Lilith/Cain

“God damn, it’s cold,” Angie complained as she rubbed her hands together over the weak flame in the fireplace. “Why don’t you have electric heat?”

Despite the fire’s feebleness, Azri still kept a good distance from the hearth. “I don’t need it as long as I have four solid walls around me. One of the pros of being Marked, I suppose.” He shrugged.

While Angie grumbled bitterly, Chris came in from outside with a bundle of firewood. “I thought that coat was a bit too thin,” he commented when he saw how she was shivering.

“Shut up.”

Azri gave Chris a worried look. “You’d better warm her up before she decides to commit arson.”

Chris added some wood to the fire. "Triple A came by and replaced the tires while I was out getting the wood. Sunrise isn’t going to be for a long while, though, so we’d better get a few hours of sleep before heading out.”

“Before we go any further, we have to get back to town so I can check the GPS again.” Her laptop lay on the couch, closed. “Someone doesn’t have Wi-Fi.”

“What the hell is Wi-Fi?” Azri asked indignantly. “You’re lucky I have electricity. And might I say so far you’ve been a poor guest.”

“Says the host that tried to kill us.”

“You tried to kill me too."

“Because you started it!” She whirled around, her eyes flashing angrily.

“Ladies, please!” Chris interjected before violence could break out again. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. “Now is not the time for bickering about who tried to kill who. We’re all tired and probably more than a bit cranky. Let’s just hit the hay. We can wake up tomorrow refreshed and ready to tear out each other’s throats again, okay?” He gave them both stern looks.

Angie sucked the back of her teeth. Azri folded his arms across his chest. “Fine,” they said at the same time.

“Excellent.” He walked over to the couch and moved the laptop to the coffee table. Then he collapsed heavily onto the worn cushions. “Good night.”

“I’m going up to my room then, as it’s the only one with a lock.” Azri drifted over to the hallway with the stairs. Angie watched him darkly. “This way you hooligans can’t shoot me in the middle of the night.”

“You’re worried about us trying to kill you?” Angie asked hotly. “Really!”

“I can only assume that’s what you came here for. I don’t trust either of you for a single second.”

“And yet you’re the one that habitually kills tourists," she pointed out. "The hunters have a file on you, you know. People that live all over Canada and Alaska that you’ve slaughtered. At first it looked like you were moving around a lot, but you’ve stayed here the whole time, haven’t you? You kill the occasional visitor that passes by, like a spider in a web.”

Azri bristled. “You make me sound a like a villain.”

She gave him a disbelieving look. “You left an elderly couple dead in a ditch! You are a villain!”

“I only do what I have to,” he countered defensively. “I need to live.” He jabbed the center of his chest with his fingers. “It’s not like I can go whenever I like and hunt down a moose!”

Their voices were rising as each one replied louder than the other. “Why not? Why do you bother sitting around in the middle of nowhere without even a TV to keep you company!”

“Because I’m waiting!”

“FOR WHAT?”

“I’M WAITING FOR HIM TO COME BACK FOR ME!” Azri looked startled by his own words. He shut his mouth and blinked.

Angie’s voice lowered. “It doesn’t work like that,” she told him. “Sitting around won’t bring him back, because he never comes back. He always moves further away. The only thing you can do is try to catch him.”

“Are you saying that to me, or to yourself?” He turned and disappeared up the stairs.

When he was gone, Angie’s shoulders slumped. She sat on the floor and leaned on her step-brother’s shoulder. “Are you still awake?” she asked softly.

“No,” he replied matter-of-factly.

“Tough.” She leaned on him harder, pressing her forehead into his shoulder. “I’m cold,” she complained.

He let out a sigh and turned over onto his back. “Come here.” He lifted up his arms.

His large frame took up the entire couch. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Where?"

"Just come here." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her up on top of him. She immediately curled up on her side, her head on his broad chest.

Inch by inch her body relaxed. Her head still buzzed like an angry hornet's nest. "What if I can't catch him?"

He had one arm still around her. It tightened at her question. "You will."

"But what if I don't? What do I do then?"

"You'll decide that if the time comes."

Her voice grew small, and in it he could hear the doubt that was eating her insides raw. "What if he doesn't want to come back with me?"

"He will."

"This isn't like the times he was captured or hurt, he technically left on his own." Her voice was starting to rise in panic. "What if-"

"Shush." He wrapped both arms around her and squeezed reassuringly. "You don't know why he left. Don't over think it before you have the details. Take it one step at a time. Focus on your next step, finding him. I'm here to help you."

"Only until you get called back." The bitterness in her voice had an edge. "You always leave."
His Adam's apple bobbed in his throat. "I know. Gabriel isn't me. He wouldn't leave you unless he had to."

She flinched at the sound of his name. "Nymph said he didn't leave by choice."

"Nymph has good intuition, for someone named 'Nymph'."

"Donovan named them that, when he found them. He told me once that Nymph tried to tell him their Fae name and it made his ears bleed." She paused. "I'm not sure if he was joking or that's really what happened."

"Nymph's pretty powerful, so it might be true. Makes you wonder how the vampires managed to wipe them all out." He frowned. "I'm more confused about why they're a part of a vampire's crew, though."

"It's an interesting story. Donovan told me about it."

"I'd like to hear it." Anything he could do to take her mind off her sorrows for a bit.

"Donovan was turned during the... massacre is the best word, I guess. It wasn't a war. The leader had organized a large force of vampires and they were systemically killing the Fae and drinking their blood to become more powerful. Donovan was one of many turned by the leader himself, to help bulk up the force."

Her body went limp as she settled into the old tale. "They used numbers to overcome them. Thousands of vampires taking down a few hundred Fae. Donovan was strong and especially favored by the leader. Until one day."

"What happened?"

"Donovan headed up a smaller force that went after a particularly powerful Fae. They were so powerful in fact that Donovan was the only one who survived the fight. He managed to slay them in the end, only to discover the Fae was protecting a newborn."

"A baby Fae?"

"Fae children are a rarity, only one is born every generation. He'd never seen a baby before. In the end, he couldn't kill it. He took the child and brought it to safety. Then he left it and fled."

"Fled?"

She nodded, her cheek rubbing against his chest. "The leader knew right away what had occurred and was furious. Donovan says he's still being tracked down, centuries later. That's why he sails the oceans and never stays in one place. He knows that vampire will always be after him."

"This is a terrible story."

"It has a somewhat happy ending. That newborn was Nymph. After their rescue they spent many years trying to track down the vampire that had spared their life. In the end it was Donovan that found Nymph again, purely by coincidence. Nymph demanded that day to be made a member of the crew. Now they're on the run together, eternally."

"I guess that's sort of sweet..."

She stared at the fireplace. "Looking at them, you wouldn't think they share such a horrific past. They always look so happy together."

"That's what love does to you."

"I don't know love like that." Her voice was rough.

"Well, you wouldn't, would you? You haven't even been around nearly as long as those two have been together."

She turned her head, burying her face in his chest. Her voice was muffled by his bulk. "My love is bittersweet, all the time."

"You've had some good times. Just, you know, more of the bad ones." She sniffled into his coat and he put a hand to the back of her head. "This is the last time, I can feel it. This Lilith person is the top tier, right? Well, if you get through this, nothing can stop you two."

"Are you saying that Lilith is the final boss?" she asked skeptically.

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"The final boss is never truly the final boss, though. There's always one that's even more powerful who appears right after you defeat it. The main character never even meets them until the final confrontation."

"That's only in video games," he said dismissively.

"There are no final bosses in real life," she argued.

"This time there is."

She shook her head without lifting it. “No, I can’t trick myself into believing that. This is the way it’s always been with Gabriel. To think it’s ever going to be different would only set me up for an even greater disappointment later on.”

He could feel how much her heart ached, and it made his own ache as well. “What are you going to do then? Resign yourself to this kind of life?”

“What else can I do? He needs me. When I saw him go dark that last time, I could feel how much it hurt him. He was so strong, but it was consuming him.”

"Then there's no choice."

She stiffened up again. "No, there is one other choice." She gripped the front of his jacket. "Though I’m not going to choose it."

"You mean walking away."

"Nymph said I could turn back. That if I didn't, I was going to lose my most important thing."

"What?"

"...my happiness."

He was silent a moment. "You’re sure it has to be you that saves him?”

She nodded. "I'm the only one that can."

"It's still not your responsibility." He could feel indignation rising in his chest. "He can save himself this time. All of his vampiric cheat codes have to count for something. You're running at seventy percent as it is. You don't have to give up any more than you already have."

"Aren't you a bit biased?"

"You're my sister, it's obvious who's side I'm going to be on."

"Your own side, you mean?"

It was his turn to tense up. "My side?"

"I'm sure you'd like nothing better than for me to turn around and go back home with you."

"If it's for your own good, then of course I would."

"You've never liked Gabriel." Her tone wasn't accusing, instead it was a bit sad. "At first I thought it was just you being overprotective."

"Overprotective? Look at how much trouble he's caused? You nearly died because of him. I've been underprotective, if anything."

A small laugh escaped her chest. "Except that's not it, not all of it." She fell silent for only a moment, but it stretched out into stifling stillness. "You're jealous of him."

His mouth turned into a desert. He swallowed uneasily. "What-”

“Don’t pretend to be confused. I know, okay?”

He was quiet for a moment. “I’m your brother, Evie.”

“My stepbrother, you mean. There’s a distinction.”

He closed his eyes briefly. “I miss when you were stupid about this kind of stuff.”

“You don’t give me enough credit. I might be dense, but I’m not stupid.”

“You’re still pretty stupid,” he remarked.

She lifted up her head a few inches. “Childish insults, now?”

“Yes, because no matter what, we’re siblings first. We know each other better than anyone else, and I can say with certainty that you’ve only got half of this right in your head.”

“Then explain it to me.” She gave him a stern expression. “Out with it.”

He let out a sigh of exasperation. “Why do you have to open this can of worms now of all times?”

“We have a long time till sunrise and I’m not tired. It’s this or me getting weepy over Gabriel.” She looked back at his chest. “I’ve got you pinned, so it’s not like you can escape.”

He looked to the side. “I could so escape,” he said petulantly.

“Look, if you want to be my Best Man at my future wedding, then you better start airing your dirty laundry now.”

He gave her a skeptical look. “I’m not sure you know how weddings work…?”

“Chris!”

He let out a long, exasperated sigh, dropping his arms to his sides. “Fine, but it’s a long story and most of it involves me feeling sorry for myself.”

“Duly noted.”

“When we first met, you were this scrap of annoyances bundled in stubbornness and I wasn’t sure how we were supposed to ever get along. Then Dad died. I’d been so used to taking care of him, I grew up taking care of him and I found myself without my dad, and without someone to watch over. You were younger than me, and completely hopeless, so I switched over to you. I think I started to even before he died. After he was put in the hospital full time I started using you as a proxy.”

“Then why did you enlist?” she asked in confusion. “You were gone for seventeen months the first time.”

“At a certain point I felt that I needed to start taking care of myself. Enlisting offered me discipline and focus. Then when I came back, you were eighteen. You looked so different. You had those awful braces out and you’d calmed down a bit.” He hesitated. “And you had a crush on someone. Before I left it seemed like you were glued to me, but after I came back it was different. There was someone else in your life.”

“Yeah, well, that didn’t work out so great.”

“I know, and I’m so sorry I left after Jackson hurt you.”

“You didn’t know at the time. I told you after.”

“You didn’t need to tell me, Evie. I could practically see the darkness hollowing you out. You were so angry and hurt, it was easy to guess what happened.” He shrugged. “But all I was thinking about was myself. I hated him, I wanted to kill him. I left so that I wouldn’t. Meanwhile you folded in on yourself. You started wearing my old clothes and shut everyone else out.”

He took a breath. “I was jealous of Jackson at first, I’ll admit that, but I have never been jealous of Gabriel. He might be an inhuman monster, but he was there for you in ways that I wasn’t. He pushed you in all the right ways and never when it would hurt you. It seems to me that the only thing he ever wanted was to be in your presence, and that’s a feeling I understand. I’m gonna do whatever it takes to get him back for you.”

“But what about your own feelings?” she asked worriedly.

He laughed loudly, startling her. “I’ll get over it. I pretty much already have, but you wanted to go dragging out ancient history. Geez, I found you cute for all of one afternoon. I think I’ll recover.” He ruffled the short hair on the back of her head, causing her to cry out indignantly. “I’m your older brother first, and don’t you forget that.”

“Dammit Chris!”

“Now go to sleep while you can. You need your rest. You were limping all day today.” She grumbled incoherently. “That’s a good girl.” He shut his eyes and went limp.

She lifted her head up. “Come on, you can’t expect me to believe that you can fall asleep just-” He started snoring comically loud. She shut up and glared at him. After a moment, she laid her head back down on his chest and let herself relax. Later still, she let her eyes drift close.