A Moonlit Night - The Complete Saga

by Adrianna White

  They hadn’t ever really been close since their second meeting, and they seemed to become more distance the closer they came to their victory. Yet, he would go to the ends of the earth for her, forsake his own kind, and see his own children burn for the sins of a father. Too much for mere words alone, the calm and collected Xander responded only with the solemn smile, lest deeper concerns reveal themselves.

  It was the same smile, slightly crooked and all too cocking, bringing Emily back to the moment when they first met. It was reassuring, calming, and carried with it an aura of intrigue. For a brief moment, it was as if she’d been placed back into that time, before her life was about to turn upside down. She wanted him, and she wanted it badly.

  Those selfish thoughts were exactly what her mother warned of, all those months ago. She had more pressing matters to attend to, and any thought of romance were to be flushed right out the window with no hope of recovery.

  “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,” Sa
muel 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.”

  “It was a werewolf,” Lady Amata admitted, “Still in human form with eyes set on taking the innocence I so desperately held close. He tore me up and left me for dead. I could see him slink off into the night while I lay on the ground and bled out. I was going to die tonight; I could feel it in my bones, tiny little stabs of pressure that told me no good was going to come from this. My fate was sealed, and the wheel had not been kind. A servant stumbled across me some time after, sent from the castle I assumed. I would later learn that he was, in fact, the reaper of death that I saw coming. My life may have ended that night, but my vengeance will continue on forever.”

  Amata picked herself up from her mobile throne and slammed her fists down on the table, painful memories now finding ways inside a once impregnable defense.

  “I killed the damn fool a mere month after he turned me,” she said, “Who the hell was he, to take me from my life of luxury and lower me down to the menial common people that plagued our countryside. I’d rather die than be insignificant.”

  Even a few guards had quieted down and huddled closer to hear word of their queen’s rise to power. It was a vicious chapter in her life that she never wanted to repeat, but with a rise to power as accelerated as hers yields to nothing but more bloodshed.

  “From that moment onward, I vowed to never to be insignificant again,” Lady Amata continued, “I clawed and scrapped my way up the underworld until I no longer resembled the girl that once commanded honor and
respect… now I was nothing more than the bloodiest killer in the seedy underbelly of society. It took over two hundred years, but I finally brokered my way into the council, built on the blood, guts and skeletons that I had massed in my name.”

  “It was the darkest time in my life,” she said, “And yet, the reward for all my hard work seems meaningless, a fleeting moment of happiness in an otherwise dreary existence… I want more, William… and I won’t stop until the whole world knows my name. They’re going to fear me… they’re going to wish they’d never realized the truth that I’ll show them… that they haven’t a chance in hell of stopping us; that their own chance at salvation is stuck on a pike, rotting somewhere, because they were too blind to see what was happening in the world around them.”