When Achak arrived at his wigwam in the Quebec forest, his magical fire continued to burn, and had now been alive for almost a week. It was one of the most complicated spells that he had ever weaved. The skulls that danced in the fire now had smiles on their bony faces as they floated around with anticipation; they could almost taste the wizard in the net. They laughed and spit flames onto the ground starting small fires that quickly dissipated; they jostled for position as they faced toward Achak, colliding with one another.
Achak pulled out the Blood Book in order to study the spell some more to make absolutely sure that no ingredients were missing. He was excited yet cautious. He was confident yet aware of some of the things that could go wrong. One of the skulls was coughing inside the fire as it spit embers out, and it struck at his funny bone. He imagined that one of the burning skulls had caught a cold which was impossible.
“After this not many will be able to stand up to me.”
Inside the bag it was as if Sebastian was looking through a checkered pattern into a fog; he could see the fire and Achak but just barely. Why was this fellow out to get him when he appeared to be a stranger? Sebastian had a fire enchantment spell but was afraid to use it. What if it couldn’t puncture what he was in and the blaze raged within the confines of such a small space? He could be consumed by his own spell. Life went from looking up to looking down from a great height without a parachute. He had an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach and he felt sick.
Achak retrieved four different colored pouches out of the wigwam and placed them on the Blood Book. One pouch was blue, one red, one black and the last one magenta. The magenta pouch popped into the air and fell on the ground. When he placed it back on the book, again it was tossed on the ground. He was puzzled as the book apparently didn’t like the ground up Metaxymorpha meeki insects in the magenta bag. When he examined it closer he realized that he had selected the wrong pouch, who knows what would have occurred had he used it. What a foolish amateur error yet he was no amateur. He entered the wigwam and exchanged it for a purple pouch. Satisfied with the ingredients he returned and took a pinch from each and tossed it into the fire. The flames grew hotter and higher and more colorful as dark smoke headed up into the atmosphere. The skulls pursued the ingredients inside the fire and hungrily devoured them.
Sebastian continued to kick occasionally but it was no use, none of his spells were strong enough to burst out, except perhaps for the fire. All he could think was that if he didn’t survive this his beloved would never know what happened to him. He was in big trouble. When Achak picked up the bag with him in it, he realized that he was going to be tossed in the fire, and so with nothing to lose he attempted to unleash his fire spell. The only thing that was released was a small amount of smoke from his fingertips.
Inside the flames, parts had formed a complete skeleton. There were other skulls that danced around in there, looking unhappy as they hadn’t been selected to be part of the complete skeleton. Sebastian was tossed into the flames bag and all; his scream was cut short as he was killed almost instantly. Deep and heavy breathing surrounded the fire as the skeleton stepped out. It was an unusual sight to behold as it burned with magical flames. The monster that had been created in the form of a skeleton continued to burn with enchanted blue and orange flame. The sound of the flames consuming oxygen was striking. Achak circled his creation and was happy with the result; he noticed that the heat from it was considerable.
“Do you know what you have to do?”
“Withdraw enchanted energy from others and give it to you.”
“How long do you think it will take?”
The fiery skeleton was annoyed. “How can I know that?”
It was a simple answer to a simple question but it bothered Achak. Did that thing already have an attitude? He expected the creation to be totally compliant but if it wasn’t it was too late. He wasn’t sure if he could destroy it because it had been created with some of the most powerful ingredients. He watched as the skeleton blurred short distances as it headed off on its ungodly quest. Trees caught fire as it approached but then were quickly extinguished without its energy to sustain it.
“I want the girl wizard killed last. You will learn as you get stronger and progress. You will need that experience to face her. Once I get her energy I should be sufficiently powerful to take on Dracula.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
THE MORNING WAS HOT AND UNCOMFORTABLE but not to the vampire couple; Lauren and Michael had never been happier. They had taken in a Broadway show, toured Times Square, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, and walked hand-in-hand in Central Park as they discussed what date they would select for the wedding. Lauren had other exciting news for Michael but she wasn’t sure when to tell him. The park was green and full of life, lots of people and the birds appeared to be having a concert.
Lauren and Michael had come from the Belvedere Castle, where they had enjoyed panoramic views of the Great Lawn and the Turtle Pond. They snuck lots of kisses as if they were teens enjoying their very first love. They were feeding off one another’s energy and both were relieved that the other was okay. Love was some of the most powerful magic that one could have, but of course it was a different kind of enchantment.
“Lauren, you look so beautiful today.”
“And you, Michael, were so handsome when you were running around naked last night.”
“I was naked but I wasn’t running around.”
The couple sat on the edge of Bethesda Fountain, in the center was a winged female bronze eight-foot angel statue touching down on the fountain where the water cascaded down into the upper basin and then down into the adjacent pool. There were also four cherubs under the angel that represented Purity, Health, Temperance and Peace. With a lily in one hand for purity, and with her other hand the angel blessed the water. The sculpture had been designed by Emma Stebbins in 1868. The Angel of the Waters was a favorite place for Lauren to sit and ponder, but with Michael at her side it was even better. It was also a great place for sharing.
It was a nice place to take photos and there were plenty of cameras around. People making memories that they could take home and frame, a moment of time captured.
“Michael, I have news that you might or might not like.”
Michael smiled at her and kissed her hand. “Really? I might or might not like? Is it something that I could guess? Are the odds in favor of my liking it?”
Lauren shrugged and then leaned over kissing his face. “That depends on whether you were lying to me or not? People say a lot of things but they don’t mean all of them.”
Michael thought hard on it but really didn’t know what she was talking about. Of course he was the fish on the end of the hook. “I don’t remember lying to you. I don’t really have enough information to guess at what the heck you’re talking about? You’re going to turn me into a vampire? That can’t be it since I’m already one handsome vampire.”
Lauren looked into his hazel eyes and smiled. “What did you tell me you wanted to be?”
At first Michael shrugged. “I don’t know. A red sheriff?”
“Bingo.”
“So you’re saying what? Dracula’s making more red sheriffs?”
“Yes, with all the crap that’s going on he’s finally going to make more sheriffs. It should have been done years ago. Not only that my love, but I got you on the list. So if you weren’t really serious about it I would say that now is the time to bow out.”
Michael jumped up. “I’m going to get to meet Dracula? Yes! We can work together? Killing bad guys? I’m not going to be out there by myself? I’ll be you and me?”
“Relax; we’ll be side-by-side until we drive each other nuts.”
“Cool. We’ll go insane together. How soon do I get to be a red sheriff?”
“There’s no date for the ceremony yet so we’ll just have to wait and see. You’ll have to pass his inspection. He’s going to go into your mind and dig around in there.
So I would caution you, if you are a closet serial killer you might not want to let him poke around in there.”
“Lauren, you know what might be cool? If the Master could marry us. Can he do that and would he? Is that possible?”
Lauren was surprised and pleased by the idea but didn’t think it would be possible. “That would be nice Michael but I’ve never heard of such a thing. I’m no expert on Dracula that’s for sure but what a memory that would be.”
“I can just picture it.”
“I ask around and see what I can come up with. What should we do? Should we head for home and chill in front of the television?”
Michael knew exactly what he wanted to do. “Well, we could watch some TV or make out. Or have something to eat and then make out. Or just make out and make out. What do you want to do? Make out?”
“Let’s go home.”
They blurred off hand in hand.
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
THE DAY HAD BEEN MELLOW and enjoyable, with an apparent lull in all the killings. It was walking weather as Wei and Bao were on patrol. They were definitely looking forward to some normalcy, even if it was only for twenty-four hours. They noticed that a lot of people appeared to be in a good mood, as if there was something in the air. The bees flew happily from flower to flower. So far it had been a perfect day with not a single call.
Wei placed his hand on his sword. “I could get used to days like this.”
“The world deserves days like this.”
Wei and Bao couldn’t believe what they were seeing. It was something that should only appear in one’s nightmare. They had dealt with a lot over the centuries but nothing like this. Bao thought it looked a little like a walking cartoon, it was that unreal. The thing looked left and right as they watched it. The Chinese sheriffs stood momentarily bewildered.
On the east side of Fifth Avenue there was a skeleton that was ablaze, walking on the sidewalk in front of St Patrick’s Cathedral. People ran across the street toward Rockefeller Center to get away from it, cars screeched to a halt to gawk at it. Even a crow on the church stared down at something that it had never before observed. The bird was smart enough not to approach it. Two police officers attempted to confront it and for their trouble it spat fire on both of them, they were quickly consumed by the magical fire with nothing remaining of them but black dust on the sidewalk. They had managed a couple of screams but that was it, even their guns had been disintegrated into dust.
As Wei approached he thought that it had rather rank BO, even though it had no body it smelled like vomit, nasty and sour, which was a peculiar odor for something that was on fire. Bao pulled his sword and tried to block its way but it threw fire on him; the flames stuck like burnt marshmallows tossed on a wall. His skin melted as he screamed in agony, backing up he fell; he healed but it took longer than normal. Wei blurred and attacked with his magical sword, but it went right through the enchanted thing as if it was only cutting through fire, no contact with its bones. This thing was definitely going to be a big problem. He had tried to take its head off but it didn’t work. The fiery bones looked around as if it was hunting for someone or something, like a puzzled tourist not exactly sure where to go. It was attempting to orient on its location. It wasn’t quite used to its new condition and it attempted to figure things out, with no brain to speak of it was running on magical thoughts.
Bao looked at Wei. “God that was painful. What are we going to do if we can’t kill it?”
Wei swung his blade several times through the entity of fire accomplishing nothing. “Now I’m definitely wishing I had some magical training. I think magic needs to be fought with magic.” He knew there was a degree of magic in all vampires, but not strong enough. This thing looked to be nothing but pure evil. He believed it had a single task and that it would die to accomplish it, assuming it could be killed.
The frame of bones threw more fire at Bao and again he screamed with the pain as he was consumed. Half of the sheriff’s legs were showing bones before he commenced to heal. Wei kicked it and drove it back several feet, only to set his own foot on fire; he danced around to put it out, realizing what agony Bao had endured.
“What the hell are we going to do with this thing?” Bao again attacked it but to no avail.
The crow flew from just above the church’s entrance and as it got over the street the skeleton hit it with a ball of fire, exploding several feathers gently floated down. The skeleton showed satisfaction at killing the bird, it cocked its head as it appeared to concentrate.
The cathedral’s doors slowly opened as someone inside peeked out. Jarman exited the cathedral dressed in a white robe and attacked the skeleton. He threw a net of ice over it but he was surprised when it simply melted. He was obviously a wizard but what Jarman didn’t know was that the beast had been searching for him. The skeleton sensed his energy and had tracked him to the vicinity of the church but had been unable to zero in on him until now. It fixated on the wizard as it created a ball of blue flame between both hands. Jarman started to throw exploding balls of light at it; they exploded in the air sending fragments of glass like fragments at it and drove the thing back, but otherwise didn’t appear to hurt it much. The skeleton blurred and knocked the wizard down, sending him flying against the church door, and then it jumped on him, stealing his energy and burning him alive. The sheriffs had tried hard to get the thing off of him but there was nothing they could do. When the flaming thing stood up all that remained of the wizard was a scorched sidewalk.
Wei turned to Bao. “What is this thing?”
Bao simply shook his head. “Something evil that was created by an evil wizard. I wonder if that Jenny girl would have a spell to at least contain it?”
“You know what some are saying about her, that’s she’s Dracula’s daughter.”
“I doubt that.” Bao stared at it wondering what to do next.
Vincent blurred into the area. He was dressed all in black and greeted the two sheriffs with a nod. “What the hell is that?”
Wei returned Vincent’s nod. “We have no idea.”
Vincent pulled his gun and shot it three times, only the bullets were deflected and went off at crazy angles. He attacked it with his sword and was surprised when his sword went through it without any effect. The red sheriff stepped back to access the situation. He despised magical creations as they could be the most difficult to defeat.
While they talked the skeleton stood motionless as the space within its chest cavity, where its heart would have been, turned a dark purple swirling mist. Tiny skulls could be observed within the purplish haze, it had taken some of the souls with it from Achak’s fire. Wei’s sword glowed a bright orange and he hit the skeleton with it and its right arm came off but then went right back on. He thought that it was in some discomfort but couldn’t be sure. He swung at it several more times but now the blade was going right through it. What had changed? The creature spit fire at Wei but the blade instinctively blocked it. It tried to blast Boa as well and that fire was thwarted by Wei’s magical blade. The thing then turned and blurred off so fast that they couldn’t follow it.
Bao looked down at the spot where the wizard had been killed. “That poor guy.”
“Bao, maybe we should go and see if Jenny can’t track that thing down and kill it.”
“I don’t know; she’s just a girl.”
“She’s far from just a girl.” Bao looked at the expression on Wei’s face and knew what was coming.
“I hate it when they get away! Hate it!”
“Believe me I know. I’ll be hearing this for months.”
“Hate it!”
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
THE LEVEL OF DECOMPOSITION was increasing. Keith and the bear were now deep in the forest stalking a family of four when the bear’s nose fell off. The vampire’s insane brain pretended not to notice. There was a man, a woman, and two 10-year-old twin girls. The man was repeatedly cracking his knuckles. The woman told him repeatedly to stop cracking hi
s knuckles and asked if her flowery dress looked good on her. Only what he was really stalking was four large tree stumps. He had the rotting bear propped up against a tree to observe. The stench of the bear was as bad as it gets.
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