Free Beginnings (Nightwalkers) by H.N. Sieverding

 
     
     
     
    Chapter One
     
     
     
    Ashleigh recently signed a contract with New Castle Publishing for her Nightwalkers series. The first novel, Kiss of the Moon , was releasing soon. Since then she had been working non-stop on the second book. All she thought about was Nightwalkers lately. She couldn’t turn off the story running in her head, even if she wasn’t at the computer typing it out.
    And that wasn’t a good thing. Not when the storyline for the series was inspired by her nightmares. By the persistent, repetitive dreams about a fictitious life she led with an evil king named Nicolas. He loved her, hurt her and had made her into a vampire. She had written the series to conquer this handsome devil, and to give the heroine in her dreams the happy ending she deserved.
    Right now, Ashleigh was trying to sleep, but couldn’t. She had to work in the morning and she knew if she didn’t fall asleep now, it would make getting up that much harder. So, she did what she often did when she couldn’t sleep. She started telling herself a story in her head. One from Nightwalkers.
    She then mouthed the words in her novel as she drifted off to sleep, “Do not fear my child for I will…” Then, she started to dream, a dream that she had dozens of times before. A dream about the fictional world in her Nightwalker series.
    Ashleigh’s voice continued in her dream where she left off, “…for I will slay the evil king and bring peace to the land once again.”
    Her dream world quickly blanketed her. Now, she was in a worse place than when she fell asleep. A dark, damp cellar, the smell of isolation hanging thick in the stale air. She could taste the dust around her, the filth leaving a film on her skin as well. The setting was medieval, something that was also the setting in Nightwalkers.
    A single lamp sat near Ashleigh, illuminating her bright, blue eyes as a few children listened to her story. Ashleigh continued, “Never again shall you hide like a rat, but you will rise to the heavens like the queen that I see within you. Then, the brave knight took her close and—”
    “Ashleigh,” Debra spoke, a lecturing tone to her voice. “Do not fill their head with rubbish. Knowing what is going on above is enough. They do not need to be scared further.” There was a scowl on the woman’s face, her once crisp, blue dress now covered in a layer of dirt and torn at the edges.
    Ashleigh changed the subject, one of the children now sitting in her lap. “It’s quiet tonight.” Ashleigh gazed into the darkness beyond their lamp. Her eyes narrowed on the door she knew lied there. The exit that would let them breathe fresh air, but by doing so, she would most likely be captured by the monsters who lurked in the shadows. Their home was being ravaged by them.
    “Tonight is the meteor shower.” Ashleigh’s mother, Marion, spoke, her eyes gazing at the door. “I wish I could sneak up and see it.”
    “I don’t think that’d be a good idea,” Debra lectured. “We are not safe yet.”
    “We haven’t heard from the dark king’s soldiers in a month. They probably don’t know there are any survivors left. I’m sure it’s safe for us to return to the village.” Marion motioned to the door. “I bet they have moved onto Caspian because there is nothing that is of use to them here anymore.”
    “You do not know that.” Debra now held a child in her arms. He was equally ill-dressed and dirty.
    “I think if we were quiet, we could sneak up and watch it.” Her mother turned to Ashleigh, and another girl, Cathy. “Will you come with me?”
    “Okay.” Cathy stood, a small smile on her face. She then went to Ashleigh and pulled up on her hand, making the young girl rise. “Let’s go.”
    Before Debra could protest, the trio moved toward the door and slipped out. They made sure to stay quiet and in the shadows. But they couldn’t help but gawk at the empty house. Breathe the fresh air. Feel the kiss of the wind coming