A Moonlit Night - The Complete Saga (4 page)

“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?” Simeon
inquired.

“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. “Did you tell her the truth, Xander, or
your
truth? Don’t forget, I’m the only one that knows your
true
intentions.”

“Back off, Simeon,” Xander cautioned. “I’ll
not let you harm 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, and launched the two of them down the
porch steps.

Emily ran 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 had nothing to gain, and everything in the
world to lose.

“You should’ve 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, and
forced 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, and sent
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 thoroughly.

“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.
Are your goals so lofty that it’s clouded your judgment?”

“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, the woman
he had traveled so far to destroy. 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 rose to his feet 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. He launched himself
into the air, 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. Clutching at
Simeon’s head, Xander tried to tear it from his body.

Simeon screamed in anger as he could begin to
feel his skin peel away. 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 of the ground.

“You’ve got me all dirty,” said Simeon,
dusting himself off. “You know how much I hate to get my hands
dirty. That’s what ghouls are for, are they not?”

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, and he was in
plenty of it.

“Please get up, Xander,” pleaded Emily, still
wrestling with her captors. “You’ve
got
to get up!”

“Pay close attention, dear,” said Simeon,
looking back to Emily as he picked the bloodied Xander up. “I’m
going to kill your pitiful savior, nice and slow.”

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. He
continued to lash at Xander, stripping the flesh from his bones
with each vicious attack.

That’s when
it
happened. The real
Emily Johansson had awoken. The clouds turned black as they spread
out across the night sky. Thunder boomed and lightning cracked,
sending bolts of energy from the heavens down to the ground below.
Lightning fractured the ground around the country home, lighting up
the night as it struck several of the now-fleeing ghouls.

Rage began to overcome Emily and overwhelming
pressure started to build up inside her from parts unknown. Feeling
like she was being torn apart from the inside, Emily screamed in
agony, flailing her arms around as the two ghouls desperately tried
to contain her.

“Hold her still!” shouted Jacob, as he tried
to hold Emily in place. His scabby hands clawed into her flesh as
he tightened his grip. “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 azure-white
swirling energy, as the ghouls frantically tried to subdue her. She
could feel herself become stronger, faster, and more self aware
with each passing moment. With the flick of her arms, she sent the
two ghouls hurdling down the porch steps.

Emily raised her arms, and with strength 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, blazing white energy pulsed from each of her hands. The
energy swirled around her fists as the creatures started to get
louder and louder; their screams echoing throughout the country,
the sound of a thousand monsters screeching in unison.

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 with incredible speed.

The blast tore through Jacob and George and
swallowed them up in a blinding white light. Their skin and bones
started to melt away, being eaten alive by the mystical dragons’
wrath.

“I—it can’t be,” stuttered Simeon, unable to
believe his own eyes. “The summoner has awoken.”

Simeon dropped Xander in a hurry. The once
mighty vampire had been humbled from the fury unleashed by a young
woman. He quickly realized that victory would not be in his grasp
tonight and took off into the night.

“Emily!” shouted Xander, lifting his battered
body up, and rushing over towards her.

Emily stood motionless, staring blankly at
the chaos she had caused. Unable to comprehend what had just
happened, Emily’s mind overloaded, causing her to slowly lose
consciousness once more.

Xander ran up the steps, and threw his arms
around Emily. He grabbed on tightly to her, as her knees began to
quiver. Whatever power she had awoken, it had drained her
completely.

“W—what was that?” Emily asked, in complete
shock. “What did I just do?”

“I don’t know,” said Xander, running his
hands through her hair. “I just
don’t
know.”

Emily’s head was beginning to spin now.
Unable to keep conscious, she fainted into Xander’s arms.

“Emily!” cried Xander, as he held a
cataleptic Emily in his arms. “You’ve gotta come back to us!”

What neither of them could’ve guessed,
though, is that Emily had gone to a far more wondrous place. She
had gone home.

The End

The Awakening

Chapter One

Emily walked along the beach, her toes sunk
into the sand as the water washed against her feet. It was
peaceful, and she found herself strolling along the shore without
purpose or worry.

Seagulls gawked, as they flew high above the
ocean; and the bright sun sparkled in Emily’s eyes, as she watched
them from a distance.

Dolphins danced in the ocean while monkeys
played in the trees. Amazing, she thought, witnessing the beauty of
countless creatures living in harmony. Wherever she was, life was
good.

Was she in heaven? How did she get here?
These questions should have been important to Emily, but they
couldn’t have been further from her mind.

“Come to me,” a voice whispered in the
breeze.

Emily spun around, seeking the voice that had
spoken to her. Her eyes frantically searched around, hoping to find
anyone nearby.

“Come to me,” the voice repeated. “Come to
me…my child.”

“Mother?” asked Emily, yelling out to the
unknown. “Is that you?”

The only response Emily got was the
lighthearted laughter of several gibbons playing in the trees.
Emily had not seen her mother in many years, and searched the area,
looking for her.

Emily sprinted down the wet sand, hoping to
see her mother standing on the beach. Finding nothing, she dropped
to her knees, trying to remember just what had happened to her.

“You will find no answers on the ground,”
said her mother.

Emily picked herself up off the sand, and
spun around to see her mother.

“I—I can’t believe it,” said Emily, staring
back at the woman who had given her life. “How is this
possible?”

Her mother, Amanda, hadn’t aged more than a
day since Emily last saw her. It was as if she had been frozen in a
moment in time.

“Mother, you’re…beautiful,” said Emily, at a
loss for words. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“I know, my child,” replied Amanda, embracing
Emily with open arms. “But I’ve never left your side.”

“What do you mean?” Emily asked. “I don’t
understand.”

“You’re not meant to,” answered Amanda,
stroking her daughter’s hair. “Not yet.”

Emily pulled herself back and with a worried
look in her eyes, she asked, “Why am I here? Where is father?”

“You are here because you are meant to be,”
Amanda said. “And where we are, is a world apart from the place you
were born.”

“You’re not making any sense,” said Emily,
grabbing hold of her mother’s shoulders, giving her a shake.
“You’re speaking in riddles.”

“I wish it were that simple, my child,” said
Amanda, looking her daughter deep in the eyes. “We only have a few
short moments together, and I have an important message for
you.”

“What do you mean?” Emily questioned. “What
happens in a few short moments—?”

“Please, just listen!” interrupted Amanda,
turning sternly at her daughter. “I know your powers have finally
awoken; you wouldn’t be here now unless they had. I also know that
you have been introduced to vampires; that some have come to hurt
you, and some have come to save you.”

Slowly, Emily began to remember the events
that had led her to this meeting. She remembered the terrifying
ghouls, and their vicious master; her friends, who would give their
lives to save her, and finally the vampire, Alexander, who had
nearly lost his own life.

“You cannot trust them!” Amanda shouted.
“Vampires only know death and decay. They are parasites to your
world, and seek to destroy what they cannot control. I will not let
them hurt you…like they did to me.”

“The vampires killed you?” asked Emily,
beginning to tear up. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know—.”

Her mother, knowing she had little time left,
continued, “The vampires will try and destroy you, and everyone
that you care about. They will try and seduce you, until you care
about nothing other than blood. They will try and break your very
existence.”

“Why mother? None of this makes any sense,”
Emily said.

“Because of who you are, and what you
represent,” Amanda said. “Unlike anything else in the world, they
fear you. Everyone single one of them. Do not trust a vampire; not
any of them.”