eyes on the throne. "I'm looking for someone." Her voice had a hard edge to it.

"You've come so far, and all for nothing." The woman's voice was hollow and frozen, echoing all around and sending chills through the humans.

"He's here, so it's not for nothing." Her hand went to her own gun. "He came here on his own and probably bit off more than he can chew. Like always. I'm just here to take him home."

"The one you're searching for is not here. You should not have come to this place."

Azri looked back at the corridor they had entered by. The briar covered it completely. "Well, it's not like we can just turn around and go back..."

"Tell me where he is and we won't cause you any trouble." Angie narrowed her eyes.

"You've come here only looking for trouble. I will do my best to accommodate you." Her hands rested on the stone arms of her throne. Two fingers on her right hand lifted slightly.

From the ceiling above a mass of thorny briar descended in front of the group. Suspended from the branches was a thin figure. He hung lifelessly, his clothes torn by a thousand needle-like thorns. He had no obvious wounds on his body, but his clothes were stained with blood. Worst of all was his face. Both eyes had been gouged out, the skin around them blackened. The empty sockets were filled with briar, preventing his eyes from growing back.

Even in the shape he was in, Chris still recognized him immediately.

Once his feet touched the floor he lifted his head. Behind him, the woman on the throne spoke. "These three traveled here with a single goal in mind. Give them what they seek."

His clawed hands clenched into fists. He ripped himself free of the briar, the thorns tearing his skin. They drew fresh blood, but the shallow wounds healed quickly. The vines wrapped around his eyes remained, coiled dangerously.

Angie drew her gun, pointing it at him. Her expression was harsh. Chris stared at her in surprise. "I came all this way with one goal, one person I seek. I will not accept any cheap substitutes."

"Evie, wait!" Chris reached for her a second too late. She fired at the man.

Her bullet missed his face by a hair. Quicker than a serpent he struck out at her. She sidestepped to the right, dodging his claws.

"Evie!" Chris shouted. "Don't! It's Gabriel!"

She was far too absorbed in the fight to pay her brother any attention. Vampires were by far faster and stronger than the toughest, most agile human. If she broke concentration for even a second, she was done for.

Without hesitation, she grabbed the vampire's arm above the elbow with her free hand. She used his forward momentum to carry him directly into her metal leg, which she buried in his stomach.

"When did she learn to move like that?" Azri queried. His stance was casual, as if they were attending a boring dinner party.

Chris watched his sister in amazement. "I have no idea." He recalled the last few months he'd seen her off and on. Her slow, exaggerated recovery. How much she was limping even yesterday. "I think she's been faking..."

Angie heard Arthur's stern but patient voice in her head as she moved. 'Vampires are obnoxious creatures. Centuries of being at the top of the food chain have literally gone to their heads. It makes them both lazy and hasty. They will always underestimate a human being, and that's the only reason we can ever kill them.'

Her blow to the stomach barely fazed him. He twisted away almost instantly, then went for her again.

'They will go for the quickest kill. Every time. Use that against them. Know your weak points and guard them in advance. As long as you know where they're going to strike before they do, you'll be able to deflect them each time.'

She ducked down under his next strike, which was aimed for her throat. She fired at his legs, hitting his upper right thigh. Blood spurted from the wound. She swept her good leg around behind his calves, sending him to his back.

'Their monstrous strength is by far their greatest weakness. It's almost too easy to use it against them, if you know how. You don't need any strength at all, because they will expend more than enough for the both of you.'

He was on his feet the next second. He let out an incoherent roar of rage and slashed at her with his deadly claws. This time she deflected him by hitting the bottom of his wrist, making the blow go too high. She stepped and turned on the ball of her foot, into his space. She brought the butt of her pistol up into his face.

He staggered backwards, his skin sizzling. He let out a howl of pain and indignation. Angie took that moment to aim, ready for the killing shot.

It was not the vampire, but her brother that stopped her. He tackled her to the ground, throwing off her shot by a mile.

"Chris! What the hell!?" she exclaimed.

"I'm not letting you kill Gabriel! That's not why you came all this way!"

"What are you talking about? That thing is not Gabriel!" She gestured from the floor.

She stared at the vampire, loathing twisting her insides. Everything about him was wrong to her. His gray skin and alien features, the dark miasma that permeated the very air around him, hanging off his frame like tattered wings. It was more than the fact that he was the enemy. She wasn't sure why, but just his presence offended her.

"It is him! It's more than just looking like him. He's wearing his clothes, too! Can't you tell?"

She shook her head. "No, that's not him. I can see right through his influence! That looks nothing like Gabriel!"

"If that's not Gabriel, then why did he drop this?" He held up a thin black square. "His wallet."

Angie blinked in disbelief. She took the wallet from him and flipped it open. The only things it contained were Gabriel's forged Driver's License and his gold card. Plus a beaten up paper ticket from the arcade.

She looked at the monster howling in front of her, his clawed hands clutching his burned face. Her eyes widened. “Gabriel?”

For a brief second her eyes were soft, the way Chris remembered them, but then they shifted to the woman on the throne and immediately went hard.

She got to her feet. “What have you done to him?” she demanded.

“You mean his injuries? I’m afraid I had to take his eyes, as punishment. I will allow them to grow back, after he's learned his lesson.”

“No, not that. I’m talking about everything else. Why is he like this?”

The woman on the throne gave her the barest shrug. "His current behavior is not my doing. It is merely the byproduct of his fractured mind. Two sides are at war within him. While they struggle, his most basic instincts have taken over."

Angie reloaded her pistol. "I'm going to have to sort this all out when we get back home..."

"You are not leaving with him. I already told you, the one you seek is not here."

"Oh yeah?" Angie challenged. "Then where is he?"

The woman's blue eyes sparkled coldly. "The one you seek never existed in the first place."

"I am so tired of hearing vague crap like that." Angie raised her pistol, aiming at the woman on the throne. "I've come too far to turn around now. I found Gabriel and you can either stay out of my way, or find yourself with a few extra holes."

"You claim to know him as Gabriel, but does he know you?"

Gabriel had calmed down a bit by this time, though his burn was slow to heal. He seemed to be waiting for whatever would happen next.

The woman's voice rose in authority. "Well? Is your name 'Gabriel'?"

"No," he replied. His voice was ragged, as if he'd screamed himself hoarse.

"And do you know the woman who stands here before you? The one who claims to know you?"

"I cannot see her. Describe her to me."

The woman's eyes shifted back to Angie. "She is thin, but with strong musculature. The angles of her face are sharp, especially around her jaw. Her eyes are cold and harsh. She carries herself stiffly, as if she can never relax. She has a shell around her that no warmth will penetrate." She looked back to Gabriel. "Do you know anyone like that?"

Angie looked at him as well.

"No," he replied.

"Gabriel, come on! You have to recognize my voice at least!" Indignation tore at her stomach and made her throat feel raw. "I'm here to take you home!"

"He does not know you. You've come here for nothing. At least you won't live to regret this poorest of decisions. Kill them."

Gabriel went after Angie again, but this time she was much more reluctant to fight him. She dodged and maneuvered around him, but dared not strike.

"Gabriel, please!" she implored him. "You called me here, don't you remember? You called my phone!"

He was beyond reasoning with. She backed up as far as she could, till she was pressed against the wall.

Chris and Azri tried to assist in the fight but the woman on the throne lifted up one hand. "I shall brook no interlopers."

The briar came to life rapidly, ensnaring the two males, binding their arms and legs. Finally it slammed the two together with enough force to knock the breath out of Chris.

"This was a terrible idea!" Azri shouted. Chris wheezed in response.

Meanwhile Gabriel had Angie pinned to the wall. She held her pistol with both hands between them. His hands covered hers painfully tight. She struggled and kicked, but he was immovable.

"Gabriel, please..." Her voice was a breathless gasp. "I don't want to hurt you..." Tears stabbed the corners of her eyes.

His grip on her hands tightened as he leaned in close. She struggled to keep her eyes on his face, but every instinct told her to turn away. His hollow, briar-filled eye sockets were stained with black blood. His skin was ashen and dead. His thin lips split open, revealing two rows of razor sharp teeth.

He leaned closer still, till she could feel his dry breath. "Yes..." he whispered to her, soft and malicious. "I know who you are. That blasted name, thundering in my head. Constantly trying to pull me back. You shouldn't have come here, --"

An ear shattering gunshot rent the air, interrupting him. His grip on her hands slackened and he pulled back.

The front of his shirt was stained in blood. The bullet hole could be seen sizzling in the middle of his chest. He put a hand to the wound.

"Gabriel!" Angie cried, reaching for him.

His legs buckled and he fell to his knees, his head bowed. Before she could touch him a thick mass of briar hit her, slamming her back into the wall. In the distance, she could see the woman standing in front of her throne. A dark energy surrounded her, throwing off black sparks.

The briar wrapped around Angie tightly, squeezing the air from her lungs. White noise filled her ears and clouded her vision, till everything fell into darkness.