Hollow Immortal

The Vampire's Protegé

Caine clutched his stomach as he trudged through the snow. He was trying very hard to keep his 'meal' down. He didn't succeed. He wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his cloak. He hadn't meant to be so long, he'd hoped to return before sunrise but he'd taken too long. He was so hungry and so tired. Sleep had evaded him for days and he'd spent nearly a year in the forsaken cave he was crawling to. He felt weak and the sun behind him didn't help.

He collapsed on his hands and knees and wretched once more. That deer had not been a good idea. He dug his fingers into the snow as blood spattered on the ground and turned it from white to red. He screwed his eyes shut and fell onto his back. He winced at the searing pain that was the product of the sun touching his face.

He heard the sound of hooves crunching in the snow and voices. He panicked, hoping whoever it was wouldn't stop to investigate him lying on the road side. He hoped they'd go past, he hoped they wouldn't notice him. He didn't want them see. He was covered in gore and looked like a starving beggar. He rolled over and tried to crawl the last few metres to his cave but a voice called out to him.

"You there!" came the voice of the stranger, it was rough and commanding, like a general, "Are you alright?"

Does it bloody look like I'm alright?

He allowed himself to collapse into the snow. He'd been caught and he knew what to expect. The man would come to help him and realise what he was, then he'd try to kill him. He felt a hand on his shoulder. The hand pulled at his cloak and turned him around. He found himself staring up into the face of a tall, muscular, fur-clad man with long, dark hair and thick facial hair. His dark eyes widened when he looked into Caine's red ones.

"You... you're a..." his voice trailed away, leaving a shocked expression on his face.

"Yes," he rasped, "you can try to kill me. It won't work but I won't fight you."

The voice of a boy carried from the road, "Papa?"

"Stay back, Vladimir!" the big man barked.

Despite his father's warning, 'Vladimir' like most children, dismounted and ran up the small hill to where Caine was lying. The boy, like his father, was dressed in furs and had dark hair and dark eyes. When those eyes found Caine's, they widened briefly with surprise. Then they seemed to narrow with curiosity. Caine felt a smile pull at his lips because he saw something while looking into the eyes of young Vladimir. He saw potential.