Lunar Flare Book 1: Crimson Moon

Chapter 19

Nikolai moved around a lot from place to place, but made sure to keep avenues open for people to contact him. He was well known for his profession, and tip offs from members of the public were one of the ways he commenced hunts, other than his own roving investigations. He had just recently received a letter from a distraught woman, and this case seemed very out of the ordinary. However, he always took these calls for help seriously and made sure to investigate them himself, even if they did turn out to be false. If there was even a small chance it was true, he couldn't risk ignoring it.

In the letter, the woman claimed that her son had been charmed by a vampire, who was actually the court jester to the royal family of that kingdom. Nikolai's life mission was to slay all vampires, and to that end he had become the most successful and famous vampire hunter in the realm. He had decimated the majority of the large colonies of the creatures, and now usually hunted lone vampires still in hiding, similar to this case.

It would have taken the letter many days to reach Nikolai, and it would take him many days to travel to that kingdom. It may end up too late for this woman's son, but if her story was true then he could still slay the vampire and protect the rest of her town from the monster, hopefully without anyone else even having to know about it.

When Nikolai reached the town, he didn't even bother to visit the woman who had contacted him. There was no need, she had provided all he needed to know in the letter. The court jester shouldn't be too hard to track down, should be somewhere around the castle most of the time, so this should be quite a straightforward task.

Moving through the town, Nikolai received the usual strange looks from the citizens. His appearance was quite unique and recognisable, with his blind scarred eye and greying brows contrasting against dark hair. Someone was bound to know who he was, and then word would spread quickly and he would probably be asked by the guards why he was in town.

He needed to get into the castle anyway, so he decided to save himself the trouble and go and speak to the monarchs directly. That may tip off the vampire to his presence, but if the creature fled he would simply pursue it. He had a bit of a knack for tracking them, and if the jester skipped town that would only be proof as to what he was.

Nikolai was granted an audience with the king and queen, introduced himself and explained he was looking into a lead in the town, and was seeking their blessing to undertake his investigation. The king seemed quite happy with this, welcoming the famous vampire hunter to the kingdom and indicating that if he needed any help from the guards for his investigation then he would be given it.

Nikolai couldn't help but notice the body language of the king's bodyguard, who was probably the largest man that the vampire hunter had ever laid eyes on. Nikolai noticed that the guard was holding himself very stiffly but was subtly fidgeting in an almost anxious manner. While Nikolai looked quite intimidating to many people, and was by no means short himself, he didn't see any reason why this giant would feel nervous around him. He made a mental note about it before he bowed to the royals and took his leave.

Nikolai told the guards which had escorted him in that he would like to take a look around the castle, especially the courtyard and gardens, and he could find his own way out when he was done. The guards didn't seem to want to try and argue with him, and so let him go off on his own.

When the vampire hunter went out into the courtyard to investigate, he came across a sight he was certainly not expecting to see. The court jester was seated on the edge of the fountain, playing a lute and singing, his smooth voice carrying throughout the area. There were two things that struck Nikolai about the jester. First of all, he was seated in the sun, and while most of his pale skin was covered by his costume, his face was exposed to the sunlight, which he didn't seem at all bothered by.