Holgate was puzzled. “So a vampire and a human screwed and had a child?”
“That is correct.”
Holgate shook his head. “I heard about that but I’m pretty sure that’s a myth. Are you sure?”
Sharpton blurred and grabbed Holgate by the throat. Ryman placed his hand on his Glock 22 that contained the wooden tipped bullets but didn’t dare release it from the holster. Sharpton applied pressure and Holgate’s eyes commenced to bulge. Sharpton had the strength to actually remove his head from his shoulders. Ryman was deeply concerned about the money.
“I am sure. Do you believe me?”
Holgate nodded as best he could. “I do now.”
Alexander exited the minivan with the dog and approached the house. The dog let her vampire teeth out but then retracted them. The sheriff now had Sharpton on tape plotting the murder of a child, and that was enough to bring him in, but in reality no immoral vampire ever got brought in. They got their heads removed, which was the most efficient way to destroy a biter. But he found the front door open and the place was empty. He had the ability to enter any dwelling without permission, as did his dog. Spells did have their usefulness.
“Tessy, find them!”
The dog commenced to sniff the area but then started to sneeze. Something had been released into the air to confound her sense of smell. It appeared that their presence had not been so secretive after all. Alexander had not been aware that the vampire had locked onto him. But why let the sheriff know exactly what he was up to, unless it was to be a trap. He ran up the stairs but the shepherd beat him into the bedroom. The sheriff approached the open window. “Bats into the night?”
The German shepherd barked to say that she didn’t think so, and again she sneezed several times. Tessy’s nose burned from whatever had been discharged into the air; she wanted to give Sharpton such a bite.
Alexander stuck his head out the open window and scanned the night sky. “I don’t see anything. I can’t sense anything.” They searched the house but found no one.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
DRACULA AND PIERS STOOD in front of the Florida three bedroom two bathroom cream colored house. Dark blinds were shut tight though some light escaped out into the darkness. Night had fallen as the author had to track down the informant to obtain the correct address, and the Master had not been amused. There was a large palm tree positioned in the front yard, which always grabbed the attention of the tourists. The trees had the same appeal as the sweetness of a lollypop to a 4-year-old. A thirty foot pool was enclosed in the back yard. It was a rental house of which there were many in Orlando. Moon Diamond jumped out of the Master’s arms onto the ground and meowed several times as it attempted to speak. It grabbed and ate a reddish brown water bug, an American cockroach that was pounced on. Zacharia was embarrassed as he forced the cat to cough up a fur ball, along with bits of the insect.
The scent of cinnamon was on the air from a neighbour’s house down the street. The wind was blowing it directly to them. It brought back pleasant memories from the author’s childhood of warm rolls every Saturday morning. Life was now strange and exciting, but never in ten lifetimes would he have imagined becoming a vampire. The life of a biter was like no other. Piers was uncertain if he’d ever fully adjust to it.
Dracula looked down at the cat and responded to its thoughts. “I’m not sure how we’re going to get in yet.”
The night air continued to be warm as they accessed the situation. A soft breeze moved through the palm tree and Piers glanced up at the sound of it. An almost full moon hung over the house and the night was active with various insects. Moon Diamond caught and ate a grasshopper as Zacharia screamed silently for it to stop. Dracula smiled at the incident as the cat shook his head and spit out a leg. Piers fell over the cat and got up without saying a word.
Dracula nodded and felt anger washing over him. “He’s in there. I can smell him.”
Piers made his way around to a side window where a small sad looking girl stared out through the bars. She was blond with defeated blue eyes. Her hair was matted from the perspiration and stress that she had endured. Dracula and the cat followed the author. They all stared in at the girl. “Invite us in. We’ve come to take you home.” Piers smiled at her.
But Olivia White had been through much and now trusted no one, and so she hid behind the bed and refused to make any more eye contact with the two strange individuals at her window. Perhaps they had come to eat her, but she couldn’t be sure. She hugged the dirty gray elephant that had been given to her and refused to move any further.
“Now what?” Dracula spoke more to himself than to anyone else. He could smash the house to pieces but it would frighten the girls even more. The cat growled as it was quite anxious to get in there and attack those evil bastards that resided within. The Master stared down at the Siamese and smiled. “If the cat was in there I’m sure Zacharia could invite us in.”
Piers nodded. “Yes, but how do we get the cat in there? All the windows appear to be locked.”
An alligator approached them out of the darkness. Dracula quickly broke it in two and tossed it away from the house. Piers had been genuinely surprised at the sight of the reptile being snapped in two. Dracula made his way surreptitiously around the house, so quiet in fact that an ant would not feel his vibrations. He approached a window on the other side of the house and could sense that the room was empty. In a moment the cat and piers were behind him. He commanded the cat to jump into his arms and Zacharia did so without hesitation. Dracula stared at the cat as the Siamese stared at him. It suddenly found itself flying through the air and through the window. Inside it shook the glass out of its fur and invited the both of them into the empty bedroom.
Dracula and then Piers broke through the remaining glass and entered into the carpeted bedroom. Eqerton rushed into the room in nothing but his white underwear. He was a skinny fellow with a long gaunt face. The Siamese cat jumped into his face and dug in. The cat’s claws were three times the length of a normal Siamese and they actually dug into his skull. He shrieked as he attempted to rip it off. It was both satisfying and entertaining to Dracula to see that even with Eqerton’s considerable strength he was unable to remove the cat from his face as it commenced to chew on his forehead.
Lyre ran up to the bedroom door with blood on his face; he was quite sure that he could handle any intruders in record time. He was a big husky fellow with jowls and a protruding stomach. He wore black pants but no shirt to cover his hairy torso. He grabbed Piers and threw him headfirst into the living room, but when he turned he saw the Master and immediately knew that his life expectancy had probably dwindled to seconds.
Dracula shook his head to show his disgust. “Lyre, I should have killed you a long time ago.”
Lyre searched for the words that would perhaps save him. “But Master, they are only humans. They don’t deserve our respect.”
Eqerton continued to scream as Dracula snapped his neck and pulled his head off. He turned to bones as he fell to the floor with the cat still attached to his skull. Lyre felt he had no other choice and so he attacked Dracula, but it was like a puppy fighting a pit bull. The Master tore him to pieces, literally. He pulled large parts of his skin off as Piers made sure the four girls didn’t exit the back bedroom where they were being held. Dracula knocked down Lyre with a slap; he stomped the head off him and was content when he turned to bones. Zacharia was a bit miffed that he wasn’t able to get in on that fight.
Piers Anthony led the four girls out through the sliding back door. They were all dressed in red pajamas that were saturated in blood. They all appeared gaunt. They sat on the lawn and looked utterly defeated as Dracula approached them.
“Did you wipe their memories of the events?”
Piers looked just a little embarrassed. “I have no idea how to do that. I’m quite new at this game.
“I’ll do it. You’ll see to it that they’re reunited with their families?”
“I wi
ll.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
STEPHEN, JOSHUA, LUKE AND NOAH found themselves in the middle of the Virginian forest attempting to locate one of the hidden vampire museums. The early morning fog was starting to lift. An adult male bright red Cardinal with is black face made its way past them. They had no idea if the place really existed or if he was simply using time to his advantage. It was possible that he was biding his time until he could fashion his escape. Philo continued to be groggy and out of sorts from the tranquilizer, which was exactly how they wanted him.
Noah thought that Philo appeared to know where he was going.
Philo’s brown eyes were constantly on the lookout for the opportunity to escape, however he knew he wasn’t sufficiently recovered to get away with it. He assumed that he would actually have to show them the location of the museum, but had no idea if the genuine Hithroma resided within. He hoped that it didn’t. His braces held up his black Brioni pants, but they were no longer clean from trekking miles and miles through the forest.
They were in a mountainous area surrounded by white pine. Several Rosemary Pines with one a hundred feet tall was in the area. A small group of black pine was to their right as they stopped to enable Philo to ascertain their current location. He leaned against a spruce pine and noticed it a ways down a slope to his left, a large boulder that was one of the markers that led to the museum. Its face was chiselled flat but nothing else to indicate its importance.
Stephen’s shoulder continued to burn from the salt that had been on Philo’s weapon, and rubbing it brought him no relief. “That’s quite the hairdo there Philo.”
“I like it.”
Joshua was the equivalent to a plain Jane. He had reddish hair and freckles. He had been teased for resembling Richie from Happy Days, though there really wasn’t that much resemblance. There was a little similarity but not much. “Why don’t we just kill the bastard and get it over with?”
Stephen gave Joshua and untoward look. “And are you going to find the dagger for me? Are you!”
A blue jay flew into a nearby tree and started to admonish them for being in its forest, but then flew off deeper into the forest. “I know exactly where I am now. The museum is just down here to the right. But getting to the dagger, real or fake, is not a simple thing.”
Stephen nodded. “Let’s just get in the place so I can see that it’s real.”
They all headed down the path where they came to a peculiar hole in the ground, just large enough to permit a single person to slide down into its darkness. Philo led the way as the others followed, but upon entering he was suddenly and mysteriously missing. The place was a huge hollowed out cave system lit with subdued lighting.
Joshua scratched his red head. “What the hell? Where did he go?” His voice echoed into the large cavern.
It was an impressive place. The solid rock walls appeared to be chiselled flat. A small group of bats clung to the ceiling. A nineteen foot granite statue of Dracula stood to the right upon entering, leaning upon an impressive Viking sword. Smaller statues less than twelve feet tall encircled the large open area. It was effigies of important vampires from the past, all heroes in their own way. Thirteen in total, with three actually having their bones laid out and partially cemented into the ground in front of them. Some had their weapons of choice encased in glass beside them.
“Wow, this place is amazing.” They were all impressed with what that small hole in the ground had led them into.
Next to Dracula was the statue of Braxton of Yorkshire. He had fought beside the Master several times and continued to be missed. He had had such a wonderful personality and upbeat way at looking at life. Those that knew him said he resembled a knight in stature and comportment, and in the end he had perished protecting good vampires from bad. His impressive sword was held in the attack position by his statue.
Stephen blurred and grabbed Joshua by the shirt and shook him. “Where did he go? Find him now!”
A chandelier was lit in the thirty-foot high ceiling; its source of power remained unknown. They blurred and searched the monstrous circular space, behind every statue and against every section of wall but could discover no hidden doors where Philo could conceal himself. The place didn’t appear to contain many places where a biter could hide, and yet they couldn’t locate him.
Stephen’s shoulder seemed to pain even more at the thought of his escape. He was immediately angry. “Where is he? Luke, guard that damn exit.”
Luke stood in the center of the museum and listened. “Did you hear that?
“What?” the other three said simultaneously.
“There’s movement underground.” Luke had become excited as he stared at the floor. He paced back and forth as he hunted for a way down. “Don’t just stand there, search for the entrance. He’s down there somewhere.”
The all searched and poked and prodded different sections of the rock floor but couldn’t find a way down. It was becoming more frustrating by the second. Stephen held out his hand for them to stop and be quiet, and they all listened for movement. And then a faint noise that could not have been heard by any human, it sounded as if someone had accidentally dropped their weapon. The problem was that the chamber provided too much echo for them to zero in on the sound. Luke got prone and placed his ear to the floor and listened; he could hear muffled voices but couldn’t make out anything.
“This is starting to really piss me off!” Stephen stomped hard and the echo went through the place and bounced around. He stood motionless as he considered their next move.
Joshua went over to the huge statue of Dracula and was impressed. Whoever had done all the carving was truly a master at his art. Dracula’s features were absolutely perfect. It was inspiring. “I hope that someday there’s a statue of me in here.”
“There’s as much chance of a statue of a spider as a statue of you.” Stephen thought that he was being smart.
Joshua circled the statue and stopped to examine the back of it. Then he looked down and observed a crack into the floor. A square section of floor caught his eye. He wasn’t sure how it didn’t fall through. “Here! I think I found it.”
They all approached the rear of the statue and looked down at the floor. Stephen pushed them out of the way and stomped on it but nothing happened. He used his considerable might to push on it but it wouldn’t budge. Was it an actual entrance or a diversion? They examined all the other statues more closely and then made their way back to the statue of Dracula.
Luke commenced to examine the statue and feel around it. “Must be a lever or button or something to open it.” He felt the Viking sword and then pushed down on it and the floor opened silently, so silent in fact that none of them noticed it at first.
Noah turned his head and noticed the opening. “Look at this!”
Down into the hole they could see lit torches lighting a narrow corridor. The torches were for ambience as all vampires could see perfectly in the dark. Stephen stuck his head in first to make sure he wasn’t jumping into some sort of trap. Satisfied, he jumped down into the tunnel and fell some fifteen feet and commenced to proceed forward as the others dropped down behind him.
“It stinks down here. Smells like century old blood.”
They found themselves in an uncomfortably narrow corridor with the occasional torch burning. Joshua thought that he detected a slight odor of sulfur that meshed with the scent of the torches. It was so narrow that it would only be possible to use their swords in an up and down motion. They moved forward as they bumped against both sides of the wall. The four didn’t know what to expect and it was unsettling. It was straight and narrow with no end in sight.
“I have a bad feeling about this.” Noah did not like confined spaces.
“You’re going to have a bad feeling with my foot in your ass.” Stephen smiled and continued to move forward.
Suddenly, there was an armed guard that had blurred and stood to block their path. He was a big bald fellow with a triple edged axe. Ste
phen had never seen one before and it looked extremely sharp. The top of the axe had an extra blade sticking out of it for poking. The guy was at least a full head taller. Neval was dressed in what looked to be some sort of black leather uniform. Stephen stopped and the others bumped into him from behind, he pulled his sword with difficulty as Neval watched with interest. How was he to take his head off when he couldn’t swing a blade?
The bald fellow gripped his axe tightly. “My name is Neval and you fellas don’t have permission to be in here. You know how I know? No one has permission to be down here.”
Stephen was annoyed and trying to think of ways to fight the guy in such a confined space. “Why would you build a place where no one was allowed to go? Philo just passed through here.”
“Well, he had permission.”
“You just said that no one has permission.”
“I lied.”
“There’s a lot of that going around,” said Luke.
Neval smiled and showed all his bad teeth and gums as well. It looked like a bite from him would give one a terrible infection, to say the least. His putrid breath was an affront to their senses. “Last chance to turn around fellas.”
Stephen started chopping at the big guy but all his strikes were easily deflected. Neval kicked Stephen in the chest and knocked the four of them down like dominoes. He then attempted to cut Stephen in two but ended up splitting the vampire’s foot almost in half at the big toe. The screams of pain echoed down the hall.
Neval smiled once again. “Foot problems?”
Stephen let go with a series of curses that endured for almost a minute. “You bald bastard!”
Luke flew over the big guy so that they had him trapped in the middle; he slid his sword against the wall to let Neval know that he was in trouble. It was difficult for the axe wielder to defend from two different directions as he felt Luke sword thrust through his neck. Stephen knocked the axe to the ground and also shoved his sword into the big guy’s neck. It took almost a minute but they did manage to remove his head and he collapsed into bones.
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