The Haunted Manor

Flicker, Flame, Scarlet, and Blaze had been flying for nearly two hours straight. Their wings were sore, they were exhausted, and it was getting late. Finally, they came across a tiny village where they quickly landed, hoping to find a place to rest. When they entered the city, there were just a few people in the streets. Flame walked up to a young lady to find out more.

"Excuse me, but where is a good place to stay around here?"

"Oh, there is no place for you to stay, except one, but you would have to be crazy to spend a night there."

"Crazy? I think I'll qualify for that one!" Scarlet interrupted. "What's so bad about it anyway?"

"It's haunted."

"Haunted? Sounds cool!"

"Oh, but it is not cold. Furniture moves on its own, there are sounds with no cause, and finally, one can hear voices coming from no one."

"Sweet! Flame, can we please stay there? I want to stay there!"

"I don't believe in curses, and I think that that place is our only option, so we will."

Flicker and Blaze were not too happy about the thought, but they could either stay there or try to fly to some other town, which would be nearly impossible in the dark.

"How much does it cost for a night there?" Flame inquired.

"It's free. The place is completely unoccupied."

"Where is it?"

"Just walk up this street here, and you can't miss it. It will be on your left. Just look for the run down mansion."

"Thank you."

The dragons then walked up the street, and sure enough, there was a creepy mansion toward the end. It was built in the typical Chinese fashion, but it was dark and dreary. There was a constant thunderstorm over the building, even though the rest of the sky was clear. The yard had apparently not been tended to in years. The dragons cautiously walked past the decrepit gate and up the beaten, windy path that led to the door. Scarlet paced proudly in front of the group, as though she liked the scenery. When they approached the door, she knocked on the door with the heavy dragon-shaped, wrought iron knocker that was firmly attached to heavy, weather beaten door. Suddenly, the door opened by itself. Scarlet was apparently fascinated by the strange occurrence.

"Did you see that? That was totally radical! I can't wait to see what this place looks like on the inside!" She darted inside.

Flicker was right behind her. The entrance room was occasionally lit by a flash of lightning only to reveal a dusty, cobweb infested room. Flicker took a torch off one of the walls and lit it with his breath. Flame and Blaze did the same. Scarlet picked up the last torch and used Flicker's lit torch to light it.

"Ewww. I sure hope that someone didn't decorate this place like this on purpose!" Blaze was instantly disgusted.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go! Maybe we'll see a ghost!"

Flame, Flicker, and Blaze were nowhere near as enthusiast as Scarlet was. As they proceeded down the hall, she stopped and looked inside every room. Then, the others heard a loud crash. They looked in the room that she had just entered, and she was not there. Instead, there was a large hole in the floor. They were too nervous to do anything, so they waited in the doorway, pondering just what to do. Suddenly, Scarlet spoke from behind them.

"That kind of, like, seriously hurt, but don't worry, I'm fine. Let's go on, shall we?"

The group continued on, but Scarlet was much more calm than before. Her enthusiasm for the exploration of the manor had subsided. They then sought a place to stay. They came across what had been the master bedroom. It was also dark, but not as dark due to the large number of wavy windows that were set firmly within the walls. There were still cobwebs all over. However, it was the most pleasing room in the entire manor. The four of them walked in slowly and carefully, as they wanted to make sure that the floor was sound. It creaked and groaned as they walked across it, but fortunately, it held. Flicker's torch revealed a large fireplace on one side of the room. There was a dusty pile of logs next to it.

"Hey! Over here!" he shouted. "I'll light the fireplace, and then we can a least feel safer in its glow."

Everyone gathered around the fireplace, and Flicker put some wood in it. He threw his torch in it, and within moments, the fire had been started. At that moment, hundreds of bats poured out of the chimney. They left through a crack in the ceiling.

"That was awesome! I love bats!" Scarlet exclaimed.

"We don't!" Blaze shouted back.

"Are you crazy? They're like birds, but only bats! And they fly! I wish I could fly…"

"I think that you're the one who's crazy."

"Oh yeah…"

All four of them huddled around the fire, not for its warmth, but for the feeling of safety that it gave them. At that moment, there was a loud noise that came from some other room in the manor.

"What was that?" Flicker knew that no one could give him an answer, but asking made him feel better.

"I don't know. We should investigate. Why don't you come with me? Blaze and Scarlet can stay here." Flame knew that she would feel much safer if Flicker was with her.

The two walked out the door, leaving Scarlet and Blaze in front of the comforting fire. They walked down the main hall, and suddenly, two hands pulled them into one of the rooms. In the faint light of the room, they could make out Count Geoffrey's face.

"I figured you two would be here. This night will be your last!"

As he spoke, his evil knights tied Flicker and Flame up, back to back.

"And I know about you two." The count continued. "This is an enchanted rope. It renders all of your powers useless."

"You can't win!" Flame snapped.

"Oh, but I can! You see, because of this rope, you can no longer heal yourself, so I can kill you!" He pointed his sword at Flame's throat, and she had a look of sheer terror on her face. However, Geoffrey sheathed his sword.

"I'll take care of the others first. Don't worry, I probably won't kill them. I'll just scare them out of here, and then they can't save you! Oh, and Flicker, if you play your cards right, I might just spare you."

"Just what do you mean?" Flicker hoped that if he was saved, then he could somehow save Flame as well.

Geoffrey thought for a moment. He wanted to make sure that it was some task that would benefit him, but at the same time, it had to be something that Flicker would certainly not do. Then, he came up with the perfect solution.

"Here's the deal. If you kill Flame, then you're free to go. I will never again bother you, or the other dragons, again."

"I absolutely will not harm her!"

"Very well. You shall perish with her. Now to take care of the other two dragons." He sent his three evil henchmen on a mission to scare Blaze and Scarlet to the point where they would leave the mansion andwould never return.

Meanwhile, Blaze and Scarlet were sitting in front of the fire, enjoying the serene glow that it shed upon the dusty, beaten room. In an instant, they heard a strange moaning sound.

"Ooooooooo!"

A ghost appeared in the doorway. Scarlet glanced at Blaze so that she could gauge his reaction. His face was completely white.

"Check it out! A ghost! Come on Blaze, let's go meet it!"

"Um… No thank you…"

"Suit yourself."

Scarlet calmly got up and walked toward the ghost, as though seeing a ghost was a daily occurrence.

"Hello, Mr. Ghost. How are you?"

"Oooooo, leave, and never return! Oooooo!"

"That's all fine and dandy, but that doesn't answer my question. Anyway, I'm pleased to meet you!"

Scarlet held out her hand for a handshake. However, the ghost hit her, knocking her to the ground.

"Hey! You're not a nice ghost!" At that moment, the ghost disappeared down the hall.

Blaze rushed over to help Scarlet. She got up on her own and dusted herself off.

"The nerve of that ghost… It must totally be from Squaresville, or even Squaresburg!"

"You weren't frightened at all? Why?" Blaze said as he trembled. Scarlet could easily see that.

"There's something fishy about it… First of all, I couldn't see through it. Second, it hit me. Ghosts aren't supposed to be able to do that! Finally, I heard the clanking of metal boots as it 'floated away.' That's just freaked up… in some way…"

"I'm worried about Flicker and Flame. They've been gone for quite a while."

"Me too. Let's search for them!"

Blaze and Scarlet left the room and proceeded down the hall. They carefully inspected each and every room. Then, they came to the kitchen, and the two entered it, as there were numerous rooms branching off of it.

"Whoa! Check out all this stuff!"

"I believe that we have more important things to do that to look at pots and pans!" Blaze reminded her.

"Fine. If that's how you want it."

At that instant, a knife came flying from across the kitchen and it stuck in the wall, having missed Scarlet by mere inches.

"Whoa! That ghost must have pretty good aim!" Scarlet took the knife out of the wall. "It's sharp as a razor too. Awesome!"

Blaze ducked behind one of the counters. Scarlet kneeled in front of him to try to comfort him. All of a sudden, another knife stuck in the wall. Had she not kneeled, it would have hit her. She just glanced up.

"Man! That is just radical!"

"Scarlet, don't you get it? They are trying to kill you!"

"No they aren't. If they are, then I'd be dead already!"

She got up and pulled the other knife out of the wall.

"Come on, Blaze. Let's ditch this joint!"

She helped him to his feet, and she calmly walked into the adjacent dining room, although she nearly had to drag Blaze with her. They sat down on two the dusty chairs in front of the massive dining table.

"Don't worry, Blaze. There is nothing to be afraid of!"

Then, a chair at the far end of the table hovered off the ground and it threw itself towards the dragons. It flew just over Scarlet's head, and it crashed through a large window on the other side of the room.

"I'm telling you. There is nothing to be afraid of!" Scarlet reiterated.

"Didn't you see that chair that went flying over your head?"

"What chair?"

"Never mind."

"Now that that window is broken, it's getting cold in here. Let's go… elsewhere."

The two left their seats and walked through a different doorway. It took them right into the entrance room, a room that they were familiar with. Blaze followed Scarlet, as she seemed to know where she was going. They headed up the stairs once again. Before they got too far, a skeleton fell from the ceiling and stopped right in front of them. It appeared to float in mid-air.

"Check it out! A skeleton!" Scarlet examined it more closely. "It's a dragon skeleton! That's freaking sweet!"

Blaze however, was petrified.

"Do… do you think that that was Flicker, or Flame?"

"Nope. It's certainly not one of them. It's kind of hard to believe that that's what I look like on the inside… Anyway, let's find those two!"

Scarlet simply pushed the skeleton aside and walked past it. Blaze was very careful not to touch it as he went by. They walked only a short distance before encountering their next obstacle. There was a giant web that spanned the entire width of the hall in front of them. In the center of it was a huge spider.

"That's kind of odd… This wasn't here before…"

Scarlet picked the spider out of the web and showed it to Blaze.

"Do you want to pet it? Come on! You know you want to!"

"Scarlet! It could be poisonous! Put it down!"

"Don't you worry. This kind of spider is not harmful, as long as you don't lick it. It will make your tongue itch! You don't want an itchy tongue, do you?"

She somehow put the spider in her pocket.

"Now for the web. Blaze, can you burn it for me?"

"Why don't you burn it?"

"Well… I have a problem…"

"What is it?"

"I can't breathe fire."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Let me get this web out of the way."

He breathed onto it, and it was gone in a flash of orange.

"Shall we continue?" Scarlet asked, not expecting a response.

They walked further down the hall, all the while looking in every room. All the doors to the rooms were open, except for one. On the door to that one room was a sign.

"Hmm… Abandon hope, all ye who enter… Sounds kind of ominous, don't you think?"

Scarlet opened the door, not at all concerned about what could be waiting for them. Blaze entered right behind her. Inside, they found Flicker and Flame on the floor, tied together. Count Geoffrey was watching them, and he immediately spotted Blaze and Scarlet.

"Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in!"

"Hey! We just walked in here! No cat dragged us in!" Scarlet snapped.

"It was just a figure of speech."

"Oh. Anyway, release them, or stuff will happen. Bad stuff to you, specifically!"

"The only one who has any chance of being released is Flicker. I made a deal with him. If he kills Flame, then I will let him go."

"I see… What if he was to kill me instead? Would you let both of them go?"

Geoffrey could not believe that she just offered her own life to save them. However, he had a strong feeling that she was trying to deceive him. Flicker and Flame were just as shocked at the proposition. Geoffrey thought for a moment.

"Very well. If he kills you, then he and Flame are free to go. Oh, and Blaze too."

Scarlet then approached Flicker.

"What do you say? Do we have a deal?"

"I'm sorry, but I won't do it!"

"What!? Oh, you will! Don't make me kick your butt! I'll do it!"

"I still won't do it!"

"Come on, please? Pretty please? Seriously, come on! It's for Flame!"

Flicker knew that she would not stop until he agreed.

"Fine. If that's what you want, then let's do it."

"Excellent!" Geoffrey shouted. "Evil Knights numbers One, Two, and Three, get in here!"

All three of his evil knights charged through the door at once, and in doing so, they got stuck in the doorway.

"Ahhh! You're a bunch idiots!" Geoffrey snarled. "Don't make me come over there!"

At that moment, the knights burst through.

"Untie Flicker and Flame. Then, tie Flame to that pillar over there. We don't want her to escape!"

The knights quickly executed Geoffrey's instructions. Flicker now had no choice but to kill Scarlet. Geoffrey handed him a dagger.

"Okay, Flicker, you stand over there, and Scarlet, you stand over there. Then, let the execution begin!"

Flicker and Scarlet stood apart, facing each other. Then, Flicker walked over to her with the dagger in his hand. He closed his eyes and, with his hand trembling, he raised the dagger. Scarlet just stood there.

"Stop!Stop!" she shouted.

At those words, Geoffrey was delighted. He thought for sure that she had been bluffing. However, he quickly found out that there was more to it than just that.

"I'm sorry, but that's just pathetic. Go back to where you started and just stop there."

Flicker walked back to his starting point and faced her.

"Okay." Scarlet went on. "Raise that dagger above your head."

Flicker did just as she asked.

"Good. Now scream!"

"Ahhhhh…" Flicker droned in an unenthusiastic tone.

"No! Not like that! Pretend that I stole Flame from you. She's my girl now! Doesn't that make you insanely mad?"

"But you're a woman! Why would you steal her from me?"

"Details, details! Just ignore them! Come on, scream like a maniac!"

"AHHHHH!"

"Perfect! Now charge at me with that dagger above your head, ready to strike like there's no tomorrow!"

Flicker sprinted at her, ready for the kill. He swung his dagger at her. In one swift move, she flipped Flicker on his back, stole the dagger from his hand, and darted towards Flame and cut the ropes that bound her to the post.

"Count Geoffrey, this is for you!"

Scarlet took the spider out of her pocket and threw it at him, and it clung to his face. He screamed like a little girl and dashed out the door. The evil knights followed him.

"Scarlet, thanks for everything." Flicker stated.

"Don't worry. It was nothing."

"No, it was not nothing! We'll find a way to pay you back."

"Whatever. Let's just get out of here."

The four dragons left the manor, and they walked side by side away from it.

"Do you smell smoke?" Scarlet asked the others.

All four of them turned around, and they were shocked. The corner of the mansion was buried in flames.

"I guess we should have put the fire out in the fireplace." Flicker stated.

All four of them watched as the manor burned to the ground. Wall by wall, it collapsed, and soon there was nothing left of it but a burning pile of rubble.

"Do you think that that place was really haunted?" Flame asked Scarlet.

"No. All kinds of spooky things happened to Blaze and me, but I'm sure that they were just the results of Geoffrey's evil knights."

They began to walk away, and suddenly, there was a voice from behind them.

"Stop right there!"

The dragons turned around and saw a real ghost face to face. They could see through him, but his presence was still quite profound. He hovered above them, and spoke in a loud thundering voice.

"You burned down my manor!"

"We're terribly sorry…" Flame replied with a trembling voice.

"Nonsense! You see, when I was vanquished unjustly in my own home, it became my tomb. As long as it stood, my spirit was trapped within its walls. By destroying my home, you all have set me free! I am truly indebted to you all. Oh, and I'm sorry about the knives, the chair, the skeleton, and the spider."

"So Geoffrey's knights weren't the ones who set those things up?" Scarlet inquired.

"No. The only thing those morons did was dress up in a blanket to look like a ghost. Well, I am going to enjoy my freedom. You haven't seen the last of me!" At once, the ghost disappeared.

"Does that answer your question?" Scarlet asked Flame.

"It certainly does."

At that, the dragons walked away, proud of what they had accomplished. They found a place to stay in town and spent the remainder of the night there. When the sun rose, they took flight, ready for their next adventure.