by Jamie Ott
Chapter 6
Although Misaki’s drawing was pretty detailed, Starr couldn’t find the room. She lay back on her bed and imagined what the drawing would look like if it had come to life, and then with her consciousness, looked into every room in the castle.
The longer it took, the more irritated Seth became. He said, “Starr, the room is here. Your friend didn’t draw that from her imagination. You need to look more thoroughly.”
“Seth, you’re not helping,” replied Shane.
“Who the hell are you?”
“Don’t talk to her that way!” Starr shouted.
He retreated back into his cell.
Shane spoke into her mind, Just relax, Starr. I’ll follow your thoughts and help you. I know the room is here, as I’ve glimpsed it from their minds.
Strangely, Shane did just as she said she would. Starr felt the presence of her mind focused on her. As she looked up into the upper levels, starting with the ground floor, it was like she was floating down the entrance hall, past the great hall, the ballroom, a dance hall and an exhibit room where old artifacts were locked behind glass.
She floated up the stairs to the first floor where they found the kids watching television when they arrived. They were no longer in the room. Instead, the man Seth called Lereux stood, looking out of the window. Around the room were various members of the Queen’s allies. In the corner, Lady Gwen sat unhappily, staring at the wall and not contributing much to their conversation.
When Starr glanced in with her consciousness, Gwen’s eyes flickered and circled the room, almost as if she could sense her looking in.
Starr wanted to stay and listen to the conversation but she moved on down the hall.
As she looked in each room, she suddenly heard a foreign voice.
I know what you’re after. It’s upstairs and in the furthest corner, there is a secret door in the wall, behind a red tapestry.
Instantly, she knew it was Gwen. What was strange was that she would help her. She just hoped it wasn’t a set up.
Do you know her? whispered Shane into her mind.
Starr jumped, momentarily retreating back into her mind, because she’d forgotten that Shane was in her consciousness, watching what Starr’s consciousness saw.
Sorry.
She kept her focus and traveled up the stairs to the second floor. Before her was a long dark hall, and at the end was a large multicolored stained glass window.
The hall was completely deserted.
Her consciousness floated toward the window, past many shut doors along the way. She turned left into a shorter walkway. At the end was a large red tapestry with gold flowers woven in the center. Slowly, her consciousness moved through the tapestry and the wall.
That’s it! said Shane.
Starr found herself in a large closet. There was a cheap desk with a computer monitor. On the screen was an ongoing recording of all sides of the outside of the castle. The left wall was a bookshelf with many disks and manuals; the right wall was a panel of buttons. She looked at their labels but couldn’t make sense of anything written, so she concentrated. Next moment, many buttons and switches started pressing inward, downward and upward; then the lights in the office flickered.
How’s that? Did the security doors unlock?
No, said Shane, keep going.
Just as she was about to press more buttons, there was a commotion from the lower floors.
Hurry, said Shane.
I can’t hurry; this takes a lot of effort! What do I do? There’s not enough time and they’re coming.
Burn it all down!
She floated backward and focused on the panels on the wall. As before, she told circuits to heat. After a moment, the panels started to smoke.
From down below, the commotion got louder. The lights in the office continued to flicker, and she guessed that was happening all over the castle.
Although just consciousness, she could tell the temperature in the room was getting hotter because the walls and the desk looked shiny.
Starr floated her consciousness back out of the room to just on the other side of the tapestry while she continued to focus all her energy on the panels. Voices from downstairs indicated that the Queens allies hadn’t figured out that it was her messing with lights.
A second later, footfalls carried up the stairs and down the long hall, but they were too late. The entire closet erupted into fire, followed by the many exploding sounds of live wires touching flames.
She commanded her consciousness back into her body.
Starr opened her eyes and sat up on her bed.
“The castle is on fire,” said Shane.
“That’s great, and now we’re stuck in here!” shouted Seth.
But then there was a flicker of the little green lights on their doors, and then the lights didn’t return. Next moment, the hall lights went out, leaving them in darkness.
The sound of a cell door opening echoed down the hall.
“It worked!” said Druce.
Everyone opened their cell doors and, without delay, rushed down the hall.
Ikael, who was in the lead, kicked out the dungeon door; then they charged upstairs.
In the entrance hall, vampires were rushing in and out of various rooms. There was no light, except from the moon through the large double doors.
Starr abounded for the stairs to the upper floors. Lereux stood at the top.
Starr pulled out her sickles and sliced them, both, left to downward right. Lereux jumped up and landed behind her. Starr spun around to meet him. Right as he landed, Seth leapt onto his back and wrestled with his sword hand.
Starr continued up to the first floor where she heard screams. Down the unlit hall and to the right, she found the room where the kids were locked in.
“Stand back away from the door,” she yelled.
With a sidekick, the door broke off its hinges.
“Come on!”
She led them back down the hall.
“I can’t see anything!” said Misaki.
“Everybody grab hands and don’t let go,” shouted Danny.
Lady Gwen stood between her and the stairs. Upon seeing her, she merely stepped aside. Starr wished she could have stopped and questioned her, but she needed to get the kids out of there. So without delay, she led them down the flickering hall, down the stairs and out into the cool night air.
At the bottom of the steps, Marla, Mica and Shane stood.
“You guys go ahead, but careful of all the bats. Some of them have rabies, and it’s likely you’ll all get bit,” Starr said to them all.
“You’re not staying, are you?” asked Mot.
“I have to.”
“How will we know if something happens to you?” asked Mica.
“We haven’t time to talk about it. I’ll try to send word, if I can, okay?” she said, looking at their solemn faces. “Now, go.”
Right as she turned to run back up the steps into the castle, to rejoin the fight, she fell from the sky: it was the Queen.
The sight of her stilled Starr. Her brain told her to act, to fight, to attack, but she just stood there, looking at her familiar face and penetrating eyes.
Credenza wasn’t as affected by their connection, for she didn’t hesitate. She reached out and struck her across the cheek; a strike so powerful that she flew back off the steps. Starr splashed, a hundred feet backward, in the mud.
Credenza came at her with both swords in hand, and though she was a skilled, Starr realized she had tricks the Queen knew not. Her style was outdated.
The Queen jutted forward, trying to strike her in the chest. Easily, Starr spun as she dropped fifteen degrees to the right and kicked her leg up into Credenza’s back knee, tripping her unexpectedly.
Starr leapt up, kicked her wrists in a one-two motion, sending the swords flying, and then jumped onto to her waist and then tried to decapitate her with her sickles.
A vampire she didn’t recognize gra
bbed her by the back of her shirt and flung her off. She landed in the mud, jumped up and flew a flying kick into his gut. The man was old and strong, for she only managed to force him into a backward stumble, so she spun like a dancer with her sickles slicing from left to right, and severed the man’s head; then slammed the heel of her boot into his skull, obliterating it.
As his body plopped to the ground, Starr heard Credenza from behind. She spun around and they locked eyes, for a moment.
Credenza tried to use the power of her mind against her. Her face grew red and her lips pursed when Starr didn’t go flying through the air, like she’d hoped. Credenza, then, raised her hand and mimicked a crushing motion. Correspondingly, it felt as though Starr’s heart were being squeezed.
Concentrate, Shane whispered into her mind.
Somehow, the sound of Shane’s voice settled her, removing her fear and panic. Consequently, Credenza was no longer able to hurt her.
Angered, the Queen turned on Shane.
Starr threw her sickle at her back. She stopped in her tracks and turned with eyes wide and livid; the blade of the sickle was sticking out of her neck.
Starr through the other, but someone grabbed her, disrupting her throw. The blade was thrown to the grass.
Shane ran at Credenza’s back and reached for the handle. She attempted to twist it and slice it out, thus cutting half of her head off, but another man grabbed her by the arms and held her back.
Credenza reached behind and pulled the blade from her neck and dropped it to the ground.
Do something, said Shane.
I can’t. There’s too many of them.
Whoever they were, they were very old and strong. The two who held her had hands that felt like stone clamps. Starr tried to resist but simply couldn’t. No matter how much good blood she’d drank the last year and a half, it didn’t change the fact that she was only seventeen years old and had a soft body.
They marched them back, while grabbing Marla and Mica, and leaving the kids standing, alone, in the mud.
As she was forced past them, she shouted, “Go through the forest, straight, until you reach the road, and then turn right. We’ll find you when we can. Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”
But they didn’t believe her, as they were nearly all in tears. Misaki and Becky’s sniffles echoed across the air as they were forced into the castle, where Credenza’s men slammed the double doors shut.
More about the series:
Lost and want to play catch up?
Visit the Vampin Box Set Year One Books 1-9, and Year 2, 10-15.
Vampin Year 2 Series to Date:
#10 Primordial
#11 Valhol
#12 Road to Heaven
#13 Lyssa
#14 Starr
#15 Syncing Essence
#16 Sirius
#17 Remembering
#18 Stand (Due out March 2013)
Originally a monthly short with the Black Press Online, Vampin is now available as a monthly teen series.
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