A Moonlit Night - The Complete Saga (18 page)

“What was it like?” Horace asked as he took a
vial from his pouch and poured some salt into his hand, “…To take
the life of a vampire?”

“It happened two nights after I left my home
in search of this mysterious hideaway,” Emily said, watching Horace
trace a circle around the carcass with salt. It was a memory fresh
in her mind, always a reminder that her powers weren’t meant for
unskilled hands. “It was just after we’d separated from the rest of
you. My powers had just matured and I was apprehensive about my
abilities. Three vampires rushed us outside a small village in
northern Italy… Xander was glorious… so strong and confident in the
heat of battle.”

“This wasn’t like the battles on my front
porch against his ancient master,” Emily continued with eyes now
gleaming, “He was swift and his vengeance indisputable. He tore
through two of them in less than twenty seconds flat… avoiding
every blow and countering with raw aggression… and then there was
me. The third vampire managed to sneak by him, eyes set upon ending
my life. I was so scared that I nearly blacked out… but then… then
the powers came surging forth through my hands. Before I could even
bring myself to look, I had set the vampire ablaze with a blinding
white light.”

Horace completed the circle of salt and
whispered a few words to send the beast away in an inferno of fire.
He wasn’t sending the bear’s remains from this world, but instead
returning it to the castle so those that stayed behind could drain
it of blood.

“It still amazes me that you’re able to do
that,” Emily said, “Use magic like that, I mean.”

“Oh, it’s nothing but a simple incantation,
taught to me by those that dabble in the arts,” Horace conceded, “I
was an adept when I met Xander. Never any good at it, though, so I
was glad to be rid of them, meant for a much different path. If
even a dimwitted bloodhound like me could learn a few tricks…
someone like you could set the world afire.”

“Sounds
mighty
tempting,” Horace said
with a chortle, “To wield that much power… I could never imagine
what it must be like. I might be able to behead a human, and even I
even took out a vampire hunter once, but the rest of the unearthly
creatures are far out of my league. What I wouldn’t give to finally
be able to stand up to them… to strike back at those that would
oppress my people.”

“Oh?” Emily asked with her head cocked
sideways, “I thought you ghouls formed a deep connection with those
that you serve.”

“You could say that,” Horace replied,
“Alexander Franson is a hell of a man, vampire or mouth breather.
It’s not always the same for others of my kind. Usually, a vampire
master is more likely to pour its blood on the ground and watch his
servant lick it off the floor than he is to hold him up and treat
him like an equal. They exploit our servitude, use blood as a drug
that we cannot turn away from. Not Xander. No, I’d go to Hell and
back for that man… I can assure you of that.”

Emily nodded in concurrence to Horace’s words
of unity. She also felt a strong connection with Xander, although
she could never separate herself from the conflicting emotions that
stirred within her. Was it for love that she stayed with him, or
was it out of respect and the gratitude for the man that saved her
life? Her mother had warned her, but she refused to listen. Every
fiber of Emily’s being told her that she could trust him, as if
wrapped in a cloak of his vicarious aura.

A rustling of leaves strayed Emily’s
attention from the conversation at hand, and she found herself
staring off into the distance. It wasn’t until the sound of a
snapping branch that she was alerted her to another’s presence.
That’s when she realized what her powers were trying to tell her—
someone was out there watching them.

“Show yourself!” Emily shouted with her fists
clenched, “I’ll only warn you this once!”

“I didn’t mean to offend,” a familiar voice
said from the shadows, “It’s taken me days to reach you… and I only
wanted to watch the mighty summoner do her… summoning.”

“It’s been far too long, Samuel,” gushed
Emily as she ran towards her friend, “I’ve missed you so much!”

She had written him every week, but not once
had she ever believed to see him again. Even when Steven showed up
at their doorstep, hell-bent and looking for a fight, she never
believed Samuel, too, would leave the confines of the Hunter’s
Guild. Things were getting serious, very fast, and she was overcome
with feelings of trepidation against the coming storms that
threatened to encompass them all.

“Come,” Emily said with a guiding hand, “No
doubt you you’ve been traveling for days nonstop… come let’s go see
my brother and get you some rest.”

Chapter Two

“Oh, just give me
one
minute alone
with him,” Ava pouted from outside the door to the medical bay, “I
won’t lay a finger on him… I promise.”

“Bullshit,” Ester retorted from the other
side, “If I let you walk through these doors, that young man is
dead.”

“And what of it?” Ava asked with authority
and a pound on the door, “Can you honestly tell me that his life
holds any value to you?”

“No, it doesn’t,” Esther replied after some
deliberation, “But Master Franson has made it quite clear that the
man holds value to
him
… and that’s more than enough reason
to deny you entry. I’m sorry, sister, but there’s no way you’ll be
getting through.”

“Bitch!” Ava screamed, “I swear to Lucifer
himself, if any harm comes to my sister because of that little
shit, I’ll discontinue your godforsaken existence!”

Ava continued to pound away at the door until
two figures approached from behind. She ceased her actions and
turned to face the summoner and vampire hunter standing watch from
the end of the hall.

“I-I was trying to make sure that your
brother received the proper protection,” Ava faltered
unconvincingly.

“Yes, I can see that,” Emily replied as she
walked towards the medical bay, “How very
thoughtful
of you,
Ava.”

Emily politely knocked on the door and let
Esther know that she had arrived with company and required a moment
with her cataleptic brother. The door promptly opened, much to the
dismay of Ava, and they walked through the door.

“Oh, and Ava…,” Emily said as she entered
through the doorway, “Test my patience one more time… and I promise
that it’ll be your last. We might not like each other; hell we
might not even respect each other, but if you threaten anyone that
I love again, I’ll see to it personally that you’re not around to
try it again.”

Emily could see the rage build within Ava as
she closed the door behind her and sealed the Celt off from which
she desired most. It was satisfying for Emily, to finally take a
stand against those that would wish her harm. She had been running
for far too long, and although the victory was trivial, she
couldn’t have felt better about finally standing up for
herself.

“Thank you, Esther,” said Emily, “I know it’s
been hard for you to tend to my brother… especially after he tried
to take Xander’s life.”

“It’s true that it hasn’t been easy,” Esther
admitted, “Just about half of our clan has tried to get through
those doors at some point, but I promised Xander that I would see
Steven to safety, and it’s a commitment I plan to see to the
end.”

“Such kindness is a breath of fresh air,”
Samuel said, “You’re a credit to your species, Esther.”

“I’ve had a great teacher,” Esther replied,
“I fear without his guidance… I wouldn’t be nearly as cordial to
outsiders. Ava may have been his firstborn, but she’s spent far too
many years on her own to truly appreciate the man that made
her.”

The three of them wandered over to Steven’s
bed, where he lay hooked up to several machines that watched over
him in his fragile condition. There were IV tubes hooked up into
him, and Emily cried at the sight, just like she had done every
other time she’d visit him here. He was frail and hardly resembled
the superhuman that attacked them only a few days prior.

“Steven…,” whispered Samuel as he sat down on
a chair beside the bed, “I’ve failed you—.”

“Don’t blame yourself for what happened
here,” Emily said. She grabbed hold of his hand for comfort and
squeezed tightly to let him know that he wasn’t alone. They all had
failed him. “He’ll be up and out of this bed in no time… cracking
jokes and making you wish he was still in this bed. Steven’s a
fighter… you just watch… he’ll show us all that we were fools for
having believed the worst.”

“Of course, you’re right,” Samuel answered
with a forced smile, “I only hope that he hasn’t given up. His
fight must now be faced from within. If there’s anyone that can
save him… it’s himself.”

At that moment, Xander entered through the
door and approached the four of them. His eyes immediately went to
Emily and Samuel, and lingered for a moment on their interwoven
hands. “I see that you’ve wasted no time, Samuel… arriving to our
camp, I mean. It would seem that my secret lair isn’t quite as
secret as I wished it to be.”

“It’s not Emily’s fault, if that’s what
you’re implying,” Samuel replied with his hand still clasped with
Emily’s hand, “I needed a direct line of communication in hopes
that we’d one day be reunited before the final mission was
undertaken.”

“Yes, that makes sense,” Xander said, “But at
what cost? I only hope that your letters back and forth haven’t
been intercepted.”

“I can assure you they haven’t been,” Samuel
responded defiantly.

“And before this week, I’m sure you would’ve
said the same about Emily’s brother,” Xander interjected, “I’m
sorry, Samuel, but your word just isn’t good enough for me.”

Emily could see the building tension and took
matters into her own hands. She rose from her chair and walked
between the two men, both itching for a fight. “Stop this, both of
you! My brother is lying comatose in this very room… and the two of
you are more concerned with arguing back and forth than you are
with Steven’s own wellbeing. If it wasn’t for him, I’d be dead
right now… and then where would you be in your precious war? …Upon
the sharp end of a pike, no doubt.”

“You’re right, of course,” Xander
conceded.

“My apologies, Emily,” Samuel added, “We
should’ve been more respectful.”

They all stood in reflection of Steven for a
moment, thinking back to their most meaningful moments with him.
For Xander, he hadn’t known Steven very long, other than the night
his master, Simeon, waged war upon their cottage home. Even then,
he could sense a strength in the young man that couldn’t be taught,
no matter how wise the teacher. It came from a resolve to see her
sister out of harm’s way, the only person that he truly matter
cared about anymore.

Samuel’s relationship was much more involved
than Xander’s, having trained him for months up in the Scottish
highlands. Even from the start, he could see something special in
Steven. For everything that Samuel
did
see in the fresh
faced student, he never could’ve seen this coming.

And then there was Emily, the closest person
in the world to Steven. They were all that was left of the
Johansson family, alone since their grandmother passed away when
they were still teenagers. She would do just about anything for her
brother, but this wasn’t a fight she could see to closure. From
here on out, this was a war only her brother to wage.

“Horace tells me that you bring word of the
Hunter’s Guild,” Xander said coyly, “I was awaiting an arrival of
one of your men… should’ve known it would’ve been you. So tell me,
vampire hunter, of what fruit does our shaky alliance bear? Can we
count on your men for the coming battle?”

“I fear that you cannot,” Samuel replied with
a solemn demeanor, “There has been a shroud of darkness cast over
the members of my guild… and I don’t completely know how far down
the corruption goes. My elders have abandoned us in fear of what
the summoner has in store for all the paranormal races. I wouldn’t
trust another—.”

“You’re a son of a bitch!” Xander shouted as
he leapt forward, his hands directed towards the vampire hunter’s
throat, “You planned this all along, didn’t you? We don’t stand a
chance without some goddamn backup!”

“Stop it!” Emily screamed while she watched
Xander push Samuel up against the wall, “Don’t be a fool, Xander!
We’re both on the same side!”

“You should listen to her, vamp,” Samuel
added with a smile, “I’m prepared to die for my convictions… are
you?”

In Xander’s rage, the undead vampire had
completely forgotten whom he was dealing with; a vampire hunter of
the highest regard. Samuel directed his attention downwards, where
a small dagger had found its place, off-center of Xander’s chest,
where his dormant heart lay the most vulnerable.

“You might be able to collapse my throat like
a twig,” Samuel conceded, “But not before I take you to Hell with
me. So tell me, vampire… how do you like your chances?”

Xander reluctantly released Samuel from his
grasp and stormed back towards the door. There was much that
weighed down his spirits, and this most recent development was just
another in a long line of disappointments. “Killing you here and
now serves no purpose… I’ll let Lady Amata’s hordes do it when they
arrive. I just hope that I’m still alive to see the life drain from
your eyes.”

“Xander!” shouted Emily, “What the hell’s
gotten into you?”

“Nothing, my dear,” Xander replied with a
heavy heart, “The wheels of fate conspire against us… and I fear
that nothing will stop them from seeing us all to our demise.
Samuel has delivered his message… the final death is upon us
all.”

“You can’t blame Samuel for what’s happened,”
Emily protested, “It’s not his fault—.”