Veil woke up in the Infirmary a few hours later. He opened his eyes to see a mousemaid standing over his bed. He thought she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.
Bryony pushed Veil gently back on to the pillows and held a bowl of water to his cracked, dry lips. "Please drink this and lie still."
Joshy Stag Hare strode into the room. "Ah, I see Veil's finally up an' about, wot wot!"
"I can't find anything physically wrong with him," said Sister Withe, the Infirmary Keeper. "It looks like he just collapsed from exhaustion. He must have run a long way."
"Twenty-six miles," Veil said.
Bryony placed a paw on his forehead. "Hush now, don't try to talk. Just relax."
"I can't afford to relax!" Veil burst out. "Where is your Abbess? I've got to tell her something!"
Meriam stepped forward. "I'm the Abbess."
"There's a VAMPIRE coming to attack your Abbey!" Veil cried.
Instead of being frightened, Joshy, Bryony, and the Abbess burst into laughter.
Sister Withe sniffed. She was one of those strict kind of Sisters. "I'm not laughing. How can you talk such rubbish? Vampires don't really exist. Only in storybooks."
"It's true!" Veil insisted. "His name is Tramun Clogg and he's a vampire pirate stoat! He wants to kill somebeast living here!"
"Hmm, I did know of a beast by that name one time," said Joshy. "But he must be long dead."
"He's not dead. He's a vampire!"
"I knew we shouldn't have let a vermin in," said Sister Withe. "He probably just wants to steal something."
"I don't know. He seems pretty earnest," said Bryony. "He ran all this way just to warn us."
Veil jumped out of the bed. "Yes! I'm telling the truth. You've got to believe me!" He started to leave the room.
Joshy blocked his way. "Hold up, old chap. Where d'you think you're goin'?"
"I have to leave. It's not safe for me to be here."
The hare was baffled. "You just got in, an' you already want to get out?"
"We would not turn you away, unless you were an enemy that meant us harm," said Abbess Meriam. "You have been through an ordeal, and now you must rest."
"I can't afford to rest!" Veil was jumping around from one foot to the other. "Something bad will happen if I stay. I can't tell you what, but just trust me." He was worried about turning back into Swartt.
"I'll tell Skipper and his otters to post a guard on the walltop," said the Abbess. "Of course there's no such thing as a vampire, but maybe somebeast really is coming to attack us."
"We should lock the ferret in his room," said Withe. "Make sure he doesn't run loose in the Abbey."
Veil seized on this idea. "Yes! Lock me in! If you won't let me out, you should keep me in here."
"You want to be locked in? Hmm, maybe we shouldn't lock you in, then."
"If he wants the door locked, we can lock it," said the Abbess.
They all went out, bolting the door from the outside.
A few minutes later, Skipper was up on the wall, when he saw a creature approaching the Abbey. It wasn't a vermin though. It was some kind of pony.
"Hello?" she called. "Is anybeast there? My name's Fluttershy."
"Ahoy, Fluttershy!" Skipper called back. "I'm the Skipper of otters. Welcome to Redwall. Just give me a minute and I'll come down and let you in."
"That's okay. I can just fly over the wall." She did that.
Soon, Fluttershy was in Great Hall, talking with the Abbess.
"Has a ferret named Veil arrived here?" she asked.
The Abbess nodded. "He came here just a few hours ago. He's up in the Infirmary now."
"Can I go up and see him?"
"I don't think he wants any visitors," said Bryony. "He told us to lock the door."
Fluttershy felt relieved. At least Veil was safe, and if he was locked in a room by himself, he couldn't hurt anybeast when he turned back into his father.
"He was tellin' us some crazy story about a vampire comin' to attack the Abbey," said Joshy.
"Oh, that's absolutely true!" exclaimed Fluttershy. "In fact, two of my friends are fighting the vampire now!"
Joshy's ears shot up. "I say! Two ponies bein' attacked by a vermin vampire, doesn't bear thinkin' about. We've got to go an' help 'em, wot wot!"
"That's right," said Fluttershy. "There's no time to lose!"
"I'll go with you back to the place where you last saw 'em," Joshy declared. "It will save time if I bring my broom."
Fluttershy didn't understand what he meant. How could a broom save time?
Joshy dashed upstairs to his room and came down with his magic wand and a flying broomstick like the one Harry Potter has. "Let's go, wot!"
Joshy and Fluttershy ran outside. The hare hopped onto his broom and they flew off into the night.
