Lilith/Cain

They approached the open doorway slowly, alert to any movement. It seemed that whatever lay in wait was impatient, because darkness flooded out of the room, covering their surroundings.

Azri’s eyes went to the ceiling, then all around. Chris turned to the elevator, just in time to watch it become consumed. Gabriel looked down at his own hands, which he could see perfectly in the darkness. Angie kept her eyes ahead as she continued to move forward.

In this new blackness there were no boundaries. The doorway was gone, just nothingness ahead of them. In the distance two glimmering red eyes could be seen. “Rolling out the red carpet I see,” Chris commented.

“I’m sure we’ll have no trouble turning the carpet red,” a slithering voice whispered. Chris suppressed a shiver, but the hairs on the back of his neck were already at attention.

“I don’t have any beef with you, Cain!” Angie stated, gun in hand. “Just give me back my mother and I’ll leave you in peace!”

“Well I certainly have beef with you!” Azri shouted indignantly. “You killed my mother!” He looked at Gabriel and his face became hard. “OUR mother!”

“I’ve killed so many hundreds, you’ll have to be more specific.”

Azri looked back at those eyes, shock naked on his face. “Don’t you know who we are?” He gestured to Gabriel and himself.

“Should I? Are you important in any way?”

This time pain flashed across his face. His eyes began to glow. “Not to you, I guess.” His voice was low.

Gabriel stepped to the head of the group. “You murdered Lilith, our mother and the one who created vampires.”

The darkness dropped from all around them like a thick curtain. Cain sat in his chair behind his desk. His elbows leaned on the surface, his red eyes wide over his hands. “My Lilith?” he asked hollowly. “She had sons?”

Azri gritted his fangs, but couldn’t keep back the enraged cry in his chest. He launched himself forward, pulling back his fist.

Before he could reach the desk he was knocked aside by an invisible force. He crashed into the carpet and slid a few feet.

Cain was on his feet, standing behind his desk with one hand on the top. His eyes were red slits. “She kept you secret from me, I see.” His voice made the blood in their veins freeze.

Gabriel flew at him next, only to be knocked aside in a fashion similar to his brother’s. He grunted when he hit the floor. He kept his eyes on the desk, and the man behind it.

Gabriel and Azri stood up, calculating their next move. They glanced at each other in silent affirmation.

Angie raised her gun and fired. Cain’s eyes widened again. He looked down at the sleeve of his suit jacket, which was torn. His gaze went back to Angie and became calculating.

He appeared next to Angie, on her left side, towering over her. “Now, how did you do that, I wonder?” he mused as he looked down at her. “Lucky guess?”

She kept her eyes on the desk, gun still raised. Chris had his shotgun in hand and was advancing on Cain. “I’m here for Mrs. Ecklund. Release her and I’ll let you go.”

He raised his hand, claws extended. “Who do you think you are?” His voice dripped with menace. She ignored him and fired once at the desk.

He vanished before Chris could fire. He blinked in confusion at the empty space the vampire boss had currently been occupying. Meanwhile Azri and Gabriel were staring at the desk in shock.
Cain lay in his chair, his arms dangling off the sides and his head over the back. Thick lines of blood ran from a bullet hole in the center of his forehead.

Angie lowered her gun and let out a pent up breath. Gabriel turned to her, his eyes still wide and confused. She had a hard time meeting his gaze. “I warned him,” she said softly.

A single laugh cut through the tension in the air, followed shortly by more. The body in the chair jerked, the shoulders shaking as the laughter got louder. The group took a wary step back.

Cain sat upright. “Unbelievable!” he cackled loudly. He placed one hand on the desk, the other raised. Slowly it closed into a fist while he spoke. “I am so going to ENJOY TEARING YOU APART!”

Gabriel, Azri, and Chris fell to their knees abruptly. Chris clutched at his throat, choking. Gabriel and Azri’s hands went to their chests.

Angie looked at them, startled. “What are you-”

Cain was before her the next instant. She looked up at him, fear finally clutching her heart. Blood ran down his face and his mouth was split into a wide grin. “You see me, correct?” He let out a short bark of laughter. “Tell me, does it comfort you to see me as I am?”

Angie swallowed as she stared up at him. Up close she could see every scar across his face, the places where hair no longer grew, the ugly blue veins pulsing just under the gray skin. She shook her head quickly, her words hidden from her.

“You stole Manigault’s eyes. Tell me, are they useful to you? Do you feel powerful?”
That black shard in her chest twisted, desperately trying to consume her heart. She shook her head again.

Her companions sank closer to the floor. Their lives were fleeing while she stood there. She raised her gun again.

His hand closed over hers, his grip crushing. “Oh yes, do try again.” He pulled her hand forward, pressing the nose of the gun to his chest, right over his heart. He leaned closer to her and she fought the urge to lean away from his bloody visage.

She tried to pull away from him, but he was immovable. He slid his thumb over her trigger finger, pressing it down.

The gun fired. The bullet went right through him, followed by a spurt of blood. He threw his head back and laughed loudly.

Tears stung Angie’s eyes as she desperately tried to break free. The three men that had come with her, had trusted her, were all lying on the floor. Neither of them was moving anymore.

She couldn’t do it, not all on her own. It was a mountain that was impossible to climb. He was just too powerful. Staggeringly, terrifyingly, unbelievably strong. She wasn’t going to save her mom. She wasn’t going to save the people lying next to her. She wasn’t going to save herself.

This was it, the very end.

She closed her eyes tightly. “I’m sorry, Nymph,” she whispered as she reached for that black shard.

It twisted again, painful beyond measure. The agony of it blocked out every other sensation, till she was disconnected from her surroundings and the vampire before her. She allowed it to wash over her, till all thought was consumed by it.

“Lilith, please, I can’t do this on my own,” she whispered. “You said you would come if I called you. I don’t have any other choice. Please, save them.”

Like a miracle, her voice came into her head, filling it with light. “I said I would come for you if you became one of my knights.”

“Lilith, I can’t let them die. I’ll give you anything you want. My body, my soul, just please help them.”

“Very well.”

xxxXXXxxx

Chris opened his eyes slowly. Just seconds ago he’d been fighting for air but unable to draw it in, as if he were drowning in the middle of an office. Now he was laying on the floor, but unharmed.

Something white flickered at the edge of his vision and he looked up. Cain stood over him, but was looking at someone standing before him. Her back was turned away from him, but he could recognize her long dark hair, the hem of her simple white dress, and her slim legs and ankles.

She glowed under the moonlight coming in from the large back window. Her blue eyes were bright as lightning as she stared up at Cain.

“Lilith?”

He dropped her hand quickly, and Angie’s silver gun fell to the floor with a thunk.

Chris focused on it for a moment before realization hit him. He sat up quickly, looking all around. “Evie?” Next to him Azri and Gabriel were stirring. He could not find his sister in the room. “Where is she?” he demanded.

Cain was ignoring them, his focus entirely on Lilith. He took a step back, his expression full of wonder. “You’re… alive?”

She took a step forward, her bare feet sinking into the carpet. “Cain.” Her voice was the sound of the chill wind that picks up after the sun goes down on a summer day. “It’s been so long.”