Crimson Queen

The moon was shining as bright as ever. It was a cloudless night with a perfect balance of tranquility with an alluring mysterious feel. It was nights like these that I enjoyed the most. Nights like these were few. Usually they were filled with terrified screams and the howls of the undead.

Barely two centuries had passed since the vampires had crawled out of their graves and began their gory feast. The Church had quickly risen to power and took the lead as the Commander in this Holy War against the parasites. Just today a Priest of the Vatican had arrived in our fair town of Kanya spreading the good word and taking donations with a prayer or two in exchange.

The townsfolk were desperate and they did whatever they could just for protection. Sending prayers to God was one of many tasks. No one could really blame them. Even I could smell the stench of fear in the town. It was everywhere. In the pubs, on the bed sheets, in the eyes of the people and even in the very air we breathed. They needed something or someone to believe in. During these dark times, the Church seemed to be the only organization doing anything.

Up until recently, the vampires had kept to the forest surrounding the town. They fed when they had to and kept to themselves most of the time. That's how we were able to survive all these years. They would come from the forest at midnight and prayed on those who stayed out too late drunk and on those who didn't have a home to call their own; they usually took refuge in the small Church in town.

However, the peace hadn't lasted long. People from this town and many others in the surrounding areas were going missing. At first, those people had been overlooked because everyone just assumed they had been taken by the vampires for feeding. But the bodies were never found.

The Major of Kanya had sent a request to the nearest branch of the Vatican Church in the Golden City of Peter. So far, there hadn't been any replies. The townsfolk were worried and for a good reason. Lately, children had become the victims in broad daylight. They simply disappeared without a trace. The Sheriff and his men were baffled.

Something was out there, maybe even stronger than vampires and the thought made my blood run cold. Until the Church sent someone, we were on our own. I, for one, wouldn't sit quietly while people went missing. I had taken upon it myself to investigate the disappearances. I refused to let this town disappear off the map.

My grip tightened on the katana blade resting across my lap. It had belonged to my father a long time ago. With its red sheath and red hilt, she was known as the Crimson Queen. Father had once been a soldier for the Church during the 8th and the most recent all-out war thirty years ago against the vampires. The Crimson Queen had been his weapon.

Due to an injury which left him crippled, he had been discharged. He took it upon himself to pass on every ounce of knowledge to me when I was old enough to walk. I for one wasn't going to waste his precious gift.

A scream tore through my thoughts. I leaped to my feet. It was close. Shouldering the strap of the sword across my chest, I took a running start and flipped off the pub's roof. I twisted in mid-air and landed on the cobblestone street. I was running by the time my feet touched the ground.

The scream came again. I ran after the sound praying it wouldn't be too late. I turned to my left into an alley between two market stalls then to the left at the next street. There were voices up ahead becoming clearer and clearer as I approached. I skidded to a halt at the next alley. Just beyond the moonlight were three figures. One of them was a woman and the other two were men. They pulled at her dress coaxing her.

Running toward them, I unsheathed the sword and slammed the hilt into the nearest man's face. I could feel the force ripple through my arm as the hilt hit bone. The man cried out crashing into the other man. Both of them were sent sprawling. I leveled the blade at the two men. They moaned and struggled to stand. One of them nursed his face. It was quickly getting swollen.