A Vampire’s Christmas Flame

The Shadows Close In

"I should’ve let you run."

The words lingered between us, their weight right down into my chest. Ravyn's quiet, austere voice was mournful as he approached; his silver eyes darkened with far more than just concern.

Though mostly, it was the type of emotion that came from knowing the inevitable: even if it was wrath; at myself, at the situation we were in the darkness was always one step ahead.

With a shaking voice, I responded, "You're wrong," but I wasn't retracting. Not could I. I am bidding you not farewell. Neither right now nor never ever.

His hands clenched and his jaw contracted as if he were engaged in a fight with someone inside himself.

Though at the same time I could see it in his eyes: the fear I was experiencing was too great, too stuck in a world that may swallow me whole. He was trying to shield me.

Still, I wasn't changing my mind. Not at this time.

I said, eyes fixed on him, rebellious: "I won't let them take you."

We just stood there for a moment, the upheaval all about seeming to cease for that fleeting instant. For a single second his eyes softened, and I saw the vulnerability he was so bravely attempting to hide.

Before I could say anything further, though, the air around us shifted once more and that old, oppressive blackness returned.

Deeply rumbling over distance was a snarl.

Ravyn's body became tighter. "They are showing up. Follow closely.

I wanted to provide a case. I wanted to tell him I did not need protection; I was not some vulnerable lady hiding behind him. But the terror in his eyes drove the words to pass lifeless through my throat.

She made a valid point. Nothing we could do against what was about to happen.

Our footsteps were muffled by the dense underbrush, we hurried over the deep bush and I pushed myself at him. I felt the darkness gathering regardless of our speed. The air seemed heavy with a looming disaster.

Driven to know, I asked Ravyn, "Tell me what's going on," hardly above a whisper. "Why are they looking for us?" With whom are they?

His face stiffened, but there was something more there too, something I quite found as he glanced at me. "It carries much too much risk. You have no need to know.

"You don't get to decide that," I shouted back, my voice more sharp than I wished. Pulling his arm, I stopped him. "You cannot keep driving Ravyn away. Right now I am in this. I have already seen too much.

His eyes softened for the shortest of a minute; yet, the moment vanished too quickly for me to grab. Once more his face tensed, and he shook his head with little lines pressed on his lips.

"Stay out of this," he said, his low growl freezing me. "This is my struggle; not yours."

I still had trouble stopping though. Not when everything inside me was screaming that I had a part to contribute in all of this; I was not going to be kept in the dark.

"I'm already in the fight, Ravyn," I said, my voice robust despite the horror slinking up my spine. Whether or not you like it.

He just looked at me for a minute, his eyes flitting across me as though he were weighing something quite deep inside himself.

There was conflict there—the tug between wanting to protect me and knowing, deep down, he could not keep me away from the risk any more.

"You don't know what you're asking for," he added quietly. One cannot just walk onto this planet. The things we hunt are old. More than you could possibly know, they are.

I said, voice firm, "I don't care." I'm not planning to leave. I'm staying with you. Not at all relevant.

Our battle got more fierce, and for a while the stillness of the forest, our own breathing, and nothing else. Then, nearer this time, the growth stores over the silence like a tidal wave.

Ravyn said under his breath, his body stiffening.

Turning barely in time, I watched something large—a shadow—move rapidly between the trees. For us it arrived.

My pulse raced as the beast emerged from the woods, its massive form only seen in the changing shadows. Its blazing red eyes fixed on us, it moved with awful speed. Then Ravyn stood in front of me, his body shielding me from the beast as I thought we would be ripped apart.

"Get back," he hissed, his voice fatal and his eyes blazing with the intensity of someone who has too many times encountered death.

I backed off but couldn't turn away from him. His action radiated something primordial, something that cried might and danger. Not just defending me, he was preparing for a fight he knew would cause death.

The beast surged, Ravyn already there with his sword blazingly quick slashing through the air. The beast never wavered; it roared as the sword touched. It struggled back, swipes with claws meant to rip through steel at Ravyn.

Ravyn dodging, his body fluid and quick, I stared in horror but could see the effort on his face as exhaustion crept into his motions. He was imperfect.

I yelled, my voice exploding through the horror, you have to keep fighting. You cannot allow them to take the front stage.

Ravyn hissed, "I won't," but his voice suggested something that made my spine quiver. Still, we are outnumbered.

I could also get it. The air choked; the growls became louder, darkness closing in on us. And then, just when I thought we were trapped, a shrill, horrible sound tore across the night—the sound of more beasts approaching, their eyes blazing brighter, their growls louder.

Then Ravyn turned to face me in the flicker of an eye, and his eyes showed an emotion I recognized. Right now you have to dash.

I shook my head and felt my chest begin to seize with terror. "I'm not going to drop you!"

Desperate, he grabbed my arm rather tightly. You must. Ignoring will not protect you. Get escape from this right here!

“Not!" Shouting, I turned from him. I'm not rushing. I am staying right here with you.

"You don't understand," Ravven stated forcefully. "If they come upon you, it's done. They will murder you; I can't stop it. You nowhere exist on this planet; "I belong right here with you!" Yelling, I shook with the weight of my emotions. "Nothing scares me about what is coming. I am not bidding you goodbye. Never now, never ever!

Ravyn's eyes softened for a split second, and a flutter of something I cannot fathom passed between us. Still, it vanished just as quickly as it first showed. The louder, closer now the growls of the animals confirmed he was right. For us, time was getting short.

Ravyn growled under his breath, his hand closing on my wrist as he dragged me in front of him. "Stay close."

Then Ravyn lunged forward, his sword shining once more as the first of the monsters flung at us slashed across the air before I could completely grasp what was happening.

Though my hands were shaking, my heart thumping in my chest, I kept near him.

The fight didn't terrify me. I began to fear losing him.

As we struggled together, my heart twisted with nearly unearthly sensation. Every swing Ravyn's blade made and every action he used to shield me enabled me to know how much I loved him.

Not just given the danger we were facing, but also as I could not envisage a world without him in it.

Not only a man or a vampire, he was the guy who had entered my life and turned everything around.

And I hated losing him.

Still, right now there is no time for it. We were engaged in life's war.

The creatures continued coming back, their claws sticking out in all directions and their screams loud.

Ravyn moved with a natural ease; his body responded before I could even know what was happening.

Still, I could see the fatigue starting to show in his eyes.

"Exactly how many are there?" I gasped, scarcely able to keep up as he chopped at another beast.

"Too many," Ravyn said, his voice tight with strain. Still, we can't give it up. Still Not Yet.

Then I heard it among the middle chaos. One low, rumbling growl that sets the others apart. My blood ran cold as I turned to see something bigger—a massive, towering shadow rushing toward us.

"Oh no," Ravyn said little more than a whisper.

Escape was theoretically conceivable but too late.

The earth shook as the massive beast emerged from the ground; its crimson eyes flashing with an intensity that made the others seem little in comparison. Its breath was hot and thick, it hissed over us. Then, before I could react, its enormous claws sprang toward us with horrible speed.

I knew even as Ravyn launched himself in front of me. This time we might not get there.

The great creature's claws slashed with an ear-splitting scream, thickening the air. Time seemed to halt as I gazed powerless, unable to move or react fast enough. Ravyn realized the magnitude of the beast charging us and the weight of the situation set in.

"No!" Ravyn roared, thrusting me behind him with an intensity I found shocking. Still, it was not fast enough.

The claws dropped, slicing across the space I had just been standing in and releasing a blast of garbage and wind aloft. The sheer force pushed me down, but I had time to recover the ground before the creature came back.

The beast snipped, its voice as loud and thunderous as thunder, "you should have ran when you had the chance." Red eyes looking at us, predatory and deliberate. It advanced, its big body totally dimming the faint moon light overhead.

Although Ravyn's silver sword gleamed, the weight of the conflict was obviously passing him. The creature was too strong; Ravyn could not keep it off forever with his might.

My fingers softly stroking his arm, I reflexively sought for him; the great horror in my chest almost choking. "Ravyn...," Right now, what do we do? Under the weight, my voice cracked and my words were almost heard above the thing's growls.

His expression twisted with displeasure and something deeper, as though he knew something I did not.

He withdrew, lying halfway between the beast and me. "I'm not going to let it reach you; but, if it comes down to it...," His voice thick, he sucked hard. "I'll not let you die here."

My heart thumping hard in my chest, I struggled to breathe. By what then do you mean? I managed; the panic in my voice deepened.

He was silent. Instead, his fist closed with force on the blade. Once more, the enormous beast moved quicker than I could understand.

Even as Ravyn swung the sword, the beast was ready. One fast move, it slipped the sword from his grasp over the wooded ground.

No! I sobbed then went forward naturally. But Ravyn's hand hurried out to restrain me.

Desperate in his voice, "You can't help me," he spat; yet, there was something more, something that chilled me even more than the conflict. "Run now!"

Before I understood what was happening, my chest started to hurt like stinging. The world darkened as something icy and sharp pierced me.

Ravyn's face blurring in front of me, his mouth moving, but I hear anything. Everything I ate devoured me; the anguish, the sadness. In the end, nothing.