Destiny

“Run!" I hollered toLuke.
"I'm going as fast as I can!" he screamed back.
The Xavenerians were in hot pursuit. I couldn't hear them, but I knew they were coming. And quickly! Their scent was all around us, and it felt like they were closing in.
The trees shook with rage, and their branches looked as if they would smite whoever passed their way, but all I could do was run and ignore their laughing leaves.
Suddenly the clouds over our heads shifted to cover up the moon. The light that had illuminated our way through the forest was now gone and I felt colder than I ever had in my entire life as a chill ran up my spine.
Through the trees came a deep growl and the little hairs on the back of my neck pricked up.
"Run!" I screamed again, hoping I wasn't too loud, but no one answered back. "Luke?" I asked, afraid of not hearing his response. When I didn't hear anything I came to a sudden halt and spun around on my heels. When I found myself face to face with a Xavenera my jaw clenched tightly.
His piercing black eyes turned to yellow and made my pale skin glow brightly as he snarled widely baring his sharp blood stained teeth. His yellow eyes narrowed on mine when I looked into them.
I had no voice left in me to scream but I would have if I could have. I needed a miracle. As I stood there rooted to the ground with my chest hurting from breathing so hard, my miracle appeared.
"That was quick," I mumbled to myself but then I took an unexpected blow to the face that knocked me off my feet. And as soon as the Xavenera was about to hit me again, his face was pulled back with a knife held to his throat.
"Listen to me, and live," came a deep threatening voice. In that split second I didn't know who it belonged to until I saw it was Luke. As soon as I saw him all my worries disappeared.
"Luke?" questioned the Xavenera. It seemed like he was in a daze for a moment but soon snapped out of it as he remembered what he had come to do. "Are you my Queen?" he asked in a menacing tone. Then, quicker than light, he flipped Luke over his shoulder and smashed him to the ground with a defining crack. Luke Lay there, paralyzed. Then, like a reflex, the Xaveneras’ yellow glowing gaze fixed down on me and he smiled, baring his teeth again. Even his eyes seemed to be laughing at me.
"So, you thought you could get away did you?" came his deep, haunting voice.
"Well let me tell you something Golden Child,” he said with sarcasm. "You are worthless! I was expecting more out of you, but then again, you are only a girl." Then he laughed and as the ripping vibrations bounced around the forest; he raised Luke’s silver blade high above my chest, where my heart should have been.
Only a girl? I thought. No, no. Not just any girl, but the girl! I screamed in my mind.
Before the blade dropped I quickly forced my leg between his and made him lose his balance. He came toppling down, but that didn't stop him from trying to pierce me. I quickly rolled out of the way and scrambled to my feet just as he threw the blade in my direction. It darted through the air, but I dodged it and it hit the tree behind me. My knees turned to jelly, and I was shaking furiously but I knew what I had to do. Before the Xavenera had time to realize what had happened, I yanked the silver blade out of the tree with a swift motion, and stabbed it into his back just as he was getting up. He shrieked from the pain that entered his body, and his bloody scream stung the night's calm breeze. While the Xavenera lay there in pain, with what looked like smoke escaping from the wound, I ran to Luke and helped him up.
"Are you hurt?" I asked him.
"Just a broken spine, but I’m fine now," he answered with a frown as he looked over my shoulder at the Xavenerian.
“Just a broken spine?” I asked, hardly believing him.
Luke looked at me in disbelief before he said, “Violet, you know Vampires can heal quickly?” He sounded like he doubted me.
Knowing I‘d just made myself look foolish for the… well I don‘t know how many times tonight I made myself look dumb, but that’s not the point. The point is…
"Where's Vivian?" I asked, avoiding the previous question.
"Behind that tree," he pointed to where she was laying. I ran over to her to see if she was all right with one question flooding my mind. Why, if Vampires heal quickly, wasn’t Vivian healing, or healed?
I looked up in time to see Luke, standing over the Xavenerian lying in pain. I watched as he bent low to its’ face, and place his hands on either side of its’ head. I quickly turned my gaze away as a vicious snap echoed in the forest, when another screech rang in the stale air.
"Damn, there’s more,” I said, trying to forget the beheading I had just witnessed. “I don't think we can fight them all." I said. Although my voice was shaky, I managed to stay somewhat calm.
"Well we have to try,” Luke said as he ripped his silver blade out of the Xavenerians’ back and clutched it in his hand. "We'll never make it out in time."
I hoisted Vivian onto my shoulders this time, "I'm going, you coming?" I asked Luke.
"Fine,” he mumbled, though it seemed like he actually wanted to stay, fight, and possibly die.

The growls were getting closer, and sounded like they were circling us, but we kept running anyway. It was when they stopped that I knew something was wrong. Xavenerian’s never backed away from a chance to kill.
Luke and I stopped for a moment, but that was our first mistake. Our second mistake was not running when we heard a growl over our heads.
Stupidly I looked up, and my mind screamed as a Xavenera pounced down from the tree above; knife outstretched and wearing a wicked smile. It would have plunged straight into my non-beating heart. It would have been the end of me. I wondered when the pain would erupt when I realized I was on the ground, safe. Luke was on top of me, shielding my body with his. His hard chest was pressed against mine and I could feel the heat radiating from his body. I could tell how protective he was being of me, and I won’t lie when I say that I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. As I gazed at his beautifully etched features that seemed to hold so much care for me, I couldn’t help but think, sexy. Yes, in a time like this I was fantasizing about Luke.
I couldn’t help but feel a rumble come from deep inside his chest as an almost feral sound passed his lips. His face, I could tell, was mashed into an even more menacing look. The thing about Luke was that I barely knew him, but I knew that I liked him. A lot. In fact even more now for the display of affection, or at least that’s what I thought it was, that he was showing towards me.
This scene only lasted a couple of seconds unfortunately. As soon as Luke had made sure I was safe, he quickly got up to face the one that had attacked me, keeping himself between it and me the entire time. He managed to manipulated its sword away from it and plunged it deep into the Xavenerians chest. Then quicker than I could blink he ripped the sword out and with one swift movement, severed the link that held its head in tact.
Luke promptly yanked me up at a force I’d never seen him use before. He then placed Vivian on my shoulders and urged me to run, that the Xavenerians would be back. But I was barely listening to him. It was all a blur then. I knew I was running, I could feel that, but the rest of me was numb. The only thing I could think about was that Luke had not saved my life just once, but twice in one night.
“I think I see an opening!” Luke yelled, as I came back to reality.
Still running as fast as I could, I said, confirming Luke’s observation, "Yeah I see it too." Luke held onto my arm with a tight grip as he glanced back over his shoulder.
When we reached what we thought was an opening, we realized we were horribly wrong. We had walked right into a trap. We stood there in the centre of a giant white glowing circle of what appeared to be robed figures. I searched for an opening, but there was no gap between them, they had closed in too quickly. All we could do was to move when the circle moved. Luke had to shield his eyes as the suns rays were starting to shimmer between the rows of trees. The next thing either of us knew was that we were suddenly engulfed by complete darkness.