A Moonlit Night - The Complete Saga (16 page)

The vampire couldn’t understand the fate that
had befallen it, a victim of a force that he could never fathom. It
knew to fear a vampire hunter, but never before had one managed to
wield such power at a young age. Like a man possessed, the vampire
hunter defector had completely taken the vampire by surprise— one
that it would never recover from.

A smile crept across his face as the monster
took its final breath. He was reveling in the misery of the
monster, perhaps making him just as vile a creature as the one
beneath his thumbs. It mattered little to Steven, who just wanted
to see the war over. If he had to become a monster to kill a
monster, than that’s exactly what he would become.

Steven was enjoying this, maybe a little
too
much, and he continued to apply pressure until the
creature’s neck collapsed under the weight of his newfound force.
It was a force that he never truly understood, one that not even
his mentor, Samuel, was worthy of. It mattered not where the power
came from, for Steven had a mission to complete and needed all of
the strength available to see it finished.

“…Xander!” Steven bellowed, “I’m coming for
you! Neither Heaven nor Hell will keep you safe from my wrath!”

And so, Steven picked his blade from the
ground and resumed his course towards the mountainous castle, House
Franson. There, he would finish this battle once and for all,
whether his sister wished it or not. That’s what his mother wanted,
or at least that’s what she required of him. It was a mission he
was only too happy to oblige. He was a man possessed, and like any
man with that much hate in their hearts, he wouldn’t stop until he
had achieved all that his heart desired— and right now, his heart
desired only bloodshed.

Chapter Four

Back at House Franson, unbeknownst to Emily
of her brother’s close proximity, she and the object of her
brother’s rage sat alone in the grand hall, discussing the
implications of his recent discovery. He had found the Temple of
Prometheus, and with it, the end of the war they both so
desperately wanted to see over. However, their reasons for doing so
couldn’t have been more dissimilar.

Much had changed since their first encounter
in the alleyway behind some random bar in downtown Charlestown.
Emily was no longer a passenger in the life that hurried by at a
furious pace. She had taken control of the turbulent waves that
crashed against her very soul, and turned them outward unto forces
that could do harm to the people she cared most about.

“Something still yet bothers you,” Xander
said as he placed his hand on Emily’s lap, “Please… I want you to
know that you can tell me anything.”

Emily recoiled from Xander’s touch, still
unable to remove the doubts from her mind. He had never given her
any reason to fear him, but in many ways that scared her more than
anything else. He was willing to destroy his own kind, all for a
woman that he barely even knew. They had grown close over the last
few months, but her mother’s warning still circled the corners of
her mind and gave her cause for concern.

“It’s nothing,” Emily said.

“C’mon now… we both know that isn’t
true.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right,” Emily said
with a nod in agreement, “My mother hasn’t appeared to me since the
awakening of my powers, all those months ago. I fear that she’s
abandoned me.”

“I’m sure that it’s nothing to fear.”

“You’re probably correct,” Emily conceded,
“However, I can’t shake the unnerving feeling that she is upset
with the choices I’ve made.”

“How can you think that?”

Emily picked herself up and paced around the
hall, unsure of how to respond. It was true that she had no idea
what her mother’s intentions were, but one thought kept resonating
within her— not even Xander was to be trusted.

Somehow, Amanda had been able to follow her
daughter’s misadventures, always keeping close to Emily from beyond
the grave. Not even death itself could stop a summoner from
influencing another one of her kind, a connection they shared that
transcended both time and space. Wherever her mother was, she was
watching closely to the events of Emily’s life.

“I cannot put my feelings into words,” Emily
said, “At least, not yet. For now, I can only hope that she’s still
guiding me down the right path.”

“I’m sure that when the time comes for her
intervention, she will return to you.”

“I hope you’re right, Xander,” whispered
Emily, still pacing around the room, “Because I fear that with
every day that goes by, I lose a little bit more of myself. I don’t
even feel human anymore…”

“You’re not human.”

His words echoed loud in Emily’s mind,
reaffirming her belief that she was, in fact, not human anymore.
Like her mother’s comforting presence, Emily’s humanity had
abandoned her, as well. Or at least it certainly felt that way. “I
worry that my mother’s warnings have fallen on deaf ears.”

“What warnings do you speak of?” Xander
asked, although it was quite clear on his face that perhaps he
already knew the answers he sought. He had lived for hundreds of
years, and never once before had he felt a connection like the one
he shared with Emily. It felt pure, free of the taint of the undead
mentality. When Xander was with her, he was alive. It was a rush
that he knew would never last, no matter how hard he tried.

Except it wasn’t pure, and like everything
around him, it was nothing more than an unholy lie that should’ve
never seen the light of day on this plane of existence. It
should’ve stayed buried, far out of reach from the human’s they
subjected and bent to their corrupt will.

Emily turned her back to Xander, and let the
uncomfortable silence speak for itself. There wasn’t much she could
say to make the situation any better, and decided that their time
would be best spent deliberating other matters, like the plan to
finally end this war— once and for all.

“I’d like to ask you something,” Emily said
as she turned back to face the man that had so willingly disobeyed
his former master, Simeon.

“Please, speak your mind.”

“What made you change your mind?” Emily
asked, “You once told me of a time when your master was searching
for the summoner, my mother, and you disregarded his vision as
nothing more than a fool’s errand.”

“I remember the conversation.”

“The next time your story picks up, it’s on
the night I lost my mother,” Emily said with a pain in her eyes
that came from a life prematurely ripped away from her. It was
still a sensitive issue, and somehow knowing that her mother was
still watching over her, but refusing to aid her daughter, made the
knowledge all the more painful. “I want to know what changed your
mind… what brought you to the side of the summoners, when the rest
of your kind only wants to see me dead.”

“It’s a very long story.”

“And I’ve got all the time in the world,”
Emily reaffirmed.

Xander pressed his fingers to his lower lip
and deliberated what he would say. There was much he needed to tell
her, and even more he needed to hide. It wasn’t that he wanted to
keep her in the dark, but there were otherworldly forces at play,
and he needed to be sure his family would be taken care of. “I
suppose that I should start at the beginning—.”

“Master Franson!” shouted Ava as she through
the front doors to the castle open, “A stranger arrives under the
cover of night. Shall I send out the troops?”

Xander rose from his seat with alarming
intensity and stormed over to his firstborn vampire. He feared that
Lady Amata had found their secluded hideout, a fear that would
unravel everything he had worked so hard for. “What of our scouts?
Do they report anyone else?”

“My lord,” Ava faltered, “They’re all
missing, master. The scouts have not reported back… I believe
they’ve fallen in battle.”

Xander slammed his fist down on the ancient
mahogany bookcase to his right and let out a scream of uncontained
frustration. The wood splintered upon impact and flew across the
room in every conceivable direction. He was fuming and he wanted
everyone within earshot to know his anger.

“M-master…,” Ava stuttered after waiting a
few moments for her vampiric father to respond, “What shall we
do?”

“Do nothing,” Xander commanded, “I will
handle this myself.”

Xander began to walk off into the night’s
cold embrace, but Emily wasn’t about to let him leave her behind
anymore. She had come far in these last few months, and no longer
resembled the scared young girl that needed a vampire’s protection.
It wasn’t that she was ungrateful for his assistance. Quite the
contrary, Emily valued his help more than she would ever allow
herself to admit.

That was a long time ago, however, and she
wasn’t about to allow anyone to do battle in her name. If war was
coming to their shore, then she would be ready for anything— no
matter what darkness lay in wait.

“If you go,” Emily began, “Then I’m going
with you.”

“It’s not safe,” Xander growled.

“Nothing in my life has been safe,” Emily
replied, “Not since the paranormal became
my
normal. No, we
face this threat together. You and I against the world…”

Xander was reluctant, but understood that he
had little say in the matter. He walked out the front door,
summoner by his side, ready to face whatever evil was headed their
way; an evil they could’ve never prepared for.

Chapter Five

“I want everyone to behind me!” Xander
commanded as he directed the several dozen vampires around to stand
back, “If Lady Amata has found our location… I will deal with the
intruder myself.”

The rest of his pack did as he ordered,
except Emily, who stood by his side in the face of certain danger.
The cold breeze rushed through them, chilling them right to the
bone; a warning of things yet to come. Whatever was headed their
way, they would see it through together; a vampire and summoner
against the coming hordes of their unknown enemy.

It wasn’t a horde that approached, however,
as the silhouette of a single man began to stride towards the
castle with conviction. He walked towards the small army of
vampires with a self-assurance that stemmed from marvelous powers
that not even the mysterious man quite understood. Something was
guiding him to this place, whether it was from the Heavens above or
from the deepest depths of Hell, it mattered not. All that mattered
was the completion of his mission.

It took Emily a few moments to realize just
who the man was, but long before any of the vampires could make the
figure out, she knew exactly who was headed their way, and it was
no enemy of hers. Like a whisper from the past, Emily heard a voice
in the back of her mind that begged her to be cautious, to tread
carefully in the wake of recent developments.

“Steven!” shouted Emily as she disregarded
the warnings and ran towards her brother with open arms. She had no
idea how her brother found House Franson, but it couldn’t have been
further from her mind. “Brother, how I’ve missed you so!”

She worried not about the dire implications
of his arrival, only that he had finally returned to her. It was an
emotional reunion, with tears streaming down her face and her heart
skipping a beat; but it was a reunion built on a thick layer of
hate and mistrust. There was an evil concealed in Steven’s eyes,
only she didn’t realize it until it was too late. He was too
forgone for even his loving sister’s embrace to save him.

Her open arms were brushed aside as Steven
passed her by and began to speed his approach towards the castle
and that of its undead ruler. His cold eyes reflected a deeper
understanding of the events that led him to this unholy place. An
understanding born from the prophecy his mother has chosen to share
with him, and not with his misbegotten sister.

Xander’s pack of vampires hissed and growled
at Steven’s unwanted presence and bared their fangs accordingly.
Still, this was Xander’s decision to make, and he commanded them to
all stand down.

“Steven?” asked Xander with a look of
disbelief, “I thought you were in the Scottish highlands at the
Hunter’s Guild—?”

Xander’s speech was cut short by Steven’s
hands around his throat. With untamed power, he was lifted into the
air and sent crashing back down to the ground below. Before he
could get another word out, Steven started to relentlessly strike
him in the face.

Xander struggled to free himself, but was
unable to do so under Steven’s newfound strength. It was strength
unlike he had ever seen before in a human, let alone in a vampire
hunter. It was a strength reserved only for the strongest of
Xander’s kind, and never before had he met a man that wielded such
power. Something disturbing was at work, and as darkness began to
overtake him, he wondered if he would ever see this mystery to
completion.

As the blows rained down on him, he began to
see flashes of his life pass by. All the evil and misdeeds that he
had been an accomplice to now burned bright in his mind, reminding
him that karma, in fact, did exist. If he was going to be stricken
down here, than he could’ve thought of no one more worthy than the
brother of the summoner.

“Stop…,” Xander choked under the weight of
Steven’s hands on his throat; but he wasn’t speaking to the man
trying to end his life, he was speaking to the pack of vampires
that were descending upon the two of them with inhuman speed and
agility. “This isn’t… your battle. Do
not
harm the
summoner’s brother. If my life is forfeit… then so be it. The
battle… must carry onward.”

They were not happy to obey their master’s
wishes, but knew the consequences of disobeying. They watched on,
some in fear and others in anger, as Xander’s face was repeatedly
struck by the unnatural hunter.