Chapter 1: A Waking Dream

I silently watched from my bed as the sun sank below the horizon line, and the twin moons slowly began to take its place up in the night sky. Only a few clouds hung amongst the stars and the moons, and I inhaled deeply as a cool breeze wafted the pure night time air in through my opened window. Yet as the breeze touched the exposed skin on both of my arms, I couldn't help but to shiver.

This was an average night for me. Sitting and waiting the countless number of seconds for daylight to fade away. Leaving only enough room for the darkness to pervade the Earth. I was witnessing the birth of of a world that belonged to the dead, and the dead alone.

So closing my eyes, I tried to fall asleep. Tried to enter into the realm of endless reels of film that were my dreams. The only place where I felt safe about truly being myself, without the fear of others judging me. The only place where everything was real, and absolutely nothing could go wrong.

My perfect utopia.

As my mind began to playback this beautiful vision, I silently thought to myself through a sleepy fog that was quickly ramping up in intensity, "If only I could lie and dream like this forever...Maybe then life for me might actually become interesting...Maybe..." My inner voice fell away to nothing more than a mere buzz as I fully submerged into my dreams.

However many hours had passed since I had fallen victim to my need to sleep, I had absolutely no clue, but as for the cause of my waking, that I was certain about.

Somewhere in one of the rooms just a floor below me, there had been a loud crash. I heard no voices, but I was the only person home, so the first conclusion that my mind decided on was that burglars had just busted down the front door.

Slowly, so as not to make a sound, I swung my legs over the edge of my bed and carefully planted my feet on the cool hardwood floor. I began slinking forward, inching my way towards my bedroom door, yet as luck was seemingly never on my side, it was shut tight. I knew that the instant I turned the door knob the intruders would be alerted to my presence, meaning that it'd potentially be the only opportunity I'd be granted to do something...or it'd be game over for sure.

When I was less than a centimeter from brushing the brass handle with my fingertips, I reached out. Extending my fingers so that I could grasp my only means of escape, yet I was forced to stop just as I barely raked the tip of a finger over the door knob's cool exterior. I had heard a man's voice coming from the hallway that led to my room.

"Are you sure that we're at the right location, Tres? To me this looks to be nothing more than your average residential home." The voice sounded kind when it reached my ears, yet I could tell that there was a certain level of authority in the man's tone. There was a brief pause then he continued to speak. "Tres, are you even listening to me? I'm telling you, Cardinal Sforza issued us a very strict mandate. In addition, Sister Kate was kind enough to provide us with an exact locale, not to mention the photographs of our suspects. This might be the right area, but this particular house isn't right...I suggest that we move on and look elsewh-"

All fell silent inside the house, but it was only because I had made the mistake of taking hold of the door knob, and had unknowingly twisted the handle just a fraction of what it took to open the door. With a gasp, I let go and frantically tried to think of a place where I could hide. A place where I hopefully wouldn't be found. Yet no such place existed in my room. The only spot where I could even remotely hope to hide myself from the unnamed man and the one called Tres, was a small corner between my bed and a wall. With that, I hurried to what was my one and only hope, and quickly threw myself into the shadows.

No sooner had I concealed myself from view, the door to my room flew open with so much force that the door knob became embedded in the wall that it collided with. Flecks of drywall and paint hung in the air.

I covered my hand over my mouth, trying so desperately to not scream out in fear.

As the air cleared, the silhouettes of the two men became visible. The first to cross over the threshold and into the room was the taller of the two, while his companion was shorter, yet more burly. The first thing that I noticed, that truly mattered, was that in both hands he firmly held tight to two large hand guns.

Seeing this caused tears to fill my eyes and they gradually started to spill over, each tear falling onto my pale cheeks. I had no hope of surviving, and inside my own thoughts, I pleaded with God. Praying that my dire need of his help and protection would somehow be answered. "I don't want to die here! Not now! Please...save me! Please...someone...anyone help!" I screwed my eyes shut tight as I readied myself for Death's cold embrace.

Then the sound of an uncaring voice confirmed my worst fears, and as I opened my tear filled eyes, I looked at the face of the man who would soon become my killer. "Target located. Preparing to terminate in three...two..."

I took the second that I had left to live to get a glimpse of what the man, who was now holding one of his two guns aimed directly at my forehead, I wanted to see what he looked like up close. His hair was hazel brown, and had been cropped short, his short bangs had been spiked up a little. Emotionless eyes peered down at me, one brown, while the other burned red with the desire to kill. Yet no smile fell upon his lips, as if he were killing just to simply kill. And not because of some unknown duty.

With the final half second, I searched for the face of the taller man, who I found almost immediately. Silver-white hair that had been pulled back with a thin black ribbon, fell nearly to his waist, while his bangs fell freely around either side of his face. Winter blue eyes gazed sadly at me from behind a pair of glasses that were as round as the base of a bottle.

The man named Tres began to pull on the trigger, a single whimper escaped my mouth as I hurried to shut my fearful eyes. I waited to hear the bullet leave the barrel of the gun, only for it to be lodged deep within my skull. Yet instead of hearing the sound of my impending death, I heard the taller man gasp and then cry out, "Tres stop! This girl isn't in any of these photos! She's not one of the vampires!"

"How are we going to be one hundred percent positive that she is not one of the vampires that we were sent to annihilate, Father Nightroad?" Tres asked, his voice remaining mono-toned, masking any notion that he felt anything at all.

Nightroad chuckled and whispered, "Leave that to me." He stepped forward and Tres took a single step to the side, his hands keeping both guns at the ready. When he was in front of me, the tall man knelt down so that his face was level with mine. Then with a sincere smile said, "My name is Father Abel Nightroad, may I ask what your name is?"

"Jonah...Jonah Turner."

Eyes gleaming, Abel repeated my name. "Jonah? What an interesting name for a young girl. Now do you live here all by yourself, Jonah?"

I slowly shook my head from side to side, my lips trembling as I spoke. "N..no. I live he...here with my parents..."

"And where might they be?"

"Vacation..."

Nodding, he looked up at Tres. "I believe her. But since we know that there are vampires active within this area, it makes me think that it's not safe leaving her here. It might be best if we consider taking her with us, least we be the indirect cause of her death."

"Take me...with you?" I asked, my voice just barely above a whisper. "Vampires? Who are you? Why are you he-"

Gently placing a gloved hand on my shoulder, Abel calmly told me, "All will be answered in due time. It's just that right now, well we're all in a small bit of danger."

Stowing one of his guns away, Tres stated in his usual tone. "If that is your desire, Father Nightroad, then we must hurry. A fourth being is now well within the residential perimeter of our current location."

My body stiffened as I heard his words, and I froze even further when Abel jumped to his feet. "Tres, are you sure?" He whispered, his right hand reaching for something hidden beneath his overcoat.

"Positive."

Drawing out an old revolver from a holster he wore under his coat, Abel checked the number of bullets in the chamber of his gun and whispered once more to Tres, "Can you try to hold them off? I'm going to try and get Miss Turner to safety."

"Positive." With that, Tres redrew his second gun and advanced towards the bedroom door, the handle of which was still lodged into the wall.

Offering me his hand, Abel rushed out his words, "Is there any other exit? Besides the windows in this room?"

"No...my room's the only one of the second floor." I took his hand, and was hoisted to my feet as easily as if I weighed no more than a pound. "The only other exits are the front and back doors."

"Damn..." He cast a quick glance around the room, searching for something unknown to me. Then finally he asked, "Do you have anything I could possibly use to craft a makeshift rope?"

Sadly once again, I shook my head. "My clothes and the sheets from my bed, but that's pretty much it. Do we really have the time to do all of that? Besides, it's not that far of a fall..." I quietly walked over to my opened window and peering out of it looked down at the ground. It had to be at least a twenty foot drop.

Behind me, Abel groaned, "I really hate this job sometimes. Hop onto my back."

Looking at him, I saw that he was now kneeling down on one of his knees, the palms of his hands pressed firmly to the wood flooring beneath him. "I can do it on my own. Besides, I'm heavier than I look. Also I don't want to be a burden to you. I'll be all right." Wrapping my fingers around the wooden frame of the window, I prepared to jump, hoping that the fall wouldn't be enough to break any bones. I took in enough air to fill both of my lungs, then I slowly exhaled, my mind trying to gather all of the courage I'd need to just jump without considering any of the consequences. "Well, here goes nothing..." About to spring forward, like a frog leaping from one lily pad to the next, I began to step up onto the window's ledge but was forced to stop when I felt a firm hand grip my shoulder.

Looking back, I saw that it was Abel and he was wearing a deep set frown. "What makes you think that you're a burden to me?"

"You said that you sometimes hate your job. And well, if you think about it, I'm just an inconvenient road block in your mission. Slowing you down, so that it'll take you that much longer to reach your goal...or at the very least, that's how I see it." I began to make my second attempt to jump, but was held back once again.

"You misunderstood me. I'd gladly help get you to a safe haven, but the route to get to safety is hardly ever the easy one. And if you were to look at our situation from my perspective you'd see that it's clearly the very least that I could do for you. Since it was Father Tres and myself who drew the vampires here in the first place." His expression became one of pleading as precious seconds ticked away, and gradually I relinquished my hold on the window frame. As Abel helped me back to my feet he whispered, "Thank you. Now if you'd allow me assist you once more, we will both be free from the danger that slowly surrounds us." He resumed his previous action of kneeling down on one knee, a smile falling upon his lips once more.

I was about to protest some more, but rushed towards the kind man in front of me when I heard the rapid sound of gun fire coming from the first floor.

"So they really are here...Jonah, we need to hurry!" Picking me up, Abel swung me so that I was resting on his back, he hooked his hands together under my legs to further support my weight. He hurried over to the window and began to maneuver his tall body through the window's frame, a task that I'd had some trouble with and I had to be at least a foot shorter than the unusual priest. Yet he was able to fit through the small space, with little to no effort at all.

The sudden exposure to the cool air on my face and arms caused shivers that were strong enough to cause my entire body to tremble.

Noticing my shaking limbs, Abel gasped and whispered back to me, "We'll be somewhere warm in no time, Jonah. Don't worry."

I silently responded, and began to nestle my face into the soft fabric of his overcoat that covered his back, the subtle scent of his cologne filled my nose. A few seconds later I heard him clear his throat and sounding embarrassed muttered, "Yes...well..." About to giggle, I suddenly felt a tugging sensation move through my body, and looking back, I saw a man sneering at me.

"Peek-a-boo!" When the man spoke, as his lips parted, I noticed that the tip of each tooth he had was razor sharp.

A small scream erupted from me, and hearing both it and the vampire, Abel spun around making it so that we were now facing the opposite direction than we originally had, and with a quick glance he recited from memory. "Andros Nakomi. Wanted for over one hundred counts of murder in the city of Venice alone. One can only begin to surmise the total tally of victims you've actually claimed if they knew the full range of land that you've covered in the past ten months."

Unblinking, Andros snorted. "I lost count after five hundred seventy five. This girl though..." He examined me with his piercing crimson eyes. "This girl will be a real treat to feast upon. After all, it's not everyday that I get the chance to win a meal from you Vatican dogs!" He turned his gaze upon Abel, "So what do you say to simply handing her over to me now, and in exchange, I will spare you a few extra hours of living on the brink of a painful death. Because if you choose to cooperate with me, I promise to make it so you feel nothing when I kill you. How does that sound to you, Priest?"

"Tempting. But I'm afraid that I can't do that. I promised this girl that I'd get her to safety, and I never go back on my word. Not even if Death itself were to stare me down."

The vampire shrugged his shoulders and laughed, "So be it. But when I'm draining you of every pint of blood that's in that frail body of yours, just know that you will feel every second of it, and you'll be wishing that you had just handed her over to me when I'd asked you to. And trust me, that when you die, it will be slow and very painful."

Abel grinned, and held onto me tighter. "I'd really love to see you try."