Acharya yawned loudly and settled himself within his chair. A giant, ornately designed grandfather clock at the opposite of the room told him that it was almost midnight, and he had not heard the sound of the door opening into the nightlife. That meant the boy was late. He sighed heavily and his omniscient eyes swiveled to the door. He brushed a strand of black hair from his face and laced his fingers together and rested his chin upon them. “Nelfeire!” His exhausted voice yelled out.

A crash sounded, and rather ungracefully, a lankily built boy stumbled into the room, a look of mixed surprise and bewilderment on his face. Acharya smiled as he looked at the boy who stood before him. The boy was a mere seventeen years of age, but he had a strong vigor that no one could miss. He was a reed of a boy at six feet and had lightly paled skin that gave him an almost vampiric appeal. From never-ending training with a rapier, he was able to render movements as gently as flowing water in a brook. Whether or not it gave him a feminine feel was up to the observer, but he still maintained an icy aura that was unmistakably masculine. His silk, always messy, chin-length hair was such a light shade of blonde that the boy was easily mistaken for being an elderly man with white hair. However, it was not this whitish hair or his fluidness that made this boy stand out. It was the pale blue eyes resting so dangerously on his face, or could someone say just eye? The boy only had one eye and the other was covered with a black eye patch that had a blood red star in the very center. Yet it was not that eye patch that gave the boy a bitter look, it was the one pale eye. That eye looked deep into a person’s soul and ate it out quickly, leaving no room for deceit. It was an eye that had seen far too much and had been so wronged that it ceased to give anything but a dim color to show life. But for now, let’s forget about the eye.

“Yes, master?” The boy half-bowed, giving off the courtesy of a prince. Then as he erected himself his eye fixed itself onto Acharya with a questioning look.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Acharya said with a rather bored voice, even though the boy was far more interesting than Acharya pretended.

The boy’s large hand came out as if to reach for something and then it dropped, “What do you mean?”

Sighing, the corners of Acharya’s lips turned up and he chuckled, “Arion, how many times do I have to remind you? Do you know what moon it is tonight?”

A blank stare came from Arion as he processed this question and then his eye widened slightly, his pretty eyelashes spreading like a fan, “It is a full moon, sir.”

“And who comes out on a full moon?”

“What do you me-?” Arion stopped mid-sentence, his mouth suspended open. “Oh no.” The boy spun around and took off from the room, his footsteps crunching on the soft straw floor as he raced out.

- - -

“Le-eyna!” A voice sang out from behind causing Leyna to jump, as she was absentmindedly tying her shoelaces.

Craning her neck around, Leyna brushed a piece of her thin, curly red hair behind her ear and looked questionably at her friend. “Yes?”

“Are you seriously going to leave right now?” Her friend frowned deeply as she peered out into the dark night. “It’s really dark, and you’ve been reading the papers, right?”

Leyna laughed, her eyes gleaming eerily in the darkness. “Oh give it up, Beth. You know I’m not afraid of the boogeyman or anything like that.”

Beth sighed and then crossed her arms. Her hip jutted out. “It’s not that. You don’t read the newspapers, do you?”

“Of course not. There is never anything decent in the news. I mean, what’s so interesting about the weather? People are just too lazy to look outside.” Leyna chuckled to herself and looked keenly down at her perfectly tied shoes. Straightening up, she stood and stretched her arms high into the air. She loved walking during the night, and Beth was not going to stop her by telling her madmen would kidnap her and do perverse things with her body.

“No but–” Beth frantically snatched Leyna’s arm as it reached out for the doorknob. “There have been murders! People being completely slaughtered! It has been all over the television and newspapers.” Beth’s breath was pounding on the back of Leyna’s neck and she merely sighed, rolling her eyes. “Beth–” she moaned.

“WAIT!” Beth cried, as Leyna attempted to pull away. “Don’t go! How could you not know!” Leyna watched her friend’s frantic eyes, and with a sigh she halted her attempts to escape Beth’s hand that was cutting the circulation off in her wrist. “I don’t see how you could have missed it. They’ve been finding people completely torn apart as if some beast has been feasting. It’s really scary! You really shouldn’t be walking home this late.” Eyes scanning around and looking for an alternative, Beth bit her lip. “Look, just spend the night at my house! I’m sure it’s fine with my mom.”

Smiling serenely, Leyna finally tugged out of Beth’s viper grip and flexed her wrist, trying to soothe the pain. “Don’t worry about me.” At Beth’s pained expression, she carried on. “Besides, I have some homework that still needs to get done. I really can’t stay.”

“Fine, I’ll walk you home then!” Beth shouted this rather desperately.

Rolling her eyes once again, Leyna leaned against the door. “Really? Then how will you get home?”

“Oh . . .” Beth’s eyes screwed up as if in deep thought and then she meekly smiled – her nerves calming a bit. “Well, I’ll just stay over at your house. My homework has been finished for hours. I’ll help you with yours since your grades are so poor! How about that?!”

Leyna tried to suppress a laugh as she shrugged. “You really do not need to. I know some pretty wicked tae kwon do; I’m sure I will be fine.” Meekly smiling, she gave a fake jab into the air with her fist.

Beth frowned. “Stop that. I insist! If anyone is going to hurt my Leyna, then they’ll have to get through me first.” Beth took hold of Leyna’s hand and marched out of the door, tugging and dragging Leyna’s rooted feet.

Leyna did not even have time to protest before she found herself half way down the block. Leyna felt a tightening in her chest. She would have preferred her friend to stay at home, just in case something did happen. Besides, Leyna had never been afraid of spooks or madmen or anything of that sort. At the ripe age of twelve she had begun to see things that she found no one else could see. Not anything horrific, but apparitions of dead people – or well, in simpler words, ghosts.

It had happened at a funeral. Fifteen minutes of sitting in those uncomfortable chairs and it had happened. A smoky and transparent corpse rose methodically out of the coffin, walking down the aisle in a dazed stupor. Her insides froze, and when she realized that no one else could see it, her entire body began to tremble. And then, as she prayed for it to leave, it stopped its promenade. The thing slowly craned its neck in her direction, a sneer painting its hideous face. Its read eyes lowered into a glare, and as Leyna sucked in her breath, the thing took a step toward her.

Leyna had been sent home screaming at the top of her lungs. People had thought she was mad for years after that incident. Every shrink in town she had visited. Each one told her she was just having delusions, and they each gave her pills to swallow. However, she had learned. She learned to not speak of the things she saw, and life went back to normal. Just about everyday she saw dead people walking around, muttering and eyeing people with angry stares. Leyna just walked past them and tried not to shudder when their icy bodies touched hers. She refused to scream. No one would think she was insane, and that’s how she intended to keep it.

As she contemplated her first encounter with ghosts, she realized that the air was feeling heavy and awkward. Walking to her house took at least a half hour, and the night sky was only getting darker while streetlamps barely illuminated their way. In a minute they would be close to the cemetery. The wind whistled dissonantly and Leyna suddenly noticed her friend moving her head side to side as if looking for some hidden danger.

A laugh sung in Leyna’s head and she gripped her friend’s hand tighter. “You didn’t have to come along, Beth.”

Beth shook her head vigorously. “Of course I did. I can’t let a huge man deflower my dear Leyna. We can take whatever it is together.”

“Nothing is going to happen.” Leyna simply smiled at Beth who kept her eyes peeled open as if she was about to be jumped any moment.

Suddenly a tombstone loomed into view and Leyna had an idea. “Let’s cut through the graveyard. It will take less time.” Leyna began to sprint towards the huge tombstone when Beth tugged her backwards, sending her flying into her friend’s arms.

“No! That’s even worse! That’s bound to be the place where a murderer is. Don’t you ever read books?! Everyone gets nabbed in the cemetery!”

“Oh calm yourself. You’re the one so eager to get home!” Jerking roughly out of Beth’s grip, Leyna stalked off into the forest of tombs and absently yelled behind her, “Follow me if you don’t want to be eaten!”

Gulping, Beth ran after her. “Don’t leave me!” Beth interlinked her arm with Leyna’s arm and then peered around with fearful eyes. “This is way too creepy!”

Leyna shrugged, ignoring the chill that seemed to sweep around them as soon as they had stepped onto the mildewed grass. “It’s nothing,” Leyna whispered. Trees began to darken their view as they headed into the pit of the cemetery, and a thick fog slowly curled around them, beginning at the ankles and snaking up their legs. It grew and grew until they could barely see the graves in front of them. Beth’s eyes glowed in the dark as they watched giant tombstones pass them by – some with pretty angels and others with cryptic writing.

Leyna could feel the aura of fear emanating from her friend, but they both marched on and Leyna ignored the passing chills that made the hair on her arms rise. She vehemently ignored the white breath that puffed from her mouth and the fact that her heart had begun to hammer against her chest. What was so scary about a cemetery?

Then, as if an answer to her question, an echoing and screeching cackle rang like a gong through the fog, and Leyna froze, her eyes wide in alarm. Beth turned to her with a puzzling stare. “W-why are you s-s-stopping?” Beth’s voice stumbled with fear.

“Didn’t you hear that?!” Leyna breathed out slowly.

Shaking her head, Beth worriedly gazed around, but clearly had not heard a thing. “Are you just trying to scare me?” Beth suddenly said, her words harsh and her eyes filled with skepticism.

“No! Why would I–” Then Leyna saw it. Something she had seen before yet not seen. It was different than the others. The others had been transparent and gray and foggy and . . . but this! Her friend’s panicked voice died within her head, and as she watched it slide right through a dying tree only a few feet away from them, Leyna realized, it was flesh! Her eyes widened and the beastly thing seemed to notice her. A grin spread widely over its fiendish face, and that’s when another realization hit her, there was no body and no head. There was only a face!

“Ooh, you’re a pretty little girl.” The face purred out. Leyna’s eyes widened and felt her friend’s feebly attempts to tug at her. “Leyna! What’s wrong?!” This thing was different. It was different. And wrong. And – Leyna’s body involuntarily began to shudder. The thing took a step in their direction, and Leyna began to back away, forgetting about Beth. The face twisted with a loud squelch so that it rested on what should have been its shoulder. “Pretty . . . pretty girls.” Its voice was greasy and oozed with resentment.

“LEYNA!” Beth finally screamed her name and Leyna snapped out of her trance. Her glazed eyes fell onto Beth’s terrified face. “You’re pale as death! What’s wrong?” Her friend was pleading with her, but she could not answer.

Being ignored, the face began to cackle – soft and steadily growing louder until its laughter howled through the night. Leyna’s face whipped around as the face took another step. A violent tremor pulsed through her, and her knees gave out – sinking her body into the wet grass. Beth shrieked and pulled at Leyna. Yet Leyna was mesmerized as much as she was horrified for the air around it began to become distorted. Before her eyes, its body began to materialize just as the fog had done. Bones of a torso sprinkled into place against the fog, and a taut, gray leather skin began to wrap itself around the bones. No legs appeared and the torso seemed to just ebb away once it reached the pelvic region. Thin, spidery arms slowly clawed their way through the fog, and the emancipated hands stretched through the air like feelers of an insect. Sickly burns etched themselves into the skin, and over the heart began to burn a hole so deep.

Beth became hysteric finally and began shrieking for help, but Leyna didn’t hear. She couldn’t for anyone move, for a head so disgustingly disfigured began to take full form atop the sunken in neck. The skin upon the face was so strained that there may have well only been bone, and the eyes were so deep into the skull that only a glimmer of red from the pupils could be seen. There was no nose and no lips, just a slit where they should have been. A scraggy and lank black hair snaked from the cracked head and ran its way down the thing’s back. Then everything stopped, or seemed to.

Cold sweat dripped down her body in trepidation. “It’s just a ghost,” she muttered repeatedly. Yet she watched a black puss begin to ooze from the hundred burn sores on the ghost’s body and a small whimper stumbled out of her lips. It through back its neck and laughter spilled out, cutting across the night with a knife. Beth gave another scream as Leyna crumpled in on herself, and she felt Beth’s protective arms curl around her body, begging Leyna to be okay.

However, Leyna could not control her thoughts and her mind was consumed in a void of fright. She felt cold all over, and numbness was creeping over her like spiders. What was this thing?! This was so different. This was so not real! Yet it was flash! She could tell! But this couldn’t be real though. This was just her imagination. This wasn’t happening. Nothing was there. There was nothing this evil. She just had to calm herself. She had to make it stop. She had to make the nothing go away. These things only happened in fiction. “It’s not real,” she whispered. She breathed.

Then, just as she closed her eyes to calm herself, the monster opened its slit and sent another earsplitting cackle through the air. “Oh how I love the scent of your fear!” It screamed in joy and its body writhed backwards in happiness, the bones twisting at weird angles and sending crackling through the night. The thing took another step and it began to dance in happiness cooing one word over and over again: fear, fear, fear, fear!

Leyna ripped her eyes open. Her tremors had stopped. She had to fight. This thing would not defeat her. She would not feel fear! Her hands gripped the ground, and Beth gasped as she sensed her friend’s awareness.

Though she was too late. An arm suddenly shot through the air, its blackened claws spread out like a fan, and they pierced Beth directly through the abdomen. A splatter of blood spewed through the air. Beth’s mouth opened in shock and her body slowly arced backwards, falling beside Leyna with a heavy thud.

What happened? Leyna’s throat constricted and she turned her head slowly to stare at her friend’s bleeding body beside her. The gray arm wrenched out. Leyna just stared, stared at the body of her friend, as it lay crumpled on the grass. The eyes were wide in horror and her mouth gasped desperately for breath as the body convulsed and writhed in pain. Leyna’s stomach churned and she instantly knew everything was real. A ghastly scream ripped from her lips and pierced the night.

The monster delightfully screamed in return, and a purplish tongue lashed from between its slit and began to dreamily lick, one by one, the blood off each finger. A new wave of tremors tore through Leyna’s body, and she – in a dazed panic – stretched her shaking hands out to grab at her friend. “Beth! Beth!” her words were choked out and feeble. Coughing up a spew of blood, her friend’s hand curled around a patch of grass as if trying to grasp onto life. Leyna’s eyes moved to the blood slugging its way out of Beth’s stomach. “No . . .” Her pulse quickened and she screamed out again. “Beth!”

The monster began to revolve its head slowly on its neck as it watched Leyna with slight interest. The ghost maniacally giggled. “Aren’t you a special and pretty little girl? You can see me! But you’re poor dumb friend cannot.” The ghost seemed to contemplate this for a moment. “That’s fine though. I’m going to eat her anyway.” Leyna felt her breath stop, and it sneered at her. “But if you let me do it without interruptions I might keep you for a pet instead of making you dessert. Deal?” The monster’s thick tongue slowly slopped around its mouth as if dying for a morsel, but Leyna shook her head. “No . . .” she whispered out. Its laughter mocked her, and she felt an uncontrollable rage building inside. Beth was going to die! She had to do something. She had to find her courage again. These things did not scare her!

Her insides felt on fire. “You can’t!” Her voice came out strong and fearless, and grasping Beth’s sweaty palm, she wrenched her eyes away and glared at the ghost. “You have to go through me first!” Her eyes blazed with a dark fire, and her breath ushered out in quick succession. This ghost was not going to win.

It’s eyes flared with irritation. “Well . . . I surely would have liked a girly like yourself for a toy, but . . . I guess I can always find someone else to eat out.” The ghost burst with laughter again, and as it began to take another step, an explosion tore through the air and Leyna instantly ducked as smoke erupted all around. The ghost spun wildly through air, slamming against the tree it had emerged from. Ropes spun out of the smoke, wrapping around the torso tightly and pinning it down. Screaming in agony, the ghost writhed against the binds and spat pained and furious curses through the night. Leyna felt her heart beat wildly, and her head spun around to find where the shot had come from.

Slowly like a mirage, a figure – walking evenly as if it had all the time in the world – began to appear through the fog and did not stop until it had reached Leyna’s upturned and stunned gaze. The figure was that of a boy, not much older than Leyna. He was tall and sickly thin with white hair and an eye patch over one eye. His one eye, an unhealthy blue color, peered down at the two girls as if it knew not what to make of them.

“HOW DARE YOU?!” The ghost unexpectedly shrieked out, its body convulsing and twisting – breaking bones that then made loud nauseating cracks.

The boy peeled his confused eye away from the girls and raised an eyebrow. His voice was low and methodical, sending a chill down Leyna’s already shivering body. “What was that? I thought you didn’t know how to make a cohesive sentence? This is new.” He raised a skeptical eyebrow and a hint of laughter sparkled beneath his eye.

The ghost spat hisses at him and hate consumed its features. “You ugly boy! I refuse to be bound again! I refuse! You cannot do this to me!”

“Oh but I can, and I will keep doing it until I murder your pathetic soul.” The boy smiled placidly, and Leyna gasped as he leapt over her, landing softly in front of the ghost. The boy brought his face until it was inches from it. “How I detest you, freak.” The boy spat the last insult.

The ghost growled and thrashed against the ropes, trying desperately to lash out at the boy mocking it. Yet when it realized there was no hope and the boy just kept grinning, the ghost relaxed and a ridiculing smirk distorted its face. “Ah – but you know all about being a freak, don’t you boy!” Astonishment smashed the boy’s smile and he fell back a step. “Don’t think I don’t know about what a freak you are! No one will ever love a filthy half-breed like yourself!” The ghost cackled and the boy could not seem to move or do anything. Shock consumed his features.

A panic gripped Leyna. He had to kill it – now! “FINISH IT!” she screamed frantically at the boy.

The boy flinched at her words, but as the ghost sent another cackle into the night, the boy lunged forward, plunging a dagger that had been resting in a sheath at his side straight into caved in heart; a black sludge surged out, spraying the boy’s clothing. A bloodied scream engulfed the air and the ghost began to vanish, sinking into the bowels of the tree.

As soon as it had fully disappeared, the fog began to lift like an ebbing light, and the air became still again, filled only with the sounds of Beth’s gasping breath. Leyna stared at the boy’s back for what seemed like an hour until he finally turned to gaze at them again. The boy appeared rather lost at what to do, and after a long five minutes, he took two large strides over to them. “Come on!” he commanded roughly, bending down and wrenching Beth’s hand out of Leyna’s hands. Ignoring Leyna’s gasp of protest, he easily swept Beth up into his arms. Without saying anything more, the boy began to tread off into the night, leaving Leyna on the ground. Feeling confused Leyna stumbled up from her sitting position and raced after the boy. “Wait!”

The boy halted and turned, his eye glowing dangerously in the night. “Yes?” She halted. He was intimidating, piercing her with that one eye.

“Wh-where are you taking her?” Leyna stammered out, feeling frightened of the boy’s intense stare.

“She’s bleeding.” He said with a rather nonchalant voice as he raised an eyebrow.

A spot of aggravation rose in Leyna. “Well yes! Of course she’s bleeding!”

“Then what?” The boy asked, cocking his head to the side.

Leyna could not believe her ears. “Where are you taking her?! Who are you?! And what was that thing?!”

“Oh, that’s why you’re nagging?” The boy shrugged. “I’m taking her to get help. My name is Arion Yūrei Nelfeire. And that thing was a ghoul.” The boy faced forward and continued to walk.

Leyna felt dumbfounded. Did he honestly think that qualified for an answer? Yes, he had saved them but – she stopped herself. That was it though; he had saved them. She could not argue. He obviously knew what he was doing. She could trust him, right?

And unable to come up with any better idea, she just fell into step behind him without a clue as to what was going to happen. It seemed they walked for hours and the quietude between them was awkward beyond words. Beth’s heavy breathing was the only thing that fell through the thick air. Leyna’s heart beat wildly against her chest as they trekked deeper and deeper into the graveyard. Graves began to thin out and more and more trees fell into their pathway. Soon only a few cracked and decaying headstones remained. The eerie aura of the area had long since worn off, but Leyna still felt a chill creeping up her spine. Maybe it had to do with the one eyed boy? He was so quiet and mysterious. He was also so noticeably confused. Every step they took his face seemed to screw up into an even deeper frown and his eyebrows would lower more and more. It was as if he was an uncertain hero not in tune with his role. However uncertain he may have been though, he kept walking and keeping Beth as steady as possible.

Finally they passed the last tombstone and the trees completely surrounded them, shrouding them in darkness. Leyna felt her head was ready to burst from the awful silence. “Arion?”

“Yes?” he replied back rather quickly. His voice was still cold and steady.

“How much further?” she whispered out.

He shook his head and disregarded her question. “You can see them?”

“See what?” Leyna asked, her eyes wide in shock.

He shrugged again. “Well I guess it does not matter. They won’t appear if I’m here.”

“Wait, what do you–” Leyna stopped just as suddenly as Arion came to an abrupt halt.

“We’re here.” He spoke out softly.

“What?!” Leyna peered through the trees and darkness, and when her eyes could not strain any more, a monstrous circus tent loomed into view. A gasp escaped her lips. “The circus . . . ?”

Nodding, Arion began to head toward the giant closed flap in the black tent. A feeling of disgust rose so vehemently in Leyna that a powerful shout erupted from her. “A CIRCUS?!” Arion froze mid-step and was so surprised that he almost dropped Beth. “How could you?” Leyna shrieked, her eyes shooting daggers into the back of his head. Arion turned around slowly and began to open his mouth to speak but Leyna continued, pointing a shaking finger at him. “YOU?!” He jumped. “My friend is dying . . . and you . . . YOU take her to a circus?!”

“I . . . I was just . . .” Arion stammered, a blush rising to his cheeks. He was lost for word and obviously terrified. She found it hilarious that he was scared of her and not that ghost thing.

Leyna was about to yell at him again when a high-pitched voice rang through the air. “Arion?! You’re back!” Leyna’s head spun toward the voice only to see a bubbly, pink haired girl flying at top speed out of the tent. A smile beamed off of her face and her pretty green eyes glimmered in the night. She was wearing what appeared to be an extremely sparkly and bright green tutu. When the girl reached Arion she let out a screechy scream. “Oh my gosh! What happened?!”

Arion shuffled uncomfortably under the weight of Beth. “Well a ghoul attacked and then–”

The girl’s face lit up in horror. “Oh my gosh! Take her inside quickly! I’ll go find Acharya!” She ducked back into the tent and Leyna stood rather transfixed on the spot, unsure of what to do.

“Come on.” The boy whispered out, heading inside the tent as well. Leyna followed carefully; she was full of suspicion and her heart kept racing, but as she stepped inside she felt it leap. It was indeed a grand circus. As light filled her sight she noted the tent was a lush, velvet maroon and not black, as she had thought. There were no benches set out yet, but the center ring was bustling with people practicing all sorts of tricks and stunts. It was truly captivating and Leyna wasn’t sure if she could retract her eyes from staring at it. What was this place?