A/N: Heh, well, to anyone still reading this, I again apologize for taking so long to get this stupid chapter out. Procrastination and I are rather good friends, unfortunately... ^^; ugh... But, anyway, here it is. Admittedly, I had no idea how to end this chapter, so if it's bad, I'm sorry. T___T

IN ADDITION: I have decided to give everyone a little preview of one of my newest stories! Lol. :D So, yeah, hope you like it! Whoop...


Chapter 5

-Annette-

The sky outside began to grow dark. I could just see the edge of the sunset from a small window in the jailhouse. Just when I was beginning to think they had forgotten about me, the door opened and two men came in. They said nothing as they approached and I pulled myself to my feet, renewed fear racing through my veins.

While one man took hold of my arms, the other reached up and unlocked the padlock that attached the chains to the wall, keeping my wrists in the shackles. As soon as the chains loosened, my first instinct was to fight. I jammed my heel as hard as I could into the foot of the man holding my arms, causing him to grunt and slacken his grip just slightly. Taking the opportunity, I wretched my arms free and shoved the other man with all my might. He didn't move much, but I managed to squirm away from them and made a break for the door.

A glimmer of hope sparked in my heart for a brief moment, but it was quickly dashed as the door opened seconds before I reached it. Unable to stop in time, I ran straight into Father Lewes' arms. His iron-tight grip immediately clamped down on my arms.

"No! Get your hands off me! Let go!" I screamed, twisting and struggling to get free.

"Stop your struggling, girl. You're only making this harder on yourself," he said in the same emotionless voice.

I ignored him and continued to struggle as hard as I could. "You can't do this! Let go!"

The priest growled in frustration and suddenly drove his fist into my stomach.

All the air left my body and I gasped, unable to breathe. My knees buckled as the rest of my body went limp. Lewes held me up and ordered the two men to help him bring me outside. Each of them took one of my arms and half dragged, half carried me out of the jailhouse. I lifted my head enough to see where they were taking me.

In the center of the village, a large pile of wood had been gathered with a tall, thick pole standing in the middle of it. What must have been all the villagers were gathered in a semi-circle around the pyre, some of them holding torches.

"No… please don't," I managed to say, my voice barely above a whisper.

As always, they did not listen. The two men helped Lewes lift me up onto the pile of wood and put my back against the pole. Lewes drew the chain through a metal loop in the wooden pole above my head and locked them down. Using what little strength was left in me, I pulled at the chain, but it only resulted in the shackles cutting into my wrists. The men removed my boots before climbing off the wood pile.

Father Lewes turned to address the audience. "This woman has brought a curse into our town. Tonight, we shall cleanse this evil and send it back to the pits of Hell where it belongs."

The villagers cheered, brandishing their torches. As soon as Lewes climbed down from the pyre, they set the torches against the sides of the wood pile. Panic gripped me as I watched the flames spread quickly over the wood, which had been treated with some kind of oil.

I realized I was screaming, but I couldn't make myself stop. Thick smoke rose up all around me, making it almost impossible to breathe, and finally putting an end to my screaming. Every time I inhaled, the smoke filled my lungs, causing me to choke and cough. The fire began to lick at my bare feet. Another hoarse scream tore from my throat as searing pain crept up my legs. Dizziness began to set in due to the lack of oxygen couple with the terrible pain.

My head rolled back. I could see part of the night sky through the clouds of smoke. Perhaps it was just a hallucination brought on by the lack of oxygen, or by my desperation for help, but on top of one of the buildings, I thought I saw a dark figure looking down at me. At last, the oxygen deprivation caught up to me, and I was swallowed by darkness.

-Keiran-

As soon as the sun set, I awoke, and instantly knew I was alone. I sat up quickly and looked down at the empty spot on the bed, my heart filling with dread. Where could she have gone? This area would be unfamiliar to her; of that much I was certain, as we were several miles from the boarding school. She could not have gotten far. I had to find her before something happened.

Throwing the covers off and pushing the curtain aside, I climbed out of bed. Suddenly, I was struck by such an intense wave of fear it made me stumble slightly. The fear wasn't my own, it was Annette's. I saw flashes of trees, a small town, and a priest as if I were seeing them through her eyes. My blood turned to ice in my veins.

She had found the town on the other side of the forest. The town full of highly superstitious people who knew of the existence of vampires, thinking that we were nothing more than children of Satan himself. Any person who entered that town bearing the mark of a vampire, like my Annette, was executed without question.

Cursing my idiocy, I dressed quickly, not even bothering to button my shirt. I should have warned her. Maybe then she wouldn't have run away. I shook my head. This was no time to think about that. Saving her was all that mattered.

I pushed open the door of the church and stopped in my tracks. Smoke was rising in the distance. Annette was still alive, but her time was short. Without any further hesitation, I darted into the woods as fast as I could. Annette's fear and pain pushed me to go even faster. She was suffocating… burning alive…

After was seemed like an eternity, I finally reached the edge of the town. In the very center, I could see a large crowd gathered around one of the most horrifying sights I had ever seen. Annette with her arms chained over her head, surrounded by smoke and flames. Her screams hit me like daggers in the chest. I scaled the wall of the nearest building, jumping from rooftop to rooftop until I was right above the pyre. As I watched, Annette's head rolled up and her eyes landed on me for just a few moments before she passed out completely.

I clenched my fists and jumped, dropping just inches from her. Screams and shouts erupted from the audience, but I ignored them, using all my concentration to ward off the flames as much as possible. Nevertheless, the heat quickly started to overwhelm me. I put my arm around Annette's waist and grabbed the chain with my other hand, pulling on it with every last bit of my strength. Ever so slowly, it began to give way. I grit my teeth and pulled even harder. Finally, the wood splintered and the chain came free.

I stumbled back a bit, holding Annette tightly to me. The wood under my foot crumbled, causing the fire to flare up even more. I stepped back to the center of the pile, searching for any way out. The crowd was still shouting and jeering at us. With a snarl, I hooked my foot under a burning log and kicked outwards, making part of the pyre collapse. The people scrambled to get away from the burning pieces of wood and a part formed in the crowd. I lifted Annette into my arms and leaped over the flames, landing between them in a crouch.

"Get them! Do not let them escape!" a voice shouted over the others.

Before they even had a chance to move, I was up and running. I knew they would try to chase me, even hunt me down, but I didn't care. I just kept running until the sound of their voices faded and eventually disappeared. Instead of returning to my church and risk them finding it, I went to the south, deeper into the forest. It wasn't until I reached a small stream that I felt safe enough to stop. Just to be sure, I held still for a few moments, listening to the noises around me; nothing more than crickets, small animals shuffling in the bushes, and the occasional owl.

With a small sigh of relief, I turned my attention to the woman in my arms. Annette was still unconscious and didn't appear to be breathing. I slowly knelt down and laid her on the grass next to the river, leaning down and putting my ear to her chest. Her heartbeat was there, but it very slow and uneven. I straightened up, running a hand through my hair. Thinking quickly, I placed one hand on top of the other, rested my palm on her sternum, and started pressing down firmly.

"Come on, Annette… Please… Just breathe…" I pleaded quietly, continuing the chest compressions.

At long last, Annette gasped and started coughing. I let out another sigh of relief, cradling her upper body in my arms.

"That's it, love. Keep breathing," I whispered to her, stroking a bit of hair away from her face. Soon enough, her breathing stabilized and her eyelids fluttered open. I looked down into her eyes; she was disoriented and possibly in shock. I stroked her cheek, "It's all right. I'm here."

Her mouth worked, but no sound came out, save for a few small gasps. She needed water that much was clear. Keeping her upper body on my lap, I reached down and tore off a strip of fabric from the bottom of her nightgown. I soaked it in the stream then squeezed the water into her mouth. She gulped it down and I repeated the process a few more times.

When I began to use the wet cloth to wipe the ash from her face, she looked up at me, her eyes a little clearer now and more focused. Her hand slowly lifted up to rest on my arm.

"K… Keiran?" she managed to say, her voice barely above a whisper.

I gave her a gentle smile, "Yes, it's me. Don't worry, you're safe now."

Annette whimpered in pain, her fingers clenching around my shirt sleeve, "Hurts… it hurts."

"I know, I know," I murmured, looking down at her feet. Fortunately, while the burns were bad, they were not as severe as I had feared. Maneuvering carefully, I dipped her feet into the cool water, letting her head fall back against my shoulder. The temporary relief relaxed her and I stroked her hair gently as I had done on our first night together, soothing her mind. Eventually, she drifted off to sleep.

With a small smile, I lifted her into my arms. I knew of a place where we could stay, at least until I knew we were safe again. The distant sounds of footsteps moving through the forest reached my ears, telling me it was time to move. Those humans were far too stubborn for their own good. I darted into the trees once more, hoping they would give up the chase soon, but knowing in my heart that it wasn't likely.


*~*BONUS CONTENT*~*

THE UNICORN GUARDIAN

PROLOGUE

First, there was darkness and the painful sensation of being squeezed through a small tunnel. Every few minutes she would move slightly farther, and each minute stretched on like an eternity. She was suffocating, unsure how much longer she could withstand the pressure. Suddenly, everything became bright, and she could breathe again. She gasped a few times before coughing fluid out of her lungs and nose. Warm air rushed over her damp body, but the feeling was strange, as was the hard ground underneath her. All the new sounds and smells were unfamiliar and bizarre. It had been so long since she had seen daylight and her new eyes weren't accustomed to it yet. Disoriented and scared, she lifted her head, making a small noise and kicking her long, bony legs.

Then, a soft, warm tongue ran over her cheek and ears, calming her, slowly bringing her back to her senses. She remembered who she was; Shamira, formerly a spirit, now inhabiting the body of a newborn unicorn foal. She knew her purpose, but that would come later. Until then, she had to get used to being in a solid form.

Once Shamira's new mother had finished cleaning her downy baby coat, she unfolded her delicate legs and attempted to stand on still-soft hooves. It took a few tries, but soon she was up and walking on her wobbly appendages. She stood close to her mother; a pale brown mare with a long, white mane. Shamira's own fur was dark brown, as was the standard for a foal.

As she stood with her mother, letting her tired little body recover from the strain of being born, she took a look around. More unicorns of all colors were standing nearby, grazing, playing, or grooming one another, blissfully unaware of the danger they were in. Every day, more and more of their kind were being hunted down and killed by humans for their horns, hooves, and hair. This was Shamira's true purpose, the reason she had given up her life as a spirit and taken on the body of a unicorn. She would grow in less than half the time it took a normal foal, and gain the ability to take on a human form, giving her the power to protect these magnificent creatures.

The unicorns were her kin now, her family, and she would be their guardian.


AAAANNND there you have it! Stay tuned for more of Visitor In The Night when I happen to get around to writing more. XD