The bird flew on top of the wigwam and watched, like a teacher watching a student with a science project, hoping that the pupil wasn’t going to blow himself up. He tore a page out of the book as required by the spell but ended up with a paper cut. Where one page had been in the book another appeared. Crumpling the red paper he threw it into the pot as the spell required, however a drop of his blood also fell into the pot. An attempt was made to stop that single drop from falling but it was too late. A small puff of gray smoke was emitted as it combined with the other ingredients.
“Oh no, all that work lost! No, no, no.” The raven shook its head as if to say that it had warned him. “I know it’s my fault. It’s too late now. Still, it could work?” But the wizard knew that he was fooling himself. It would be some kind of spell but a different one. He upset the pot and all its contents.
It started to snow blood red snowflakes. They were pretty enough as they descended, but as soon as they touched something they turned to blood. The area was soon saturated in blood. Achak stood bloodied and angry at himself but there was nothing that he could do about it now. He would have to start the process all over again. All that time and effort wasted. He entered the wigwam and tossed and turned for hours until he finally went to sleep.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
ABBEY COULDN’T SLEEP with the sheriff in the house so they played cards at the kitchen table as they waited for the vampire to show up and bang on the door. She was impressed by Alexander’s size and his good looks, hoping that the rickety chair he was sitting on wouldn’t give way to his solidness. He was a man’s man, although he could be as gentle as a lamb when necessary; a good man that one could count on through good times and bad she thought. The table was old with metal legs that weren’t in the condition that they used to be. The age of the furniture made it obvious that they were a poor family.
The German shepherd relaxed on the floor beside Alexander; Tessy could sense their mutual attraction and was indifferent to it. The dog lived for battling evil vampires and because there weren’t any present she was bored. Tessy wanted someone evil to chew on. She stretched with her powerful legs and let herself fall flat, taking up quite a bit of space on the floor. The shepherd had the biggest chest on a dog that he had ever seen, and even before Dracula had turned her into a vampire she had been alpha.
“Beautiful dog.”
“She’s one of a kind. If someone ever does her in I’m going to cry like a baby then destroy whoever did it or die trying.”
Abbey liked what he had just said because to her it sounded honest. The smell of strong black coffee permeated the air as they both had a cup. Abbey felt safe but she knew that feeling would leave as soon as he did. They played poker for fun and he let her win more than half the time. They could hear Arym snoring from her bedroom. They talked about the girl’s new life as a vampire, and various other subjects including Dracula.
“So you’ve met him?”
“Yes, a few times. Every red sheriff has met Dracula.”
Abbey took a sip of her hot coffee from her oversized white cup. “What’s he like? They write things about him in books and newspapers but what’s he really like? They contradict themselves so much that it’s obvious they don’t know much about him. I’m guessing that half the stuff is made up.”
“I can’t really answer that because we’re not best friends if you know what I mean. He’s a handsome guy but kind of scary. He has a presence about him like no other. Saying that the Master is powerful is an understatement. Most vampires can detect his energy from quite far away. ”
“How far away?”
“Depends on the vampire.”
Abbey brushed the hair out of her eyes; she was flirting with the sheriff and he knew it. He was sexy to her on multiple levels. “What’s it like to be a vampire?”
“What’s it like to be human?”
“Yes, well, you were human once. What’s it like to be a red sheriff then?”
“I’m not sure how to answer that. Let’s just say that it’s a serious job and leave it at that. I’m sure you don’t want any of the gory details. A vampire can get used to anything, including dealing with death. Dealing with the bad guys does help to a degree but death is a one-way street. But at least I hear that the Master is finally getting involved.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“He’s going make more red sheriffs, and hopefully in time people can feel safe again. Unfortunately I think it’s going to get worse before it gets better.”
Abbey received her cards from Alexander, and again she was looking at four aces. She smiled at him. “Obviously some reverse cheating going on here. You know that I really don’t care if I lose.”
“What, I didn’t give you four aces. Did I?”
She smiled at him. “I hear the ceremony to turn vampires into red sheriffs is quite elaborate. Is it true?”
“It is true but that’s all I’ll say about that. We are sworn to secrecy.”
Abbey reached out and touched his hand, wanting to see if he would pull away but he didn’t. It was as if time had halted for a brief moment. “It sounds exciting. Alexander, are you married?”
“No.”
“Are you seeing someone?”
“I’m seeing you.”
“No, no, that’s not what I meant.”
“I’ll be seeing you if you’ll allow me? I am aware of our mutual attraction.”
Abbey was tired. “Oh. Ah, yes, I think I’d like that. I’m so tired that I don’t think my brain is functioning properly.”
Alexander reached out and took her hand in his and they stared into each other’s eyes. “Relax, I don’t bite. Well, I do bite but I won’t bite you. What would you like to do for a first date? New York is a wonderful place for first dates. We could take a long walk through Central Park? We could take a ride in a buggy?”
Abbey smiled as she thought on it, looking a lot like a little girl with a big revelation. “Well, it might be silly but I’d like to see the polar bears at the Central Park Zoo. I’ve seen polar bears on television but never in the flesh.”
“Not silly at all. We can go this afternoon if you like.”
“Arym is going out with one of those vampires to learn how to become a proper vampire or whatever it is they do, so we’ll have some alone time.”
“It’s a date then.”
“Okay.”
“My mother will absolutely freak if she finds out.”
“Abbey, it’s not too late to cancel. We can stop this thing before it starts if you so wish. You need to do what’s best for you.”
Abbey considered it briefly. “No, no. I was just thinking out loud. How old are you by the way? I don’t mean to be nosy but with vampires it’s really hard to tell.”
“I’m seventeen hundred and thirty-four.”
“Really? Wow. You don’t look a day over sixteen hundred.”
“I use Oil of Olay.”
“Let me tell you it works.”
They couldn’t help but laugh.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Insanity had come to visit and had brought plenty of luggage. It made itself comfortable but caused its host to be confused and irritable. Illogical stuff was going on in that mind. The brain had commenced to atrophy, and small tumors would now be visible on a scan. Hallucinations were only a part of it; the way his thoughts were now processed was also aberrant. Keith stood naked in the middle of the I-95 highway and didn’t like the look of the approaching transport truck. It was black in color and seemed to him that it was a harbinger of bad luck, and sure enough when it hit him it broke every bone in his body and squashed his head like a pumpkin falling from a great height.
When the trucker turned his head from drinking his coffee he saw the vampire heal; Earl released his brakes and continued on its way to avoid a pileup. The vampire staggered off into the forest feeling vindicated, that black truck had indeed been bad luck, and he had the headache to prove it. He was seeing things that weren�
�t there, and some things that were present he couldn’t see. He ran into the same large tree several times. Vampire insanity could be temporary or permanent; it could last for years, and usually ended with the death of the biter.
In the woods he stumbled upon a skunk, which to Keith looked like a juicy bag of blood. He could detect the life sustaining blood in it but not much more. He stalked it cautiously, and each time the animal looked toward him he feigned ignorance. When he grabbed the animal it of course released its ill-smelling fluid, and as he drank its blood it didn’t taste much better. Having not quite drained all of the mammal’s blood before he tossed it, and using just the right part of his brain he inadvertently created a vampire skunk. The skunk turned on Keith in his state of insanity, sucked more blood out of the vampire than he had sucked out of it, and blurred off into the forest in its new state to explore its surroundings and test its new skills. Keith had created the very first vampire skunk in history.
Sitting on the forest floor he tried to concentrate on what was happening but it wasn’t easy. His eyes burned and watered from his encounter with the skunk. His nakedness was comfortable enough but wouldn’t be so comfortable for others to see. Keith was so hairy that he could almost pass for a werewolf. His heart pumped once which released a rush of endorphins, and it felt like someone had covered him with a warm blanket on a cold winter night. Keith had the silliest look of satisfaction on his face. Life was now upside down in so many ways.
“You should probably run.”
Keith quickly looked from one side to the other. “What? Who said that?”
“I did.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m right here.” The oak tree looked down at him.
“Trees can’t talk.”
“That bear is going to maul you.”
“I don’t see a bear.” With that the black bear was on him and took the back of his head off with a mighty swipe. The powerful animal couldn’t stand the stench of skunk and so it ran off, perhaps saving the vampire’s life. It had certainly been strong enough to take his head off.
As Keith healed he stared up at the tree. “What kind of tree are you anyway?”
“I’m an oak tree.”
“Will you be my friend? I don’t have any friends.”
“I will certainly be your friend. I’ll be your best friend.”
Keith started to cry and tears ran down his face. “I’ve never had a best friend.” He hugged the tree repeatedly. Finally he had found a real friend. “Come on, let’s do lunch.”
“I can’t move, I’m a tree.”
Keith and his now inferior brain were trying hard to make sense out of the situation. It would start in the general direction of reality but it was easily distracted. In fact just about anything could take its attention, even things that weren’t there. “How long you been here?”
“I don’t know. Time is slow for trees. A million years maybe but that’s just a guess.”
“Oh.” Keith was saddened that the tree couldn’t budge. “The hell with that, come on!” Keith pulled the tree out by its roots and dragged it behind him. “Boy, something stinks around here.”
“I think it’s you,” said the tree.
“Oh.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CONSTERNATION WAS PAINTED ON JENNY’S CUTE FACE. She was being overrun by snakes, having her back to the wall she had run out of available space in which to retreat. She could hear water dripping somewhere, why her senses would pick up on that when she was in such peril was beyond her. One of the king cobra’s struck the sole of her right foot and replicated. Because her knowledge of spells was limited, and striking the serpents only created more of them, worsening the situation, she really didn’t know what to do. Her heart was racing and her right hand was shaking slightly. Each narrowly missed strike by the snakes was starting to add up. What if the wizard Caius was evil? But why would her father have sent her to him unless he hadn’t known. He could have changed over the centuries. It was all a guessing game at this point.
It was a peculiar thing at the moment, but she missed her mother. She missed her laugh and her kind words. Jenny wanted to be home on the comfort on her living room sofa with her mother singing in the kitchen. She missed her hugs even though at times she pretended that she didn’t want them. It was so important to enjoy life because one never knew when they were going to face deadly snakes.
“Get away!” She attempted to enter their minds in order to control them but to her dismay discovered that they didn’t have any. They weren’t life forms in any true sense. It was realized that they were not genuine snakes, but a product of magic, however that didn’t make them any less dangerous. She thought that it might actually make them more dangerous, a thing that acted with no mind or instincts, perhaps controlled by an unknown entity. Jenny could detect real poison in them and the smell of it was unpleasant.
Because the girl wizard had limited life experience and no formal training in the art of magic, battling a vampire was one thing, but going up against a high-level wizard that may have had centuries to perfect his craft was something else. It was unfair is what it was but a myriad of things in life were unfair. She had no options that she could see. No way to jump over them and run; they appeared to be as fast as she was. If she died here her mother would want to kill her father, of that she was certain.
Jenny commenced to go through the motions of making another ball of energy. The proximity of the walls might do as much damage to her as it would the snakes. She had no way of knowing how the spell would react and that worried her. What if she accidentally turn herself into a snake, although that certainly seemed improbable, she was aware of Zacharia’s situation, which she would have thought was impossible. There was of course another risk; if it didn’t kill them it might actually fill the cave with ten thousand cobras? Problem was that she could think of no other possible solution. Jenny would rather face three normal vampires at once than battle magical snakes.
“Ah!” she screamed as one of the cobras struck the end of her sleeve. It couldn’t have been any closer. With the ball of energy formed she launched it against the far wall, which wasn’t very far at all. The blinding light and concussion rendered Jenny unconscious, and continued to echo as she lay motionless. The smell of sulphur and saltwater saturated the air. After several seconds Jenny stirred, opening her pretty green eyes; her vision was blurry and shaky. She was also a little dizzy. She had been too close to the energy ball. When she managed to focus she saw that all the snakes were gone except one, and it was huge. It was fifty feet long and the girth of a large tree. As soon as she stood it launched itself at her, and the power of it striking the wall took a chunk out of it, and then another chunk. She considered forming another ball of energy but then dismissed it; she certainly didn’t want it to be any bigger.
The snakes tongue was huge and threatening. Jenny could see that it was preparing to strike once again. She grabbed her sword and cut its belly open; it didn’t heal and it didn’t replicate. Things were looking up and she could not afford to give it time to recover. The anger on its face looked like a human emotion, a combination of pain and disgust. Jenny jumped up and cut its head off and she watched as it fell lifeless. It turned to dust as if sand had been released from inside a bag, with only its outer skin remaining.
After kicking at the remains of the snake, the 12-year-old went over to the chest and turned the gold key in the lock opening it. It was empty except for a single cockroach that ran around inside. She thought the key was heavier than it should have been; it looked as though it could have been made of solid gold and so she pocketed it. If nothing else it would be a nice keepsake. She made her way to the door on the left and discovered just past it a square hole in the floor. There was no other way to go and so she considered jumping down, but it was so dark in there. She couldn’t tell if she would drop ten feet or a hundred.
Jenny dropped down and landed safely. She then heard rock grinding on solid rock as the
ceiling appeared to be getting further away from her. She then realized that the floor was actually descending. There was a flicker of light in the distance, a torch burning in a hollow in the wall. She ended up facing a puzzle etched into the wall, and it was so familiar. Of course, it was from one of her dreams. Nine squares as in her dream. She deduced that three in a row would probably open a door, but what would happen if she pressed the wrong three? She didn’t think it would be anything good. In her dream she had pressed the top right square, and so she pressed it, but that gave her three separate ways to go.
Jenny then felt stupid. She had not examined the chamber for potential clues. It was important to get it right the first time because there might not be a second. It was difficult for her to see in the darkness and then it wasn’t. Her eyes adjusted and she could see as if the sun had come up. Jenny could now see that the walls and the ceiling were full of holes. Press the wrong combination and she imagined that arrows or something magical would be released by the thousands, and there would be no way to avoid them, even with her exceptional speed. It was a clever device. Hieroglyphics on the ceiling but nothing that she could make out; her instincts told her that it was simply a diversion. If the ceiling was a diversion then the opposite would be the floor? Jenny looked down and it took her a minute or two to realize that she was standing on nine huge blocks just like the puzzle, and the three on the right that were parallel were a bit darker than the rest. Was it the solution? She thought it must be. It felt a little like being trapped inside a video game but with no way to start over.
Dracula: Hearts of Fire (Dracula Heart's) Page 13