Chapter Fourteen
Aklia and her daughter Lana should their heads in disbelief as they stumbled upon yet another small village, slaughtered. Aklia’s surviving daughters, Lana, Amaya, Moon and her sons Yam and Elan spread out, gasping in the horror that waited for them. Sheathing her sword, Aklia kneeled down to take in another look at the mutilated body of an older woman. Angry tears filled her eyes as she wanted so desperately to plunge her blade into the chest of her brother and every single blood drinker that he created. Cain’s birth had become nothing more than a curse upon this planet. Everything she loved dearly had been either stripped away or broken down because of fear -fear of Cain and all that he would do.
Before her death, Eve barely slept through the nights now that Adam had perished. She still mourned the loss of both of her sons: one to darkness and one to death. She mourned the losses of more of her family as their bloodline expanded when Seth and Aklia had their children. Cain picked them off one by one until both Adam and Eve had no choice but to move to blessed lands provided to them by the angels themselves to ensure humanity’s survival.
And as humanity grew, so did Cain’s thirst for blood.
But the air held an entirely different signature. It revealed the presence of Cain’s twins Tati and Tyre, and the desire to put an end to their miserably long existences pooled to the surface of her skin. The neighboring tribes were now frightened-terrified to venture out past their own huts because of the rumors of the blood gods.
There were no blood gods. Only Cain and his abominations of offspring.
“These are fresh kills,” she announced. “They are close, perhaps in a cave nearby resting. We will use daylight as our cover. Remember everything I’ve taught you.”
“Yes mother,” the group murmured.
They all spread out, with Aklia opting to head in the westernmost direction. Her middle child, Amaya hung close by, armed with two hand scythes that Angel Raphael created specifically for her grip. Noisy crickets and other critters roamed the bush, and Aklia sensed the recent presence of Cain’s offspring. She stopped in the middle of thicket, her heart pounding heavily in her chest.
“Is everything alright mother?” Amaya asked, swatting away at a gnat.
“Kneel to the ground and listen to the earth,” Aklia instructed as she placed both hands onto the soft dirt and closed her eyes.
Amaya, did as instructed and together, they witnessed the untold truth of Tati and Tyre.
The pair cackled with glee as Tati sank her teeth into the jugular of the frightened pregnant woman. Tyre tore into her arm as she struggled to resist the entities feeding from her. Tati released her, blood dripped from her mouth, down her chin and onto her exposed bosom looking every bit of the crazed and frightening creature that she was. She allowed her brother to continue feeding on the pregnant female while she snatched a young boy from behind the gate amidst a flock a sheep he desperately attempted to hide in. His screams echoed through the night. When she was done she slung his small body back against the gate, causing the sheep to scatter. Tati and Tyre terrorized the small village, chasing the humans down into the bush, laughing hysterically in the night. One by one, the twins picked them off until by sunrise, nothing but maimed tortured flesh remained.
The earth revealed that the twins had indeed retreated to a small cave, several miles north of where they stood. Amaya looked at her mother, terrified at the vision.
“By gods mother,” Amaya gasped. “Go and retrieve your siblings and bring them here, and be quick about it.”
Amaya nodded. “Yes mother.”
Aklia watched as her daughter took off, moving with the speed of a cheetah through the thicket. Unlike the rest of her children, Amaya had not been born with many gifts to make her an efficient huntress. And after witnessing two of Cain’s most wicked offspring, Aklia mentally noted to send Amaya back home to the blessed lands where she could protect the younger generations of Adam and Eve. Aklia could not bare to lose another one of her children to Cain and his abominations.
Tonight, the world would be a safer place when both Tati and T
yre’s bones are buried deep beneath the ground.
***
The sun had begun its slow decline beneath the horizon as Cain approached another small village. Thankfully, his children had not reached this side of the country, but he knew that it would not be long before they did. He watched as the small portion of humanity, went about their daily lives, as a small girl trailed behind her mother who carried a ceramic bowl to the well just a few feet from where he stood. The woman’s blood smelled rich, like the fertile soils of the Nile, and he knew that she would replenish the energy that he lost if he fed from her.
But he didn’t.
He simply watched, admiring the way she smiled and laughed at her daughter as the child skipped around her in singsong fashion, which made him think of his own wife, who waited for him at home. This was the image of life he yearned for, and perhaps for a time he had it. Until his children expressed their need for blood, and all of the innocence that he craved to witness disappeared.
“You know, there are more of my kind coming,” came a familiar voice from the ether.
Cain sighed. It had been quite a few centuries since the last time this entity spoke to him.
“I’ve watched you and those children of yours,” the entity said. “And I must say that I am quite pleased. Things have turned out better than expected.”
“And how so? You enjoy the fact that my children are terrorizing humanity and that we are damned and forever hunted?” Cain growled.
“No. As I told you before, your name will be of my legacy,” the entity continued. “Your destiny is greater than anything this world has ever seen.”
“I do not see how,” Cain murmured. “Because of you I have to hunt down my twins before my other daughter slaughters them herself. On top of that, my younger sister is tracking my entire family as we speak.”
“Because of me you are alive and a king among men. As a matter of fact, you are a god and have yet to step into your full glory.”
“You know,” Cain said evenly. “You never gave me your name.”
“What’s in a name? The entity said as he manifested into a shadowy form. “You know who I am. You’ve always known.”
“Still…what are you called other than-“
“Right now, I have no name. Man has no concept of who I am. Right now, I suppose I enjoy the name Set, and even Fallen One…”
“I am not asking you for the name that man gave you,” Cain growled. “I am asking you for the name that defines what you are.”
“So that you can invoke me at will?” The entity replied with a smile.
“No.”
“You have my blood. I think that is more than enough.”
“Why are you here?” Cain asked, watching as the mother and daughter pair skipped off into the protection of the village.
“To warn you of what is to come,” the entity said, his tone becoming more serious. “As I said, there are more of my kind coming for reasons I cannot explain. But when they do, the repercussions of their decisions will be nothing short of cosmic.”
Cain raised an eyebrow. “How do you know?”
“Just because I no longer reside in the heavens does not mean I no longer have access to it.”
“And why are you telling me this?”
“Because, if you are to continue my legacy, part of my job is ensuring your survival. When they come, you and your family will need to move to the far side of the earth and start anew. You will remain untouched if you do as I say.”
The entity disappeared without another word and Cain continued to gaze out at the village, admiring the untouched serenity that this community offered.
“This place deserves to remain unmolested,” he murmured under his breath. “As does the rest of mankind…Eliana knew this…and so do I.”
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