The Vampire Knife

by Jack Henseleit

  ‘Why did you ask us if we had hidden something? What did that mean?’ she said.

  But on that topic, the man would say no more.

  ‘Well, thank you for all of your advice,’ said Anna politely, giving up. ‘I’m sorry that the warrior couldn’t rescue his brother. We’re still going to try anyway.’

  Isabella leant in close to Anna’s ear.

  ‘But where do we look next?’ she whispered.

  ‘Oh,’ said Anna. She looked back at the man. ‘Do you know where the vampire might be keeping another prisoner?’

  ‘I have upheld my end of the bargain,’ said the man. ‘Any new words must come with a price. Do you wish to make a new agreement?’

  ‘You never really gave us anything,’ said Anna crossly. ‘You grabbed my friend when she wasn’t yours to take, and then you told us not to do something that you knew we were going to do anyway. So really, you still owe us something. Tell me where my brother is.’

  The man snarled, and Anna took a step backwards. His eyes had narrowed into reptilian slits, golden and deadly.

  ‘You would call me a cheat?’ he hissed.

  The knife flashed hot.

  ‘Yes, I would,’ said Anna. ‘Tell me where my brother is.’

  The man fell silent, brooding from the shadows. When he next spoke his words were fast and soft, almost as if he didn’t want the girls to hear him.

  ‘You have passed three doors already,’ he said. ‘If you follow the passage outside it will lead you to the fourth and final door, beyond which is the largest cell of all.’

  ‘But we only found three keys,’ said Isabella. ‘We don’t have a fourth one.’

  The man smiled then. It was an evil smile, full of pointed, decaying teeth.

  ‘Then someone must have already opened the door!’

  12

  OPEN JAWS

  The man on the floor coughed out a rasping laugh as Anna and Isabella hurriedly left the cell. Anna closed the metal door behind them, drowning out the man’s wicked cackling.

  ‘Should we lock it again?’ asked Isabella.

  Anna considered it. She remembered the way the man’s face had twisted when she confronted him, and the way his claws had dug into Isabella’s skin. But the man had also seemed worried about them, telling them to leave the monster’s lair for their own safety.

  ‘I don’t think he really wants to hurt us,’ she said. ‘Not while the vampire is around, at least. If he escaped, he might try to help us.’

  Isabella rubbed her leg uncertainly. ‘Are you sure?’ she said.

  Anna wasn’t sure at all. She looked away from Isabella, staring down at the end of the tunnel that she had hoped they wouldn’t have to explore.

  ‘We’d better hurry,’ she said. ‘The man said that the vampire must already be down there.’

  Isabella nodded. ‘Okay. It’ll probably be fine to leave it unlocked.’

  But as they walked onwards, Anna noticed that Isabella was looking behind them far more often than she had done before.

  They had now travelled so deep beneath the surface that the passage was completely untouched by the storm. The ground under their feet was dusty, and the sides of the tunnel were dry. The walls had grown rougher; the stonework was now broken up with patches of white clay and crumbling earth, as if the castle was being left behind as they travelled to some strange, underground place.

  ‘Look at that,’ said Isabella softly.

  There was more firelight in the distance. It flickered out of a doorway at the end of the tunnel, a glow that was equal parts welcoming and terrifying. The old wooden door was already open, just as the yellow-eyed man had guessed. A small black key was sticking out of the lock.

  With the light came a new sound, although it was a sound Anna had heard many times before. The sound was always quiet and sad, often hidden behind tear-streaked hands.

  It was the sound of Max crying.

  ‘He’s here,’ she said. Hearing Max made her want to cry as well – but also smile.

  ‘Don’t get distracted,’ whispered Isabella. She switched off the torch. ‘We haven’t rescued him yet.’

  Anna tried not to grin as they moved forward, pushing her excitement down so she could focus on the task at hand. She concentrated on the floor of the tunnel, solid and soundless beneath her feet. She felt like a living shadow, a phantom in the night.

  They arrived at the doorway. Anna looked inside.

  She gasped.

  The fairy-man had told them that the fourth cell was the largest of them all. He was right. The room beyond the final door had been built into a cavern, with great stone stalactites hanging down from the ceiling like the teeth of the world. The roof was a flutter of activity, covered with furry bodies that Anna thought might have been mice, or worse, rats; then one of the creatures spread its wings and uttered a chittering scream, and Anna realised that the ceiling was coated with bats.

  A rocky staircase stretched down from the doorway to the floor of the chamber. Burning torches were strapped along the walls, casting eerie shadows across the cave, shining light onto the wooden table standing in the centre of the room. Lying on the table was Max, alive and mostly well, his body tied to the table legs with rope.

  Standing beside the table was the vampire.

  Before now, Anna had only ever seen the monster when it was half-hidden in the rain. Now she could see it clearly, in all its deadly magnificence. It was tall, taller even than she remembered, and its arms were far too long, pointed and thin like the arms of an insect. The skin of its face was a pale grey. The rest of its body was hidden by shadows that were draped over its limbs like clothing.

  It was hungry.

  But the scariest things of all were its fiery eyes. They glittered with magic light, glowering down at Max with a stare so fierce that Anna felt sure it would burn him. As strange as the eyes were, there was no mistaking the look on the vampire’s face.

  It was hungry.

  Anna shuddered as she tiptoed down the staircase. She looked around the cave, trying to find something she could use to distract the vampire. She couldn’t see any obvious solutions.

  ‘What should we do?’ she whispered.

  There was no reply. Anna glanced over her shoulder, hoping Isabella was busy thinking of a good idea.

  Isabella was gone.

  And then Max screamed. It was the loudest scream that Anna had ever heard, wilder than any noise Max (or any other boy) had ever made before. The scream echoed around the cavern in piercing waves; the bats detached themselves from the ceiling, disturbed by the shrieking, and suddenly the air was filled with the flapping of leathery wings.

  The vampire had raised Max’s hand to its mouth. Its jaws had opened wide, showing off the rows of teeth hanging from its pink gums. Each one of its teeth was perfectly shaped, curved and sharp like a tiny dagger.

  Two of the dagger-teeth were now sunk into Max’s flesh.

  Anna watched in horror as the vampire’s face changed from grey to pink, pink to red, growing darker and darker as it sucked away at her brother’s blood. Max was twisting around on the table, desperately trying to break free of the vampire’s grip, but not even his strongest heave could pull the vampire off balance. It stared at him greedily as it drank from his veins, its nose twitching, its cheeks now glowing a ruddy scarlet.

  Anna gripped the white knife angrily. She wanted to attack the monster, fight it and beat it and kill it so that it could never hurt Max again. Rage rose up inside her. She felt like shouting a fearsome war cry and charging into the room, swinging her weapon around her head like a medieval knight.

  But the knife was growing hotter and hotter beneath her fingertips. Anna wished she understood its powers. Holding it made her feel braver. It had helped her think clearly enough to bargain with the fairy-man. But what else could it do?

  Without thinking, Anna raised a finger to the almost-invisible point of the blade. The knife had become so hot now that it felt like it was burning her
palm, filling her body with a fire that rushed up her arm and into her chest, pumping through her heart. How sharp could the knife really be? Would it be strong enough to stab the vampire?

  And then, without meaning to do it, Anna’s arm twitched. The knife slid easily into the tip of her finger. She gasped in surprise, unable to see the needle of air that her fingertip was impaled on. Quickly she drew the knife back. A teardrop of blood welled instantly from the puncture mark, fat and bright: a ruby-red jewel wobbling delicately on her skin.

  Max stopped screaming. Anna’s eyes shot back to the table. The vampire had ceased drinking, although blood was still dribbling down its chin. It raised its head, tilting back its chin, elevating its nostrils.

  It sniffed.

  And then its head turned towards the door.

  Anna stared at the bead of blood running down her finger. She knew what the vampire had smelt. She watched from behind a rock as it dropped Max’s hand and stepped away from the table, inhaling deeply, seeking out the intruding scent. The black shadow-clothes bound themselves more tightly to its spindly form as it moved, clouding around its body until only the fiery eyes were visible through the shroud.

  Anna realised that if she didn’t move quickly she would be forced to retreat up the staircase. Quickly she stole into the cave, ducking around the stalagmites and thick stone pillars that rose out of the floor. She couldn’t hear anything behind her, but this was no reason to slow down: she doubted that the vampire’s footsteps made any sound at all.

  Drip.

  The droplet of blood had been shaken loose from Anna’s finger. It hit the ground with a tiny splash, dotting the ground where it fell. Anna glanced at her fingertip and saw that a new drop had already blossomed from the knife wound.

  The new drop gave her an idea.

  Anna reached out and dabbed her finger against a stalagmite as she passed it. Her fingerprint was pressed onto the stone like a stamp in red ink. At the next pillar she flicked a splatter of blood across the base, marking it with her colour and her smell. Soon the cave was filled with dozens of bloody clues for the nosy vampire to discover.

  Anna found a small recess to hide under, crouching beneath the rocky overhang. She could see shadows swirling in the opposite corner of the room, a sign that the vampire was following her trail. Max was still lying on the table. But where was Isabella? Anna hadn’t seen her since she had first looked into the cavernous room. Had her friend really abandoned her?

  And then Anna saw the firelight glint off something under the table. She squinted. There was someone sitting right below Max – someone who was notoriously good at hiding. A girl with wild black hair and a white moon-scar on her cheek was sawing at the ropes with her pocket knife, delicately slicing them away so as not to cut Max’s skin. The metal thermos sat beside her, ready to protect Max with its soupy magic.

  Anna breathed a sigh of relief. The two halves of the plan were coming together. If they could get out while the vampire was still distracted, the adventure would be over at last.

  She turned her gaze back to the corner of the room. The shadows had stopped swirling. Where was the vampire now? Anna looked all around the cave, but she couldn’t see where the monster might be. She glanced nervously at the table. Both of Max’s arms were now free, but Isabella had only just started sawing at the ropes around his legs. They were going to need more time.

  Anna checked her finger to see if it was still bleeding – and her eyes widened with shock. Blood was absolutely pouring from the tiny cut, dripping down into a small puddle that had formed at her feet. Even she could smell the blood now: it had the fragrance of an iron bar, a metal tang rising from a scarlet pool. She would have to move quickly if she wanted to avoid being found.

  The stones were slippery under her hands as Anna crawled out of the alcove. She moved slowly, looking carefully around the cave as she stood up. There were no moving shadows or burning eyes to indicate where the vampire was lurking. For one hopeful moment, Anna thought that maybe the monster had disappeared.

  Then she felt a cold breath on the back of her neck.

  Anna turned around.

  The vampire was hanging from the side of the cavern wall, perched on the rocks like a praying mantis. It was so close that Anna could have reached out and touched it – or, more frighteningly, so close that it could have touched her.

  Its face was split open with a blood-stained smile.

  13

  DEAD END

  Anna squealed as the vampire swooped down from the wall. It scuttled onto the stony floor like a spider, its eyes burning brighter than the sun, hungry and enraged. Shadows wound around its gnashing teeth, billowing out of its mouth like smoke.

  Anna backed away slowly. She held the white knife in front of her, aiming the tip directly at the vampire’s head.

  ‘Stay back,’ she said. ‘Get out of here! Go away!’

  She remembered how the bear in her bedroom had obeyed her commands when she had pointed the knife at it. Would this monster be the same?

  The vampire stared for a moment at the blade that hung in the air between them, tilting its head thoughtfully. Then it lunged forward, its arm shooting out so fast that Anna didn’t have time to react. Its hand connected painfully with Anna’s wrist; the white knife was knocked from her fingers, flying through the air and clattering uselessly against a distant stalagmite.

  ‘Oh,’ said Anna.

  What could she do now? She continued to back away from the bloodthirsty beast, trying not to trip over the rocks on the ground. If she tripped over now, she might never get up.

  ‘Hey!’ called a voice from the other side of the cavern.

  The vampire jerked its head towards the noise. Isabella was standing at the foot of the staircase, flashing the torch on and off in distracting bursts. Beside her was Max, freed from his bonds and looking only slightly shaken.

  ‘Run, Anna!’ yelled Isabella. ‘Let’s get out of here!’

  The vampire spun back around, arms ready to strike, but Anna was already running for her life. She darted across the cave, weaving in and out of the pillars, glad to put some obstacles between her and the monster. She could hear the vampire clearly now. It rustled through the air as it moved, whistling like the wind as it pursued her through the darkness. Although she was running very fast, she could tell that it was close behind her.

  And then Anna made a mistake. She turned around the side of a stalagmite and ran straight into a wall – a dead end in the wrong corner of the cavern. Isabella and Max were climbing up the rocky stairs above her, incredibly close and yet too far away for them to lift her up. Anna turned around, ready to sprint across to the foot of the stairway.

  The vampire stood silently before her, blocking her path. It had positioned itself carefully this time, deliberately spreading its long limbs so that there was no way to pass it. Anna pressed herself against the wall, breathing heavily. The exit to the cave was directly above her. Did she have any chance of climbing up the wall before the monster could grab her?

  ‘Alo! Strigoi!’ yelled Isabella.

  Anna looked up to see her friend’s face peering over the ledge. The vampire looked up too, snarling angrily.

  ‘I stole your dinner!’ called Isabella. ‘You must be hungry! So here! Have some of this!’

  And with that, she poured the contents of the metal thermos onto the vampire’s face.

  The vampire howled in pain. The soup-stew hissed and spat as it splashed against the monster’s flesh, melting the skin away from its cheeks and chin. Its shadow-clothes twisted furiously around its hands as it tried to scrape the soup away. A moment later it fled, dragging itself back into the murky depths of the cave.

  ‘Come on, Anna!’ yelled Isabella. ‘Get up here, quick!’

  Anna turned to run, happy to finally escape the vampire’s clutches – but then something caught her eye. The white knife was glimmering in the firelight, half-hidden among a pile of nearby stones. What would happen if the weapon was capt
ured by the evil creature? Anna changed direction mid-step, running towards the blade.

  ‘What are you doing?’ yelled Isabella. She stood with Max in the doorway, ready for their flight to freedom. Anna hoped she wasn’t ruining their one chance to get out safely. She scooped the knife into her hand and stood up, panting.

  But then she saw there was something else under the stones. At first it looked like a shadow, except that it was blue rather than black. There were streaks of gold as well, woven into shapes that Anna immediately recognised: a moon, and a claw, and a beak. It was the eagle banner from her room, now buried in the deepest depths of the vampire’s lair: the one possession that had survived the fire, preventing the vampire from being destroyed forever.

  ‘Anna! Come on!’

  Anna quickly started shovelling the smaller stones off the stop of the pile, straining her muscles to push away the largest rocks. If they could get the banner and burn it then the vampire would never be able to hurt anyone again. She dug furiously, scooping and digging and ploughing and shoving. More and more of the fabric was slowly uncovered; soon she would be able to pull it out of its hiding place.

  ‘It’s coming back!’ screamed Isabella.

  A cloud of swirling shadows was approaching the place where Anna was crouched. Anna grabbed a handful of the blue fabric and stood up, pulling with all her might. For a second the banner remained trapped in place, weighed down by the remaining stones – and then with a sudden jerk it slipped free, and Anna was tumbling backwards. She scrambled to her feet and ran for the staircase, the banner waving behind her like she was playing a game of capture the flag.

  ‘Run!’ called Max. ‘Faster, Anna!’

  She could hear the whistling sound behind her as she clambered up the stone steps. Isabella and Max disappeared through the doorway, clearing the way for Anna to come through.

  Anna could feel the cold breath on her neck again. She tumbled through the doorway, and then:

  BANG!