Silence reigned as varying waves of shock went through the people currently looking at me. Even I could not help but wonder what had gone into me. But for some reason I felt apathetic to the whole thing. Mr. Nice goatee was actually a werewolf, if not I doubt I would have been able to control by blood lust with the currently expanding pool of his blood at my feet.

I was really going down to give up my pride and plead for the return of the baby. But once I heard the baby was girl, and he mentioned all those horrible things about her I snapped.(or it could be due to that fact that I very much hated his goatee.) The mention of a out little and helpless girl suffering from the mistakes of her ancestors just minutes after she was born struck a chord within me.

It was something I couldn’t or won’t let go, because as far as I was concerned, this bunch of people deserved to be dead for their actions against an innocent child.

My actions this time were still surprising, it was amazing what a vampire could do when they focus and put their mind to it, but another thing that really surprised me was how cold I was. I felt nothing from his death, and quite frankly I was ready to kill again just to get that little girl back to her dying mother.

I could hear whispers for behind me as both the vampires and dark elves were coming to terms with my display of force an few minutes ago. I had killed a guard with no care whatsoever of the consequences that came with it. I was focused, even as the guards each shifted into their huge and hulking wolf form in preparation to tear me apart I was somehow able to keep my cool. And without taking my gaze from the yellow glowing eyes I said.

“Hand over the baby, or suffer a fate worse than death.”

Damn I sounded so badass, problem was I had zero idea what a fate worse than death would be like. A werewolf who was a little bit more sleek and leaner than the others dropped into a crouch and shot towards me. To the eye of a normal human being or most other species of Shearath, his movements were nothing but a blur, even for me.

He was so fast that it was only by instinct that I could side step his lunge with only a few inches to spare. As his body flew past me, heading straight for the crowd of prisoners behind he, I curved my fingers as my claws distended and then I drove it into his back and clutched tightly at his spinal column, the amount inertial from his momentum and speed, coupled with the surprising amount of strength I possessed as a vampire, took care of the rest as I completely ripped his spinal cord from his back along with a piece of his skull.

His body landed in a heap right besides me, and his blood showered me in a macabre display of pure brutality. At that moment I remembered something Asare had told me a few weeks ago. ‘your body remembers'. He had wanted me to train, he said something about how my body could teach my mind. I didn’t get what he meant at the time, but now it was as clear as day. The lion of Shearath was more than just an activist. There was more to him than met the eye, and right now I was in a body that was five times stronger and faster that what he had. I don’t remember being him, but this body did, all of the muscle memory and reflexes were going to be coming into play. I just hoped his fighting skills were as good if not better than his talking skills.

The werewolves were incensed, they each raised their head to the sky less roof of the cavern and howled in sorrow. I probably just killed someone important, but it was to late to regret it now. The werewolves regardless of the fact that they were massive douche bags, were loyal to a fault and would do anything for the pack. They would not stop.

This time the all shot at me, three of them in front and another four behind. The remaining three or four guards were human and I could spy the baby being held haphazardly in one of their hands. I could not stop the growl that left my throat at the way they were treating the baby.

I did not wait for them to get to me, I ran towards them, and as I did, I could heard the vampires and dark elves running behind me. The first werewolf to get to me leaped and went straight for my neck, but I jumped to the side twisting my body to the side as I quickly spun in the air, before the werewolf could get past me, I grabbed the fur at the base of his neck and pulled, slamming the werewolf down to the floor so had I heard a crack as numerous lines and tiny crevices appeared on the pristine rock floor. The werewolf was not dead, but I hardly had time for it. The move I had just executed was a swing blade and it left me open long enough for the next werewolf to rake his claws across my chest, tearing my flimsy and old prison cloths to shreds and leaving a huge scar on my chest. The wolf even went so far as reopening the scared wound on my chest from the first time I met Adein.

It burned, but I was running on to much adrenaline to care. Before I could dish out some righteous fury on the wolf with the gall to injure me, I found that he already had a mining pick buried in his skull. With his brain leaking out, I was surprised to see his killer was actually the old woman who had cleaned my face before.

Safe to say I was shocked. Werewolves could match vampires of varying species in both strength and power. This wolves were stronger than what I am, a Revenant was at the bottom of the evolutionary ladder for the vampire species. But due to the seal, a lot of vampires could not display a strength beyond five times that of a human, and even though vampires grew stronger with age unlike other races, the fearsome strength this old lady just showed was enough to shock the hell out of me.

With her mining pick still in the head of the werewolf she dragged his body and flung it straight at another incoming wolf in a display of strength that left me slack jawed in awe. Damn, I most certainly did not want to get on this old lady’s bad side.

I quickly shifted my attention from the ongoing battle as I steadily made my way towards the humans that were still holding the baby. In my opinion they were fools, I would have ran for the hills…. Err… caves I mean, when I saw the amount of people surging towards the werewolves. They may not be able to muster as much strength as the wolves, but they were still vampires and dark elves, creatures of such power and two of the most natural born combatant races in the whole of Shearath. War, blood and death are the materials they’re both forged from. The potential for carnage that both races had, has so far been unmatched by any other since the dawn of the first sun.

And yet the foolish humans stood there. One last wolf thought it would be wise to take me out instead of jumping into the fray of frenzied vampires and dark elves that were currently engaged in a massacre of a bunch of puppies. I had to give him credit, he was smart. But he did not seem to realize that the number of prisoners here were as much as a three hundred if not more. The really only reason that they had not fought before was because of their fear of the repercussions it would bring. I took care of that.

And as he made his way towards me, not noticing the almost two dozen vampires and dark elves hot on his trail. I mused about how the werewolves were unable to learn from their mistakes and were nothing more than a pack of wild dogs. One of the min reasons we have been able to beat them so far, was because we used their power against them. But the idiot was charging forward just like his predecessors, I was sure he was going to leap and go for my neck; aha there it is. How much predictable can this animals get. He was almost at my neck before he was yanked back by his tail, and dragged on the floor by his captors. He disappeared under a hail of clenched fist, sharpened claws, elongated fangs and a few mining picks. Safe to say he was deader than dead.

I resumed my steady walk towards the remaining guards, covered in the blood of the guards I killed, I had no idea what I looked like. But I was sure I looked like something out of a horror movie.(but what’s a movie and why must it be horror) my random use of strange words were getting worse, but I could care less at the moment.

My heightened senses could pick out the smell of piss and sweat as the four remaining human guards were shaking with fear. The one who held the baby had a dagger poised over her neck, but his hands were shaking so badly he was more likely to hurt himself than the girl. I walked up to him and gently wrestled the girl from his grasp with surprising ease and no resistance. Then I looked at them, and gave them the most charming smile I could muster.

“as you were gentlemen.”

And then I turned and headed deeper into the darkness searching for the baby’s mother. The carnage and massacre my actions had sparked lay like a trophy behind me. I knew there was going to be a reckoning, and I would most probably end up dead. But at the moment I..….did….not……give……a…..fuck.

*************************************************

The mother of the little girl was only hanging on by the skin of her teeth. Her breathing was sporadic and heavy as she lay in a pool of her own blood. The hole in her left eye socket, had traces of her destroyed eye and tissue still in it. Her dress was drenched in blood, especially the lower area of as she had only given birth just a few hours ago.

She was a strong woman, and even though I did not know her I admired her strength. To go through great pains just to see your child born into this world, and still go through equally great pains just to keep her safe and beside you was the testament of the will power of mothers. They’re the strongest of every living thing, the fiercest and the most loyal.

For a moment I wondered about my own mother. I wondered if she fought for me, if she loved me. Did she cry when I was sentenced to this place, did she protest. I don’t think I might ever know, unless I find a way to leave the caves. But that was neither here nor there, something’s can only just be fantasies. At least for now.

I moved to the side of the woman, and propped her up as best as I could and showed her baby to her. She had such a smile on her that lit up the entire dark cavern. Even with her injuries it was quite obvious she was a beautiful lady, the rags and blood did little to cover it.

She painfully turned her head to me, tears dripping from her only remaining eye as she said.

“thank you great Lion for getting my daughter back. May the way be clear to you and the blessings of Shearath never depart from you and your house.”

The dark elves and vampires around the both of us, simultaneously spoke out to her prayers.

“And let the way bear witness.”

I had no idea what that meant, but it was nice. I think it was a prayer for me, religion was not really my thing, but all races on Shearath put great emphasis on the Gods they worshiped. That was just to much work and responsibility for me to handle at the moment.

“It was not just me, we all helped.”

I told her that, so she would know of the sacrifices made just to keep her baby safe. She turned to each of them and nodded her head painfully. Then she turned to me again.

“Yes I know, but our traditions demands that both races no matter what, must fight for our future, for our children. You are an outsider, as a human you fought for us and was ostracized by your own kind. They turned you into one of us as punishment, I don’t know how you feel about that, but to every vampire and dark elf here who believe in better future saw your sentence for what it was…….a blessing.

So please hear this one request of a dying mother. My daughter’s father was killed two weeks ago because he could not provide both his and my weekly quota in time. My pregnancy hindered me, and I was not able to help him, as such without a father to name her. My daughter would have to go nameless until she is ten years old and choose a name for herself. This is the dark elf way, but I plead with you to look after her for me. Never tell her who I am, or how much pain her coming into this world has caused. Please name her, let her grow up happy and safe. I know I am asking much from you, but I know in my deepest of hearts you would be able to make a future for our people, even in this place of suffering and gloom.

So please promise. Give me your word great lion that you would look after her like she was your own. Please.”

This woman was trying to secure a future for her child and was using her misfortune of being at deaths door to achieve it. I can’t say I approved of the very obvious manipulation and the fact that she was trying to appeal to my better nature. But I understood her pain, I somehow could feel and sympathize with her. And every time I looked at the little girl with skin and black as night, hair as white as snow and eye’s the deepest blue I have ever seen. Something that was quite rare for a dark elf, unless they were half breeds. The little girl was also part vampire.

She looked at me, with all the innocence that a child barely a few hours old could muster. My heart ached, it called out to her so intensely I couldn’t stop the tears that leaked from my eye’s, neither could I stop the word that came out next.

“Cassie.”

Her mother looked at me with her one good eye as more tears dripped out. I might be able to save her, with my weaves even though it might take a lot out of me I could save her. But I can’t, or maybe I wouldn’t. Selfless as they all thought me to be, I was still very much selfish.

I wanted to protect myself, which is ironic considering I just rained hell and led a massacre of seven werewolves. But in the end I was scared to use my runes to save her, it was a simple choice to make and yet I couldn’t make it. She raised her hands to my shoulders and spoke one final time.

“thank you.”

And then she was gone, just like that. Almost as if she knew she had lost the only family she had left, Cassie began to cry, her soft sails was not enough to drag me out of the barrel of self loathing I had just decided to put my self into.

Now more than ever I truly felt like a fraud. This people call me a hero, and most of the time I believe them. In fact I enjoy the reverence they have for me, the worship and the trust.

But what kind of hero would not step up to save someone who believed in you just because you wanted to keel yourself safe and out of a lesser amount of trouble. Me, that’s me. I was nothing but a coward, some might argue that I was to young to make such a decision, after all I was still just nineteen. But how would I be able to look at Cassie in the future when I knew my inaction had caused her mother to die. How will I be able to tell her that I could have saved her mother, but I didn’t. Because I was scared.

I may have gained a daughter, but I felt anything but happy. I felt like a fraud.