Vampire: Silverthorne

Prologue

Mooncrest, 1872

A crisp, cool autumn breeze rushes past me as I pull my cloak over my shoulders and glance up at the night sky admiring the beautiful silver moon that hangs high above me.

"Another night, another hunt." I whisper to myself clutching my pendant tightly with my hand.

"Mistress Silverthorne, the carriage is ready for you." A voice calls out.

"Coming Rigel." I reply, stepping out into the cool autumn night from the foyer of my home and into the horse drawn carriage. As we make our way through the moonlit streets, I look out the window back up to the sky and admire the moon once more.

"Will the others be joining us Mistress?" Rigel asks from the driver seat of the carriage.

"They will be joining us shortly Rigel, worry not for we do not hunt alone." I reply, turning back and clutching my pendant again. As we exit the city proper I hear faint whispers as from the darkness arriving in plumes of pitch black smoke two figures appear from the smoke and latch onto either sides of the carriage, each wearing black cloaks that heavily obscure their features.

"It seems that they have arrived, Mistress Silverthorne." Rigel exclaims, tilting his head back towards me.

"The hunt...It begins..." The figure to my right exclaims in a raspy, echoey voice.

"They...Will pay...For what they have done to our kin." The figure on my left says with the same raspy, echoey voice as they lean in towards the carriage.

"Where are the others?" I ask my voice cold and quiet to the figure on my left.

"Axios and Blume...Are ahead...They scouted at dusk...And wait for us now in the shadows beyond." The figure replies leaning in and pointing to the approaching treeline. As we approach the treeline two more plumes of smoke quickly rise up from the trees and dart towards the carriage, one lands on the back of the carriage and the other next to Rigel. As they land they coalesce into tangible physical bodies.

"Good on you to join us, Lords Axios and Blume." Rigel exclaims, tilting his head towards the figure standing next to him.

"We could not ignore the call to avenge our fallen kin." Lord Axios exclaims, nodding back towards Rigel.

"How many and how far are they Lord Blume?" I ask leaning back and turning my head towards him.

"Eight of them and they are resting at an abandoned cabin not too far from here." He explains.

"Excellent, soon our blood shall be paid for in theirs." I exclaim, my lips trembling in silent rage. We continue on further into the woods for what seemed like hours until we reached near where Lord Blume said the hunters were.

"Stop here Rigel." Lord Axios commands, as he does Rigel brings the carriage to halt. "They are just over this ridge." Lord Axios explains before leaping off the front of the carriage and gracefully landing on the ground. The two figures on either side wisp back into plumes of smoke and fly around before reforming next to Lord Axios.

Rigel steps down from the front of the carriage and opens the door of the carriage for me, I step out into the night and take one final glance up at the sky before breathing in deep the air of the forest.

"How dangerous are these hunters?" I ask turning to Lord Blume who steps out from behind the carriage, he is dressed in a black and white three piece suit with a black cloak hung over his shoulders and his long raven black hair flowing in the breeze.

"Two of them are experienced hunters, the others just fodder to be thrown at their prey." Lord Blume explains tucking a lock of his raven black hair behind his left ear.