Fan Fiction ❯ The Soul Reaver and The Spirit Shield ❯ Building Bridges, Burning Hatred ( Chapter 30 )

Chapter Thirty

"Stupid blue demon. Who does he think he is, anyway? Leaves me here without telling me where he's going," Jenise cursed under her breath. She picked up another flat rock and threw it as hard as she could across the pond. "For all I know Kain could be killing Moebius as I speak, and HE doesn't even care," she growled as she watched the stone skip a few times across the water.

Spotting another flat stone, she bent down to pick it up. The stone she previously threw continued to bounce on its way, until colliding into the shin of an onlooker.

"What was that for? That really hurt, you know," came Raziel's all too familiar voice. Jenise's head shot up in his direction. He was still rubbing his shin where the rock had struck him. "I don't have any skin to protect my shins anymore."

"Where the hell have you been?" demanded the priestess, obviously giving no sympathy towards Raziel's `injury'.

"There was an elemental forge hidden behind this waterfall. I've obtained the element of water," the reaver proclaimed as he held the wraith blade up for Jenise to see. The wraith blade was now an aqua color. The blade seemed to mimic liquid, as its energy appeared to flow within the blade like currents of water.

"How fascinating," Jenise replied nonchalantly, feigning disinterest, before continuing to scold Raziel. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to go off looking for another forge? You DO know we have a certain heart we have to find before a certain vampire kills a certain guardian of time?"

"Aw, did someone miss me?" Raziel couldn't resist adding fuel to the fire. Like he knew would happen, the comment only angered Jenise further.

"I'll have you know, that while you were off, fooling around, that Kain went striding by here on his way to kill Moebius!"

"What! He came through here? And you didn't stop him?" Raziel's mood immediately changed from jest to shock. Grabbing Jenise's hand and starting to run, he exclaimed, "We have to hurry!"

Pulling her arm from Raziel's grasp, Jenise reassured the former vampire, "Relax! I was lying. He didn't really pass by. Although there WAS a good possibility that he could have."

Hearing this, Raziel stopped in his tracks. "He didn't?"

"No. Of course not! If he had, either he or I would be a corpse right now."

Raziel let out a sigh of relief. "Why did you have to go and scare me like that for?"

"It serves you right…for abandoning me and for teasing me."

"All right! I get the point! I shouldn't have left you alone…and defenseless," Raziel replied, getting a side-glance to see Jenise's angry disposition. Before she could give a rebuttal, he added, "Let's go already!"

Too angry to argue, Jenise followed Raziel as he continued downstream. As they traveled, other streams emptied into the one they were following, eventually causing it to swell to the size of a small river. After a few more last turns, the duo found themselves at the top of a wide, but short waterfall, flowing into the flooded lake on the opposite side of the Stronghold. Jenise stared down the ten feet to the surface of the water in disappointment.

"Great, this side is flooded too," the priestess stated, most of her previous anger had, by now, subsided.

"Yes, but on this side, there is a balcony that he can enter through. Over there," the vampire wraith pointed a bony talon at the center of the stronghold. Jenise strained to see the tiny opening in the massive edifice. Sure enough, as Raziel had said, there was indeed a balcony, though it was about ten feet above the surface of the water.

"Well, how are we supposed to reach it? Even if we swam over to it, it's too high to jump to, and there is nothing we can climb on to get to it?" she inquired. Stepping back from the edge of the waterfall, her heal collided with a very solid stone, nearly causing her to fall backwards onto her rear. "Stupid rock!" she cursed at the object of her offense before noticing something strange about it.

"Hey, Raziel. What do you suppose this is?" she asked as she dipped her hands into the cold water, brushing off some of the smaller pebbles from the large rock she had nearly tripped over. At her question, the reaver of souls turned his attention from the lake to Jenise. As she removed the debris from the rock, Raziel's eyes grew wide with instant recognition.

"That rock! It holds the symbol of the water element!"

Raziel moved next to the symbol, staring at it in disbelief that it was there the entire time and he hadn't noticed. Jenise looked up at him expectantly. With the water-enhanced blade, Raziel plunged it into the symbol. Suddenly, the flow of water around them seemed to act freely against the will of gravity. As the water reached the cliff of the rock, it did not fall down into the lake below. Instead, it continued to flow across the air, as if there was a riverbed below it, supporting its movement.

The flow of water twisted and turned in its path as it snaked its way over to the balcony. As it came within arm's reach of the platform, if finally gave in to gravity, where it fell into the lake below. When Jenise and Raziel expected the effect of the symbol to be complete, they were surprised when even more changes occurred. Starting from the symbol, and working its way towards the balcony, the water instantaneously changed over to ice, despite the warm spring air.

As the end of the new ice bridge solidified, Raziel withdrew the wraith blade from the symbol. He stepped out onto the crystalline structure, testing it for strength. Confident, he turned back to Jenise and gave he a look, as if to say, `It's safe.' The priestess followed her companion's footsteps, and walked out onto the bridge. She stared down at the surface of the ice and saw perfectly her own reflection.

"Let's go. We don't know how long this bridge will remain," Raziel calmly stated, pulling her out of her stupor. They made good time across the bridge, neither falling on the ice along the way. As they reached the bridge's edge, they leaped to the balcony and into the stronghold. On secure ground, Jenise turned back to the ice bridge they had just crossed. Slowly, the ice began to melt and fall into the lake below until the bridge had completely dissolved.

The duo descended the long spiraling staircase down to the first floor of the circular chamber. With each step, Jenise noticed how Raziel seemed ever more reluctant to continue. At long last, they reached the bottom of the ridiculously long staircase, and emerged in the room. Jenise's eyes grew wide with awe at witnessing this sacred room before time had destroyed it.

She moved from painting to painting, taking in the images of the fallen Sarafan priests. But as Jenise gazed at each picture, her awe, wonder and respect for the priests waned. For in each image, the `nobility' of the priests was clearly shown, as each warrior was shown killing a vampire in his own way.

Under previous circumstances, Jenise may have felt full of pride, having followed in the footsteps of these righteous historical icons. But now, knowing her true identity, she was filled with disgust and hatred. Not only at these images and their beholders, but at herself as well. Her hands were no cleaner than theirs.

Finally, she came upon the lone statue in the room. She had never seen this statue before. It had been destroyed some time during the history of the stronghold. The statue depicted a priest for whom a painting was deemed unworthy. The lettering etched into the pedestal below this priest's feet read `Raziel.' The current version of said person stood silently at the base of the finely crafted monument.

Jenise walked up beside Raziel, still staring at the stone likeness of the former Sarafan. She turned her gaze to her left, and looking into Raziel's eyes, she could see the deep pain that still lingered there. Witnessing her companion's own anguish, her own self-hatred had been momentarily forgotten.

Raziel had told her his entire story up until the point they met. How he had so anxiously awaited for the encounter with Janos Audron, and upon finally meeting the ancient vampire did he realize he had unknowingly provided the Sarafan access to their long time prey.

Janos, who had waited centuries for Raziel, saved the vampire wraith from the destructive forces of the Sarafan. Powerless, Raziel could only look on while the Sarafan subdued the vampire with Moebius's staff, while his former Sarafan self tore the heart from Janos's still living body.

As if feeding off its symbiotic twin's anger, the wraith blade swirled to life, sparking with electricity as it gained in power. Suddenly, in an extreme act of self-hatred, Raziel lashed out at the statue of his former self with the wraith blade. At the last moment before impact, the blade switched element on its own accord, changing from water to earth.

As the blade connected with the statue, the stone disintegrated in a tiny explosion, sending pieces of marble flying in all directions. Jenise shielded her eyes from the debris with her hands. Raziel continued to vent, swinging the blade several more times at the remnants of the statue. Finally, Raziel overexerted himself, and turned away from the statue to lean against a stone column while he caught his breath.

Jenise lowered her arms when she no longer heard the sound of stone breaking. She looked up to where the statue had once been. As the dust settled, all that was left of the glory of the former monument was a pile of rubble. Only the name on the pedestal had survived. Jenise turned her head towards Raziel. A questioning look was on her face, though she was too shocked to speak what was on her mind. She had never witnessed Raziel lash out in such a way before.

After a few moments of silence, Raziel rose to a full standing position. Turning to Jenise, he instructed, "Let's go." Jenise silently obeyed, not wanting to oppose the reaver of souls after the display of his destructive power. They left the sanctum of the priests and continued through the stronghold, determined to confront Moebius.

Several moments after the warriors departed the chamber, an almost unnoticeable disturbance echoed throughout the room. A shadowed creature, similar in form to a bat, fluttered in from the balcony above and descended to the ground below. The creature seemed to gather itself, before transforming into the figure of a man. He rose to his full height, and took in the sight before him.

"So this is the stronghold wherein lies the remains of King William," sneered the being, disgust at the spoken name eminent in his voice. "The stronghold that once housed the Sarafan priests," he spoke as he cast his eyes over the images on the walls surrounding him and finally the crumbled ruins of the once magnificent statue before him.

Taking particular interest in the state of ruin, he strode up to the pedestal that once supported the carved stone. Kneeling down, he used a clawed hand to wipe the dust from the inscription. Satisfied with his work, he rose to his feet and took a step back. Aloud, he read the single word, "Raziel."

With more important matters at hand, the being turned towards the exit, thoughts of his next task on his mind. The anticipated joy of avenging himself for the wrongs committed against him, a sardonic laugh escaped his lips. A laugh that no other could mistake. A laugh that belonged to only Kain himself.