• Published 22nd May 2016
  • 2,224 Views, 128 Comments

Vampires - Elu



The Royal Sisters had many enemies in their lifetime. One of them was Nicholas the Vampire King. After many years of absence, he returned along with his subjects. With a cunning opponent at their doorstep, what will ponies do?

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Chapter 5: Blood Ties

Daring Do blinked groggily, coming to her senses and at the same time falling into the black, the image of the Red Moon flashing before her eyes, reminding her of the experience she had just gone through. The tunnel, the song, the blood, it was all inside her, etched into her memories for the rest of her life as an unforgettable memory. She let out a long and weary sigh as she tried to regain her thoughts once again, the taste of iron in her mouth distracting her. She tried to not think about it, fearing what she might discover.

"Thou art unwell, I'm afraid," a crystal-clear voice spoke above her. She turned her head and saw Nicholas, a worried expression was present on his face. Among the blur of the mist, his face was apparent and defined, a center of her attention. "The contact hath taken its toll..."

"W-wha..." Daring Do muttered before letting out a loud cough, spraying blood all over herself. Fortunately for her, she was too tired to react to it at all. She shut her eyes and coughed a few more times.

"Thou needest rest, adventurer," Nicholas replied, two guards rushing to the pegasus. "Lună Roșie hath taken some of thy blood and given something in return. Thou art... adjusting," he turned to the guards and issued an order, and soon the adventurer was carefully moved to a stretcher. Slowly and gently, the guards raised it above the ground, the body of the pegasus laying securely on the stretcher.

"I... I saw..." she tried to say but soon found her throat dry. She let out yet another cough, feeling a certain ache in her lungs, a burning sensation in her nostrils, and the same taste of iron in her maw.

"What thou hast seen is not for my ears," the Vampire King shook his head, replying to the pegasus. "I am not drawn to thee, the blood thou got is not mine to take. Lună Roșie decided that I do not need to know it yet, and so it must be that way for now, then."

Too tired to reply, Daring Do lay on the stretcher silently, closing her eyes, the echo of the choir still ringing in her ears. The images didn't leave her, going through her mind, and yet her thoughts were silent. The vision repeated again but only as a memory in the back of her mind, firmly placed into her now by the Red Moon. A perpetual reddish glow would remain in her eyes for the rest of her life. Perhaps, most wouldn't notice it due to the natural rosy color of her eyes, but it would remain there for all to see if they dared to look close enough.

Slowly, she was carried through the crowd of vampires, Nicholas following close behind. A few minutes were spent in silence as the vampires around them glanced at the pony, sometimes staring outright and exchanging whispers among themselves. However, they stood aside, not daring to approach. Once the group was far away from the main square, Daring Do spoke to the Vampire King, breaking the uneasy silence.

"W-what did... did you see?" she asked, feeling a sudden urge to know. A certain pull, perhaps, and she could not resist it even if she wanted.

"...I saw something..." Nicholas replied after a moment of hesitation, a brief frown passing his face. "Something that is now a part of my past," he turned around, looking at the obelisk that could still be seen from afar. The symbols on it were shining brightly as ever, seemingly pulsating, sending a certain message to the Vampire King. "It seemeth so close and yet so distant..." he looked away for a moment. "And I saw something else... something that might have already happened but I have no knowledge of it," he returned to Daring Do. "Rest, now. Lună Roșie might have been kind to thee, but thou art not one of us, thou dost not have Sângele Vechi al Lunii, not a single drop of it courses through thy body."

"Sângele... Vechi al L-lunii?" Daring Do asked, her ears slightly perking up as she turned her full attention to the Vampire King. Even in her weakened state, the desire for knowledge burned brighter than any fire. She could not let a single thing escape her attention, especially right after one of the most important moments of her life.

"Thou shalt find out what it is in time, adventurer," Nicholas replied vaguely, something flashing in his eyes. "For now, all thou needest is rest and healing. As for me... I have something to deal with right now. Once thou art safe, I shall depart and we shall meet again soon."


During the day, Princess Luna usually spent her time sleeping, resting from the night of work, for she was the protector of dreams. She was the one to guarantee that all ponies had their night peacefully, resting like they should. However, something kept her up, not allowing her to take her own sleep, to dream her own dreams. There was something that demanded her attention, called to her, wanted her to hear something very important, something that must not be ignored.

With a tired sigh and a slow blink of her eyes, the alicorn disregarded the blanket and stood up from her bed. Her ears perked up as she felt a rumble go through the air itself, reaching her and resonating with her. The darkened chambers of her bedroom were lit by a white light, and it seemed it emitted from the princess herself. Puzzled, she looked at her flank and saw that her mark, specifically the crescent moon, was glowing. Her eyes widened in surprise as she stared at it, not believing her own eyes. She had never seen such a thing occurring before, and it left her in a state of confusion and excitement at the same time.

Feeling a tingle in her ears, Luna flicked them. However, the tingle wasn't gone, and it was clear something else was causing it, something peculiar, and it was near, she felt. Reluctantly, she turned to where she felt the tingle was coming from and faced the doors to her balcony. A soft reddish glow could be seen from behind them, calling to her. Slowly, she made her way to them but stopped before opening. It was unclear whether it was friendly or wished her harm, and so she should probably refrain from opening the doors and discovering what lay behind them. However, the pull was too strong, her curiosity demanded her to go through with it. And so, she opened them.

Up in the sky, covering the sun itself, the Red Moon hovered, casting its red light onto the land below. With her eyes open wide, Luna slowly entered the balcony, the doors softly shutting behind her. Her mouth agape, the princess stared at what she believed to be hers. However, she felt something very different. The moon would not obey, she realized. Not today.

She looked down at the streets of Canterlot. Bustling like in the middle of the day, they were filled with ponies. She noticed that they seemingly ignored what was happening, a celestial event unseen in many years, possibly before either of the princesses was born.

"Sister?" Luna heard a voice behind her. She turned her head and saw Celestia, who bore a surprised look on her face. "What are you doing here at this time of day?"

"You... don't see?" the nightly princess replied with uncertainty.

"See what, Lu-Lu?" Celestia blinked in confusion.

Luna turned from Celestia back to the moon. There it was, covering the sun, casting the shade on everything in sight. And yet, it was unnoticed by the Princess of the Day. The nightly alicorn turned her gaze to her flank, which was still glowing.

"Sister..." Luna said slowly, trying to remain calm. "You might not believe me... But there's Lunar Eclipse."

"Is everything alright with you?" Celestia took a step closer. "Have you slept at all, Luna? It's a normal day today."

"N-normal day?" the princess was still puzzled and confused, turning to the moon and back to her sister. "This... this is not normal! The moon, it's... It's not listening!"

Celestia opened her maw to speak but froze in place. Everything stopped, silence took over the world, and only Princess Luna remained. She turned back to the moon, looking at it with great fear and wonder.

A soft song appeared in the air, penetrating the very soul of the nightly alicorn, warming her from the inside. Slowly, she calmed down and took a seat, her eyes fixated on the moon. And then, it spoke.

"Do not fret, Luna," it sang in a voice that was neither male nor female. "Thou art the moon, the stars, the night. Thou art the calm, the peace, and yet thou hast thunder and might. However... thou art lost without a half. To find the half, thou must discover who thou art."

"W-who are you?" Luna asked, stuttering.

"Thou knowest me as the Moon," it replied gently. "Thou wast born for the night, Luna. Thou must listen and think... perhaps, the truth is near. Do not fear, Luna, for thou art a half, and thou canst be complete if thou becomest you."

The eyes of the nightly alicorn opened wide. She was lying in her bed, drenched in sweat, a ringing noise in her ears. Slowly, she stood up from her bed. She glanced at her flank, looking at her mark. This time, it was normal, and yet she feared it would begin to glow suddenly yet again. She turned her gaze and looked at the doors to her balcony. They were slightly open, and sunlight shone through the crack. Slowly, Luna approached the doors and opened them bit by bit, letting more sunlight in. The sun was near the horizon, and it would soon be Luna's time to raise the moon.

It was her usual, peaceful, serene end of the day. And yet, she couldn't get a certain word out of her head.

"A... half..." she slowly said, looking at nothing in particular. "A half..."


The journey back to the castle was blurry and hazy for Daring Do. She faded in and out of the black, finding it hard to concentrate on anything at all as her vision shifted and distorted, and the moon hovered above her, always in the corner of her vision even with her eyes closed shut, almost as if Lună Roșie was beckoning her to bathe in Her blood again, to see more than she had already seen. Something whispered in her ears but she couldn't make out the words for they were spoken in a language she didn't have an idea of.

Thumping resonated inside her head as soft choir entered her ears, seemingly coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It was short-lived, however, and it disappeared once Daring Do was carried into the castle and the heavy doors closed behind her, cutting off the glow from the obelisk. Next, the pegasus was moved to a white hall. It was wide and open, big windows allowed the moonlight to shine from the outside. She was placed on a soft bed, Nicholas and the guards leaving her completely alone. For around a minute, the hall was absolutely empty and silent save for the soft cracking of the torches on the walls and the breath of Daring Do as she lay on the bed. Soon, however, three vampires appeared in her vision, moving silently as if they were ghosts, gliding across the floor. They wore elaborate red robes with golden embroidery, hoods concealing their faces. Two of them stood by her side while the last vampire took place behind the bed and revealed his face.

It was a unicorn stallion with slicked back white mane and a goatee of the same color, a contrast to the fur of black. His glowing blue eyes looked into the eyes of the pegasus in preparation. After a few long moments of silence, he opened his maw to speak. The words he spoke were foreign to Daring Do, and yet it seemed that she could understand them. He chanted, and the two other vampires repeated quietly, stretching the last vowel until the main vampire spoke again in something that resembled a song.

Mama noastră care ești luna,
Sfințească-se numele Tău.

He sang gently, his eyes looking deep into Daring Do's, and she could not break from his gaze even if she wanted to. There was something captivating, something enthralling, something in them that welcomed her. A certain warmth, perhaps. An inviting gesture, a promise of something she didn't know she needed.

Vie împărăția Ta,
Fie voia Ta, precum în cosmos așa și pe al nostru lume.

The vampire continued, and a pleasant, warm sensation spread through the body of the pegasus, making her wings twitch ever so slightly. She didn't notice how her own lips followed the movement of the lips of the vampire, almost singing the same words he sang.

Dă-ne sângele vindecător în seara asta,
Dă-ne-o nouă în seara asta - și ne iartă nouă greșalele noastre,
Pentru că apărăm noaptea în numele Tău.

The eyes of the pegasus began to close, and a reflection of the Red Moon could be seen in the eyes of the vampire above her, appearing more clearly with each passing moment. A soft glow began to spread across her body as she found herself light, weighing less than a feather, ready to fly up to the ceiling and beyond, into the sky of the night.

Ne izbăvește de rău, o Lună Roșie.

The vampire released a soft sigh, placing a hoof on the head of Daring Do, sending warmth through her body.

Amin.

And finally, the adventurer fell asleep, closing her eyes and letting out a sigh. Her body relaxed, her breath became calm, deep, and steady. A certain relaxing ringing of a bell was left in the air as the vampire removed his hoof from her head and then proceeded to walk away from her bed, the other two following soon after, leaving the hall in silence.


The ponies were assembled in the local tavern, warming up next to the fireplace, resting from their trip and the subsequent rockslide. All of them were quietly sipping the warm tea or coffee, each of them thinking about what to do next. Returning was too dangerous and there were no other leads so far, not leaving them much choice. Rainbow Dash was the most agitated of the bunch; rocking from side to side, she waited, a frown on her face and a desire to act in her heart. Something or someone out there wanted to harm her friends, and she would be a traitor if she didn't at the very least try to help her friends.

Suddenly, the door to the outside opened, revealing Shining Armor. He quickly entered and closed the door behind them, a large bag hanging on his side. Without a word, he trotted to the rest of the ponies and sat, putting down the bag and untying it, revealing the sword from the museum.

"So, we have this clue Twilight and Rainbow found," Shining Armor said, putting down the sword and the pieces on the blade. "This is... certainly unusual."

"Curved handle, engravings..." the stallion muttered, inspecting the sword with his eyes. "A gem in the pommel... Unicorn design of the handle and crossguard, and just an old design overall, but... This is completely foreign," he touched the blade with his hoof. Suddenly, one of the three words inscribed on the unsharpened part of the blade started glowing. "What the?!" the stallion recoiled, retracting his hoof. The glow slowly ceased, leaving the inscription in its original state. "What is this..."

"Is everything alright?" Twilight asked with worry, looking at her brother.

"...Seems so," he replied with uncertainty. His horn glowed for a few seconds, encompassing the sword as a whole. "Doesn't look like it's dangerous. If we only knew what these writings are..."

"Let me take a look..." Twilight said, moving closer to the sword. Her friends followed her and soon they surrounded the sword and looked at it with suspicion. "I read a bit on old languages before, so I think I can figure out what these words mean. So, sange, bezna, onoare. The first word, sange, resembles 'sanguis', which is a word from Old Equish meaning 'blood'. Bezna... This is harder since I don't recognize this word at all. And onoare... It resembles 'honor' of Commonlang," she explained, studying the inscription with her eyes. "All of this might be a big stretch, however... But! I am certain it has something to do with vampires," she pointed at the pommel. "Look at this. If my assumption is correct, this is the red moon. From legends, that is the symbol of vampires. All of it points towards this sword being a weapon of a vampire."

The room went almost completely silent as ponies exchanged whispers. Twilight continued to inspect the sword while her brother furrowed his brows and looked outside. After a few long minutes, the silence was broken.

"So... It seems that we figured out what we're up against, right?" Rarity spoke in a hushed voice. "Vampires..."

"It's just a theory, I might be wrong," Twilight Sparkle raised her hoof. "But, here's what's interesting..." she looked at the inscriptions and then at her brother. "When Shining touched the blade, one of the three words glowed. Can you do this again?"

Shining Armor nodded and hesitantly touched the hilt of the sword. And indeed, one of the words glowed, the same one that glowed the first time the stallion touched the sword.

"Onoare, I see..." Twilight tapped her chin and then turned to her friends. "If that is 'honor', then it fits perfectly well since my brother is the captain of the Royal Guard," she made a small smile, confident in her discovery. "Alright... I think each of us should take turns touching the sword to see what words we get," true to her word, she put her hoof on the hilt. This time, another part of it glowed very faintly. "Sange? That's interesting..." a notebook appeared out of nowhere and Twilight wrote down the discoveries, adding a quick sketch of the sword to them as well.

Everyone took their turn, getting nothing or a subtle glow of one of the three words except 'beznă', which remained completely blank. And finally, it was the turn of Rainbow Dash. With a bored expression on her face, she put the hoof on the hilt. To her surprise, everyone gasped, prompting her to look at the words. Sânge was glowing brightly, onoare along with beznă were dim.

"In the name of Celestia..." Twilight Sparkle said with her eyes wide open and looked at Rainbow Dash. "Do... do you know anything about it."

"N-no?" the pegasus replied, unsure of her words, lifting her hoof from the weapon. "I mean, I did see the sword in my dream, but... that's all, really," she looked at everyone nervously, her ears flat on her head. "It's just a dream, right?"

"I would say the same if not for this!" Twilight exclaimed, gesturing at the sword. "I mean... If this happens, then..." she muttered, quickly scribing something in her notebook. "Rainbow Dash... you might be a vampire."

"Me? A vampire?" the pegasus recoiled. "I don't drink blood!"

"R-rainbow..." Rarity said all of sudden, levitating a small mirror to her. "Look..."

"What? Did I suddenly grow a pair of fangs or... something..." she stopped, looking at her reflection. To her utter bewilderment, her eyes were a deeper shade of red than before, and a soft glow of the same color complimented them. Rainbow Dash blinked a few times, hoping that it was just a trick, a figment of her imagination, and yet the glow was unceasing, her eyes remained red. She looked at the blade and saw that the inscription was still glowing.

"Now, before we do anything stupid..." Twilight Sparkle took a deep breath. "Rainbow, we know you're not a vampire," noticing the contradiction in her own words, she quickly added: "I mean, if you truly were one, we'd know already," she let out a long sigh. "Alright, everyone... We need to figure out what happened, okay?"

Everyone nodded slowly, still looking warily at their pegasus friend, who continued to stare into her own eyes for a few more moments before looking away.

"Alright, then..." Twilight continued. "Now... Rainbow, I think you do have a connection to vampires in some way or form. Assuming that sange is indeed blood, you might be a direct descendant of one of them. Though, I still need to figure out what bezna means..." she tapped her chin. "I don't think I have the slightest idea. But!" she raised her hoof. "If all three of these words are an attribute of character, then we need to find something that you have and we don't have," she paused to think for a few long moments. "So, sange is blood. Onoare is honor. Though, why blood? What does it exactly mean?" she paused yet again. "Does anyone have any thoughts?"

One by one, every single pony shook their heads, frowning. Twilight groaned in frustrating, knowing that she found a lead and yet it seemed to go nowhere because no one knew anything about it. However, her thoughts didn't cease and she proceeded to speak them freely.

"Well, let's just assume that blood means what it is — blood. It's an inherited thing, then," the gears in her head turning, she continued: "I have some of it, then, but from what I know, my family only consisted of unicorns most of the time. At least, in the last thousand years. So, maybe sange isn't being literal here... At any rate, hm... Bezna can be an attribute that is also hereditary and none of us but Rainbow has it. Or it can be a characteristic that only she has..."

"So, what does it all mean?" the pegasus huffed impatiently.

"It means that you have something that we don't," Twilight gestured at her. "And that could be... I don't even know," she tapped her chin and furrowed her brows. "The most prominent characteristic you have is loyalty. However, I don't think the sword is connected to the Elements of Harmony. Unless... bezna means loyalty, but I highly doubt it for reasons I can't explain right now..." she groaned again. "I need more information! We need to find something else, something that would explain at least a part of it or give a definite translation to at least one of the words!" she exhaled, calming down. "Now-"

Suddenly, the sword began to rattle and glow, an aura of crimson surrounding it. All three words shone brightly in red, illuminating the surroundings. Ponies exclaimed and jumped away from the sword as all its pieces began to come together. The rattle intensified, making ponies fold their ears, and then the sword moved upwards, every single bit of it coming together as the steel glowed bright red, almost white, emitting more heat than a furnace, forcing the ponies to take a few more steps back. The sword started spinning and propelled itself to the nearest window, melting the glass on its way through it, and a loud hissing sounded as the cold wind and snow collided with the hot drops of glass and the heated sword.

"Quick, after it!" Shining Armor was the first one to recollect his thoughts as he dashed to the exit, yelling orders to the guards outside. Soon, everyone was in the pursuit of the sword.

The six mares soon followed, bolting from their places and dashing outside the building to join the guards. The sword could still be visible as it glowed, flying through the air and scaring the local ponies away. The guards were close behind, galloping as fast as they could, trying to catch up with the ancient weapon.

"Everyone aside!" Shining Armor barked, announcing his presence to the ponies, making them get out of the way as the guards galloped through the streets. "Make way, make way!" he turned to the guards. "It's on two! Go, go, go!"

Without a word, the guards followed their captain, rounding a corner. Suddenly, they stopped, and the six mares managed to catch up with them in just a few seconds. And just like the guards, they stopped in their tracks.

In the middle of the street, a tall figure stood, easily as tall as Princess Celestia if not more. Dressed in a cloak, the figure had most of its features hidden, only large bat-like wings could be seen and the glowing red eyes under the hood. The sword was hanging in the air just in front of him, all the three words on it glowing brightly as ever. Ponies felt a chill running down their spine as the figure glanced at each of them, his gaze stopping for a few seconds on Rainbow Dash, looking deep into her eyes and infecting them with crimson, captivating them in a tight hold.

"It is..." she gasped. "You! In my dream!" she pointed at the figure and looked at her friends, her voice cracking in a mixture of fear and amazement. "That's him!"

The figure slightly recoiled from her words, breaking the eye contact. As if everyone was suddenly unfrozen, Shining Armor stepped forward.

"Put the weapon on the ground and reveal your face!" he commanded, unsheathing the sword that was at his side. "I'm counting to three! One!"

The figure unfolded its wings and took off, blasting everyone away with a powerful gust of wind, making the ponies stumble and almost fall. In a few moments, the figure was already near the clouds.

"After him, quick!" the captain ordered, and a few pegasi flew up, dashing towards the figure.

Before they could catch up, a lightning bolt appeared, blasting everyone's hearing and disorienting the pegasi, making them lose sight of the unknown stallion. Unfortunately for them, he managed to escape into the clouds, and they stemmed from the mountains and into Equestria, making it impossible to track him. The pegasi soon returned, landing near Shining Armor, who snorted in displeasure, looking at the sky. The clouds moved with the wind but there was nothing else, no suspicious movement.

"I want everyone to take the highest points of the village!" the stallion commanded. "Survey the skyline and the mountain range, report to me about anything even remotely suspicious. Carry out the order, stallions!"


Nicholas flew through the clouds back to Vallaer, many things on his mind. He felt it, he felt as if someone of his kin touched the sword. However, he knew for a fact that there were no vampires outside of the city. There couldn't possibly be, especially since he was the one to bring them all back. It irked him to no end how something like this could happen at this time, at the time of their return.

He furrowed his brows, looking at the moon. There it was, peeking from below the horizon, waiting for its time. However, he felt there was something he missed, something very important that Lună Roșie didn't tell him, didn't show him, and left him clueless. She dictated him to retrieve the sword, but was it an action that would lead to something... unexpected? Something that he wouldn't be able to predict or to prepare for? And that mare... The rainbow mane, the deep eyes of rosy color, there was something about her that he could sense but couldn't explain just yet. Was she the one who touched the sword? Was she the one who sent a signal to him, but if so, what signal was it? Did she send it knowingly or was it an accident?

There were questions Nicholas couldn't find the answers for. What he knew was that the mare saw him in her dreams. What did it mean? Was it connected to what Daring Do saw? After all, the two seemed connected or at the very least looked close to each other. Were they relatives? Was it a simple coincidence?

The Vampire King didn't believe in coincidences. If something happened, then it did so for a reason. Sometimes, the reason might not be discovered. Sometimes, it's on the surface. And sometimes, it's hidden deep inside the person who's searching for it. The long chain of events that caused everything to happen began long ago, long before vampires came in existence, and the chain will continue forever, leading to other things, most of which would remain unseen and unknown by most until they finally happen.

That mare, Daring Do, ponies as a whole played a part in a game Nicholas was in. Could Lună Roșie give him the answers he sought, perhaps? He had only one way to find out.

She might fulfill his curiosity.

***

Sometime later, he landed in his castle and proceeded to the throne room. Once he was inside it and no one was around, he pressed a sequence of different items: tugging on a chandelier, pressing on a few bricks around the room, and then tilting his throne slightly. A click sounded, and a door behind his throne opened. He entered it and traveled down a long stairway until he came to the very bottom, where the hall became bigger and bigger and led into a natural cave, a reddish glow and a sound of water stream were present like they always were, just like Nicholas remembered from a long time ago.

In the center of the cave, a tree stood, surrounded by a moat of blood. Looking like wounds, holes in the tree leaked blood, which proceeded to flow into the moat. Tangled in the branches of the tree, a crimson orb shone its light, illuminating the cave dimly. A large empty bowl stood in the front of the tree, a goblet in its center.

Slowly and hesitantly, Nicholas approached the bowl. It was made of stone and different words were carved into it, and some of those words were so old even he didn't know what they meant. He didn't know if he would ever find out or if he should even search for those words. Each secret had a reason to be one, he knew it very well. He knew how they beckoned so sweetly, how they wanted to be discovered. However, curiosity might lead to something he would later regret.

Despite what it might bring, he needed the answers. He needed to see what ponies would bring to his kind, whether it would help them or not. Lună Roșie was kind to him, he knew She could give him the answers if She so wanted. There was only one way to discover that.

The vampire picked up the goblet and put it in the moat, filling it with blood. Pouring the blood into the bowl, he put the goblet nearby. Reaching behind the bowl, he pulled out a simple straight-bladed knife with an old wooden handle. With one small slash, he opened a wound on his foreleg, letting blood drop into the bowl.

The blood boiled, filling the cave with sound. Nicholas waited patiently, his wound quickly healing, leaving not a scar. When the surface of the blood became smooth, he picked up the goblet again and put it in the bowl, letting the blood rush in. Finally, the vampire raised the goblet and drank from it, gulping down the liquid to the drop.

His heart skipped a beat, making him gasp and let the goblet fall back into the bowl, splashing some of the blood on him. He coughed, water filling his eyes. Once he recovered and blinked his eyes clean of tears, he looked up at the sphere.

Something jumped down from the top of the tree, landing behind Nicholas. He turned around swiftly, facing whatever it was. To his great surprise, what he saw was a pony or at least an equine shape. Entirely black, consuming all the light and giving none, it stood there, its rosy eyes penetrating his soul.

"Nicholas..." it spoke in a voice distinctively female. "Trebuie să asculți și să fii prudent, Regele Vampirilor," it paused, looking deep into his wide eyes. "Jumătățile de noapte se întâlnesc și devin complet," it paused again. "Ai grijă. Se pune pericolul."

Nicholas blinked, and the shape disappeared without a trace. The words he heard were confusing and unclear, leaving him wondering about their meaning, their significance, and importance to him and the vampires as a whole. However, he heard a word, something he knew would come one day or another, something that was destined to become a part of him, to complete him. It was unavoidable, and he knew he had to get it sooner or later.

A half.

Author's Note:

The translation of the chant is this:

Our Mother who art the moon,
Hallowed be Thy Name.

Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done, in cosmos as in our world

Give us the healing blood tonight,
Give it to us tonight and forgive our mistakes,
For we defend the night in Thy name.

Save us from evil, o Red Moon.

Amen.

Yes, it is a changed Lord's Prayer. Translation is probably inaccurate but it's the best I could come up with without knowing Romanian.

I will give the translation to the last bit of what Nicholas heard. "Beware. Danger comes."