Celestial Sisters

Chapter 16: We're Screwed

The man's body flew back, slamming against the trunk of a tree. A deep groan fell from his lips, waking Luna from her unconscious state. Rubbing the grit from her eyes, she pulled herself into a sitting position. She banished all thoughts of the strange, vision or memory from mind and focused on the Crimson eyed man who was now standing across from her. Twyla stood, crouched by her side. Her lips were pulled back into a hostile look. The man did nothing but stare as Luna stood to her feet, it wasn't until she standing steadily did he take a step forward. His foot would never touch the ground though, as Twyla flicked her wrist and threw him back into the tree.

"Move one more time and I'll crush your skull," she growled.

"Please!" The man yelled. His voice, was smooth, with an attractive deep timber. "I mean you no harm."

"Why do I not believe you?" Twyla gasped and threw her hand over her mouth in mock outrage. "Oh yeah, because you're a freaking vampire who was just looming over me!"

"I wasn't trying to eat you!" The man wheezed. The invisible pressure on his chest increased as Twyla narrowed her eyes.

Luna watched the altercation unfold, standing half-hidden behind her older sister. In her safe spot, she was able to carefully dissect the man. He stood at about six-feet tall, give or take an inch due to the fact that he was hunched over.  Her eyes widened as he turned his head the side, revealing he chiseled jawline, high-cheek bones and masculine features which created an unprecedented recipe for beauty. His tousled black hair, reminded her of the male leads on the front of adult romance novels. And his eyes- well- there were no words to describe his scarlet eyes. It was quite clear that he was not human. His powerful body moved with inhuman grace, even as he tried to fight against Twyla's spell. She had never seen someone who looked so inhuman, every feature was crafted to perfection. Truthfully, it was a little unnerving.

It took a full minute for the stars to clear from her eyes before she was able to pick up snippets from his mind. Most of it was covered through a heavy wall of static and the words she could hear were mostly curses. Damn witches, he thought. If I would have known witches lived here, I wouldn't have came. Luna saw broken pieces of memories, from his trip from Arizona through the east coast. He had trekked through the dry southern heat, through sparsely covered deserts to the bogs of Louisiana. He was a nomad, she noticed, and Virginia was just supposed to be a place to run through until he got to New York but he stopped. Why, she had no clue.

"You were going to New York." The vampire blinked, noticing her for the first time.

"I was."

"Why'd you stop? Why here?" Her voice turned hard as she thought about them. Luna didn't seem to think he belonged to the pyscho group that ruined her birthday but one could never be too cautious. She knew Twyla had already made her mind up about the man's fate. He was going to die unless Luna gave her sister enough considerable doubt.

"I didn't plan on but I saw you two lying unconscious on the ground in fancy dresses. Now I've seen plenty of girls passed out drunk in the yard after a party, but you didn't smell like alcohol and the back doors were smashed to pieces. That's not a party, that's trouble."

"That's not really any of your business," said Twyla.

"No, it's not," he agreed, "And I'll go if you release me."

A cold, predatory smile stretched across Twyla's face. It was one that Luna had yet to see and prayed she never would have to again. Her sister was completely lethal. Winding her arm back, Twyla prepared herself to deliver a devastating blow to the man's head. She didn't have time to be reasonable, if there was even the slightest chance he was connected to them she wanted him dead. Luna, however, had different plans for the vampire. Grabbing hold of Twyla's wrist, she pulled her sister behind her, earning herself a venomous glare.

"Let him go. He won't hurt us."

"You've got to be out of your mind, if you think I'm letting him walk free. He could be one of them for all we know!"

"He's not," Luna shook her head. With every passing second she grew more confident in her analysis.

"No offense Luna but your powers aren't an exact science. He could be lying in his thoughts."

"Release him and we'll see."

Twyla rolled her eyes. She offered the man one last scathing glare before relaxing her fists. His shoulders slouched in relief as he placed a hand over his still heart. Luna noticed that he wasn't breathing, a trait that all vampires apparently shared. She briefly wondered how many of the myths she had heard were true. Glancing up at the cloud-ridden sky, she knew she wouldn't be able to test that theory just yet. She supposed, that she should have been freaking out. After all, there was a blood-sucking monster hanging out in her backyard after she and her sister were almost killed by some unknown force but she wasn't afraid. There was a subconscious part of her that had taken over, and it seemed to be fine with everything that had happened.

"What's your name?" Asked Luna. She took a small step forward, only to have Twyla pull her back.

The vampire walked- no stalked- towards them. His body moved with a predatory grace like jungle cat preparing to pounce on its prey. There were very few times in even Twyla's life when she saw a vampire in true vampiric nature but in that moment, they both could see the beast hiding beneath the surface, clawing at him to to be released. Twyla was ready for a fight, her fists were clenched at her sides as magic pooled in her palms. But Luna wasn't afraid, she knew what he was doing.

"I'm Xavier. Xavier Drachen." he purred. The hairs on both Twyla and Luna's neck stood up. He held his out for the girls to shake but after neither of them moved to take, he returned his hands safely to his side.

"I hope you don't mind me asking who you are?" He spoke to Luna, but his eyes continued to shift to Twyla.

"None of your business," said Twyla just as her sister said, "I'm Luna Goodwin. And that is my sister, Twyla."

"You have to excuse her manners, after the night we just had a we're little shaken."

Xavier looked past the girls at the gaping hole in their house, his face was grim. "I can imagine. Are you two in danger, do you need help?"

"We'll be fine," said Twyla, "There are other witches here."

"Is there?" Said Xavier. He cocked a brow. "The only heart beats I hear on the premise are from you two. I can't even smell another witch."

Luna and Twyla whipped their heads around, their eyes wide as they stared at each other. Xavier was all but forgotten as the two silently asked one another about their family. Their mother, and grandmother and aunt, couldn't possibly be gone. Not when only a few hours ago they had been very much alive, and rattling the girls every last nerve. Tears sparkled in Luna's eyes as she remembered her mother's lips moving a mile per second as she spoke in haste to her grandmother and aunt. They were standing in front of the large, French doors, the same ones that were blown to pieces later that night. Gathering her skirt in her hands, Luna raced over to the hole in the manor; Twyla followed behind her. The two jumped over the pile of rubble, their eyes scanning for any noticeable body parts. As Twyla began to dig through the wooden planks and glass, Luna stumbled back into the house. She pressed her hand against her heart, which was spazzing out of control.

"Twyla..." She said. Her eyes had slipped over the rest of the furniture in the house which remained untouched and then to the walls.

"What? Did you find..." Twyla trailed off. On the far wall there was a message left for them, painted in blood.

"One Week. The book or your family dies," Twyla read out loud, her voice was void of all emotion.

A shiver ran down Luna's spine as she wrapped her arms around her torso. The tears threatened to spill over her cheeks but she held them but with her last bit of restraint. "What does that mean?"

"I think... we're screwed."

**So this is a short chapter, I have a lot of studying for finals so I was surprised to get a new chapter out. Nonetheless, I hope you guys liked the chapter! Tell me what you guys think about Xavier's sudden appearance, I do admit he will be an important character. I am really impressed with the response this book has been receiving thus far and I appreciate all of your support!

Thank you again for reading,
Ro.**