Heart of Ashes

Caine's Dream

Caine limped back into the house, using Evelyn as a crutch. He dropped the sword at the door and took the rapier from Evelyn. He slid it back into the shaft of the cane and pulled it out of the stand. He shifted his weight onto the cane and used it to get to the lounge where he sat down and rolled up his pants leg.

There was no wound but he felt it, hard and heavy in his bone. He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Evelyn's, she was shaking.

"Is it... will you... will you be okay?" she asked.

Caine nodded, "It's just a bullet. My body will overcome it in a few days, maybe weeks."

She hadn't removed her hand and he put his own on top of it, "Don't worry about me, granddaughter, I've lived through worse things. Come sit down, I'll go get Morwenna."

Evelyn did sit down and he went upstairs to find Morwenna. She was sitting on the floor in his bedroom, shaking and crying. She held the revolver tightly and almost fired off a shot at him. He crouched beside her and wrapped her in an embrace.

"They're gone," he whispered, "I won't hurt you."

She nodded and allowed him to help her up. She was shaking more than Evelyn and collapsed after two steps. She was crying uncontrollably as well. Caine picked her up and took her down. She buried her head in his shirt and he held it there as he passed the carnage. After depositing her on the couch he went to pour fruit juice for both of them. Once they had their sugar, he went to inspect the damage.

The front door was nothing but a mass of splintered wood on the floor. The door jam had been dented and knocked skew. The hinges were still on the frame; one hanging off it and the other dented. He turned around to assess the actual problem. Two bodies lay in the entry hall, another two in the dining room. There was blood everywhere and the smell was getting to him. His stomach growled loudly, despite feeding on Morwenna. He shook it off and began his work. He focused on the blood and pressed a hand to the wall. The blood on the wall began to move towards his hand and, when it got there, was absorbed into his skin. He did the same with the blood on the floor and drained it from the bodies. Once he'd done that he lined them up in front of the back door and went to sit with the girls in the lounge. He closed his eyes and pressed on them, lightly, with his thumbs. The silver bullet in his knee was not making anything easier and there were four bodies that needed to be disposed of.

"Is everything going to be alright?" Evelyn asked.

He nodded, "I hope so."

Evelyn was hugging Morwenna who'd fallen asleep. Her face was tear stained and red. Her hair clung to her sticky forehead and Caine felt a pang of guilt shoot through him as he realised it was his fault. He leaned back into the soft leather couch and rested his head on the back. He stared at the ceiling in complete silence and then his eyes started to close. He let them. He fell asleep.

A restless sleep brought dreams. Dreams he didn't much care to dream. Nightmares in which he watched Vlad die. Watched Lillith die. Freya. Van Helsing. Alastair... his own son. Then his dreaming mind took him to a different place. A place he recognised. The crypts beneath Castle Dracula and the room where Freya's awakening had taken place.

Freya was lying on the alter in a white dress, completely still. He walked to her side and touched her face. She was cold and lifeless, even for a vampire, and her lips - that once held a red blush - were pale. He could see the veins in her temples and eyelids. Thin braids encircled her crown while the rest of her loose hair was delicately arranged around her head on the later. Her hands were folded over her stomach, over a rose with a message next to it.

Meet me in the gardens when you're settled.

It said in his own handwriting. The ring he'd given her was on her ring finger. He slipped his hand into hers and stroked her cheek.

"Goodbye, Freya," he said.

He leaned down to kiss her. Her lips were as cold and still as they looked. He felt a pressure on his hand and he pulled out of the kiss. She was squeezing his hand. He opened his eyes to stare into her dark greeny yellow eyes. He smiled at her but her face remain blank and emotionless. It felt odd. Everything was quiet and when she spoke, her voice seemed to echo.

"She'll find you," she said.

He frowned, "Who are you..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the images shifted and then she was standing somewhere familiar. A beach in the sunshine. In the same white dress with her back to him. Her loose hair hung around her shoulders this time.

He went to her and tried to put his arms around her waist, only to have them go straight through her. She had come in his dreams but she was dead.
"Neat trick, huh?" she said as she turned.

Caine swallowed, "Who were you talking about, Freya?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, "Aren't you pleased to see me?"

"Unimaginably but, Freya, who were you talking about?"

She shook her head, "So Alastair's your son? I should've seen it sooner, you look quite similar really. Same eyes, same jaw line."

Caine blinked, "Freya, who were you talking to?"

She put a finger on his lips - well, over his lips, "Ssh, this is our special place," she said, "I'll answer all your questions and you can answer mine."

He sighed, he could see he was getting nowhere, "What do you want to know?"

She tilted her head, "Why the deceit? Why the pretence?"

"Because it was necessary," he answered, "if anyone had known Alastair was my son they'd..."

She shook her head, "That's not what I'm talking about."

Caine narrowed his eyes at her. She wasn't quite angry at him but there were certainly thoughts of slapping him behind her eyes.

"Then what are you talking about?"

She shrugged, it doesn't matter now, "I know everything. Its quite interesting, this state, don't you think? Somewhere between life and death. Unable to grasp either and take it. You've seen it so many times haven't you? You can go wherever you want but you can't really do anything but learn and see. It's honestly quite revealing and then when you come out of it you can do what you like with the knowledge. Except, I'm not coming out of this state. I'm stuck here just like Vlad and Lillith and all the others who died because of you. Van Helsing's moved on though, don't know where he ended up but seeing that he associated himself with you, he's probably not in a good place."

"Freya, don't say that," he said, no words had ever hurt him even half as much.

She shook her head, "Your lies and secrets cost so many of us our lives. I wanted to be with you Caine. I thought the sun would kill you and I died to be with you but how could I be with someone like you? How could I want to be with someone like you?"

He shook his head in bewilderment, "Freya, where is all this coming from?"

"This is is the consequence of your actions," she replied, "and you can't make it go away like you seem to do do with everything else that bothers you."

"Freya, what are you talking about?"

She looked up at him with malice in her eyes, malice, "I hope you know what you're doing, Caine."

He sighed, "Freya, I have no idea what you're talking about."

He couldn't think of anything he'd kept from Freya besides Alastair being his son. He tried but he couldn't remember a single thing. Not a person, not a plan, not even a statement.

"She asked me to give you a message," she said.

"Who did?"

"She says, 'I look forward to seeing you again, Caine, remember that life and death reside together."

He frowned, unsure what to make of that statement but before he could as she was gone and he was left to stare into the dark blue water with the waves retreating along the shore.