Michael Kisslinger paced the pews of the large Romanian Monastery Church. His blue eyes became moist with tears as he tried to comprehend what the congregation was asking of him. He felt panic rising in the pit of his stomach as listened to the people of the church argue amongst themselves. The vampires were taking over their small town and it was believed that Michael was the only one who would be able to stop them. He had shown more strength and dedication to the church and to God than anyone else in the town had. If anybody was able to call on the name of the Lord to protect their home, it was Michael.
"Brother Kisslinger," an old man with squinty eyes and thin white hair touched Michael's arm, causing him to jump, "Brother, please, you are the only one. God smiles on the works you have down. He will protect you in your fight. Do not fear death."
"It's not death that I fear, sir. I fear that my faith may not be strong enough. I fear giving into the temptation." Michael's blue eyes gazed up at the gothic ceiling, he whispered apologetically, "Forgive me."
"You're faith is the strongest of us all." The old man squeezed his shoulder kindly. "You will not fail."
"Please understand. This is the job of a priest. Father Leonte should do this. It is his responsibility to the church, not mine."
"The Father was taken by them this morning. Lazar killed him himself." A soft, quiet voice shook from behind the two men. Michael turned around to look in the deep, green eyes of Caterina Tudor, the woman he was suppose to make his wife. He traced her heart-shaped face with the tips of his fingers then pushed a strand of dark brown hair from her forehead. Studying her expression, it pained him to see the worry that had replaced the joy that had once filled her beautiful emerald eyes. "Please, Michael. You really are our only hope."
"I...I...okay." He said defeated.
Michael stepped into the aisle and slowly made his way to the front of the church. He stood in front of the pulpit with his head bowed and his lips moved silently as he prayed for guidance. The congregation stopped fussing over the dreadful situation their town was in and their gaze landed on the man who they believed could save them all. They waited patiently for him to address them. After a few short minutes, he raised his eyes to the eager townsfolk.
Panic took over the moment he saw the hope on all their faces. Michael couldn't bring himself to promise their families' safety when he wasn't sure if he would even survive the battle he would soon encounter. Tiny beads of sweat formed on his forehead under his long, dark curly hair. His heart began to pound loudly beneath his rib cage and his breathing became quick and raspy. Without warning, his feet began to move toward the exit at the back of the sanctuary. He walked quickly with his hands over his ears, trying to block out the words of terror that now filled the church in loud echoes.
"Where is he going?" "He was our only hope!" "Michael, come back!" "Please, don't let them take over!"
Michael burst through the big wooden doors and felt ease sweep over him instantly. Now that he was away from their stares, he was able to think more clearly. He had no intention of backing out on their request. He had already told Caterina that he would do it. He would never purposely let Caterina down; he loved her too much to bare ever seeing disappointment in her eyes. With a deep breath, he looked to the north where a large castle towered over the town high in the hills.
"I guess I've got to pay that cozy little home a visit," Michael laughed nervously and began to move forward again, traveling north down a dirt path.
The dark walls of the castle stood high above Michael. His panic returned as he adjusted the cross that hung around his neck and tightened his grip on the wooden stake in his hand. Somehow, he doubted these two items would protect him from the force that Lazar's coven had built up behind those walls. He feared that no human would ever be of a threat to such powerful beings. Every ounce of his being wanted to run. The only thing that kept his feet moving forward was the echoing prayer that he whispered to the Heavens. Michael did not pray that he would live through the terrors he was about to face. He did not pray that he would be able to kill the entire coven. He only prayed for the safety of Sighisoara. He prayed that his attempt to protect the people would have a strong enough effect on Lazar that he would leave. Michael knew that this meant he would only have to kill the two that Lazar held in highest honor; Dragos, his son and Delilah, his bride.
Pushing with every bit of strength he had, Michael opened the large wooden door of the castle and crept in as quietly as he could; although he had a feeling it wasn't quiet enough. The entrance led to a huge room with a staircase on each side and flaming, wooden torches lining the walls. He felt terrified as he glanced quickly around the room for any signs of movement. It was a known fact that vampires only showed themselves at night. Here it was only a few minutes past midnight and there was no trace of the twelve he knew to live here. It was an eerie feeling being in this large empty room with such dim lighting and no sign of life anywhere.
Michael forced himself to move forward to the stairs of the left side of the room. It was as good of a place to start as any. He wondered what he would do when he actually found one of the vampires. He gulped as he thought of how he was supposed to kill them when it came down to it. Nobody knew these creatures' weaknesses. It was said that you were suppose to drive a stake through their heart to pin them in the coffin where they slept. But for some reason, that seemed too easy to Michael; such powerful beings couldn't possibly be that simple to kill.
Peering around the tall banister at the end of the stairs, Michael heard a voice and footsteps. He felt his body freeze as he realized that he had no plan. He suddenly felt insane for coming without a small army of me of his own. He felt completely defeated before even knowing if a battle would break out or if they'd just kill him before he even had the opportunity to defend himself. Human versus vampire. Michael really didn't have a prayer for survival. He stood frozen at the foot of the stairs, blue eyes
staring at the top step. His heart was pounding deep in his chest and he could feel his breathing begin to lose control as he contemplated how much death would hurt.
