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Modena, Italy
Chapter Five
Nathanial awoke with a start. He had been dreaming about the horrible day when he lost his son and wife in a raid. Even though it had happened four years ago, the things he had seen kept him from a peaceful sleep, especially when he traveled away from his castle. As he sat on his bed recovering from the fresh shock, he heard a noise outside.
‘Footsteps…’ he thought. Immediately he knew something was wrong. The council had assured him that this was a private estate. Perhaps something had happened and a council member was coming to alert him of it. In his current state of mind, Nathanial expected the worst, and got dressed quickly in casual clothing. He rushed out of his room to the main hall.
The three guards were asleep, which was odd as they should be on alert whenever he was sleeping. Hearing the footsteps closer this time, Nathanial carefully drew one of the guard’s swords and stood in an on-guard position. The strong sword, coupled with Nathanial’s skills and vampyric strength would make anyone who didn’t know him cringe in fear.
Those who did know him, however, would not be afraid. Nathanial would never harm another, except under the direst of circumstances. He circled the room, sword at the ready, looking through all of the windows. He lowered his sword when he found nothing and walked back over to the guards to replace it. He detected the scent of alcohol on their breath and knew why they hadn’t woken up.
Suddenly, he heard something crash through the window in his room. He grasped the sword firmly in his hand, and stood still as a statue, eyes fixed on the hall leading back to his room. A figure came out of it, a large cross sewn into its black clothing. Nathanial recognized it with dread; a vampire hunter after the King.
“Please leave in peace, I have no quarrel with you,” called Nathanial, but he knew it would do no good. Vampire hunters do not see vampires as sophisticated beings, but as evil, bloodthirsty creatures that must be destroyed. The hunter drew a crossbow armed with silver-tipped wooden stakes. In his other hand, he held a gleaming dagger.
“Very well, then.” Nathanial pointed his sword at the wall, ready for the attack. But, just as the hunter walked toward him, two masked hunters came in through the windows on either side of him, trapping the King in a deadly triangle. He remained calm, even with the hunters pointing their weapons at him.
The only reason he didn’t lower his sword is that he still had someone to live for: Angelene. She wasn’t his true daughter, (Charles had found her on the streets and Nathanial had taken her in), but she needed him. These narrow-minded humans would never be able to understand that a vampire could care for another, but today they would learn what motivation that could be in a fight.
Quicker than the hunters could see, he grabbed the dagger from the lead hunter, and swung him around so that they had switched places. The hunters fired their weapons at the leader, who fell to the floor.
When they realized they had been tricked, they threw poisoned darts at Nathanial, who deflected them with his sword. He was grateful that vampires were so much faster than humans. However, the smaller of the two hunters drew a sword, and as they engaged, Nathanial was actually at a disadvantage. He was quite a bit larger than the hunter, but he was not fighting to kill.
He easily dodged every thrust, but grew tired quickly. The hunter seemed to be getting stronger somehow as the fight wore on. Nathanial had now completely forgotten about the second hunter, who was circling the duel, waiting for an opening.
Something was odd about the hunter he fought; he matched the strength of a vampire, even surpassing it. At first, when Nathanial detected the youth in the boy’s unconcealed eyes, he thought that was the reason he had to keep giving up his ground. But then, he noticed something else about his eyes. They had a red tint only detectable in vampires. These were no hunters; they were assassins.
Distracted by this revelation, the King left himself open, and was struck in the side by the second man’s dagger. His yell of surprise and pain was finally enough to wake the guards, and they dashed over to help Nathanial. The assassins apparently knew they could not take on three more vampires, and vanished out the broken window with their fallen leader.
As one guard discovered where his sword had gone, and another went for help, the last one asked Nathanial who had attacked him. Before passing out, he simply said:
“I’m sorry I lied, Angela…”