The Progeny

by Shelley Crowley

  Caius was last to pick a weapon. He also decided on a stake, feeling it was the safer option than wielding a dagger he’d probably end up burning himself with.

  Varsee had disappeared into her bedroom and Evie headed to theirs, probably to change. Looking down at himself, Caius figured he was good how he was in his black jeans and t-shirt, so he made his way downstairs to keep Robin company. He hoped he wasn’t too mad at him.

  Chapter 18

  Robin was scowling at the T.V, refusing to look at Caius sat by his side.

  “You know I am doing this to keep you safe, right?” said Caius.

  Robin sneered in response.

  “I didn’t Turn you just to get you killed.”

  “Instead you Turned me to keep me hidden away in your grandma’s house,” said Robin bitterly.

  There was so much hate in his eyes. Hate and sadness. Caius’ heart bled for him. He couldn’t even see the kindness Caius was showing him, only the abandonment.

  “We’ll be back before sunrise and I’ll think more about Alexander’s offer about taking you to a vampire bar.”

  Robin’s eyes brightened for a fraction of a second then shifted to Caius, his expression dubious. “You serious?”

  He nodded. A small smile curved on his progeny’s lips and he quickly looked away to hide it.

  Footsteps sounded from the hallway and Caius turned just as Evie sank into one of the armchairs. She had changed into a black sweater, dark jeans and boots. He could see the two stakes wedged into the pockets of her jeans. She glanced at him, then to Robin, then down at the ground.

  “Are you really ready for this?” Caius asked, breaking the lingering silence.

  She nodded, her eyes still downcast. “That night was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. They need to pay.” She looked up at him, her hazel eyes shining. “Are you ready for this?”

  The concern in her voice made him gulp. She watched him for a moment.

  “Well, I guess you have been killing a lot more recently so I guess it’s nothing,” she added, subdued.

  Caius had spared Evie the gory details of his earlier life as a vampire with Milah, when they both would sneak into towns at night and not leave until the streets ran rivers of blood. But he had told her enough to scare her into controlling her inner demon and not let it take over the way it had in that first week of her new life. She knew his list of kills was far longer than her own and knew just how guilty he was about every single one of them. He wanted to believe he wasn’t that monster anymore, but like Evie said, he had killed a lot recently. And he knew better than to admit that he had enjoyed it. He had ignored the monster for so many years it was starting to come back with vengeance. But if he kept his feral instincts pointing in the right direction, he knew he could control it. And the Nest of vampires was the right direction. Although he had never encountered a Nest before so he didn’t actually know what he was going to be dealing with. He’d killed other vampires before. But not Raged vampires.

  “Be careful,” was all Caius said in response. Evie furrowed her brows. “The path of killing is a dangerous one.”

  She jutted out her jaw defiantly. “I know what I’m doing. I’m not going to go crazy and start attacking the innocent. These vampires deserve to die.”

  Caius nodded but knew very well that it was a possibility. He was more aware of parts of Evie than she knew of. “Just… be careful. I’ve pulled you from the darkness before. I remember how it nearly destroyed you.”

  “Yeah well, you’re not my Maker now, are you? It’s not your job anymore.”

  The bitterness in her tone stung. As if hearing the venom in her words, her eyes widened a fraction in surprise. Her gaze flittered to Robin who was pretending to watch T.V, and then back to the floor, falling silent.

  Caius was thankful when Varsee finally appeared. The tension in the room could have been cut with a knife. Robin’s eyes finally tore from the T.V and he did a double take when he spotted the blonde vampire stood at the threshold of the living room.

  She had changed into all black as well. A leather bomber jacket had been shrugged on over a black vest. The black leather pants and thigh high boots made her look fierce and indomitable. Her long blonde hair was neatly tied back and out of her face. Her stormy eyes scanned the room before they rolled. “Of course my brother would be the last one down.”

  She sank into the free armchair and caught Robin’s eye. He gulped and blushed, quickly looking away. Caius smiled to himself, Robin looked so endearing when he was uncomfortable or nervous- it showed that under all that anger and bravado, there was just a normal, awkward teenage boy.

  A few moments later, Alexander joined them, gliding down the stairs like it was a runway. He swooped into the living room and spun around with his arms outspread, making his black leather duster coat flap around him. When he stilled, Caius was able to make out his outfit. Underneath the monstrous black leather duster that had thick metal buckles running down the front and studded lapels, he was wearing a black shirt with a deep V that exposed most of his chest, leather pants and thick swashbuckling boots. He pulled up the collar of his coat and ran his fingers through his long blond hair. When he angled his face up, Caius noticed he was also wearing eyeliner.

  “You look like a gay pirate,” said Evie.

  His blue eyes flitted to her and a smile played on his lips. “Oh please, what other kind of pirate is there?”

  “Huh?”

  He spun to face her, his duster slapping against Caius’ legs. “Out in the middle of the sea. Everyone starts getting a little bit lonely. What happens on the ship, stays on the ship. If you know what I mean.” He winked.

  Varsee rolled her eyes and got to her feet. “Is that outfit really necessary?”

  “I’ve wanted to kill these arseholes for months. I might as well look good doing it.”

  Caius and Evie also rose to their feet. Caius slotted his stake into the back pocket of his jeans.

  Varsee looked around the room, holding everyone’s gaze for a moment. “Are we all ready to do this?”

  They all nodded and Robin grumbled under his breath. Caius patted his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him but Robin shrugged him off. “We’ll be right back.”

  “Whatever.”

  With one last look back at his progeny, he left.

  The four vampires walked down the country road at mortal speed in case any of the Nest were wandering around looking for their next meal. They hadn’t encountered anything but a few wild rabbits.

  “I haven’t killed since the Rage,” said Alexander, a look of manic glee on his face.

  “How did you survive the Rage, anyway?” asked Caius to keep a conversation flowing. Evie hadn’t spoken to him since they had left the house and even now she was walking beside Varsee and not him. Caius could still feel the bond between them but for the first time since Evie became Varsee’s, it didn’t feel right. Like it was fighting a hopeless cause.

  “We locked ourselves in a cellar in Tangier with enough humans to feed us for a good few months,” explained Varsee. “When we ran out, we stepped outside and it was all over. How about you?”

  “We chained ourselves in a basement with silver and I compelled a human to break us free after six months.”

  Varsee nodded. “Clever.”

  Alexander pulled out his butterfly knife from his pocket and started doing tricks with it again. “We’re almost there.”

  A buzzing sound made everyone turn to Evie. She furrowed her brows and stuck her hand in her pocket, retrieving her sleek pink phone. “I don’t even know why I brought it, habit I guess.” She looked down at the screen and paled. She answered the call. “Hello?”

  Tuning in his vampire hearing, Caius listened to the voice on the other end. “Hey, Evie. It’s me. It’s Joe.” The voice was male, sounding out of breath.

  Who’s Joe?

  Evie’s eyes flickered to her company warily. All three vampires were watching her as they continued dow
n the road.

  “I’ve been wanting to talk to you but I didn’t know if I should call. What the hell happened back in the bar? I'm so confused,” she said.

  “I know. I know it’s confusing. I just wanted to check if you were okay. I would have called sooner but… but it… it wasn’t safe.”

  Her eyes widened with fear. “Are you okay? Are you in danger?”

  “No. No, I’m fine. You’re okay though, right? You managed to get away?”

  Her expression tightened. “Yeah. I got away.”

  “And you’re okay?”

  “Well, I’m not dead.”

  “Good. Good,” he rushed. His voice started to sound further and further away, like he was distancing himself from the phone. “Look, I’m sorry. This isn’t my fau-” The call ended abruptly.

  Evie winced when he hung up and looked down at the screen with confusion before slotting her phone back into her pocket.

  “Who’s Joe?” asked Caius and cringed inwardly at the suspicion in his tone.

  Alexander looked at him with a smirk. “Why? Jealous?”

  “He’s no one.” Evie shook her head, clearly flustered. “It doesn’t matter. You said we’re nearly there?”

  Alexander nodded. “The barn that they have set up camp in is in the next field over.”

  Caius was beside himself as they continued their journey. He wanted to know more about Evie’s mystery caller but knew that taking too much interest in it would only make him sound pathetic. So instead he focused on looking out for stray vampires lurking in the shadows.

  They reached the fence of the field that apparently held the barn. Caius squinted into the pitch black and could make out the outline of the barn through the fuzzy greyness that his vampire sight granted him. Alexander rested his hands on the wooden fence, his blond hair and duster flapping in the breeze. His eyes were narrowed as he studied the field. “This is it, guys.”

  Caius was starting to feel it, the burning need to sink his teeth into something. To unleash the caged beast inside. But he stayed, as did the rest of them. It was as if they were all waiting for someone else to make the first move. Minutes stretched out. He glanced at Alexander. His hands were gripping the fence and his hair was blowing over his face. In his floor length leather coat, he looked like Van Helsing. All he needed was a fedora to complete the look.

  Then Caius was pulled out of his thoughts when the wind picked up and Alexander’s duster started flapping more violently, slapping against his legs with such a force that it sounded like it hurt. Then there was a noise. An incessant thrumming sound. Varsee lifted her head, squinting into the sky.

  “A helicopter,” she said.

  Caius looked up and saw that the noise was indeed coming from a helicopter, flying rather low and heading over them. They all watched, waiting for it to pass. But then it stopped and hovered above them and a light beamed down like a spotlight. Caius shielded his face from the blinding light. He heard the swishing sound of gliding and then the thump of heavy things landing on the ground around them. When the beam of light directed itself away and was no longer piercingly bright, they were surrounded. Men dressed all in black, armoured with protective clothing and wielding rifles were standing in a circle around the four vampires, some in the field and some on the road. Several red dots covered each of the vampires’ chests. Caius recognised the look of the men around him. Nico’s men.

  “Don’t move or we’ll shoot!” barked one of the men. There were lights on each of their rifles, making Caius wince at the glare. The red dots on his chest were still and steady. He turned to Evie, suddenly feeling that she was too far away from him. Her hands were raised in surrender and her red hair was whipping across her face, hiding her expression from him. “Let’s make this easy, shall we? No one needs to get hurt. All we want is the girl.”

  Alexander looked to his sister, his eyes wide and fearful.

  “The redhead!” the man clarified. “Evie Graham! Nico would like you to come back to the mansion with us.”

  Evie started yanking her hair behind her ears and blinking hard, looking like she was trying to figure out which one of the men surrounding them was addressing her. “What does he want with me?”

  “Come with us and you’ll find out! We don’t want to harm you or your friends!”

  “That’s the vampire that killed Tony and the rest of them!” called another voice. Caius heard the men shifting positions and then more red dots covered his chest. “I say we bring him in, too!”

  Varsee and Alexander both unsheathed their fangs with a hiss. “You’re not taking either of them!” growled Varsee.

  “Those two are vamps, too!” called one of the men. “Let’s bring them all! Nico needs more anyway.”

  “He only sent us for the girl!”

  “We’ve got them surrounded! It’d be a wasted opportunity if we just leave them!”

  Caius started to panic, his eyes darting everywhere and wincing whenever the light shone in his eyes. They must be purposely trying to blind them. He could hardly make out any of the men surrounding him so even if he did plan a hasty attempt to attack, he wouldn’t know where his targets were.

  He squeezed his eyes shut, grasping at the tether to his heart, the stronger one of the two.

  I need you.

  “Come on, let’s just take them all!”

  “We’re not going anywhere,” snapped Varsee, her hands curled into fists by her sides. She was speaking to no one in particular as from her squinted expression, it was obvious that she couldn’t see clearly either.

  A cackle erupted. “Oh yes you are! Even if we have to pump you full of wood and silver to get you there!”

  A garbled scream of pain sounded behind Caius and a shot was fired, followed by another yelp and the thud of something hitting the ground. He could sense the confusion and panic in the air. And the blood. The thick, intoxicating smell of freshly spilled blood. The rifles were redirected and Caius blinked away the black blots obscuring his vision. The beam of light from the hovering helicopter overhead started following the black blur that was wiping out the men one by one. Shots continued to fire and Caius jumped back when he felt something – a bullet- fly past his ear. A man behind him slumped to the ground, a bullet hole in his chest. The four vampires spun in circles, watching as the black blur spun, leaped and whirled around them shooting down Nico’s men, firing in rapid succession. The beam of light travelled over the scene, unable to follow the quick movements of the attacker before the helicopter took off, leaving what was left of Nico’s team to fend for themselves.

  The blur halted and Caius saw through the darkness a small figure shimmering black with blood. There was one man left. A red dot was trained on his attacker’s chest but it was no longer still and steady. Now it shook and Caius could hear the whimpers of fear coming from the lone survivor. The attacker darted for the man and bit savagely into his neck, tearing at his throat and growling like a wild animal. The man cried and his knees gave way before he was dropped onto the ground, dead.

  The lights of the rifles that scattered the ground were still on, pointing every which way, criss-crossing the bloody scene and highlighting parts of the massacre. A body at Caius’ feet had its ribcage ripped open and in front of him another body was oozing blood from a bullet wound through the head.

  Caius looked up and watched the small blacked out figure turn from his last victim and face the four vampires that were standing amidst the dead. Blood smeared his pale face and made his messy hair stick up at odd angles. The complete blackness of his eyes receded back to the irises and he sheathed his fangs with a click. Caius heard Varsee and Alexander follow suit.

  “What did you say about being a liability?” he asked, cutting through the silence. “I just saved all of your arses!”

  “Kid!” exclaimed Alexander in awe, his hands on the back of his head and staring at Robin. His eyes were bright and a huge smile filled his face. “That was fucking amazing!”

  Robin grinned show
ing red teeth, looking pleased with himself up until his eyes flickered to Caius and he noticed his glare. His smile fell. “Y-you summoned me,” Robin spluttered, looking like a deer caught in headlights. “You needed me to save you.” He gestured to the mass of dead bodies. “I saved you.”

  “I didn’t mean kill them,” said Caius tersely.

  Robin gulped. Marred with blood, he no longer looked like a troubled teenager. He looked like a vampire. “B-but, I saved you.”

  “Yeah, Caius, he saved us,” chimed in Alexander. “Give the kid a break. He’s a vampire. He’s going to kill eventually. Might as well do it for a good cause. Cheers, kid.”

  Robin looked as if he hadn’t even heard him- his eyes were still stuck on his Maker, wide and pleading. Caius ground his teeth and closed his eyes for a meditating moment to let his anger dissipate. In a low voice, he murmured, “You can’t come back from killing.”

  “I’m sorry. I saw the opportunity and I took it. I thought you’d be proud.”

  “Proud?” Caius’ thunderous gaze hit his progeny. “What did I tell you about the Vampire Court? If you do anything that would jeopardize the Equal Rights for vampires, you’ll be punished.”

  “But you’re still here.” It was Alexander, again. Caius looked back to him. His eyes shone in the faint light of the scattered rifles. His billowing coat fluttered behind his legs in the breeze. “And you’ve killed.”

  Guardian spared me because I’m an ancient, he wanted to say, but then he caught sight of Evie. Her eyes were on a body lay in the field with its neck ripped open. Caius noticed she had edged closer to Varsee as if for protection.

  “And the Nest are still around after killing my dinner. Maybe they’ve become a little more lenient.” Alexander scratched his head. “We should move the bodies though.”

  “Can someone please explain to me what the hell just happened? Who were those people?” asked Varsee, sounding clearly frustrated. She spun to Evie. “And what did they want with you? With us.”