Red Moon

Cassidy leaned back in his chair. “The truth is, I am over 200 years old. My real name is Walter Pol. I changed it every few decades to avoid getting any unwanted attention. In 1799, when I was 17, I lived in a small village that was located in the forested mountains of the north. It was a quiet life. I lived with my parents and my sister who was a year older than me. But then everything changed.”

“Vampires.” Sonata said.

“Exactly. It began during the fall harvest. People in the village would disappear at night, or be found in their homes dead in the morning, drained of all of their blood. A wall was erected around the village,and night watchmen patrolled the perimeter with rifles, but the killings and disappearances continued. Then one night, she appeared at the gates.”

“Who?” Aria asked.

“Erzebet Bathory. The vampire queen.”

“I know about her.” Adagio said. “Wasn’t she known as the blood countess?”

Cassidy let out a sigh. “Yes. She kidnaps women, preferably little girls who are virgins, tortures them, and then bathes in their blood after killing them to keep herself young. Over the centuries, she has become almost unstoppable with her vampiric powers.”

“Did Erzebet destroy your village?” Sonata asked.

“Yes. She knocked down the gates with ease, and her vampire horde came running in. Most of the other villagers were killed, but a few were turned. Including my sister.”

The Dazzlings became silent. They knew that what they were about to hear was very emotional.

“Erzebet had her minions hold down me and my family. I then watched as she tore out my parent’s throats and drank their blood. My sister however, was only slightly bitten. Erzebet then cut her wrist and made my sister drink her blood. I watched her transform into a vampire right before my eyes.”

Cassidy then began to shed tears. “My sister then looked at me with blood red eyes and razor sharp fangs. Erzebet then ordered her to kill me. I fought my way free and ran away as fast as I could. My sister chased me deep into the woods, eventually catching me and pinning me to the ground. Just before she could bite me, I reached over and grabbed a fallen branch. I bashed her over the head with it and she got off of me. When I stood up, she charged at me so I broke the branch in half and stabbed her through the heart with the sharp end. I then watched as she fell to the ground and burst into flames and ash.”

It was obvious that Cassidy could not continue, so Eli picked up where he left off.

“By now you must have figured out that I am not Cassidy’s uncle. But I did save his life. I had been tracking Erzebet Bathory’s movements in the area for days to find out what she was up to. I followed her scent to the outskirts of Cassidy’s village, and that’s when I saw Cassidy kill his sister. Then, I saw more of Erzebet’s minions closing in on him. I sprang into action and began to fight them. I tore them apart, leaving nothing but piles of ash.”

“Then what happened?” Sonata asked.

“Cassidy followed me deep into the woods. We hid inside of a nearby cave until sunrise. I then took my human form and we went back to Cassidy’s village. Erzebet and her minions were gone. There were only two things left. Bodies and blood.”

Cassidy regained his composure and continued the story. “Eli helped me to bury the dead. He then told me about the war between vampires and werewolves. I wanted revenge. Eli then bit me and I became a werewolf, determined to destroy Erzebet Bathory.”

“And who were those two weirdos that we saw at the party? The ones with matching black hair?” Aria asked.

“Those two are Drake and Dawn, Erzebet’s top minions.” Eli said. “They call themselves Erzebet’s children, but they are not related to her. They’re just plain weird.”

The Dazzlings all looked at each other. “Now that we know about this fight, what’s going to happen to us?” Adagio asked.

“Nothing.” Cassidy said. “You are just innocent people who have stumbled across a hidden world. You are free to leave and continue living your lives. But know this, vampires now know that you know about them. And they may come after you.”

The Dazzlings then talked amongst themselves. “We want to help you.” Sonata said. “We have seen what these vampires are capable of, and too many people have been taken by them. We will not stand back and let them take over this town.”

Cassidy and Eli looked at each other and nodded. Cassidy then looked at The Dazzlings.

“Welcome to the war.”