The Servant of Count Dracula
Chapter One: Master Needs a Servant!
One night turned out to change my life forever. Sounds kinda lame to start out this way but that's how it started.
I was no more than your average college student, graduating from your average college school, in your average US of A town. That is until one night, my collage roomy decided to drag me on a small trip with a handful of the collage boys up to a "haunted shack." Ya. Pretty lame to me at first.
Anyway, I might as well get the basics of my life listed out so fare. My name is C. That's it. Ya, I don't care for my whole name so let's not get into it. I am, as they say Emo. Black cloths but no body piercings or tattoos. Didn't care for those much.
Back to the trip anyway. My friend Amy (total opposite and party girl) and I sit in the back of a small bus as the three boys and two girlfriends bounced around and sang silly songs while the guy who planned this whole silly trip drove the bus. So, there are a total of four guys and four girls, counting me of corse.
So, this shack we're headed for is supposed to be haunted. How? Not quite sure myself, but the story goes that some Romanian dude built it when he came here to the states. He had only one thing with him and that was a door sized mirror. I'm talking an old and huge mirror. It was the only thing he kept in the shack, and it was kept locked… at all times! It was said that the mirror itself was haunted because whoever that would roam around at night near the hill the shack was on, they would hear things. Like pigs squealing and moaning noises and other weird stuff coming from it. Not sure what happened to that European immigrant but I think he died a while back and that the shack had been unattended to for years.
But the guy, who pulled the strings about borrowing this bus, had found a way to open the shack and invited anyone who was curious to see this haunted mirror. I found the tale to be rather bogus, but Amy and the others insisted that I'd come along if I thought so. So here I am, sitting at the back of this 'borrowed' bus as Jason drove up the 'scary hill'. Lame right. He might as well be the guy to hack us all with a chain saw once we reached our destination.
But like the other five, Jason liked to party and he wanted to party big tonight. Seeing as this was our last night as 'college students,' he wanted to make a night for all of us to remember. Ya right!
"Come on, C!" Amy scoffed at me from over the set she was leaning over, while I was currently laying my legs over it so my back rested between the window and my set in a lazy fashion. "You're supposed to be having fun with us!"
"Trust me," I growled back at her, "I'm having as much fun as a moth going for a flashlight."
"Just ignore her, Amy." Tomas waved her over. "She'll start to liven up a bit once we reach to one of her favorite settings."
"Which would include a cemetery!" Josh joked as he and his girlfriend Susi shared a small bottle of alcohol spiked soda.
"Har – har." I said keeping my face strait, even though I was annoyed. All I wanted was to go back to my dorm after this and get my damn degree for being a bone surgeon. I was also good at tinkering with computer parts and phone lines. Just a hobby. I even have a short wave radio back from the 1940s I'll clean every now and then. It still works too!
"Hey guys!" Jason suddenly calls as the bus slowly comes to a stop. "We're here!"
I had to roll my eyes as some of the guys made spooky sounds when the wooden shack appeared. When the doors opened I was the last to get out, and I found the mood rather dismal around the place. Twelve minutes to midnight and I could be in my bed dreaming of my own horrors. But no. I'm stuck with a bunch of party animals on a cold hill in September; investigating an urban legend on a haunted mirror. Fantastic. And I'm in my casual black shirt and black jeans with a black summer coat. My short black hair is in a ponytail which makes my hair looked spiky in the back as my boots clinked down the bus' steps and onto the ground.
"Hurry up, C!" Amy called back to me as she raced with the others to the shacks old wooden door. I casually walked up to them as Jason examined the huge lock on the door. It even held a large metal bar across the door to keep it sealed. Man! How much trouble is one guy going to do about locking up an old mirror?
"Okay. Where here so – now what?" Sam said as he held his girlfriend around the waist. They should get a room.
"Patients is a lesson in itself." He smirked at everyone while a few rolled their eyes at them while he searched the ground for something.
"Since when did you become a Sage?" I said coolly, but my dark brown eyes widened a bit when he brought up a large axe out of a hidden bush. You know the kind a timber man would use; or an axe murderer.
He then started hacking at the metal lock like a mad man as some of the girls shrieked at his violent attempt on the door. After a few swings, the lock finely gave away under the presser of the sharp axe as Jason threw that, and the pieces of lock and the metal bar to the bushes.
"Well done." I said sternly to him. "You managed to demonstrate how to break an entry the hard way."
"Would you give it a rest, C!" He bit back at me as he caught his breath. Apparently, it wasn't an easy task to break that lock with an axe. "At least try to have fun like the rest of us!"
"Teh! If you want me, I'll be waiting on the bus." I waved them off and started marching away. Investigating a dusty old mirror was not on my list of things to do before the graduation ceremony tomorrow.
"C!" Amy called back but I ignored her. She was a good roomy and all. Kind and considerate, but she also liked to be a bother.
"Shit. Just let her go. She's just a party pooper is all." Sam waved me off as Jason prodded the door open.
"I bet the only party she'll go for is masturbation!" Josh said as he chugged down his beverage.
"I heard that!" I said as I sent him a glare. He quickly turned away from me, for he should already know not to piss me off. I had punched him out once for trying to make a move at me and now he thinks I'm gay or something. I just ignore the idiot and let him think what he wants.
And for those all who want to know; yes! I'm a virgin! But I'm not some slutty bitch to sell myself to anyone! I have respect of my own to uphold! Not to mention a promise to my dead grandparents to keep. My original parents died when I was young so I was raised by them. Until I turned twenty and they passed on at the same time. How ironic right? So I was left with certain figures in a bank account to start my collage road. But if I knew that it would lead me here, I would have quit and moved to China!
Not that I'm dwelling over the past. It's just I prefer not to bend and weep like a little lost girl when I know that if I work hard, I'll find happiness of my own. It just hasn't happened yet.
Well, back to my so-called collage mates, Jason had just managed to open the door and they all disappeared inside. Amy, giving me one last glance before she went in after them.
As I waited for them by the bus, my back leaning against the cold steel frame as I can overhear their conversations over the mirror they found. As I suspected, they complained how old and dusty it was as I looked at my watch. One minute before midnight, and I suspect the Boogieman coming out to scare everyone would be more interesting than this.
But that's when things started to seem off. Clouds started to overcast the star lit sky as wind blew the lose bangs in my face.
"Weird." I commented to myself as I started for the shack again, thinking it was time to leave. But as I was close to the door and tell the others to call it quits, the wooden door itself closed with a loud slam, spooking everyone in it.
"Jesus! C! Let us out!" Josh shouted as everyone began to go in their own panic states. "Why'd you close the door on us?"
"I didn't!" I shouted back as I tried to open the door, but there was no door knob. Figures. "Hey! Stop leaning on it! I'm doing the best I can here!"
"We're not leaning on it!" Jason began to shout too. "Just get us the fuck out of here!"
"Sam! The – The mirror!" One of the girls shouted and there was a disturbing silence from within.
"I- its – g – glowing!" Sam sounded fearful as I heard a hissing sound coming from the back.
"Hey! What the hell's going on in there?" I banged on the wooden door but I got no response. "Helllllooooo! Guys! Somebody answer me!"
But before I could do anything else, a bolt of lightning struck the roof of the shack so hard that I was flung back quite a ways from the shear force. My head hit a tree trunk as a light blinded my vision from the shack. The last thing I heard before I was in darkness was the sound of everyone's screams and shouts.
When I woke, my head was pounding from a headache as I forced myself to sit up.
"Shit!" I spat as I rubbed my head and groaned from the pain. "Where the hell did that come from?"
Recalling the bolt of lightning that hit the shack I quickly turned to see how bad the damage was. For a moment I thought that everyone would be caught in a blaze that would start and that they would all be burned alive.
But no. The shack was still there in all of its old glory and the wind still blew angrily around me. Except for one thing. Where is everyone? Where is Amy? Where did the paparazzi disappear to?
"Hello?" I called out but no one answered. The shack was wide open now but there wasn't a sound of anyone that should be close by. "Hell. If you guys are playing a prank on me than I'm not falling for it!"
Still silence was all I heard. Cursing as I got up and brushed myself, I went towards the shack. Forgetting the fact that my ponytail came undone so that my short black hair was blowing around me, I peered inside the shack. It was empty, except for a few boxes and buckets and the fact that there was a large mirror lying against the back wall. But what drew my attention to it was that the surface of the mirror was covered in ice. Ice! Like Jack Frost had blown over it himself and was now admitting its own foggy glow!
"What – the hell?" I breathed and found that I could see my own breath now. Whatever happened in this shack, the temperature was a lot colder than outside, the mirror was the only one covered in an icy surface.
"Okay guys! You can come out now!" I called around the shack, thinking they were going to surprise me from outside the shack. "I'm serious! This is not funny!"
Again, no one answered back. But I was still counting on something to happen, which it did. I just didn't expect the mirror to give of a shimmer of cold light which did surprise me so much that (in my embarrassment) I tripped over one of the empty buckets.
As I fell to the ground my eyes caught the bucket headed straight for the frost covered mirror. But what happened next made me wonder if I was still dreaming. The bucket went throw the mirror! As in the mirror didn't shatter from impact, but the bucket went into the mirror with the sound of cracking ice as it disappeared and the mirror regained its smooth surface.
"Wha-? What the fuck?" I gaped at what I saw in sear astonishment. Really, you don't see buckets flying into mirrors like that!
Getting to my feet, I slowly approached the mirror. Careful of my footing this time, I stopped just a few inches in front of the mirror and I could literally feel the cold air coming from it in waves.
"Whoa." I breathed as I stared into my own frost covered reflection on the mirror. "The guy must have been one hell of a magician!"
But then a second thought occurred to me. If items like a bucket can go through this mirror, maybe people could too. Maybe the others went through this thing too. After all, I'm here by myself and the bus is still vacant just a few yards away from the shack. If they went into this mirror, and had some trouble on the other side, maybe I can go through it too and use it to get us all back here. This was just a theory, mind you. But it was better than sitting on my ass and doing nothing.
"Okay. Here goes nothing." I breathed to myself as I raised my hand to the surface of the mirror. Slowly, so slowly; I placed my hand on the mirror. As I thought; it was cold, ice cold. When I pushed my hand even further, the iced glass began to hug around the palm of my hand as it freely fell into the mirror.
I quickly pulled it out for safe measure as I examined my hand for any signs of, well, damage. I'm sure someone would do the same in my position. That or run screaming mad out of the shack and get the police. Like the police could do anything with this thing! They would probably make things worse!
Since when did I get to be so righteous? Oh well. I might as well get it over with it. I thought as I took my final breath and jumped into the mirror. With a sound of crashing ice and a cold sweep through my body, I landed on solid wood in the second I fell through the mirror. Losing my balance, I fell and rolled on the floor several times before coming to a stop and facing a wooden door in front of me.
Breathing deeply to calm my beating heart, I took in my new surroundings. I wasn't in the same shack I had walked into. There were many things here such as wooden chairs, an old cot and piles upon piles of furs and blankets. I looked at the mirror behind me and found that its frame designs were similar and there was frost on the surface as well.
"Okay…. Since it worked – I guess – I should test it for the return trip." I said quietly to myself. Ya, I think talking to myself sometimes helps, so should my plan. I hope. But just as I run into the mirror I bounce right off and fall on my ass. "Ow! Shit! That's not supposed to happen! Right?"
But as I rose back on my feet and placed both my hands on the mirror, it remained solid as any old mirror. Cold and still frosted to the wooden frame, its voodoo, magic, or whatever wouldn't let me pass.
"Great! I'm stuck here! Just fucking great!" I groaned as I looked around the small room I was in. Well, since I'm here anyway I might as well find out where exactly. Who knows, the others might be here too.
Making sure my coat was properly in place; I opened the door and stepped out of the room.
Jess! I just stepped into that movie 'The Village!' I thought as the sight of old wooden buildings and houses surrounded me. And when I turned around I nearly gaped at the stone castle I was looking up at. "Make that an old Frankenstein movie." I breathed but nearly jumped when someone approached me from behind.
"You should not be here!" An old lady in a raggedy shawl spoke to her in a thick accent. "For that is indeed – Castle Frankenstein!"
"Seriously!" I gaped at her and back at the castle several times before turning to her fully. "Ummm – Sorry to be so direct but – where am I?"
"You are a newcomer!" The old woman's gray eyes lit up at me in surprise. "You had come the same way as the new prisoners did! As you can see, you are in Transylvania!"
"Transylvania?" I asked her in barely contained sock, but then my sense of reason kicked in. "Wait! What prisoners?"
"They seemed young and very confused when I first saw them." The old woman explained. "They were taken into the castle dungeons by the Dwergi."
"What the hell is a Dweirgi?" I asked not caring if I said it wrong.
"Those! – Are Dwergi!" The woman pulled me behind a wooden house as she pointed to the castles entrance.
I found myself resisting the urge to gage when I saw four of the little people wearing, from what I could tell mouth guards as they hobbled while wielding spears of some sorts and walked into the castle as the heavy doors closed behind them.
I think I'd prefer Willy Wonka's Oompa Loompas! I thought while swallowing thickly, for I was sure these things wouldn't be singing songs and giving out chocolate freely. "Shit." I breathed as the old woman and I peered back at the castle doors, for it seemed that those weird people had gone.
"You must go back to where you came from!" The old woman said in a low but hurried tone. "If they are here, then their master is not far behind!"
"Look lady! I mean no offense, but if you saw people come through here almost like me, then their people I have to help! Their my collage class mates! I can't just abandon them here! Beside! The mirror I just went through is closed up! I can't go back!" I said to her but in a low whisper too, just in case any of those Dwergi were nearby.
"Then I pray to God to guide you on your lofty quest!" The old woman said and started to walk to the nearest house.
"Whatever." I breathed but mentally thanked her for the encouragement, for something tells me that there is something more than those Dwergi living in that castle. She did say that those things having a master, but right now, I wanted to find a way to those dungeons.
Okay C. Stop being a fucking coward and get in that castle! I thought as I trailed up to the castle gates as quietly as I could. Just get in, find those idiotic friends of mine, and get the hell out! How hard could it possibly be?
Unfortunately, I had to jinx myself, for as I approached the wooden doors they were suddenly swung open. Thinking fast, I hid behind the open door and pressed myself to the stone wall hard enough to probably leave a bruise on my left shoulder.
More of those Dwergi things were marching out of the door and down the stone bridge as they entered the village. So far, they didn't see me and I wasn't going to wait to see if they did. Moving fast, I quickly zipped through the space of the doors before it closed.
Luckily for me, there was no one in the huge and empty hallway I was currently in. Remembering my history on European castles, the dungeons are usually the lowest level in the place. So all I have to do is find some stairs that lead strait down. Wonderful. I feel like Angelina Jolie as Tomb Raider. Now if only I had her weapons I'd feel a lot better.
Sadly weaponless though, I make my way down the large corridor to look for some stairs leading down. Luckily, I do. Unluckily, someone is coming up those stairs with one other. I hear their voices as I quickly find a place to hide. I find a pillar by the far wall and quickly go to crouch behind it. Keeping my mouth covered so as my breathing wouldn't give me away, I hear the voices of two males reach my ears.
"Master? Do you think that the potion will work on one of those – err – individuals?" A mature and soft voice spoke with uncertainty. For a moment I thought he could be British. "I mean they seem rather young and I wonder if any of their body systems could handle such a brew of –."
"You will let me worry of what the vile contains and how these 'simple minded individuals' will handle it." A thicker and richer voice with the same accent the old woman spoke in which told me the guy here was native to Transylvania. But what I didn't expect was how his voice seemed to be as smooth as velvet that it sent goose bumps across my skin just by listening to him. "As for the vile itself, I have every confidence in its success."
"Yes, Master. Forgive my doubts." The British man said in apologetic as I heard their footsteps passing my hiding spot. But then I heard the sudden stop of their footsteps and someone sniffing the air lightly, like a hound. "Master? Is there something wrong?"
Oh shit! Please don't let them find me! Not now when I'm so close! I thought as I fought to control my rapidly beating heart.
"Tis nothing, Ranfield." The man with the thick accent said smoothly and I can almost hear his grin. "Nothing at all. Everything is as it should be. Prepare the room. For I want my new servant to feel welcomed here. "
"As you wish, Master." The British man said and I heard them start to walk away. When I heard the slamming of a few doors I finally took the time to breath normally again.
"Few!" I breathed deeply in a whisper as I peered around my hiding spot. "That – was too close for call! Shit! I thought for sure that guy would have found me out! I'll thank my lucky stars later once I'm out of here with the others!"
Once that little drama was over with, I quickly made a dash down the stairs that the other two had just come up from. For as I figured out that that is where they kept the others at. I mean that smooth talking dude said something about using a vile of something and giving it to 'simple minded individuals.' I could only imagine that he was speaking about my fellow collage peers. But whatever those two were planning to do with them, it didn't sound good to my ears.
Corse there was a thick wooden door at the bottom of the stairs, but it was also slightly opened to where I could easily peer inside. I saw a single Dwergi at the foot of the descending steps into the room, and took note as he was dozing off. In the far wall was the cell and in it was (ironically enough) Amy and all my college buddies. Yippy. But I wasn't going to celebrate yet, for the cell they were currently stuffed in was locked by a huge iron lock on the bar doors. And of cores, the keys were on a metal ring hanging from the dozing Dwergi's side.
While my collage mates bickered quietly over their situation, I quietly snuck through the door, carefully so it wouldn't make creeping noises silently walked down the stone steps and behind the sleeping Dwergi. It mad snoring noises through the mask as I had to fight the urge to laugh at the thing, for he sounded like he was snorkeling with peanut butter in his mouth. Don't ask how I know this.
Anyway, I find an abandoned metal skillet on the floor, for I hadn't the foggiest of how a cooking item could be left down here, but I put the thought behind me. Gently, I griped the handle and held it over the ugly gnomes head. And that's when the others noticed me.
"C?" Amy was the first to speak. "Is that you?"
"C?" Jason jumped up and spoke out loud, as usual. "Jesus! Where the hell did you come from!"
To my horror, the Dwergi jittered awake to find me standing behind him with the skillet over its head. Before it could utter a groggy word though, I smashed the skillet over its leather covered head. It gave a gurgle of pain as it fell motionless to the stone floor.
"Always the big mouth!" I growled at him as I yanked the ring of keys from the Dwergi's hip. "Why don't you just shout loud enough so that the whole damn castle knows I'm here!"
"Shit! Sorry! But how'd you get here?" He asked as the others gathered around the door while voicing their relief to see me. Really? I'm not one to practically miss! Maybe this is just caused by fear or stress.
"Same as you did; through the mirror." I said as I tried each key till one fit the lock. "Now shut up or we're going to get caught!"
"You weren't caught by those ugly gnome guys?" Tomas asked in wonder at me.
"No, because I wasn't in the shack when they probably appeared and grabbed you guys." I said as I removed the lock and opened the door. "All I got was a damn headache after lightning hit the roof! Now follow me and keep quiet!"
"You know how to get out of here?" Josh asked her skeptically.
"I got in, didn't I?" I said stating the obvious while scorning him angrily. "Let's just assume that I know the way out then. Or – would you like to remain here and do your own masturbation sessions?"
He frowned at me, but said nothing more about it, which I was glad about. After all, I believe I disserve a little revenge for his idiotic comment. Even if it was just a joke, I don't take things like that lightly.
"Now come on everyone!" I motioned everyone to follow me. "The main door is just up there. Stay close and please for the love of God! Shut your pie holes! You all should be grateful I came to save your sorry asses!"
"Whatever! Just lead us out of here!" Jason said as I quickly started up the stairs, the others following close behind me.
"Remind me to thank you for a wonderful trip before our graduation tomorrow!" I glared at him as we ran up the stairs and into the main hall.
"Hey! This wasn't my fucking idea!" He said as we ran. "I didn't expect to be kidnapped by mutated gnomes and taken to some freaky ass hole with a UK butler! I only wanted to see that stupid mirror which I now discover is a fucking portal to this place!"
"Where the hell are we anyway?" Sam cut in as we reached the main doors of the castle.
"We're in Transylvania, genius!" I said angrily as we ran outside and across the stone bridge. "This is Castle Frankenstein! Now if you don't want to be some part of an experiment I suggest you move faster!"
"Oh God! I promise to never touch another drop!" Sam's girlfriend whimpered as I directed them into town, but before we reached it, the Dwergi (I saw earlier) had blocked our path and were now waving their spears and other weapons as they shouted and growled at us in their native tongue.
"Back! Get Back!" I shouted and motioned the others back to the castle.
"No! This way!" Jason shouted as the others quickly followed him to a stony courtyard. Bright idea that was! Before I could voice my opinion we had run into a ten foot stone wall with the little army of Dwergi behind us.
"Oh good going, ass hole!" I shouted, my temper finally snapping. "We should have taken the castle!"
"And run into more of those – things!" He shouted as panic and fury twisted his facial features.
"At least a castle has corridors and passageways! You just lead us into a fucking dead end!" I shouted angrily as the others watched both the Dwergi and our argument in horror.
"What would you have me do, you Emo!" Jason shouted back, his face turning from red to white. "I didn't count for any of this!"
"Am I the only person that thinks thing through here?" I raised my arms in frustration. "Or maybe you were too hung over to pay attention in history class to give a shit!"
"Stop it!" One of the girls said in a freighted tone as she came between us. "One of us is missing!"
I ignored the Dwergi as they blocked our path out of the courtyard and looked around to see who was missing. To my astonishment it was my roomy that I couldn't find; Amy.
"Amy? Amy!" I shouted as the others looked around with me, but we all froze in our shoes as a familiar cool and thick accent voice made us turn to the top of the stone wall.
"Very cleaver of you, mademoiselle." I watched in shock as a tall looking man in a black cape and sleek black hair in a pony tailed clip, grinned down at me with very white and canine looking teeth. Damn! Even his electric blue eyes held me in place as he made a quick bow in my direction.
"I am impressed that you have evaded my Dwergi so well." He continued to speak to me from the top of the stone wall as everyone watched the scene in shear horror. "A feet that I have not witnessed in over a hundred years."
Okay, this guy is freaking me out now, but I have to keep my cool. So if talking to him might help, then I'll try it. Though I've always hated negotiations. Especially when the person you're going to negotiate with has the upper hand, so to speak.
"What do you want from us?" I asked, starting it out simple.
"As much as it pleases me to explain to you, my dear, there is no need to." He grinned down at me as his eyes shimmered with a pleasing look, but I chose to concentrate on his face. "For you are the one heartbeat I heard hiding in the hallway of the castle as I conversed with my other servant."
I swallowed thickly. So he did hear me, but why didn't he come after me?
"So? Why let me go then?" I expressed my concerns to him bitterly. "If you knew I was there then why let me escape freely to help the others?"
"Come now, my dear girl. Surly you know what a test is when you see one?" He smirked down at me when he saw the horror in my eyes.
"You were – testing me? For what exactly?" I said angrily, not enjoying the way he was looking at me, like I was some kind of meal to him.
"Oh, to see how far you would go in escaping my castle. And I must say, I was rather disappointed to have my Dwergi catch you this soon. Yet, I suppose that is to be expected. You Americans seem fit to follow the more rash instincts of human behavior. I wonder how your country managed to survive the wars at all." He said lazily, but still held his cheeky smile in place.
Now that was a low blow, but I'll ignore it, because I didn't want my anger blinding me when dealing with this guy. For the way he was talking, it seemed like he was suggesting that he wasn't human. Weird guy.
"Ya, you're real funny." I placed my hands on my hips in annoyance, which he stared down at me in amusement. Seriously? This guy has overconfidence written all over his face! "Is there any moment that you'll be getting to the point of why you captured everyone here? Besides myself?"
"Your quit intelligent for a young woman. Dear girl, you were not apprehended with your 'companions' because you were not near my mirror during the time when my Dwergi appeared." He explained as his long black cape fluttered in the breeze. "Yet, I am impressed that you followed them without fear and even held enough courage to enter my castle and attempt to save your friends. Now you shall be tested again, but with a different scene this time."
Before I could ask what he meant, he moved his cape away from someone he was covering up and was now holding with his right arm tightly to his chest.
"Amy." I breathed as my roomy looked from her captor and back at me through fearful eyes. Shit. This is definitely not good.
"Let her go, you freak!" Jason shouted angrily at him. But the man stared back at him with a glare.
"Sadly for you, I do not tolerate disrespectful children!" He hissed and snapped his fingers.
Suddenly, the Dwergi charged in the courtyard after us. I managed to slip by them, but the others weren't so lucky. Jason and the others were thrown against the wall. They fought back as much as they could, but I realized one had yet to try and contain me. Why not me? Am I not worth the catch?
You are more worthy than you know! I froze when a chilling voice scraped through my brain. I snapped my gaze back at the man that was still holding Amy on the wall. He grinned down at me and I saw that he held something glass like in his left hand. It was the vile I had heard him talking about earlier and the liquid inside it was black.
Did I just – hear his voice in my head? Freaky! I breathed heavily when I saw him raise the vile for all to see. The scuffle with the Dwergi stopped as the others turned to watch him too.
"With this vile, I can call forth my most loyal of servants! Though I wonder – who will it be?" He gazed down at everyone as his blue eyes turned dark. Is he wearing stage contacts? I've never seen contacts do that before! He continued to speak as we remained silent. "I have waited many nights for this to come! Now, which one of you will sacrifice yourselves to save another? Which one of you holds the valor and courage to save her? Or – should I not test my potion on her? And see what happens next!"
This guys a maniac! His evil grin is giving me the creeps! And the fear in Amy's eyes wasn't helping in the least. But before I could say anything on the matter, Jason – once again – had to prove his idiocy.
"Shit! I heard enough from this geek!" He said and picked up a stone on the ground. Knowing full well what he was going to do with it, I tried to intervene.
"Jason!" I shouted and went to stop him but I was a little slow. He had thrown the rock up at the man and before he could dodge, the stone hit his glove covered hand making the vile he was holding to slip out of his grasp.
"Why you fool!" The man shouted angrily on the stone wall as the vile fell towards the ground.
Thinking fast, I leaped into action. Literally I fling myself at the falling object with my hands open at the ready. I land on the ground with a loud "oaf" as my fingers wrapped around a cold glass object. Damn! Someone up there likes me! Or, maybe not.
Getting to my feet I stare up at the man who is watching me curiously, and Amy looking rather shocked. The others were also staring, but with concern and fear as they silently wondered what I would do next.
"Bravo, darling." The man said in his thick accent as he smirked down at me. "It would seem to me that you hold more valor than your friends. Now hand me the vile."
"Not until you free Amy!" I said as I griped the vile tightly in my hands, ignoring how cold it was. If I could use this as a bargaining chip, then maybe we still have a chance of getting out of here! That's what I thought anyway.
"My dear girl. You thing you can simply exchange for her life so easily?" The man in black glared down at me as his grip on Amy strengthened. "You will have to make a better effort than that if you wish to convince me!"
"Do something, C!" Tomas shouted at me along with the others, but I ignored them, for I kept my focus on Amy and the man that held her.
"How bout I smash this thing if you don't let her go!" I said and raised the vile over my head with one hand, threatening to throw it to the ground.
"If you do, then I shall kill her!" He smirked at me as his left hand went to her throat, under her chin like a dagger. "Do not waste my time, girl! You can do nothing to win against me! This is my domain! For I can always create another vile! And there is little you can do to stop me!"
Though he's confident I can sense a bluff in his tone of voice somewhere. Its small, but I know that he doesn't want this vile to be destroyed, and he knows that I don't wish to see my roomy killed. And he will do it to if I don't give him the vile. Isn't there any other option for me besides being caged with the others once I surrendered it? Come on! Think!
"Why don't I make things easier for you then?" The man spoke smoothly, making me snap my eyes back to him. His fingers then snapped again and the Dwergi lowered their spears and pointed them at the others. My heart beat fast when I saw sparks of electricity coming from the tips of their weapons as the others backed into the wall in fear, the two remaining girls whimpering and cowering behind the guys as the Dwergi slowly neared them. "On my command, they will kill your companions. Give me the vile, and I shall let all of you live to see the next sun rise."
Really? And what's he going to do with us once that sun rise comes and goes? I definitely was caught between a rock and a hard place. My hand still holding the vile over my head, I looked from the others hunched up against the wall; Amy, my roomy I had come to respect (and I don't say that about anyone either!) She has family, where I don't, and she's not spoiled like the others. Sure she's blond but she proved that she wasn't stupid either. Like the others, I'm sure she'll be missed by her family if she dose die today – unlike me.
I knew my next choice will probably be my greatest mistake, but what else could I do? If this man wanted someone to test this vile on, then I might as well be the appropriate choice. If he needed someone to sacrifice themselves to him, then I'm the only one to do it.
Giving one last glance at everyone, I lowered the vile till it was next to my face. The man on the wall, along with Amy, stared at me contently as I held out the vile for him to see. Then, I surprised everyone in shear shock as I popped off the cork and poured black liquid down my throat.
I nearly gage, for the taste is absolutely fowl. But I manage to drink every last drop in the vile before removing the vile from my lips and tossed the now empty bottle to the ground, making it shatter on the spot. I felt revolted and slightly lethargic as I kept myself on my feet to stair up at the man, who was staring back at me in silent wonder.
"Now you have no choice!" I shouted as the others gaped at me in horror. "You take me instead."
His eyes slightly narrowed at me but then his thin mouth made a wide and toothy grin. And with the grace of a feather, (which surprised me) he jumped off the wall and landed on his feet with Amy still in his grasp. He slowly approached me, his blue eyes glowing a bit as he examined me from head to toe.
"You – would so freely give yourself to save another?" He asked in a smooth tone that made my spine tingle.
"NO! C! Don't – mmmm!" Amy was silenced when the man placed a hand over her mouth, though his gaze never left mine.
"Yes." I said flatly. I went to lower my eyes, but the man's gaze held me in place with such intense that I had to resist the urge to tremble under his watchful gaze.
"Very well, dear girl. I shall accept your offer!" His grin only seemed to strengthen as he tossed Amy, with little effort, to the others being held by the Dwergi. "Your friends are free to go. Now that I don't need them anymore."
By his words the Dwergi began to push them out of the stone courtyard, their shouts for me was ignored as the man in his flowing black cape began to circle around me like some vulture.
"C!" Amy shouted for me but she was dragged back along with the others.
"Just get out of here!" I shouted at them one last time before the ugly gnomes drove them to the village and out of the sight of this man and myself. Great. I just sold myself like some slut off a flea market. But what I'd expect didn't seem to be following with my imagination very well.
"You give yourself to me freely?" He asked as he continued to circle me, his eyes never leaving me. "You offer me your body, mind and soul to serve me for all eternity?"
"Yes." I said again, hoping he'd minus the body part of the deal. Suddenly, I felt his hands on my shoulders and nearly trembled as his icy breath was in my ear.
"Do you truly not know of what your actions have just coasted you?" He said in a low tone as I resisted the urge to step away from him. "Do you not know what was in that vile?"
"It wasn't tea that's for sure." I said, deciding to be sarcastic about the whole thing, which made the man chuckle at my comment and there was nothing more disturbing than his laugh right now. His grip on my shoulders tightened and I had to bit my lip from making a sound. Seriously, this guy could crush my bones without breaking a sweat!
"That vile contained my most powerful of essence." He said and I felt his fingers fiddle with my black hair on my left shoulder. "That in which I truly have come to be. And you – just drank all of it without realizing what tortures you will be given in the next few minutes! The horrors you will face once the transformation is complete!"
"Transformation?" I swallowed thickly, for I began to feel my breath start to feel heavy. There's something about this guy that's been bugging me. The way he moves, the way he talks, and how his eyes seem to hold me in place. Finally, I ask the age old question; "Who are you?"
I could feel his grin as his cold breath scraped over my neck, making the hairs of it stand up.
"Do you not know? I believed it would be obvious to your kind at first glance." He voice was laced with humor.
"I wouldn't be asking if I did know!" I shot back through gritted teeth, for I began to feel a burning sensation through my veins. He chuckled at me and I found my situation to be even darker than before, for what he said next nearly blew my mind away.
"I am Count Vladislaus Dracula! And you have just agreed to be my servant for all eternity!" He said with such a sinister voice that I nearly trembled from it.
"D-Dracula! N-No way!" I gasped as I felt my body being stung everywhere by cold and hot waves. I suddenly hunched forward as my stomach began to burn and ache in pain. Dracula's arms went around my waist tightly as he held me to his hard chest again.
"Ah, the transformation is starting." He grinned down at me as I fought to contain myself. One arm draped across my chest as the other held my waist. My entire body was shacking and burning in pain as I fought the urge to cry out. Even if I had just agreed to something so sinister that I'd lose my soul for, I would not let him have the pleasure of hearing me scream.
"Is that so, darling?" He said in a mocking voice, and I froze when I felt cold wind in my head again and I realized it was him, reading my mind. "I am certain that I have yet to hear your beautiful voice, before this night is over."
Damn, sick, son of a bi- !
Now, now, darling. Those words aren't appropriate for a servant of mine!
Aaargh! Stay out of my head!
Your mine now! Your body! Your mind! Your soul! I am your Master now! And you will submit!
N-NEVER!
You cannot resist me. Nor do you have the power to fight me anymore. Your soul purpose is to serve me! Your very will belongs to me now!
"D-damn it all!" I cursed as the pain began to rack my body and I couldn't help but moan and whimper from it, but I will not cry out! I won't cry out!
"My dear, you and I are going to have such fun together!" He laughed coldly in my ear, but then he changed the mood by speaking low in my ear and his voice full of concentration. "Blood and soul that binds to me! Servant of mine I call from the'! Arise and serve your Master true! From this, one bit, your mine to do!"
With those words I felt my body burn even more in pain as I felt something deep within my stomach - . No, something deeper still within me began to stir and claw itself through me. I fought to keep it down but as my teeth gritted in pain I felt the cold hands of Dracula exposing the skin of the left side of my throat. I shivered when I felt his lips brush against my skin and my heart began to pound wildly when I felt sharp teeth scrap over the surface.
I remembered something crucial when it came to the history of Dracula. Funny how I thought of it now, of all times! Dracula – is a vampire!
But my sense of thought goes flying out the window when I felt his fangs plunge deep into my throat. That's when I cried out this time. The pain, the agony, the burning! It all sent me spinning in such a storm that I couldn't help but cry out this time. My agony was carried in the wind as my vision began to fade in darkness. The last thing I hear is his voice chuckling in my head.
Now! You are mine! Forever!
"Keep running, guys!" Jason shouted as everyone followed behind him. The ugly gnomes had stopped following them, mainly to just drive them out, but Jason felt like he had to lead them as far away from the castle.
"Wait! Jason! What about C?" Amy came running beside him. "We can't just leave her alone! She came to save us!"
"And now she's giving us a chance to escape!" He said angrily, for he didn't feel like explaining himself to her about C's sacrifice. They all stopped running when a familiar female scream echoed in the wind.
"Oh my God! C!" Amy cried out and started back to the castle, but Josh and Tomas held her back. "Let me go! She needs help! What if that guy kills her?"
"Are you crazy? That dude is taller than any of us! C's on her own now!" Sam shuttered when he recalled the moment. "Not to mention after she drank that guys vile down!"
"No kidding! Who knows what kind of shit was in that thing!" Josh said as the remaining girls; Susi and Kim where trembling behind him.
"What are you people doing out here!" An elder man with a beard and thick accent spooked them all from behind. "Do you know it is night out? Only the Count and his servants are free to roam around at night! Do you want to die so young?"
Josh was the first to speak to him. "Listen dude! We didn't come here by choice! We just - ."
"Please, sir! My friend C! She was kidnapped by this guy in a black cape!" Amy interrupted in a panicked tone. "Can you help us?"
"Hmph – The man you saw was probably the Count himself." The old man huffed at her cooly. "And if your friend has been taken by him, then there is little hope that you will ever see her again. Nor will she be the same person you once knew if you should see her, God rest your soul."
"Wait a fucking minute!" Jason said as he approached the old man. "Are you telling us, that C is captured by a Count? As in, Count Dracula?"
"Indeed. That is his name sake." The old man said as he led them out of the street. "Now get inside! Before you're made into food by him, or any of his servants that he sends out!"
"Food? For those pigmi things? I don't think so!" Susi scuffled after the old man as the others were hesitant but followed anyway. They gathered around the long table as the old man was kind enough to brew them all some tea and they all shared a short story to him on the recent events.
"You are Americans, are you not?" The old man asked them as they settled in. "You must have come from the forbidden mirrors to cross such a distance in a short time."
"Ya, well. I didn't expect to be whisked away from our town by some magic mirror!" Jason scorned as he drank his tea. "All I wanted was for us to have a bit of fun before we left collage with our degrees! Not to be made chow for some vampiric old goat and his goblins!"
"Vampiric – you mean he's a vampire?" Susi and Kim shuttered next to their boyfriends.
"Ya! Count Dracula is the famous of all vampires!" Jason scorned at her miftly. "Or didn't you read that book?"
"Shut up, man!" Sam said as he rubbed his girls back soothingly. "We're here now! We just have to find a way to get back without becoming goblin food!"
"Or being sucked dry by a real vampire!" Josh said cooly.
"Sir! What will become of C? Exactly?" Amy asked though she dreaded in asking. The old man sighed as he sat on a nearby chair, a mug in his own hands.
"The Count will probably turn her into a child of darkness. A vampire." He said as the small band of teens gaped at him in horror. "To what we in the village call; a Bride. Or, he could turn her into one of his mindless servants; bent to do his every will without question."
"Then – we have to get to her before that happens!" Amy said as the others stared at her like she was mad. "Well? We can't just leave her in that castle with that creep!"
"Amy! That dude will kill us outright if we go anywhere near that castle!" Jason said angrily at her. "Not to mention those weird gnomes will be picking us off one by one if we attempt to break in there!"
"Or – risk being hunted down by Dracula's most vicious of servant; the werewolf!" The old man said as he shook his head at the faces the teens were giving him.
"W-Werewolf?" Kim trembled in her set. "There are werewolf's here too?"
"That's it! I am out of here by first light!" Susi said and set her cup on the table. "I've seen too many of those horror shows to know what that kind of monster can do! And I'm sooo not going to be its next meal!"
"So that's it then, isn't it?" Amy stared in disbelief at everyone. "You're all just going to leave C to die?"
"What would you have us do, Amy?" Jason stood up to face her. "We're not some damn holy army to deal with this kind of shit! We're college students for crying out loud!"
"Recent graduating college students." Tomas corrected him coolly.
"Whatever dude! I'm off to sleep in the hay!" Jason slammed his tin mug on the table before marching out to the hayloft of the house where the old man said they could rest.
"Let's go, babe." Sam led Kim along with Josh leading Susi away, followed by Tomas. Amy was the only one left sitting at the table with the old man.
"Child? It is best you rest your head tonight." The old man agreed calmly as he took the cups away and brought them over to the sink. "By mornin' I'll take you to the' mirror. Its power reverses once the sun shines on it. It will be able to take you home. And I highly sagest you stay away from the castle for now on. Your friend is beyond your reach now. You'll just have to accept it."
He left Amy alone to mope on the table, though he knew what was like to lose someone special as a friend to the Count, he also knew how useless it was to think on the subject. Once the Count holds someone to his will, forever they will be chained to his terrible power.
But Amy still felt like she should do something. C may not be the best of people to hang around with because she was so cold, but she had a kind nature which she rarely showed to anyone, which made her special. Even if her chances at saving her were slim, Amy felt like it was her responsibility to find her, and hopefully get her out of the vampires grasp. With a plan brewing in mind, Amy dragged herself up to the hayloft and sleep in the far corner while the others dozed off peacefully into the night.
Hello! New story! I hope this one will be good for you guys! It's my first one! Apart from 'A Thief in Gaia!' I'm hoping to finish that one once I have all of my sister's notes together. Anyway, this is my story and I hope you guys will like the first chapter! I will be hoping to post more soon. See ya later!