BLOOD OMEN 2

FOUR: The Upper City

The trolley reached the upper city after a long process that had annoyed me beyond the point I believed was my limit. Between listening to an old fool complaining about the filth of the lower city to a middle aged woman warning me of vampires on the prowl, I was glad when the trolley came to a stop and the fact that I had arrived without slitting anyone's throat, only because I knew stealth was far better an option for my present task.  

The upper city was nothing like the other parts I had visited. Here the wealth of the city was apparent with beautiful tall buildings and richly dressed people all around. The Sarafan however were also present, but these were mostly glyph guards. The security was tighter but with my new found ability I knew I would be able to pass by them as long as I kept my distance. 

From what I had been told, the Bishops mansion was deep within the upper city and getting to it would be no easy task. From what Voradors agents had told me, glyph guards constantly patrolled and the far more deadly Sarafan knights guarded the more important buildings. These even Vorador warned me against attacking for they were the Sarafan elite and each got that rank from killing a particularly high amount of vampires. Like a child I had been reminded that getting to the Bishop without been seen was paramount to the success of this task. 

The moment I stepped into the streets however, I sensed another vampire closeby. Initially I thought it to be one of Voradors agents keeping an eye on me but this one felt far older and somewhat familiar. Masking my presence, I diverted from my route and headed towards the alley a short distance away. 

I found a grated gate blocking my path but beyond it was the one I sought standing in the middle of three recently slaughtered rouges, licking their blood off his claw tips. He was a tall, lanky vampire with shaved head and big beady eyes. Unlike the other circumstances, memories of this one and the annoying grin on his face were as clear as day. 

"So the rumors speak true." He said as he turned to face me. "Kain has returned to Nosgoth." 

"Marcus, my old friend." I said with a false smile. 

"A poor choice of words, Kain, we were not friends." He replied. 

"Come now, would you sour this reunion with old grudges, granted we parted on sour terms." 

Marcus had been one vampire I had not wanted to recruit. His arrogant backstabbing nature made me dislike him instantly but his gift with guile and perception as well as his uncanny ability to get others to do his bidding made him very valuable. At Vorador's insistence I had recruited him but my fears proved true as a few nights before the attack, I discovered his spies in my inner circle, feeding him information I intentionally kept from him. When I confronted him about it, he had denied, annoying me further by calling me jealous and paranoid. When I had shown my anger, the fool had tried to use his power on me and failed. In my anger I had attacked and near-killed him but he had escaped. Believing my blow fatal and his death inevitable i let him flee. Apparently I was wrong because here he was, hail and healthy. 

His frown deepened despite his grin. "Sour terms? You tried to murder me!" 

"I seem to have failed." 

"You feared my growing powers; you knew they would one day surpass yours. Is that why you begged me to fight at your side when you waged war upon Nosgoth?" He taunted. 

"Begged!? I never begged!" I replied in annoyance. 

Marcus walked about, making sure to keep away despite the barrier between us. "In your arrogance you presumed me dead, but I was stronger than you knew. I crawled from my haven and fled into hiding." 

This made me chuckle. "That's the Marcus I remember." 

Ignoring my jibe, he continued. "When the Sarafan proved victorious I knew that my destiny lay with the Lord Griffin. I offered myself to the winning side."