Chapter Seven
50 years later…
“She still hunts us,” Luluwa observed from the protection of the mountaintop dwelling Cain built for them. “I recall a time when she cried for me to carry her when mother would not.”
Cain shook his head and continued to keep watch from the bird’s eye view they had. “She has reason to… But still I would hate to be forced to kill another of my own blood.”
“Perhaps if we reason with her…” Luluwa stated as she cradled her firstborn, Nunka close to her bosom.
“There is no reasoning with her,” Cain argued. “She is Adam’s daughter and the archangels are on her side-“
“We still cannot feed on the humans then?” Luluwa asked, licking her lips. “Their blood smells divine, even from here.”
“Adam’s sons are grown now but their families are young,” Cain reminded Luluwa with a slight smile. “If we gorge on them, the angels will smite us instantly. We have survived this far because we have not tasted human blood. You were my first and only Luluwa.”
“Your blood is sweet my love,” Luluwa said with a deep inhale. “But their’s is…”
“Stop Luluwa,” Cain commanded. “We have survived this long without taking a body, and we will continue to do so at least until the human populations have grown in numbers.”
Cain’s sentence was instantly cut short by a short dagger that barely missed his face. Cain pushed Luluwa and their son out of the way, as he in turn moved with the agility of a feline and leaped from the edge of the mountainside into a free fall. Midflight, he met his younger sister, Aklia in a collision that sent both of them in a fight to the death wrestle match all the way down. She landed several hard punches to his jaw and forehead before they separated, tumbling in different directions in a hard roll. Cain was the first to spring to his feet just before his sister launched another attack.
“Infidel!” She shouted, leaping to her feet. She flung as series of small hand held silver tipped daggers towards him. They flew like tiny missiles, which he barely missed.
“I do not wish to harm you sister!” He pleaded, taking refuge behind a tree. “Please….”
“You are no brother of mine!” She spat, lunging for him.
With one swipe he knocked her into a thicket several yards away. The force of his blow should have killed her. But, she was “different” too.
“Father turned you against me. The angels turned you against me,” Cain began as he slowly approached. “When I have done nothing to any of you! I’ve been cursed for a mistake I did not wish to make.”
“You are an abomination! Because of you, everything has changed,” Aklia screamed as she struggled to get on her feet. “You are the reason mother’s tears never dried. You are the reason father’s heart has become that of a husk. You are the reason why the angels are suiting up for battle! You are the reason why I must fight!” She unsheathed her sword, a magnificent blade that he had seen only but once, and that was in the Garden. The Cherubim carried something similar to it. The handle was made of pure silver and lined with precious gemstones that he vowed to collect for Luluwa. The light that it emitted was blinding, and Cain raised his arm to cover his face but disappeared into mist before Aklia could take his head.
“You took Luluwa and condemned her to darkness!” Aklia shouted into the nothingness.
“Dear sister, I will only grant you so much patience,” Cain growled, his voice bouncing from the treetops. “There is much you do not understand.”
“I understand perfectly! You are a threat to humanity!”
“I have not fed on any human. To do so would mean the end…”
“Come out and fight me!” Aklia screamed in frustration.
“Go home little sister,” Cain sighed. “On this day, I do not wish to kill you…”
Cain did not acknowledge her continuous calls to battle. Instead, he left her, battered and bruised from the fall. At some point, when she was stronger and a more seasoned huntress, they would engage again, and that would be a time when only one of them would walk away. Over the years, he’d tested the limits of his abilities and found none. Luluwa was unable to walk in the sun as he could, which added more to his sorrow. He learned that it was through his bite that he could make more of his kind; and he knew that blood would forever haunt him as a means to his existence. His story began in blood, and therefore he reckoned that would be how it would end.
His sister, Aklia on the other hand, was still human. But she possessed the skillset of Michael, and the physical strength of a hundred men. She was his match, blow for blow and before he put an end to her, he needed to know if more like her would come. He needed to know her purpose and how she fit into all of this. What role did any of them play in the grand master plan orchestrated by On High?
He materialized to next to Luluwa, who cuddled their son Nunka close to her. The sun was too high in the sky and drained her of her energy which meant that Cain would have to assume fatherly duties until dusk. He hated what he’d done to her and dreaded to find out more about his “Curse”. One thing that he was grateful for was the fact that neither of them appeared to age; and perhaps they would remain frozen in time for eternity. The problem however, rested with the fact that their son would grow, as would his blood hunger…then what?
What would become of them?