A Moonlit Night Saga: Episodes 1 - 4 by Adrianna White

entire
life.
    The snarling hound dashed towards her, his
powerful claws tearing up the floor as he quickly approached. He
lifted off with his hind legs and went for the throat.
    The stake was knocked out of Emily’s hand as
she fell to the floor, her hands wrapped around the jaws of the
beast. It slid across the tiled floor, far out of Emily’s reach as
she battled for her life.
    The werewolf growled ferociously as he dug
his sharp claws into the meat of her thigh. The blood poured out of
Emily’s leg, but still, she refused to flinch. The slightest
weakness and the werewolf would be having her for supper; his
deadly canines now only inches from her throat.
    “Take this, you filthy beast!” shouted Tyler,
standing over the wolf with the wooden stake in his hand.
    He drove the stake into the back of the
vicious animal. It may not have been a vampire, but the stake tore
through the spine of the werewolf, sending him to the floor in
screeching pain.
    The werewolf bled out in agony, panting and
wheezing as he looked back up at Tyler with heartrending eyes,
completely mystified as to how he was vanquished by such a normal
man.

Chapter Five

    The blood streamed down Lord Korolev’s brow,
dripping on his golden throne and then splattering on the
cobblestone floor. He struggled to open his left eye, the other
completely swollen shut from aggravated trauma to the head.
Defiant, he remained, for a vampire king never shows any signs of
weakness.
    “You will not find what you seek,” said Lord
Korolev. “The usurper shall never have my throne.”
    A resounding snort was followed by a slow
laughter, his gravelly voice filling the room, capturing the
attention of the feeding youngling vampires, on their hands and
knees and they devoured the rapidly fading councilors.
    Crooking their heads, the newborn vampires
all stared intently at the Elder vampire, bleeding out on this
fallen throne. They licked their chops, hoping to get their chance
to feed on the oldest blood in vampire existence.
    “What are you laughing at, old man?” asked
Amata, drawing her blade as she approached the throne. “Give me one
good reason not to end your life, right here and now.”
    “Do you really think you’re the first vampire
to make claim on my throne?” Lord Korolev asked. “In over 5,000
years, there have been countless attempts on my life. Do you know
how each of them ended? They ended with me staring into their cold
and helpless eyes as I tore out their hearts and fed in front of
them! You are not different, young girl, no matter what gifts that
may have been bestowed upon you.”
    “You’re not making a very good case for
yourself, Korolev, if you wish to live,” Amata said. “I do not need
your consent to claim the throne.”
    “No, you do not,” Lord Korolev replied.
“However, unless you want 10,000 vampires out for your blood that
is precisely what you need.”
    Rage consumed Amata and she found herself
pushing the blade deeper, piercing the skin of Lord Korolev, the
silver burning ferociously as it crept closer to his jugular.
    “When I bring them the summoner’s head they
will fall in line!” Amata barked. “I have amassed more than just
this newborn army; werewolves, nymphs, trolls, hunters and witches
have all heeded my call. You’ve given us no other choice,
therefore, you must be left in the dust; a fallen leader from a
forgotten time. If we allow the summoner to live we could all lose
everything… and if it’s going to be a choice between life and
death, I’ll choose life every time.”
    “Y—your life ended a long time ago,” Lord
Korolev stuttered. “What remains now is just a scared little girl,
running from life rather than making the best use of her second
chance.”
    Lord Korolev started to choke, foaming at the
mouth with blood clogging up his throat. Still, he smiled, with
boldness in his heart. Looking back at Amata, he mumbled, “The
first culling… was a mistake. It was a result of