A Moonlit Night - The Complete Saga (29 page)

“It’s a warning,” Xander said, “The originals
wanted to make an example of their parents… they wanted their
mother’s and father’s to suffer.”

“Are there any of these originals still
around?” Steven asked as he knelt down beside one of the
remains.

“None that I’m aware of,” Xander replied, “If
there were any, likely they would’ve kept their head so far under
the sand that they’d never come up for air.”

“Aren’t they respected amongst their own?”
Steven asked as he continued with his little investigation. He knew
next to nothing about the vampires he fought, and even the smallest
bit of information could one day prove useful.

“Power is
all
that my kind respects,”
Xander confirmed, “Yet greater than the power of one, is our need
for bloodshed and war. Intelligence is the first thing to flee a
man when his cravings get the better of him. My kind was strong…
but weak willed when it came to our unfortunate misgivings. Within
a few thousand years of internal wars and power struggles, our
fledglings barely resembled their former elders, and that of their
own elders. History had been lost, with superstition given its
place. We were a people without an identity... and those are the
worst kinds of monsters… the ones who had neither rhyme nor reason
in their actions.”

“By the time I became a vampire, the fourth
council had been erected,” Xander continued, “And with them, our
entire heritage had been born anew… from the fires of the burning
history of all that came before.”

“I could spend a lifetime reading this,”
Emily said as she tried her hardest to ignore of the remains next
to her feet, “And still, I’d never begin to understand who or what
my people were. It’s not like I can read any of these squiggly
lines and disjointed characters. My mother should’ve been the one
here… not me.”

“But your mother
isn’t
here, is she?”
Xander asked through pressed lips, “
You’re
what’s left of
the summoner legacy…
you’re
the one that’s going to perform
the ritual… and
you’re
the one that’s going to save
everyone’s life.”

“And how do you expect me to do that?” Emily
asked, “If you were a vampire without any connection to your roots,
would it all come so natural to you?”

“A vampire’s need to feed is imprinted into
its DNA,” Xander replied, “Even without instruction, they’ll find
that feeding comes naturally once the opportunity presents
itself.”

“As will you,” Xander persisted as he started
the long walk down the main hallway, “When the opportunity presents
itself, of that I’ve little doubt.”

Xander walked alone down the path of mangled
corpses, followed closely behind by the summoner. Both were eager
to be here, but you could tell little by either of their reactions.
One couldn’t wait to leave this temple far behind, and the other
couldn’t stand the thought of having to ever leave.

* * * * *

Several hours later, amongst the backdrop of
the Amazon rainforest, the remaining ghouls and vampires still
loyal to Alexander Franson traversed the landscape in search of the
location of the illusive Temple of Prometheus.

Samuel and Fiona still led the pack, having
shared few words since their last discussion. It should’ve only
been a half-mile to the GPS coordinates, and both were eager to see
their friends once more. It had only been half of a day since they
were last together, but in a place such as this, half of a day can
feel like a lifetime.

The vampire hunter stopped abruptly and
ducked down into the undergrowth of the jungle, pressed low to
conceal his frame within the vegetation.

“Tired again, hunter?” a less than enthused
Fiona mocked, “I should’ve begged Xander to let you aboard the
chopper.”

“Shh,” Samuel said with a finger pressed to
his mouth, “Look over there... in the trees.”

Beyond a small creek there was a scout tucked
into some branches, high above the ground below. It was alone, or
at least it appeared to be. The only thing for certain was that it
wasn’t one of theirs.

“The vampire queen’s, I assume?” Samuel asked
as Fiona joined him in the undergrowth.

“Without a doubt,” Fiona responded, “Allow me
to subdue the intruder. I have a feeling you’d only go fumbling it
up, anyway.”

Samuel looked back and gave the signal for
everyone behind them to get down, but by the time the vampire
hunter turned his gaze back to his side, the Celt beside him had
vanished.

He stared intently at the scout in front of
him, and watched as Fiona approached undetected. She scaled the
tree with little effort, and sprang on the vampire before he could
even comprehend what was happening to him.

The scout had a blade in his heart and
another in the side of his neck before he hit the ground, dead on
impact. She might not have been the most stimulating conversation
Samuel ever had, but she was good—
really
good. He was just
lucky to have a woman like that on his side for a change.

“All right, I want everyone up,” Samuel
commanded as he rose to his feet, “We now know that Lady Amata is
here… somewhere. We’re only a short distance to the location
marked… and we’re going to make sure that we get there before the
vampire queen. We’ve only got a small window here, people, and I’m
going to need everything you’ve got left.”

The group nodded in approval and followed
their unlikely commander down to the creek to meet up with Fiona.
There was plenty of danger in the jungle, but now they had the
paranormal horde to deal with; lurking, hiding and biding their
time until they struck.

Samuel muttered a curse beneath his breath as
the vampires and ghouls hurried past him and towards the ill-omened
temple. He knew this was going to get bloody, but he never believed
it would happen so fast.

Chapter Five

The inner chamber of the temple was massive
in scope, a couple thousand square feet in diameter with arched
stone walls that must have gone upward for a hundred feet. The same
hieroglyphs that lined the entrance hallway were again repeated
along the curved wall that wrapped around them.

“If you’ve got anything left that I should
know,” Emily said, “Please enlighten me.”

“What is it that you think I know?” Xander
asked as he approached the center of the chamber.

A large carving of the same two interwoven
dragons lay on the ground underneath Xander’s feet. Whatever these
dragons meant to the summoners, it appeared vital to the ritual.
Perhaps even the gods of the paranormal creatures had deities of
their own. Stranger things have happened, Emily thought, and she
started to trace her hands along the laser-etched markings along
the wall.

“I honestly couldn’t begin to fathom what it
is
that you know,” Emily said, “And I doubt that I’d want
to. You’ve led me to this place, Alexander. I’d like to know
why.”

“You know why,” Xander replied, “Don’t let
Lady Amata’s presence cloud your judgment.”

“What do you mean? She’s here?”

“Not yet, but she’s near,” Xander answered,
“I can
feel
her presence… clawing and choking at my very
being. Her army is here, too, and they’ll kill us all if we don’t
come here to do what needs being done.”

“It’s not me that she’s after,” Xander
carried on, “She wants you… and she’s not going to stop until she
gets you. Can’t you feel her? Her spirit’s in this room, right now,
and its looking for you.”

“You’re twisting things; anything to keep
from telling me the truth.”

“Amata’s got her claws around you,” Xander
said, “
She’s
the one twisting the issues and trying to drive
a wedge between us. Can’t you see that? Is your trust in me really
so fragile that she could impose her will and make you question my
every intention?”

“I’m hearing just about everything except the
truth.”

“You’ve already heard the truth!” Xander
shouted with hands extended, “I’ve lost my home… most of my
children… and betrayed my entire species! You don’t get to question
me any further!”

“I’ve been used by friends, cousins,
boyfriends, and even the politicians on television. I know what it
feels like… and I know how to read the signs. You’re holding out on
me… and you’ve been holding out on me for a long time.”

“You’re burning alive with anger and
hostility,” Xander said as he took a step closer, “She knows you
can feel her, even if you can’t control those feelings. She’s
turning you into her… making you angry and hardhearted, a pawn in
her otherworldly desires. Fight it, Emily, and see her will
undone!”

“You’re lying!” Emily fired back with eyes
burning bright with a familiar azure light, “Everything you
vampires say is complete horseshit!”

“The temple will change us all back,” said
Xander, dropping to his knees with hands clasped, “You
must
believe me.”

“I’m trying.”

“Well, try
harder
,” Xander said with
his hands now in fists and fanged bared, “Because they’ll be coming
through that gate, soon enough, and when they’ve reached this
chamber, the horde will paint the walls with our blood.”

“All right, fine!” Emily screamed as she
stormed over towards the carvings on the floor.

As Emily stepped onto the circle, a white
light shined down upon the summoner and encapsulated her in its
warmth.

“I-I… I feel at peace, again,” said Emily,
her voice wavering, “I wasn’t myself, Xander, and for that I
apologize. I can see m-much clearer now—.”

All the thoughts that raged through Emily’s
subconscious suddenly ceased to be and she dropped to the ground as
her conscious flew high up to the bright light above. It should’ve
been a wondrous occasion for the summoner, but her waning thoughts
were that of sorrow. She could see the battle raging in front of
the temple— a battle that hadn’t happened yet, but would soon
decimate the entire area.

Her friends were dying, lambs to the
slaughter under the strength of the vampire’s queens might. What
the horde lacked in steel, they made up for in number and drove her
hapless allies off into the chasm below. And there was nothing she
could do. Not yet.

* * * * *

Back at the entrance to the Temple of
Prometheus, Steven and Esther were keeping a lookout, with hope of
seeing their friends now dwindling with each passing minute. Steven
paced back and forth, kicking up stones and dust as he fumbled
around the pathway. He had been out here for hours at the request
of his sister, but found his mind ill-suited for the restless
nature of waiting for the inevitable.

“If you hate it here so much,” Esther said,
“Why do you stay?”

“Pardon me?” Steven asked in confusion.

“You rarely talk to any of us,” Esther
explained, “And when you do, it’s only ever to your sister or the
vampire hunter. Do you really dislike us so much that you’d
distance yourself from us?”

“It’s not that,” Steven replied, “I… I’ve
hurt so many people. I don’t care if it’s vampires or humans… I’ve
killed people, Esther— your people. You shouldn’t be okay with
that.”

“That was a blood demon. You weren’t in
control of your body.”

“Tell that to the fallen, buried beneath the
rubble of House Franson,” said Steven, “I doubt they’d find no
fault in my actions.”

“So then why do you stay?”

“For my sister,” answered Steven, “I stay
because of her.”

“No other reason?”

“My two closest friends,” Steven replied,
“First, there’s my teacher and mentor, Samuel Anderson. He tried to
temper my emotions… tried to help me become a better man. I
responded to his generosity by knocking him onto the ground and
leaving him behind. I owe him my life, for if it weren’t for him, I
would’ve surely been gutted by a vampire.”

“What of the other?”

“His name’s Tyler Aucoin,” said Steven, “Our
longtime friend passed away by before we left. She was
his
girlfriend and now he’ll never get to see her again. We left him
behind… alone and without a friend in the world. I stay to make
sure his loses haven’t been for nothing… loses that never should’ve
happened in the first place.”

“They should’ve been here by now,” Esther
said nervously, “I don’t like this, not one bit.”

“How could anyone?” Steven asked, “I might
not be a centuries old vampire, but no one should be comfortable
with the situation we’re heading into! I should be in university
right now… okay; well at least Emily should’ve been in university
right now. Our lives were stolen from us.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Esther
replied.

“I wasn’t just talking about Emily and I,”
said Steven, “You might’ve come to terms with how you entered your
second life, but someone murdered you… and murdered any chance that
poor girl inside you had of living a normal life.”

“No one’s ever said that to me,” Esther
said.

“Yeah, well,” Steven said with a laugh as he
leaned against the temple’s exterior wall, “I’m guessing there
aren’t many guys like me in your clan.”

“You’re a confident one,” said Esther,
grinning devilishly, “Maybe a little
too
confident for your
own good—.”

Esther cut her speech short and listened to
the sounds of the cavern, her ears perked towards the dark tunnel
beyond the bridge.

“What’s going on?” Steven asked, “Do you hear
something?”

“Possibly,” Esther said, “Whoever is
approaching is heading towards us at a hurried pace. Something’s
wrong.”

Something was most certainly wrong with the
straggling group led by Samuel and Fiona. They were all sprinting
down the steep tunnel and they slowed little for the narrow bridge
at its precipice.

“Brace yourselves!” Samuel bellowed from the
other side of the bridge, “We’ve got incoming!”