He froze. Dr Skully didn’t have ginger hair…
Dixon’s fist smashed into Luke’s face and the world went black.
Chapter Twelve
The Machine
Luke woke to find himself in a cage. He couldn’t see much because the bars were covered in a sheet, and listening was proving pointless: all he could hear was the blood pumping through the worst headache he’d ever had.
He searched through his pockets, grunting in frustration. Skipstone’s Tales of Scream Street and Count Negatov’s fang had gone.
“There’s a troll playing drums in my skull!” Resus lay beside him, clutching his head. “Where’s my cloak?” he asked. “And where’s Cleo?”
Luke was about to admit that he didn’t know the answer to either question when the sheet was torn away. “You know where you are!” boomed a voice. “You’ve already been here – TO STEAL MY BOOK!”
The cage had been set up in the secret room beneath Sir Otto’s library. The landlord was holding Skipstone’s Tales of Scream Street up to the bars. Dixon lurked behind him, wearing Resus’s cape.
“However, as you’ve brought me a little gift, I’ll accept your apology.” Sir Otto produced Count Negatov’s fang and clamped it under his lip. “Look at me, Dikthon!” he lisped. “I’m a vampire, just like our friend here!”
“Count Negatov will rise up and tear you apart!” roared Resus.
The landlord’s face broke into a dark smile. “So, this is the fang of Negatov,” he snarled. “Thank you for confirming my suspicions. Samuel Skipstone told me about the relics of the founding fathers. Soon their power will be mine!”
“That’s not true,” shouted Luke. “Skipstone would never speak to you!”
“That’s what I thought too,” grinned Sir Otto, “but it would appear that I’ve been treating his book entirely the wrong way. I was trying to coax information out of Skipstone, when all I had to do was this…”
Opening the book, Sir Otto began to tear slowly at the corner of one of the pages. Samuel Skipstone screamed in agony. “I’m sorry, Luke,” he cried. “He forced me to tell him about the relics!”
“I’ll kill you,” Luke yelled at Sir Otto. “I’ll rip your heart out!”
“Which is exactly why I’ve got you locked in a cage,” jeered the landlord.
“Where’s Cleo?” demanded Resus.
“Ah, the mummy,” sighed Sir Otto dramatically. “She proved to be quite the little fighter!” The landlord snapped his fingers.
Dixon pressed a series of buttons on a wall-mounted console. A section of the floor slid away to reveal a vast machine below. Cleo was strapped to the top of it.
“That’s the generator!” cried Resus. “The generator that used to provide Scream Street with its electricity! I’ve seen pictures of it!”
“Only now its power has been adapted,” said Sir Otto. “Instead of creating electricity, it drags the spirits of the dead from below and fuses them with energy!”
“You’re – you’re making poltergeists,” said Resus. “You’re not controlling the poltergeists, you’re making them!”
“Clever, isn’t it?” beamed Sir Otto proudly, stroking his silk scarf. “Who would have thought you freaks would be more use to me dead than alive?”
“The dead should be allowed to rest in peace!” shouted Resus.
“Which is why I’ve decided to experiment with a live specimen,” grinned Sir Otto, gesturing towards Cleo. “By my calculations, the first blast of electricity should stop her heart, transferring control of her spirit directly to me.”
“I’d like to see you try!” yelled Resus. “Her heart is—”
“My heart is in good condition,” interrupted Cleo, throwing Resus a warning look. “Bring it on, Sneer,” she teased. “Do your worst!”
The landlord thrust the fang and Skipstone’s Tales of Scream Street into his pocket. “Oh, I do like it when they’re feisty,” he grinned, waddling to the console and adjusting a dial. The generator beneath Cleo started to hum.
“As soon as he flicks the switch, we move,” whispered Luke to Resus. The vampire nodded, keeping his eyes fixed on Dixon as he checked the cables.
Sir Otto turned. “Say goodbye to your organs, bandage girl!” he grinned, pulling the lever to turn the generator to full power.
Cleo’s whole body jolted as the first blast of electricity roared through her. She barely had time to feel thankful that her heart and other organs were safe in her bedroom before another bolt of power brought with it a second shock.
“Now!” said Luke.
Using his false fingernails, Resus picked the lock on the cage door. As Dixon realized what the vampire was doing, he rushed across the room to stop him, but he was too late.
The door hit Dixon full in the face and he staggered to one side as Luke dashed out. Resus reached through the bars to grab his cloak. He pulled hard and Dixon’s skull hit the cage with a clang.
Stunned by the blow, Dixon’s shape-shifting mechanism was forced into overdrive. Resus yanked back again and again, changing Sir Otto’s nephew into Tibia Skully, Doug and even Sir Otto himself as he bounced off the cage. Finally, just as the skinny man became Eefa Everwell, Resus tied his hair to the bars.
Sir Otto could hear nothing of the commotion behind him, the rattles and buzzes of the now fully active generator drowning out everything else. He continued to puff on his cigar and watch the dials of the machine.
As another surge of electricity passed through her body, Cleo looked up and saw Luke staring down at her from above. “I’m … fine…” she groaned through gritted teeth. “Get … the … fang!”
It wasn’t until Luke was almost upon him that the landlord realized the cage was open. Turning, Sir Otto punched Luke hard in the stomach. “You can’t stop me,” he shouted. “You and your pathetic parents are trapped here for ever!”
Lashing out, Luke ripped the silk scarf away from the landlord’s neck and froze. Sir Otto’s throat was missing. Where there should have been skin was simply a tangled mass of flesh and bone, held together by strips of scar tissue.
“I grew up on this filthy street!” screamed Sir Otto. “My parents spent all their time making sure the monsters were happy. Even when I was attacked and this happened, the freaks always came first!” He held his cigar in front of Luke’s face. “If it wasn’t for the magic contained in these, I wouldn’t be able to breathe at all!”
The landlord kicked Luke to the ground. “You freaks will pay,” he spat. “When I have all the relics, I will banish everyone in this rotten street to the fires of the Underlands for all eternity!”
Luke felt the familiar sensation of change wash over him, but this was no partial transformation. His face stretched outwards, teeth bursting from bloody gums. Claws ripped through the ends of his fingers as hair sprouted from his entire body.
Within seconds, Luke was in his full werewolf form. He leapt to his feet and advanced on Sir Otto, snarling.
The landlord grabbed a wrench from the toolbox at his feet and swung it at Luke, catching him on the shoulder. The wolf howled in pain and leapt forward, clamping its powerful jaws onto Sir Otto’s arm and biting hard.
The wrench struck Luke across the face this time, sending him crashing to the floor. The landlord snatched up the entire toolbox and hurled it. The werewolf twisted to one side and the heavy metal box smashed harmlessly beside him.
A scream rang out. “Resus!” cried Cleo. “Something’s happening!”
Resus banged Dixon’s head against the cage one final time and turned to peer down at Cleo. Smoke was beginning to rise from the mummy’s bandages.
“There’s something else here,” shouted Cleo. “No – someone! The machine’s pulling another spirit up from the dead!”
Resus raced for the control panel as the generator started to shake violently.
The battle between Luke and Sir Otto continued to rage. The wolf’s jaws snapped together again and again as the landlord lashed out with the
wrench. Sir Otto lunged at Luke. The wolf leapt into the air and the landlord crashed into a bank of machinery, becoming entangled in the wiring.
Luke leapt on top of Sir Otto and howled, baring his teeth for the kill. The landlord screamed and closed his eyes as the wolf lunged forward. There was a rip as Luke tore open Sir Otto’s pocket, grabbing both Skipstone’s Tales of Scream Street and Count Negatov’s fang with his teeth.
Luke climbed off the landlord and growled. Sir Otto sobbed helplessly. The wolf, content the fight was over, padded over to where Cleo was strapped down.
“Stop the generator, Resus!” bellowed Cleo. “It’s coming!”
“I’m trying!” shouted Resus, flicking switch after switch. The vampire could only watch as light began to shine from the gaps between Cleo’s bandages.
A roar filled the room. Sir Otto, who had only been pretending to cry, charged at Luke. The wolf flipped onto his back and thrust his legs in the air, pressing them hard into the landlord’s stomach.
Kicking with all his might, Luke flipped Sir Otto over his head and down towards the generator below. The landlord crashed on top of the machine, smashing Cleo’s restraints and allowing her to wriggle to one side just as a fully formed poltergeist burst out of the generator with a scream.
Resus watched in horror as the bolt of pure energy shot through the air towards Luke. Diving towards his friend, he snatched Skipstone’s Tales of Scream Street from the wolf’s jaws, using the metallic silver cover to deflect the screeching ghost across the room and into the control panel on the wall.
The console exploded. Cables and wires fizzed with energy as the poltergeist was fed back into the machine that had created it.
The generator dropped to a low hum, Cleo slumped back against the unconscious landlord and Resus watched in amazement as the single electric light bulb that hung from the ceiling flickered into life.
Chapter Thirteen
The Gift
“This way,” said Resus to the queue that snaked through his house and down into the cellar. Luke was in the sewer tunnel below, passing up books, paintings and ornaments as the residents of Scream Street came to reclaim what Sir Otto had confiscated from them.
“Any sign of the goblins?” the vampire called down through the trapdoor.
Luke shook his head. “I guess they don’t feel safe down here any more.”
“Not since you tried to blow them up, anyway,” grinned Resus. He glanced over his shoulder as Eefa Everwell arrived. “How’s Cleo?”
“She’ll be fine,” said the witch. “She’s in bad shape at the moment, but after a few days’ bed rest she’ll be running around as normal.”
“I hope not,” said Resus. “We’re getting a bit fed up of having to rescue her every ten minutes, aren’t we!” He glanced at Luke to find his friend staring at Eefa, once again lost in her enchantment. He laughed. “You’d better close your mouth in case another rat comes flying past!”
Dr Skully and Alston Negative appeared beside Luke in the tunnel. “That’s the last of the items,” said the teacher. “Now, if you and Resus would be good enough to show us where this secret room is…”
Dixon opened the gates to Sneer Hall without complaint. “I’m sorry,” he whined, rubbing at the bald patches on his head. “Uncle Otto made me do it!”
“Where is he now?” asked Luke.
“In his room,” replied Dixon. “He says he won’t come out for anyone.”
“That’ll save us some trouble,” said Alston.
Luke led the way to Sir Otto’s library and pulled the book out from its position on the shelf. With a click, the secret door opened.
“A basic pulley mechanism,” said Dr Skully, examining the bookcase. “Shouldn’t be too difficult to disable. This door won’t be used again.”
Alston followed Luke and Resus down the steps and into the stone room. Clumps of ginger hair were still knotted around the bars of the cage.
“Looks like Dixon had to pull himself free to get to Sir Otto,” said Resus.
“He must have been tearing his hair out with worry!” Luke quipped.
Alston checked the settings on the control panel, pressing various buttons to ensure the dials were reading as they should. “It all looks to be in working order,” he said. “Blasting that poltergeist back into the machine must have tripped the reset switch and set it running in the right direction again.”
“So, Scream Street’s going to get its electricity supply back?” asked Resus.
“As long as the wiring is still intact,” replied Alston. “I’ve got someone checking that as we speak.”
A handful of stone crumbled from the wall and a green head appeared, a screwdriver clenched between rotten teeth. “Everything looks hunky-dory to me, dudes!” grinned Doug. “Fire her up!”
Alston pulled a lever on the console and the generator rattled into life.
“Uh-oh!” said Doug, sniffing the air. “I think something’s burning…”
Luke held his nose. “That’s not burning,” he said. Snatching up the sheet that had covered the cage, he found Squiffer crouched there, hiding behind his hands. Luke grabbed him, causing the terrified goblin to let off another blast of noxious gas.
“You be leave me alone!” Squiffer screeched. “Or I be go and tell flabby man about you!”
“I think you’ve told Sir Otto enough,” said Luke. “Although I agree that you should probably spend a bit more quality time together!”
Climbing the stairs, Resus followed the stench of cigars to Sir Otto’s bedroom. He opened the door to discover the landlord lying on his bed, an ice pack on his head and face mask over his eyes.
“Is that you, Dixon?” Sir Otto growled without looking up. “I thought I told you that I didn’t want to be disturbed!”
Squiffer let loose a silent burst of gas and Luke was forced to cover his mouth, both against the stench and for fear of laughing.
“Well, seeing as you’re here now,” continued the landlord, “see if you can do something about the drains. Since those impudent young freaks invaded the sewers, the pipes have stunk like a troll’s armpit!”
“I’ve always said it takes one bad smell to know another,” said Luke.
Sir Otto ripped the mask from his eyes. “You!”
“We came to see how you’re feeling,” said Resus. “It can’t be nice having a poltergeist pass right through you.”
“Maybe that’s where they get their famous tempers from?” grinned Luke.
“I’ll get you!” roared the landlord, struggling to climb off the bed.
Luke pulled a face. “And to think, we came to bring an old friend for a visit!” He tossed Squiffer into the room and slammed the door. Resus slid a false fingernail into the lock and closed it with a click.
“No!” screamed Sir Otto, rattling the door as an eep! escaped from the goblin. “Get me away from this thing. Let me out!”
Resus smiled as wafts of green cloud seeped beneath the door. “Do you think they’ll be OK in there?”
Luke nodded. “Trust me,” he said. “They’ll have a gas!”
Luke sat on the edge of his bed, blasting the evil army of mechanoids that invaded his games console. Since the electricity supply had been restored, the residents of Scream Street had been pulling all kinds of appliances out of retirement. Luke was just happy his games were working again.
He reached the end of the level and pressed a series of buttons to activate his rocket launcher as the robot overlord hovered into view.
“These moving stories really are very exciting!” exclaimed Samuel Skipstone from the cover of his book on the bedside table. “And I used to think pencil illustrations were advanced!”
There was a knock at the door. “Come in,” called Luke, pausing the game.
Mr and Mrs Watson entered the room with a tray of food. Luke didn’t need his werewolf sense of smell to identify the dinner: beefburger and chips.
“How are you feeling?” Luke asked his mum, indicating he
r bandaged arm.
“I’ll live,” she said.
Luke’s dad jumped as a skeletal dog burst into the room and leapt up at him, barking. Cleo and Resus appeared in the doorway. “Scapula wanted to come and say hello,” explained the mummy. She was wrapped in fresh white bandages and had applied make-up to those across her face.
Resus had re-dyed his hair jet black and smoothed it all down with gel. His face was once again coated in white face paint and his cloak had a new electric-blue lining.
“We’ll leave you to it,” said Mr Watson, throwing Resus a nervous glance.
“Your dad’s still not sure about me,” grinned the vampire as the door closed.
“I guess it’s the whole ‘creature of the night’ image,” said Luke. “You do look pretty scary!”
Resus grinned. “I just have to work out how to hide my reflection in mirrors now. That’ll really spook people!”
Cleo nudged the vampire. “Go on, then,” she said. “Give it to him.”
“You give it to him!” said Resus.
“Will one of you tell me what’s going on?” said Luke.
Resus shrugged and pulled open his cape. Cleo reached inside and produced a small golden casket. “We thought this would be ideal to keep the book and the relic in until we find the others,” she smiled.
Luke took the casket and ran his hands over the hieroglyphics carved into the lid. “Wait a minute,” he said, “isn’t this where you keep—”
“My heart, liver and kidneys – yes!” beamed Cleo. “But they’re better off in the fridge now the power’s back on.”
Luke pulled Count Negatov’s fang from the pocket of his jeans and dropped it into the casket. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Scapula!” shouted Resus.
“No, it definitely wasn’t that,” said Luke.
“Scapula, put that down!” yelled Resus. Luke turned to see the dog heading for the door, Skipstone’s Tales of Scream Street in his mouth.
Fang of the Vampire Page 6
