Page 28 of Entombed By Blood
Guns have always been cheating. They rarely kill an immortal; instead, they debilitate our kind for the seconds required to remove the head or stake the heart. Once the head is off, younger vampires and most lycans are dead.
Humans used guns before… but they were slow and clunky. These new ones are sleek, with no reloading or powder that I can see.
My instincts catalogue the danger for future reference even as my brain starts putting things together.
From the openness of vampires and lycans in the movie, I can guess that Cain’s dream of a new world ruled by our kind has finally come true. Vampires are so obviously at the forefront of every story, pushed as the perfection Cain has always preached us to be. His portrait hangs in every room they show.
The control is so blatant it’s sickening.
I reach my limit pretty quickly once I start focusing on that. I slip from the sofa and patter to the window, pulling the blind back once more.
The snoring in the background stops and I feel Silas’s eyes on me.
I ignore him in favour of staring at the strangeness beyond the window.
This room faces a different direction to the kitchen, and night has fallen while Silas and I watched the Netflix. Beyond the glass, a perfectly rectangular park dominates the space. It’s a patch of darkness bounded by the immense light of the huge buildings surrounding it. Is this how the world looks now? All of nature pushed into perfect boxes?
I can’t imagine Cain allowing that.
Automobiles cruise silently along the streets below, their lights cutting through what little darkness remains. It’s so bright I can barely see the stars.
When I went into that coffin, automobiles were little more than carts with noisy engines. These new creations are silent, cruising across the roads without wheels. Almost like they’re flying. And there are some whichdofly. Their bright red and green lights flicker on and off above the clouds like fake stars.
Technology has advanced so far.
“The world hasn’t changed really,” Silas whispers, abandoning all pretence of being asleep. “I know it seems overwhelming, but we’re here to help you.”
“For now.”
“What do you mean?”
Is he really so clueless?
I choose to answer his question with a question instead. “What’s Cain’s official reason for letting me out?”
“He’s told everyone you’ve been on an important mission for him and are just returning home. His court has been abuzz for weeks, anticipating your return. You won’t see many familiar faces. After your betrayal, he slaughtered the existing court and everyone from the surrounding settlements in what he called a ‘cleansing.’ Very few still live, and fewer still remember what actually happened. Those who do call it the Massacre, if they dare to talk about it at all.”
“My sisters?” I can’t imagine our sire would kill them, but anything is possible.
“Still alive. Callista hangs off your sire’s every word and Bellatrix is his right hand, in charge of governing the territories. Morwenna was crushing a small rebellion in the southern hemisphere, but she’s been summoned back for your return.”
“Immy is still in a coffin.”
Guilt burns a hole in my gut as I consider what would’ve happened to her if Vane hadn’t stopped me and my stake had—by some miracle—been made of white oak.
He shuffles uncomfortably, making the sofa groan. “Yes.”
That makes sense. Cain’s trap for me will be twofold. I have to prove I don’t care for these males and will choose my sire over them. I also have to ignore my missing sister.
I have no doubt any request for her release will be met with an even longer imprisonment for both of us. If I’m lucky, he’ll let her out as a reward for my good behaviour in a few hundred years.
She’ll be completely broken by then.
The only part that doesn’t make sense is why Cain’s chosen to unearth me. Finding out I’ve missed so many years is a shock, but now that I think about it, I’m honestly surprised it wasn’t longer. I may once have been his favourite, but Cain isn’t the kind of sire to form emotional attachments with his children. Certainly not enough to feel sentimental about them.
I’ve been brought back for a reason. The more I think about it, the more certain I become. Cain wants something.
The question remains; what?
