Flashback..
1723
Florence, Italy.
Built deep in the woods, a castle stood elegantly, its towering structure so bold that it imbues courage in anyone who lives in it.
Inside the building, in a room, the deep colored velvet curtains shielded off the sun rays making it seem like it's night.
Bang!
Splinters flew everywhere as the rare wood table shattered at the impact of an angry punch.
Caius' eyes blazed with rage as he stood before the shattered table, his hands clenched tightly beside him.
Bones-the-old was present too, and was the only one there now. He looked much younger. His power to see the future in exchange for his life span is quite cruel for him.
But, as of this year, he hasn't used his powers often. There was no crisis, no war, no struggle with anybody except the hunters in Europe. There was nothing to foresee so he really had his time to conserve his seer power, thus his lifespan. As he watched Caius thrash things, his eyes held worry as he said, "you have to calm down, Caius."
"Why should I calm down, Bones?!" Caius snapped. "Like what leader can't control his own powers? The coven mustn't learn about this!"
Caius paced the room as he expressed, swaying his pallid hands. "The hunters killed several members of my coven and I can't do a thing about it. I can't even go out there to fight with them because I don't want them to know that I can't control my powers."
Bones sighed. "But there's still a solution to this."
"Tell me, what's the solution to this?! There's no place to get the Phoenix flower around here. And looking for it too much will only disclose my identity as a vampire." Caius' two hands held his throat as he muttered. "The hunters will kill me."
Bones-the-old had a perplexed gaze on his face as he sighed again.
Caius was telling the truth. If one tries to get a Phoenix flower anywhere in Europe, it will bring the hunters on the tail of the person, and that will mean death. The hunters know that no normal human will be looking for the Phoenix flower, it has no use for the natural world but its use is immense for the supernatural.
"You shouldn't be like this. You're a leader, Caius. Don't be perplexed by the inability to access your full strength." Bones-the-old tried to pacify him.
Caius had a bitter look on his face as he said. "I can't control my powers. And the Phoenix flower is my only hope."
Silence descended. Bones-the-old had a complex emotion on his face while Caius wallowed.
Bones could still remember how Caius had gone to East years ago, for a meeting. Of course they know how easy it is to get Phoenix flower there, so Bones expected Caius to get some for himself and the coven, in case the need comes up.
But Caius brought nothing and wouldn't even talk about his experience there.
"You should have gotten it when you went to the East decades ago." Bones suddenly said.
Caius' eyes flashed to him, a complex emotion was in it. "I told you I almost got killed when I was there. I couldn't get the flower."
Bones shrugged and moved closer to Caius. He dropped his head in a reassuring nod as he held Caius' shoulder. "Then we'll go there. The both of us."
Caius shook his head fervently. "No, I'm not going to that place again."
"Why, Caius?!" Bones-the-old yelled, confused by Caius hesitation in the face of a solution.
Caius shook his head as he tried not to remember what he went through and what he saw when he went to the Indian town. The deaths and the horror. The brutality and flowing blood. And finally the killer and the saviour. He sighed. "I just can't go to the place. I'll find my way here. And if I can't, I'll just kill myself."
"You can't do that, the coven needs you, Caius."
"Not if I can't control my powers. I'm a born vampire yet I can't control my special ability. I'm a loser, Bones. I'm a loser." Caius said as tears ran down his face.
Bones became restless as he saw how Caius was behaving. "Why are you like this, Caius? You need to get a grip of yourself."
"No I can't!"
The air howled and Caius was gone.
Bones-the-old exhaled frustratingly as he turned to the window. The curtain was swiped to the side and the window was opened.
Bones moved closer to the window and gazed out at the woods that circled the Casal castle. His teeths gritted as he muttered. "Please, be safe for the coven, Caius."
**********
Meanwhile,
The sun descended down the distant horizon.
The torrents of water streamed down the large rock deep in the woods, giving off their roaring noise.
At the base of the rock, the water formed a pool, which was devoid of human presence despite how beautiful it is. Nobody comes this deep into the forest.
Caius sat on a tree, overlooking the pool as he sank deep into his thoughts.
Ever since Caius was born, he had been a great leader for the Casal coven, even before the former leader, his father Maximus, died in a battle against the hunters. He had been a very effective member of their coven and all the vampires loved him. They knew he was going to be a great successor to his father.
He's smart, intelligent, willing to sacrifice for the coven, and he's a great warrior as a vampire. But he lacks one thing. The control over his special power.
A wound yet to heal. A secret few know about.
As a born vampire, he possesses a special ability, which is the ability to impose pain on external bodies without touching.
It's a very complex power that needs high concentration and dexterity, because such power, if it backfired, can injure the wielder. To inflict pain on others, one needs to picture it well in one's mind and if there's a mistake or miscalculation, the pain will be reversed to the wielder.
It's a very dangerous and delicate skill.
His father, Maximus possessed an ability to control a force that can alter the space around, either compress or control it. More like a force field, similar to Caius'.
This made him quite a formidable foe because he knew how to use it well. He had the experience of how to use such skills related to invisible forces. He would have taught Caius but he died when Caius was about twelve years old.
This left Caius alone to himself. He had no one to teach him.
Bones-the-old knows nothing about this kind of powers, he had no offensive special ability, he's a psychic. Apart from his claws and fangs, he can only foresee the future, and that's at the expense of his lifespan.
He's not an option.
Caius has no one else. The others in the coven were just the vampires turned by him or those turned by someone else but just decided to join the coven. And asking the leader of another coven for help will only expose him, making him vulnerable.
He couldn't control the power and was left with his claws and fangs.
But now that the hunters are getting more and more resilient, he needed his powers, because without it, he's just like any other turned vampire out there. And he can't be like that now, the coven needs a leader and not a person who's gonna add to the list of dead members.
This is the time he needs the power most. So knowing that he has no control over it only made him feel helpless.
Caius was deep within his thoughts when he heard a sound.
It's the sound of water splashing.
His eyes cut to the pool below the rock. There's no one there and the water surface was settled with no disturbance.
'weird' he thought as he took off his gaze from the water body.
His head hung down as he was about to sink deep into his thoughts again when another sound reached his supernatural ears.
'It's definitely a water splash.'
He heard it clearly this time and he was sure about it.
He leapt off the tree and landed on the ground. With stealthy moves, he advanced towards the pool.
He got to a large tree, just beside the pool and stopped as he gazed at the water.
He frowned when he caught a glimpse of something wiggling deep in the water.
His eyes narrowed and glittered with confusion as he activated his supernatural eyes, changing its shade to red.
Then he saw.
'There's a woman swimming in the pool.' his heart thudded as he saw the head lifting to the surface of the water, very fast.
In a flash, he hid behind the tree as the head emerged from the water. The water splashed loudly.
His eyes were wide as he hid behind the tree. Different thoughts flashing through his mind. Some dirty while he silently chastised himself about it.
All of the sudden, there was silence.
Caius frowned as he peeped out to look at the pool. But he saw no one.
He turned on his red eyes and searched through the water, yet he saw nothing.
His lips pursed as he thought. 'How the hell did the woman get out of the water without him hearing or noticing? This is weird!'
He moved his eyes from the water and began to scan the surroundings for the woman but he couldn't find anything.
His frown deepened and his confusion skyrocketed.
All of the sudden, a hand patted his shoulder and he jerked back. Out of reflex, he grabbed the hand and pushed the owner to a tree nearby.
However, things didn't go as he had opted for.
A grunt left his mouth as he slammed heavily against the tree he was going to push the person to.
He grimaced and his eyes went wide when he realized what had just happened.
He had wanted to overpower the person with his vampire agility but the person, who appears to be faster than him, flung him away instead.
Like who the hell is this?
Caius' gaze shifted and he caught the sight.
It was a beautiful lady, so young looking. She had Auburn hair that clung to her face due to the water dripping from it. She had a pair of steel blue eyes that seemed to see straight into the soul and her face was heart shaped, it exuded innocence. Innocence Caius is not sure about, but is clearly moved by.
Caius couldn't take his eyes off her body, that despite the pants she wore, still displayed how curvaceous she is.
The lady shifted slightly under Caius' scrutiny. "You are a pervert. Obviously."
Then the lady turned and began to walk away.
Caius, seeming to shut out of his reverie, sprung to his feet and went after the woman.
His face was etched with confusion as he asked. "You were able to match my speed without effort and you even surpassed it. I can't sense if you're a vampire. So, who are you?"
The lady, not slowing her pace down at all, chuckled as she heard Caius. "You were literally watching me naked while I bath, and you even tried to attack me-"
"You sneaked up on me. And you even flung me away." Caius interrupted her. "Who are you?"
"I'm a vampire, just like you. You couldn't sense my power, maybe it's because I'm more powerful than you're, hehe." The lady giggled.
Caius frowned. In a flash, he stopped in front of the lady, making her halt too.
"You're a liar!" Caius growled and grabbed her neck.
The lady smiled, clearly unfazed by Caius' move. She lifted her hand and gripped Caius' wrist. She clenched her fist around it and twisted it, slowly.
Caius' face contorted as he felt his wrist being broken. "Ah! Ah!! Stop!"
The lady threw his hand away as he staggered back a few steps.
"It seems I'm being merciful here. That is what gave you the audacity to do that. You do anything stupid again and I won't be crushing your wrist. I will crush your heart."
The lady warned with a menacing look that was the complete opposite of the innocence her face exuded.
Caius started with horror as he clutched his wrist.
The lady took off her gaze and began to walk away from sight, while Caius watched with fear.
However, the fear suddenly transformed to fury as he growled loudly.
The bones in his wrist snapped as it healed up, but his growling overshadowed the sound.
The helplessness even made his crumbling soul to be crushed, entirely.
And he couldn't even hold it as he ran off. His red eyes bloodshot as he advanced in the direction the lady went.
********