Lynxar Series - The Vampire King: Books 7-13 (7-Book Bundle)

by Hart, Melissa F.

  “Pay attention!” the Mafia King barked at Archer in a harsh whisper. “The witch has protected this place with a powerful curse! If you don’t follow the precise pattern going in or coming out, you’ll set off the spell and we’ll all be killed!”

  “Don’t worry; I can see where you’re putting your feet, even when I’m not looking directly at you.” Archer said reassuringly.

  “Yeah, he can literally see behind him.” Lynxar assured the Mafia King, who pursed his lips, impressed by Archer’s powers of vision.

  Suddenly, the Mafia King held up his chubby hand, signaling the party to come to an abrupt halt, nearly causing them to bump into one another. He whispered, “This is the door to the fortress! Now what’s the plan?”

  The four members of the Alliance of Hero Friends had agreed not to share the details of their attack with their former enemy until he had proven himself trustworthy, but now that he had led them this far, they could no longer exclude him. The mid-day sun was sinking lower in the sky. It had taken a lot longer to find the fortress than they had hoped, and soon sunset would be upon them. If they were going to attack, they needed to do it now.

  Lynxar used his mental powers to send the first part of their plan straight into the Mafia King’s mind. The large man squeezed his eyes shut painfully at the unexpected sensation; his fists clenched at his sides, then grew accustomed to it and relaxed. He opened his eyes, nodded his consent, and said, “Let’s do it!”

  He pushed open the door to the fortress and burst into the grand hall exuberantly. As expected, it was filled with dozens of vampires, partying and celebrating wildly. They looked up carelessly, saw it was just the fat human and a few other vampires, and ignored them all to continue their celebration.

  Archer breathed a sigh of relief. He had secretly doubted if the disguises would be good enough to fool the vampires, but apparently they were.

  “Where have you been?” one of the vampires asked the Mafia King casually, as he sank his teeth into a piece of raw meat.

  “Lord Vladimus told me to go into the forest and find these three friends of his. Where is he?”

  “He and Etherial are still in the tower. We just completed building the portal; celebrate with us!”

  “Of course!” the Mafia King said, almost too loudly. He grabbed a bottle of wine and pretended to join their revelry.

  Archer and Lynxar passed a meaningful look between each other. The portal was complete: they had to destroy it now! Lynxar, Lynxonna and the Ghost would create a distraction big enough to draw Vladimus and Etherial out of the tower. Then the Mafia King would help Archer find the portal and he would destroy it. Lynxar gave Archer a long hug, silently wishing him good luck on his mission. He just wished it wasn’t the last time he would see him.

  Archer and the Mafia King quietly worked their way to the back of the grand hall, toward the staircase leading to the tower. Without seeming to be looking at them, Archer watched as they spread out to opposite corners of the room, preparing to enact their plan. The Ghost was invisible, even to Archer’s incredible vision, but he knew he was out there, too.

  Lynxar was ready to use his mind powers to give the signal for action, when suddenly he was interrupted. Lord Vladimus himself burst through the tower door, followed by Etherial and a petite, busty female. The vampire king spread his arms grandly and shouted out, “The portal works! It has been successfully tested! In two nights’ time, we will bring forth all our brothers and sisters from the vampire realm!”

  “Not if we have anything to say about it!” a new voice suddenly cried out, ending his speech of victory. Lord Vladimus looked to see a strange vampire stride into the center of the room. He ripped off his wig to reveal flowing purple hair and pulled away his mask. It was Lynxar!

  “Get him!” Vladimus roared and a mob of vampires pounced on him at once. He knocked them back against the walls with a blast of his telekinetic powers, but they recovered quickly and prepared to attack again.

  Archer held out his hands, preparing to manifest his bow and help his friends, but the Mafia King grabbed him by the arm and yanked him onto the stairwell leading up to the tower. The gangster said, “Let Lynxonna and Bryan help him. This is the distraction we’ve been waiting for! We’ve got to destroy that portal or all this will be for nothing!”

  Archer looked over his shoulder hesitantly. He hated to abandon his friends, but the Mafia King was right. He’d come here to destroy the portal and this might be his only chance to do it. One thought of Dawn’s beautiful face strengthened his resolve and he was determined to do whatever it took to save her.

  He followed the Mafia King up the steps to the top of tower and there it stood. Archer gasped in awe at the sight of it. Vampires could travel short distances on their own, so his people had developed portals to chase after them. They used the small devices to send individuals from planet to planet, protecting innocent people from the creatures. However, over time, the vampires had stolen the technology and expanded on it.

  With the portals, the vampires could travel greater distances than they could normally. They started making the portals bigger and bigger so they could travel in groups across the universe, causing destruction. This one was the largest portal Archer had ever seen; at least twenty-five feet in diameter. With enough energy to power it, they could move hundreds of vampires to any location in the galaxy! He had to destroy it for the sake of the entire universe!

  Archer regained his composure and held out his hands, manifesting his bow with a single arrow. It was immediately clear to the Mafia King that this was no ordinary arrow. The tip of it was made of pure crystal that shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow.

  Archer pulled the arrow back onto his string and cried out to the Mafia King, “Activate the portal!”

  “What are you going to do?” the Mafia King asked, for Lynxar had only shared part of his plan.

  Archer said, “I’m going to pass through it and destroy it from the other side. You need to join back with Lynxar and get out of here as fast as you can!”

  “How will you make it back if I do that?” the Mafia King asked naïvely, then hitched his breath as he realized Archer didn’t intend to return.

  The former gangster grabbed Archer by the shoulders and shook him roughly, saying, “If you do that, you might as well just let the vampires get us. Colossal City needs you, and the woman and her little girl need you the most. It will be like their world has already ended if you go on this suicide mission, and you know it.”

  The Mafia King released him from his grip, and Archer struggled to steady himself. Archer said, “I don’t want to leave Dawn and Aurora, but I have to do what I can to protect them and all the other citizens of Colossal City. This is the only way. Now, activate the portal! I have to deploy this weapon from the vampire realm to destroy it.”

  “Why, what is that?” the Mafia King asked, indicating the strange new arrow.

  Archer said “This crystal arrowhead is a special weapon I can only manifest once. In fact, making it now has drained me of all my powers for several days. I’m just a regular human now.”

  “Why? What is it?” the Mafia King asked in awe.

  Archer said “It holds a piece of an exploding star. If I detonate it on this side of the portal, we could all be killed. The only safe way to destroy the portal is from the vampire realm, where no one else will be hurt if the blast radius is too large. I just can’t take the chance of detonating it on this side.”

  The Mafia King understood. He pushed the button, activating the portal. A blinding light burst from it as it whirred to life. Archer strode bravely toward the portal, when suddenly the Mafia King stuck out his hand, blocking him.

  “Wait!” he said. “I’ve seen you hit incredible targets from impossible distances. Why can’t you launch your arrow through the portal, safely from this side?”

  Archer shook his head and said, “I told you; I don’t have my super powers of vision right now. I could still shoot an arrow at a simp
le target, but hitting a target through the portal is a lot more difficult. I just can’t risk messing this up.”

  The Mafia King grabbed his new friend roughly by the collar and said, “If there’s a chance you could destroy the portal without having to kill yourself by going to the other side, then you have to try. Think of the people who love you. Don’t abandon them like the people I had loved did to me. It ruined my life and made me want to do terrible things. My heart wasn’t able to heal from it until the day I learned that all of humanity was in jeopardy. I know you can hit that target even without your super-vision. You just have to believe in yourself!”

  Archer gasped for breath as the Mafia King released him. He thought of Dawn and Aurora and his heart broke for them. He knew the Mafia King was right; he had to try. He looked him the eye and nodded his head affirmatively. “Okay! Let’s do it!”

  Archer stared into the shining portal, straining his eyes to find the exact place through time and space that he needed to aim his arrow. He raised his arm, knowing the arc of flight had to be perfect, or all would be lost. Heaving a great breath for courage, he opened his fingers and let the arrow fly.

  Chapter Four

  Downstairs, the great hall was in chaos. Lynxonna had removed her disguise as well and joined Lynxar in his battle. The two of them stood back to back, each of them hurling vampires away from each other as the villains approached in an endless tide of evil.

  Meanwhile, the Ghost searched the grand hall, completely unseen, until finally he found what he was looking for. A box full of silver spikes the vampires had confiscated from their enemies lay hidden in a chest. As quickly as he could, he began hurling the weapons at the horde of vampires surrounding his friends. The vampires dropped as one by one he hit his mark, impaling them through the heart.

  Terrified by their unseen attacker, the remaining vampires began to scatter around the room. Lynxar realized they were at risk that some of them would flee back up to the tower.

  We’ve got to keep them distracted and away from the fortress tower! Lynxar sent his thought into the minds of his friends.

  The Ghost deactivated his invisibility so he could suddenly be seen by everyone in the room. He threw the last silver spike he had, killing the vampire closest to Lynxonna, then held up his empty hands and said, “Oops! I’m out of ammunition!”

  Lynxar understood Bryan’s ploy and yelled loudly. “We’re in trouble now! Run!”

  Bryan winked at Lynxar and reactivated his invisibility, becoming the Ghost once more. With his super strength, he broke open the front door of the fortress and ran out into the forest. Lynxar and Lynxonna followed him, and just as the hoped, the remaining horde of vampires chased after them.

  With just a dozen vampires left, all they had to do was keep them distracted long enough for Archer to complete his mission. It wouldn’t be an easy task, however, as the remaining vampires were the fastest, most bloodthirsty of the bunch. The sun was setting in the sky and as it grew darker, their strength just kept increasing.

  Feeling them getting nearer, Lynxonna pulled on a tree trunk out by its roots, throwing it down into the vampire’s path in an attempt to slow them down. The horde jumped easily over it, following close at their heels.

  Lynxar levitated a huge boulder to cause a rock slide behind them, wiping out a few of the vampires, but the rest continued their pursuit.

  Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light and the sound of a loud explosion in the distance. The heroes stopped in their tracks to look behind them. Far away, the tower of Etherial’s fortress was crumbling down in the wake of a huge blast that was as bright as an exploding star.

  The vampires stopped too, their faces filled with shock and despair. One of them yelled out, “Lord Vladimus has been defeated!”

  “He will rise to glory again!” a busty female with short dark hair cried out, but the rest began shouting angrily.

  “He does not deserve our loyalty. He promised us easy prey on this planet and it has been nothing but trouble. I’m going elsewhere!”

  The first vampire who had spoken twirled his cape around himself and disappeared in a puff of smoke. The rest began to vanish just as quickly, vaporizing before the heroes eyes, disappearing to nearby planets where the people were not so resistant.

  Fatallia soon saw that she was the only vampire remaining. Pouting out her lip indignantly, she snorted at the trio of hero friends and vanished along with the others.

  “He did it!” the Lynxar shouted triumphantly. “Archer succeeded in destroying the portal and it drove the vampires off!

  The Ghost deactivated his power of invisibility and became Bryan Hillman once more. He sat down heavily on a tree stump and said sadly “I just can’t believe he had to sacrifice himself to do it. The world won’t be the same without him.”

  “Archer is still alive! He’s in the tower!” Lynxonna said, but her tone wasn’t joyful, it was full of fear.

  “Are you sure?” Bryan asked, his voice full of excitement and hope.

  Lynxar nodded his head. He could see with his mind the same thing she had. He said to Bryan “Archer found a way to destroy the portal without having to sacrifice himself, but the weapon he manifested drained him of all his powers. He’s now completely defenseless and what’s worse is, he’s not alone!”

  “What do you mean?” Bryan asked, still utterly confused.

  Lynxonna said, “Our distraction didn’t work on everybody. Lord Vladimus, Prince Vlorian, and Etherial stayed behind in the fortress, and now they’ve captured Archer. If we don’t go after him, they’ll kill him. But if we do, they’ll kill us all.”

  Lynxar grinned and said, “That’s what they believe; but they don’t know what Rachel built in her lab. Let’s go!”

  Chapter Five

  Archer crawled out from the rubble of what used to be Etherial’s tower to find the witch glaring down at him with a look of hatred burning in her eyes. She used her wand to levitate him the rest of the way out of the debris and dropped him at the feet of Lord Vladimus.

  Archer saw that the Mafia King had been captured too and was already bound and gagged at the vampire’s feet.

  Prince Vlorian looked embarrassed that it had been his ally who had betrayed them and led Archer to the portal. Lord Vladimus looked strangely calm, although a dark rage burned in his eyes.

  He walked casually around the Mafia King in a slow circle, contemplating what to do with him. Suddenly, he held out his hand and manifested a double-edged sword as if out of thin air. He cried out to the Mafia King, “Let me show you what happens to those who betray me!”

  Archer summoned his powers in an effort to save his friend’s life, but nothing happened. A feeling of great fatigue and weakness overwhelmed him, and it took all his strength to keep from passing out. He suddenly remembered how he had destroyed the portal and what it had done to him! He knew that manifesting such a powerful weapon would drain him of all his abilities, but now he wasn’t the only one to pay the price.

  As Lord Vladimus raised his sword, all the color drained from Archer’s face. For the first time, he was helpless to protect his friend, or even himself. He cried out to the Mafia King, “I’m so sorry!”

  For his final words, the Mafia King said to him, “Don’t be. You let me be a hero for once. I’m glad we destroyed that portal. Now finish the job we came here to do.”

  Archer wanted to promise him that he would, but in all honesty, he didn’t see how it was possible. With tears in his eyes, he watched sadly as the Mafia King died.

  “Don’t worry; you won’t suffer his fate…yet.” Lord Vladimus said tauntingly to Archer as he wiped the blood from his sword. He stepped callously over the Mafia King’s corpse and pressed the tip of his blade to Archer’s throat. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t have a little drink of blood first.”

  Archer said, “Kill me if you want to, but you won’t win. My friends are still out there, protecting Colossal City. They’ll get you in the end and send you back where yo
u can never hurt anyone ever again.”

  “Oh no! Don’t tell me your friends are coming to save you!” Lord Vladimus cried out mockingly. With a wave of his hands, his manifested sword disappeared into thin air. Then his lips curled into an evil sneer and he said to Etherial, “Why don’t you tell our captive why we’re keeping him alive.”

  The witch laughed a cruel and awful sound. She ran her long fingernails teasingly along Archer’s chest and said, “You may think you’ve destroyed the portal, but I have a spell that can reopen it, as long as I have enough power to cast it. All I need is to drain the power from four superheroes and I’ll be able to perform my magic spell.”

  Prince Vlorian couldn’t resist joining in on the fun. He said tauntingly, “It looks like we already have one hero in our midst. Now we just need three more. When they get here, we’ll be ready for them!”

  With a wave of her wand, Etherial cleared away the debris of the tower to reveal the remnants of the portal, piling up huge mounds of wood and stone. Archer struggled as Prince Vlorian hoisted him over one shoulder as if he were nothing but a sack of flour and laid him beside the damaged portal. It was humiliating being without his powers, and he felt pathetic and weak as they bound him with ropes to a large chunk of broken stone.

  “Now we just wait and they will come.” Lord Vladimus said to his cohorts. They didn’t have to wait for long before a strange rustling of air let them know that someone invisible was sneaking past them toward the bait. It was almost too easy!

  With a flick of her wand, Etherial cast a spell in the air and instantly the outline of the Ghost was revealed to them as plainly as if he weren’t invisible at all. Prince Vlorian tackled the form of Bryan, and the two men tumbled to the ground. Both of them possessed equal strength and speed, and they fought powerfully against each other for the upper hand.