Chapter VII: Underground Warehouse
Nathan and Serenity ran from the Audience Room, through the Triumph Hallway, and arrived at the Underground Warehouse. They moved fast without word from either; Nathan dealt with all of the monsters with little difficulty, and they soon found another black door.
"There's that feeling again." Nathan said calmly as he looked at the door.
Serenity looked at him and questioned, "Is it Hugh?"
"No," Nathan stated taking a few steps towards the door, "this is something different."
Nathan recalled the encounter with the Necromancer earlier that evening, however what he was sensing now was much darker and stronger.
"Serenity, I want you to wait out here for me." he said simply and walked through the door.
Serenity did not protest as she watched her brother enter the room. She knew she would not be able to handle another fight without breaking down. Sighing to herself she walked to the wall, and closed her eyes trying to calm her nerves. Inside the room Nathan was greeted by something much worse than the Necromancer.
"No." Nathan said in disbelief.
Floating before him was Death. He did not say a word as he summoned numerous small scythes. Before Nathan could react a scythe slashed him across the shoulder. He gasped in pain, but reacted to the wound with an attack upon Death of his own. Death flew out of the path of Nathan's whip, and sent a wave of scythes at him.
"Why are you here?!" Nathan demanded as he dodged the scythes.
Again Death did not answer him, and this time he summoned the larger scythe he used as a weapon.
"Damn." Nathan cursed under his breath.
He could not understand why Death was here unless Dracula summoned him. If that were true then he and Serenity must be posing a greater threat to him then he originally thought. Nathan was broken from his thoughts as Death swooped towards him, and swung a large arch with his scythe.
Serenity kept her eyes closed for several minutes before she returned to the door. She was worried about her brother and where Hugh was. Suddenly Serenity felt a sting in her head. She gasped at the suddenness of the pain, and put a hand to her brow. As she cringed a thought passed through her mind so fast she almost missed what it was trying to tell her.
"Oh no." she pleaded silently.
Serenity's heart raced in her chest, and her eyes grew wide with horror. She began to tremble as she turned around slowly. Standing before her was Dracula wearing a small smile.
"Hello my dear Serenity." he whispered to her.
"Nath…!" she tried to scream, but Dracula put a hand across her mouth.
"Hush now, your brother is busy at the moment." he smiled at her, "Let us leave this place."
Before Serenity knew what had happened she was breathing in the cool night air. Dracula released her, and he backed away from him. He had taken her to the castle gate.
"What do you want?" Serenity questioned as she continued to back away.
Dracula only looked at her, his smile had vanished. Serenity felt her back touch the gate, and began to tremble more forcefully.
"What happened to you?" he asked at last.
"What are you…talking about?" she stammered.
Dracula started forward and answered, "You were never so timid before leaving my castle." She cringed as he brushed her hair with his hand and continued, "You even defended me before, and now here you are trembling at the mere touch of my hand."
"Monster." Serenity whispered as she tried getting away from his hand.
Dracula's smile returned and he said, "Even you think of me as a monster now. Your savior."
"You are no savior of mine!" she screamed.
"So," he began with a glare, "you do have a bit of fight left in you."
Tears began welling up in Serenity's eyes, but she kept them from spilling over. Dracula regarded this with much amusement.
"You've even begun to cry." he laughed, "Leaving my castle was the worst thing you could have done."
Without another word Serenity pushed away his hand, and began to run back into the castle. Before she got close to the entrance Dracula transported himself in front of her. She ran into him before she could stop herself.
"My sweet little Serenity." Dracula stated as he brought his arms around her.
Struggling against his grip Serenity protested, "Let me go. Please I don't want…"
Before she could continue she felt the sharp pain of Dracula's fangs in her neck. She felt the blood draining away from her, and soon she began to feel numb. Dracula took long mouthfuls of her blood into him, and he savored every drop. A minute passed before he released his mouth from her neck. Already she was beginning to feel cold against his already cold skin.
"Do not fight this. If you do then you will die." Dracula said as he brought his right wrist up to his mouth, and bit down.
Tears stained Serenity's face as she saw what he planed to do. She tried to fight against him to get away, but her limbs would not listen to her.
"Please…" she chocked through her pain and tears, but nothing she did or could have done would stop him.
He pressed his wrist to her mouth. She clamped her teeth together, but she was too weak to fight it for long. She felt the cool liquid enter her mouth, and suddenly it grew warm then hot as it ran down her throat. Serenity's eyes rolled back in her head, and soon she was limp in Dracula's embrace.
"Now," he stated as he laid her on the cold stones, "we will have fun."
Dracula brought his eyes up with a smile. He lingered for a moment staring at a singular tree in the courtyard, and then he was gone. Serenity lay alone and unmoving as he left her.
Back in the Underground Warehouse Death was leaving Nathan much the same way the Necromancer had. Through the entire fight Death said nothing, and as he was leaving he kept his silence. Nathan was breathing hard as he watched Death fade out, and once gone he turned his attention to the door. He thought he heard something a few moments before, but Death had demanded that he keep his attention on him.
"Serenity." he said silently, and ran to the door.
Walking out he was surprised, then horrified to find Serenity was missing. He knew she would not go wandering without him, and after calling for her several times he came to the conclusion that she had been taken.
"Damn him." Nathan said in pure rage.
Without pausing to think Nathan began running back to the Catacomb. First master and Hugh now his sister had gone missing. He would never forgive this night, if he lived through it.
Teleporting back to the Ceremonial Room, Dracula was wearing a wide smile of triumph. His crimson eyes gazed at Morris as if to give him permission to ask why he was in such a good mood all of a sudden.
"You should know two of the children will not be joining us for the ceremony." Dracula sneered.
"What?!" Morris said in horror, "What have you done?" Dracula laughed at his question and began walking out of the room before Morris stopped him, "Answer me monster! What have you done?!"
Dracula turned to him with an aura of hate and answered, "Your son is under my control, as is Serenity." Morris' eyes hardened as Dracula continued, "Your son was easy enough to influence. He holds great hate towards you and Nathan. Serenity was a little more troublesome."
"You killed her?" Morris questioned silently lowering his head.
Dracula laughed lightly and replied, "I did something much better."
Morris was still for a moment to let Dracula's words sink in, "Something better than death…" Suddenly his head snapped up and demanded, "No!"
"Yes." Dracula said smiling.
"Why?! What's she to you?!" Morris asked hysterically.
Dracula's fangs were illuminated in the moonlight as he answered simply, "She is more than just a timid little girl, old friend."
Morris tried getting more information out of him, but Dracula walked away and slammed the door behind him. Morris struggled ruthlessly against his bonds, but they did not move even an inch.
"Damn you!" he yelled in vain, "Damn you."
His head sank once more as he tried thinking of a way to get out of his binds. Hugh needed to be saved from Dracula's influence, but Serenity…there were only two ways out of this nightmare for her now. Dracula needed to be killed, not just bound but killed, or Serenity needed to be slain. Either way it had to be done, Morris prayed that he or Nathan had the strength to do it.
