The wooden door to the art room creaked eerily in its frame as Vlad hesitantly pushed it open. The room was pitch black, and all he could see were the grey frames of the windows that looked out onto the empty car park outside.

'Come on Vlad,' the vampire whispered softly to himself. 'The dark is where you're meant to be most comfortable.'

Not when there are slayers in it though, he thought in response. Remembering Erin's pathetic excuse for a disguise, he fished out her glasses and put them on, pushing them down his nose so he could see over the top of them.

He walked gingerly into the darkened room, tuning his hearing in as he did so. He felt shivers shoot down his spine as short, rasping breaths trickled out from the corner of the room. Vlad fumbled for the light switch on the wall, and urgently flicked it on as the door closed with a click. Mrs Mord was stood there rocking slightly on the backs of her heels, her hunched shoulders rising and falling with each scratch of air she inhaled.

'Miss Macaulay sent me. She said you needed help with...'

'There is a lot of variation and depth in art.'

'Excuse me?' Vlad said, feeling confused.

'That's why I'm so fond of it. With some pieces, everything is always just as it appears. With others, however, things aren't always quite what they seem.'

Every whiny word that came out of her mouth made Vlad feel as tense as a mummy with rigor mortis. There was something about this woman that unnerved him. It wasn't just the way her beady eyes bore into him like maggots in a mud pile, or the way her shrunken frame curled in on itself giving her a hump to rival that of Quasimodo. She smelt odd, like a mix between a stagnant swamp and a slightly stale piece of food.

'What do you think, Vladimir Dracula?' she said as she began to creep forward.

'Um, I really don't...' then he froze, realising what she had just said.

'Oh yes, did you think you could fool me that easily! I know who... and what you are!'

That was it. He had only come here in the hope that he could convince her he was a breather, but it was clearly too late for that.

'My people have ways of knowing such things...'

'Your people?'

'...and when you walked up to me with your human friend there was no mistaking it! It couldn't be more perfect...'

'What couldn't?' Vlad was starting to panic inside now, and he reached his hand out behind him, feeling for the door handle.

'That disguise couldn't be more obvious. You are clearly a vampire, and when have you ever seen a vampire wearing glasses!?'

'Boris...' Vlad said after thinking about it for a second.

'What did you call me?' she said, coming closer, her nostrils flaring.

'Look, I don't want to hurt you! I think I should just leave...' His hand found the door handle and he tried turning it, causing a loud cackle to erupt from Mord which made Vlad jump in shock like he'd just been bitten by a breather.

'YOU hurt ME!?,' and the cackle erupted from her again, filling the empty class room with an eerie echo. 'Oh, and you're not getting away that easily, Dracula!'

Suddenly a shower of sparkling dust came down on him, coating his face and shoulders in a silvery hue. It didn't take Vlad long to work out that the metal he was covered in from head to toe was powdered argentalium, and his eyes lit up in horror as she grabbed his wrists and clamped a some metal fangcuffs in place around them.

How could he have been so stupid?

Thanks for reading, hopefully more to come soon. R&R :)