and found a branch that could be used as a wooden stake.
A force slammed her to the ground. The vampire bat had been swifter than she realized. As he
rapidly changed back into his humanoid form, his mouth opened wide and his long fangs grew
longer.
“I’ve hungered for this,” he hissed.
Sai ported out from beneath him, but only a few feet before he somehow grabbed hold of her
again.
“Not so fast,” he snarled.
Sai panicked. How could he hold onto me like that? I’l have to get rid of him like I did the Shamble Priest.
She tried to port away again and take him toward a clump of trees, but she couldn’t. He held her in
place. How is that possible? She wanted to scream but the vampire put his clammy hand over her mouth.
“I’m not like the rest of them, no. I used to be a Riftling too,” he said, laughing without mirth.
“I know all of your tricks. I can do all that you can, but more, yes, I can.”
Sai didn’t stop struggling, but it seemed the vampire’s iron grip never relaxed. She tried to stab
at him with the wooden stake, but he caught her hand easily.
“The master should have known better than to trust you. Never trust the living, I always say.”
“Keep tel ing yourself that,” Sai snarled, still trying to overcome his death grip.
Something moved behind them in the gloom, something coming out of the brackish water.
Sai’s eyes went wide, wondering at what monstrous horror could be there. But the vampire was
unimpressed. “I don’t fall for tricks as simple as that,” he said with a sneer.
The crocodile’s massive jaws clamped down on the vampire and shook him like a rag doll. He
screamed unintel igibly, and Sai escaped his grasp.
She ported away a short distance and watched as the giant reptile champed down and took the
vampire Riftling apart. The gigantic beast looked to Sai with cold yel ow eyes. It seemed to ponder
her, but then slunk back down into the black waters with the hand of the vampire Riftling stil
sticking out the side of its mouth.
Chapter 17: The Rescue
It took Sai a lot of energy, but she ported al the way back to the Manor in a few moments,
popping here and there, going from tree to tree and mossy embankment to muddy riverbed, even
once landing upon the back of a crocodile. She went to the mausoleum first to see if Ikalos stil
waited there.
The door on the stark grey building was closed and cold. She slumped down in despair. How can
I rescue my friends? I need help. She opened her satchel to look at Hatch, the miserable toad. She scooped him up in her hands and asked, “Why can’t you offer me some good advice now? Where
are al your great answers on heroics and what to do?”
“Wel , because he is just a toad,” said Ikalos, appearing from an invisible door.
“You’re still here?”
“Wel , yes. I just put up an il usion so that none of Von Drakk’s folk would notice. Now, as I
remember it, don’t you want my help with a toad or something?”
Sai brushed away a tear. “Yes, a witch’s curse transformed him.”
“I’l see what I can do,” Ikalos said as he rubbed his hands together. “I know I used to know,
but my memory has been foggy for a few days now.”
“You mean centuries,” Sai corrected.
“Really?” Ikalos puzzled, scratching his head. “That does explain things.” He began fishing
through a bag and throwing items he deemed unimportant over his shoulder.
Sai’s eyes widened, surprised because he had thrown far more items than ever should have been
able to fit in the bag.
“Here it is!” Ikalos proclaimed. He pulled out a massive book, which looked bigger than the bag
itself, and began thumbing through the pages. “I know I’l find the cure for your friend’s warts in
here.”
“Not warts. He was turned into a toad.”
“Yes, yes, that’s what I said,” muttered Ikalos. “I’l turn him into a toad. Or back from a toad
rather. Whatever he was before, I mean.”
Sai grumbled, and Ikalos gave her a wave of his hand.
“Here it is!”
“You found the spel ?” asked Sai.
“No. I found the book that has it,” remarked Ikalos, proudly showing her the book.
“Oh, you’re worthless!”
“Young lady, in my day we respected our elders. Now please let me get to work on this poor
toad.”
“I’m sorry. Your talisman of life did actual y help. It broke Von Drakk’s hypnotic spel over
me.”
Ikalos furrowed his brow. “What talisman?”
“It doesn’t matter, forget it,” she said.
“Done,” Ikalos said with a shrug.
Sai slumped back down on the steps of the mausoleum. She sat there a few minutes while
Ikalos turned pages muttering to himself. I never wanted to be a hero, but sometimes life doesn’t give you a choice. Sometimes you are the only one who can do the right thing, so you do it.
“I’ve got to do the right thing, even if I’ve got to do it by myself,” Sai said finally.
“That’s right!” agreed Ikalos. “What’s that?”
“I’m going in there by myself and I’m going to get my friends out!”
“You go, girl!” said Ikalos. “I’l be here if you need me.”
She frowned at him, but his wide grin couldn’t help but make her smile at the last. “Thank you.
I hope you can help my friend.”
“Who?”
“Ribbit,” said Hatch.
“Oh. Of course, I will,” he said, nodding rapidly.
Sai gritted her teeth and then she was off, porting toward Von Drakk Manor like lightning
unleashed.
***
Von Wilding raged against the bars of his prison. He was fully transformed into his massive
wolf form and his incredible strength was bending the rusted bars, but they would not break. Von
Drakk had Marie in his arms.
She struggled in vain against the vampire lord but despite al her protests, she could no sooner
break free of the vampire’s hold than Von Wilding could the steel bars.
Von Drakk moved toward her neck with those long fangs.
The doors to the chamber suddenly burst open and a pair of ghouls that had stood guard
outside were thrown through the air only to crumple in a heap atop some of the skeletal warriors.
“Who dares!” questioned Von Drakk.
“I’l find out, my master,” answered a hunchbacked chimera of a ghoul. He waddled up the short flight of steps to investigate and disappeared behind the threshold. He let out a gurgled cry of alarm and then went silent.
“It’s about time a real hero got here,” muttered Citrine.
Von Drakk didn’t release his hold on Marie but peered curiously at this daring intruder.
It was Sai.
Citrine gasped, but Esmerelda shouted, “I knew you would come back.”
“Stop!” yelled Sai. “Let Marie go, now!”
Von Drakk looked at Sai and then to Marie and said, “No.” He then opened his mouth wide,
leaned down and bit Marie on the neck. She swooned and went stil .
Von Wilding howled with rage.
“No!” Sai rushed at Von Drakk and his minions. She ported al around the room, bashing her
foes. She was a one-man army batting aside skeletons, zombies, and ghouls, but even her great
attempt was not enough against the vampire lord himself.
Sai ported around the room crushing skulls and laying the foul things of the Moor low. V
on
Drakk suddenly had her about the neck. Her energy was drained and she couldn’t escape his grasp.
No amount of trying to port away worked.
“You dare to betray me? How very foolish of you. And then you come into my home alone and
think you can defeat me? Ha!” He opened wide, ready to bite her as he had Marie, who lay crumpled
upon the floor, stil as death.
“She’s not alone,” yel ed the royal warden.
“Hatch!” shouted Sai, a tear of joy escaping her eye.
He was restored and in the doorway.
“You! Impossible! My witches cursed you!” declared Von Drakk.
Hatch raised his crossbow and pulled the trigger, striking Von Drakk squarely in the heart.
The surprised vampire lord staggered back, releasing his grip on Sai. She ported away and took
the keys for the dungeon and hurriedly unlocked the door. “Hurry,” called Hatch as he drew his
sword to fight the throng of skeletons charging toward him.
A few skeletons attacked, hoping to stop the heroes but Von Wilding wolfed out and tore into
the dark forces like a fire through a dry cornfield. Citrine barreled out and grabbed a sword from a
fal en skeleton and started bashing them into dust. Even Chev and Esmerelda did their part, the old
man defending the girl with a club as she began zapping the zombies and ghouls with her weak purple lightning bolts.
Sai fought her way toward Hatch. “You made it how?”
“I could stil read, I just couldn’t speak. So, I hopped to the next page until he read the right
spel , and here I am.”
“I’m glad,” she said, surprising herself with how much she meant it. Hatch had been there for
her through some terrible fights. Who knew hated enemies could become friends? Either way, Sai was proud to cal Hatch her friend now.
“I just had to have the book in front of me to point it out to him. But nobody let me, I was
stuck in a satchel, you know.”
“I’m sorry about that.”
Hatch said, “I understand.”
“I was getting tired of carrying you.”
Hatch smirked at her but quickly shifted his focus to defending himself against the wave of
undead minions.
Von Wilding bowled over the skeletons and ghouls until he reached Marie. He knelt and gently
picked her up. She looked like she was sleeping, with a pale, chil ed look about her. Two tiny
puncture marks leaked drips of blood from her swan-like neck, and the werewolf raised his head and
howled a deafening cry of pain and loss.
“Come, Von Wilding!” Citrine shouted. “Show me what you are made of and let us finally
defeat this evil that has befouled your lands.” Sai blinked in surprise as Von Wilding fell silent. He gingerly propped Marie against the stone wal and took his place next to his princess, fighting with a new, fierce determination as he tore at foe after foe. I guess she’s not all talk after all, Sai thought to herself as Citrine skil fully dispatched ghouls and goblins in droves.
Just as every wave of skeletons and dark creature were beaten back, a new throng moved
forward. Von Drakk himself was levitating a few feet from the floor. He casual y reached and
plucked the crossbow bolt from his chest and snarled, “It wil take so much more than that for you
fools to defeat me.”
Chapter 18: The Mirror
A wave of skeletal warriors charged in from some dark and unknown quarter and the heroes
found themselves nearly overwhelmed in that horrid push of bone and steel. But they ral ied and
fought together with al their might.
Von Wilding roared his contempt. His slashing claws shattered both bone and iron as he batted
away the myriad foes in an effort to reach Von Drakk.
Citrine swung her sword with expert finesse, relishing the chal enge as she cleaved through her
dark enemies like a great stone in a river.
Chev and Esmerelda contributed to the fight, she with her pulsing light witch powers shooting
concussive purple lightning blasts and he with a staff, watching over her. Anytime a skeleton or
ghoul came too close, he would bash it over the head if she didn’t get it first. They made a
remarkable team, the young and the old together.
Sai ported through the throng, slicing and dicing, feeling incredibly accomplished and proud
until a semi-familiar form appeared in the room’s darkest corner. At first it was a simple bobbing
light, then it was a hooded figure with a gigantic scythe. Hatch and Von Wilding said this was a wisp? No way! This is the very specter of death! She panicked, the memory of its dark aura nearly overpowering her.
She would keep fighting, she had to, but she would fight somewhere else.
Then it was beside her.
Her eyes widened in gripping fear and she blinked away, but it was stil beside her, matching her
every move—every port—every possible space she could flee too. She ported to the empty floor
above in the long lonely hallway and there the Death Spectre met her, cackling deeply like wind in a
hollow cavern.
The horrid menace swung its great scythe at her and she just barely dodged, but noticed a few
of her white hairs floating in the air, cut free by the monstrous, deadly weapon. She lanced back with her daggers, but these did nothing despite piercing the dark maroon cloak of the specter.
Did it just laugh?
She ported away. She couldn’t fight something that could not be harmed.
Then it was beside her once again. She dodged away, porting to every corner and floor of the
monstrous mansion, and stil the fiend was ever beside her, swinging its deadly blade and laughing.
It’s laughing at me!
Anger final y came to Sai, pouring out like water from a drinking vessel. When she stopped running and turned to the skull faced ghost, it paused. The scythe flew from the Death Spectre’s
grasp and buried itself in the wal beside her. She hadn’t dodged this time. It had missed. A killer
ghost could miss. She lunged forward and sliced the dark cloak to ribbons, al the while shouting,
“I’m not afraid of you! I’m not afraid of you!”
Now it was the specter’s turn to try and flee. As she cut its vaporous cloak to pieces, it seemed
to shrink before her very eyes. It became smaller and smaller until it was a ball of coiling black strips of fabric. She pincushioned these to the floor, stil shouting at it, until it completely vanished.
Sai was breathing hard. She looked, and realized she was stil in the basement chamber,
surrounded by both her friends and enemies. They had al paused and were looking at her.
Hatch, Von Wilding, and the others cheered. “You did it!”
Sai was unsure of what they had seen but took heart at their words and turned to face Von
Drakk and the rest of his boneheads.
“You have only defeated but one of my champions,” said Von Drakk. “Behold, another!” He
threw his cloak over his own shoulders and dropped and spun about like a cyclone. His form twisted
and grew and then, unbelievably, they were facing a giant, monstrous vampire bat.
“Nocturne!” snarled Von Wilding. “He is mine!”
Nocturne did not wait for the werewolf’s attack. He stepped forward and batted away both
Hatch and Citrine’s sword strokes. Sai ported above him and tried to drive her daggers into his back,
but he was hyperaware of her presence. Unfolding his wings like a switchblade, he sent her flying
away, bruised and bloody.
Von Wilding, his hair standing on end, howled and charged. Clawed hands met and gripped one
> another while sharp teeth snapped from each muzzle. The red glaring eyes of Nocturne burned into
his hated enemy. They pushed and pulled, until Nocturne lifted him up and slashed Von Wilding
with his clawed feet.
Blood flowed freely from the werewolf, but just as suddenly, it stopped. The wound had sealed
up. This was a contest of monstrous champions and there could be only one victor.
Breaking their death grip on one another, Nocturne lifted himself up in the air and a purple
blast from Esmerelda caught his attention. He screeched and swooped down at her, his icy black
claws open like an eagle’s to catch her.
Chev pushed her aside and took that hit.
“Chev!” screamed Esmerelda.
Nocturne held Chev like rag doll. He toyed with him, tossing him back and forth from hand to hand.
“Surrender to me,” boomed Nocturne.
“Never!” answered Citrine.
“Very wel ,” replied the monster. The ferryman cried out as Nocturne drained him of his
lifeblood in an instant, the bat’s bloodlust not even close to being sated.
Citrine screamed, “No!” She charged at Nocturne, striking him with her sword, but he
backhanded her away.
“You have no idea of my power,” he boomed.
“I do,” came a new voice.
Sai whirled in shock and saw Marie, looking pale yet otherwise whole and healthy, getting to her
feet behind them. That is, until Sai noticed that Marie now had long fangs protruding from the top
of her mouth.
“Marie? You’re alive?” asked Von Wilding. Tears of joy ran down his hairy face.
“I don’t know,” Marie said, “but I’m here to help rid the world of this monster.”
Nocturne ran a long tongue over his muzzle. “I’l have you for the main course and save the
wolf for dessert.” He dove toward Marie. She faced him, unafraid, but Von Wilding intercepted the
massive bat, slamming into him into the wal . The wood paneling crunched beneath them and
Nocturne threw Von Wilding away, but just as suddenly the werewolf was back.
They tumbled one over the other like a pair of twisted cyclones, destroying many of the
boneheads that got in their way. The beasts tore at each other and roared like the breaking of the
world. Esmerelda held her hands over her ears as she knelt beside poor old Chev.
The Glauerdoom Moor_ebook Page 13
