“That’s what Dad said too. So to what do we owe the honor of your visit, Doctor?” Anton smiled kindly at the doctor.
“No reason. Just checking in with Dominic. Haven’t had to come and mend anyone lately, so I wondered what was up?” Dr. Rowe joked.
Anton laughed heartily. “We are a troublesome lot, aren’t we? It’s a good thing we have such great friends to call on. We have had more troubles added to our list recently.”
“Oh? Anything I can help with?” the doctor asked.
“Not this time. Dad was called away to California about a week ago,” Anton said.
“California? That’s a long way for someone that rarely travels.”
“True, but I’m afraid it was necessary. Blake has taken ill and has slipped into a coma,” Anton explained.
“Oh no. I might be able to help in that scenario...” Dr. Rowe suggested.
“No, no…that’s too kind of you. You’ve done so much for us as it is, we wouldn’t think of having you fly across the country to care for Blake. No, Dad has another doctor friend based out of San Francisco who’s stepped in to help,” Anton said.
“May I ask who?” the doctor inquired.
“Dr. Anthony Andrews,” Anton said.
“Oh. Good man, Tony. He is indeed a good choice. Well, please send my good wishes to your cousin for a speedy recovery. And if Tony needs anything that I can help with, please don’t hesitate to give him my number. You did, however, say ‘troubles’ though. Has something else happened?”
“I’m afraid so. Josh’s parents were killed in a plane crash,” Anton said.
“Yes. I heard about that.”
“You did? How?” Anton asked, rather confused.
“Well, I didn’t know specifically it was his parents in the crash, but it was all over the news about the plane headed for St. Paul that exploded. Terrible shame about all those people,” the doctor said.
“I know. Josh isn’t doing very well with it, from what Dad says,” Anton said.
“Then I assume Mr. Brenner is with Dominic?” Dr. Rowe asked.
“Yes. I mean, I know it’s bad news about Blake, but if it hadn’t happened when it did, Josh and Melanie would have been on that plane with his parents,” Anton said.
“Oh. Yes. That was very fortunate, indeed. Please offer my condolences to Mr. Brenner,” the doctor said.
“Of course and thank you. You’re a good friend, Dr. Rowe. I’ll let Dad know that you called on him,” Anton said as Mark came barreling into the library, nearly dropping his small crossbow.
“Dear Lord, boy. Where are you going with all that?” the doctor asked.
Mark didn’t know what to say, for he hadn’t expected Dr. Rowe to be in the room. Anton stepped in and saved the awkward moment with, “Mark and I are going hunting.”
“What for? Elephants?” the doctor joked.
“You’re very funny, Dr. Rowe. No wonder Dad loves your company so. No, just out in the woods. We’ll probably just shoot cans, but Mark here is a fine archer and he was going to show me how to use this newfangled multiple shot crossbow he designed. Sounded like fun. Thought it would get our minds off of Blake,” Anton lied.
Suspiciously, Dr. Rowe, said, “I see. Well, don’t shoot your foot or Mr. Rosenthal, for that matter.”
“We should call you Dr. Chuckles today, Dr. Rowe,” Anton returned.
“Indeed,” Dr. Rowe said, grabbing his bag. “Good day,” he said as he left the room.
*****
With Dr. Rowe’s departure, Anton asked Mark, “What is all this?”
Ignoring his question, Mark asked, “Why did you lie to Dr. Rowe?”
“He doesn’t need to know where we’re going,” Anton said.
“True, I guess,” Mark said.
“So again, what is all this?” Anton asked.
“Stuff,” Mark said.
“Stuff. Well, I can see that it is stuff, but why do we need all this?” Anton inquired.
“Just in case we run into any vampires,” Mark said.
“I told you it’s highly unlikely we will come across ANYONE.”
“Maybe, but it never hurts to be prepared,” Mark said.
Anton started looking through the armory of stuff in the duffle bag, when some twine caught his eye. “What’s this? I doubt something that thin is going to hold a vampire, besides, you have the crossbow. Do we really need to interrogate too?”
“That is my latest invention. Of course I haven’t had any vampires to test it on yet. Maybe you’d like to be the first?” Mark suggested.
“I think I’ll pass - so what is it?” Anton asked.
“It’s actually stronger than it looks, but the important thing is what it’s made of: stalks of wolfsbane, vervain, and stringy redwood bark. All vampire deterrents, according to my research. The combination should work like steel against a vampire,” Mark explained.
“Clever. Of course I don’t think a vampire is going to stand around while you tie him up,” Anton joked.
“No, but if somehow he’s rendered incapacitated, tying him up would give us a chance to get out of there,” Mark said.
“Good point. I think this is going to be a very interesting field trip.”
“God, I hope not!” Mark said.
*****
The drive to New York was quiet at first until Mark said, “You’re very quiet all of a sudden. Something wrong?”
“Am I? Sorry. I was just thinking about Blake. Dad called last night and said that Dr. Andrews was going to be trying something never tried on a vampire before,” Anton explained.
“Oh? What’s that?”
“They are going to run a dialysis machine on him to see if they can filter out the Deadman’s Blood in his system,” Anton answered.
“Really? Can you filter blood like that?” Mark wondered.
“I guess so; its pretty experimental, but Dad is sparing no expense. I don’t blame him. Blake’s a good guy. I hope to God he makes it through this.”
“How come Devon hasn’t come back?” Mark asked.
“Can you believe in this day and age with all the technology we have, that I can’t get a hold of him? I’ve tried texting, email, calling, telegrams, messengers. At some point he’s going to have about a million messages all in his lap, that say to come home immediately,” Anton said.
“That stinks.”
“Tell me about it. And this whole thing with Bernard is so bizarre. Where the heck is he? Should I call the police? Or not? At first I didn’t think Dad would be in California for very long, and when he came home he’d be more likely to find him than anyone. But with Blake dying and no idea when Dad will be back, I just don’t know what to do. I don’t want to worry him with more possible bad news, but I’m really starting to worry. I hope nothing’s happened to him,” Anton worried.
“Me too. He makes killer pancakes, but seriously…I really like the guy. If you want, I can do a little snooping around if it’s okay to check out his room,” Mark asked.
“Be my guest,” Anton said.
“So what are we hoping to find today?” Mark asked.
“I don’t know, but it just seems like this is where we found the artifact and it’s where I saw the Dark Angel looking for something that wasn’t there anymore. Who knows, but it’s better than sitting around the house wondering about getting a hold of Devon, worrying about Blake and Josh, and wondering where the heck Bernard is, isn’t it?” Anton said.
“Yeah. I suppose it is,” Mark answered.
*****
Mark and Anton made good time on the road and were out to Heart Island in no time at all. Remembering from their earlier trips about the secret entrance at the swan pond within the pillar, they were soon maneuvering the tunnels like pros. It was still light outside when they made their way into the altar room. The sun shone through the glass blocks above ground at the perimeter of the domed ceiling, pouring natural light into the room.
Opposite the entrance was a huge hearth, long a
bandoned and bricked up. In the center of the room was a large altar stone made of bloodstone - a dark green, marble-like stone with spots of red jasper splatter to give it the look of blood splatter. There were two rooms off the main one and Anton assumed that when the crone and her lover lived here, one might have served as a bedroom and the other a library or reading room. A beautiful large mosaic of a black orchid was on one wall of the main room, put there after the crone had passed and the order had taken over the premises for their meeting.
Anton went straight to the hearth looking for what he had seen the Dark Angel looking for. Like he had been there a hundred times, he found the empty space in between some stones. He concluded by the crumbled rock on the ground that when the blast of the Bloodstone Heart hit, something must have hit the stone that covered the hole, shattering it and exposing what was behind it, the artifact that Dominic had found. The Dark Angel had been looking for the artifact and that was not good news. That meant that the Dark Angel would soon be looking for Dominic. But what connection does the Dark Angel have to the artifact? Anton wondered.
Mark asked, “Did you find something?”
“The dream I had corresponds with the place where Dad found the artifact. Something must have hit here in the fight or the destruction of the Bloodstone Heart and shattered the stone in the hearth that was covering the hidden space behind it. There’s crushed rock all over the ground right here,” Anton said.
“Then Dominic is in danger,” Mark said.
“Maybe, yes,” Anton answered.
“Maybe?” Mark asked.
“Well, obviously the Dark Angel doesn’t know my Dad has the artifact, or he’d be in danger now, but I don’t see how the Dark Angel could have any knowledge of that,” Anton concluded.
“True, but if the Dark Angel is watching the family because of your knowledge of the whereabouts of the altar room and our involvement in recent months with being here, it could be deduced that the Larsens were the last ones here, and they are likely to have it. Now that we are here again, we just confirmed possible suspicions,” Mark surmised.
“You know you have an annoying way of seeing everything in a pessimistic light,” Anton said.
“I’m a PI. I’ve been around the block a few times and being pessimistic, as you call it, has kept me alive in a few bad spots,” Mark countered.
“Right. I apologize.”
“No harm. I’ll take this room over here and see if I can find a lever or hollow sounding wall - something that stands out as odd; you take the room on the other side,” Mark said.
“Good.”
“Just tap the wall with your knuckle. If it’s hollow it will sound different,” Mark advised.
“I know how to find a secret room, Mark,” Anton said rather annoyed.
“Right. Then get with it. I’d like to get out of here before dark. It gets creepy in these tunnels in the dark,” Mark said.
They split up. Anton started tapping the walls and moving things around noisily. Mark had more experience at being discreet, so he was much quieter.
Tap, Tap, Tap, Tap, Thump, Tap. Hmmm, Anton thought. Tap, Thump, Thump, Thump. Definitely sounds hollow. He felt along the base board and trim of the room near the hollow sounding space but could not find anything that looked like a trigger. He touched, pulled, twisted, tugged, lifted, and swiveled all that he thought might move or be some kind of latch for a room. This went on for quite some time. Anton could hear Mark tapping walls and moving around, when after about an hour they both headed for the main room again.
“Anything?” Anton asked.
“Nope,” Mark said disappointedly. “You?”
“Nothing that screamed, Open Here,” he said as he leaned against the cold bloodstone of the altar facing the hearth. Mark sat on the hearth running one hand through his hair and rubbing the other hand on his chin. Anton could only assume this was what he did when the gears in his head were working overtime.
“There’s got to be something we’re missing,” Anton said as he glanced around the main room, then made his way to one of the side rooms for one more look around.
Because Mark was sitting on the hearth, he had a different perspective of the Black Orchid mosaic that he would not have been seen from the vantage of standing. He was just starting to move towards it to get a better look when the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and a chill ran through him. A flash of black raced past him and before he could move, the Dark Angel had grabbed Mark around the throat, pinning him to the wall opposite the orchid.
Anton had heard a rustling of movement and had entered back into the main altar room when he saw Mark staring at him from across the room, struggling to breathe. The Dark Angel followed Mark’s gaze, finding Anton in the doorway. Seemingly surprised, the Dark Angel whispered, “Anton?” and temporarily loosened the grip on Mark’s throat. Mark gasped for air. Realizing the greater threat in the room was Anton, the Dark Angel pushed Mark towards the door, knocking him off his feet as it headed for Anton.
Mark could barely see what was happening as the two vampires lunged and dodged one another in blurs of movement. Anton knew that he was no match for an ancient vampire, and though he got in a few good shots with his fist and a toss across the room, he knew it would not end well for him. The Dark Angel came at Anton, and surprised him when instead of shoving or hitting, it squatted and spun with one leg out knocking Anton off his feet and flat on his back.
Anton was pinned to the ground with just one gloved hand of the Dark Angel. He knew it was over. Flashes of his life played out in his mind. He hoped that during their scuffle Mark had at least had a chance to get out of the tunnels to safety. He just hoped his death would be swift and painless. As the hand around his neck moved its grip and Anton was sure this was the end, an odd sound came from the other side of the room.
Anton couldn’t see anything as stars were starting to appear in front of his eyes from the incredible pressure at his throat cutting off the source of blood to his brain. A roar was heard like nothing Anton could recognize or comprehend. The hand around his neck loosened and let go as the Dark Angel turned to acknowledge what was happening. When the Dark Angel stood up and Anton’s head started to clear, he saw what the Dark Angel was seeing and shook his head in disbelief.
The room was almost entirely filled with a creature that boggled Anton’s mind. Iridescent green scales covered the gigantic beast. It had huge horns on its head, and eyes of glowing embers, and steam came out of its nostrils as it growled at the Dark Angel again. The monster was hunched over and its wings beat the side walls and ceiling as it struggled in the small confines of the room. The showing of bone crushing, razor sharp teeth during the latest growl had the Dark Angel and Anton scrambling backwards in the room towards the hearth, when the Dark Angel tripped over Mark’s duffle bag and fell backwards, flailing, and smacking its head hard on the base of the hearth, which knocked it out.
Still moving backwards like a spider, Anton stopped when the dragon in front of him winked. The whole creature started to blur and a second later Mark was on his hands and knees, naked, where the huge creature had been.
“Holy….what the…..” was all that Anton could say. Mark got up and quickly grabbed a pair of sweat pants from the duffle bag, along with the “vampire” twine he had made. Following his lead, Anton helped Mark in rolling the Dark Angel over as Mark tied the Dark Angel’s hands behind its back and tied its ankles together, making sure it was good and tight. Anton tried to avoid the twine as much as possible, but rolled the Dark Angel over, propping its back against the hearth in a sitting position.
“See, I told you that twine would come in handy,” Mark said.
“Not as much as the dragon, but yeah. Problem is we still don’t know if it will hold a vampire.”
“Guess we’ll find out,” Mark said coughing. “I need to get out of here for a moment. My lungs feel like they are full of smoke.”
“Yeah. Go. I’ve got the crossbow if the twine doesn’t hold,�
�� Anton said.
*****
Mark headed down the tunnel and Anton noticed the Dark Angel was coming to.
“Well, shall we see who the infamous Dark Angel is?” Anton asked himself as he bent down to remove the black hood of on its head.
“Don’t do it, Anton. You won’t like what you see,” the Dark Angel said directly to Anton’s mind with no words physically spoken and revealing no gender.
“I don’t think you get to make that decision,” Anton said as he pulled back the hood. The Dark Angel was right. Anton didn’t like what he saw, for under the hood was a beautiful head of auburn tendrils and eyes of sapphire blue.
Stepping backwards away from the Dark Angel, Anton stopped when he met the wall and then slid down into a sitting position.
“Oh God, no! Jules. Say it isn’t so. You’re the Dark Angel?”
The slightly British accent slowly and remorsefully, rolled off her lips when she said, “I told you, you wouldn’t like what you saw.”
“But…”
“I’m sorry, Anton.”
He wanted to scream. He felt angry and sad, shocked and appalled all at the same time. Words wouldn’t come to him, but there was so much he wanted to say. He shook his head in disbelief slowly.
“What are you doing here, Jules?”
“I think you know why I’m here. I wanted to see how much you knew about the artifact,” she said.
“So THIS….all of this is about the artifact?” Anton asked.
“No. Not all of it, but some of it,” she admitted.
“So how were you going to explain killing my family off, one by one?” he asked.
“What? What are you talking about?” she asked.
“The Deadman’s Blood, Jules, that’s what I’m talking about,” Anton said, resting his forehead in his palm. She looked at him befuddled, but didn’t say anything.
“I had a dream, a vision, or whatever you want to call it. I watched a vampire stalk, kill, and then drain a man in a dark parking garage. Then another night I watched the same vampire come here looking for the artifact in the very place my father told me he found it after our fight with Dimitri’s vampire goons. When the vampire didn’t find what it was looking for, it left but not without walking by a window where I saw the reflection of the vampire and it was the Dark Angel, which now I find out is you,” Anton said.
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