As a pleasant wind whistles inside the car, Drew is reminded of the courtyard off their suite, and decides to ask Jessica, “Just who were you talking to in the courtyard the other night? Your Father?”
“O, Drew, don’t you remember our talk before I went out through the French doors?”
“Um, yes, sort of. Well, no, actually.”
“I told you about apparitions and the differences among immortals and undeads. I can’t go into it all, again. Not today. I’m so thrilled we’re going to stay, here, aren’t you?”
Fighting off goosebumps about apparitions and undeads, Drew, at a stop light, catches the eyes of a gargoyle which seems to be looking straight into his soul, he answers, “Uhh, yeah, I guess so.”
“You know,” Jessica says, “we should go to Stonehenge! We’ll be staying here such a long time.”
“Why not?” says mortal Drew. (Why not?! Eeeep!)
“It is said even mortals can see apparitions while visiting Stonehenge. Then, I will explain it all again, for you. How’s that? Wouldn’t that be an adventure?”
“I guess so,” Drew says, driving away from the gargoyle.
“Yes. I’ll talk with Ms. Lydia about setting the tour up for us. We can stay at small Inns along the way.”
Jessica and Drew explain to the others, back at the Inn, that night, just how they found a quaint, little cottage by pulling off the road - in a near accident - and then, deciding to take each other’s photo in front of the charming countryside house, met the owner who came out to the road, and was actually lamenting about a sabbatical with no one to watch the place after running an ad for seven, straight months in the local newspaper. Jessica delights that it was actually fate that brought them together. The couple encourages everyone from the Inn to arrive for a stay during the ten months of care-taking they’ll be doing at the place.
“The owner will be leaving in just one week,” Jessica says, and announces that her and Drew have decided to travel to Stonehenge during the week. She talks with Ms. Lydia to arrange rooms for the nights along the route, and suggests Peoneastlies to join them, over the phone. The Inn Keeper gives Jessica the vampire’s handshake and nearly gushes at the sound of her plans.
“He won’t,” Jessica tells her when the lady looks toward her husband with a raised eyebrow, “he’s very much in love with being a mortal; and, well, I couldn’t,” she says, “unless he was willing.”
“True,” says the lady who courteously ends the conversation about the matter right then and there, knowing, however, there is more ‘in the air’ and her tea leaves about the subject of Drew’s mortality, don’t agree with what Jessica is allowing herself to believe, or accept, at least for now.
The next day, the car is packed with sandwiches, suitcases, the camera, and at least two maps. Jessica has the itinerary which Ms. Lydia has worked out over the phone and the computer; and, Drew pats his pocket where he has placed the bag containing the pinches of Alum which he nearly had to pry out of dear Ms. Lydia, in order to acquire - for safety’s sake.
“Honestly, Drew, I’m getting the feeling you’d ask her for a string of garlic, if you could. Please stop, before you hurt our, uh my, feelings - would you please,” Jessica tells him, half-joking, half-serious, and almost too honest that he’s been nearly surrounded by vampires for the most part of a three-day weekend, and is getting out alive at this very moment. The couple hugs the Inn Keeper and their friend, good-bye. They get into the car, waving while they drive down the lane from the Inn.
“To Stonehenge!!” declares Jessica.
“I guess so,” says Drew.
Chapter Fifteen
The Chapter To Never Forget
The Leprechaun who has just about out-stayed his welcome at the Hair Lady’s place, decides he just might be the best thing that ever happened to the Underworld Castle, if only he could get rid of that vampire who haunts it. He’s been seen with a new lady.
“Domina is her name,” his hostess tells him leaving the Witch’s hut and helping her settle in to a manor house at the edge of the In Between. The Leprechaun decides to go Above World to get a-hold of Crucious Port and fine the troll brothers for requesting his help in the Witch’s demise, accusing him of refusing to pay the Leprechaun enough money for the stunt. Having once seen himself in the Witch’s hut, during the off-season, he now sees himself as owner of the Castle and decides to ask Crucious about his vampire employer and the relationship - if any - to his daughter and the owner, whom he had subsequently found out is the original builder of the Underworld’s luxurious landmark.
He begins his journey from the Underworld to the Curmudgeon Cafe, Above, by thanking the Hair Lady for her hospitality and hinting that when she sees him next, she’ll be smitten with his decision to stick around and positively amazed at his ability to make her feel like a queen. Quite tired of his talk while she does all of the chores and nearly all of the cooking, she quickly bids him farewell, checks the mailbox, and turns to her garden for some much needed pruning and the chance to clip some flowers for inside the house. The Leprechaun, having arrived at the In Between with Crucious isn’t quite sure how to get up the bridge, so he opts for the long route, he’s taken before, heading for the long, dusty tunnel that connects to the graveyard near the Underworld portal cafe.
The only thing Crucious seems to know about the Old Vampire, is that he’s taken to England for some travel; but, he does know quite a bit about the daughter and her connection to the ancient vampire who is known to, sometimes, still dwell in the Castle, below. She is possibly the fourth generation of the lineage and the relationship between her Father and old Nostramadeus has been kept a secret from her - that they are even relations, at all, is not known by the daughter; however, he has saved her from more than just one evil experience in the Underworld and its In Between without being known by her as more than a called upon vampire, and possibly a ‘friend’ of her Father’s. He’s definitely gone to Stonehenge, where the girl, Jessica - he names - has gone, to protect her from another fright - the baby being born could bring about her death, if she were to remain unaware of what she must do to remain in control - and alive - during the process of bringing the child into the world, Above. Also, the Leprechaun learns, their father has quite recently been upset - even ranting around his own mansion - about the mixed mortality status and Jessica’s refusal to interfere in the choice made by Drew.
“In fact,” Crucious tells him, “that guy would change her - to a mortal - if he could.” The Leprechaun rubs his chin, not quite sure how any of this information is going to help him acquire the Castle, or move forward on his plan; but, he gets what he wants out of Crucious, including a little more cash for the Witch leveling gig, and according to him, that is what he’d come Up for, and so he tells Crucious, he’ll probably go back - soon as he can. (Liar!)
The truth is, he’s dialed up tickets to Stonehenge while Crucious ordered a round of drinks and chatted with the barista about a recent windstorm, and the weather. He does tell Crucious, that with the money, he plans to invest in his plot to do away with the ancient vampire and move into his ‘home’.
“Can’t be done,” Crucious tells him, “never even been any other vampire that truly lived there, and even he’s gone Above World, most of the time. It’s a portal for the sort,” he tells the Leprechaun.
“You mean plasma slurpers?”
“Yep, vampires. They go there when they descend - to the Underworld - usually, I guess. Not always, but you’d never quite be alone. And you aren’t the type. Not even the trolls would see you in the Castle,” and then Crucious tips back his head and has a good laugh. This sets the Leprechaun into a rage and, as usual for him and the staff at the Curmudgeon, he gets asked to change his attitude or leave the establishment. The Leprechaun decides to leave and tells Crucious off with the insistence that he will, one day, reign in that Castle, and maybe even control the Underworld - like a king. Crucious and the barista have a good laugh at that - after the Leprechaun exits the
building and in his rage heads straight for the airport.
“Ticket to Stonehenge,” are the next words he says, to a woman at the counter of Transport, right next to TransWorld. Since, dear readers, it’s impossible to fly right to Stonehenge, which is smack dab in the middle of a country called Ireland, the arrangements made require the Leprechaun stay at an Inn just outside of the Seventh World Wonder, and tourist attraction with a wicked reputation and dark past for evil, like sacrifices made to ancient gods, and other mistakes that (in vampire and Underworld beings’ opinions) were mostly made by mortals who dabbled in magic, especially during Medieval Times. The Leprechaun resists his natural tendencies to be rude, and by the end of the transaction is quite civil and ready to embark on his new journey to the lands from where he’d once hailed.
There is no time like a vacation to involve oneself in the history of other lands. Stonehenge’s history is fascinating - although more than just a little spooky. It was built in the time before calendars and clocks and looks almost prehistoric, in Jessica’s opinion, made once they’d arrived after staying at the closest location, which was formidable except for several midnight interruptions from a feisty, little person, in a velvet coat arguing with another customer and at least once, with the Inn Keeper. The early Gauls, who visited from the North of Ireland, held human sacrifices upon the great stone alter in hopes to appease, their often perceived as violent, gods. During the Dark Ages, when vampires roamed openly among humans as blood-letters, thought to cure nearly any ailment, the rumors surfaced about vampire slayings that took place among the rock structure’s pillars and stone altarpieces.
Jessica read from her travel guide as Drew studied the architecture and snapped photographs, “It was said that this one location, on Earth, was where a being of immortality could be suffered the end of life.”
“In other words?” Drew asks.
“In other words, a vampire could be killed, here,” she says.
“Mortality?” Drew asks her, smirking since he’s begun to believe that she doesn’t admit how much she values immortality as superior to mortality. She laughs, at first.
“Yes, mortality, Drew. A vampire could be, I suppose, transferred to mortality; but then, killed,” she pauses and then adds in a serious voice, “so don’t get any ideas.”
Now Drew laughs, “I won’t. What do you take me for, anyway? Someone who’d try to change you?” he looks at her intently, with one eyebrow raised.
“Well,” she starts to explain, “I have to admit, if I were you, and you were me, I’d want to know if there was any way to perform the transfer without the killing part.”
“Okay,” he says, “I’m curious. Is there any such method of transferring a vampire to the clock’s-ticking, time’s up state?”
“I don’t know,” Jessica admits, flipping ahead a few pages, “but this is interesting. If a vampire is transferred to mortal state, and then the life is terminated, he - or she, these books never seem to realize - does not truly die but rather changes form, adopting the form of another, human being.”
“I don’t know if it’s what you’re reading or this structure, but I just felt as though someone walked across my grave.”
“Me too, actually, and I am the scary being we’re reading about,” Jessica closes the book.
“Let’s ask someone to take our picture together,” Drew says, finishing up his tenth snap of Jessica reading the book in front of a large stone that was once a formal altar.
“Good idea,” Jessica says.
“Excuse me,” Drew approaches a man of small stature, “hey, didn’t you stay at the Hengefeld Inn last night?”
“I did,” says the man, “but who wants to know?”
“O, no one, really. We stayed there, too,” Drew says pointing at Jessica and then at himself.
“And so?”
“We were wondering if you would be so kind as to take our picture, so we’ll have one, or two, of us together.”
“I guess I could do that,” he says taking the camera that Drew eagerly extends even before the man can answer.
“Where should we pose, Jess?” Drew asks, taking her hand and picking her up as a surprise. She yelps a little, but poses with Drew, her arms extended and her facial expression surprised. The Leprechaun snaps the photo and then takes another for the couple in front of a different stone, this time smiling at each other rather calmly and sweet.
“Thanks,” says Drew taking the camera back from the man, and while about to start chatting, he notices Jessica appears to be engaged in conversation with a ghost. Drew rubs both of his eyes.
“Do you see what I’m seeing?” Drew asks the man next to him.
“Yes,” he says emphatically in a long, drawn-out tone.
Drew appears thrilled, “I’ve seen a ghost! An apparition! Jessica told me it could be done, here.” He runs up to her and the stranger.
“Hello! I see you. I see both of you.” Jessica smiles and grabs onto Drew by the hand.
“It worked!” she says to Drew and the ghost. “Drew, meet Thaddeus Preference - surprise!” Drew is beside himself, ecstatic with the interim ability of an Underworld being - without having to transfer into a vampire - in the one place, on Earth, where it is said ghosts walk among the living; (not true, as Jessica fills him in later - he’s occasionally seen on campus, late night, posing near his pictures - sort of a campus joke) and so, he walks around the World Wonder discussing everything from Thaddeus’ private life to science and even astronomy, realizing, later, he had seen him, then, on campus. Jessica giggles to herself watching the two discuss theories and the youthful joy exuded from her husband.
She starts in setting up their picnic lunch just off the site, in full view of Drew and the ‘visitor’. Suddenly, she is hit with a craving. She puts her hand over her stomach, “O, infernal wanderings, not now, little bammypire, just hang on. Blood oranges? Maybe sushi?” She looks up and straight into the eyes of the Leprechaun who is about to ask her some very personal questions, having listened in to the couple’s surprise, he has deduced her to be a dark being of the Underworld’s magic. Her fangs show, in an uncontrollable effort to pounce and feed upon the nearest source of cellular tankage; but, immediately (and luckily!) recognizes the form as an Underworld being - the kind filled with magic and dark arts, rather than blood donor fluids. Jessica squints her eyes.
“Who are you?” she asks, the craving curtailed by the annoyance of possibly being stalked.
“Lucretius!” he holds out his hand and tells her, “Leprechaun! Pleased to meet you.” Jessica refuses to extend her hand, and her eyes narrow once again.
“Didn’t I meet you with Crucious Port?” The Leprechaun shoves his hand into the pocket of his coat.
“You did, I think, at the Curmudgeon Cafe,” he tells her. She looks up to remember the incident and notices storm clouds forming above.
“Yes, it was the portal cafe, wasn’t it? I hate to be rude, but what are you doing here? Never mind, it’s going to rain. I have to get my husband, we’ve a picnic lunch about to spoil.”
“Talk to you at the Inn, then,” he says, and disappears while Jessica finds Drew - and Mr. Preference’s ghost - as large raindrops begin to spill from the sky, ruining their hopes for an outdoor picnic and more interacting with a notable ghost from the past.
Jessica and Drew eat their lunch in the car watching the rainstorm drench stones among the ruins.
“We’ll have to try again tomorrow,” Drew says, “we didn’t get much time, here, today.” They return to the Inn and book a second night’s stay.
As soon as night falls, Jessica is called out into the darkness by a cry she knows well, her Father. He is caped and in the leathery bat wings of his ancient form. He insists Jessica ride out into the night, away from the Inn, and she does so, knowing he would not request such an odd hour, or time for a Night Ride unless an urgent matter required her help. She follows him, in bat form, along the currents of the raging wind as the storm continues on, to t
he place where she had been earlier that day - the Stonehenge ruins. Under nearly a full moon, a light is cast upon the altar from between dark clouds.
Jessica’s Father, Peoneastlies, Ms. Lydia Headlong, and the ancient vampire of the Underworld Castle - Nostramadeus - are assembled in vampire fangs, the full-dress of gothic tradition, and the pilgrimage of the bat swarm alerting her to the fact that there could be a victim somewhere nearby. To be hunted by these dark angels of night, perhaps, and Jessica grows uneasy, even anxious, at the thought that her Father has misled her into a wicked circle’s plan.
“Do not fear,” she picks up on her radar, “a most urgent matter has come to our attention and we could not tell you in front of Drew - or anyone, not even vampires.” The two join the circle in vampire form. Nostramadeus addresses the group he has called together in order to reach Jessica with the knowledge of the ancients, passed on to her as the sacred instructions pertaining to ‘The Happening’: the term which means bringing a vampire child into the world, Above.
“If not adhered to, these precautions, you could die during the birth. Even the child could be at risk, causing even the father to pass away before his time - and possibly before the birth of the child, if you don’t feed, in other words, the child will feed on your souls.” Jessica gasps and nearly faints away, but she is grabbed onto by her Father and Ms. Lydia, who help steady her while she regains her strength.
“You must not only feed,” he continues, “Above World, but you must leave your husband - the mortal - forever; or, you must feed upon him that the child does not take his soul.”
“O, devastation! No!!” Jessica exclaims, “there must be another way!”
The Nebulizer Potion and the Electric Compass (Vampire DeAngeliuson Book 3) Page 14
