A Moonlit Night - The Complete Saga (23 page)

“So what do you know about pirates, anyway?”
Emily asked with hopes of changing the conversation to more
intellectually
stimulating conversation.

“Not much, I’m afraid,” Xander replied with a
widening smile, “I never was a very good one.”

“Oh, shut up!” Emily exclaimed, forgetting
once again that her brother lay asleep beside her, “Did you know
any cool pirates?”

“No.”

“Oh, c’mon,” Emily chided, “There must’ve
been one… what about Peg Leg Bob or Random Colored Beard Guy… and
then there’s guy with the parrot. I want to say his name’s Parrot
Pete, but that doesn’t sound quite right.”

“Those aren’t real pirates.”

“I know that,” Emily defended, “
You’re
the pirate… you tell
me
their names!”

“You must forgive me, Emily,” Xander said as
he turned his back to the summoner and peered out into the night,
“I want nothing more than to resume, whatever it was that we felt,
but there was pressing matters to discuss and I think we could use
your help removing some debris atop the remains of the armory. We
lose too many man hours during the daylight and work slows to a
crawl. The work would go much faster with your assistance.”

“Yeah, maybe that would be a better place to
start,” Emily said with a milky gaze, “I apologize for your immense
loss, Xander, but I’ll not leave my brother’s side. Not while his
life still hangs in the balance.”

“The excavations are incredibly important to
the war effort,” Xander said, “My warehouse held enough to see all
my men well armed and defended. While we may not need as much now,
due to
unforeseen
events, it remains under the rubble of
half a castle. The more weapons and armor we uncover by tomorrow…
the better chance we’re going to have to not get ourselves
killed.”

“Must we move this quickly?” Emily asked,
“I’d hoped to give my brother another few days to recover, as well
as Samuel. He’s busted up pretty badly, too, but I wouldn’t expect
you to remember that.”

“The vampire hunter holds little importance
to me,” Xander said as he turned back to face Emily, “I understand
that he was only acting on good intentions… but we’ve both seen
where good intentions can lead.”

“Don’t be like that,” Emily protested, “I
need you to be a better man; we
all
need you to be a better
man. Prove them wrong, Xander. Prove them you’re better than the
sum of your race.”

“And who am I to prove myself to?” Xander
asked with his head cocked sideways, “Your brother… your hunter… or
could you possibly be referring to your mother?”

The words cut through Emily faster than she
could react and she was taken back for a moment, caught in sudden
torrent of her own inner demons. Amata had done a number on her
psyche, and now she couldn’t even rely on the strongest memory she
had left— meeting her mother on the pristine shores of the summoner
plane.

If the vampire queen had of been able to sow
the seeds of mistrust within her own mind and create the illusion
of her mother once, then perhaps she could’ve done so the first
time. For all Emily knew, she was headed into the very trap Amata
had guided her to. It was clarity of mind she wish she never had,
but now struggled to rid herself from. It was an awful feeling, the
kind that sinks deep into the soul and refuses to let go.

“I’m sorry,” Xander conceded after he
realized how deep his words had cleaved, “I didn’t mean to upset,
only press upon you the urgency of the situation.”

“No, you’re right,” Emily said, “I’ll make
sure that we’re ready to move out when called upon.”

“I’m sorry for what happened to Steven,” said
Xander as he looked down to the floor, “He was a victim… I’m not
the coldhearted tyrant you’re starting to wonder if I am, but the
truth is that if he knew our location, than our enemies do, as
well. I’m well acquainted with their leader, Lady Amata, and I’ve
felt her wrath before. She will act quickly and with disregard for
her own men, and throw wave upon wave at us until we’ve all gone
off a cliff.”

“You’re talking about a bloodbath,” Emily
replied with eyes wide open, “I hold no love for your kind, but
even I wouldn’t want to see a genocide orchestrated in my
name.”

“There’s no room for second guesses and
morality in war,” Xander said, “We’re in a fight to the death and
only one side is going to walk away. People
are
going to die
in your name, summoner. We just need to make sure that, in the end,
there’s a lot more of them dead and there is of us alive. It’s a
battle we can’t win… not even in a million years. Instead, we’re
going to run and hope to fight on higher ground.”

“Lady Amata doesn’t know where the temple
is,” Xander continued, “If we can manage to clear these valleys and
head to port, we’ll be able to secure a ship to take us to the
temple. With a little luck, they won’t manage to track us.”

“And where is this mysterious temple?” Emily
asked, “You haven’t told me a thing about its location. I think
that I deserve to know.”

“My apologies,” Xander said with palms raised
in surrender, “I would do anything for you, but some secrets are
better kept secret. A terrible fate could befall anyone that knows
its location and I can only entrust myself to guard its passage.
All secrets will be revealed, I promise you that.”

“Oh,
mysterious
,” Emily jeered, “Leave
it to a vampire to make the answer to all our problems seem dark
and brooding.”

“Do you really think that we can win?” Emily
asked, “If it comes to fighting on higher ground, I mean. If there
numbers are as vast as you say, then what stops them from
slaughtering all of us? Not even I have that much faith in my
abilities.”

“Amata cares nothing of those under her
command,” Xander replied with his nose wandering around the room,
as if detecting something off-putting, “Likely, she’ll be sending
them into battle, armed with nothing other than the fangs and claws
they were reborn with. It’s an advantage I’d take full advantage
of, and make sure that I see our troops well armed.”

“I didn’t hear a ‘yes’ anywhere in there,”
Emily noted, “I guess that I’d better figure out, whatever it is
that I need to figure out, before we get to the Temple of
Prometheus… or we’re all doomed.”

The sudden flare of Xander’s nostrils brought
Emily’s attention to the opening of her tent, where she awaited the
one man capable of getting under Xander’s skin in such a way.

“Good morning,” Samuel said with a nod as he
entered the tent, “…And you, Xander. I suppose.”

He was in rough shape, covered in gauze and
propped up by a wooden stick. Still, he found the resolve needed to
walk halfway across their improvised camp and come to his student’s
aid. He, too, worried about Steven’s wellbeing and feared
retribution for last night’s events.

“I’ve noticed that the dead haven’t found
graves,” Samuel quipped, “The rotting has begun and the stench is
becoming completely insufferable. Do you plan on doing anything
about that, or should I start digging by myself?”

“I’ve need for the bodies,” Xander replied,
“Leave them… just as they are.”

“That’s sick,” Samuel said with a look of
disdain, “You vampire’s have no respect for the dead… no respect
for yourselves.”

Xander replied with a deep growl, ready to
leap into action and remove the vampire hunter from the face of
this earth. One day, they were going to fight to the death, of that
he had little doubt. It just wouldn’t be this day.

“Good,” Xander said as he brushed past Samuel
on his way towards the exit, “We’ve found someone to watch over
your brother. If we head out now, we might just finish before the
break of dawn.”

“Samuel, I…,” said a flustered Emily, torn
between the two men. She hadn’t spoken with Samuel since he almost
gave his life to protect that which she vowed to keep far from
harm’s way. She wanted a moment to thank him for being there, but
right now she didn’t want to risk another blow up between the two
of them.

“Go ahead,” Samuel said with tenebrous
approval, as if he knew the conflict that was tearing Emily apart,
“I’m not much good to anyone right now, anyway. See to the
preparations at hand… I’ll be here when you get back.”

Samuel watched Xander exit the tent with
Emily following close behind. He took an extended sigh as he
slouched down into an old wicker chair and waited for his troubled
friend to wake. There wasn’t much to look forward to in this
godforsaken place, and if recent events were any indication for the
wounded vampire hunter, things were about to get much worse before
they started to get better.

Chapter Four

The next night, deep in the sprawling forests
of northern Italy, the vampire queen’s horde loomed closer and
closer with each passing hour. They were hot on Xander’s trail and
hoped to meet them in battle before dawn broke across the
landscape. An example was to be had if Amata wished to keep her
army intact after the coming war, and she would see her vengeance
exacted in front of all those who bumped in the night.

“Xander’s a coward, mistress,” the statuesque
William said he entered Amata’s mobile command center and took up
position in front of the war table, “Our scouts’ report the
security very light, and have almost managed to reach the castle
undetected. They’re going to run… I can
smell
it.”

“Xander’s no coward,” Lady Amata replied from
behind her wooden throne, “If you continue to underestimate our
rebellious vampire, you’ll be dust long before this war’s
over.”

“Of course, my queen,” said William, “You’re
right, as always.”

“Oh, don’t get all stuffy about it,” Lady
Amata said as she noticed the wounded ego of her bodyguard take an
unconscious blow, “I’ve no doubt you could defeat him in open
contest, but I would’ve said the same thing about the man who had
your place, just a few short months ago. Don’t forget the lesson
Simeon had to learn at the sharp end of stake— don’t
ever
underestimate the enemy.”

At that moment, one of the werewolf pack
masters strolled into the tent with three chopped up heads clasped
between his hairy fingers. He tossed them onto the table with a
look of satisfaction, as if half expecting to be congratulated by
his dark mistress.

“And you weren’t spotted by anyone?” Lady
Amata asked, less than enthused with her commander’s
accomplishments.

“No, my queen,” the werewolf replied, “I
caught these three near a riverbed trying to gather some water.
They weren’t expecting me… until it was too late.”

“Good,” Lady Amata purred, “We’ll be at their
dwelling within a few hours now, and if we play our cards right,
they’ll never know until it’s too late.”

“If you’ll forgive my boldness, mistress,”
the werewolf began with a certain amount of apprehension, “We
outnumber them ten to one, and yet, you’d have us sneak between the
shadows and hold off our attack until the last possible
minute.”

“And that’s why no werewolf sits upon my
throne,” Lady Amata said with cold and glassy eyes, “If we were to
charge the compound, they would surely see us coming miles away.
They would be gone in the wind, their trace lost to us forever… and
with them, the secrets of the hidden Temple of Prometheus. Is that
what you want, you stupid dog?”

“I-I’m sorry, mistress,” the werewolf said as
he backed off, “I meant no disrespect.”

“No, of course you didn’t,” Lady Amata
agreed, “I doubt you’ve the mental fortitude to form such insolent
remarks without blurting them out without a second thought. Get out
of my sight, before I decide to ask O’larg for his wallopin’
stick.”

“Imbeciles!” Lady Amata shrieked out in
frustration as her fist met steel and sent her cup of wine crashing
to the ground below, “I rule over the incompetent and the weak
minded! How can I be asked to temper their rage if I’m given shit
and piss for building materials?”

“I understand, my queen,” said William,
“We’ll have time to
educate
them in our ways, but first we
should continue to press forth and see our enemies vanquished. Your
plan is sound and we’ve no reason to believe they’ve been alerted
to our presence.”

“You’re right, as always,” Lady Amata
conceded, “I’ll not waste my time on men that are of little use to
me. Once our new order has taken back the night, we’ll find a way
to eliminate them for our plans. Like the younglings that came
before them, they will fall upon the blade that no longer needs
them.”

“Your will,” William said with a nod, “…Is
absolute. I’m but the fist that comes crashing down in your name. I
would be honored to carry out your bidding once the war reaches
closure.”

“You’re a good man,” Lady Amata said, “Far
greater than the miserable lot I’ve had to put up with since the
beginning of my second life. Tell me, William, have I ever told of
what my life was like, before the embrace?”

“No, mistress, you haven’t,” William
answered.

A look of melancholy came over Amata, but
that look soon turned to anger as she began to recount the details
of her family’s affairs. “I was a duchess, in my former life, far
removed from the plights of the common man. A woman of wealth and
power, not unlike the position I see myself in now.”

William said nothing in response, but
listened closely to his vampire queen. It wasn’t often that she
shared openly about her origins, so he made sure to keep his mouth
shut and ears perked.

“I had just about everything back then,” Lady
Amata continued, lost in a memory long repressed, “I had a number
of miraculous castles, each containing priceless artifacts of gold
and crystal, and hundreds of men to tend to my every beck and call.
It was my empire, or at least, it was going to be… right until the
moment it wasn’t and I was taken in the night by a rapacious
beast.”