Xander's Chance

Xander gingerly pulled the necklace free and rearranged her hair. He placed the cloak over her body and covered her face, not wanting to get dirt in her dark hair.

Before the sun was fully on the horizon, he pushed the last armful of dirt into place over the low mound and sat back. Xander tied the necklace around his belt and stood.

He missed her already. Pain struck him so hard, he gasped. It was followed by the stark reality that he had nothing - and no one - else to go to. He was hungry and alone.

Pain turned into an emotion almost too strong for him to control.

You will have a choice to make.

Revenge or death. Xander's fangs grew. His mother never held a grudge against his father, and suddenly, Xander didn't understand why not. How was she unable to see what his father did?

Xander's eyes settled on the mask and hood he dropped near the door when he arrived the day before. He hated them, too, and how they'd always come between him and his world.

The stranger spoke of a land where he was accepted and never hungry, where they'd build an army to kill his father.

The fury within him grew. He swiped the mask and hood from the floor and put them on. With one last look over his shoulder, he stepped into the early morning air.

Xander engaged his senses and trotted through the nearly vacant streets. The tavern where the woman told him to go was in the center of the city. He slowed as he neared the tavern, taking in the amount of armed men gathered outside at such an early time. His eyes spotted the form he sought, and he wove his way through the crowd, trailing her down a quiet side street.

The stranger turned, her bright eyes on Xander. She didn't seem surprised to see him. She had a new cloak, one that appeared as soft as her other one. Aware of his dirty appearance, Xander wiped his hands on his worn breeches.

"You've made a decision?"

Xander nodded. "I want revenge."

"Good." That smile again, the one that scared him, crossed the stranger's face. "Where we are going, you don't need your mask. My men will not harm you. From this day forward, you will never have to hide again."

Xander reached up slowly. He pushed the hood back first and shivered at the breeze that ruffled his dark hair. Peeling off the mask, he waited for the world to crash down around him and people to lynch him.

Nothing happened. The indirect sun was warm on his face, and he was surprised how much better he was able to see the world without the depths of the hood hindering him. He dropped the mask on the ground.