Fall of kNight (39 page)

My world faded, slipping from the world of the living. Darkness and death came for me on a swift horse. The feet of horses galloped loudly as they pulled the chariot of death near. For the first time, I thought, I would stare into the eyes of the one whom so ruled my life. The one I battled against daily. Yes, life and death are certain. We live. We die. This is life. To know life and love is what drives us forward. The very force that makes us fight harder for what we believe.

“Show me.” I hissed a ragged blood filled breath.

On my command, the veil of my opponent lifted. The soulless eyes fell upon me.

Death came closer as I heard the pounding feet of the horses thundered against the ground. I was satisfied; I knew the face of my opponent. In a small way, it was my own victory. Even in death, I had would have victory. My death would not be in vein.

The sword of my opponent rose high above my head. Yes, this was the end. For the new dawn of my life brought with it the end. The sword wielded against me. It was the final strike. It mattered no more, for I was at peace. For once, I knew my opponent; her name was Fate.

Dreams sometimes reflect a part of reality, especially in my life. A dream, they say, is a part of reality that sets itself firmly in your mind. Most of the time, it is those parts that I wish to forget. Mainly, it was the part of my life where Richard was concerned. He was the inhumanly beautiful vampire that haunted my dreams and my heart.

Where the dream began, I can‟t really say, if it was a dream at all. My dreams were not always one hundred percent correct. I was still having problems with the premonition thing. Most of the time the dreams were fifty percent correct. But which fifty percent of this dream was true, I would soon come to find out. Nevertheless, this dream was different. It appeared to be in the middle of the day, the sun was blocked by the grayish blue clouds. The winter weather was quiet soothing, at least for me. I enjoyed the snow. And snow it did, a blizzard more or less.

I was stood in front of the fireplace. To my right, Casey and Nathaniel stood nearby the bar and to my left was Richard. He handed me a beautiful sword. My fingers grasped the ivory dragon head handle as I held tightly to the sheath. As I pulled out the sword from its black and gold inlaid sheath, the sound of medal against medal filled the air. I couldn‟t help from admire the craftsmanship of the Katana. The handcrafted dragon head handle, carved meticulously as well as the blade which had been folded over six hundred times. It was truly a magnificent weapon. Sleek, sharp and very powerful. The sword was truly a mastered item of an ancient warrior.

A call stirred inside of my soul, singing out my name as I heard thousands of souls crying out in my blood. The bloodline of a thousand Lycans, the protectors of mankind were ready for battle. A powerful force, almost magical rose with in me. It was a type of strength I hadn‟t known before. A will more powerful than I had ever imagined. From my belly it pulled on a call so deep I trembled slightly as I could feel myself becoming one with the sword.

The dream soon shifted. The day turned into night. I found myself deep inside the walls of Fort Mountain. The bright silvery full moon lingered high in the sky. The air, chilled from the wintry snow, blistered against my human skin.

Brendan Phillips stood before me as I gripped tightly to my new found treasure. He wasn‟t a werewolf, but remained in his human form. Still, his dark and evil body reeked the stench of werewolf blood. Was it the time he met his death? Or mine?

“So you come here thinking you could defeat us? A sheep in wolves clothing.” He mocked lowly.

My back stiffened as I dared not to turn and face him. The sword firmly in my grasp, I raised my free hand to wipe my mouth. Blood, I thought. My lip had been cut.

As my eyes darted around my surroundings, I realized I was in the middle of a war.

The sound of swords cutting flesh, the sound my people yelping in pain and the menacing loud roars from the werewolves filled the night air.

“No.” I said earnestly still with my back to him. “I didn‟t come here thinking I could defeat you.”

“Then what?” He roared, and then released a sinister laugh. “What could you have possibly thought by coming here? What could you have imagined to accomplish with a few vampires and Lycans? Do you think you can protect what this land has for us? Who are you but a woman, not human nor vampire?” He spat. “You think you can defeat me?

I have lived, counting the moments when I would collect what is rightfully owed to me!”

“I‟m a Lycan.” I stated flatly. The fire that burned in my veins ignited against my flesh. With fevered skin and a taste for blood, I wanted to kill him. I wet my lips with the tip of my tongue, anticipating my chance.

He snorted mockingly. “Why tell me this? I don‟t need to know my victims before I kill them.”

“No?” I challenged. I could feel the blood inside my body rise. “It is something you should know.” My fingers tightened their grip around the sword. “Because,” I said as I slowly turned to face him. “It is the last thing you will hear before you die!” I swiftly raised the sword and in one expeditious moment that was faster than the speed of light the sword touched the skin of his neck. There was no resistance as the sword moved easily through the tissue and bones and remained in my hand as I moved aside.

Slowly, I turned to see his face as he was unaware of what had just happened. His eyes were fixated on the sword I held, watching as the blood ran down the length of the blade. I watched, anticipating his death as the rest of his body gave away. The knees that held him buckled, leaving his body to drop to the ground. My eyes stared toward the three men who stood a few feet away. Did they want some of this as well? If so, I would surely not want to disappoint them. I supposed they were surprised by the sudden attack they turned and fled in different directions.

In the distance, the vampires moved fast behind the treacherous beasts. The vampires would end this final battle. Quickly I ran to the spot where I last heard Jason and Heather.

I passed by Adrianna who had killed one of the werewolves. Her head snapped toward me as I approached. Even in the darkness, I could see the wildness in her blue diamond-like eyes as she dropped the stinky creature to the ground. I lifted up my chin quickly, she gave me a quick nod and joined my side. As we neared the top of the hill I saw three other Lycans then Jason, Heather and Daniel locked into a deadly battle with five werewolves. The werewolves had circled around them.

Adrianna quickly moved to the right side and killed of the werewolves. Her precision in killing was as flawless and deadly as Richard‟s. Jason and Heather waged their attacked on another one of the werewolves. I focused on the larger one and headed straight for it. I held the sword down as I ran. As I leaped into the air, I raised the sword in attack position as the werewolf turned toward me. A quick twist of my body and the sword came down just underneath its jawbone, severing the head from the body.

Quickly, I left my kill and headed toward Daniel. There were only three werewolves left.

Jason and Heather were working on one of them together. Adrianna had taken on the other, which left the one Daniel battled. I glanced around and saw Richard on the way to help us. Behind him Casey and Nathanial were approached.

My attention quickly changed as I heard Daniel yelp out in pain. Fear and horror gripped my heart as I watched his body go airborne. My heart froze when he landed on the ground with a loud thud. The stinky creature moved in to finish his kill. To kill my beloved. Fire flamed in my veins as I ran toward the wiry haired beast as fast as humanly possible. My warning growl was transformed into a scream as its attention turned toward me. Again the sword rose in my hand and my arm moved with great strength. It was a flawless kill as the blade struck the creature. I glanced back to Daniel as he was in his human form lying on his back.

My heart beat wildly, pounding fear in my ears. Fear and pain mingled my mind and heart. I rushed toward him, dropping the blade at my side as fell to my knees. My eyes widened in horror as I saw the red blood running down the corners of his mouth.

As my eyes traveled further down that is when I noticed it; a piece of wood that was pierced through his chest.

“Daniel!” I screamed. Hot tears threatened my eyes.

His eyes lifted to mine, and then slowly drifted to his chest. With trembling fingers I reached for the wood. My heart pounded so loudly I could barely hear him speak.

“NO!” He breathed out in a cough. “DON‟T! It‟s too close to my heart!”

“No! No! No! You can heal! You will be alright!” I screamed hysterically.

“Julie… listen… to me.” He paused in agony as his eyes fixed on something behind my shoulder.

Casey, Nathanial, Adrianna and Richard had formed a circle around us.

Tears streamed from my eyes. “Daniel, you can‟t die! You can‟t leave me! You just can‟t!” I cried loudly.

He forced out a weary smile. “Julie,” He began. “I have…. always loved you…will always… love you …forever.” He held his hand up and pressed it against my cheek.

Richard moved closer to Daniel and fell down on one knee. Daniel grabbed his hand and looked him sternly in the eye. I watched in horror as Daniel inhaled a deep and ragged breath.

“She means the world to me. She is all I have left in this world to give.” He coughed and more blood ran from his lips. “Protect her. Love and honor her. Promise me…

brother.”

Richard nodded.

“NO!” I screamed. “NO! YOU CAN‟T DO THIS! Daniel PLEASE!” My heart had shattered. Oh dear Fate! My world had just ended. “PLEASE!” I whined as the tears flowed from my eyes in quantities that made it difficult to see.

Mortified, I watched as Daniel„s eyes began to roll upward. “Promise me!” He strained to Richard. “She will be your life!” Daniel said firmly through gritted teeth.

“I promise.” Richard said firmly.

“NO!” I screamed again. “DO SOMETHING! SOMEONE!” I cried out pleading for anyone to help. It was as if no one heard my cry. No one heard my plea. I couldn‟t understand why they didn‟t know he was dying. Nor could I understand why anyone wouldn‟t stop him for leaving this world.

“Julie…it‟s…. all right.” Daniel forced out as his death filled eyes turned back to me. “My purpose… has been fulfilled. You have made …me the happiest …man.” He paused gathering the last will of his life. “Not even in death shall my love die for you.”

It was then that I heard the most horrifying sound I have ever heard before in my life. The last breath as it left his body. My breath froze. My thoughts were mingled as I stared down at his lifeless body. Panic took over. I couldn‟t live without him. I knew I wouldn‟t survive.

About The Author

T.L. Mitchell now lives in Florida. Her love of reading paranormal romances has led her to begin her own series of wolf shape-shifter romance novels. In October 2009, Mitchell's website won the P&E Award of Excellence. Her works include Dark of kNight and Fall of kNight(Book 2 in the kNight Series) and The NightMan. Her future releases include a fantasy novel and a sci-fi romantic action novel.

In July 2010, Mitchell won her first writing contest with Silver Moon, a short horror story to be published in the Undead Nation Anthology by Zilyon Publishing. The net proceeds from the anthology are donated for cancer research.

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