A Moonlit Night (3 page)

“I’m sorry, Emily, I truly am,” said Xander,
leaving the window and walking towards Emily. “I promise you that I
will not leave until you’re safe.”

“Why are you being so nice to me?” inquired
Emily, as she sat up on the couch.

“I—I just don’t want to see anyone else get
hurt,” stuttered Xander.

It was the first time he hadn’t been sure of
himself, Emily noted. Could he have been hiding something? Emily
decided to put it out of her mind. She owed Xander her life, and he
deserved more respect than being accused of unfounded
accusations.

Grabbing Emily’s hand, Xander looked in her
eyes and said, “Do you live in this big house, all alone?”

“No, I live here with my brother,” replied
Emily, looking down to the floor. “My parents died when I was a
young girl. My grandma raised the two of us, but she passed a few
years back.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” Xander said. That
wasn’t entirely true, but she was too important to risk losing
now.

“That’s alright,” said Emily, slowly looking
up and into his eyes. “It happened when I was a young girl.”

“What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Xander asked.

“I don’t mind,” Emily continued. “My parents
left one night, in a hurry, leaving both me and my brother home
alone. They were found the next night in their car, five miles
away. They had been murdered.”

“Emily…I am so sorry,” said Xander, grabbing
tightly hold of Emily.

Emily rarely cried, but as he held her, the
tears just seemed to come easily. The tears streamed down her face,
as the two of them embraced.

“To this day, I still can’t figure out what
they were doing out there, in the middle of the forest,” said
Emily, still clutching tightly on to him.

Xander must have thought he heard something,
as the embrace ended abruptly, and he quickly returned to the
window.

Emily had almost forgotten what had attracted
her to Xander in the first place. His dark hair and mysterious good
looks had attracted her the moment she first saw him, and thought
of all the possibilities of what making love to a vampire would
feel like. Perhaps she had a way to thank him, after all.

“Xander?” asked Emily, biting her lip.

Xander looked at her, but didn’t need to ask
anything to know what she wanted. He walked towards her, and they
once again embraced.

Their lips were inches apart when the sound
of a window smashing drove the two of them away.

“What was that?” asked Emily, alarmed.
“What’s going on?”

Xander grabbed Emily by the shoulders, as he
looked her in the eyes, and said, “Don’t move, I will be right
back.”

Xander dashed to the front door, where Emily
could hear him having a conversation with someone. Deciding that
she best find out who had been harassing her, she began walk
towards the door.

“My dear old friend, Xander,” exclaimed
Simeon, standing at the door. “What an unexpected surprise.”

“Who the hell is this?” questioned Emily, now
standing behind Xander. “And how do you two know each other?”

“Know each other?” Simeon returned. “My dear,
I made him the man he is today.”

Chapter Six

The year was 1478, and Alexander Franson was
lying in a pool of his own blood. He was in East Stoke, England;
which would one day be considered the last battle in the War of the
Roses.

Xander had commanded the armies of King Henry
VII into battle against the pretender, Lambert Simnel. He had given
everything to his king, and paid for it with his life. Near death,
and gasping for breath, Xander considered for a moment, where his
actions had taken him.

He didn’t regret his choices; he only
regretted leaving behind a wife and child. They had been his entire
life, and now he was going to die, without them for comfort.

The battle had been over for a couple hours
now, yet none of his men had returned for him. Not that they would
be able to find him, he thought, in the sea of bloodied corpses.
No, this is where he was going to die. At least he would finally
have peace.

“I saw you out there,” said a voice from the
shadows. “You were magnificent.”

“Who are you?” asked Xander, desperately
trying to find the energy to turn himself over. “Show
yourself!”

Xander’s eyes traced the tree line, as he
frantically searched for the person behind the voice.

“I’m not over there,” said the voice from
afar. “I’m here—.”

“Ah!” screamed Xander, as the man appeared
right beside him, inches away from his head. “W—what do you
want?”

The man sniffed around the open wound on
Xander’s head. He brought his lips to Xander’s ear, and said, “I
want
you
.”

“You have fought well for your king,”
continued the man, staying just out of Xander’s line of sight. “If
you were to survive, you surely would be given land, and a title;
but you are not going to survive, are you? No, the stench of death
is all over you.”

“What are you, a soothsayer?” asked Xander,
as he coughed up some blood. “Spare me the merchant’s pitch. Either
leave me alone, or kill me right now.”

“What I offer…goes far behind life or death,”
said the man stepping in front of the fallen Xander. “My name is
Simeon Agathon. Over 1000 years ago, I too, was a soldier just like
you; a Roman legionnaire, to be exact.”

Simeon hovered over Xander as he licked his
lips. He looked at Xander, and yelled, “And now I am a god!”

Simeon threw his hands to the sky and he let
out a monstrous scream. The ground below shook as Simeon howled to
the very gods themselves.

“I want you to be a god, too,” said Simeon,
lowering his head back down. “Is that something you would
like?”

The answer seemed to be rhetorical, because
as soon as the words left Simeon’s mouth, he dropped to his knees,
and began biting at the neck of Xander. After all, Simeon thought,
who would not want to be a god?

The monster’s teeth tore through the flesh of
Xander, as he helplessly cried out for help; but no help would be
coming for him. Not that any would have really made a
difference.

And so, Alexander Franson died that night;
the final casualty in the War of the Roses.

Chapter Seven

“Is this some kind of sick joke?” asked
Emily, now brandishing a knife she had retrieved from the kitchen
counter.

“I am not with him, I promise you that,” said
Xander, refusing to take his eyes off Simeon.

“My goodness, you both are so rude,” smirked
Simeon. “Isn’t anyone going to invite me inside—?”

“Do not invite him inside!” shouted Xander,
his lip curling at the sight of his maker. “He cannot enter your
home without an invitation.”

“And how did you come to get inside?” Simeon
questioned. “Did you lie to her, or did you simply charm her?”

“What is he talking about?” Emily asked.
“Somebody better tell me what is going on, right now.”

“Should you tell her, or should I?” inquired
Simeon, with a smile.

“A vampire can charm any human, rendering
them under their control,” Simeon said. “Of course he probably
didn’t tell you any of this. Can you really be so sure that your
thoughts are your own?”

“I’m warning you,” Xander barked. “She can’t
be charmed, and you know it.”

“Why can’t I be charmed?” Emily asked, waving
her knife around. “Somebody better start paying attention to me or
I’ll start stabbing!”

“That, my dear, is a very interesting story,”
Simeon said. “Where do I begin?”

“Back off, Simeon,” Xander cautioned. “I will
not let you hurt her.”

“Or what?” asked Simeon, baring his fangs.
“Are you going to do something about it?”

Xander growled, and suddenly sprang forward.
He lunged towards Simeon, launching the two of them down the porch
steps.

Emily screamed, running out of the house
after them. She wasn’t thinking of her own safety, she was only
thinking about the mysterious man that had risked his life for
her.

Xander and Simeon clawed at each, while they
rolled around on the grass. Simeon may have been older and
stronger, but Xander was fighting with purpose. He was fighting
with his heart.

“You should have listened to your boyfriend,”
said a voice from behind Emily. “Leaving the house was a very bad
idea.”

Emily spun around to see both Jacob and
George, standing between her and the door. Startled, she tried to
run, but was paralyzed with fear; their bright red eyes shaking her
very existence.

“You should watch,” said George, pointing
towards the fight going on in front of them.

The two ghouls grabbed Emily by the arms,
forcing her to watch as the two vampires battled for control.

“No!” screamed Emily, flailing her arms
around as the ghouls tried to restrain her. “Let me go!”

Chapter Eight

Simeon struck Xander in the face, sending him
crashing to the ground. The battle had been raging for a few
minutes now, but it had already become clear who the stronger
vampire was.

Simeon slowly walked over to Xander,
seemingly enjoying himself.

“You see what happens to those that challenge
me?” asked Simeon, as he kneeled beside Xander. “You haven’t a
chance in hell of stopping me, but of course you already knew
this.”

“So why then?” questioned Simeon, striking
Xander in the face once more. “You’ve gone soft, Xander. You used
to be my fiercest warrior, and now look at you; lying in a pool of
your own blood; and for what? For the affection of a woman you
hardly even know?”

“Y—you wouldn’t know love if it sunk its
teeth into you,” choked Xander, as he spit some blood on the
ground.

“You make me sick,” continued Simeon, lifting
Xander off the ground. “You’ve turned your back on your own kind.
We gave you your life back and this is how you repay us? I will
have your head for this.”

“You gave me back my life?” Xander asked.
“You stole my life from me. I hate you for what you did to me!”

Simeon lifted Xander up by the throat,
tightening his grip as he tried to crush whatever life was left in
Xander.

“No!” screamed Emily, trying to fight off her
attackers from the top of the steps. It was no use; the ghouls were
much stronger than normal men. Emily had no choice, but to watch
on, in horror, as the only man brave enough to help her was paying
for it with his life.

Simeon’s gaze turned towards Emily, as he
licked his lips in anticipation. This momentary lapse in judgment
gave Xander and opening, and he took advantage.

Xander clawed at Simeon’s tight grip, and
with a swift boot to the sternum, sent Simeon flying backwards.
Xander hit the ground, and quickly charged towards Simeon, who was
still in midair.

Xander moved with lightening quick speed, as
he tore through the yard, towards his maker. Launching himself into
the air, he grabbed hold of Simeon, and threw him to the ground
with thunderous force.

He struck Simeon with many furious blows to
the head. Tearing into the flesh of Simeon, Xander tried to make
quick work of the much older vampire. Xander knew that he had a
small window, and needed to take advantage of it.

Xander clutched at Simeon’s head, trying to
tear it from his body.

Simeon screamed in anger as he could begin to
feel his skin peel away. He hadn’t taken Xander seriously, and was
now paying the price. He grabbed Xander’s hands, and ripped them
away from his head.

Xander looked on in shock, his window had
already closed.

“You didn’t think it would be that easy, did
you?” asked Simeon, beginning to smile as his skin already started
to heal. “Now it’s my turn.”

Simeon threw Xander off him, and picked
himself up.

“You’ve got me all dirty,” said Simeon,
dusting himself off. “You know how much I hate to be dirty.”

Xander tried to defend himself, but Simeon
easily avoided the blow, and sent Xander tumbling to the floor with
a blow of his own.

Coughing up blood, Xander was finally
beginning to see the futility of his actions. He scrambled around
the ground, trying to regain his composure. Vampires may have
healed quicker than humans, but they still felt pain.

“Please get up, Xander,” pleaded Emily, still
wrestling with her captures. “You have to get up!”

“Pay close attention, dear,” said Simeon,
looked back towards Emily as he picked Xander up. “Now I’m going to
kill your pitiful savior.”

Chapter Nine

Emily screamed in horror, as she watched the
life drain from Xander. Blow after blow from Simeon sent the little
remaining blood Xander had left, splattering all over the
ground.

That’s when everything
it
happened.

Rage began to overcome Emily and pressure
started to build up inside her, from parts unknown. Whatever was
happening to her, she had never felt like this before.

“Hold her still!” shouted Jacob, as he tried
to hold Emily in place. “You’re letting her go!”

“I’m not!” George yelled back. “You’re the
one letting her go!”

In fact, neither of them was letting go of
her. It was Emily herself that was getting stronger.

Emily’s eyes were engulfed in white swirling
energy, as the ghouls became increasingly worried.

With the flick of her arms, she sent the two
ghouls hurdling down the porch steps.

Emily raised her arms, and with power that
she never even knew she had, began to call forth power of
terrifying proportions.

White streams of light started swirling all
around her arms, and with the shrieks from a thousand roaring
creatures, shot beams of white energy from each arm.

Two monstrous dragons took form, as they
danced around in circles, heading straight for the two ghouls that
had assaulted her. They were breathtaking and majestic as they
hurdled forward as incredible speed.