Excerpt: House of Wolves

Chapter III
133 P.R.
February 23 – 3:47am

By candlelight, Kain observed a small silver pendant, turning the cold metallic object over and over in his hands. A sort of faraway glaze filled his eyes, which were usually so intense and sharp. The pendant was in the shape of a fleur-de-lis, and the silver was beginning to turn slightly black around the edges. It was such a useless trinket, but it seemed to have some sort of deep significance to the man. Tenderness, such a rare feeling for Kain, showed so clearly in his expression. To him, the pendant was a portal to the past, to the childhood that held so many fond memories. He never spoke of his childhood, because, whenever he did, he was forced to remember that it had come to such a painful close when he was only eleven.

His life had never been perfect, but having his sister had been enough for him. The little silver pendant had once been hers, and he had managed to hold onto it after her death before fleeing from Sanctimonia. He remembered how she used to cherish the trinket, telling him in that angelic voice of hers how it used to belong to their mother. Every chance that she had, she would tell him about their parents, since she knew that he never had the chance to get to know them. They were both killed by cancer when he was only two years old. At that time, his sister had been fourteen years old and had taken it upon herself to raise her brother as well as she could.

They had lived simply, but happily. Kain had never needed anyone other than her. Her devoted adoration of her little brother was returned ten-fold; Kain had practically worshipped his sister, seeing her as perfect and saintly in every way. Her death had shattered the boy, sending him running in blind sorrow and rage to Letum, where he knew no one. Establishing himself in the world of the borderlands had not been easy, but he always looked to that silver fleur-de-lis for strength in the times when he was cold and hungry, forgotten about and cast aside. Even in those times, his sister was with him. And yet…there was no one really there. It was quite laughable, really, to be so naïve. Once dead, always dead. Wasn't that the way that the world truly worked?

"What's so funny?"

Lyllith's coldly inquisitive words, strangely enough, did not surprise or startle the man. He was used to her appearing out of nowhere, subtle as a shadow and observant as a hawk. Grinning wildly, Kain looked up at her. "I was just thinking about what a foolish child I used to be."

Still impassive as ever, Lyllith seated herself next to Kain, her eyes trailing from his face down his arm to rest on the small pendant that he still clutched in his fingers. She hesitated, then placed her cold, petite hands over one of his, looking him directly in the eye. "There is nothing foolish about missing your sister, Kain."

Chuckling, Kain set the trinket on the table, then moved his free hand to rest under the girl's chin, tilting her head up ever so slightly. Her gaze was steady, immobile, and he seemed to examine the very depths of her mind with his eyes. "Do you still miss your family, Lyllith?"

In a rare moment of emotion, Lyllith flinched as if struck and withdrew her hands so that she could wrap her arms around her waist. Her recoil was instant, and she squeezed her eyes shut, appearing to be in a great amount of pain. Despite her pained reaction, Kain continued to smile. He seemed somewhat insane, but was still in full control of his cognitive abilities.

"You do still miss them terribly, don't you?"

"Kain…stop…" For once, her voice was practically overflowing with emotion—small, strangled, pleading, and brokenhearted.

Again, he lifted her head and forced her to look at him directly. "No matter how many times someone says to you that it wasn't your fault, that you didn't mean to hurt anyone, that you did nothing wrong and that you are allowed to miss them as much as you want, the wounds will not heal and you will feel weak for letting them remain so long and so deep, won't you?"

Lyllith's usually blank eyes had come to life, shimmering with unshed tears. "Why do you keep bringing this to mind?" she asked, choked with feeling. "Why will you not allow me to forget it?"

"Because this kind of emotion is the key to everything, Lyllith—to your ability and to our victory." Kain's voice sounded so callously gleeful. He slid his hand down her throat and her chest to rest right above her heart. It was pounding so quickly, so desperately, every fibre begging him to stop. "If I cannot get you to feel, then we will go back to being three steps behind the Risen just like we always used to be. You are a fallen angel, Lyllith, and Letum needs you."

A stray tear had managed to break free from the corner of her eye and trail down her cheek. By that point, her voice was nothing more than a desperate whisper. "I do miss them...and it was my fault!" She let out a strangled sob, probably the first that she had released in many years. "It was my fault... I can't ever let that happen again...not ever..." Her hands had moved from the table to Kain's chest, gripping his shirt in an imploring gesture. "Please...please don't make me kill anyone..." Biting at her lower lip, she dropped her gaze to her lap but left her hands where they were. "Please..."

Most of the time, it was hard for Kain to remember that the girl sitting before him was only eighteen years old. She had already seen so much violence and so much loss, and she had let it turn her hard and cold. But, at that moment, she appeared so broken and childlike that it was hard to believe that she was so powerful. Suddenly, Kain felt a shortness of breath and a sharp pain shooting through his extremities, and he was reminded of just how powerful she really was. He involuntarily grasped at his throat with one hand, attempting to pry Lyllith's hands off of his chest with the other. "Lyllith," he gasped. "Lyllith. Calm. Down."

Realizing what she had done, Lyllith appeared mortified, her hands flying to her gaping mouth. The shock caused all of her previous sorrow and desperation to disappear as if they had been nothing more than a vapor in the wind. As they left, whatever had taken hold of Kain was released, and he inhaled a deep, shuddering breath.

"Kain...I'm so...so sorry..."

Kain, catching his breath, met her stunned gaze with a relieved look. It wasn't the first time that he had felt her control over his body. A similar incident had occurred once before, and he had felt the icy fingers of death tugging at his core. Back then, Lyllith had absolutely no idea as to how to control her tremendous power, and he had almost paid the ultimate price for enticing her emotion. The girl still had very little control over her abilities, but she was improving--slowly, but surely; the fact that she was able to catch herself and shut off her control over Kain's body so quickly was proof of that. Unrestrained pleasure flooded Kain's expression, and a satisfied grin broke out across his lips. He peeled Lyllith's hands away from her face and held them firmly in his.

"You don't have to be afraid of hurting me, darling." A little pain was a small price to pay for such progress. "I can take care of myself, you know."

Lyllith, with eyes still wide and worried, appeared unconvinced. She did not understand her sudden outburst of emotion, and it was frightening to think that she would get that way around Kain. For so many years, she had been utterly alone. She could not bear the thought of killing someone close to her again. Still...as she caught Kain's gaze, she was surprised by the complete lack of fear that he possessed. Even though he knew that she could end his life in an instant, he did not fear her. In fact, he was actually pleased with her. Such courage was at once both awe-inspiring and a bit frightening.

"But, Kain...you are only--" A sudden flash of indignance in his eyes caused her voice to stop short, breath catching in her throat.

"I may only be an Outcast, but I have lived among wolves for long enough to grow myself a set of fangs." Then, just as quickly as it had appeared, the indignance was gone--replaced by the slightly maniacal softness that he had previously possessed. "Besides, with you by my side, very little harm can come to me. You can control yourself, I know it."

While she was still somewhat unconvinced, Lyllith knew that pursuing the point any further wouldn't do either of them any good. So, she just allowed the pale ghost of a smile to brush over her lips. "I appreciate your faith in me." Something deep inside of Lyllith told her that Kain's faith in her was only for a specific purpose, and that he was manipulating her emotions to turn her into some kind of weapon for his army--or, rather, his "Parade." She knew perfectly well that he was the kind of person who would use whoever he could for his own means. It was a disheartening thought, but she decided that it was better to be used than to be alone.