"Scarlet Moon's Hymn" Prologue

Laying his delicate hand on a long peacock feather, he pressed the sharp edge of the end to the creased beige sheet of parchment. He was sitting in a room surrounded by shadows, the only light being a small wax candle on a cast-iron base. With anguish, he created the next words of a letter to his beloved. A letter that will become her only memory of a man once known as Pascal.

"Dearest Jean-Marie, I would like to provide us with a few more moments together, moments that we could tell our children. When I close my eyes I imagine our shared moments at the Louvre, when I took you to a picnic by the river and you reciprocated my feelings. I became the happiest man in all of France."

A slender glow swirled on the tip of the candle, once scattering the shadows surrounding the letter, once allowing the darkness to surround Pascal's words. The moon glowed through the window set high on the ceiling of his room. Small drops of sweat began to appear on his forehead, the man tried to speed up the writing of the letter, fearing indefinite evil.

"There are so many things I would like to tell you, kiss your pink lips and embrace your slender figure, unfortunately, we don't have time for that anymore. I don't have much time anymore. My terrible thought suddenly dear me. When I walk the streets of Paris, I feel a strange look on my back. As I lay down to sleep, I can see shadows forming on the walls of my room. I'm afraid I have to leave Paris as soon as possible. I don't know when we'll see each other again, but I can promise you that it won't happen soon."

The ink on his pen slowly began to run out, he grabbed the inkwell and soaked the writing tool again. Before he began writing, he looked around his room. For a quickly made bed, dirty glass in the window on the west side of the building, piles of crumbling books that slowly began to rot. Pascal quickly got up from the desk and headed for the door. He made sure that the lock was closed and the blockade was latched. Touching the chipped door elements in the dark, he sensed a figure carved in wood. It was difficult to pinpoint exactly what the symbol was in the dark of night. Pascal took the burning candle from his desk in the blink of an eye and directed its flame closer to the bizarre sign. The man saw the star surrounded by the circle, in the centre of the star was a single letter "A". Pascal's face paled, a cool wind blew through the door slots, extinguishing the candle itself. He dropped it to the ground, thereby spilling wax on the floor and ran to the desk, turning the chair over, continuing to write the letter standing up.

"Dearest, it is worse than I expected, I discovered disturbing signs carved on my door, I promise the Supreme God, I am not the perpetrator of these engravings. I'm going to finish this letter and escape today. Forgive me, dearest Jean-Marie, for leaving you in such a cruel style. I promise you that-"

A loud crack of broken glass spread throughout the room, Pascal turned his attention to the broken window that was fluttering in the wind, holding on to a single hinge. His eyes were blinded by the glare of red hair covered by the bloody glow of the full moon. Before he noticed, the mysterious woman threw herself at him at inhuman speed and pinned him to the floor with an equally supernatural force. Pascal felt a dull pain radiating from around his throat. Pale fangs slowly sank into his body. The man could not move, being slowly deprived of all life forces. The woman tore his throat, splashed blood all over the room. She immediately dissolved into the black cloud, leaving Pascal dying. His last thought before inevitable death was one peculiar name:

„Oiseau Noir"

Prologue