After a few minutes of walking Sean interrupts the silence.

"Are you familiar with mythology?"

"You mean `Cinderella` and such stuff."

"Not fairytales. Myths."

"Hm," I reply after a few moments of thinking. "I know that the people from ancient times used to explain physical phenomenons with myths. But that was long before we knew about the real physical explanations."

"You`re really a modern girl." Sean stops and turns to me, his voice dripping with irony and even a hint of contempt, that makes me feel defensive all at once.

"And would you please explain to me, what is so wrong with being modern?" I glower at him.

He lets out a low chuckle. "Nothing. But why do you think modern science knows better about these things than our anchestors? Do you think they were stupid?"

"No, just inexperienced."

"Inexperienced? Nay, I don`t think so. Listen," he cuts off my protest. "I know that science has made some progressions and achieved a deepened knowledge about many things, medicine for example. But I firmly do believe there are things our anchestors knew better about."

"And what things might that be?" I really don`t know why I feel so agressive right now, but I can`t suppress the harsh tone in my voice.

"Instincts. Emotions. Spirituality."

"Spirituality?" I echoe unbelievingly. Somehow spirituality was the one thing I would never have connected with Sean Snayke.

"Yes, spirituality." He takes my hand again and keeps on walking. "You know the things you can`t find physical explanations for. As good as sience is in explaining physical phenomenons, it is plainly incapable in explaining matters of the soul. I think our anchestors have been way better to comprehend and explain those things, because they needed to listen to their instincts to survive."

"Mmh." I mumble. I can`t really disagree on this one.

Suddenly he comes to a halt again; absorbed with my thoughts I walk into him. "Oh sorry."

"Finally." He breathes out. "We`re there."

************************************************************************

I step forward and inhale a sharp breath, when I face the sight before me. I`m standing on a meadow, circled by tall black trees, which resemble a breathing wall, as they`re swaying in the gentle blow of the wind. But it`s not these trees that force the air out of my lungs and drain all colour from my face. It`s the meadow. Instead of green, it is red; a dark red, like it is drenched in blood. When I raise my head I can see, that the full moon has risen high into the nightly sky. But what a face she is showing tonight! Devoid of her white innocence she grins with demonic glow down onto me. Like hypnotized I stare up into her red face.

"It`s called `Blood Moon`." Sean steps beside me. "The legend sais everytime she calls, a new child of hers will awake. And she`s calling for her children again tonight."

As I turn my head to him, I see, that his scrutinizing glance rests on me.

"Nunsense" I murmur and slowly step back into the shadows of the trees. The warm night feels choking all at once. "Sean, I wanna go home now."

"You`ve never been closer to home in all your life."

I don`t like the gaze he`s fixing on me, I don`t like his words, I don`t like how shaky I suddenly feel, but above all I don`t like, that I`m aware of the red light spilling over me all the time, tempting me to raise my eyes upwards again. But I fight the temptation. After all that`s what I`ve done all my life.

Without a word I swing around. I must get away from here. I`ve barely taken a few steps into the forest, when Sean grips my wrist and drags me back into the red shine of the moon.

"I`m sorry, Calla, but I cannot let you go."

Cold terror crawls up my neck. "You scare me, Sean."

He shakes his head, as a mild smile illuminates his face, that`s covered with a faint red glow. "You`re not scared of me. You`re scared of yourself."

"This is madness!" I struggle to tear myself away from him, but he just pulls me into a tight embrace, bringing his mouth close to my ears.

"Have you never heard those voices inside your mind? Have you never avoided your own eyes in the mirror? Afraid of what you could see? The wildness, the untamed nature, those unsacred thoughts, those forbidden desires, this lust for life?"

His voice, that has started with a whisper rises to a thundering roar, as he grips both of my shoulders.

My protest dies in fear on my lips, but obviously he`s calming down again, as he starts stroking my upper arms.

"I told you, Calla, we`re two of a kind, we`re both children of the moon, the bloodmoon."

"You`re mad!" The terror explodes in a high pitched scream on my lips and I stomp onto his foot with all my might. He lets go of me so abruptly, that I stumble backwards, lose my balance and fall into the grass. Quickly I pull myself onto my knees, trying to crawl out of his reach, towards the trees, the black cool trees, appearing as a refugee, a place of safety, sanity. I need to think, I need to get out of this thick warm atmosphere, I need to get away from Sean. He`s dangerous, he`s mad. I need to get away from him, I need to get away from this slight dragging pain, this quiet, almost unhearable voice, that`s whispering to me, a voice, low and warm and thick like....

"No!" I gasp, when I feel his fingers grip my ankle, pulling me backwards. Kicking and screaming I fall flat on my stomach. Tears of frustration, fear and pain shoot to my eyes, as he drags me backwards into the centre of the red meadow. Then the pressure against my ankle is gone and everything turns silent. It takes a moment for me to notice, that my voice has died away, as if my body has given up any resistance, long before my mind would do. Lying in the grass I freeze, listening to the sounds around me. There`s nothing but the quiet sound of leaves moving in the wind. But even though I don`t hear a word, a sigh, a breath, I know Sean`s still there.

My heart pounds in my chest, as I realize that I can`t lay there all night long. He won`t go away, I`m sure, and even though he threatened and frightened me, a part of me still wants him to stay. A part of me, that is not paralysed with shock and fear, wants to know what he wants, what is going on, why this eery moon has such power over him. But I will never know, if I don`t face him again. So I inhale a deep breath to gain inner courage and turn around. I sit upright and wrap my arms around my knees, trying to give an image of utter calmness, as I look over at him. Sean sits crosslegged on the grass about a metre away and watches me.

"So," I clear my throat, cursing my trembling voice. "I am here now."

He nodds. "Yes, you are."

It takes all my selfcontrol to stay seemingly restrained and calm, but years of training show their use now.

"What do you want of me?" Good, my voice sounds just as sharp as I want it to.

"I want you to be yourself."

"But I am myself." I feel a frown growing on my forehead.

A small smile curls the corner of his lips. "No, you`re not."

Great, he`s really mad.

"I am not mad."

Oh, wonderful. I`m doing it again, and this is about the worst time for being unable to tell my thoughts from my spoken words. Maybe we`re both mad.

As he moves closer to me, I flinch. But gathering all my selfcontrol I manage to sit still and keep myself from crawling away. An action that wouldn`t get me anywhere, as I`ve learnt recently. So I just hold my knees a little bit tighter, pulling them closer to my body and wait for his next move.

He raises his hand and wipes a strand of hair out of my face. Instantly I freeze, overflooded with very mixed feelings; there`s fear, of course, but yet something else, something deep and warm, a feeling, that makes my body hum.

Obviously he only notices the fear; he moves his hand away and runs them through his own hair. Heaving a sigh he turns his face towards the moon and moves his lips silently, as if to ask for guidance. But before I can even think of taking advantage of his distraction, he turns his attention back on me.

"Why are you afraid of me? You said you trusted me."

"That was before you were acting like a stone age bully."

"I promised I wouldn`t hurt you."

I snort, glancing at my ankle, that surely will have produced some bruises by tomorrow. That is if I`ll see tomorrow at all.

"I`m sorry," he shrugs rather unimpressed. "But I warned you. Remember I told you I would not let you run away and I was serious about that. You have to know."

"Know what?" I`m so tired of this silly talk.

"Yourself."

I sigh deeply. There we are again. He`s not only talking in riddles, but also in circles.

"I know myself well enough. Thank you." I retort bitingly.

He leans closer to me. "Why do you deny it?" his voice is like a gentle breathe of wind, brushing my skin.

"Deny what?" I bark. His softness is so much more cruel than his shouting. It just flows through my pores, flooding my inside, gentle and soft, without any pressure, like an airy veil of silk, and there`s no wall to keep it outside, no way to resist. But I must resist. I must not give in. I must not fall.

"What we are. What you are."

I will not drown in his voice. I will be strong. I will keep up my defense.

"I told you Calla, you`re a child of the Bloodmoon. We both are."

Can it be, he really believes what he sais? I feel doubt sip into my soul and glance quickly towards the moon. The red gleam is pouring down on me, trickling through my skin into my body, filling my insides with airy red rain. It reminds me of something, stirring a feeling, so deeply hidden, that I didn`t even know it was there. Can it be? Is insanity contagious? I rub my eyes, trying to tear apart the red curtain, that is wavering before my eyes. I have to stay awake. I must not give in to this thick, warm haze in my mind.

"The blood moon is just a physical phenomenon." Good, stick to logic, Calla. Don`t lose contact with reality.

"Brush up some books about physics, search the internet, and you will find the explanation. It`s something that happens from time to time and it has got nothing to do with you or me."

I carefully get up, not surprised that my legs are shaking. I expect him to jump up every moment. But he just sits there, obviously pondering my words. Good. Maybe that`s my chance. I start walking towards the trees. Just a few more metres. I can already feel the air getting cooler, somehow soothing. I listen, waiting for his protest, for his action. But nothing. He stays silent, motionless. I walk on. Just a few more steps. Maybe I`ll make it this time. Maybe. I`ve already put a foot out of the red gleaming circle.

"What do you think, why did we meet tonight?" his voice cuts through the night.

I stop, but don`t turn around. "Coincidence. That`s all."

I turn around, not really surprised to see that he`s standing just an armlength away from me. "There`s a logical explanation for everything, Sean."

"Yes." He agrees. "But the logical explanation is not always the right."

I just look at him, I really don`t know what to say.

"I saw you." He continues. "And even before I saw you, I sensed you."

I shake my head unwillingly.

"Just remember: what happened before your panic attack?"

I try to remember, but there`s only haze in my mind. I recall the air fleeing from my lungs, the feel of shaking bones, cold prickling skin, numbness in my mind.

"The room was dark, you sat down and looked to the screen."

There`s a thick veil between those moments and now. I can`t see through it and I don`t want to. I must not. Cause if I do, I`ll be lost. If I remember, I can`t turn away again.

"What did you see then, Calla? What did you feel?" His voice is merciless.

I was sitting in the darkness, my eyes fixed on the screen. There was him and this redhaired actress. There were his eyes, a swirl of darkness, drawing me into an abyss.

Someone`s gasping. When was it? In the cinema? Just now? What is, what was, what could be, it all becomes a blur.

"Remember." He commands calmly and suddenly the veil rips open.

There is him, his dark eyes boring into mine, while his lips, his teeth, sink down to the redhead`s neck, making contact with her skin. A gush of red behind my eyes, and then nothing more. Blackness. Merciful oblivion.

"No." I groan, but as my knees give in to the weakness of my body, Sean catches me in his arms and I cling to him, defenceless, almost fainting. He seems to be the only constant thing in a swirling world, turning around me, upside down.

"Shht." He soothes me. "Everything`s okay."

"Sean. Let me go. Please." Is that really my voice? So pleading? So brittle?

There`s a pause, and I almost begin to hope, but then he continues. "You could have gone any time. You could have denied to come with me in the cinema. You could have gone, when we left the restaurant. You could have turned away at the gate. But you chose to come with me, cause your soul`s need have brought you here."

"No." my protest is muffled, since I still hold on to him, my face pressed against his chest. "I didn`t know you were..." My voice trails away, as I become aware, that it might be not a good idea to remind him of his madness. But obviously he realized what I was going to say. He grips my shoulder and holds me a little away from him.

"You mean you didn`t know I was a bastard?"

I nodd hestiatingly, praying he will not get upset.

"Oh but you knew." He grins, and when I open my mouth to protest, he puts a finger on my lips to silence me. "You`re not an angel either, Calla. Remember the trick we played on this reporter. He probably will get fired, when he publishes this story. And this could destroy his career, even more, it could destroy his life. His wife would forsake him, he wouldn`t be allowed to see his children, if he has children and a wife. Oh, and without a job, he will lose all his friends. Everything will start to decay. Yes, in a way such a little trick could destroy a man`s existence." He licks his lips, his face flushed with a demonic glow.

"But that was you." I protest weakly. "It was your idea. You set up the trap, you fooled him."

"And you didn`t stop me. Actually you looked as if you enjoyed the show."

I become silent. I hate to admit it, but he`s right. Why didn`t I even try to stop him? Did I unknowingly seal my fate with this omitted deed?

"Don`t worry, Calla." His smile grows softer. "Children of the moon don`t feel pity."

"But that`s not right." I whisper.

"Oh, It`s not very moral." He shrugs his shoulder. "But moral is a very overrated thing these days, don`t you agree?"

"It makes living in society possible."

"It binds you in chains, drains all life from your soul, supresses your deepest urges in an attempt to make you compatible, pleasant, easy to manipulate." He snorts contemptuously. "You know, Calla, many girls would have feel flattered, if I had called them a "child of the moon". They think the moon is magical, romantic. Oh, yes, she is magical, but everything has two sides. Only a true child of the moon would try to turn away. Cause only a true child of the moon could sense the dark, the wild side, knowing the moon has claws and teeth."

The passion in his voice sends shivers down my back, and even though he isn`t touching me anymore, I feel unable to move.

"You could have gone, even just a few minutes ago." He adds quietly. "I would have let you go. You just had to walk away, turn your back on me, ignore me. But when I asked you, why we met, you turned around to me. You needed to know. You made your choice and it`s a final one."

He makes a step towards me, but this time I don`t flinch. "So this is it? Curiosity kills the cat?" Bitterness is rising in my voice.

He sighs and brings his index-finger under my chin, lifting it up to him. "You still don`t understand. Noone wants to kill you. You are supposed to begin to live tonight." And with that his lips sink down on me, drowning me in a sea of emotions, warm, deep, eternal.

After a much too short time Sean gives my lips free again, leaving me dazed and hanging somewhat limply in his arms.

"It`s time." He sais softly, stroking my hair.

"Time for what?" I struggle to find back to reality again, a reality where his lips are not pressed onto mine, and suddenly this reality feels even more cold and lifeless than before.

"To become a true child of the moon of course." A small smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. Apparently he has noticed the impact he has made on me. Well, it probably would have been difficult to ignore, that I was wrapping my arms around his neck, pressing even closer to his body.

"What does it mean to be a child of the moon?" I don`t know, whom this voice belongs to. Certainly it can`t be mine, for I would never even think of the possibility that something of this mystery-crap could be true. Not me, no, definitely not me. But since someone has asked, it won`t hurt to hear the answer.

"Oh, you know what it means. You`ve always done, but you wasted your life running away from it. Do you want to know, why it didn`t work?" His face glows fevereshly in the red shine of the moon and I step backwards. Suddenly his nearness feels no longer comforting and soothing, but menacing and dangerous.

"It didn`t work, because it is inside you."

"I don`t know what you`re talking about." I retreat carefully, until I`m out of his reach again. He may be attractive and my body may crave for his touch, but still he`s a madman and still it`s not a good idea to be alone with him.

"Look at me." Every trace of softness has vanished from his voice.

"What? But I am looking at you."

He steps forwards and grips my arm. "Look into my eyes."

He puts down his sunglasses, and immediately I lower my head. I can`t look into his eyes again. Not here. Not now. Never again. The last time this tormenting, tearing hunger nearly killed me.

"You will look at me." He sounds calm, but it is clear, that he won`t leave me a choice. He takes my face in both hands and forces me to look at him.

The moment my eyes meet his, a piercing scream explodes on my lips. The pain is stabbing me, tearing my insides open, raging inside me, howling, biting, leaving me to burn in the golden flame, that is glowing in his eyes.

"Please." I groan, unable to articulate properly anymore. "Please, don`t." My breath is ragged and shallow, my bones are melting in the sharp pain that is shooting through my body.

"The hunger, the endless desire, the piercing pain. Your soul, that feels like an empty hole, as if nothing can ever fulfil you. But it doesn`t have to be this way." His voice is coarse, his eyes blaze with dark fire.

"What do you want of me?" I start to scream, but then my voice cracks, as waves of white glowing pain are washing over me again.

"You`re a child of the moon. Listen to those voices inside you."

"No." I gasp and with my last strength I tear away from his grip. The moment I break the eyecontact the anguish subsides under the surface, and all that remains is a throbbing pain in my head and the familiar hunger. But at least I got back control over my mind, so I can think, argue, convince.

"Voices. Do you want to convince me that I`m a child of the moon, because I have these voices in my head?" My voice sounds much lighter than I actually feel, and I manage to give a nervous laugh. "But all people hear voices." I wave my hand dismissively, trying to take the tension out of the situation, and turn my back on him. I just need a moment to come back to my senses, just a moment to calm down.

"Well, the voices of most people don`t call for blood." He says casually.

I swing round, feeling all colour drain from my face. How can he know? "My voices don - don`t call, for bl-blood." I stutter.

He licks his lips, smiling sardonically. "No?"

He grips my wounded hand and tears apart the bandage with one swift movement. I fight to tear my hand away from him, but he´s too strong. While keeping his steely gaze fixed on me, he slowly lifts my hand up to his face, stopping there for a moment.

I gasp, as a strangely familiar image, drenched in red, arises inside my mind, and suddenly some parts of the jigsaw fall in place. Red. The redhaired actress. The gush of red I`ve seen before my eyes. The red of my wounded wrist. The red shine of the moon. "No." I groan weakly. And then the hunger`s assaulting me again, eating into my entrails, devouring me from inside, and the thick, warm voice is whispering to me, promising, purring so enticingly. But it can`t be. It must not. Tears fall freely from my eyes, but as I look into Sean`s gleaming eyes, I see no mercy, no pity. Tormentingly slow he lifts my bleeding wrist to his mouth and presses his lips firmly onto it, sucking just lightly.

A bolt of electricity shoots through my body and it feels, as if all my blood is flowing towards him, wanting to disappear inside him, melting away the barrier between us, dissolving this body. But this is perverse, a voice inside me screams desperately. Fight, defend yourself, don`t let go, don`t give in. And I try, I try so hard to fight, building walls against him, but the waves roll through my body snf wash over these walls, drowning me in an ocean of bittersweet dragging pain. And the thick warm voice drowns all other thoughts, louder, stronger with every drop of blood that`s leaving my body. The longing lustful feeling makes my bones tremble as in fever, and almost without noticing I sink down to my knees, too weak to stay upright anymore. I moan. I pray, please, God, let me die. Let me die before.

But I never get to finish my silent prayer, as Sean lets go of my wrist and squats before me. "So, you never heard these voices inside your head, talking of blood, wanting to give blood, wanting to take blood?" There`s no sarcasm in his voice, no satisfaction.

But I lower my head, not wanting him to see the tears in my eyes. I feel so humiliated, so defenceless, naked.

"I can make the pain come to an end. All you have to do is give in." His voice is calm, warm, almost pleading. "Give in."

He kneels down behind me, his hands sneaking down my arms, caressing them, holding them, keeping them motionless, as his lips sink down to my neck, sniffing the skin, tasting it, leaving a trace of heat. I groan, leaning subconsciously closer to him, while his arms pull me back, pressing me against his body. I`m trapped. And the thick warm voice inside just tells me to give in. But as dazed as I am, I`m not ready to do that. After all the time I`ve tried to stay strong, after all the time I`ve hold on to the remains of my brain, after all the time I`ve fought against these voices, I can`t admit defeat now.

"You`re mine, Calla. And I`m yours." He murmurs, as his lips wander to the tender skin of my throat, and this time the bolt that is shooting through me is so strong that I feel as if I`m on fire. Flames are dancing over my skin, burning any trace of reason out of my mind. My soul is gaping like an open wound, needing to be filled, longing, hungering, craving, desiring. For what? For Life, the essence of life, so warm, deep, pure and overwhelming. I scream and all my walls shatter to pieces as I give in. I turn around in his arms, ram my teeth into his throat, and the world drowns in a whirl of red.

************************************************************************

I don`t know how much time has passed, but when I come back to my senses, Sean lies lifeless in the grass, his eyes closed, his face pale. I reach my fingers out and tenderly touch the two red marks on his throat. It seems I`ve taken more than was healthy for him. I sigh, and with surprise I realize, that he has been right. Children of the moon don`t feel pity. I just feel satisfied.

Suddenly he opens his eyes, sparkling as ever. "You didn`t think, you`d finish me off, did you?" His voice is pure irony, and I smile. Yes, we`re both of a kind. I am his and he is mine. Always had been, always will be.

"Welcome home, precious." He whispers and wrapping his arms around my neck he pulls me into an endless kiss.

And I know, I finally found home.