Lunar Flare Book 1: Crimson Moon

Chapter 22

The next day the guards seemed to have given up looking for Nikolai and returned to their usual posts. This finally gave the vampire hunter a chance to leave his hiding place, though he made sure to cover his head when he did so to try and conceal his appearance in case he accidentally ran into any guards. He headed out to the market, the best place to try and listen for any news or gossip about whether he had been able to take out the vampire.

Much to Nikolai's dissatisfaction he soon heard the commoners discussing news of the 'unsucessful assassination attempt' on the court jester. He made sure to hear several accounts of the same story to lend more credence to its authenticity, before he left the market and headed back to his hiding place to come up with a new plan.

Nikolai could hardly believe that the vampire had managed to survive three crossbow bolts to the chest like that. The halfbreed was surprisingly resilient, and not just to sunlight. If Nikolai wanted to ensure the vampire's death he would probably have to do it up close and personal, taking the jester's head from his shoulders. But there was the little issue of the vampire's towering bodyguard, a man who looked like he could crush Nikolai's head in his hands, and probably wanted to after the hunter had nearly killed his little lover.

But it wasn't like Nikolai was going to get another chance to take the vampire out from afar anytime soon. After his last attempt he was sure they would keep the jester out of open spaces, the giant soldier probably protecting him inside some small, defensible room. It was looking like there was going to be only one option left available to the hunter, apart from giving up, which was incomprehensible to him. He had never let a vampire get away alive before, and he wasn't about to start now.

His only other option was to petition the king and queen about this, to try and convince them of the jester's true nature, or better yet expose it if possible. Then perhaps they would allow Nikolai to properly dispose of the creature, with the giant guard unable to protect him. The king had seemed happy to allow the vampire hunter to operate in his kingdom, so it seemed unlikely that he knew the jester was a vampire. This could be Nikolai's only shot.

There was however a chance that this was a trap, that the vampire hunter had been successful but the vampire's friends were spreading lies to lure him out of hiding so they could exact revenge on him. But Nikolai didn't have much choice, the only way to confirm if the vampire was dead or not would be to visit the castle anyway. He would simply have to be on his guard and prepared for if things went sideways.

So once he felt he was fully prepared, Nikolai made his way back up to the castle casually, as he had on the first day he had arrived in town. When the gate guards spotted him they looked confused, and quickly exchanged whispers. Nikolai smiled as he approached them, and asked to be granted audience with the king and queen once more.

The guards looked unsure at first, but one of them ran off to get his supervisor, which was good enough for Nikolai. Even if they decided to arrest him, that would still get him in front of the monarchs eventually anyway. After a while of waiting, the fair haired officer who was friends with the vampire appeared, giving Nikolai a look of derision.

"The king and queen will see you shortly, may I accompany you to the waiting room?" the man asked gruffly. Nikolai nodded politely in agreement, and followed the soldier into the castle. The officer led the hunter to the waiting room and left him there. Nikolai took a seat and waited for a few minutes, surprised that it hadn't been a trap, he hadn't been arrested and everything was going smoothly so far. It didn't feel right that it was this easy, but while Nikolai wasn't about to let his guard down he also wasn't going to complain.

Soon the officer reappeared, motioning with his head for the hunter to follow him. Nikolai obliged, and was led into the throne room, where the king and queen would take petitions. Nikolai looked around, noting who was present in the room. The king and queen of course sat on their elevated thrones, looking down upon the rest of the room.