Requiem on Water [Book I]

Chapter 14

I am prepared to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the ordeal of meeting me is another matter.
- Winston Churchill

Chapter 14

Death seemed inevitable as black fog swirled around Alice's ankles, ensnaring itself around the fair skin of her legs. Cain's eyes stared confoundedly at her but Alice did not let her exterior ferocity fade; she was determined to catch him in his attempt to assassinate her. The fog was her evidence, after all. Only hers, because no one other than Alice could see its translucent darkness, its menacing form that carried some kind of foreboding persona. However, it also seemed pointless. How could she escape his lethality, Cain's immortal killing in any event?

There was no warning for what happened afterward. Alice found herself lying face up on the ground, her chest pressed tightly against Cain's. His eyes were large and terrifying, almost pain-stricken. She did not hesitate as she shoved against his chest in an attempt to free herself from his ensnarement. However, he had her down in a fierce grip and Alice was in no position of being set free. It was a smothering killing, a torturous one, but she didn't concede to his stern look and demanding expression. No words were spoken between them, but the unerringness of Cain's body language was clear; Alice was trapped whether she liked it or not.

Instinctively, Alice bit into the hand that Cain had placed over her mouth.

"Son of a—"

Instantaneously, she was on her feet but the black fog trailed behind her like a shadow. Death pursued her still. Cain, on the other hand, did not. Her eyes darted in all directions; Alice was searching for an escape route but she was caught abrupt when a blazing, wooden dagger surged into her shoulder blade, just slightly above her heart. A gasp of both shock and pain rushed through her lips. Her pursuer was not Cain but his insolent brother, Darius. His eyes were snickering; Darius was determined to dispose of Alice. And he was fuelled with a lethal concoction of insanity and purpose.

In a moment of wrath, Cain seized the blazing dagger with his bare hands and tore it from Alice's shoulder, launching it into the direction of the attacker. Alice let out a soft groan of pain but kept an awareness of what was happening around her. Her eyes were glued to Cain's presence. As he stood in the far distance enclosed by the ominous night, the dagger caught Darius in the centre of his chest, but he was immortal; nothing could bring about his demise. It was a moment of distraction though. Without delay, Cain and Alice darted into what seemed to be woodlands, and even though the black fog still tagged along, its translucency leisurely grew grey, then white, followed by unseen. They were safe within the embrace of the greenery, and Alice's blood seeping wound had started healing. All which remained was a scar where the dagger had penetrated her flesh. She trailed her fingers over the wound.

"Alice, are you alright?"

Out of nowhere, her fist rammed his cheek.

"You want to kill me?" she cried, her question rhetorical. "Then do it, Cain. You Primitives want me dead, and so does my human soul. Kill me and let me be." Her voice was composed and not filled with the anger which her punch had implied. On the other hand, she was upset and her bottom lip quivered as she fought against the tears that were making their way to the surface.

"Alice—"

"Do not deny it."

"I shall deny whatever I believe untrue."

Her lashes, which were coated with blood, lifted and her gloomy eyes looked at Cain confusedly. Sitting down on a dead tree stump, he rubbed his temples in circle-like movements. Deep breaths emitted from his mouth. It grew harsher as the seconds ticked by, though Alice stood unmoving, making no attempt to move in on this dangerous creature. His black hair was ruffled, accompanied by pale skin that was encrusted with a thin layer of blood. His eyeballs, which once were white, swam in a pool of redness, its pupils scarcely identifiable.