The night settled over the world like a heavy velvet cloak of darkness.� Not a star could be seen in the heavens above, nor could any light be spotted on the expanse of earth below. Night covered everything, preening in its dominance, quelling all light with its might and malice. All was darkness�except for the tiny sliver of silver that threatened to break free from a thick prison of cloud.� Moonlight, beautiful and deadly. Behind the curtain of inky black night, a full moon hung in the stunning sky fighting against the night holding it captive. Suddenly the wind picked up, and moved like an unseen hand to part the blanket of cloud letting the silvery light spill through. Vanquished, the darkness faded under the power of the moon and all was light�

But all was not silent. The leaves on the trees rustled and crackled as the breeze blew through. An owl gave its low, hollow cry from the midst of a forest. Down below ragged cliffs, the surf beat an endless, pounding rhythm against the shoreline.� Animals scurried unseen in the shadows and the mournful cry of a wolf echoed in the distance. The night was singing, playing out its eternal song, and calling to all of those who would listen.

Someone was listening, a young girl sitting in a window seat in the large old manor on the cliff.� Diana Caniss sat transfixed by the night sky.� Her body was that of a teenage girl-- fair, smooth, unmarred skin--like ivory--and long, dark hair. Her golden eyes, however, betrayed her; they glittered in that young face with the heavy knowledge of someone much older than her mere sixteen years. Her gaze carried the weight of age and innocence all at once, and it was currently fixed upon the happenings just outside her window.� Diana watched the pale rays of moonlight dancing across the glassy ocean, disappearing over the horizon.� She saw the light whispering among the trees that lined the cliff top. She heard the sound of the moon calling her name with the seductiveness of a lover.� She would answer.

As if in a trance, Diana moved from her perch in the window to shuffle soundlessly across the old wooden floorboards of the attic. The heavy oak door emitted a small creak when it was opened and the stairs uttered groans of protest as Diana crept down them. Three flights of stairs later found the small teenager standing in the main hallway of the manor. Still moving as if in a dream, Diana opened the front door and slipped quietly into the night.

The air was cool on her skin and the breeze carried with it an almost tangible feeling of electricity.� With a whistling sound, the wind picked up, blowing Diana's midnight colored hair into her pale face. She didn�t notice.� Instead, she moved with the same distracted grace into the dense cluster of trees. The moonlight found a new interest and began to play about in her hair, turning the rich locks the color of gunmetal and back again. Still she wandered, lost in the song of the night that seemed to be playing for her ears only.�

Brambles, twigs, and leaves crunched under her bare feet as she walked, but Diana felt no pain. An old owl hooted at her from the midst of the trees, but she didn't hear him or heed his warning. From the heart of the forest, a wolf's cry split the night air with the swiftness of a lightning strike. Still Diana felt no fear; so lost was she in the magical spell of the night that the rest of the world fell away from her. She did not see what lurked among the trees with all of the stealth of a shadow. She did not hear the sound of crunching leaves as the shadow stalked its prey. And she did not notice when the shadow leapt from its hiding spot to tackle her frail body and hurtle her to the ground.

Only then did she awaken from her trance and her echoing screams were added to the ever-changing song of the night. Diana now felt fear, she felt the weight of the shadow pressing her down, and she felt sticks and needles of the forest floor pressing into her back through her thin cotton nightgown. The shadow on her chest was growling, a low, rumbling sound. Its breath, warm and moist, ghosted over her face as Diana tried to calm her screaming, to get away, to do�something.

There was nothing to be done.

In the next instant, the shadow lunged forward and teeth--silver like the moon and twice as deadly-- sank into her soft shoulder, ripping both flesh and screams from her body. She froze in utter horror, but the beast did not kill her. Instead, it lapped the spilled blood from its jowls, growled once to the terrified girl in warning, and took off again into the night in a blur of silver. Diana lay motionless on the ground where she had fallen, too dazed and pained to think of moving.

�The shimmering moonlight gathered around her in sympathy. As it did so, Diana felt a burning pain lacing throughout her entire being, starting from her weeping, torn shoulder. The fire of agony spread as if the moonlight was scalding her, and soon she was screaming again. Her body jerked and twisted; the screams intensified, growing louder and wilder by the moment.� Diana wailed in torment as the light touched her, the song of the night long forgotten, and yet ingrained into her soul at the same time. The pain grew worse, the spasms increased, until she knew nothing else. One lone mournful howl burst from her throat before darkness seized her and all was silent�

A wisp of cloud obscured the moon from view for just a moment and blew away just as quickly. The moonlight spilled over the earth like blood once more, and the eternal song played on. From the cliff top, the lone shape of a wolf sat gazing out over the ocean with glittering, ageless, golden eyes, and fur the color of the night sky.� Slowly, it raised its head and added its voice to night. In the distance, a second howl accompanied the first, and the endless moonlight sonata played on without a single note or word.