Moonlight Denial: Shades of Moonlight Book One

“Ah crap, I’m out of Cheetos,” Nicoli grumbled around the last handful he had shoved into his mouth. With a huff the boy tossed the empty bag and began licking and sucking the cheese remnants off his fingers.

“Kay, I think I’ll go over a few more parts and then I’ll have all that I need,” he said as he picked up the remote that was beside him on the floor. He pressed rewind and watched as the images of him, Amelia, and Beethoven all went in super reverse on his small television screen.

Nicoli wished he hadn’t been so lazy as to not bring his TV cabinet up from the garage. That way he would have been able to sit on his comfy bed and not the hard floor. Why did the only other outlet have to be on the other side of the room?

Nicoli pressed play before the video came to the beginning. He watched Amelia talk about the Fairy Rings for a few moments before picking up the pencil in front of him and began scribbling various notes in his notebook. Pages were already filled with the chicken scratch, but Nicoli wanted to make sure he didn’t skip over anything.

“I can’t believe I’m actually going along with this,” Nicoli muttered as he wrote down some key points Amelia was saying. “But, if cold hard facts aren’t going to get me anywhere in this psychotic town I guess I have no choice.”

As Nicoli fast forwarded through the Witch’s Burning site something caught the boy’s eye.

“Wait, the hell was that?” he said as he rewound it a little. Nicoli watched carefully when he pressed play and listened to his own voice.

“-kill them, because they think they’re something they’re not. So the four women had odd items, so what? That made them dangerous? Because those-those idiots thought witches were real, they killed four innocent women and who knows how many more that were never talked about. That’s one reason I think people who believe in this shit are morons.”

“There!” Nicoli quickly pressed pause to capture what had sparked his interest. “The hell…?”

The camera angle was currently pointed behind him, since Nicoli had lowered the camera. What made the boy scoot closer to the screen was what looked like white, round orbs floating around the lens. There were three close to the camera and, if Nicoli tilted his head just right, he could make out a couple of them in the background.

“The hell?” Nicoli said for a third time. “What happened to my camera?” he wondered aloud as he kept rewinding and playing the scene over and over. Nicoli then picked up his video camera and looked it over to reassure himself there was nothing wrong with it that he could see.

“Maybe there was a glitch in the tape,” Nicoli reasoned, rewinding the tape once more. When he couldn’t see any static or any visible erratic anomaly he pondered more.

“Dust must have gotten kicked up somehow,” he concluded. That was all he could think of. These odd orbs must have been dust specks, there was no other explanation. Though, when Nicoli thought about it, he didn’t remember a gust of wind going by, the air had been eerily still, and Amelia and he hadn’t moved an inch throughout Amelia’s story. If that was true, then how-

“Here we go for the hundredth time,
Hand grenade pins in every line,
Throw ‘em up and let something shine,
Going out of my fuckin’ mind-”

Nicoli was snapped out of his thoughts as the singing of Linkin Park filled the room. Nicoli scrambled to his feet and rushed over to his nightstand where his cell phone was playing the ring tone. He stopped himself as he reached out his hand. What was he thinking? That was the ring tone he had given to Zack. Nicoli’s hand was frozen over the phone as he watched it continue to light up and sing.

“Truth is you can stop and stare,
Bled myself out and no one cares,
Dug the trench out, laid down there,
With a shovel up out of reach somewhere.”

Nicoli hadn’t spoken with Zack or Brittany since the fight. Not for the lack of trying from the other party, they had both been trying to call numerous times, but Nicoli had been avoiding their calls. It wasn’t because he was still mad at them. In fact he wasn’t angry about it at all. He was just ashamed of his behavior and was trying to draw out the time before he had to face them with his head down and tail between his legs.

With a conceding growl Nicoli picked up the phone and answered it. He held it to his ear for several moments before working up the courage to say something.

“Hello?” Nicoli said, and he was surprised by how meek his voice was.

“It’s about freakin’ time!” Came Zack’s loud and irritated sounding voice. “Do you know how many times I’ve been trying to call you!?” he snapped.

Nicoli had planned to be apologetic and humble, but Zack’s words just stirred up his stubbornness and sarcastic side.

“I don’t know, I lost track after I put my phone on silent,” Nicoli retorted with a sneer.

“What!? Why you – Do you know how much of an asshole you’ve been lately?” Zack demanded.

“No, but I’d guess not as big an asshole as you are,” Nicoli said as he sat on his bed and crossed his legs.

“Pfft you’re being a way bigger asshole,” Zack threw back.

“You wish I was as big of a gaping asshole like you are,” Nicoli scoffed.

There was a long, awkward silence that followed. A knot formed in Nicoli’s chest, growing tighter and tighter as the seconds ticked by. The knot then released and all tension left Nicoli when Zack said,

“Do we have to keep fighting?”

The question was a sweet orchestra to Nicoli’s ears.

“No…not unless you want to,” Nicoli said cautiously.

“Not really,” Zack answered and a short paused followed. “Are you still mad at me?”

“…no,” Nicoli replied softly. “Are you still mad at me?”

“Nah,” Zack said and Nicoli was relieved to hear his friend’s good nature seep back into his voice. “I don’t think we’ve ever fought like that before.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. We’ve gotten into it a couple of times, but never like that. I guess the stress of the past few days made me snap, I’m sorry,” Nicoli apologized.

“I’m sorry too. I guess I should have broken the news to you gently instead of letting you figure it out for yourself. I didn’t mean for it to sound like we don’t need you. We still want you to come back after you graduate so we can be the original trio again, we never wanted it any other way.”

The guilt Nicoli had been carrying around since the fight lifted off his shoulders and he smiled widely, feeling much better.

“Thank you and I didn’t mean to give you the impression that I’m not happy for you and Brit. I’ve been wanting you two to get together just as long as you have.” Nicoli turned and lay down on the bed feeling happier than he’d been for awhile. “So, give me all the details. Is being with Brit everything you thought it would be?”

*****************************

Nicoli lay in his bed, engulfed by blankets and the darkness that crept along the floor and walls. He was in the deepest, most peaceful slumber he had had in awhile. His breathing was shallow and even, a light snore disrupting it from time to time.

It was when a loud, thunderous bark sounded did the boy jump nearly five feet in the air and bolt upright. In a moment of panic and confusion, Nicoli’s head whipped around, trying to find what tried to scare the living daylights out of him.

That was when another bark sounded and Nicoli turned to see Beethoven at the window, paws on the sill and breath fogging up the glass with each booming bark.

“Ah, jeeze, Beethoven,” Nicoli murmured, his fear turning to irritation. “What the hell are you doing? You scared the shit out of me.”

The dog ignored his owner and just kept barking over and over.

Nicoli growled and rolled over to look at his new alarm clock, which told him it was almost three in the morning. The boy groaned and did a face plant into his pillow.

“God, it is way too fucking early for this.” Nicoli lifted himself up enough to glance back at his dog that seemed to have gone insane. “Beethoven! Shut! Up!” he yelled, grabbing a stray chew toy from the ground and throwing it in Beethoven’s direction. What with being groggy from his sudden awakening he missed by a good five feet.

Nicoli grabbed a handful of his covers and pulled them over himself. He curled in on himself and tried to ignore the Golden Retriever and get more sleep. When the barking continued, despite Nicoli’s best effort’s to block it out, the boy let out an aggravated cry and kicked the blankets off him.

“Beethoven, what the fuck is your problem?” he snapped as he stomped over to the window. Nicoli grabbed hold of Beethoven’s collar and tried to drag the dog away from the window. “Shut up already, you’re going to wake Mom and Dad,” the boy hissed.

The big dog fought against the hands that tried to restrain him until he was able to throw the boy off balance and get loose. The second he was free Beethoven was right back at the window.

“What the hell is so interesting out there?” Nicoli grumbled as he composed himself and went to the window again. Only this time he tried to see what had his dog so riled up. “Beethoven, nothing is out there,” Nicoli said as he looked out to his backyard.

Beethoven had ceased his barking, but now he was growling and baring his teeth.

“What is up with you today? Look.” Nicoli opened the window and a light breeze came in and made the boy’s hair sway slightly. “There is nothing out there, Beethoven.” As Nicoli tried to convince his dog nothing was wrong, a movement out of the corner of his eye said otherwise.

“Huh?”

Nicoli turned to look down at the lawn just in time to see a figure leap over his neighbor’s bushes and run across his yard. A glimpse of short, wavy blonde hair that was lit up by the moonlight made the boy’s eyes go wide.

“Ethan?” But by the time the name had passed Nicoli’s lips the figure had disappeared into Twilight Forest.

It had happened in an instant, but Nicoli was sure it was Ethan he had seen. Before he could ponder on it long something small whistled across his lawn and to the forest, right where Ethan was a moment before.

A low, deep growl made Beethoven’s body shake and Nicoli glanced down at him just as another man appeared on the scene.

Nicoli couldn’t make out any features because a long brimmed hat covered the figures head and a long coat billowed out behind him as he also went into the forest.

“What…the hell was that all about?” Nicoli murmured, wondering if what he had seen was real or if he was still groggy from sleep.

Beethoven looked up at his owner and whined.

Out of reflex the boy placed his hand on the canine’s head. Nicoli wasn’t sure how to register this. He just witnessed the strange man Ethan, who had saved him from getting the crap beat out of him again, getting chased by some other strange person – who he guessed was a man – right into Twilight Forest. Even though he wasn’t sure what was going on one thing was clear. The second man had been shooting at Ethan with…something and usually shooting at someone didn’t mean you wanted to make friends with them and hang out.

Not knowing what drove him to the decision; Nicoli ran to his computer chair and snatched up his jacket. He put it on as quickly as he could then slipped into his sneakers that were beside the desk.

“Stay here, Beethoven,” Nicoli ordered as he left the room and closed the door behind him.

The boy tried to be as quiet as he could as he descended the stairs, but tried to be quick also. With each passing second Ethan and the strange man were getting further and further away.

Questions about his own actions plagued him as he made his way through the house.

What am I doing? Why am I trying to follow them? If the guy has a gun or something I should call the police. This has to be the stupidest thing I’ve ever done.

But as the questions circled Nicoli’s body moved with no intent of stopping. He made his way through the kitchen and slipped out the back door to the yard.

It wasn’t a full moon, but it was full enough for Nicoli to be able to see where he was going. He jogged his way across the lawn, but something stopped him before he made it to the forest.

Nicoli looked down at a dark spot on the grass. He almost hadn’t seen it. The boy kneeled down and hesitantly touched it. It was cold, almost freezing, to the touch and appeared to be some kind of liquid. Nicoli lifted his fingers to study it. From the light of the moon Nicoli was able to make out the deep, red color of the substance. The boy’s eyes widened. It was blood.

“Oh God…”

The boy sprang to his feet and bolted for the trees, entering the dark forest. Not only had Ethan been shot at, but he had been hit. He was in danger and Nicoli was running towards that danger. To do what? Help? What could he do against a full grown man that another full grown man couldn’t? The boy was beginning to think his decision to go after them was getting stupider and stupider by the second.

Nicoli stopped and looked around at his surrounding. He was panting by now and he looked from tree to tree, not recognizing anything, not even the way he had just come from. Great.

“What am I going to do now?” Nicoli asked softly as he tried to catch his breath. He had no idea where Ethan and the other man had gone and, to make matters worse, he didn’t know the way back to his house. Now he’d done it.

Nicoli perked when he heard something in the distance. A rustling sound followed by the crunching of leaves. He thanked Lady Luck profusely when the wind carried the sound of voices.

“What is it going to take to get you off my tail, Hunter?”

Nicoli rushed towards the voice he recognized as Ethan’s. Hope wasn’t lost yet.

“Your death. It’s such a little wish, can’t you just fulfill it?” said the other man.

Nicoli didn’t know why, but the voice caused a tingle in the back of his brain, telling him he’d heard it before. He didn’t have time to think on it as he ran as fast as his legs would carry him.

“You can’t catch me so just go home already,” Ethan’s voice taunted.

“Oh…I wouldn’t know about that.”

“What-”

Nicoli stopped dead as a scream tore through the forest, echoing and reverberating off the trees. The scream rang in the boy’s ears, leaving him feeling cold and petrified.

“Oh God, Ethan.”

Willing his feet to move, Nicoli ran towards the scream. His heart thumped in his chest faster than he could ever remember, scared about what he was about to find.

Nicoli almost tripped over his own feet as he almost ran right out into the open where the other man was standing. The boy halted and quickly hid behind a handy tree, hoping he hadn’t been seen. When he thought it was safe, Nicoli peeked around the tree. He could see the second man that had run across his backyard. He was standing as still as a statue and Nicoli still couldn’t make out a face, the shadows caused by his hat to deep. There was that man, but where was Ethan? Nicoli followed where the man seemed to be staring and when his eyes found what he was looking for he had to cover his mouth with his hand to stifle the gasp.

Ethan was slumped against a tree in front of the man. He looked tired and weak, but conscious. The only thing that was keeping the man up were thick, silver arrows protruding from his body, pinning him to the tree. They were burrowed into each shoulder, his upper arms, thighs and right below his knees. Ethan’s clothes were being dyed red from the wounds and the stains were growing bigger by the minute.

Nicoli had to swallow the urge to vomit. He’d never seen something so gruesome outside of the movies and the blood wasn’t helping. He’d never seen someone bleed so much. The boy was so shocked he didn’t question why steam was coming from the places the arrows were sticking from. What Nicoli couldn’t understand was how Ethan was still awake. He was even glaring at the other man.

“What was that about not being able to catch you?” the man asked smugly.

“Fuck you, Omen,” Ethan spat out vehemently.

Omen? Nicoli thought.

“Ooh that’s not a very nice thing to say,” Omen said tauntingly. “Such foul language from such a foul creature.”

“Let me go you bastard. You don’t understand the consequences if you kill me. I need to find the-”

“I know exactly what you’ve been skulking around here looking for,” Omen cut the other off. “And you actually think I’m going to let a monster like you free to go find it? I’m not stupid.”

Omen shifted his weight and that’s when Nicoli noticed what he was carrying in his hand. It was a crossbow, an actual crossbow. The boy couldn’t make out the details from where he was, but the glint coming from the boy told him it was made from metal.

Who owns a crossbow and actually uses it!? Nicoli thought. The man isn’t stupid, he’s crazy!

“There are far worse out there that could be in possession of it and are looking for it as we speak!” Ethan snarled.

“And I don’t plan on letting them get their filthy claws on it either, I assure you,” Omen said, as if this would be comforting.

It. It. It. What the hell is It? Nicoli wondered. What could be so special about this It that this man would try and kill Ethan?

“You think you’re so high and mighty,” Ethan scoffed, getting fed up with the bullshit. “Don’t forget, the only reason you’re so good at what you do is because of that ‘little trinket’ one of my clansmen gave you,” he sneered.

That wiped the smirk right off of Omen’s face and a deep frown replaced it. In one swift motion Omen lifted the crossbow and fired.

Nicoli jumped and covered his mouth again as an arrow flew and plunged into Ethan’s stomach.

“Ge – aghk!!!” The guttural sound escaped from Ethan followed by a yell that wasn’t quite as loud as the first scream. Without his sunglasses the pain Ethan was feeling was clearly shone in his bright, teal eyes. Ethan’s head fell forward after the initial shock and soft groans passed from his lips, which was soon followed by a trickle of blood.

“Yes,” Omen hissed. “And you can thank him for me once I send him to Hell after you. But, let us wrap this up. I’m not so cruel as to let you suffer, Ethan. I’ll let Death finally claim you, which it has been cheated out of for too long.” Omen held the crossbow steady and aimed right for Ethan’s heart.

Nicoli wasn’t sure what made him do it. A lapse in common sense or perhaps a temporary moment of insanity, but whatever it was it made the boy run from his hiding spot and rush at Omen.

“No!!!” Nicoli yelled as he used his entire body to slam into Omen. The blow made Omen’s arm raise up at the last second and the arrow to miss Ethan all together and shoot up into the branches.

Nicoli got only a brief sigh of relief before the man’s attention was turned to him. This was the part the boy hadn’t thought out entirely.

“You fucking little insect!” Omen yelled as he brought his arm down and struck Nicoli in the chest with his elbow.

Pain blossomed in Nicoli’s torso from the blow, forcing the air from his lungs and throwing him back. The boy crashed to the ground and clutched at his chest as he gasped for breath.

Omen loomed over the boy and bent down enough to grab a handful of his jacket and pull him up enough to look at him.

“You miserable excuse for a little…” Omen trailed off as the two finally were able to see each other’s faces.

Nicoli could only blink with wide eyes at the green and eerie gold eyes that stared back at him. No wonder his voice sounded so familiar.

Mr. Goatee!? Nicoli thought in alarm, not having the strength to make a sound.

“You…” Omen muttered, just as surprised. “You’re the boy from earlier.” His brows furrowed and the frown returned. “I should have known you had something to do with this monster the way you were following him earlier,” he growled and abruptly dropped Nicoli, making the boy cry out in surprise. “I’ll take care of you next, boy.”

Omen stood and lifted his crossbow to finish Ethan off. The only problem was he wasn’t there anymore.

“What!?” Omen cried out in fury.

Nicoli was able to lift himself on his elbow and he stared at the tree in utter bewilderment. The arrows were still lodged into the trunk and blood stained the bark here and there, but Ethan was no where to be found.

What? H-How-

Nicoli didn’t get to finish his thought as a boot swiftly rammed itself into his stomach and sent him flying a good few feet. The boy landed and rolled a few times before coming to a stop. Nicoli coughed harshly and curled on his side as he wrapped his arms around his throbbing stomach.

“Your kind make me sick,” Omen snarled as he walked toward the boy and stopped a few feet away from him, watching Nicoli’s agony. “You Sympathizers have no idea what you’re meddling in. Do you think because you help them they’ll see you as their equals? You’re nothing but a pet!” he yelled at the poor boy.

“You’re – insane,” Nicoli muttered meekly before coughing again. He had no idea what the man was ranting about, but it was obvious to him that Omen wasn’t going to play nice.

“Enough of you. I’ll make sure you can’t interfere again.”

Nicoli’s eyes widened when Omen raised the crossbow again. Only this time, it was pointed at him! His body went into autopilot as an arrow was fired and Nicoli rolled out of the way. The arrow sank into the forest floor, barely missing the boy’s body. Nicoli sat up and stared in horror as Omen aimed at him again.

Nicoli had heard a lot about the Fight or Flight behavior of animals in school. He never gave it much thought up until now. The same response must also happen in humans as Nicoli’s body and brain were screaming at him to run for his life.

Nicoli ducked as the second arrow shot by his head. He then climbed to his feet and bolted for the safety of the trees as deadly projectiles flew past him. Nicoli couldn’t even think at this point, his feet just moved as he ran blindly through the forest, desperate to get away.

He could hear Omen in hot pursuit behind him. The thunk of heavy boots and the crushing of leaves just spurred Nicoli to go faster.

He had to get home.

That was the one thing that was clear to him. If he could just find his way home Omen wouldn’t dare keep pursuing him.

Nicoli was a bit startled when the trees suddenly gave way to a clearing. It was the clearing with the Fairy Rings. As the boy ran across the clearing, past the mushroom circles he couldn’t help the joy that burst from his stomach. He couldn’t be that far away from home, from safety.

When Nicoli reached the other side of the clearing he hid behind a tree. He leaned against the strong bark and tried to catch his breath. He had to think. Which way was home, which way was home?

Nicoli wanted to cry and sob in frustration. He was being chased by a crossbow wielding psychopath, his chest and stomach hurt horribly, and he didn’t know which way to go. It was like he had been sucked into a horror movie and he didn’t know how to get out!

Nicoli sucked in his breath and pressed himself against the tree when he heard Omen’s footsteps getting closer. He had reached the Fairy Rings.

“Come out, come out, little boy. I swear I’ll make it swift and painless,” Omen called out in a sing-song voice.

At this point a soft sob did escape Nicoli and he leaned his head back on the tree.

“I don’t want to die,” he mouthed, too scared to actually say anything.

Nicoli swiftly turned his head when something appeared out of the corner of his eye. Off in the distance to his right the boy saw orbs of light, almost like the ones on his video camera, but these were smaller and a lot brighter.

Nicoli wasn’t sure if he was actually seeing them or if spots were forming in front of his eyes from all of his running. A shudder then racked his body as soft, warm voices called out to him.

“Come this way, dear, sweet boy. He will save you. He will protect you, but you must come this way. This way.”

They sounded like women. Lot’s of women calling to him, beckoning him towards safety. Before he could decide whether to follow them or not a twig snapping behind him caught his attention. Nicoli whirled around and his eyes widened.

“Ahh!!!” Nicoli screamed and leapt away from the tree just as a fist swung around and slammed into the trunk, right where his head had been.

Without the luxury of deciding whether or not to believe the women calling out to him could guide him to safety, Nicoli sprinted towards the orbs of light. If anything Nicoli thought the lights were flashlights and that the people holding those flashlights would help him.

It didn’t seem to hinder Omen at all as he continued after the boy. Nicoli wondered why he wasn’t backing off if there was a group of people ahead of them, but he wasn’t about to stop and ask.

In a jolt of pure, unfiltered fear, Nicoli realized that as he got closer the lights were starting to move and fade away.

“Wait! Help me! Please! Don’t go!” he screeched in terror. How could they leave him?

Do not fear. We’re still here. Keep running. Run this way. He will protect you, sweet one. We do not lie, the women called to him comfortingly. Run.

The lights faded away completely, but Nicoli kept running the way they had directed. He didn’t know who He was, but the boy wished he would show up soon.

Nicoli pressed on, hoping his legs wouldn’t give out on him. He had to weave around tries to keep on his path and did his best to ignore the branches that whipped his face and clawed at his jacket and sweatpants, trying to slow him down.

No matter how fast he ran he just couldn’t shake Omen. The man’s footsteps were like a malevolent shadow, following his every move.

“Leave me alone, ya freak!” Nicoli bellowed, just wanting this to end. He then yelped as a mischievous root hooked around his foot. Nicoli tumbled over and crashed landed on the forest floor, making his already sore stomach and chest scream in pain.

Nicoli coughed out a mouthful of dirt and began taking in deep gulps of air to feed his starved lungs. It wasn’t long till he heard Omen’s thundering footsteps sound from the darkness and get closer.

An arrow whistled through the air and Nicoli screeched in alarm as it landed in the dirt, barely an inch from his side.

Nicoli scrambled to his feet and began his terrified fleeing once more, wishing the women would return and at least give him comfort in their encouragement as he ran for his life.

As Nicoli was beginning to tire out he could hear Omen getting closer and closer. Tears started to sting the boy’s eyes, one because of the pain that wracked his body from pushing it farther than it could go and two out of fear of what would happen if Omen caught him.

“You can’t run forever, boy!” a snide taunt called after him. His voice was filled with malice and wicked delight. The sick lunatic was enjoying this.

This had the opposite effect that the women’s voices had and the injection of terror gave Nicoli a new burst of energy to run faster. Over his panic Nicoli noticed the trees were beginning to thin out. A moment later, the forest died away all together and opened up to reveal the boy had reached the cliffs of Lucid Lake.

Nicoli had seen the cliffs once before as he and his family drove by to reach Whixton. The locals called it Banshee Cliffs because if you screamed, people would be able to hear you for miles, just like a banshee’s screech.

Nicoli skidded to a halt. He frantically looked around for some form of escape, but all routes ended at the edge of the cliffs. And it was a long way down. Why had the women led him here? There was no safety, there was no He. There was only a dead end. With no other option Nicoli turned to retreat back to the forest, to find some other way to safety.

A gasp hiccupped out of his throat as he came face to face with the one he had been trying so hard to get away from. Omen grinned and looked pleased at the horror that crossed Nicoli’s face.

“Game over,” he said, happy the game was over and elated that he had won.

Nicoli quickly backed up to put some distance between them. His sneakers made the rocks below him crunch and shift. If only he could grab a handful to throw into Omen’s smug face.

“W-What do you want from m-me?” Nicoli demanded, not able to steady his quivering voice.

The man simply laughed as he put his crossbow into a holster on his back. Nicoli wondered why he wasn’t going to shoot him like he had Ethan.

“You, boy,” Omen answered. “You helped Ethan escape and that’s just not going to be tolerated. That and because there are two things I find absolutely unforgivable and despicable in this world,” the man drawled in a low tone. “Vampires and vampire sympathizers.”

Nicoli stared at the man, trying to figure out if he had heard him correctly. He remembered Omen had called him a ‘Sympathizer’ before and the whole rant he did about Nicoli being nothing but a pet to them, whoever ‘they’ were.

It was then that it made sense about why Omen had kept calling Ethan a monster. The nutcase believed Ethan was a vampire!

“Vampires and vampire-whatsers?” Nicoli echoed. At those words all his frustration and anger over the last few days, and the situation he was in now, bubbled up and rose like an angry wave. He had just been threatened, almost killed, and chased through the forest all because Omen thought Ethan to be a vampire!

“What are you smoking, you psychopath!?” he screamed at the top of his lungs. The cry carried down to the crashing waves below. “What is wrong with everyone in this freaking town!? Am I the only sane one here?! This is the last time I’m going to say this,” Nicoli snarled. “There. Are. No. Such. Things. As. Vampires!”

Each word was punctuated and the cliffs reverberated the last word over and over, as if enforcing Nicoli’s claim.

The man stood silent, as Nicoli’s voice faded into the distance. An amused chuckle then rose from his throat and he shook his head.

“Don’t we all wish that were true? And I’d be more inclined to believe your blissful ignorance,” the man said, and his stare suddenly became icy cold, “if you hadn’t just helped one escape!”

A surprised squeak came from Nicoli at the sudden harsh tone the words took, but anger rose again at the accusation.

“That’s ridiculous! How can you actually believe-”

“Silence!” the man barked, effectively quieting the boy. “I will hear no more of your lies! And I shall end this now.” In one smooth motion Omen whipped his long coat back and grabbed something hanging from his hip.

Nicoli’s eyes widened and a shudder trickled down his spine as the soft moonlight danced across the blade of a beautifully shaped axe. This was getting worse by the second.

“Do you know what this is, boy?” Omen asked, tracing a finger along the top of the weapon.

“A-A very s-sharp looking axe,” Nicoli replied, taking another cautious step back.

“Yes, but its much more than that,” the man said, tossing the axe up so it flipped and he caught it by its handle once more. “Its an axe made of pure silver and blessed by the Vatican, more than suitable for destroying vampires and monsters,” he explained. It was then he began to take slow, predatory like steps towards Nicoli.

Feeling the increase in threat, the boy mirrored the man’s steps to keep the distance.

“S-Stay away from me. Get back!” Nicoli yelled at Omen, but went ignored and the man stalked him. Like a predator cornering his prey after a long chase.

“This was never meant to be used on another human,” Omen went on. “But when it comes to vampire sympathizers like yourself, I find you to be of the same ilk of those that I hunt. So, you’ll be an exception.” A wide, sinister grin crossed his face, and even in the dark Nicoli could see the man’s eyes glint with glee, the gold one almost seeming to glow.

“But I’m not a vampire sympathizer!” Nicoli tried desperately to convince him. “I don’t even believe in vampires! They’re nothing but fiction!”

But no matter what Nicoli said, Omen never paused. Further and further the boy was backed up and he wasn’t aware just how close he was being pushed to the edge of the cliffs. Nicoli yelped as he tripped for a second time and fell onto his back, the rocks making a horrible cushion. Not able to snatch the time to stand back up, Nicoli had to use his hands and feet to crawl backwards.

“Ah!” the boy let out a surprised cry when the ground beneath his hand disappeared. Nicoli looked back and a gasped when he saw he was at the very edge of the rocky cliffs, cornered and helpless. He had been caught.

Bile rose in Nicoli’s mouth when a rock loosened itself from its source and plunged into the darkness where the sounds of crashing waves rose like an orchestra. The boy looked up as a shadow covered him, blocking out the moonlight. A terrified whimper escaped him and his entire body began to shake as he stared Omen now looming above him, like a ghostly specter formed into human shape.

“Sorry, boy, but this will be the end of your ride,” the man said in an icy, somber voice as he raised his chosen weapon.

He can’t be serious. He wouldn’t really kill me. There’s no way he’s serious, Nicoli thought, holding on to the faintest glimmer of hope. But as his quivering eyes watched the silver axe ascend above the man’s head, the chilling truth washed over Nicoli, making his blood run cold. Oh God…he’s serious.

The moonlight reflected off the blade and made it light up. The last light Nicoli was ever going to see.

Not able to move. Not able to run. All Nicoli could do was open his mouth and let out a tremendous, blood curtailing scream as the axe swiftly came down, aiming for the boy’s skull.

The piercing screech was drowned out by an earth shattering rumble and Nicoli felt the ground beneath him sink. The axe sang through the air as it barely missed the tip of Nicoli’s nose while the ground crumbled beneath the boy and he began to fall.

In a slow motion realization, Nicoli realized he had been spared from the unforgiving axe. It only took another split second to dawn on him that he had traded in death by axe for death by fall.

Nicoli threw out his hands, reaching for his attacker. As if Omen would reach back and snatch him from his fatal descent. But nothing of the sort happened and the strange man disappeared as the sheer rock wall of the cliff climbed higher and higher into the sky as the boy plummeted.

Nicoli barely heard his own scream over the rushing of the wind around him and the rushing of blood in his ears. The rocky bottom and the twisting, splashing water quickly rose up to catch and greet him, and all Nicoli could think as his life was about to end was—

If only we had never moved to this stupid place.

Then everything stopped.

The wind was knocked out of Nicoli and he gasped for air as he came to such a sudden halt his world spun for a second. The boy blinked down at his dangling feet and the crashing waves below. The water was closer than ever, but he wasn’t falling into them.

“W-What…?”

Now this didn’t make a lick of sense.

Once the shock of the stop ebbed away he realized something was around his waist. He lifted up his torso enough to look down and gawked at what appeared to be an arm. Nicoli turned his head sharply and his eyes widened.

“Etha-mph!” Nicoli was silenced by a hand over his mouth and his head was pulled back to rest against a shoulder.

“Shhh, kid, not so loud,” Ethan whispered into his ear. “Let him think you fell to your death.”

Nicoli was breathing hard against the cold, bare hand that kept him silent. His heart was beating so hard he thought it was going to bust his ribs and burst right out of his chest. What was going on? What was Ethan standing on? Did Ethan climb down here just to catch him? How’d he know Nicoli was going to fall in the first place? Nothing was making sense.

Nicoli’s eyes flickered upward as he heard Omen’s voice carry down from above.

“Well, that wasn’t how I was expecting it to end. I suppose even God has mercy for Sympathizers,” he said. “I hope your watery grave is kind to you, boy,” Omen then called down.

A few minutes ticked by before a breath was released against his ear.

“He’s gone now,” Ethan said softly as he uncovered the boy’s mouth. “You’re safe.”

Nicoli let out a shuddering breath as the hand stroked his hair. He slowly turned his head to look at the man that had saved him. His eyes were large and clearly showed just how frightened he still was.

“Calm down, Nicoli, there’s nothing to be afraid of now. He thinks you’re dead, he won’t hurt ya again,” Ethan assured him.

Nicoli stared at him for a moment before looking down at the water of Lucid Lake. Why wasn’t he dead? Why weren’t they both dead? Nicoli craned his neck to look past his dangling feet to Ethan’s, to find they weren’t dangling at all. Ethan’s feet were standing perfectly flat on air!

“Wha – how…” Nicoli jerked his head around to stare at Ethan in bewilderment. “How are you standing on nothing?” he demanded. This was all too much, far too much.

Ethan simply smirked at him.

“My feet are lighter than air,” he answered coyly.

Nicoli stared at him. He didn’t know what to feel. Anger at the flippant answer, terrified about the whole event or elated that he was alive. His brain was on overload.

Just when Nicoli thought of something to reply with darkness closed in as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. He went limp in a surprised Ethan’s arms, who held him tighter as a reflex.

Before he lost all touch with reality, Nicoli felt himself being shifted in the strong arms so he was cradled safely. As he sank lower into unconsciousness the last thing he heard was,

“I hate it when they do that.”

===============================Ch. 5 End