Almost Alive (a halfbreed's tale)

Chapter - 02

Cian Ravenheart
Eve was barely conscious, as she lay in the dark. She knew that they were moving. And she was in the
dark cell carriage, the ones which the covenant used for transporting the warewolf prisoners. She kept
going in and out of sleep, the burning in her throat getting worse each minute. After what seemed like
an eternity, they stopped and she heard someone from the front of the carriage.
'This place is good, bring the halfbreed to me' and someone walked toward the back of the carriage, the
door swung open woth a sound of metal on metal. The sharp looking vampire held her chains and
dragged her effortlessly to the front, Eve did not have the strength to resist. When they reached the
front a strong set of arms made her stand up. She could now see a dark skinned vampire with sleek
black hair left loose.
'unbind her' he commanded someone who was standing behind her and in a few seconds the chains fell
on the ground.
The dark skinned vampire unsheathed a gleaming silver sword with a ruby hilt (a symbol of a covenant
official)and placed its edge between her neck and shoulder,
'i do not know if this can kill you but i'm guessing that it will definitely hurt' he said with a grin. His
sharp white an ominous contrast whith his dark skin.
She hissed as the blade left a small scratch on her neck.
He smiled as a thin line of blood trickled down her shoulder, with a vampire the wound would have
healed.
'go now before i drive this through your heart'
she turned and started walking, then suddenly stiffened as the the wind shifted bringing the strong
sweet scent of human blood.
'no!' she screamed but she felt her throat suddenly ignite with thirst.
She could barely hear the covenant vampires laughing.
Eve just stood there at the edge of the forest, just at the boundary of a human village. Then it was as if
there was nothing left in the world that mattered, she could not hear anything but the soft whispers of
the people in the village, she was thisty and she needed to feed, she walked slowly into the village, she
knew she did not pocess the strength of a vampire but that did not matter she still needed the blood. She
was now in a dark alley just outside the main village. Two young men just walked into the alley
laughing, her breath became steady, finally she would have blood, she would be able to quench this
burning in her throat, one of the young men pointed towards her and they both smiled, they were
heading straight to her. As they approached her.
'hey there, are you lost?', one of the men asked. Eve just stood there bathing herself in the smell of
human blood.
The other man started to say something but before he did she opened her mouth revealing her sharp
incisors, both of them took a step backward, scared. She took a step toward them letting out a low
growl. The two men turned and started running, but before she could chase them, there was a sharp
pain in the back of her neck and she dropped unconcious.
Eve woke up in a small room, it was dark except for a small oil lamp hanging from a post at the center
of the room, she touched the back of her neck, it was slightly swollen and it hurt a lot. She had trouble
getting up from the small cot in which she was sleeping, she tried several times but eventually gave up
and stayed there.
She was just starting to wonder where she was when an old man with a pure white beard and long
equally white hair walked into the room holding a cup.
'Ah, you're awake child' the voice was unexpectedly strong, without a trace of age in it.
As he came closer she stiffened and suddenly bared her teeth, she knew that smell and living in the
stone castle of the vampires for a century, she knew she was in danger. The old man was a warewolf.
'Ha ha ha... No need to be afraid, if i wanted to kill you, you would not be here' the old man said and sat
at the edge of the bed.
'This will help your thirst' he said and handed her the bowl. Eve hasitated but took the bowl, somehow
she thought that the old man did not need mundane substances like poison to kill her.
The liquid felt warm but not hot and it smelled of oranges, she took a sip, the liquid instantly eased the
burning in her throat, she then gulped the whole thing down.
'I call it Shreil, its an old recipie, and a good alternative for blood.' he said lookin at her.
Eve could feel the heat spread to her arms and legs, the old man's recipie was definitely better than the
animal blood that she was used to.
'Why did you not kill me?' Eve asked as she handed the empty cup back to the old man.
'I would have. At a first glance i thought you were one of them, but then you were unconscious at my
first blow, so you either have to be a weakest vampire ever or something else entirely because you
certainly do not smell like a human.'
'Thank you... For not killing me' Eve said with a smile. Her electric blue eyes genuinely lighting up.
'My name is Cian Ravenheart' he said smiling.
'Ravenheart is a vampire name, and a foul one at that, and you are a warewolf' she said confused.
'It is a reminder of something' he said in a sad voice.
She knew better than to press further, the topic clearly brought some painful memories to the old man.
'My name is Eve, or that is at least what i call myself, the vampires just call me halfbreed, i dont mind
either' Cian raised an eyebrow.
'My father was a warewolf and mother a vampire, and their names are all i know about them' she said
lookin down. She had no idea why she was telling all of this to Cian.
'What was his name?' he asked. But when Eve looked at him, she thought he already knew the answer.
'Elhar' she said.
Cian's face lit up.'Ah, an old student, i taught him the ways of fist and blade and fang' he said happily.
'He was my last and my best pupil.'
'Did not help him much when he was surrounded by a hundred vampires.' she said bitterly. The smile
faded from Cian's face.
'So, how did you manage to get involved with this covenant mess?, he asked, changing the subject.
'That... Is a long story.' she said.
'Look at me, do i look like i am going somewhere?' he smiled.
'Well ever since i can remember, i have worked at the stone castle. They have always treated me like
scum, but i had nowhere to go, i had come to accept it as my life, i hunted animals to keep myself fed,
but i knew i would never find peace there, that was still ok with me until a vampire gloated to me about
how he was involved in killing my parents. And i could take it no more. I escaped one night from the
castle, that took a lot of work on my part, but ever since i got out i have been creating problems while
they hunt humans, once i made a whole village evacuate telling the chief that the dam would break.
And when the vampires arrived they did not find any humans, it was not pretty hah ha, and then they
found out that it was my doing and next thing i know they send hunters after me and i could not evade
them for very long. They starved me for a week, then let me loose in a human village. Thats when you
found me.' she concluded.
'Brave... But foolish' Cian said with a grin.
'So haw long have you been a part of the resistance?' she asked.
'Nah, not me. I used to be a part of it once, long ago, not anymore, your father Elhar was the leader, but
ever since he fell, nobody could take his place. Many warewolves tried to get the clans together but
only Elhar could keep the personal rivalries at bay.' he said sadly 'And then i left, seeing there was
hardly a point staying.'
'How was he like?' Eve asked after a long pause.
'Brave, honourable, funny, strong... Strongest to be precise, thats the reason why the leeches eased up
after his fall, they knew there would never be another like him.' he replied.
'The story of his fall is still a legend around bonfires.'
'They say that even when he was surrounded by a hundred vampires he stood his ground, allowing safe
passage for the warewolf prisoners in the stone castle, they say he killed more than fifty vampires
before he went down.' he said proudly. By the look on his face, Eve gathered that her father was more
than just a student to the old man.
'You loved him.' she stated.
'He was a son that i never really had.' he said, a single tear glistening in his eye.
'i have heard whispers in the castle that it was not always this way between Vampires and Warewolves,
what happened to trigger such a bloodfeud?' she asked curious.
'That is a story for another time, but first i should tell the clan of your identity, all hope is not lost after
all.' he said happily.
'But i do not pocess any power, how will including me in the resistance help anything?' she asked.
'You have something that none of the Vampires or Warewolves have.'
She looked at him, confused.
'Trust me' he said getting up.
'Cian?' Eve called him softly.
'Yes child'
'You said you taught my father how to fight.'
'Yes.' he said lookin straight into her blue eyes.
'Will you teach me?'
'Get some rest child, tomorrow is going to be long.' the old man said tugging her blanket slightly.
'I have not trained anyone in a hundred years, but it would be an honour to train the daughter of Elhar
The Mighty.' he said bowing slightly. He walked out of the room leaving her alone in the dim light.