Chapter 4

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    Raziel sneezed and shook his head sending his bangs shifting about. "I fail to see how Turel wont feel us comming when we shift realms."
    Kain walked forward surveying the area with a sigh. How many times had they been through this already? "If I shift yes, he will, because my magic is simply that.. magic. Your's is more of an ability. Turel wont feel the magic presence until we actually start throwing spells around."
   "I still fail to see the logic in that.."
   Kain looked back and cocked that same sarcastic smirk he tended to have when he knew he was right. He walked off again following the path around Dumah's fortress. Raziel sighed and followed silently.
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    "Last chance to turn back now.. if we continue we have to play this out ... no matter what the outcome."
   "Let's just get this over with so I can leave this god forsaken land and its memories behind me.." Raziel held out his hand for Kain to grasp. Kain took it and Raziel shifted into the Material Plane taking Kain with him. They had gotten as far into Turel's stronghold as they could until they had come across one of its inner doors that seemed unpassable in the Spectral Realm. They had no choice but to shift and attempt to break it as quietly as they could.. and without magic. Raziel had doubted they could sneak this far without detection, but Kain persisted on saying they could truly find a way to break in and kill Turel if only Raziel was with him. The Reaver, he had said, was more than either of them could fathom and Raziel knew he spoke the truth.. Everyone, including Vorador the ancient vampire, had known more about the Reaver than Raziel did and it made him worry. Everyone present and past knew more about Raziel's destiny than Raziel himself did as well... and none of them had been willing to give him anymore than a flicker of information.
    Kain grunted inspecting the large elaborate lock. "It seems to have a magic seal on it.. Turel has been busy since last week."
    "Indeed." Raziel could feel the magic surrounding the door and it made his flesh tingle. "So, now what? If I tried to break the door open Turel will be on us like magots on carrion."
    "You really haven't been paying much attention to details have you?" Kain snorted looking up from the door, "You think yourself so knowledgable about everything, but when it comes to details you go blind as a bat."
    "And you believe to have an easier solution to this problem?" Raziel was in no mood to play riddles and try to desifer Kain's words.
    "The Reaver you fool.." He hissed, "The lock has been made with ancient magic.. a bit sloppily I must say.. the Reaver can neutralize it just as it did with the forge locks."
   Summoning the blade to him Raziel looked down at it with a frown. "I'm begining to think there's nothing this thing can't do." Raziel walked forward to the door and slipped the Reaver into the lock.
   "Now your begining to use your head.." Kain stepped back as the door opened slowly.
   "After you by all means." Raziel said sarcasticly.
    With a sarcastic snort Kain walked forward into Turel's audience chamer and stopped looking around silently. Raziel followed slowly and walked farther past Kain towards the table in the center. The room was almost too quiet and a sense of dread began creeping over him.
    The sound of a metal sword being drawn. "Raziel, you dolt!"
    Kain's semi-warning was too late as out of the corner of his eye Raziel saw Turel appear from thin air, leap from the table and pinned Raziel to the ground. The Reaver crackled once and faded back to the Spectral Realm, blocked by Turel's unknown powers. Raziel grunted as his head hit the ground beneath him, Turel slamming down on top of him pinning his arms and legs to the ground.
    "I told you to watch your back, brother..." Turel hissed, "You don't listen to well do you?" A chuckle, "You should have listened to the sound of her screams when I snapped their little necks from their shoulders.."
    All at once Raziel felt if he were again possessed by the Elder. Rage bubbled in him so fierce he could have at that moment taken on all the demons of the underworld and won. Raziel struggled in vain against Turel's grasp to no avail, Turel was still bigger and more powerful than the underworld demons and he had that damnable magic blocker. Turel laughed harder at Raziel's pitiful attempts to break free of his grasp and lifted one clawed hand to place around Raziel's head and squeezed heavily.
    Raziel cried out in pain. Turel was going to squeeze his head like a rotten watermellon. "Kain, you bastard, what the hell are you doing over there?"
    Turel laughed again squeezing harder, "I wouldn't expect any help from him.. he learned his lesson before that he can't win against me... you're simply another pawn in the great sceme of life once more."
    Raziel cried out, his sight was blurring and he felt like his head was going to explode. With whatever anger he could muster Raziel stretched his claws wide and slashed at Turel's throat. To his disapointment his hand was halted by the leather collar around his brothers neck. Painfully he opened one eye and saw the collar as closly as he ever had and realized what it really was....
    The small studs that were set in the collar swirled with so much energy Raziel didn't know why he hadn't felt it before. Inside the studs swirled colours of pink, purple, blue, and white just as Moebius' staff had when it had blocked the Reaver before. That was why the Reaver was blocked, because of the power in Turel's collar.
    "Damn you and your magic tricks.." Raziel cried, "Very clever using the old man's staff to make yourself more powerful."
   "Heh, I should congradulate you on finding out so quickly dear brother.. it's only been around my neck for over three centeries now."
    "I should have guessed," Raziel grunted. Moebius' staff had blocked the Reaver, but it had given him an idea. Kain had said that Raziel's shifting ability wasn't magic, but just that... an ability. "Only you could be reduced to using someone elses ideas.. even if it was ideas of a madman." Raziel laughed and mustered up enough strength as he could to shift into the Spectral Realm where Turel couldn't follow.. or so he hoped.
    With Turel's claws away from his head now Raziel's vision began to come back to him slowly. He sat up rubbing the side of his face and shook his head to clear it. Getting to his feet he wobbled slightly, tactics to defeating Turel running through his mind. All he had to do was unlock that damned collar and get rid of it so he could call up the Reaver.
    Raziel snorted, some help Kain was in all of this. Again Raziel had played right into Kain's trap and he should have known better.
    Feeling a bit of his strength returning he sought out a portal and shifted realms. Turel was crouching in the same possition Raziel had left him and hadn't noticed him shift back into the Physical Plane.
   And off near the doorway was Kain...
   He lay there proped against a wall, his eyes half opened as if he were in a form of druged state. It was then, Raziel realized, exactly why Kain hadn't been able to defeat Turel a week ago. The orb from Moebius' staff made even the most ancient of vampires weak as fledgelings and Turel now had the power over every vampire in Nosgoth. But, then.. how could Turel withstand the power of the orb, he was just as vampiric as Kain... or was he? He probably had adapted somehow to the orb's power over the centeries, just as Rahab had adapted to the affects of water. The later seemed the most logical.
    Creeping over to Kain he took up the crooked blade Kain had used to replace his missing Reaver and stood swinging the blade once in his hands.
   Turel wirled around and sneered at his older brother. "A tricky devil aren't you?"
    "Yes, I'm just full of surprises..." Raziel snorted wagging a clawed finger towards Turel motioning him to come closer.
   Laughing Turel ran forward and slashed his large claws towards him. Raziel, gaining his courage back, dodged to the side, swinging the blade in the process. His blows did little more then scratch Turel's side.. but that was the whole point. If Raziel could make Turel mad enough his brother would quickly loose his focus and leave himself open for attack. Raziel chuckled to himself.. Turel never did have a sense of humour.
   "Hold still you agravating little curr so that I may rip your head from your shoulders and feed it to the fledglings!"
   Raziel laughed, whether from the pittiful attempt at an insult or at Turel's pitiful advances he couldn't tell. Avoiding another of Turel's swipes Raziel jumped onto the table and knelt there with a smug grin on his features.    Letting out a large hiss Turel ran forward towards Raziel and slammed his fists down hard on the table. Expecting something along those lines Raziel crouch-jumped into the air and landed on Turel's back like a crazed horse-rider. With his feet securly around Turel's midsection, Raizel slipped the blade under the leather collar and pulled it towards him. Turel let out another howl of rage and began clawing at the brother planted securly on his back. The leather cracked and pulled tightly.. as far as Raziel could tell it had been sewn together in hopes of it never leaving his brother's neck. Turel continued clawing madly at Raziel and missing each blow, Turel was far to large to reach him fully. With another great tug the collar snapped and broke free. Clutching the thing tightly with one hand Raziel jumped from Turel's back, dropping the sword to the ground. Turel clawed wildly at him as the leather collar slipped from around his neck. Missing awkwardly it slipping through his claws.
   "Damn you! Insect!"
   Hitting the ground at a dead run Raziel flung the broken thing around his neck, mostly to keep his arms free, and another to taunt Turel further. The leather was awkward and heavy to carry around on his shoulders, but it would have to do. Running through the audience chamber and into the halls, Raziel realised that because he was smaller and lighter on his feet he had managed to out run his brother quite easily. Grabbed a nearby vase against the wall he chucked it squarly in the middle of a stain glass window. The glass shattered on impact and the vase fell towards the grounds outside. Jerking the collar from his neck he held it threatingly out the window as Turel walked cautiously towards him.
   "The collar or your life." Turel screeched making a mock blow towards him.
    "Haven't you figured it out yet brother?" Raziel laughed, "I was created to be the killing machine you see before you.. because of the Elder's powers.. I cannot die." He grinned madly. "But I can kill you." With that Raziel dropped the collar out the window. At this high altitude the studs in the collar would surly shatter into a million peices. Almost instantly he felt the Reaver's presents returning to him happily. With a forced jerk of his arm the Reaver appeared just as brightly as it had before. Raziel was going to enjoy this so very much.
   Turel stepped back and snarled loudly. Right behind him Kain stood with sword in hand. Kain gave a loud battle cry and thrust the blade straight and upwards towards Turel's back. Raziel felt a twinge of jelousy towards his former vampire lord, he had wanted to be the one to end Turel's life. But, he supposed, Kain had squared off against Turel before and lost, perhaps it was only fair.
   The blade slide easily into Turel's back and out through his chest. As Turel gasped for breath, his hand pawed at the end of the blade. He looked at Raziel a moment with a sense of questioning then fell forward to his knees. Kain's blade slide from Turel's back as he fell to the floor. Panting heavily Kain wipped Turel's blood from his face and looked down at his still form. A mad glare was in his eyes that made Raziel step back a few paces.
   Spitting on Turel's body Kain turned and began walking away from the pair. He stopped a few feet away and looked down at the ground beside him. "...Thank you." He walked off again, blurring in a white light and dissapeared.
   Raziel looked down at Turel with a heavy hearted sigh and walked off himself. "...May the underworld be kind.. my brother.." With that he faided into the Spectral Realm and disappeared.