Henry Hunter and the Beast of Snagov

by John Matthews

  Bella pressed a finger to her lips and laid down on her front, signalling for me to do the same.

  We inched our way forward on our elbows until we could see into the cave. It was a smallish cavern and brightly lit by dozens of burning torches stuck into holes around the walls. The smoke rising from them gave everything a wavering quality that made the scene all the weirder.

  There were maybe sixty people in there, and I remember thinking at the time that they’d all obviously been watching too many horror movies because they were dressed in long dark robes with hoods. I recognised the medallions they had around their necks – the same as the one Bella had shown me at her house. They were gathered in front of a big rock that formed a natural platform, on which stood a figure in a red robe – I suppose so you could tell he was the boss. He had his hood pulled down so I couldn’t see his face, but there was something unsettlingly familiar about his voice.

  “My friends,” he said, “I speak to you in English because there are many here who have come from afar and do not know our tongue. The time has almost come when our work will be complete. The Great One will arise! He will make us all immortal! Then, we shall take our places in the world as leaders, as conquerors!”

  His words didn’t surprise me. Why is it these types always want to conquer everything? I mean, if they actually got all the power, what would they do with it?

  Meanwhile, there was a lot of chanting of “The Great One! He arises!” and that sort of thing. They sounded a bit like a football crowd, albeit an echoey one.

  The hooded leader held up his hands. “Tonight we shall offer an interloper to the Great One. This offering will be the means of his awakening. His gratitude will be such that he will reward us all! The Order of the Dragon will be triumphant!”

  So that was who they were. As Henry had told me, Dracula himself, Vlad Tepes, had belonged to an Order of the Dragon, back in the Middle Ages. But I thought that had been a kind of Knights of the Round Table thing, with a lot of blokes running about waving swords. What were these people doing here now?

  They were all still chanting, but I had stopped listening. I had a nasty feeling that by ‘interloper’ the hooded guy meant Henry, and judging by Bella’s expression she had reached the same conclusion. She pointed backwards and we withdrew from the cavern.

  As soon as I thought it was safe to speak I whispered, “They mean Henry, don’t they?”

  Bella nodded grimly.

  “And they’re going to feed him to the beast thing, aren’t they?”

  “I’m afraid you may be right,” she said in a very low voice.

  “So what can we do?”

  “We must see if we can discover where they are holding him. Then we will decide what to do.”

  I was glad that Bella was taking charge – she seemed so decisive – but before I could say anything more my ears were hit by a sudden outburst of shouting from the cave. We crawled back to our viewpoint and stared down at the scene.

  “Well,” I murmured – the noise in the cave would no doubt cover up anything I said – “at least we don’t have to go looking for him now.”

  There, looking a bit dazed, was Henry – held on the platform by two large men in robes. I recognised the expression on his face – curiosity. Whereas most people in HH’s situation would give in to fear, Henry was fascinated by everything going on around him.

  At the sight of my friend, I was overwhelmed with both relief and concern that the worst might be yet to come.

  The leader held up his hands for silence again.

  “My friends,” he bellowed, “the moment for which we have worked so long is almost upon us. Soon the Great One shall awaken, and this foolish enemy shall be the first to feel his anger and the first one upon whom he will feast.”

  Henry’s eyes were darting about, probably looking for a way to escape, while everyone started shouting and cheering and jumping about again. The man on the platform pushed back the hood of his scarlet robe and spread his arms wide as if to embrace his followers.

  Now I realised why his voice had seemed familiar.

  It was Mr Antonescu.

  As I stared at our ‘guide’ I got that funny, empty feeling in the pit of my stomach – you know, the kind of feeling you get when you’ve just heard that your best friend got eaten by a tiger. I looked at Bella.

  For a second longer she stared at Mr Antonescu, who was still directing the chants and cries of “The Great One!” like a conductor in an orchestra, then she snorted. “There is no time for this. We must rescue your friend.”

  I was desperate to do the exact same thing, but as I looked at the crowd in the cavern – who all looked decidedly crazed – and the two hulking guys holding Henry, I didn’t have much of an idea how to go about it.

  Fortunately, Bella did.

  “This is going to look a little weird,” she warned, and before I could ask what she meant she began to change.

  Her form wavered, right there before my eyes. For a moment she became transparent so that I could see the cavern through her, then she faded out entirely. In place of Bella was a plume of green-grey smoke, which began to drift away across the cavern over the heads of the chanting group. At the same time I heard, like an echo that was somehow inside my head, “Stay there. Be ready to run!” It was Bella.

  To be honest, I’m not sure what else I could have done. Gone charging into the cave full of sweaty people in robes in the vague hope of not getting killed before I got to Henry? I don’t think so!

  So I stayed, watching and hoping. And, believe me, what happened then was pretty amazing.

  The plume of smoke that was Bella hovered for a minute over the head of Mr Antonescu, then descended onto the platform where the two hulking guys were holding on to Henry. The smoke suddenly grew still and, just as she had disappeared, there was Bella, solid and real. Everyone froze. The mob stopped cheering and stared. Bella, on the other hand, flowed into action right away. She grabbed the two big guys who were holding Henry and tossed them aside as if they weighed nothing.

  As they flew through the air Bella picked Henry up. She flung him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes and jumped back down – right into the middle of the mob.

  But the robed group had recovered from their surprise and launched into a full attack as soon as Bella landed. I’ve seen some pretty cool moves, although mostly on a film screen (well, who doesn’t love a bit of kung fu?), but nothing compared to this. Bella went through the mob like the hero of an action movie. A couple of them managed to land blows on her, but considering she was carrying Henry as well, most of them looked like they were made of cardboard. It helped, of course, that Bella was in full vampire mode by then, her face dead white except for her lips which had turned a deep red, her blue eyes glaring like searchlights.

  There were shouts of “Dracula” and “Nosferatu” (which Henry had already told me was the Rumanian for ‘vampire’) and all of a sudden the crowd drew back. Only Mr Antonescu seemed to be unaffected. He still stood on his platform, his face a mask of rage – far from the rather gloomy, uncommunicative fellow of earlier.

  “She is a traitor, an enemy of the Beast,” he shouted above the din. “Destroy her!

  Meanwhile Bella had climbed like lightning up to my hiding place, where she dumped Henry unceremoniously on his feet.

  “You okay?” I asked Henry.

  “Just about,” he answered, swaying a bit. “Good to see you, Dolf – and you, Miss Dracul…”

  Before the tide of Snagov worshippers could chase her down, she turned and advanced on them. It was clear they still weren’t sure which of them wanted to be the first to feel Bella’s wrath – or her teeth – and they recoiled, backing off towards the platform, and their leader.

  But at this Mr Antonescu’s face became even darker with anger. “Death to the traitor!” he screamed.

  Like sheep, the mob moved back again in our direction. They were obviously more in fear of their leader than they were of vampires.
r />   “Time to go,” said Bella quietly. “Follow me.”

  She took off at a sprint down the tunnel. Henry and I followed – though I could tell that he was still a bit unsteady on his feet from the way he kept tripping and skidding on the uneven ground. But he kept going somehow, though we had a hard time keeping up with Bella until I yelled, “Slow down a bit. We aren’t vampires!”

  It was pretty dark in the tunnel once the light from the cave had faded, and once again I had to rely on Bella. She led us off down a side passage which then branched several times. I guessed she was trying to lose our pursuers by taking turns they wouldn’t even see. Finally she stopped so suddenly that Henry ran right into her.

  “Where are we going?” he puffed.

  “Away from those unpleasant people,” Bella answered curtly.

  “But who exactly are they?” I put in.

  “An ancient society who worships the Beast,” Bella said. “That much is clear.” She looked around. “We should go further away from here. They are angry and will not give up until they have caught us.”

  I could hear distant shouts and cries – Bella was right.

  “Well, let them try!” said Henry fiercely. “I can show them a thing or two.”

  “Where shall we go?” I asked, keen to get out of the mob’s way, no matter how many martial arts Henry was trained in. “Back outside or further in?”

  “Further in is best,” Bella said. “They will not expect us to go this way and besides…” She hesitated. “I think the only way to end this is to find the Beast…”

  I have to admit my heart sank. As if we weren’t in enough trouble already, Bella was suggesting we go right into the lair of the Snagov Beast. It was fine for her – she couldn’t be killed easily. I had a feeling we wouldn’t be so lucky.

  But I wasn’t surprised at Henry’s reaction. “That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day,” he said, nodding.

  I could have been wrong but I thought I could see Bella smiling in the darkness.

  “Follow me,” she said.

  AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE BEAST

  Bella pulled a piece of crystal from a pocket in her jacket as she led us further into the heart of the mountain. She held it cupped in her hand and it began to glow like a white-flamed candle. She was taking pity on us mortals, I thought – not that I was complaining.

  I waited for Henry to remark on Bella’s ability to light the way, but he’d been unusually silent since his rescue, and didn’t seem to want to mention her gift. Instead, he asked Bella what she knew about the Snagov Beast.

  “I already told Dolf – not much,” Bella said in an annoyed tone, any hint of a smile long gone. “My father mentioned it and I have heard rumours of its existence. It is said that it was the first vampire creature to appear anywhere in the world. Some say it came from another world. My own kind are afraid of it, and some believe it is so powerful not even we could stand against it.”

  What? I had started to think that with Bella we’d be constantly protected. Now I tried to quell my rising panic.

  Henry seemed unconcerned.

  “The Harker papers suggest that others have seen it more recently,” he said. “And the Order of the Dragon gave me the impression they are expecting it to wake up any day.”

  “Did you find out more about who they are?” I asked, intrigued despite myself.

  “A secret society,” said Henry. “I think they’ve been around for quite some time. They’ve been trying to locate the Snagov Beast for a hundred years at least. They’re made up of people from all over the world,” Henry went on. “I heard at least six different languages.”

  “What will happen if they manage to wake up the Beast?” I blurted out.

  “I expect it will arise from within this mountain and start destroying everything in its path,” said Bella.

  It was almost worse than my crazed imagination had feared. “And you still think it’s a good idea to go and find it?”

  “Come on, Dolf,” Henry said. “Just think about it. This is probably the oldest vampire ever. It’s what we came here for. I can’t wait to see it.”

  I knew it was the whole purpose of this particular adventure, but unlike Henry I could have easily waited – I couldn’t help worrying that we were far out of our depth here, even by Henry Hunter standards. But I didn’t say any more, and just trudged on down the seemingly endless tunnels, following Henry and Bella.

  The air was getting warmer, I realised, and a smell that made my eyes water began to pervade the tunnels. Think of the nastiest, most puke-inducing thing you’ve ever smelled, multiply it by ten, and you’ll have an idea what it was like.

  Neither Henry nor Bella seemed concerned. Perhaps vampires had no sense of smell, I thought. Henry just sniffed the air deeply and declared that he thought the Beast must be somewhere in the vicinity.

  With Bella still lighting the way, the tunnel took a sudden plunge downwards and we found ourselves at the entrance to a new cavern. It was smaller than the Order of the Dragon’s meeting place, but a lot more impressive. The high, vaulted walls were semi-transparent, behind which moved what looked like molten rock – ‘magma’ was the word Henry used later. We never found out how the chamber was formed, though my guess was that the Beast had somehow tunnelled into the mountain and created a place where it could sleep and be warmed by the fires of the Earth itself. In any case, at that moment, none of us cared too much – because in the middle of the cavern was a flat-topped outcrop of rock. And on it lay the Snagov Beast.

  My first thought was that it was smaller than I’d imagined – about twelve metres long – and its skin was whitish. It was fat and slimy, like a very big slug, and the stink now we were close was even worse – think of maggoty meat or vegetables that have been left out in the sun for weeks. A fringe of squirmy tentacles surrounded its mouth, between which were plenty of sharp, pointy teeth. And it had a dragon-like tail with barbs all along it – ending with four especially nasty-looking spikes at the tip.

  But the most frightening thing of all was its eyes. It had two sets: a pair at the front, and a pair halfway down its back. They were open, red and gleaming, and they were looking straight at us.

  The Snagov Beast was awake. And it looked hungry.

  I wondered whether it had just woken up or was naturally slow on the uptake, because it continued to stare at us for another minute before it began to unfurl its barbed tail. Then it suddenly came at us a lot quicker than its previous movements had suggested it capable of – lightning fast.

  I think I let out a yell, but as I turned to run back down the tunnel I realised that neither Henry nor Bella was following me, so I twisted back. They were both staring at the Beast – but neither of their expressions showed any form of horror. Henry’s face was alight – he looked just about as excited as I’d ever seen him – while Bella had a strange, faraway look in her eyes.

  “The First One,” she said quietly, as if to herself. “The origin of my kind. I cannot believe I am seeing it.”

  Finally I just yelled as loudly as I could, “We have to get out of here!”

  At this both Henry and Bella came out of their trances, partly at least because the beast’s tail was now perilously close to us, flicking and swiping, and all three of us fled back along the tunnel. After a few hundred metres Bella stopped, and held up her hand in a gesture of quiet. We listened for the sounds of pursuit.

  Silence.

  Then Henry said, “We have to go back.”

  I stared at him. Was he serious? My look must have said it all.

  “Someone has to face the Beast – we have to find a way to stop it,” Henry stated.

  “You are right,” Bella replied with a nod. “I was blinded by the shock of seeing it. But if it gets free there is no knowing what horror it will bring about.”

  She turned away and began to walk back down the tunnel – towards the Beast’s lair.

  Henry looked at me. He was about as serious as I’ve ever seen him. I knew then
that this was our fate. This was where our adventure had led us.

  “Ready, Dolf?” he asked.

  “If you say so,” I answered. There was no way that I was going to let Henry down now, not after all we’d been through.

  “Good chap,” he said, beaming.

  With Bella already out of sight, Henry and I strode back down the tunnel. It was then that we heard a cry. Bella! We looked at each other and broke into a run, emerging at the entrance just in time to see Dracula’s daughter launch herself at the beast.

  She seemed to hang in the air for a moment before hurtling towards the slug-like body of the creature. But quick as she was, the beast was quicker. It swung its huge tail like it was a tennis racquet and Bella the ball. Smack! She flew across the cavern and hit the wall with a sickening thud. She slid down the side of the cave and lay still. The Beast began to heave its sagging bulk across the cavern towards her.

  While I stood frozen in horror, Henry leapt into action. He picked up the nearest large stone and threw it right at the beast. Maybe it was luck, but he managed to hit one of the large red eyes on the creature’s back. If Henry’s intention was to distract it from Bella, he succeeded. It recoiled and hissed like a giant angry snake. At us. Henry and I had now become its number one targets.

  You might be surprised to know that I’ve never stood in the path of a charging rhino, or a maddened bull elephant, but I imagine it’s a similar feeling to having several tonnes of angry vampire beast hurtling towards you. Not fun, I can tell you.

  Both Henry and I turned to run, but the Snagov Beast was too quick for us. I felt a great slap on my back from the Beast’s deadly tail, propelling me through the air and slamming me into the wall beside Bella.