Capítulo 6: Contemplation
Cain picked his way back down the narrow path from the cabin, glad to be putting it behind him. He patted the small sign at the front of the path with a mild smirk. He thought they might need to add a new caveat to the sign. 'Magical Solutions: Inquire Within*' Then, he imagined, in much smaller script, the addendum could read something like '* = unless you've caused irreparable emotional or physical damage to the witch's children'. He chuckled to himself. He wondered if anyone else would be barred by that criteria, or if he was the lone lucky fiend who had done a disservice to one of the few people willing to help his kind.
Hopefully, it wouldn't matter. With any luck, he wouldn't need to come back again. Even if he did need it, he doubted the witch would be so accommodating, knowing what she did now. This was hardly the first healing hut he'd been barred from, and he'd only been a vampire for eleven years. He suspected that before long, there wouldn't be a healer alive who would willingly treat him. Not even an enthralled healer would be likely to help, unless directly ordered to do so by their master. Even among vampires, people like Cain weren't likely to have their injuries treated. The first reason had to do with resources - a vampire who could be easily injured was a liability, and better off dead. The second reason had to do with Cain's role in the clan. Being a clan enforcer was not exactly a popular position to hold among vampires, much less the general population. As such, being an enforcer came with a plethora of fringe disadvantages.
The average vampire was already despised by most people for obvious reasons. But vampires who did the wet work for big clans like the Solveig were despised even more. Most vampires, when they fed, didn't actively kill their victims - after all, blood was a renewable resource, given enough patience and an abundance of caution. Enforcers were an exception to that rule, because most of the creatures they fed on were those who had taken an active role among their clan's enemies, and as such, needed to be disposed of swiftly and indiscriminately.
That said, being an enforcer had some fringe benefits, too. For one thing, people left Cain the hell alone. Nobody wanted anything to do with a vampire who might, at any moment, be ordered to end you for insubordination. It also gave Cain more opportunities to drink the blood of rare or powerful creatures, compared to most vampires. The Solveig clan didn't keep a lot of rare bloods in their menagerie of thralls, so the majority of the vampires under their roof fed on human blood. Cain was a rare exception, feeding more often on the blood of powerful creatures than he ever fed on humans. He'd not fed on enough creatures to develop a real preference for one blood over another, but it was still nice to have a more varied diet than the typical vampire.
Speaking of diet… Cain smacked his lips once, and wished he could salivate without the scent of blood in his nostrils. Trying to rid his mouth of the lingering taste of black slime without spitting it out was a real chore. The most disappointing part of the healer's treatment had been the fact that had he swallowed the demon blood as-is, it probably would have tasted nice. Demon blood was a rare treat, and varied as widely as the demons who bled it. Unfortunately, Cain hadn't been able to taste the demon girl's blood at all - it had been totally overwhelmed by the awful medicine that still lingered in his mouth and throat. The thrice-blessed blood had been nasty-tasting, too. All things considered, at the moment, he found the idea of normal, not-enhanced human blood to sound particularly appealing. Anything to wash the horrible taste out of his mouth, really.
Shaking his head slightly to dislodge the thought of food (it was too soon after the incident to really risk feeding again anyway), Cain stumbled his way back through the woods. He knew he'd need to find shelter before long. The sun was close to rising, and he had little chance of reaching the Solveig fortress before that happened. Fortunately, he wasn't totally unfamiliar with the terrain, and was eventually able to find his way to an outcropping of rocks that took to a lean-to structure with little difficulty. A few snapped saplings, a bit of creative weaving of branches, and Cain was able to huddle under the shelter. He hoped that the day didn't become windy - how stupid would it look, to have survived thrice-blessed blood only to be seared to a crisp by a sunny afternoon?
There, in the expectant silence of pre-dawn, Cain sat quietly, appreciating the relative peace of the moment despite the lack of assured safety that encroached with the first rays of sunlight.
Thinking back, Cain found himself considering the most surprising revelation of the night. The pup. He usually kept tabs on the survivors who escaped the bloody retribution of the Solveig Clan, but Cain hadn't known better at the time. He'd wondered, a few times over the past eleven years, if the pup had done well for himself. He wouldn't call it worry, because Cain didn't spare such frivolous emotions for anyone but himself. But it had been a… professional curiosity, maybe. It was nice to have that uncertainty resolved. He didn't begrudge the pup his anger. Had he been in the young wolf's position, he would hardly have behaved any better.
Curious, though, how quickly the boy had backed down. One minute, the pup had been snarling fit to rip his throat out, the next he seemed almost unnaturally soothed. Had the witch done something without his notice? He couldn't think of another explanation. What else could cause a wolf to back off so quickly? Cain had plenty of experience with werewolves, but he'd never seen such a quick turn of temper. They weren't the sort to be easily placated, particularly in situations such as the one the pup had endured. Was it the influence of the demon girl? But that didn't make sense, either. Sighing audibly, Cain resigned himself to the continued mystery of his first small rebellion. The wolf he'd decided not to kill, had, for some reason, decided to return the favor. Perhaps this was his curse, to forever be wondering about the pup.
Having concluded as much, Cain briefly considered turning his mind to other matters, but there wasn't much else of interest to contemplate while alone in the woods. After some deliberation, he thought he might as well try and sleep, seeing that he was out in the daylight and far from civilization. For a vampire like him, that was one of the safest places for him to be - far away from the schemes of those who sought his downfall, and the thralls who did their bidding.
Decision made, Cain curled as close to the rocky outcropping as he could, and shut his eyes, hoping the next time he woke it wouldn't be to the unwelcome scent of his own burning flesh.
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES 
VHBlood
VHBlood Thanks again for reading! I've gotten my first power stone for this story, and I'm so excited to see it, and the growing number of collections! Thanks to all my readers for your support <3
Estado de energía semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Piedra de
Poder