The Prince's Consort

The lingering afterimage stood behind Gabriel. It was more solid than before, and Caitlin thought she saw the phantom Kalen smile at the back of his head. It was distracting, so much so she didn't realize Gabriel had been speaking to her. Her eyes snapped to him.

"Did we give her too much this time?" he glanced over at Sara, who shrugged. Gabriel looked back at her, strapped to a wheelchair, "Can't lose your mind just yet, Caitlin, still got a role to play. That fanged fucker has already hit the safehouse in the city. That means he's close, a few more doses, and you'll bring him straight to us."

Caitlin clenched the bit between her teeth, Gabriel decided it was best after she savaged the nurse. She hoped Kalen was smart enough to sense the trap before he arrived; he planned on using UV floodlights to burn Kalen or any other vampire that entered once they were inside. Then, she assumed by the sheer amount of ammo around the bunker, they'd finish him off with one of many obsidian bullets.

"Looks like we won't need to find his lair after all." Gabriel shrugged, "but I bet you your friend Micah will tell us. We'll take out the rest of them, and any sympathizers along the way."

Caitlin saw Sara's back tense slightly, but he nodded, "Yes, sir."

He meant to kill Marianne and Edmund, too.

The second dose had lasted longer than the first, still its effects tingled in her extremities. Reality was slipping a bit, and Caitlin was afraid it'd only get worse from here on out. She worried about the servants, and her mother, but she couldn't focus long enough to figure out a plan.

"Take her back to the room," Gabriel waved Sara off. "The next dose will be in an hour, any sooner and it will fry her system."

"Sir." The wheelchair turned to the door and turned right down the long sterile hallway. They were escorted by the shadow, fading with every step until he disappeared entirely. Caitlin bowed her head and closed her eyes.

The wheelchair finally stopped moving after another turn, and the bit was taken off with some effort of Sara's thick fingers. She wiped her face on the patient gown, and glared at him. "You knew who I was, back in the city?"

Sara sat across from her and stared for a long time before nodding.

"You're my brother."

"Half." He corrected.

Her brain reeled with the last of the drugs, "What are they doing to me?" she whispered, "Please, don't let them give me another injection. They're going to kill me."

Sara shook his head.

Her shoulder burned from the recent shot, she'd bitten a nurse, for Christ's sake. Caitlin wondered if it was a side effect or circumstantial; either way, this place was stripping her of her sanity. "Why don't you talk to me?" she yanked at the restraints.

Sara didn't answer, as expected.

"Can't you see they're murderers too? They're going to kill Micah, Edmund... Marianne... How can you just sit there and let him get away with it?"

Finally, she saw a flicker of regret in his eyes. Before he could answer, the door handle jiggled. Sara unlatched her restraints as a nurse swung into the room, a man this time, and not any one she'd seen before. "Time for another dose." He wore a facemask; the concealed smile reached his eyes.

Sara stood after unlatching the last buckle, "Too soon." He put his body between them.

"Gabriel's orders," the nurse readied the needle; the liquid inside was dark.

Caitlin stumbled out of the wheelchair, but stayed behind Sara.

"No." With a swift motion, Sara clocked the nurse, sending him toppling into the bed. "Get out, Caitlin." She was confused at the strange turn of events. Was Sara protecting her? "GO!" he bellowed, holding the nurse down by the neck, who was turning blue.

Despite asphyxiation, the nurse depressed the needle deep into Sara's forearm. The dark liquid puckered the skin, a black line trailing up his arm.

Poison

.

Someone had meant to poison her. Sara had seen right through it and stopped the assassin before he injected her, taking her death onto himself. Caitlin took the opportunity he gave her and ran, knowing that in a single day, she'd gained and lost a brother.

*

The bunker had a simple, L shape layout. Caitlin ducked behind a prepped bed as nurses stormed by, alerted to the commotion in her room. She wouldn't waste Sara's sacrifice and get caught again.

Kalen had to know, had to stay away from the bunker. Micah, she thought with a jolt of panic, with him alive and in their clutches, no one was safe. She doubled back towards the cell block, no plan in mind on how to get him out, but she had to try.

The heavy metal door wasn't locked, and this corner of the building appeared unmanned. The cell block was empty, a bloody puddle where Micah had once slumped. Had they already killed him?

A blood curdling scream interrupted her thoughts; not yet.

Skirting around the door, she peered in through a crack, the torturer had Micah lashed to a metal frame and was busy working at one of his fingernails. The door opened without a sound as she slid her feet across the ground, Micah's screams concealed her presence.

"It'll stop if you tell us." The man paused and looked up at his subject.

Micah gasped for air, barely seeing out of one eye, "Why don't you suck it?"

"Have it your way." He continued his work.

Micah writhed in a fit, bucking against the restraints with a scream. "Make it fuckin' stop!" he gasped. Caitlin knew he was talking to her; she picked up a metal rod, aimed it at the torturer's head and swung with all her might.

Micah's tormentor collapsed over himself and hit the ground hard.

Micah gasped, "'bout fucking time." He spit a wad of blood, "Get me outta here,"

Caitlin wanted to chide him, but knew he'd been through enough on her behalf. The restraints came off with a quick snip from a pair of pliers. He lolled forward as she bit through the restraints on his feet. Micah looped an arm over her for support. She could barely manage his weight as they trailed out the door and into the holding room; her legs shook from the after effects of the drug.

"I can't..." she shuddered and crumpled under his weight, landing on her elbows which seared with pain. Caitlin rolled to her side and groaned.

Micah snorted, "Aren't we a pair?" he asked, looking up at her from the ground from his one good eye.

"I tried," she whispered, "this is all my fault."

"Gotta stop blaming yourself, kid." He coughed, "Kalen's been dodging them for years."

She squeezed his unmaimed hand, "They killed Sara... he stopped them from killing me and they poisoned him instead..."

"Well, now I feel like an asshole," Micah closed his eyes, "only a little, though."

A tear trickled down Caitlin's cheek, her body hurt, her head hurt, and she could do nothing but wait for Gabriel to finish them off, after using her to kill Kalen. She rolled on her back and looked at the ceiling, "I'm so sorry." The apology was meant for her mother, for Kalen, for the child within her that would never see the world, for Micah and Sara, Marianne and Edmund, Lev...

The metal door swung open, Gabriel and several heavily armed men filed in. "Nice try, Caitlin. You are a resourceful little thing; but it won't do you any good, we've got eyes on Kalen. It's time to speed things up." He grabbed her by the hair and hoisted her up, his arm locked over her in a vice so a nurse could inject the third shot.

She pulled away as far as possible. As the needle pierced her skin, the room went dark. The building's muted hum died out and left them in utter blackness.

"What the hell?" Gabriel shouted, "Why aren't the backup generators running?" he still held her tight against him, a firm hand gripped her neck. "I'm taking her to the basement. Figure it out and kill the sympathizer. He's useless."

As Caitlin was shuffled to the door, she heard Micah shout. A firearm went off, brightening the room for a split second, silencing him forever. A second shot illuminated the space, and she could swear Kalen stood by Micah's killer.

Gabriel shuffled around and pulled out a flashlight, sweeping it over his men. Kalen wasn't in sight. "Let's go," He ordered, leading the way with a spot of light.

In the hall, Gabriel's guards marched off to find out the source of the blackout, while he dragged Caitlin towards a side stairwell. Barely able to breathe with his hand tight around her throat, she gasped, cursing him with every ounce of breath.

"It'll be over soon," he hissed, panning over the stairs before descending. Gripped in his arm, she had no leverage; he was thicker than Kalen in the breast, but her Prince was stronger.

Some of the serum must have entered her veins, as her vision doubled. The walls leaked darkness, trailing down and pooling around their feet, Gabriel paid the puddles no mind as he passed over them with the flashlights.

A loud click and the fluorescents hummed to life around them, leaving their surroundings a sickly blue. Caitlin caught one foot on the metal banister, but Gabriel yanked, forcing her to release it, "Quit it," he growled, "Or I'm throwing you the rest of the way." His hand squeezed tighter over her throat momentarily to drive the point home.

Caitlin went limp, if, for nothing else, so she could breathe.

Gabriel chuckled at her obedience, and rounded the last stairwell.

Before his hand reached for the door, it burst open to a worse for wear Sara, his poisoned arm emaciated and shriveled. "Let her go," he held up a gun in his good hand, pointing at Gabriel's head.

"So, you're a sympathizer too, huh?" Gabriel lifted her off the ground so she was in the line of fire, "Came all this way to shoot your little sister?"

Caitlin's heart pulsed another serving of serum, making her see a glimpse of Kalen behind her brother. The gun faltered in Sara's grip.

"That's what I thought." Gabriel took out a gun of his own and fired three times into Sara's heart. As he dropped to his knees, Caitlin let out a choked scream. Her brother's eyes dimmed, his body crumpled to the floor. Gabriel stepped over Sara's corpse as if crossing over something unpleasant, gun still drawn. He let her go and shoved her through the doorway, aiming at her stomach. "Keep moving." He commanded.

Caitlin shook, her knees ready to give, her throat hurt from his grip, and her vision swam with ghostly figures; she stumbled against the concrete wall. Gabriel grew impatient and grabbed her by the hair, dragging her the last few feet to a thick metal door.

"Inside,

now

." He pushed her through and slammed the door securely behind him, spinning a large wheel, locking the door like a vault.

Monitors inside the building were set up around a security desk, and Caitlin could see the building entire, from the outside entrance, to her patient room, including many others, and the holding room. No one had moved Micah's corpse yet, blood had spread from him in a large amorphous puddle.

Caitlin didn't feel anything, whether it was the serum, or Sara and Micah's death, she couldn't tell. Her fingers had since become useless with shaking, and her body trembled so violently, she all but collapsed to the ground in a heap.

Gabriel was invested in something at the desk, controlling one of the cameras as it panned over a seemingly innocuous area of darkness, looking for something. He picked up a radio and called into it, "Three-six, do you read?"

There was a short silence, and then the radio signal picked up, "Roger." The voice was hoarse, as if three-six had been running, "Breach at the South entrance, unknown casualties. I've got the-" the line cut off abruptly.

"Three-six, your position." Gabriel called, "I repeat, three-six, your position!"

Caitlin looked up at her father's replacement hunched over the dash of the security desk. Her tinkling laugh surprised even herself. The serum was making her slip a little, just enough to see dark energies building around Gabriel.

He turned with a glare, "Shut the fuck up."

She ignored his fury as he tried another of his men, calling over the radio in vain. Caitlin turned to the far wall and saw Kalen there, as real as she remembered in the grove. "You're here." she welcomed, smiling inwardly to herself. He would help her, take her away from this madness.

Gabriel turned again, and looked in the direction she had been speaking, "What the fuck are you on about?" he glanced around the room, almost fearful.

"Can't you see him?" she asked whimsically, "He's right there." Kalen was watching her, quiet, impassive as always, standing tall in his unruffled black suit.

Gabriel opened his mouth to protest, and then shook his head and ignored her, sending out radio signals to his men. "Two-three. Report."

Silence.

"Seven-six. Report!"

Still silence.

"Fuck this." Gabriel threw down the radio and walked over to a glass-encased lever, smashing it open with a bare fist. His knuckles bled, but he gripped the lever and yanked it down.

For a second, all the monitors went bleach white, and then the cameras readjusted to the increase of illumination and displayed an empty building, save for bloody streaks along the walls, and a pile of bodies in the holding room, all Gabriel's men and an assortment of nurses.

Then the radio began transmitting; Gabriel's head shot to the device.

Static blared through, and Caitlin thought she heard a whisper before it died out again, resuming the radio silence. The serum's wave caught her again, giving her the sensation of free falling, taking with it any sense of fear or self-preservation.

Something smashed against the metal door with frightening strength.

Gabriel turned to it in shock, "Impossible." He mouthed, taking out his gun and grabbing Caitlin by the elbow. A splintering impact shook the door and bent it nearly in half.

Another giggle escaped her as the solid hallucination turned to the door, awaiting the real Kalen's grand entrance. "He's here." She looked up at Gabriel, whose face had gone pale.

On the third impact, the door took with it its oversized hinges, flinging into the security desk. The darkness in the hallway was complete, an alarm echoed somewhere in the distance. Caitlin's heart leaped into her throat with anticipation.

"Show yourself, or I'll put a fucking bullet in her!" He pressed the gun to her stomach. Gabriel, however, had left her hands free, the back of her wrist brushed against one of his many obsidian blades. Her fingers closed around the hilt.

A figure materialized in the doorway, Kalen's pale face, an old burn still healing along his jaw. His black eyes flitted from Caitlin, to Gabriel, to the gun. "There is no need for that." Kalen spoke softly, "The entirety of your battalion is dead. I only want her returned to me, and you may go."

"No fuckin' dice," Gabriel growled, "You're the one we've been looking for. I can kill your line in one shot." He dug the barrel deeper into her stomach.

"Why haven't you, then?" Kalen stared at Gabriel, daring him.

Gabriel balked and yanked Caitlin tighter, but not before she unsheathed the knife at his waist, "You are a monster."

"Naturally," Kalen did not move from the doorway, proffering a hand, "Let her go, and my kind will bother you no longer. I will see to it."

"That's not the point!" Gabriel exploded, "You killed

everyone

I loved! Abraham showed me the way after my wife and child were killed by

your

kind!"

"I am sorry for your loss." Kalen glanced fleetingly at Caitlin, "But might I remind you, you are holding a gun to a pregnant woman, who carries an innocent child within her. Have your morals dropped so low in your grief?"

"They are

not

innocent." Gabriel barked, "They are a stain upon human existence, a cancer that should be wiped from the face of the earth!"

Kalen did not respond, merely nodding to Caitlin. She understood his meaning and gently removed the barrel from her stomach. Gabriel was stunned as she turned around within his arms slowly, touching his marred cheek with a smile.

"You're right," she plunged the dagger underneath his sternum and angled up, "it does take a little darkness to kill dark things." She whispered, easing the blade further in until it hit something solid.

His eyes glossed over. Kalen was there instantly, removing the gun and pulling her a safe distance from Gabriel as he reached for her, gasping for air.

Familiar arms encompassed her as they watched the rebel leader die in a pool of his own blood, body hitting the ground with a final thud.

Caitlin leaned back into his chest, resting her head to one side. "Is it over?"

"No." Kalen answered, "but we will see a reprieve, for now." He turned her around, and stared into her eyes, his ruined cheek a reminder of her role in the mess.

Caitlin touched it thoughtfully, "How did you find me?"

"You were never lost to me, only hidden." His intense gaze bore into her, "We must be gone from this place soon, there may be others." He released her and pulled the lever up to shut off the UV lighting throughout the building. "Nadia and her team are waiting outside, they will destroy the evidence."

Caitlin's heart hurt at the thought of Micah and Sara, casualties of Gabriel's vendetta. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, "I didn't know..." Kalen did not answer, taking her by the arm and leading her out the gaping hole of the doorway. For her, the shadows still held a strange liveliness, as if anything could crawl from their depths. "Can you see it?" she whispered as they walked past the bloody pool where Sara had died. There was no body.

"See what?" Kalen murmured.

Caitlin reached for the undulating blackness, so like a dark curtain caught in the wind. "Darkness." She breathed, "I found you through it, when they injected me. You killed a woman, she had green eyes that went gray when she died."

Kalen looked down at her with surprise, "The woman worked with Gabriel," he gave her a strange look, "You saw."

Caitlin nodded, her brain fizzing again with the remnants of the serum, "And you were here too, watching me from the shadows..."

Urgency marred Kalen's face as he whisked her to the top of the stairs, where Nadia waited. "Take her to the car," he ordered, "I will be there in a moment." Kalen disappeared from sight.

Caitlin looked at the petite vampire, relieved to see her.

"You heard the Master," she ushered her through the halls, "Had enough excitement?" Nadia glanced back at her with a tip of amusement.

"More than enough," she laughed, but the strained gaiety dissolved in a fog and she dropped through the floor into pitch blackness.

*

The hum of a motor woke her, a ray of sunlight shone through the window and onto an empty seat next to her. Caitlin teased her fingers through the sun half-heartedly, wondering if it might scare away the darkness for good.

"Good morning," Kalen's full voice emerged from the opposite end of the cabin.

"Morning," she rubbed her eyes, realizing she was still in the patient's gown. "where are we?"

"Close to the mansion, how did you sleep?" He leaned forward.

"I don't remember what happened... I was there with Nadia, and then I fell into the shadows again... am I going to be alright?"

Kalen considered her for a moment before answering, "You were injected with something I have never seen before. The doctor is waiting for us, she may be able to figure out what it is."

"And what about the baby?"

"From what I gather," he spoke carefully, "as it is so early, the child is not tethered to your bloodstream yet. Unless the effects are lasting, it should not interrupt his development."

"It is a 'he' now?" she snorted. Her body stretched involuntarily, chest shuddering with the strain. "How do you know?" Caitlin asked after a yawn.