Castlevania: Rise of the Dracopires
Dracopire Homecoming
Eric and Sarah soon returned from their honeymoon. The Menuhin castle looked very medeival. Above nearly every doorway was a traditional Welsh coat of arms with a lion and a dragon holding up a large shield. There were also several Jewish antiques.
Sapphira Menuhin was the first to greet them. "Hello, my lovely daughter. Hello my sweet Godson."
Eric and Sarah hugged Sapphira. Eric felt a rush of nostalgia. Sarah handed Sapphira photos from her sonogram showing twins - a girl and a boy - inside her.
Sapphira smiled, "Grandchildren on the way already, how exciting!"
"I'm just as happy as all of you are," Eric said. "But I'm very curious. Why did you bite my mother first? I would've willingly done it before."
"It was necessary," she replied. "The Belmonts don't want you to steal their thunder. So I had Rattoes bite your mother to give you a good reason to search for a cure."
"That makes sense," said Eric. "I only had two options. Take her place and become a dracopire. Or slay the vampire who attacked her and use its blood to cure her. I chose the former instead of the latter because I figured Rattoes was only doing his master's bidding."
Sarah asked her mother, "Tell me, mom. Why would the Belmonts expect Eric to turn his back on his family?"
"Yeah," said Eric. "Why would I betray my Godmother and God sister?"
"I think the Belmonts wanted to test Eric. They wanted to see if he could be just as bigoted as they are," said Sapphira.
"They never had this much ire for Alucard," said Eric.
"But he's part human," said Sapphira.
"Vampires are human, too," Eric said.
"She means only a hybrid," said Sarah. "Not fully vampire. Not fully normal."
"Interesting," said Eric. "I do believe there is a category for that. What was it again...?"
"Dhampir," said Sapphira.
"Thanks for reminding me," said Eric. "Sometimes it's hard keeping up with all these supernatural beings."
"If they trust a Dhampir," said Sarah, "Why should Dracopires make a difference?"
Sapphira was puzzled by the question. The Belmonts tolerated Dracopires until Eric started making himself known. "Maybe it was that the Belmonts were so worried about their thunder being stolen that they were willing to put Eric and the Dracopires in harm's way just so they wouldn't be upstaged."
"Wow, talk about hogging the glory," said Eric.
"It could also be because they don't want to be forgotten as heroes," said Sarah. "If I know my new husband, I know that if he saves the world on Monday, he's already forgotten it by Tuesday."
"It seems to be that way," Eric replied. "It also seems that everyone else has forgotten it by Monday night."
Then there was a knock at the door. It was quite loud. "Open up dragon borne," said a female voice.
Sapphira had a frightened look on her face. "Hide Eric," she said to Sarah. Sarah took Eric into her father's treasure hoard where the Great Fire Dragon was sleeping. Sarah's father woke up and saw his daughter and son-in-law standing in front of him.
"What's wrong, my newlywed children," said Shruiken.
"Carmilla is at the castle gates," said Sarah. "We have to hide Eric."
"Indeed," said the dragon. "Carmilla killed my predecessor. She might do the same with Eric."
Shruiken hid Eric in a leprachaun pot with a lid made to look like a bunch of gold coins. He traded it with a leprachaun years ago.
Meanwhile, Sapphira answered the door. "What do you want, Nazi?" she asked.
Carmilla replied, "Don't call me a Nazi. I was a vampire long before the unfortunate events in Germany."
"That doesn't change the fact that you killed my husband and were an accomplice to the holocaust," Sapphira said, "Once a war criminal, always a war criminal."
"We're all Dracula servants here," said Carmilla. "So let's let bygones be bygones."
"We?" said Sapphira. "More like you. I bend no knee to the memory of that tyrannical supervillain."
"Haven't you heard?" asked Carmilla. "The blood moon has waned and our leader is alive and at full power."
"Even if he is alive again," said Sapphira, "I will not submit to his nefarious bidding. I always despised sucking up to that lowlife and now I serve him no longer. And you can quote me."
Carmilla replied, "Sapphira, you finally have the audacity to rebel. What is giving you this? Is it because the Redzaks no longer help him?" Then she read Sapphira's mind and realized she was hiding something else. "The slayer of Sarkphonius lives. So that's why Mega-Mindy left."
Sapphira was frightened now.
Carmilla laughed. "Wait until Dracula finds out the Olson child still lives."
"You bring Dracula here," said Sapphira, "And I will kill both of you."
"Don't worry," said Carmilla, "I will get your godchild and bring him to Dracula."
Carmilla left but had a wry smirk on her face.
Sapphira went back into the castle to warn Eric of the danger he was in.
To be continued...
