DARK SOUL

Chapter Fourteen

John woke with a start as if he was awaking from a nightmare but he soon realized that he was waking to a nightmare. His eyes focused at first on the illumination from across the room and slowly he made out the shape of a lamp hung upon the wall on the far side of the room. A light bulb swung gently high above him but it appeared to have burnt out and did nothing to illuminate the room around him. He tried to stand but soon became aware that his legs were strapped down and as he attempted to reach for his leg restraints it became apparent that his arms were also bound. His mind began to clear and John glanced around the room and could see that he had been strapped onto what appeared to be a medieval bench with struts for his arms to lie upon. The air smelt old and stifling, damp almost, as if the air had no way to escape or enter this little dungeon he found himself trapped within.

"Ah John; you are awake at last I see." Cain leaned forward in his chair slightly as he spoke waiting for the Inspector to focus on the dimly lit area he was seated.

"Cain!" John almost spit the words as his eyes focused on where Cain was seated.

"It doesn't matter what you do to me Cain others know where I am and they will stop you!" He barked the words at his captor with some venom as he strained against his restraints.

"Oh come now John stop being so melodramatic. If this was a sanctioned investigation like the one so many years ago in which you did your best to stop me then you wouldn't be down here on your own." Cain smiled to himself and leaned forward in his chair as he carried on speaking

"Let's not forget the little conversation between you and our old friend the Professor. You were going to meet him weren't you? Don't worry while my children keep you entertained here I will be keeping your appointment with our old friend Professor Tremane. I do hope he will be pleased to see me." Cain's words dripped with malice as he finished speaking. "You were dead Cain. Shot and killed I saw it myself! I was at your funeral for god's sake. How is any of this possible!" John shook his head as he hurled the accusation at Cain.

"Now John let's think back to what you actually saw that evening. I must confess that you were getting awfully close to discovering the truth and your efforts were becoming a nuisance and what better way to remove you from interfering with me than letting you believe you had succeeded. I suppose I could have killed you then but as they say all good things come to those who wait." Cain grinned at this last comment his lips curling back to reveal pointed canine like teeth.

"It was the simplest thing to lure you both to that bridge and while being shot is painful to my kind it is far from lethal I assure you. I am so pleased after all these years to speak to my audience to find out they were convinced by my theatrics that evening." Cain smiled again and if it hadn't been for the razor sharp teeth it may have even been a pleasant smile of sorts.

"Enough with the damn theatrics man or whatever the hell you are! You know you can't make a Chief Inspector of police simply disappear and not raise any questions." John raged back at Cain.

"Oh my dear Inspector it is the simplest of things to make people disappear. You see the grander and bigger this world has become the easier it has become for my kind to prey upon yours without anyone noticing." Cain paused and sneered for a brief moment before continuing on "Your species is a strange one; you all huddle together in your great stone constructions but live almost your entire lives next to strangers no more than a few feet away. Think about how many times over the years you have spoken to neighbors about missing people only to be told I didn't really know them or they kept themselves to themselves." His voice dripped with sarcasm as he finished his sentence.

"You may be right Cain but someone always notices eventually like Marcus and I did" John's eyes blazed in defiance as he challenged Cains assumptions.