A Moonlit Night Saga: Episodes 1 - 4 (6 page)

Emily and Steven watched on in amazement, as
the battle raged less than twenty feet away. It was dark out, but
the red eyes of both parties could be seen a mile away, like
hundreds of firefly’s dancing in the night sky.

“Emily, get back!” shouted Steven, as a ghoul
jumped up to the porch, and charged them.

Steven pushed Emily aside, and took the brunt
force of the attack. The ghoul threw him to the ground, clawing at
him from above.

“Steven!” screamed Emily, as she tried to
pull the ghoul off. “Get off him, you vile monster—!”

“Watch out, Emily!” bellowed Tyler, running
out of the house brandishing a pitching wedge. “Take this, you
monster!”

Tyler struck the ghoul in the back, and when
it didn’t back off, he struck again.

The ghoul cried in anguish, as he crumbled to
the floor. Coughing up blood, it looked up towards his master, who
wasn’t moving to save him.

Steven crawled out from underneath the ghoul,
and Tyler helped him to his feet. He grabbed the club from Tyler,
and took a swing for himself.

The ghoul wailed in pain as it rolled off the
deck onto the battlefield. By now, their numbers had dropped
drastically, as the small group of well-trained opponents sliced
through them quickly and efficiently.

Simeon smiled, as the carnage ensued all
around the simple cottage home. He should have been furious, but
the thought of this insurrection coming so close to victory amused
him. After all, he thought, they were only junkies and
newly-trained ghouls.

He raised his fist towards the three of them,
ready to make his strike. He stared Emily down, and said, “I’ve
been thinking about this moment for a very long time—.”

“I warned you, I would be back,” said Xander,
grabbing Simeon’s arm. “Tonight, my maker, this ends!”

Simeon winched in pain as Xander’s gloves
torn into his flesh. He tried to force him off, but the
silver-lined gloves drastically lowered his strength.

“I will have your head for this!” screamed
Simeon, gathering enough strength to send Xander back a few feet.
“You and everyone you’ve ever cared about will burn!”

“Get back in the house!” growled Xander, as
Emily ushered her friends back into the house. “This is between
Simeon and me. We must do this alone.”

“I have prepared for this moment for a long
time,” said Xander, clenching his fists. “I may not be as powerful
as you, but I am a
hell
of a lot smarter.”

“Prepare all you want,” Simeon snarled. “I’m
going to rip off your arms and beat you with those damned
gloves!”

Chapter Eight

Simeon charged forward, without concern for
his own wellbeing. The silver burned through his skin as he
manhandled Xander to the floor. His fury shook the very floor
beneath them as they battled on the porch.

“You knew that I wouldn’t let this
insurrection go unpunished!” shouted Simeon as he thrashed at the
kneeling Xander. “After I kill you, the rest of your clan will
suffer, as traitors to our kind! I can assure you…the Council of
Elders will have them endure decades of torture, until they finally
die…alone and afraid.”

Xander screamed in agony, his thunderous
voice rattling the windows of the old country home. He raised
himself, and wrapped his arms around the waist of Simeon. Thrusting
with all his might, he took the much older vampire down to the
floor.

“You will never get away with this!” yelled
Xander, as he lashed out at Simeon. “The balance must be kept!”

Xander grabbed the head of Simeon, and began
to squeeze. The silver set Simeon’s retinas ablaze as he dug his
nails deeper into the once-mighty vampire’s eye sockets.

Writhing in agony, Simeon kicked and screamed
as the pain overwhelmed him. He flailed his arms around, eventually
finding the forearms of his target.

Simeon ripped Xander’s hands away, and with a
swift knee to the sternum, sent Xander crashing to the ground.

Xander picked himself up quickly, but looking
back he noticed Simeon had done the same.

The flames still raged in Simeon’s eyes, as
he stared Xander down. He was too proud to show any signs of
weakness, and laughed maniacally, saying, “You remember that little
whore, in Toronto?”

“Of course I do,” stated Xander, trying to
remain calm. “You made me watch, as you killed the only woman I
ever loved in the afterlife.”

Xander wasn’t going to let Simeon control
him; he wasn’t going to let his emotions conquer him. A clear mind
is what he needed, and he remained focused on the task at hand.

“Ah…yes, and what was her name?” asked
Simeon, as the flames slowly burnt out.

“Cynthia,” said Xander, beginning to feel his
mind go cloudy, and his feelings overwhelm him. “Her name was
Cynthia.”

“That’s right!” Simeon smirked, his eyes now
healing rapidly. “She was a lovely woman, so full of life and
energy. Until you entered her life, that is.”

“Are you done?” Xander inquired. “You haven’t
controlled me for 100 years; and I’m not going let you start
again.”

“The Council of Elders controls all
vampires!” Simeon yelled. “You think you can escape our wrath? We
allowed you to live your life, as long as you never interfered with
our plans. Now that you have, we will finally be able to put you
down, like the dog that you are. You may have talent, but you lack
the heart of a true warrior!”

Simeon charged, tearing through the porch as
he rapidly advanced on Xander. The two collided in mid air, as they
were launched off the porch. They crashed against the ground in a
thunderous boom, rolling around the battlefield as they clawed at
each other.

On the ground beside them, ghouls still
fought one another for control. Xander’s well-trained men seemed to
be gaining the upper hand, as they sliced through their
opponents.

“You’re losing the battle,” Xander grinned as
they rolled around on the grass. “That’s what you get for turning
your ghouls into addicts. You will never learn. For as strong as
you may be, that is your biggest weakness. You are destined to
repeat the same mistakes; I want you to know that I pity you.”

“Your ghouls mean nothing to me!” Simeon
screamed. “I could kill a hundred before I break a sweat!”

Simeon mounted Xander, pinning him to the
ground, and began stripping the flesh from Xander’s face with his
powerful hands.

“You will never get away with this!” yelled
Xander, as the nails tore through his skin. “Someone will
eventually find you, and finish what I’ve started.”

“500 years, and you’re still just as thick as
ever,” said Simeon, his hands wrapping around Xander’s throat.
“After tonight, there will be no one around to stop us.”

Simeon picked himself up, and with his hand
still clutching Xander’s throat, dragged him back up the porch.

Xander was battered and broken as he dropped
to the porch floor. The blood poured down him, staining the bright
blue porch underneath him. He could barely see, as Simeon knelt
down beside him.

“And now, you will watch her die,” Simeon
said. “You are too weak to save the one you care for…just like
Cynthia.”

Xander struggled, desperately trying to
escape Simeon’s grip. However, as he tried to fight back, he could
feel the energy drain from his body. Everything was starting to go
dark.

Chapter Nine

“Cynthia!” shouted Xander, walking through
the front door. “I’m home!”

Xander hung up his coat, took off his hat,
and closed the door behind him. He was living in a townhouse that
the two of them rented, in downtown Toronto.

The year was 1965, and the two of them found
themselves without a care in the world.

“Honey, are you home?” asked Xander, checking
in the kitchen. “…Honey?”

She had to be home, he thought, as the door
had been unlocked. Nothing seemed to be disturbed, or missing, so
he quickly ruled out the possibility of a burglary.

Xander walked up the stairs, hoping to find
Cynthia in the bedroom.

“Good evening,” said Simeon, as Xander opened
the bedroom door. “It’s about time you arrived. Cynthia and I were
getting ever so…bored.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Xander
asked, clenching his fists. “Get away from her!”

Simeon was standing with Cynthia at the foot
of the bed. She looked unharmed, Xander noted, although the
emotional damage could have run deep.

Cynthia was an immigrant of Greek descent;
having only arrived in Toronto a few years back. She was a
beautiful woman in her late twenties, with long black hair that
curled down her lightly bronzed skin.

“What, no hello?” Simeon inquired, grinning
devilishly. “You haven’t seen me in almost twenty years, and I
don’t even get common courtesy? Is this how you treat your
maker?”

“She hasn’t done anything to you,” said
Xander, stepping forward. “Leave her alone.”

“Or what?” asked Simeon, barring his fangs.
“You’re going to do something about it?”

Simeon turned towards Cynthia, looking her
deep in the eyes. He stared directly into her soul, and said,
“Cynthia…sit down.”

Expressionless and devoid of any emotion,
Cynthia did as she was ordered. She was charmed, and lacked any
freewill of her own.

“That’s a good girl,” said Simeon, sitting
down beside her. “You won’t mind if the boys had a little
discussion, would you?”

“…No,” Cynthia said, blankly.

“Good,” said Simeon, turning his gaze towards
Xander. “Now we can speak.”

“What do you want?” growled Xander, taking
another step closer. “Speak and then get the hell out. It’s been a
long time since we ran together.”

“That it has,” Simeon said. “I have come to
set things right between us.”

“And you do that by holding the woman I love
hostage?” Xander asked.

“This human will matter little when I tell
you what I’ve found,” Simeon grinned. “The last summoner, I have
found her!”

Simeon jumped up from the bed, and grabbed
Xander by the shoulders. With a eyes wide open, he said, “I want us
to find her together!”

“The last summoner?” asked Xander, smirking.
“You’ve truly gone mad this time. You know that is just a myth,
right?”

“It’s not a myth!” said Simeon, eyes wide
open. “She lives somewhere in the United States, the witches assure
me that they have finally found her. She has escaped us for over
two thousand years, but we have found her! It is only a short while
before the last of their kind dies…and we will be paragons amongst
our kind!”

“The last summoner died thousands of years
ago,” said Xander, beginning to grow impatient. “All I see is a
desperate old man, searching for something that was never there. I
pity you.”

Simeon turned away from Xander, and took a
seat beside Cynthia. She sniffed around her neck, as he ran his
hands through her hair. Looking back at Xander, he said, “Well,
that’s a shame—.”

“No!” yelled Xander, as Simeon sunk his fangs
into the neck of Cynthia.

Cynthia sat there, unable to move; unable to
scream. All she could do was watch while the blood drained from her
body.

Xander charged towards the much older
vampire, knowing full well that he would not survive the
encounter.

Simeon pulled himself away from Cynthia as
Xander closed in. Growling, he stared down his old apprentice; his
lip curling as his snarl shook the foundation of the house.

Xander stopped in his tracks, unable to bring
his body to move. For the first time in his second life, he was
afraid.

“Is there something you want?” asked Simeon,
the blood dripping down his mouth. “Or do you want to join in,
too?”

“I—I will kill you for this,” stuttered
Xander, frozen in fear. “I don’t know when, and I don’t know how,
but one day you will pay for this.”

“Well, I look forward to the attempt,”
smirked Simeon, turning back to the helpless Cynthia, lying on the
bed.

Xander watched on, in horror, as Simeon
devoured Cynthia’s very essence. A tear streamed down his face, as
Xander lost the woman he loved.

Chapter Ten

“No!” screamed Emily, as she watched Xander
lay defeated on the porch. “Get away from him!”

“And what are you going to do about it?”
asked Simeon, still grasping onto the back of Xander’s neck. “You
may have killed those two lowlifes the other night, but I think we
both know you got lucky. You simply don’t have it in you to control
your power at will.”

He was right, Emily thought. She didn’t
understand her powers; much less know how to use them. All she
could do was watch, as her world became to unravel.

“You can still save him,” said Simeon,
dropping Xander. “The choice is yours.”

Xander collapsed to the floor, unconscious
and defeated. He had tried his best, but the formidable opponent
was simply too much for him.

Simeon placed his boot on the chest of
Xander, pressing down with all his otherworldly might.

Emily screamed in terror, as she watched her
protector crumble under the pressure of Simeon’s boot.

“If you’re going to save him, you’re running
out of time!” shouted Simeon, his boots digging through the flesh
of Xander.

“Fine, I will come outside!” yelled Emily,
now standing at the door. “You have won—.”

“You can’t do this Emily,” pleaded Steven,
standing beside her. “You’re all I have left; I can’t lose
you.”

Emily calmly looked towards her brother, and
said, “My dear brother, if I don’t do this, we will lose
everything.”

Steven dropped to his knees, sobbing in
dismay as he pleaded for her to stop. It was the first time he had
cried since the loss of their parents, and couldn’t handle the
thought of losing the last family member he had left.

Emily placed her hand on his head and smiled,
as if to tell him everything would be okay. Hesitantly, she walked
outside, into the brisk night air.