The elderly vampire fixed his unseeing eyes upon Sneer. “I am Tarlo Negative,” he declared. “Descended from one of Scream Street’s founding fathers. If he could see what you have done to the lives of those he wished to protect, you would not live to see another dawn.”
“B-but, my money…” moaned Sir Otto.
Tarlo continued to stare at the landlord with dead eyes. “Consider the loss of your money a minor inconvenience,” he said shortly.
“Freaks!” bellowed the landlord, realizing there was nothing he could do. He spun on his heels and pushed his way through the crowds towards Sneer Hall. “Dixon!” he shrieked. “I want you back on gate duty in two minutes — and NO POETRY!”
Luke helped his mum and dad to their feet. “Are you OK?” he asked.
Mrs Watson nodded. “I suppose all I needed to help me change back was to hear your dad’s voice.”
Luke felt his cheeks burn. “I… I stopped him from coming to see you,” he admitted.
“You did what you thought was best,” said his dad, smiling fondly at him.
Resus came over and gave Luke a nudge. “Come on, wolf-boy,” he grinned. “You don’t want to miss the vampire family reunion!” Cleo joined the boys as they clambered out of the emporium and went to where Kian and his grandad were standing.
“Tarlo Negative,” declared Resus, holding up his palm to the elderly vampire. “I am Resus, of the glorious line of Negatov. I am honoured to make your acquaintance.”
“I presume you are offering me your palm, young vampire,” said Tarlo. “It may be difficult for me to examine it, however.” He gently tapped one of his cloudy, unseeing eyes.
“Oh,” said Resus, reddening. “Sorry.”
“I do not doubt your identity, Resus,” Tarlo assured him. “For I sense that you carry something which once belonged to a common ancestor…”
Resus searched under his cloak until he found the fang of Count Negatov, the first relic that he, Luke and Cleo had found. “You can tell I’ve got this?” he asked in amazement.
He handed over the tooth and watched as the elderly vampire ran his fingers over its smooth surface.
“You would be surprised how my senses have improved since I lost my sight,” said Tarlo.
Cleo smiled down at Kian, who was bouncing up and down excitedly, trying to get a glimpse of the relic. Then she sighed. “If only we could go back and choose not to take the fang in the first place,” she said, “we might not be surrounded by normals right now.”
Luke grabbed her arm. “You’re a genius!” he exclaimed.
“I am?” asked Cleo.
Resus laughed. “Don’t tell me you’re suggesting we go back in time!”
Luke shook his head impatiently and pulled The G.H.O.U.L. Guide from his pocket. “Mr Skipstone!” he cried as the face on the cover opened its eyes. “I think I know how to close the doorway to Scream Street!”
“What?” demanded Cleo.
“How?” asked Resus.
Luke grinned at his friends. “Easy. We just have to give the six relics back to the founding fathers!”
Tommy Donbavand was born and brought up in Liverpool and has worked at numerous careers that have included clown, actor, theatre producer, children’s entertainer, drama teacher, storyteller and writer. His non-fiction books for children and their parents, Boredom Busters and Quick Fixes for Bored Kids, have helped him to become a regular guest on radio stations around the UK and he also writes for a number of magazines, including Creative Steps and Scholastic’s Junior Education.
Tommy sees his comedy-horror series Scream Street as what might have resulted had Stephen King been the author of Scooby Doo. “Writing Scream Street is fangtastic fun,” he says. “I just have to be careful not to scare myself too much!” Tommy lives in Lancashire with his family and sees sleep as a waste of good writing time.
You can find out more about Tommy and his books at his website: www.tommydonbavand.com
Other Scream Street titles
1: Fang of the Vampire
2: Blood of the Witch
3: Heart of the Mummy
4: Flesh of the Zombie
5: Skull of the Skeleton
6: Claw of the Werewolf
Coming soon
8: Attack of the Trolls
For my brother, Bryan.
Sorry for accidentally punching you in
the face on Christmas morning, 1980 …
when you were two years old.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.
First published 2009 by Walker Books Ltd 87 Vauxhall Walk, London SE11 5HJ
2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1
Text © 2009 Tommy Donbavand Illustrations © 2009 Cartoon Saloon Ltd
The right of Tommy Donbavand to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
This book has been typeset in Bembo Educational
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Clays Ltd. St Ives plc
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, taping and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data: a catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-4063-2239-2
www.walker.co.uk
Invasion of the Normals Page 9