“A trapdoor!” exclaimed the mummy.
Luke pulled open the small door and peered into the darkness. “Yes, but where does it lead?” he asked.
“Anywhere’s better than here,” replied Resus.
“Not if we get stuck underneath the floorboards,” Cleo pointed out.
Resus produced his flaming torch, but Luke shook his head. “I wouldn’t take that down there,” he said. “The floor could ignite and burn us all to a crisp.”
“I’ve got a light,” announced Kian, pulling a battery-operated torch from his own cape and handing it to Luke. Resus put the flame away.
“There’s a ladder!” cried Luke, as the torch began to pierce the gloom. “This must be some sort of escape hatch.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” grinned Resus.
Luke climbed into the hole first, tapping each rung of the ladder with his foot to test its strength before placing his entire weight upon it. Step by step, he gradually disappeared into the darkness. Kian went next, closely followed by Resus. As Cleo brought up the rear, she called out, “Dixon, I could kiss you!”
As the hatch closed behind them, there was a moment of silence before, on the other side of the locked door, Dixon gave a happy sigh.
Chapter Fourteen
The Escape
At the bottom of the ladder, the hole became a tunnel that seemed to slope down from the first floor study and then run between the walls on the ground floor. Gripping Kian’s torch between his teeth, Luke led the way along the low, dirty passageway on his hands and knees.
“I can’t imagine Sneer ever using this as an escape route,” said Resus as he, Kian and Cleo followed Luke through the dusty tunnel. “There’s no way he’d ever fit down here!”
“I can fit,” said Kian, who was clearly having a great time. “I’m a vampire.”
“Well, I hope you’ve got a fresh set of bandages in your cloak,” Cleo laughed. “These ones are getting ruined!”
After a few minutes, Luke came to a stop.
“What’s the matter?” asked Resus.
“The tunnel splits in two,” replied Luke. “Do we go left or right? The last thing we want is to come out in another locked room somewhere.”
“It depends where we are now,” said Cleo. “I’ve no idea, I’m afraid.”
“I’m completely lost,” admitted Resus.
“Well, I’m pretty sure the study is more or less above Sneer’s dining room,” said Luke thoughtfully. “Which should mean the tunnel on the right goes deeper into the house, while the left one heads towards the outside wall…”
“…and freedom!” pronounced Resus.
“Left it is, then,” said Cleo.
Luke turned and crawled along the left-hand passageway, the others following close behind. Before long, he could feel cool air on his face. “I think we’re getting close to an exit,” he called over his shoulder.
“There’s a chink of light up ahead,” said Resus, peering past his friend.
The light was seeping around the edges of a small door set into the wall of the tunnel. By edging past it slightly, Luke was able to push his foot out and kick open the wooden flap. Daylight streamed into the tunnel.
“He shoots, he scores!” grinned Resus as Luke scrambled back to peer out of the opening.
“It’s not much of a drop down,” he told them. “Just a few metres.” He slid his legs out of the door and disappeared from view. “Hand Kian down to me,” he called back.
Resus lowered the younger vampire out of the tunnel, then he and Cleo jumped down themselves. They seemed to be in some kind of small, high-walled courtyard.
“I’d say that was some pretty good navigating,” boasted Luke, but before anyone could reply, a pair of deep-throated growls made them spin round. Sir Otto’s two vicious hellhounds were slinking across the courtyard towards the small group, fire flashing in their eyes and acidic saliva dripping from their jaws.
“Yeah,” agreed Cleo sarcastically. “If we’d been unlucky, we could have ended up in another locked room!”
“I wondered where Sneer had been keeping these two…” murmured Resus.
“Well, now you know,” answered Luke, his eyes scanning the high walls around them for an escape route.
“Nice doggies,” beamed Kian, stepping towards the snarling pair.
“NO!” cried Luke, Resus and Cleo together, grabbing the boy and pulling him back.
“You don’t want to stroke one of those,” exclaimed Cleo. “Or you’ll find yourself missing a few fingers!”
“Not if I don’t have any to start with,” declared Kian. Spinning himself around, he swiftly transformed into a bat and flapped off across the courtyard. Transfixed, the hellhounds followed, leaping into the air and barking angrily.
“He’s distracting them so we can escape!” cried Luke in amazement.
Resus grinned. “I could get used to having him around,” he said.
“We still have to get over the wall,” Cleo reminded them.
“Sounds like a job for me,” said Resus, reaching into his cloak and pulling out a length of rope with a metal grappling hook at one end. As Kian continued to divert the hellhounds by flitting around above them, Resus threw the hook up and over the wall, where it wedged securely.
Cleo climbed up first, with Luke and Resus pushing from behind to hurry her along. From the top of the wall, the mummy reached down and helped Luke to clamber up beside her. Lastly, Resus joined them.
“OK, Kian,” called Luke. “We’re ready to go now!” But instead of flapping over to join them, Kian changed back into a boy right where he was.
“I’m a really useful vampire,” he grinned.
Cleo screamed. “Kian, no! Change back —- quickly!”
It was too late. The hellhounds were on him in a second, snapping and growling as the small vampire tried to cover his face with his hands.
Luke, Resus and Cleo leapt down from the wall and raced back across the courtyard, the vampire pulling out his flaming torch as he ran. He thrust the flame between Kian and the snarling dogs, causing them to yelp in pain and pull away.
Cleo dived beneath the torch and grabbed the small vampire, dragging him clear. “I’ve got him!” she called.
Resus lunged forward again with the flaming torch as the enraged creatures turned to follow their prey, but the fire wouldn’t hold them back for long. “Get him over the wall,” Resus instructed Cleo. “Luke and I will see to these things!”
“How exactly are we going to do that?” Luke asked him as Cleo and Kian ran for the rope and began to climb up it.
“Reach inside my cloak,” replied Resus calmly. “Grab the first thing you can find — then clobber them with it!”
Sliding his hand into the silky lining of the vampire’s cape, Luke grasped what felt like a metal handle. “I’ve got something!”
“What?”
“Only one way to find out!” Luke pulled his arm out and found himself gripping the handle of a frying pan. “Perfect!” he cried, swinging the pan round and catching the first hellhound on the side of the head, knocking it out cold. Its companion leapt for Luke, teeth gnashing, only to receive a kick from Resus that sent it sprawling. By the time it was back on its feet, Luke had brought the frying pan down on its own head with a satisfying clunk!
Luke tossed the pan to the ground; the dogs’ caustic drool was already beginning to eat into the thick metal. “Not bad,” he panted.
Resus swung the flaming torch round and slipped it back into his cape like a cowboy holstering a six-shooter. “Out of the fire and into the frying pan!” he quipped.
The boys then clambered quickly up the rope and dropped down on the other side of the wall, finding themselves at the opposite side of Sneer Hall to the square. Cleo was waiting for them, alone.
“Where’s Kian?” asked Luke.
Cleo looked around her in surprise. “He was here a minute ago!”
“It’s like babysitting a poltergeist,” said R
esus in exasperation. “We’ll have to find him. He’s a magnet for trouble when he’s by himself.”
“We’d better keep out of Sneer’s way, though,” said Luke. “As far as he’s concerned, we’re still locked in his study.”
The trio crossed the garden and let themselves out of the gates, then stepped into the crowd of normals that filled the square. There were still plenty of people packed around the werewolf’s cage, plus a group of boys lurching along after Doug.
The zombie seemed to have managed to sew his legs back in place, but he’d reattached them the wrong way round, so he faced his pursuers as he staggered away from them. “Dudes!” he complained. “Give a brother a little space, man.”
The teenagers burst into laughter and continued to mock the zombie’s swagger. “Space, man,” drawled one of them.
Resus scowled as he watched Doug trying to escape. “He’d eat their brains,” he said. “Only there wouldn’t be enough to keep him going ’til dinner!”
“Any sign of Kian?” asked Cleo.
“I can’t see him,” said Luke, scanning the crowd.
“Let’s try the emporium,” suggested Resus.
Sticking to the more densely populated parts of the square, the trio managed to hide themselves among the normals as they made their way over to Everwell’s Emporium. As they entered the shop, they found Eefa there, carefully removing the parrot costume from the bat who lived above the door.
“Have you seen Kian anywhere?” Luke asked her.
“Right behind you,” replied Eefa, pointing back outside.
Luke turned to see the small vampire approaching them, his mouth split into a wide grin and Sir Otto’s leather money bag clutched in his hand.
“Kian!” exclaimed Luke. He, Resus and Cleo dashed back through the doors and ran towards him. “What are you doing with that?”
Kian cheerfully handed the bag over to Luke. “Now you can use the money to save your mum,” he said.
Luke was lost for words. “I… I didn’t mean…”
“WHERE’S MY MONEY?” roared a voice from the other side of the square. There was sudden silence and the crowd of normals parted just enough for Sir Otto to catch sight of Luke holding the stolen money bag.
“You’ve done it now, Watson,” bellowed the landlord. Pushing his way through the crowds to the cage, he unlocked the door and swung it wide open. “Get the boy and I’ll grant you your freedom!” he snarled to the werewolf inside.
Chapter Fifteen
The Answer
The werewolf seemed to understand Sir Otto’s command perfectly, and leaping from the cage it sprinted directly for Luke. The normals screamed and ran, fighting to get as far as possible from the snarling creature.
“Inside, quick!” Luke yelled to his friends, grabbing Kian by the cape and dragging him into the emporium. He and Resus slammed the doors and pressed their weight against them while Cleo led the small vampire to the relative safety of the storeroom.
Mrs Watson’s werewolf flung itself at the shop doors, rattling the glass and making Luke and Resus jump. Outside, there was a stampede as the square cleared.
“What do we do now?” said Luke as the wolf hurled itself angrily at the doors a second time.
“Eefa, can you cast a shield spell around the emporium?” asked Resus.
The witch shook her head. “Not without trapping the werewolf inside it with the rest of us,” she replied. “It’s too close!”
“Why’s it coming for us?” asked Cleo, peering cautiously round the door of the storeroom
“It must be me!” cried Luke as the doors shook for a third time, almost knocking the boys off their feet. “My mum was going to attack me yesterday before you caught her. She must still have my scent in her—”
CRASH! Finally giving up on the doors, the blonde werewolf launched itself at the shop window and leapt right through. Its claws skidded on the smooth, polished floor as it landed, sending it crashing into Eefa and knocking over a display unit. With burning eyes, the wolf spun to face Luke and began slowly to advance.
“What do I do?” he yelled.
“You’ll have to transform,” replied Resus, backing away. “Transform and stop it from hurting anyone.”
“But … it’s my mum!” exclaimed Luke.
“You’ve got no choice.”
“I can’t hurt her!”
“Do it!”
Shaking, Luke forced his eyes closed and attempted to picture a scene that would trigger his rage. He tried to recall the moment when Sir Otto had locked them in the study, but the image evaporated. Concentrating harder, he thought back to when Kian had disappeared beneath the rabid hellhounds — but again, the scene shattered and wouldn’t stay with him.
Now Luke could feel the wolf’s breath on his face, and he opened his eyes to see it looking right at him.
“What are you waiting for?” cried Resus.
“I-I can’t get angry,” said Luke fearfully. “I’m too scared!”
His mum’s werewolf raised its head and howled. The sound filled the shop, echoing crazily around Luke’s head, and briefly he wondered why the last thing he would ever hear couldn’t be something more pleasant.
The werewolf bared its fangs… and pounced.
Just at that moment, a figure leapt through the broken window and pushed Luke to the ground, taking the full force of the werewolf’s attack. Luke scrambled to his feet and was horrified to see his dad thrashing about on the floor beneath the angry creature.
“Susan!” screamed Mr Watson. “You have to stop this!”
The werewolf clamped its jaws around Mr Watson’s neck. Luke wanted to look away, but he couldn’t move a single muscle. Was he really going to watch his mother murder his father, right in front of his eyes?
Suddenly, the wolf froze. Its muscles began to shudder and the dark blonde fur began to disappear, shrinking back underneath the beast’s thick, leathery skin. Bones cracked and reshaped as Mrs Watson began to transform back.
Luke sank to the floor, exhausted, and watched as his mum’s face became recognizable once more. In less than a minute, Mr Watson was holding his trembling, sobbing wife.
“It’s OK,” he whispered, stroking her hair. “It’s OK. I’m here. It’s all over.”
Luke scrambled across the broken glass to his parents. “I thought… I thought you were going to…”
Luke’s mum lifted her head, and resting her hand on his cheek she gazed into her son’s eyes. “I’m so sorry!” she wept.
Silence enveloped the emporium as everyone tried to catch their breath. Then suddenly a voice cried out, “Please, no!” It was Eefa Everwell.
Cleo hurried over to where Eefa was trying to lift a damaged display unit from the floor. The mummy leant her weight to the effort, and between them they managed to shift it. Beneath, lying perfectly still, was the emporium’s bat.
Eefa buried her head in Cleo’s shoulder and began to cry. “He’s been with me ever since I first came to live here,” she wailed.
The sound of glass crunching under heavy boots caused Luke to look up to see Sir Otto Sneer standing over him. “Pathetic,” grunted the landlord, biting down on his cigar. “I can’t even trust you freaks to kill each other properly.”
Luke turned to glare at him.
“Well, come on, then,” jeered Sir Otto. “Change into your little doggy thing and bite me: I might just have a surprise of my own…”
“Resus is right,” Luke muttered. “You’re not worth it.”
“You’re all as bad as each other!” roared Sneer, stomping over the debris and the lifeless bat to reach his discarded money bag. “You’re all monsters, fiends, oddities…” He turned to face Luke again. “And thieves!” With a final glance at Luke, the landlord stepped back through the broken window and strode off across the square.
One by one, the normals began to emerge from their hiding places, looking at the carnage in astonishment.
“Luke didn’t steal your money!” called Ki
an, rushing out of the storeroom and pulling open the shop doors. “I did!”
The landlord turned back, then bent to study the young boy, blowing a cloud of foul-smelling cigar smoke into his face. “You again,” he growled. “I thought I knew all the freaks around here, but you’re a new one. Just who are you?”
“I’m a vampire!” yelled Kian. And with that, he opened his mouth wide, sank his tiny fangs into the leather of Sir Otto’s money bag and tore it open. With the storage spell now broken, hundreds and thousands of pounds poured out of the bag and onto the ground. A cheer rose up from the normals as they fought to gather it up.
Sir Otto scrabbled about among them, pushing people aside in a desperate effort to save his takings, but the cash quickly disappeared into the pockets of the tourists. Eventually he gave up and turned his attention back on the small vampire.
“I’ll make you pay!” he roared, raising his fist.
“You will not!” shouted an unfamiliar voice. Sir Otto looked up, startled. He squinted in the direction of Everwell’s Emporium to establish who had spoken.
“Look!” hissed Cleo, pointing to where Eefa’s bat had lain. A cloud of black smoke had gathered above it, and in a burst of light an elderly vampire had suddenly appeared in its place, his eyes pure white.
“You will not harm my grandson,” warned the vampire as he walked slowly out of the shop.
“Grandad!” squealed Kian, racing over to the old man and flinging his arms around him. “It’s me — Kian!”
The older vampire smiled. “I suspected it might be you,” he said. “Unfortunately, I have spent so much time as a bat that I do not know if my sight will return. I fear I might never be able to set eyes upon you, my boy.”
“I’ll look after you,” Kian promised, tucking his arm into his grandad’s. “I’m a vampire!”
The old man laughed. “I suspect, however, that I will always be able to hear you…”
“This is all very touching,” barked Sir Otto, “but it doesn’t replace the money I’m owed.”
Invasion of the Normals Page 8
