Under the Tuscan Moon

Under the Tuscan Moon Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

THE MYSTIC MOON hovered in the inky sky, inviting the stars to dance. Ethereal light spread over the gentle Tuscan hills, illuminating the path for two cloud-shadows. Hand in hand ran Sibon and Ciassia, two small smudges on the landscape. On feet made swift by love, they entered the leafy forest where the trees were so marvelously tall, all light was extinguished.

Vipunin and Cuchulain zigzagged through the trees from the opposite direction, legs heavy, fatigued by the great walk.

'Hush.' Vipunin stopped suddenly, pulling his companion behind a tall tree. 'I smell something, something strong. We hide, brother.'

Camouflaged by foliage, they stood statue still, nostrils flared at the fresh aroma permeating the air. Disguised by the blackness of night, their eyes tracked the cloud-shadows' advance along the little-used path.

'Something delicious this way comes,' murmured Vipunin to his companion.

'Hmm, delectable...yes, yes, I agree, Master. An antidote to revive our flagging spirits. Our journey has been tedious thus far from the southernmost reaches of the earth to these northern lands. So many iced mountains, wearisome oceans and thick forests impede our progress.' He gazed at his companion. 'May we break our journey and feast at this delectable banquet spread before us?'

'No, Cuchulain, we may not. I understand your impatience. You're but a newborn. But be warned – your monstrous impatience will be your downfall.' Vipunin placed a hand on the young vampire's shoulder. 'If you think our journey has been slow, consider that the dead ride fast. It's fortuitous that creatures such as we can move swiftly through forests and glide over icy wastelands and roiling seas rather than fighting these elements as humans must. We are blessed in this way if in no other. So, let us be innocent as babes, as silent as the dead. Rest and watch. Humans are endlessly fascinating. It takes me back...'

The two hungry vampires tugged their cloaks around their imposing bodies, blending into the indigo night. They chose a vantage point beside a huge cypress tree to observe the shadowy figures. From this remove the features they studied were indistinct, but the tantalizing piquant scent on the breeze caused the vampires' bodies to twitch, their eyes to burn, their thirst to rage.

Vipunin and Cuchulain nodded in unison, licking their lips, beating their chests with closed fists.

Very, very good.

The moon bounced along the grass, an opiate vapour breathed from her golden rim, her essence dripping softy from the mountains. Light spread languidly into the Verdant Valley as the humans stepped from the shadows into open sight, a superior male, by his side a female of breathtaking beauty.

Vipunin, who considered himself the most arresting representation of the masculine form on this earth and the before-and-after world, was enraged to see the male's handsome visage. He clamped his teeth, his jaw fixed in a scowl. This human was his mirror image, with his thick black curling hair falling to his shoulders, his sharp features denoting pride and strength.

It was the vampires' prerogative to take on the likeness of a human, the reverse was not acceptable.

This male pretender will die tonight.

Vipunin whispered his incantation into the still of night:

Oh proud one

The darkness awaits