RED NIGHT ~ VAMPIRE FILES TRILOGY (Book 1)

22

Once again I find myself at the edge of the dark forest. The moon is full, and casts a soft light that makes the fog rolling on the ground seem alive. Ahead of me lies the castle that I somehow know. Torches hang at an angle on stone walls on either side of an enormous gate. Crumpled on the ground are two mangled, lifeless bodies. Guards, I suspect. I pass them trying not to look too closely, and move further into the castle grounds. Horses, and men looking anxious and fearful, move around in a flurry of activity.

No one takes notice of me—a visitor in someone else's nightmare.

Hardened men are scurrying about searching for something. Knives and swords are drawn and ready. The horses are wet with lather as if they've been ridden long and hard. These men are as ragged as their horses. I sense they've only recently arrived.

Suddenly the anxious mood is elevated by the roar and cry of a man that tears through the night. Pain and sorrow in the voice pierces through the souls of all who hear. I freeze as the blood in my veins turns to ice, and all eyes turn upward toward the solitary window in the tower. I see fear in the eyes of these men. Several run toward large wooden doors with swords drawn.

I follow on their heels, trying to keep up. Through the familiar main hall, we run. The fireplace, large enough to accommodate four men, burns bright with an enormous fire. Even the captivating blaze can't remove the chill in the air tonight as we pass through the great room.

I follow up the narrow, winding, stone staircase to the long, endless hallway that I remember. The men stop abruptly, as if being repelled at the entrance of a chamber. No one is entering, and some have dropped to their knees in prayer. Several weep openly.

Part of me doesn't want to see what would cause so much pain and fear in rugged, hardened men, but I don't have a choice. I believe Adam is in that room, and I must see him. My steps take me past the men. One is retching in a basin. Still others are mumbling prayers and chants.

I want to comfort them, their distress is so great, but I continue forward until I reach the doorway. What I see is right out of a horror movie and will never leave me.

A man is on his knees in the middle of the room. His head hangs almost to his chest. In his arms he holds the limp, bloodied body of a woman. I can't tell by looking, but I know that it's Katherine, the woman from my dream. The woman I believe was Adam's wife.

His body shakes as he holds her to him. He kneels in a large puddle of blood, but blood is everywhere. The bed, floor, even the walls are saturated with it. It's as if the room was painted in it.

There is too much to come from one person. I scan the room and finally notice several other bodies hanging along one long wall. Two women and three men hang suspended like pieces of meat. Servants and guards, judging from their clothing. All staring ahead blankly with the look of death in their eyes. The scene is horrifying. The room is saturated with the feeling of pure evil, as if it stood in the corner watching its handiwork.

My eyes slowly return to the man holding the woman. His face is hidden but I know it's Adam, and my heart breaks for him. I want to take him from this place, away from this pain, to shelter him in my arms. It's hard to fathom how you go on after something like this.

I'm only an observer, but then, as if he senses me, he turns and looks at me. Something inside breaks at the naked pain on his face.

I feel hot tears running down my face as I hear him say, "Not you. Not again."

I wake with tears on my cheeks. Oh, no! Please let that be a nightmare. Don't let it be a memory. My chest is still tight with pain. I look around my room, but I'm alone.