Chapter Eleven

Danny leapt to his feet ready to run around to Dougie's aid, but Tom grabbed his arm roughly, preventing him from moving.

"No" he said quietly but firmly. "Stay where you are Danny."

Danny looked down at Tom's hand on his arm and then back at Tom in alarm. Tom was scowling at Danny.

"Why?" He said in a mixture of terror and panic. "We've got to save Dougie!"

"We can't!" Said Tom quietly. "Look!" He pointed through the window.

Harry had finished feeding on Dougie and threw his body off the bed and onto the ground. Danny looked back at Tom in fear. Was Tom somehow still a vampire? Were he and Harry somehow working together? Was this all part of his plan?

Suddenly, in fear of his life, Danny wrestled free of Tom's grasp and dashed around to the front of the summerhouse.

The front door was still shut and locked. Panicking, Danny looked for another way in. He saw a window to the side that was ajar and wrenched it open. He dived through, head first and scrambled through into the room.

Harry blinked at Danny's sudden entrance in surprise, but stretched lazily. "Danny" he said, cool as could be. "How are you mate?"

Danny glanced down at Dougie's prone body on the floor. "You bastard" he hissed through gritted teeth. "How could you?"

"Easy!" Harry laughed. "Come closer and I'll show you!"

Danny rushed towards the bed an angry growl emanating from his throat. "I'll kill you!" He shouted.

Harry moved quickly, standing up from the bed with newfound strength. He laughed again as Danny dived onto the bed and then turned to gawp at Harry in surprise.

Harry regarded Dougie's body on the floor. "I feel much better!" He laughed, grinning evilly. "Thanks for that!"

He started towards Danny. "But I'm still hungry." He licked his lips and started to advance towards where Danny sat frozen in terror on the bed. "You'll do nicely!" he said but then a sudden noise made him turn around sharply.

Tom was standing in the doorway.

"Get away from them, Harry" he said, his voice quiet and dripping with malice.

Harry laughed again "Or what? You'll kill me again? Didn't do such a great job last time, did you, Tom? What makes you think you'll fare any better this time around"?

"I'm warning you Harry. Get away from them" Tom said again.

Harry hesitated momentarily, unsure whether to believe Tom's threat, but it was long enough for Danny to take his chance and launch himself from the bed and onto Harry's back.

The suddenly movement caught Harry by surprise and he cried out as Danny overbalanced him and the two men went crashing to the ground. Harry hit his head hard on the corner of the bedside table and was knocked out cold. Blood began to trickle from the wound on his forehead.

Tom ran over to where Danny and Harry lay on the floor, but then felt helpless again as he tried to figure out what to do next. Where was the potion? Who had it? Should he try to get the now unconscious Harry to drink it? Where the fuck was it?

Suddenly, a hand gripped his ankle. Looking down, he saw Dougie reaching out to him. "The parchment!" He said feebly. "The parchment!"

In the distance, the clock tower began to chime noon.

Suddenly Tom understood. He wrenched Harry from on top of Danny and threw him halfway across the room.

Slightly surprised by the ease with which he had shifted his bulky friend, he shouted "Danny!" and grabbed his hand, hauling him to his feet. "Help me get Harry outside!"

Between them, they managed to drag Harry's unconscious form to the door of the summerhouse. With some difficulty, Tom unlocked the door using the key that was in the lock.

Blinking as they stepped out into the bright sunlight, they managed to haul Harry's body a few yards before they both collapsed from the effort.

Harry's body began to smoke gently, but he did not immediately burst into flames.

Recovering quickly, Tom shouted "The parchment! Where's the parchment?"

"Here!" said Danny, reaching inside his jacket and handing it to Tom.

Tom snatched it from him and unrolled it.

As the midday chimes ended, Tom began to read the strange foreign words, his voice wavering slightly. When he finished, there was no sound, except a few birds tentatively singing to break the silence. Exhausted and not knowing if it had worked, Tom collapsed to the ground.

Then came a louder sound. "No!" screamed a voice, coming from the house. "No! Ce-ai făcut?"

Danny and Tom looked up and saw Halimar leaning out of a window of the house for it was he who had shouted to them. He slammed the window shut and moment later appeared at the door and began to stride across the grass towards them. His hood was raised, but in the shadow it cast across his face, they could see his eyes burning, full of malice.

Scrambling to their feet, Tom and Danny turned to face the angry old man who was heading their way.

As he got closer, the sun came out from behind a cloud and Halimar stopped dead in his tracks. He looked up at the sky with a look of horror on his face and turned and fled back in the direction he had come.

Looking at each other in alarm, Tom and Danny set off at a sprint after the old man. They soon caught up to him and grabbed him, shoving him up against the wall of the house.

"You are going to explain right now what the fuck is going on!" Danny shouted, his face inches away from the old man's. Despite everything, Halimar laughed in his face.

"You stupid boy" he cackled. "Don't you see? Your friend is 'de viață dătătorul'! 'The Life Giver!' You did a fine job leading me to him so I could keep him alive!"

"But why?" Said Tom. "You're a vampire killer?"

"Yes" Halimar said, cackling again. "Killer so that I may become 'bărbătesc': stronger and younger once more! But now, you have ruined everything!"

Danny and Tom watched in horror as Halimar a face contorted and he opened his mouth to reveal his teeth.

"You're a bloody vampire too!" Danny exclaimed.

"Not just any vampire" Halimar said, "I am 'Comandantul': Master of all vampires! But those that thought to overthrow me weakened my powers. The girls who turned your friend..." he gestured in the direction of Harry's body, which lay hidden from view behind the bushes. Danny and Tom had no idea if he was still there or if he had been reduced to a pile of ashes in the midday sun.

"They wanted to create a new, younger race of vampires. I knew, if I could consume the blood of 'de viață dătătorul' then I would be restored to lead my kind once more!"

Danny and Tom gaped at him in horror. "So...so the stone...and and the dagger?!" Danny said. It wasn't a question but Halimar answered him.

"A cure, as I said it was," he pointed at Tom. "Your friend, he was weak, but he would recover in time"

"But why?" Said Tom "why give them the way to save us if you wanted Harry's blood?"

Halimar shrugged. "You are foolish boys! I did not expect you to succeed!" he said, simply.

"But now, you ruin everything! 'de viață dătătorul' is dead and I have not yet consumed enough blood to be restored!"

"And now you never will!" Danny said and with one swift movement he produced the sacred dagger from inside his jacket and held it aloft.

Halimar yelled in fright at the sight of the dagger and tried to escape from Tom's grasp. The three men struggled for a moment and somehow Danny managed to thrust it into Halimar's neck.

Screaming in agony, Halimar clutched his neck as blood began to spurt from between his fingers. He lurched away from the building and stumbled down the slope. He caught his cloak on a holly bush and then tripped and rolled headlong down into the open garden and into the full sunlight that was now blazing down from the skies.

Danny and Tom watched incredulously as the sunlight hit Halimar and he began to writhe around, screaming in agony as the sunlight burnt through his clothes.

In a matter of moments he had been reduced to a pile of ashes. A sudden breeze blew thought the garden, whipping the grey dust up into the air and spreading it around like a macabre snow flurry.

Unable to move, as though paralysed, Tom and Danny could only regard the scene before them in disbelief. Then, movement caught their eyes as they saw Dougie stumble to the door of the summerhouse and cry out. He half ran, half crawled across the garden. Tom and Danny looked at each other and set off back towards here they had left Harry.

They arrived at the place at the same time as Dougie. Harry was still there! He seemed to be unconscious, but was still in one piece. Dougie collapsed at his side as they all met up.

"Is everyone ok?" Tom asked.

Looking at him, and each other Danny and Dougie both said "Yeah", though Dougie winced in pain from his broken arm. Then they looked down at Harry. They rolled him onto his back. His face looked different. He looked peaceful, like he was sleeping.

"Is he…is he…?" Dougie couldn't bring himself to say the word out loud.

Gingerly, Tom placed his fingers on Harry's neck. When he couldn't feel a pulse straight away, he moved them to a different place. And then to a third.

He looked up at Danny and Dougie and slowly shook his head.

The three of them looked down at Harry. He was gone.

"Fuck it!" shouted Danny, leaping to his feet. He moved a short distance away from Tom and Dougie and began taking his anger and frustration out on the nearest rose bush. Red petals fell off it in a heavy shower.

Tom moved to Danny's side and put his hand on his arm. "Hey" he said softly. "We tried our best".

"But it wasn't good enough!" Danny exclaimed angrily, shrugging off Tom's comforting arm. Sighing, Tom turned back to where Dougie was sitting, staring into space, his back to Harry's body, his arm hanging awkwardly at his side.

He went and joined Dougie as he sat glaring at the garden. Tom sighed again as he sat down on the grass next to Dougie. He didn't know what to say. It was like a bad dream. He couldn't believe this was really happening. To hear they had lost Fletch had been bad enough, but now Harry as well. Losing him for a second time was worse. They had been so close to saving him.

Danny completed the maudlin threesome. He ran his hands through his hair and blew air out of his mouth in exasperation. His anger had gone. He felt numb and helpless. None of them knew how long they sat there in silence, regarding the scene in front of them. They were all thinking the same; there was no need for words and somehow they would make it more real. They all knew what they had to do but none of them could bear to be the first to make a move.

A shadow suddenly loomed over them and the three craned their necks round to find its source. Looking straight up into the sunshine it was difficult to see who it was until he crouched down.

"What's up guys? Someone die?" Harry said with a wry smile on his lips.

THE END