Kingster snorted releasing multiple boogers which stuck to a nearby tree, and the dragon sneezed, shooting out even more. Then the beast took a sneezing fit that made the boy laugh. The beast put its head back down forlornly; it was disappointed in itself because it didn’t know the way home either. They both heard a branch crack in the distance to their left, it was remote and perhaps the result of their over active imaginations.
“Kingster, I, I, I know you’re allergic to vampires. But maybe it’s just a wolf and you could eat him for a snack. If I become a vampire I hope I don’t suck out all your blood. That’s kinda stupid because you have way too much blood for me to suck out huh?”
The dragon agreed.
“Let’s go that way before it gets us.”
“What’s this? What’s this?” Keith stuck his nose in the air and took in the scent as best he could. He could smell the sweat and stress of the officers; they were frightened of running into a vampire in that charcoal atmosphere. It was like a Quarter Pounder’s with Cheese and a Coke slowly approaching and it made his mouth water. The vampire could differentiate the red blood cells from the white, although the scents of the erythrocytes were more potent.
The vampire waited to see if the officers would continue on their current path, or if there would be some deviation from their current trajectory. Keith would have no qualms with running them down, but it would be more fun to simply sit on the mattress and observe their faces when they pushed their way through the trees. He saw a raccoon to his left, and he blurred and grabbed it by its tail and held it up as it scolded him. He took the animal by the tail and then knocked the life out of it on the ground.
The sound of the officers in the distance had begun to veer off in a different direction, and so it was clear that he would have to pursue them. It was a bit discouraging as he wanted his food to come to him. Keith shrugged and blurred short distances through the trees, and within a few seconds he was behind the officers. He kicked Officer Smith in the back and drove him face first into a fir tree, rendering him unconscious. Officer Brown was a big man and grabbed his Glock 19 hand sidearm as fast as he was able. The gun was loaded with fifteen wooden-tipped shells. He turned and managed to fire off a shot, unfortunately it went through Keith’s left earlobe. The officer had missed his one opportunity for a kill shot. The vampire rushed the officer with great speed, tearing out his throat and then commenced to feast hungrily upon his blood. The sound of his slurps flowed into the darkness. He drained Brown in less than sixty seconds.
Kingster finally managed to lead Ryan out of the forest and back to his front porch where two Officers with a K9 were preparing to commence searching for the child.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
DRACULA SAT OUTSIDE on his porch on Martin Street and staring across the road. Over the small bank was a brook with several mallard ducks into it. He could hear them quacking down there but couldn’t see them. It was a minimal annoyance and so the birds were ignored. He brought his Tosca Buffet clarinet up to his lips and started to play the instrument. Dracula had perfected its usage over the years, and the original music that was emitted from it was haunting and beautiful. The music played with one’s emotions, pulling them down into sadness. That was one advantage to being so bored that it was either perfecting the clarinet or running one’s head into a cement wall. A mortal only had the sand in an hourglass to measure one’s lifespan, but the Master had the entire desert in his. Dracula had been at it since 1843 when Klose adapted the Boehm flute key system to the instrument. He also recalled seeing Mozart utilize the clarinet in a symphony, perhaps for the very first time, but of that he couldn’t be sure. The thoughts deflected his dismal mood but no one in the world could top his talent for the instrument, not even Artie Shaw.
Dracula was wearing the reddest Turkish bathrobe. It was another rainy day in Moncton and the humidity was high. July had not been very pleasant in this part of the world either, too much precipitation. Dracula stared off like a man in a coma, inwardly falling into the great chasm of his decaying existence with nothing to grasp onto. Moon Diamond or rather Zacharia was restless. The music made the cat want to cry.
The wind increased in intensity and it would soon blow in a heavier shower. The air made the tail of his robe dance and Zacharia had to force himself not to pounce on it. Dracula took control of a crow that was making a racket on the power line overhead; he made the bird fly down onto the sidewalk and act like a chicken, strolling around with its head bobbing. He showed a slight smile from its indignity, as if a crow could experience such a thing. He even compelled it to cackle like a chicken. Another black crow flew in to assess the situation, and he seemed puzzled by the antics. The crow watched curiously as his compatriot went through its abnormal routine. When the bird was released from his mind control, they both quickly flew off into the gray sky.
“Is there anything that tastes better than mice?” Dracula didn’t look down at the cat but could imagine his expression.
Zacharia flicked his tail. “That is not the least bit funny Master.” He placed his thoughts into Dracula’s mind now that they had managed a connection the Master was receptive to all of his mind machinations, and the actual cat’s as well. “I have absolutely no dignity remaining whatsoever. I don’t know why I continue with this existence.”
“Cats are loved and admired by many, though I do admit that I wouldn’t want to be one.”
The two crows that had flown off returned with three others and sat comfortably on the power line gazing down at Dracula. The birds sensed his strength but didn’t know what to make of it. The five black feathered friends stared down in wonder and adjusted their positions but remained silent. Dracula looked up at them and acknowledged their presence which made them all uneasy. When Moon Diamond gazed up at them, and placed images in their heads of what he would like to do to them, they all flew off in the direction of Champlain Mall without making a sound.
“Oh, don’t get your tail in a knot. Dignity has nothing to do with it. You are where you are due to your own fault. You’ve only two choices as I see it. Live or die. I’ve imagined billions of things in my long life, but never imagined you with a tail. It looks good on you. You’re a very attractive cat.”
“Oh ha ha. I’m laughing on the inside and coughing up fur balls on the outside from the inside. I should use your leg as a scratching post.”
“We could take this show on the road. You’d be the smartest cat in the world. And now ladies and gentlemen, the cat will now turn the television channel to Animal Planet. And then you would come in and utilize the remote.”
“Master, may I receive permission to tell you to shut up?”
“Permission denied.” Dracula was quiet and pensive for multiple minutes. His mind wandered to far off places and tropical destinations. He focused on long lost loves and feelings of yesteryear. Suddenly, he turned his head rapidly to the left, faster than any human ever could. “There’s a mouse down there. Why don’t you go get him? I can hear the cat screaming about it.”
The Lilac Point Siamese cat looked annoyed. He sat and attempted to show indignation. “Do you think I don’t know that? Let me eat in peace. I am trying my best to ignore that tasty rodent. Although I do love the challenge of the chase.”
“That delicious mouse is making fun of you. It doesn’t believe that you are able to apprehend it. It’s a cocky little bastard. I imagine it’s tasty. Look, it’s giving you the finger, metaphorically.”
Zacharia cocked his head and listened with his cat ears. The gray mouse rustling in the grass sounded moderately loud to him, and he could smell its musty goodness. Moon Diamond’s influence was a lot stronger whenever there was a rodent in the area, and the Master was playing with that knowledge. It was two against one.”
“He is delicious isn’t he?”
“Just like chicken with a fur coat.”
Zacharia brought up his hind paw and scratched his right ear. “Should I eat it? I mean would it be proper?”
&n
bsp; Dracula was enjoying the situation more than expected. “You are a cat. I would if I were you.”
The cat thought on it, and his mind was confused to such a degree that he was having difficulty deciphering good thoughts from bad. It appeared to make appetizing sense. His mind and the cat’s feline brain were having a bit of a slap fight in there. The cat would not back down considering there was a mouse in the equation. Zacharia had not been clear headed since his soul had entered Moon Diamond. And Dracula urging him on was simply complicating the cat’s nature and befuddling his own. The small mammal was a delicacy on tiny legs.
“He’s going to get away, or another cat will come and eat him. Oh, I believe I see another cat down the road.”
That got Zacharia’s attention. He was immediately ready to pounce as he wiggled his ass, and with a burst of speed he jumped off the steps into the grass. He jumped several times and then returned with the dead mouse and dropped it near Dracula.
“Is that for me?”
The cat stared up at his with its pretty eyes. “If you don’t want it I’ll eat it later. I killed it so it can’t get away.”
The Master nodded and smiled. “I believe I’ll pass.”
Dracula noticed that Piers Anthony was approaching from the Mill Road and he wasn’t exactly delighted to see him. He rolled his eyes with a here we go again attitude. He preferred not to be bothered but Piers was a good though stubborn friend. However, there was a limit to his patience. The author was dressed in a good looking gray suit, with a purple vest and black tie. Piers knew the master had never liked purple. The author blurred across the street and crossed the sidewalk approaching the steps.
Piers smiled at the cat. “Beautiful cat.”
“Did I ever mention Zacharia?”
Piers thought on it and then it came to him. “Isn’t he the one that battled those evil bloodsuckers in Rome?”
“Yes, that’s him. Would you like to meet him?”
“Yes, I’ll bet he has some interesting stories.”
“There he is.”
The author felt that Dracula was up to something but he couldn’t zero in on it. He glanced toward the house. “He’s in the house.”
“No, he’s in the cat.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Mind the cat’s thoughts.”
Piers furrowed his bushy eyebrows as he noticed the dead mouse. He went into the cat’s mind and poked around in there. “What am I looking for?”
“Hello Piers,” Zacharia said to the author. “I’ve read some of your work.”
“Hello? What is that?”
“Zacharia’s soul is trapped inside his cat, Moon Diamond.”
Piers looked at Dracula and then back at the cat. “How is that possible?”
“I’m not really sure. So Piers, what have you come to bother me with now?”
The author was irritated. “Oh nothing much, it’s just that evil vampires are pretty much trying to take over the world, but besides that everything is just hunky-dory.”
Dracula smashed the clarinet over the author’s head and broke it into two pieces. It was accomplished with such rapidity that it seemed as if he hadn’t moved at all, undetectable to the eyes of a mortal.
“That hurt,” said Piers.
“No it didn’t,” Dracula countered.
Piers felt the top of his head that had already healed. “Okay, so it didn’t much, but is that anyway to treat a friend, not to mention the destruction of an expensive clarinet.”
“Piers, we’ve discussed this. But tell you what, I’ll make you a powerful red sheriff and you can go kick some ass.”
He did in fact consider it but shook his head to the contrary. “I’m a writer not a fighter.”
“Oh, but I can make it so.”
“Would the transformation change my personality?”
“Not at all.”
“Then it is pointless. I don’t have the constitution to run around killing vampires.”
“But you want me to do it.”
Piers continued to stare at the cat as it lifted its paw and waved at him. “Don’t you think that’s it’s your responsibility? Every single vampire originates from you, in a sense.”
“I don’t think much of anything these days.”
“They’re slaughtering humans at an alarming rate.”
“I suppose.”
They both turned their heads toward the Mill Road, where a young woman in a yellow raincoat was walking by. Suddenly, a man approached her that hadn’t been visible only a second before. Both Dracula and Piers knew immediately what was going down. It was a vampire that was getting ready to kill the girl. She looked to be barely twenty and it wasn’t looking good for twenty-one.
“You do see what’s occurring there?” Piers was worried about the woman’s safety.
“I do.”
“Why doesn’t he sense you this close?”
“Some don’t believe in me.”
Piers rubbed his beard. “Really? That is kind of funny. You’re going to save her? Right?”
Dracula looked the author up and down, as if making a comment on his attire. “Piers, why don’t you have a go at it? There could be some entertainment value in it.”
“I, I, I don’t have any experience in such matters. Are you trying to get me killed?”
“Perhaps.”
“Master,” said Zacharia. “Surely you’re not going to let that miscreant get away with murder right in front of you?”
“I’m going to be judged by a cat now?”
Moon Diamond sensed the bad guy in the off-white Bills Khakis and the matching Vintage Poplin shirt as he exposed his fangs and grabbed the girl by the back of her neck pulling her close. The cat blurred and crossed the street like a demon, jumped in his face and commenced to scratch his eyes out. The wounds commenced to heal but nevertheless it was excruciatingly painful. The miscreant vampire staggered across Mill Road where he was struck by a gold Mercury Grand Marquis driven by Jayne Morgan from Dunnellon Florida, and thrown like a ragdoll against the steel railing. Her husband Gary was in the passenger seat and didn’t seem all that surprised by the events. He had been in World War Two and nothing much fazed him anymore. Jayne screamed and screeched to a halt as vampire Varick rushed and grabbed the cat and prepared to destroy it. His left eyeball hung out of his head, but as it healed, it was sucked back in like a small vacuum. Moon Diamond swiped at the globular pod but missed it.
Piers rushed to save Zacharia but Dracula beat him to it, and with one massive punch knocked Varick’s head clean off and he turned to dust with a slight pop. Traffic was tied up in both directions as Gary got out of the car to have a look. Sirens were heard in the distance. Jayne held both hands tightly over her green eyes and refused to look. Moon Diamond directed and pushed the skull up and over the curbstone until it fell into Humphrey’s brook. Piers removed the remainder of the skeleton and tossed it into the brown water.
A heavy rain commenced to pound the area.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
AT THE CONFLUENCE OF BROADWAY AND SEVENTH AVENUE in Manhattan, the Thirteen met where the location was considered to be a representation of the United States. The gang stood with smiles and satisfactory thoughts of the bloodshed to come. They felt like a superior army heading into an assured victory. The idea that they were going to kill a red sheriff or two was beyond satisfying, it was delectable on so many levels. Times Square was the perfect place to do some damage. The media would eat it up and spit it out to the entire world like so many empty sunflower seed shells. The vicinity sometimes contained as many as six red sheriffs, and therefore vampires usually avoided the area.
The crowds were heavy as usual and the sun was in the process of setting. The lights were bright. The Thirteen knew that not long after the killing commenced, whatever sheriffs were in the area would show up. Their overwhelming numbers were delightful however, so much so that Bernard laughed to himself in anticipation. The gang wouldn’t be
satisfied unless they managed to dust at least one sheriff. The fact that the whole world would know about it would be a grand statement that they intended to eventually take over the world; they were part of the revolution now. They were also cognisant that the multiple cameras would record their glorious feat of strength. Each and every one of them was also aware that it might be necessary for them to stick together in the coming months for safety’s sake.
Wei and Bao blurred into the area of Times Square, with their trench coats snapping due to their velocity. There seemed to be as many yellow taxis as other vehicles on the road. They were Chinese and close friends, although they were not blood brothers they probably should have been. Both their families were attached in friendship and had immigrated together to San Diego California when they were both under five years of age. Unlike many, they had never outgrown their friendship.
“Do you feel it?” Bao asked.
Wei nodded, looked around with his gray-blue eyes sensing something unpleasant in the air. He had a two feet long queue of hair down his back. They had been exceptional martial artists before they had been turned, and both devoted fans of Bruce Lee. They were as handsome as they were rugged looking, muscular perfection in perfect proportions. The pair had been turned against their will in the hope that they would become evil, but they were on the side of integrity and justice from the beginning. They both despised bullies.
Wei was not only a powerful opponent, but a wizard class leveller of magic; unfortunately he was not yet adept at it and had much to learn on the art of spells. In fact he ignored it as best he could. His talent had a great distance to travel in its progression of natural ability and learned knowledge. The road would be long to acquire the necessary training to become an experienced necromancer, and it wouldn’t be easy to locate the right vampire to train him. Wei knew the ways of the sword, but the methods of his invocations would have to be taught to him by someone that was adept in the field. Unfortunately he was disinterested in the magic thing, and so he was not the complete vampire that he could become with a lot of hard work.
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