CHAPTER 4

Soma woke up. "Did you guys find anything?"

Megan revealed, "Charlotte Aulin has the Crimson Stone."

Yoko darkened. "No. Charlotte died. I was at her deathbed."

Arikado frustratedly fumed, "The Crimson Stone will eventually turn its owner into a vampire! How was Charlotte immune?"

Julius proposed, "Maybe Charlotte put it in her bank account vault. In that case, the rock would've been left alone?"

Josh tried to be helpful. "Maybe Charlotte found a way to stop its effects?"

Arikado sighed. "Yoko, we're going to have to go to Charlotte's residence. Can you bring us there?"

Yoko scratched her head. "I can, but it's a ways away. After the Battle of 1999, she stayed in a cottage in England."

Julius perked up. "Alright! I love England! Let's go!"

Soma allowed himself to smile. "Sounds like fun."

Arikado barked, "You and Josh are staying here! You still have school! Besides, no evil spirits are popping up. This is just a simple quest for now to help out Sara."

The gang escorted Soma and Josh back to their apartment. Yoko tried to cheer the boys up. "Don't feel bad that you can't come. Look at it this way: you can still hang out with Mina. We'll be fine."

After the two were securely inside, Julius mumbled, "I have a bad feeling about this."

Megan swatted his shoulder. "Relax. Like Arikado said, no evil is threatening us. We're just going to find a lost artifact to save Sara."

Arikado froze. "Forget what I said, Megan. Someone's following us."

They all turned, but found no one, except for Arikado. He bellowed, "Vampire, show yourself!"

Megan paled and squeezed Julius' hand. Suddenly, the form of Joachim Armster materialized. Joachim squinted at Megan. "What are you doing here?"

Julius snapped, "Don't talk to my wife that way! We should be saying that to you! Why are you following us?"

Joachim replied, "Your wife? Sure, and I'm a fully fledged human. Anyway, you seek the Crimson Stone? You were correct to conclude that Charlotte was in possession of it. But you lack an important detail."

Yoko challenged, "What do YOU know that I don't? I was one of Charlotte's best friends! I helped take care of her in her darkest hours! I'm not going to pretend that a pathetic sparkly vampire knows more about her than me!"

Joachim moved closer to Yoko. "Sparkly? My, my, I never knew you felt that way about me. You're quite a sparkler yourself. Did Charlotte tell you why she died? A vampire bite."

Arikado scoffed. "If that's true, then why didn't Charlotte turn into a vampire?"

Joachim raised a fist. "The Sanctuary Spell! She used that spell to save Stella and Loretta. She saved herself with it, too. A vampire attacked her to get the stone."

Julius examined Joachim. "You murdered Charlotte Aulin?"

Joachim's eyes glistened. "Not I. I doubt you even know who he is."

Arikado put his hands on his hips. "Try me."

"Charlotte's killer is Jiang-Shi."

Arikado memorized, "Vampire who lived in the Large Cavern. Defeated by Shanoa. He has the Crimson Stone?"

Joachim gazed toward the stormy sky. "Yes. It also appears that Death moved on from Dracula and has a different master."

Yoko scowled. "So Jiang-Shi is the new Dark Lord?"

Joachim shrugged. "I suppose you could say that. His castle is in China. Good luck."

Julius held up a bottle of holy water. "Why are you helping us? What's in it for you?"

Joachim wrung his hands. "You're helping Sara Trantoul. She was bitten by Walter. I hate Walter. We have a common enemy, and the enemies of your enemy are your friends. So … I believe that means that I consider Sara a friend."

Yoko shook Joachim's hand. "Your human side seems to be sparkling, Joachim."

Joachim chortled. "Thank you. Yours shine through as well, Yoko."