by Allan Burd
“So next, he summoned a lesser demon by the name of Murdolak, a weasel of an entity, a parasite of the otherworld that knew better than any other demon how to thrive off others. Together they struck a Faustian bargain. Murdolak would steal a portion of Balzuzu’s life giving ruby gems in exchange for Victor’s soul. Victor agreed that he would summon Murdolak again upon one cycle of the moon, and if Murdolak was able to procure the gems and they did provide life from death then he would forfeit his soul upon his death. Murdolak lived up to his end of the bargain, but Frankenstein was a shrewd man who decided once he got his, he would cheat the devil.
“He sought out the voodoo man whom first recommended he ally with demons. For a sizable sum of gold, the voodoo man implanted a soul harness in his chest that would forever tether his soul to Earth, thus ensuring when the time came, Murdorlak would be unable to claim his soul. The voodoo man was my Lamilla’s great, great, great, grandfather, a warlock of immense power who could weave enchantments to a degree she cannot.
“With rubies in hand and a feeling of invincibility, Victor used the gems to create his Monster. But Murdorlak was equally as deceitful as Victor. The demon didn’t mention that while the gems could revive the dead, they did not have the ability to transfer back into it a soul. That ability belonged to Balzuzu. Thus Frankenstein’s Monster was born without one. The result was the Monster’s rampage until something remarkable happened. Over time, the Monster began forming a soul of his own. He realized what had been done to him was wrong, so the Monster confronted and killed Victor on a ship then wandered off where no one would ever be harmed by him again. The soul harness tethered Victor to his castle where he remained as a ghost and continued his dark work. But his Monster began a life all his own. It hid in the wild content in solitude, until years later the stories of death surrounding Victor’s castle reached his ear.
“By this time the Monster’s child-like soul had matured. He felt compelled to return and make right any more wrongdoings attributed to his creator. At first, he believed that Victor had created other monsters like him. Perhaps he had siblings. So imagine his surprise when he returned to the castle and the ruby shard within him allowed him to see Victor, the man he had killed, performing even more heinous experiments as a ghost. Imagine Victor’s thrill that his son had returned to him. Imagine Victor’s immense feeling of betrayal as the thing he believed he had a paternal bond with attempted to kill him again.
“But with Victor in his ethereal state, there was no way the Monster could defeat him, so the Monster fled, vowing to return once he found a way to defeat his creator. He disguised himself, doing his best to integrate himself into societal life. It didn’t work as planned, he terrified too many people, but in a stroke of fate, the famed monster hunter named Abraham Van Helsing was tasked to hunt Frankenstein’s Monster down. Upon meeting each other, Van Helsing realized that the Monster posed no threat. Instead, the Monster sought Van Helsing’s aid to defeat Victor. Together, they ventured back to the castle, with Van Helsing believing that with the runes in his possession, they indeed had the ability to defeat the ghost. What neither of them realized, is that by the time they arrived, Victor had built himself an army.
“Van Helsing died in that battle. But with all the runes on his person he knew he dare not let them fall into the wrong hands. Nor did he trust Frankenstein’s Monster to be the one to safeguard his legacy. So, with his dying breath, he instructed the Monster to bury his body in a room deep within the castle and gave him keys that would magically seal the room shut. Then he tasked the Monster to find us, so we would tell him what to do. The Monster kept his word. He found us and sought our help to return to the castle to defeat the growing threat of Victor. But once he mentioned Van Helsing whom we knew possessed the runes, we conspired something else to protect them so that both this world and those that border it would be safe from grave peril.
“We knew Van Helsing’s body was protected, but as an additional measure we sealed off the entire Burg within a barrier impermeable from within. However, we had no desire to create a dead zone. All life is precious and denying the land around it sunlight and water would have been wrong. Our solution was to infuse the membrane with restrictive safeguards to limit what would enter from the outside. With Victor and the runes safely locked away, Frankenstein’s Monster was free of his burden. He was prepared to resume a life of solitude but we read what he truly desired was to be human, even if that meant a limited number of remaining years.
“We provided that for him. We used our magic to alter his appearance to as close to human as possible. We made him mortal. All we asked in return is that he be the keeper of keys and when his time was up, to bury those keys as far away from mankind as humanly possible so no ungodly man would ever be able to penetrate that room. He agreed. He reintegrated himself into society as a man named Erik Kiltrace. I believe you met him.”
“Holy… Kiltrace was Frankenstein’s Monster? I thought he was a nazi.”
“He was anything but. He lived as happy a life as possible for him. He never married, never created offspring, but he was content. When he sensed it was his time to die, the world was at war. He used the conflict as an opportunity to travel where he felt he needed to go. He procured himself a soldier’s uniform and made his way to the Far East via a contingent going to Japan. From there he found passage to the temple of Rongpu, truly choosing his final resting place as far from humanity as he could find. He was a resourceful, good man.”
“I’m… I’m honored,” I say, the full weight of what I’ve been given finally sinking in to my thick noggin.
Lamilla comes back into the room and presents me with an amulet. “Put this on,” she orders. I do, noticing it molds perfectly around my neck. “Never take it off,” she adds.
“Oh, okay…”
“I mean never!” she yells.
“Even when I shower?”
“Never,” she insists, glaring at me unnervingly long and hard until she’s satisfied I take her seriously.
“Um… okay. So, what now?”
“Now… you be gone.”
She pushes me and I disappear into a ball of white. All I know is that I’ll be back.
THE END… Silas Hill will be back when he damn well feels like it!
Author’s Note:
My goal when writing any story is to have fun. I’ve written many characters, and love them all, but Silas is my favorite. Out of the gate he took on a life of his own and, literally, he changes the direction of his own adventures. I especially enjoy writing him and Cooper together because who wouldn’t want a scary as heck, wisecracking, bad-ass werewolf as their best friend?
So, whether these books sell well or not, I plan to keep writing more Silas Hill stories. I hope you enjoyed Blood Cold. There are many other books out there on the market for you to choose from. My sincerest thanks for choosing mine.
Additionally, I want to thank Mark Roselle for designing a kick ass cover and Amy Bloom and Christine Gabrielson for their invaluable input and support. I couldn’t have done this without them.
All the best,
Allan Burd
About the Author
Allan Burd is the author of the novels The Roswell Protocols and All Hell. He also wrote the children’s book The Adventures of Little Al - The Lie and The Crazy Invisible Kid.
Bed Bug Publishing
THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION. ALL OF THE CHARACTERS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND EVENTS PORTRAYED IN THIS STORY ARE EITHER PRODUCTS OF THE AUTHOR’S IMAGINATION OR ARE USED FICTITIOUSLY.
“Blood Cold - a Silas Hill adventure”
Copyright © 2016 by Allan Burd
All rights reserved. For more information go to allanburd.com
ISBN: 0-9705588-3-X
k with friends