Dracula: Hearts of Fire (Dracula Heart's)

by Albert Gallant

  Piers concentrated but he couldn’t feel anything. He wondered what he had gotten himself into. He was relying on protection from a cat and that didn’t sit well. He would have felt a lot more secure if he was sitting beside Dracula. “I don’t sense anything. What is it?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  After a minute of quiet the sensation went away.

  “So what was that like killing the rat?” Piers was curious although he did feel it risky to bring it up.

  “It was strange, that’s what it was like. And from my point of view that thing was a huge monster of a rat and as ugly as any hell spawn. It was like fighting a rat the size of a bear.”

  “I never thought of that.”

  “Yes, well you can just imagine some of my nightmares. And having no control over your body is not an enjoyable sensation, never mind the fact I’m a freaking cat. A Coke machine looks like a skyscraper. How would you like to change places?”

  “Oh, I think not. I have enough with dealing with this vampire thing. Life has become a juxtaposition of realities. Sometimes when I awake I forget for a moment or two.”

  Zacharia now sounded angry. “See, now the stupid cat wants me to take a nap. Right here, right now. Well I won’t do it so shut up you stupid cat! I’m going to bang its head against the wall if it doesn’t stop.”

  “What do you suppose would happen if I gave you some catnip?”

  “Are you trying to be funny?”

  Again a period of silence consumed them. Piers turned and looked down at the Siamese, it had curled itself in a ball and gone to sleep; he smiled at the sight of it. He smelled the air and could smell burnt popcorn from over two miles away, and for some reason it was making him hungry. Burnt popcorn covered in flakes of dried blood. There was burnt popcorn and an all meat pizza. He could also smell the nearby flower baskets. The cat jumped up with a distressful meow and a low growl.

  “What is it?”

  “Someone’s in the zoo. I can feel him and he’s up to no good. Come on.”

  They both jumped over the fence and blurred to the black bear enclosure. A man stood with both hands out as he pulled green energy from one of the bears. The streaks of moss-green light left the animal and entered him. He turned and showed them his fangs as a warning.

  “I’m in his mind,” said Zacharia. “He’s the one that killed the humans.” The cat jumped in his face and dug in; the wizard screamed and let loose with multiple black balls the size of marbles that went all over the place, ricocheting off tress and fences, with one striking Piers in the temple and knocking him out. Each time a ball hit something it sounded like it was full of sand bursting with the contents trickling out.

  Wang was a Chinese wizard just passing through Moncton on his way to Halifax, meeting another wizard there to exchange some spells. He was wearing what Zacharia thought to be some sort of kung fu suit. Piers slowly returned to consciousness, he also discovered that he was unable to move his arms or legs. He was being carried through the paths of the zoo over Wang’s shoulder like an old rug, wishing that he had refused the Master’s request, but rejecting Dracula wasn’t an easy thing to do. Moon Diamond was nowhere to be seen. Then the author lost consciousness once again.

  A half hour passed of unconscious oblivion when Piers awoke; he was hanging upside down from a tree with Moon Diamond lying motionless on the ground in front of him. Now he was able to move but the rope stopped him from escaping. He swung at the wizard but missed, causing his upside down self to swing. Wang was searching through spells in his small red book. The cat awoke and shook its head, climbed up the back of the wizard’s legs, with each of its nails causing excruciating pain. Zacharia forced the cat to wrap itself around the wizard’s neck so that he could take his head off. In a panic Wang dropped his book and fought for his life, sending arcs of blue light through the animal. The wizard pulled the cat’s tail so hard that it came off but another grew in its place. He did it again and again until there was a half dozen tails that littered the path. He pounded on the cat with both fists. Wang smashed into a tree and then fell to the ground; he quickly got up but felt that he couldn’t endure much more.

  “Get him Zacharia!” Piers punched the wizard in the head when he staggered near enough and was surprised that the blow crushed his skull, but unfortunately it regenerated.

  Wang finally managed to get the cat off and flung it towards a tree, but Moon Diamond landed gracefully, definitely not what the wizard expected. The sorcerer blurred as he simultaneously pulled a machete and held it to the author’s neck, wanting the cat to surrender or else. The Siamese blurred off the tree and grabbed the small book in his mouth, threatening to shred it with his very sharp claws. The look on Wang’s face told both of them that the book was extremely important to him. The book contained a lifetime of spells, not everyone was fortunate enough to get their hands on a genuine Blood Book. The little red book was his equivalent. He had tried several times in the past to put a protective spell on it but for whatever reason the book wouldn’t take it, and so he could only assume that a spell within wouldn’t allow it.

  “Put the book down. Look, cat, I’m pulling away from your friend. You give me the book and I’ll let your friend live. Throw me the book. I won’t ask again.”

  Moon Diamond looked through several pages and halted at one with several check marks. The cat flicked its tail with interest. It was in Chinese so he wasn’t able to read it. The cat ripped the page out of the book and ate it. The wizard screamed as it had taken him over a century to track down that spell and now it was gone. Zacharia found another spell, this time with four checks on it. He threatened to shred it with his claws. The wizard blurred for the cat but each time he did so Moon Diamond ended up in a different location; the cat was too fast for him. He swung the machete at the Siamese as if he was attempting to chop wood.

  Wang stood with his right hand in the air and a look on his face that could kill; he was drawing embers into his hand seemingly out of nowhere, out of the night sky. He definitely would not be the same wizard without that book. When his hand started to smoke both Moon Diamond and Piers looked worried. Again the cat threatened to destroy the page and then suddenly was struck with a boomerang-like piece of light. Moon Diamond toppled to the ground as if it had no bones.

  Zacharia’s soul exited from the cat and as he looked down at the lifeless Moon Diamond he was saddened by the turn of events.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

  DEW COVERED THE WILDFLOWERS in the forest; its sweet fragrance merged with the morning fog and was diluted. Shadows in the mist were gray and deceptive. A rabbit listened for intruders but heard nothing. Dawn was still until the sounds of birds gave music to the area, like paint to an artist’s canvas. It was the birth of another day in the Finger Lakes National Forest.

  Sharpton and Oblivion walked the perimeter of the camp as they discussed the results of the attack. Sharpton was satisfied with the fact that twenty-seven humans had been killed by Alonzo and Bennet but he had hoped for more. The red sheriffs had dispatched them a little too quickly but that was okay. It was yet another story of vampires making news around the world. It was a baby step that he hoped would turn into monster strides.

  Oblivion glanced at a crow in the tree and was suspicious of it. The bird was quiet as it stared down at them from the pine tree. It appeared to cock its head and listen. The wizard pretended that he didn’t notice the bird. “So what do you think our chances are? Realistically speaking.”

  Sharpton adjusted his dark suit. “Once we kill a thousand humans they’ll see they can’t stop us and then they will have to consider giving New York City over to the vampires. I couldn’t guess at the odds of success, but imagine New York with no humans, to finally have a place to call our own. Vampires from all over the world will flock to the city where they’ll not only have to pay to get it but agree to follow my orders, and with some of that magic they’ll be receptive. I have other wizards on the way that will spell the city and they won’t be
able to touch us, their troops will burst into flame if they attempt to enter the city’s boundary. The city of vampires will only be a starting point. Humans need to be realistic about their place in our society. Since when do the feeble command the superior?”

  Oblivion again glanced at the crow as it made its way across a branch. “That would make the whole world nervous. The United States of Vampires has a nice ring to it. I know it could take centuries but still.”

  “What is it with you and that crow up there?”

  Oblivion shook his head slightly. He was accessing whether it was a namuhwoork or just a crow. As the so-called bird tried to fly away and sound the alarm, it was struck with a bolt of lightning from the wizard’s hand and killed. When the dead bird hit the ground its body turned into the form of a human, and then he turned to bones. “That was a namuhwoork. It listened to every word and could have caused us big trouble.”

  “I knew there was a reason I didn’t kill you. You will be my second in command when we take over the city but keep that to yourself for now. How goes the enchantment? We’re going to need enough of that stuff to control at least a couple of hundred and that’s only to start.”

  Oblivion was hesitant to tell him that it could take a month or more to get some of the rarer ingredients. He needed at least a dozen of the ghostly white Cyphochilus beetles. He was in contact nightly via satellite phone with a colleague in Southeast Asia where the bugs camouflaged themselves in pearly fungi. “I’m having a problem with finding two of the rarer ingredients. It could take a week or two.”

  Sharpton considered issuing a threat but now that the wizard had fully recovered it might not be a wise decision. “You need to be ready when I am. We have more vampires arriving today. You can give them the grand tour.”

  CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

  ALEXANDER, ABBEY AND ARYM had finished watching the three Lord of the Ring movies on the huge flat screen TV, from the plush brown sectional sofa. Arym was told that she could explore the house if she liked and she went upstairs to do so. It was a way to get some alone time.

  They talked and discovered things about one another, personality traits, and Abbey was surprised to discover that the sheriff had a degree of shyness about him, although he tried hard not to show it. He had centuries of experience and she would have thought that any bashfulness would have been long gone, but apparently it was part of what made Alexander who he was. She guessed that he was most likely only shy with the opposite sex. Abbey found it an attractive trait but wasn’t sure why.

  Alexander took his classical guitar out of the closet and started to pick. It was the most beautiful melody that she had ever heard. Unfamiliar with such sweetness to it; she had never heard such perfection and it gave her goose bumps. It was a haunting melody that played with her emotions. Even each pause was perfection. That was one advantage to living such a long life; one could play the same instrument for five hundred years or more.

  Alexander’s voice was deep perfection. “Love is like an island, but not a deserted one. Palm trees and sand overlooking the ocean so grand. Hand-in-hand on the beach, connected forever. Fragrant flowers within your reach. Millions of stars looking down as the embers of fire surround us. Love is like an island, but not a deserted one.”

  Arym ran downstairs as she couldn’t believe her ears. He had the most beautiful voice that she had ever heard. “OH MY GOD! You’re like an angel singing! You should have a singing career.”

  “Don’t want one. Abbey, I made up that melody over four hundred years ago, but the words born only yesterday.”

  Arym was excited by his voice. “I’m never going to get that song out of my head, and I don’t want to. Play some more.”

  “I’m afraid the moment has passed for now.” Alexander was a little shy when it came to his music and usually only played for himself as an extension of his mood.

  Arym turned around and went back upstairs. She didn’t know him well enough to push it any further.

  Abbey and Alexander stared into one another’s eyes and got lost in there. She was just a little uncomfortable as they were such a new couple; she smiled as he touched her face. Abbey appreciated his strength and how he made her feel safe. She had not felt secure since her husband was taken from her. She ran her hand through his thick black hair and then they kissed. Their two minds had become one, which was a new experience.

  Arym explored the upstairs, lingered on a painting of Pendennis Castle in 1557, with someone standing by the gate in old fashion garb holding a sword over his right shoulder that looked a lot like Alexander, but the character was so small that it was difficult to say for sure. She went down the hall peeking into bedrooms as she went. The third room on the right was surprising indeed, a weapons room. Most of the weapons were from the middle ages. There were pole arms, razor-sharp blades mounted on a wooden shafts, battle axes, maces, two longbows, halberds, spears, a war hammer, scimitar with a curved blade, a 40 inch Falchion sword, double-edged long sword encrusted with rubies and looked to be fit for a king. There were also two lances and several medieval shields. The best weapons were owned by vampires because often they were personal weapons that they had with them over the centuries. Vampires always coveted weapons that had served them well in battle.

  The girl was drawn to the weapons and fascinated by them; they had a strange pull on her. She picked up the scimitar and for whatever reason it was familiar to her. It was as if a cobbler had picked up a shoe after having been retired for ten years; it felt natural for her to wield it. She swung the weapon with talent and precision, and it puzzled her. She went through a series of moves that was most impressive. She was confused by her natural talent. Abbey and Alexander appeared in the doorway as he was giving her mother a tour of the upstairs and both were amazed by her skill.

  Arym was startled when she saw them and accidentally cut through his heavy curtains. “Oh, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”

  Alexander turned to Abbey. “Don’t worry about that. You see Abbey it is not uncommon for a vampire to inherit skills or talents from the biter that turned him or her. Obviously, there was a skilled swordsman somewhere in his past.”

  “And I thought people were complicated.”

  Alexander picked up a sword and challenged her to a bit of a fight. Blades blurred and clashed with such speed that it was difficult for Abbey to follow them. She knew that he wouldn’t hurt her but it was scary nonetheless. What if she accidentally cut him? What would happen then? The girl was surprised at how good it felt to fight, as if she had been born to do so. Arym kept up with the experienced sheriff until he knocked the sword out of her hand.

  “You are so skillful. Arym you must go with your natural instinct and not fight it so much; you over think when you fight. In battle hesitation can either save you or kill you, depending upon what your adversary is up to. But that was most impressive.”

  Abbey didn’t know what to think.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

  THE LITTLE WIZARD WAS DRINKING Beluga vodka and loved it; it was made with hyaline artesian water from a spring in Siberia. Sebastian was dressed all in red and one would consider that he might be able to glow in the dark he was so brightly colored, definitely the loudest in the restaurant. He loved The Russian Tea Room and frequented it whenever he had the time. He had met his fiancé at the establishment. He was waiting for his contact to show up as well as waiting for his lobster salad. The place was crowded but he liked the atmosphere nonetheless. Going to the restaurant was a little like going home.

  Sebastian was in a happy mood. He was recently engaged, and his business of selling spells was picking up. Yesterday he had made a cluster of real bees spell out I Love You to a new client who was most impressed, and so was his new girl. Sebastian was also looking forward to moving out of New York to get away from the nasty vampires. As a low level wizard he had limited protection, all it would take is for one vampire to be dissatisfied with his work for him to lose his head. Some of them were so insistent tha
t they were impossible to refuse. But the day was bright and things were heading in a positive direction.

  Outside The Russian Tea Room Achak arrived, he blurred to the front of the building knowing that Sebastian was inside waiting for him. It was the first time in over a year that he had worn a suit and it felt foreign to him. He looked up at the sign of the dancing bears on the building and knew for sure that he was at the right location. The scent of food making its way to where he stood under the canopy covered sidewalk was making him hungry. There was also the smell of strong coffee in the air from a nearby Starbucks. Achak had memorized the new spell and his augmented energy should make it an easy undertaking, but a wizard never knew exactly what would happen when trying out an enchantment for the first time. Most of the surprises from a spell gone wrong were not pleasant ones. He knew of one wizard that had accidentally killed himself and it looked as though his cabin in the woods had been hit by a tornado, nothing but boards and splinters had remained when his spell had gone awry.

  Achak walked into the restaurant confidently after scanning it and determining that there were no vampires present, and no other wizards except for Sebastian. He walked right up to him and weaved the magical net over him with a circular motion from both hands going counterclockwise; it tightened around Sebastian as a bag being twisted from the top. The net glowed as the small wizard tried to scream, but the net wouldn’t permit any sound to escape. Achak threw him over his shoulder, turned and walked straight out. Not a single person dared to interfere as he exited with Sebastian in the bag. Once outside he blurred in the direction of his forest home in Quebec. He hadn’t been able to locate a single wizard there, but he knew that he would find one in New York. In a way, New York City really was the premier city in North America.