Caitlyn

Caitlyn thought that seeing Cain on his knees and broken would somehow delight her, yet that was not the case. Standing on the junction of where South and North Main Street collided, hundreds of the supernatural community awaited her actions with bated breath. Caitlyn should have felt empowered, but the cavern of emptiness inside her opened and she thought she would faint.

A strong hand landed on the small of her back, and she felt the confidence of Donnie’s belief in her with that one simple touch. Jutting out her chin, she addressed the crowds.

“My friends, I thank you for gathering on such short notice, and I appreciate you all for coming to bear witness to a wrong that needs to be righted. Before you stands Cain, first of the vampires. He is my sire. And I, Caitlyn Hardi, come under the old laws to beseech your approval to end the suffering of many by taking his life.”

Cain’s laughter, a bitter and twisted sound that Caitlyn had heard many a time before, sent a shiver up her spine. But still she continued to speak to the masses. “Many of you know me or know of me, but you have not heard my story as told from my lips. It is not a pleasant story for me to tell, but I shall tell it so you can be certain this vampire needs to die.”

Caitlyn snuck a glance at Donnie, who nodded, giving her a small smile. It was not in her nature to show weakness and her tale of sorrow and sadness was her greatest weakness. Emotion, Caitlyn had learned, could be a curse or it could be a blessing. She had known love and she had known sorrow.

“Three centuries ago, I lived a life of blessed happiness with my husband, my beautiful baby girl, and had another life growing inside of me. This monster decided that I was to be his and came into my home, took my husband from me, snapped the fragile neck of my baby girl, and having forced blood down my throat, proceeded to kick the life from me. I knew the instant my baby boy died, and waited for death to come for me. But I was reborn.”

Caitlyn spared a glance at Melanie, who had tears glistening in her eyes. She watched as Ricky slipped his hand into hers and squeezed. Turning her attention back to the crowd, she ignored the gasps and whisperings.

“During my time as a vampire under Cain’s care, I was forced to kill my father. I was beaten for my disobedience, silver nails hammered into my skin so that my flesh felt as if it were burning. And when I refused his sexual advances, Cain chained me to a bed and had sex with others next to me. When my disgust didn’t satisfy his needs, he forced himself upon me, all while I was still a new vampire and not strong enough to defend myself.”

A chorus of growls and snarls rang out among the crowd and Caitlyn could not differentiate between the supernatural sounds. Someone shouted out for Cain’s head, but the eldest of their kind seemed unmoved by their catcalls.

“I created her,” he simply said. “She was mine to do with as I please. Our story is still told today, one of the greatest love stories of all time.”

Caitlyn shook her head with a snort. “He is refereeing to an old story, from my homeland, La Belle et la Bête, or as you know of it, Beauty and the Beast. Cain, there you go again, telling tales from only one point. If you are going to compare us to the much-loved tale, please tell the crowd what happened after you read the initial story.”

When Cain refused to speak, pursing his lips into a pout, Caitlyn spoke for him. “I spoke with the author and told her my story, as I tell it to you today. When Cain read the words for himself, he forced the change on Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and compelled her to write a warped version according to his fictitious belief of how the fair maiden would fall in love with the beast. I’m afraid, sire, that this maiden could never love the beast.”

Cain surged forward, stopping a hair’s breadth from Caitlyn’s face. “Never forget what I am, my rose. I am indeed a beast, and if I have to lock the maiden inside my tower and brick off the walls, then so be it. I will not bow to these fickle people who have been brainwashed by you. I am a king and I yield for no one!”

The last sentence held the weight of power and grandeur in the roared words. Caitlyn stood her ground. The crowd parted slightly, and Chester strode out. He held a book in his hands, and Caitlyn felt a surge of relief. Cain’s gaze wandered to where Chester stood, clapping his hands together once.

“My, my, my, if it is not our very own Lefou! It is Chester you go by now, is it not?”

“Still living in your own warped sense of a fairy-tale, my king. Come now, most of us have evolved over the years. It amazes me that you have not changed in all the years you have lived.”

Cain growled, and Caitlyn admired Chester’s rebellion.

“She is my queen and I have come to take her home.”

Chester shrugged his shoulders, coming to stand before Caitlyn. Caitlyn held out her hand to Chester, who brought the back of her hand to his lips and said, “How may I serve you, my queen?”

“I am just Caitlyn, Chester. Please, if you could, would you tell those gathered here what you witnessed yesterday, when my plane touched down on Irish soil?”

With a wink, Chester replied, “It would be my pleasure. I was at the airport to meet my queen when she returned to us, and before my eyes, in the old laws as written down in the Book of Cain, the accords all vampires must abide by, Lady Caitlyn took Donnie O’Carroll as her consort. Their union was sealed in blood—”

“And hot monkey sex!” Donnie exclaimed, grinning, earning a cheer from the crowd.

“And bound themselves together for all of their immortal lives. Therefore, Caitlyn and Donnie are now a mated couple, and none other than death can tear them apart.”

Cain erupted into a blind rage and swung for Chester, getting a punch to the gut from Donnie. Doubled over, Cain snarled, “She is mine and no claim from that guttersnipe can overstake my claim.”

Caitlyn allowed a slow, deadly smile to show on her lips. “Not according to the Book of Cain.”

“My book has been lost for an age. You have no proof that the laws exist.”

Donnie yanked him up by the hair and forced him to look at the book in Chester’s hands. “Who knew,” Donnie rumbled in Cain’s ear but loud enough that everyone could hear, “that the little sycophant who collects shiny things would be of use.”

Chester shook his head. “I discovered this book many a year ago and have hidden it for a time such as this. It was the scrolls in the Catacombs that reminded me that I had acquired the book. My queen, if I may?”

Caitlyn nodded as Chester opened the dusty book and read aloud. “In accordance with the sire claim, there shall only be one aspect that can take the claim of sireship from a vampire and that is of a mated pair. Should a vampire consent to taking a consort, then the claim of ownership will be relinquished unto the mate.”

“That means I belong to her,” Donnie growled.

“And I to him,” Caitlyn affirmed, and the crowd cheered.

Cain roared, power gushing from him, and the crowd fell silent. “I claimed you all those years ago. It was my blood you drank, my blood that changed you. You are my queen and I will kill him for taking that from me.”

“I never consented to being your queen, Cain, but I consented to being Donnie’s equal.”

Cain grabbed her before Donnie could stop him. She heard the sound of a gun being cocked and saw Ricky aim for the vampire’s head. It would not kill him, but it would slow him down. But Chester stepped into Ricky’s line of sight and the warlock cursed.

“Ah, ah, Cain. Taking a consort from their mate by force is punishable by death. They are all witnesses to it.” Chester pointed to the creatures baying for blood on the city streets. “You would not make it out with your head. Let our queen go and allow her to take her rightful place by her mate.”

Cain snarled. Caitlyn thought he would take her with him, deciding to pitch it all to Hell. His hand snapped up around her throat, Cain’s fingers biting into her flesh. If he squeezed a little harder, he would snap her neck. She wanted more time with Donnie, wanted to be there for Melanie, and show Kenzie that not all vampires were monsters, or rather that most could contain the monster.

Cain shoved her away abruptly, and Donnie took her into his arms.

He gently placed a kiss to her forehead, then leaned his brow against hers. “Go have your vengeance. I’ll be right here, waiting to catch you.”

“I love you.”

“I know.”

Casting her eyes back toward Cain, Chester held out a sword and handed it to Caitlyn. The hilt was cool in her grasp, the etchings familiar. It had been her father’s sword.

“As Donald said, I have a liking for shiny things. My gift to you, my lady.”

Donnie kicked the back of Cain’s legs so that the vampire hit the ground hard with his knees. “If I’d known it was this easy to kill him, I would’ve gone after him long ago. The bogeyman of the vampires is nothing but a snivelling idiot.”

Cain made to stand, but got kicked back down again. Caitlyn felt the magic simmer in Cain’s body and put the tip of the blade to his chin. Blood red eyes lifted to meet her gaze, and Caitlyn saw the handsome man with the devil in his eyes.

“You cannot kill me,” Cain retorted smugly.

“Oh, I can, very easily.”

“Killing me will end all vampires.”

Caitlyn hesitated, because it was not on her to risk the lives of every vampire in the world. If his words were true. Caitlyn wanted to get confirmation from she who tasted the truth, but would not expose Melanie like that.

“Killing me will end the curse put upon me by the Almighty Father. With my withered corpse, the virus will cease to exist and all those infected with vampirism will return to death.”

Caitlyn looked first at Donnie, who shrugged, and then at Chester.

“What will be will be. We have lived far longer than any of us expected to. We have had a good run, Lady Caitlyn.”

“I will not condemn people to death because of my vengeance. I am not Cain.”

The vampires in the crowd grew restless, some believing the words Cain spoke, and Caitlyn feared for a moment that she would have to let him go free. His smug smile told that he thought the exact same.

She heard the words of a mere whisper, a mumbled sound behind a hand that tried to stop her from revealing herself, but the next time the words were spoken, her little vampire made certain she was heard.

“He’s lying! I can taste the bitterness of it on my tongue.” Melanie turned to face the crowd, gulped, and said, “When Caitlyn saved my life and made me a vampire, I awoke with the power to tell truth from lies. I didn’t survive a fucking psychopath gutting me to die with the death of another psycho. I give my vow that my words are true or I will be struck down.”

Melanie glanced up at the sky, as if she expected the gods or God to strike her down.

“A nice collection you have there, my lady,” Chester muttered with a little grin.

“It is not a collection, Chester. It is family.”

“Then I am quite envious of your family.”

“As you should be.”

Chester’s chortle came naturally as he inclined his head to Caitlyn. This may not make them friends, but Chester had gained a powerful ally in Caitlyn.

“As touching as this is, can we just get it over with? I despise all of this bullshit and grandstanding.”

Caitlyn inched the blade up higher, but didn’t sweep it swiftly across his neck. While they had been speaking, Caitlyn had realized that she no longer craved vengeance in white hot rages, but rather justice so that no other would rise in Cain’s wake to claim his monstrous title. For if they did, Caitlyn would storm in and strike them down. Change was coming, and she would happily be the one who ushered it in.

“I am not a queen. I do not demand blind loyalty or strive to instil fear in you. I will instead be a knight, wiping out injustice and ridding the world of those who wish to smear it in blood. We are civilised vampires, no longer forced to hide in the shadows. When the king’s head falls upon the ground, a new dawn will usher in. A tribunal will be set in place for meting out punishment, with new laws forged for a new world. His reign of terror is ended.”

Every single vampire in the crowd went down on one knee to a chorus of “All hail, Queen Caitlyn.”

Donnie was the last to attempt to kneel and Caitlyn gave him a brisk shake of her head. “You never kneel to me, my Donnie. We are equals.”

“I like how you claim me, Cait. Claim me some more when we are alone.”

She allowed the brief flash of lust to bleed into her eyes before she motioned for the vampires to stand.

“Cain.” The sound of his name dragged his eyes to hers and Caitlyn hoped he saw his death in them.

“You will go to your death knowing you didn’t break me. That despite all that you have inflicted upon me, I found a man who saw beyond the broken pieces of me and held me together. He did so because he cared for me, even if I never returned his affections. The greatest revenge I could ever have is loving someone so freely and being loved in return. Vengeance is no longer mine, but there is someone whose vengeance overshadows mine.”

Caitlyn felt pride as Kenzie, the last of Caitlyn’s bloodline, stepped off a nearby building and landed on the ground like a cat leaping from a tree.

Curious as Caitlyn’s almost identical twin prowled closer, that scythe gleaming in the moonlight, the crowd smelt blood in the water.

“This young woman is my niece.” That sent a shocked, collective gasp throughout the vampires and other supes in the area. “And is under my protection. Cain killed her family because she had the audacity to look like me. He committed one of our greatest crimes, feeding her his blood and making her other while still human.”

“Murderer!”

“Hunter!”

“She killed us!”

The cries rang out and Kenzie ducked her head, losing some of the swagger she carried on her young shoulders. Caitlyn reached out and cupped her cheek. “Never shy away from who you are. I was the hunter before you, and now, vengeance is upon you, my dearest Kenzie.”

To the gathered force, she said, “Kenzie Blake had been told that some of your kin were rapists, murderers, human traffickers—all lies spun by Cain. He even told Kenzie that I was the one who slew her family.”

“Don’t believe her, Kenzie. She weaves lies.”

“Stop,” Kenzie said, a growl in her voice. “Caitlyn has never lied to me in the brief time I have known her. I spent the last ten years of my life hating a person I could have been learning from, and you took that away from me. Just like you took my family from me. From Caitlyn. I have time to atone for my sins. But your time, Father, has come to an end. Any last words?”

Cain chose to ignore Kenzie, and with no fear in his eyes, he smirked at Caitlyn. “The scars on the inside will continue to haunt you, Caitlyn. You will never truly be happy. And he will always wonder if you are thinking of me, or of your long dead husband when he’s fu—”

Cain’s words stopped mid-sentence as Kenzie swiped out her scythe and sliced clean through Cain’s neck. His head bounced as it hit the ground, and for a moment Caitlyn didn’t move.

Cain’s body began to wither the moment his head was separated from his neck. The mark flared under his clothes, as if whatever curse had been laid upon Cain came to life, lighting a spark that burst his body into flames. It was not surprising that Cain would not die as a vampire of his age should have. After a few tense moments, flesh and bone turned to ash, and then Cain was simply gone, swept away with the wind. Caitlyn didn’t feel a thing apart from strong arms engulfing her into a hug. Joyous cheers rang out, but Caitlyn barely heard them.

“Is he really dead?”

“Yes, Cait. You are finally free. Come, kiss your mate and let him know you’re okay.”

Caitlyn brushed her lips against the stubble of his chin. Traitorous thoughts punched in her mind that now that she had rid herself of the plague Cain brought with him, the demons who circled her, trying to drown her, would break free and Caitlyn would have no excuse but to break their hearts. Her purpose in life evaporated. Donnie made to speak, but Melanie’s arms encircled her from behind.

“I’m sorry, Caitlyn, but I couldn’t let him go free. He deserved to die.”

Caitlyn said nothing, simply offered a prayer to whatever god or gods may be dwelling in the sky. She hoped that what had long been broken could be mended, or if not mended, put back together so that she would not drive those she cared for away.

“Hey, Kenzie, where are you going? Lads, where’s mini Caitlyn off to?”

Caitlyn slipped free of Donnie’s embrace and darted her gaze in search of her niece. Stalking away from the scene, her scythe limp in her arm, Kenzie moved with an elegant grace that Caitlyn admired.

“Kenzie! Wait, please?”

It was the anguish in the word please that made Kenzie stop as Caitlyn came to stand in front of her. Kenzie saw a deep sadness mirrored in features so shockingly similar that there was no doubt they were related.

“And where do you think you are going?” the vampire questioned, her hands going to her hips.

“I need to go, to get away from here.”

“Why?”

Why, Caitlyn asked, why did she have to go?

“There is nothing here for me now. My sole purpose for living is ashes in the wind. I have hunted my last hunt. These people, these vampires, will never accept that I live after what I did, blinded by my grief.”

In truth, Kenzie felt hollow and alone. Vengeance had not tasted as sweet as she thought it would. Now she felt bitter and twisted inside.

“I feel it too, the emptiness. But it is important to surround yourself with good people so that they remind us we can be good also.”

Peering up at her last undead relative, Kenzie asked Caitlyn, “And where do I go now?”

Caitlyn’s hands fell on her shoulders and Kenzie shivered at the contact and because of the words Caitlyn spoke. “You come home, Kenzie Blake. You come home to family.”