“So Cain is alive?” Delia asked.
I glanced over at Alex. “We think so. We don’t know for certain. All we know is the Order of Lizpha is fairly convinced that he escaped from his prison underneath Tell Abu Sharain thousands of years ago, at the time of the great flood, and if he is still alive, he’s not human. He can’t be.”
“What do you mean he’s not human? Did Lizpha turn him?”
I shook my head. “No, Cain hates vampires. That’s why they call him the Father of Death. He didn’t just try to stop Lizpha and his wife from producing more of their kind, he began to hunt them. The myths and legends that spread through Eridu were of Cain hunting vampires and killing them, ripping them apart like an animal.”
Sam frowned at me. “Didn’t Lilith say that Cain was animalistic? I thought it was a weird term, but now I’m thinking…”
“I remember, and that sprung to my mind too. I think there’s more to it. I think Cain is a shifter. In fact, I think Cain is the first shifter.” They all stared at me, except Alex who I had already run the theory by. He wasn’t quite convinced, but I was certain. “Think about it. Okay, Cain killed Abel. Abel’s blood bled into the ground, there was a big passage about it in Genesis—the blood was a big deal. The blood bled into the ground where Cain used to farm his crops. He then went off and had children—another type of crop, his produce. That was why Lizpha was cursed and where vampires began. God created them by cursing Lizpha, but he cursed Cain too. He put a mark on him so he couldn’t be killed.
“I’m sure that’s the curse, I’m sure it’s the wolf shifter curse. Lilith said he was animalistic, and there are reports Alex found where it says that he was wild and untamed, and he journeyed through the countries of Earth alone. He survived alone. One human on his own, surviving that whole time? I mean, it’s not impossible. But if he was a wolf shifter? There would have been a much bigger chance. And Alex told me that there’s always been a bit of a rivalry, an animosity, between wolf shifters and vampires.”
Sam nodded. “Yeah, even I was brought up to believe they were all inherently evil and we should kill them on sight.” He grinned at Alex. “So just watch it, mate.”
Alex snorted. “You wouldn’t stand a chance, puppy dog.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, enough of the machismo. I think that’s where it started. I think Cain was the first wolf shifter, and he used his abilities to hunt down and kill vampires as his son created them. The high priest of the order said pretty much the same thing. He said that Cain hunted and killed the vampires—loads of them. If he was just human, that would be impossible. And if the mark of Cain, as well as cursed, then that would explain why Shemyaza is dying to get his hands on him.”
My eyes met Deliah’s, who was watching me closely. She shook her head. “The Bible didn’t say that Cain was immortal, it said he couldn’t be killed.” She stood up and pulled a Bible from her bookshelf, flicking through Genesis until she found the right passage. “‘And the Lord said unto him, therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.’”
“Immortal. Can’t be killed. It means the same thing, doesn’t it?” Sam mused.
Alex shook his head. “No, it’s semantics. I’m immortal, but I could still be killed by fire or beheading or being chopped up into little fish bait, whatever—but I can be killed. If I’m not killed, though, I’ll live forever. Cain, on the other hand, can’t be killed. Nothing can kill him, no virus, bacteria, fire, weapons… nothing can kill him. He’s invulnerable. That’s why he’s still alive. If Shemyaza gets his hands on him…” He trailed off.
“If Shemyaza possesses Cain, we can’t beat him. We can’t kill him. He’ll be unstoppable,” Euriel surmised, voicing what we were all coming to comprehend. Silence fell around the room. Even Delia was silent. It had felt fairly damning when Alex and I had realised this on the plane home.
“Do we know where he is?” Euriel asked, breaking the silence.
Delia looked up. “Yes, there have been a few reports on the news that we’ve been following, but they’ve been in different locations, and we’re struggling to pinpoint which, if any, are his work. We’ve found evidence of massacres in Italy, but then also in the US, and they’re overlapping timewise.”
“Maybe they know that’s how we’re tracing them,” Alex suggested. “They’re faking massacres so we can’t work out where he is.”
“But we know that they’re looking for Cain,” Euriel said. “So if we find Cain, they’ll come to us. We need to protect him, Ms. Trowbridge.” I smiled over at him, and although he didn’t return it, his face softened as he looked at me.
We’d stumbled right into his path as we’d escaped the blaze in Nasiriyah. Trying to reach the hotel as quickly as possible, with both of us practically dead on our feet, we’d stopped for a short rest in a covered alleyway, and that was where he’d found us. He’d been called away by the archangel Michael, and thinking he’d had an hour to burn, he’d went, but when he’d returned to the club, we were already gone. He’d spent the rest of the night walking the streets searching for us. Between us, we’d managed to get Alex back to the hotel before the sun rose above the buildings, and it was Euriel who’d sorted transport and flights home.
He’d been quiet since we’d got back and had confided to me on the way in that he felt horribly guilty for abandoning us to an insane cult. I had tried to reassure him, but he was still not himself, and I made a mental note to ask Alex to have a word with him afterwards.
I looked back over at Deliah who was still speaking but thankfully hadn’t noticed me zoning out. “Thousands of years amongst humans, how will we find him now? We have no picture, no idea where he’s been, what he does for a living, if he even does anything. It’s entirely possible and fairly likely that he’s changed his name. So where do we even start looking?”
“I have an idea about that,” Sam offered before Alex could even open his mouth. “We find him by finding evidence of his work. I mean, we’re tracking Shemyaza, more or less, by what he leaves behind. Can’t we do the same to Cain? I know killing vampires doesn’t leave bodies behind, but there will still be stories, reports, and rumours, and all of us have contacts in a lot of places. Someone must have heard something if this guy is taking out tons of vampires. Assuming he’s still in business, that is. By now, he might have lost his sanity completely.”
Deliah nodded. “That’s a good idea actually. Vampires will definitely talk if they feel someone is targeting them. Alex, would Lucas know anything about this?”
Alex shrugged. “I’ve already called in the favour he owes me. I might end up having to owe him something in return, and you know it isn’t exactly going to be less than morally grey.”
“If it means we can track Cain down before Shemyaza, you have my approval on offering a future service,” Deliah stated.
Alex nodded. “I’ll go call him now.” He stood up and left the room.
Silence fell, so I pulled my phone out and opened the browser.
“What are you doing?” Sam leaned in to watch.
“It’s a crazy idea, and I’m sure Alex did this already, but I thought I would look up Cain on the internet,” I answered, tapping away at my screen.
Euriel snorted. “Surely that will just bring up countless Bible references and theology books?”
“It has,” I murmured, my eyes scanning the screen as I scrolled down. “But it would appear that Christianity isn’t the only religion to mention Cain.”
“Mormons?” Sam asked, resting his chin on my shoulder and following my scrolling.
“Yep, Mormons. Apparently an early leader called David W. Patten encountered someone believed to be Cain in 1835 in Tennessee.”
“Strange place for a famous Biblical figure to turn up, but okay. What else does he say?” Sam remarked.
“So there was an account published back in 1900 in a biography of Patten written by Lycurgus Wilson. Wilson had a letter from Abraham Smoot giving his recollection of what Patten said. It says, ‘As I was riding along the road on my mule I suddenly noticed a very strange personage walking beside me… His head was about even with my shoulders as I sat in my saddle. He wore no clothing, but was covered with hair. His skin was very dark. I asked him where he dwelt and he replied that he had no home, that he was a wanderer in the earth and traveled to and fro. He said he was a very miserable creature, that he had earnestly sought death during his sojourn upon the earth, but that he could not die, and his mission was to destroy the souls of men.’” I lowered the phone. “That kind of goes with what we thought, about him being cursed so he could never die.”
“Wandering around without clothes on though?” Euriel mused. “Why would he do that?”
“Because Faith is right. Cain is a shifter. He shifted back to human form and had no clothes with him to get dressed before running into this Patten guy,” Sam answered, sitting up. “It makes total sense when you put it into context.”
“And the vampire hunting thing looks likely too. Apparently Cain showed up at some Mormon temple, and Apostle Joseph Fielding Smith wrote to his brother that the strange visitor was ‘Cain… whose curse is to roam the earth seeking whom he may destroy,’” I read.
“Anything more recent?” Euriel asked, leaning over the back of the sofa, his breath brushing over my ear. A tingle ran down my spine from his proximity, and I swallowed before continuing.
“Not much, unless you take into account sightings in Utah in the 1980s.”
“That recent?” Deliah queried in surprise.
“Well, yes, kind of, but I wouldn’t put too much credence in it. The people saying it are claiming that Cain is Bigfoot, so…” I grinned.
“I wouldn’t discount it. If Cain is a shifter, and if he is of the stature reported, well, there have been accounts of large, animal-like human figures in the Americas for centuries. What’s to say Cain isn’t responsible for them? Living on the fringes of society with people only catching sight of him now and again.”
I stared at her, but she was serious. “So now we’re hunting Bigfoot?”
She opened her mouth to reply, but Alex walked back into the room.
“We’re looking for Bigfoot,” I announced, winking at Deliah.
“Are we? Okay, you’re going to have to explain that one later, but for now, I think I have an idea where Cain is. I managed to get Lucas on the line, and he said there were reports of some kind of renegade hunting down vampires in New York several months ago. He has contacts there. I looked over some Concordia files from the New York office, and he’s right. I then cross-checked it with other offices in the US, and it looks like Cain has been taking out vampire nests all over the country. He moves to an area then spends a couple of years taking out as many of the major nests as he can before moving on again.”
“That is useful,” Deliah commented. “Is he still in New York?”
Alex shook his head. “No, it’s been quiet there for a good six months. I think he’s already moved on.”
“Any idea where?” Deliah inquired.
“No, I’m sorry. There have been no major attacks on nests reported since then. That’s not saying there haven’t been any attacks, just that there are no reports yet. I’m going to go do some more research on his previous attacks and see if there’s some kind of pattern regarding locations or how he decides where to go next.”
Deliah nodded. “The rest of you might as well take a little time off while Alex chases these leads.”
“Time off?” Sam sounded shocked. “But…”
“Cassiel is currently planning troop movements with the King of Hell, and Alexei has research to do before we can plan our next move. Shemyaza’s attacks are becoming more common, yes, but in different locations, so it’s practically impossible to track him, and I have another team following up on those anyway. As soon as Alexei has a lead, we will move on it, until then, I would suggest you take some time to rest and regroup. Especially as some of you have had rather major injuries recently. Do I make myself clear, Samuel?”
“Yes, Deliah.”
I grinned at the sight of my wild wolf looking like a child who had just been told off.
“Well then, you are all dismissed until further notice.” She got up and left the room, sweeping out in a manner that you wouldn’t suspect someone of her tiny stature could accomplish. Alex followed behind her, and Sam stretched out.
“Well then, I guess it’s pizza, beer, and a movie tonight then.”
I shook my head at him.
“What?”
“Well, it’s hardly healthy, is it, when you’re supposed to be healing and taking it easy?” I argued, standing up.
He reached up and grabbed my hand, pulling me down into his lap with a yelp. “I see what you mean. Maybe you’re right and I should have an early night, hmm?”
He brought my lips down to his for a kiss, and I struggled against him, very aware of Euriel in the background. He wouldn’t give up, so I melted against him, enjoying the warm feeling of his lips on mine. I loved spending one-on-one time with my guys, but it did mean I missed the ones I wasn’t with. The thought of Amadi made my stomach tighten. I hated him not being here, especially knowing what he must be going through.
Sam pulled back. “You okay?”
I smiled. “Sure. An early night sounds great. And maybe we can crash and do the movie thing for a few hours first.”
“Actually, Faith…” Euriel’s voice sounded soft, hesitant almost, and I looked up at him. “I was wondering if… before you and Sam… I mean if we could…” I raised my eyebrows. Hearing Euriel struggle to find words was not something I was used to.
Sam grinned. “Euriel, mate, if you want her to go on a date with you, just ask. I won’t be offended!”
I glanced at Sam in confusion before meeting Euriel’s gaze. Was he actually blushing?
“It wasn’t… I wasn’t… Not a date,” Euriel spluttered, glaring at Sam. “But I would like to talk to Faith alone for a bit, if that’s okay with you? Or do I need permission from the group now?”
Sam opened his mouth, a wicked twinkle in his eye, and I slapped my hand over his lips as I scrambled off his lap. “Euriel, if you need something from me, ask me. I don’t answer to any of these idiots.”
“I was trying to ask you. I just wanted to go somewhere where I could talk to you about something, if that is okay with you?”
“It’s fine, let’s go.” I glared at Sam as I took my hand away. “I’ll see you later.” I followed Euriel out of the room.
“Have her back by ten!” Sam yelled through the door, and I stuck my middle finger up at him as we disappeared out of his view.
