Anna's eyebrows were raised. This was interesting. Gone was the corset, the
cumbersome gown and hat that Karen Mouskeri wore before coming here. She
now wore a red blouse, black pants and had her long hair in a ponytail. She
looked ...tough.
"I was once a tomboy-like my daughter. I rode on horses, took up fencing..."
she said, as she put on some boots.
"Then-I stopped."
"Why?"
asked Alina, also dressed in the same fashion.
"I thought...it was not 'proper' and-
"That's ridiculous."
Anna blurted out as she cleaned her sword.
"You were born to stand out. Why are you trying so hard to fit in?"
"Yes...yet, I did the same thing I swore I would never do- constrain my child with society's orders."
"When we get her back, you can make up for it."
Velkan said, loading a pistol with bullets. Silver of course.
"Shall we?"
With that, Velkan put out his hand. Alina placed her hand on his, followed by Karen, Anna, Carl and Gabriel.
They were more than allies now-they were a team.
88888888888888888888888888888
Verona and Aleera sorely wished to attack Shirra-but as Dracula was in her room for what seemed to be hours upon hours- actually, it was only about half a day-, it was impossible. In the end, both of them lay at the door, looking like sad watchdogs. The door swung open around 7pm.
"What in Lucifer's name are you doing down here?"
They clung onto his feet, simpering. Frankly, he was sick of this.
"Verona, Aleera, LET GO."
They fell off, whimpering.
"Now, go and get dressed. Tonight we shall leave for the All Hallows Eve Ball.
Both clapped for joy.
They flew off, laughing.
"Thank the Dark Gods,"
he thought.
88888888888888888
Shirra opened her eyes. The pain in her head had subsided. Perhaps things would turn out better, she thought as she sat up-
BANG!!!!
She fell back into her coffin, swearing. The stupid coffin cover was CLOSED! And to add insult to injury, her head hurt-again.
888888888888888
Dracula ran at full speed towards the coffin the moment he heard the sound of her head slamming against the coffin cover. He opened the coffin and helped her out.
"Are you alright?'
"Besides the fact that my bloody head hurts like Hell- I'm fine,"
she replied wryly.
"Language,"
he said reproachfully.
"Yes, Father,"
she replied sarcastically.
Rolling his eyes, he helped her out of the coffin.
"What time is it?"
"7.10pm. Come on, we have to get you dressed."
"What for?"
"Don't you know what day it is?"
"October 31-a All Hallows Eve-
"Precisely. Once a year, I hold a little celebration...and I have just the dress for you-
"Please no corsets."
"You don't need to breathe, Shirra, you are already dead."
"It still hurts."
"We all suffer for beauty, Shirra."
"Good point. So why can't I wear a suit-
"And get mobbed by the ladies? Fine-
"Where's the dress?"
Dracula smirked.
88888888888888888888
"I'm coming out. Is Aleera outside-
"No."
"Is Verona-
"No."
"Promise me you won't laugh-
"No! Now are you finished?"
"Well...I never really wore a dress in a while so...don't-
"I won't."
"Fine. Here I come. "
The door swung open. Dracula raised his eyebrows. He was –speechless.
Shirra had let her hair down, and like raven tendrils, it coiled around her neck and shoulders. Around that lily-white neck of hers, a complicated network of a choker. Made out of six strings-three on each side-, three tear shaped crystals shone brightly on each string. A slightly larger crystal hung in the end of the choker. Her dress was...interesting. It was an off-the-shoulder number, with a long train behind it. As usual, it had tapered sleeves that made a 'ring' round her middle finger. But what made it unusual was that half of her dress was silvery white. The other half was ink-black.
"I feel like a meringue. And I can't dance."
"No one will care whether you have two left feet,"
Dracula said, looking awestruck at this metamorphis.
"Yards of fabric- and I still feel naked,"("Ever After ", anyone?)
She muttered, noticing her bare shoulders and décolleté. In one hand, she held her mask for tonight: Made out of swan feathers and leather, the mask was made to look like a face of both Good (feathers) and Evil (leather). She thought it was lovely.
"Come now, you look lovely. And the dress isn't so bad is it?"
She looked at it-and sighed. She had to admit-it was gorgeous.
"I hope I don't trip and fall-or dirty it...."
Dracula found it interesting really, to see THIS side of her. She acted like a worrywart. Taking her hand, he said,
"Shall we practice some dancing before we go?"
"Over my dead body."
"Technically, you're already dead."
8888888888888888888888888888
Alina and Karen were fast learners; Velkan and Anna had to admit. Since daybreak, they had been training hard. As night fell, Anna graced their eyes with her appearance with a maroon gown and her hair in a French twist. She had a gold mask on. Gabriel wore the dark clothes of a nobleman-and his hair in a ponytail- and wore a gold mask too. Carl wore the clothes of a jester. Alina giggled- he looked so sweet. She wore a navy-and-white dress, with an Elizabethan collar. Karen, under her fighting gear, wore a ruffled black dress and a choker not unlike Cassandra/Shirra's. It appeared even her jewelry wept for her daughter. She wore a black cloth mask. As for Velkan, he wore his usual attire-and a wolf mask.
"Let's go,"
Velkan replied, grim determination coloring his voice. As Anna and Gabriel took hold of the reins, the others entered a carriage led by Translavian steeds, and rode towards Castle Dracula.
888888888888888888888
"So, Carl...how's life in the Vactian?"
Alina meekly asked. Carl blushed a little. Call it infatuation, but he thought Alina was so very pretty that he could fall in love with her. As if he hadn't. He had fallen for her since he took her hand a few days ago. Alina herself thought Carl was the sweetest thing ever. His messy hair made her want to fix it for him. His blue eyes charmed her endlessly. But both were far from shallow.
Carl loved Alina for her compassionate heart and fierce loyalty to those she cared for. And her sweet laugh...
Alina loved Carl for his loyalty, his hidden courage and his resourceful creativity.
"Its alright...except at times..its rather lonely."
"Did you ever think if you weren't a friar...what would you be?"
"Don't know, really. I've been with The Knights Of The Holy Order for nearly all my life. What about you? "
"Me? Hard to say...Cassandra was more of the adventurous type-I was mainly the shy, quiet type. Of course, I was a little tomboyish too, but..."
"But what?"
"I was afraid-afraid of trying new things. I often played it safe. And Cassandra? The dare-devil-"
Alina caught sight of Velkan's and Karen's expressions and wished she could take the words back.
"Sorry-
"Never mind."
Velkan said, waving her concern aside.
8888888888888888
Alina smiled sadly at the memories. Both had met when they were barely 10, when Alina had moved in to a new place. She had eczema then–and children calling her cruel names like "lizard-skin" made her all the more homesick. Then, in the school library, she saw a young girl with dark eyes and hair and fair skin reading in a corner. The girl looked up at her. Her expression was brooding. Yet, she looked lovely like that-few could pull it off. Then, she parted her red lips and said,
"Cassandra."
"What?"
"That's my name. What's yours?"
"Alina-Velastock."
"Cassandra Mouskeri."
"Nice name."
"So's yours."
The brooding expression was replaced with a genuine smile. Alina wondered if Cassandra knew that she had eczema.
"Its not life-threatening, is it?"
Cassandra asked, answering her silent question.
"No..."
"Then why the long face?"
asked Cassandra, closing her book and getting up to sweep the dust away from her clothes.
Alina smiled, for the first time in days.
"Look, there's the Lizard and the vampire!"
sneered a toffee-nosed girl.
"Shut your mouth,"
spat Cassandra coldly. If words and looks could kill, the girl would be very much dead.
The girl huffed and rejoined her clique. Revenge came swiftly when that girl boasted later,
"My family's ancestors came on The Mayflower and landed on Plymouth Rock!"
"And I presume you crawled out from under it?"
asked a wry Cassandra. Everyone rocked with laughter. The girl turned red. She smirked and left.
88888888888888
"That was cruel,"
commented Alina, who was cross sitching during Recess.
"She deserved what she got."
Even Alina had to agree.
"Why do they call you vampire?"
"My skin never seems to be tan no matter how long I stay in the Sun. And the 'blood painting' incident...you're new so you don't know...and the fact that I love black is another reason."
According to Cassandra, the 'blood painting' incident happened weeks ago. Running out of red paint, she bit her lips and let it drip all over the paper during Art Class. Her parents were brought in and she was in detention for a week. (A/N: This was based on a true story: I REALLY did this in Art Class! Everything happened-save the detention part)
"Someone once told me to bleed for Art,"
she said wryly. Alina felt interested-and a little frightened- of this new (and only) friend of hers. She spoke with a poetic, enigmatic, cultured tone, and had unpredictable mood swings (mainly ecstatic and livid). She was-in Alina's opinion, a perfect reluctant vampire....
88888888888888
Alina never really thought Cassandra would really become one. Suddenly, she jerked out of her seat-into Carl's lap. She turned red as Carl shyly helped her up. Velkan said,
"We have arrived."
8888888888888888888888
Dracula felt a sense of pride for Shirrra. She seemed to charm the men and women with her conversation-she certainly could interact very well with adults. (That's what my parents say. With my peers though, that's' a different kettle of fish...) She now carried herself with poise and grace-a far cry from what she was a few months back...
8888888888888888
Cassandra glared hard at the man who had struck his wife in full view of the public.
"Leave her be,"
she hissed.
He raised his hand to slap her-only for her to bite down hard on his neck and tear it out. He died before hitting the floor. She wiped the blood off her mouth with her hand. Dracula sighed and gave her a handkerchief.
"Really, where are your table manners?"
"We youth pride ourselves on being uncouth."
He rolled his eyes. He had been doing that a lot lately, with her around.
8888888888888888888888888888
She acted like a lady now. And how did she shine tonight. Aleera and Verona, dressed to the slinkiest nines, hung on him like leeches.
"Go get a bite, my dears."
They left at that.
Taking Shirra's hand, he asked her to dance.
She took it-and they did a waltz. Then, the music changed. A fandango followed. It was not called 'the dance of pimps and prostitutes' for nothing. It was erotic and sensuous. Shirra sighed as Dracula pressed her against his chest and took in her scent. Death and Roses. Nice.
"Enjoying the gathering, Shirra?"
"Gathering is quite the understatement my Lord. And yes, I 'm enjoying it."
As the Fandango ended, a young man in a wolf mask asked her for a dance. Her blood turned to ice when she saw his eyes-gray-brown...
"Love to,"
she said, taking his hand.
Meanwhile, Aleera and Verona sniffed the air...was that werewolf venom they smelled?
88888888888888888
"Velkan, what re you doing here?"
whispered Shirra.
"I've come to save you."
Velkan whispered, dipping her.
"Why?"
"I-
"MY LORD!"
screeched Aleera.
"Oh no..."
"The werewolf is here, in our midst! And so is Van Helsing!"
At that precise moment, Dracula strode towards Shirra and Velkan, fangs bared.
"Release her, Velkan."
"Never."
"Oh, really?"
Snapping his fingers, a few vampires brought forth a struggling girl-Alina!
"Leave now-or Alina-
"NO-"
sobbed Alina. Just then, she dropped a pebble in her hand. Shirra looked down- and a memory came to her....
888888888
Alina leapt into the cool water. Her eczema had just cleared up after her 13th birthday and she was going to celebrate by swimming in the nearby river. Cassandra simply read a book.
"Come on, Cassandra! Are you scared of water?"
teased Alina. Cassandra definitely rubbed off her.
Cassandra threw her book down-and in her CLOTHES, leaped into the water, splashing everything around her.
Alina gagged on the water and turned to a resurfacing Cassandra.
"Aren't you too old for this-
She responded by spewing water into her face. She made up to Alina by giving her a stone in the shape of an otter.
88888888888888888888888888
"I can't do this,"
she whispered.
"Then I'LL do it!"
laughed Verona, baring her fangs. In a flash, Shirra ran towards Alina and drank from her before giving her some of her own blood.
Dracula smiled. She had sired a fledgling. Wonderful.
"Gabriel, really..was all this part of your plan? What can you do now?"
"You can TAKE THIS!"
He turned-and saw a woman in black throw a match and oil on him. In seconds, he was on fire. Karen took this moment to grab Alina-and Gabriel leapt from the ceiling and grabbed them both to safety.
'Get them!" barked Dracula. Just them, the moon revealed its face in the clouds. Velkan took his werewolf form-and grabbed Shirra in his jaws before smashing out the window.
Dracula picked up her choker. It was broken now. The crystals fell to the floor like tears. He clutched it-and screamed.
"This is not the end, Gabriel! My revenge has only begun!"
888888888888888888888888888
As the vampires flew at Gabriel, Carl removed the pin from his weapon that gave off light the intensity of the Sun and threw it towards the vampires before leaping out the window with Gabriel, Anna, Alina and Karen. As they landed in water, they heard an earth-shattering blast-and the smell of burning rotting flesh.
"Carl! You're a genius!"
"With unstable chemicals,"
added Carl.
"Where's Velkan?"
asked Anna.
"He's safe-and he has Shirra. I told him to meet us back at the manor after he saved her. I just hope they can return soon."
"What happened to Alina?"
she added.
Karen gasped as she saw the marks on her neck.
"She has been bitten..."
"And she rank from a vampire-
"NO!"
All sighed sadly as they tried to get back to the Valerious manor. Their joy at getting Cassandra back was tinged with tragedy at Alina's turning.
A/N: This chapter's dedicated to my friend Ai-lin. She suggested I turn Alina (her alter-ego) into a ...I'll tell you next chapter...
"I was once a tomboy-like my daughter. I rode on horses, took up fencing..."
she said, as she put on some boots.
"Then-I stopped."
"Why?"
asked Alina, also dressed in the same fashion.
"I thought...it was not 'proper' and-
"That's ridiculous."
Anna blurted out as she cleaned her sword.
"You were born to stand out. Why are you trying so hard to fit in?"
"Yes...yet, I did the same thing I swore I would never do- constrain my child with society's orders."
"When we get her back, you can make up for it."
Velkan said, loading a pistol with bullets. Silver of course.
"Shall we?"
With that, Velkan put out his hand. Alina placed her hand on his, followed by Karen, Anna, Carl and Gabriel.
They were more than allies now-they were a team.
88888888888888888888888888888
Verona and Aleera sorely wished to attack Shirra-but as Dracula was in her room for what seemed to be hours upon hours- actually, it was only about half a day-, it was impossible. In the end, both of them lay at the door, looking like sad watchdogs. The door swung open around 7pm.
"What in Lucifer's name are you doing down here?"
They clung onto his feet, simpering. Frankly, he was sick of this.
"Verona, Aleera, LET GO."
They fell off, whimpering.
"Now, go and get dressed. Tonight we shall leave for the All Hallows Eve Ball.
Both clapped for joy.
They flew off, laughing.
"Thank the Dark Gods,"
he thought.
88888888888888888
Shirra opened her eyes. The pain in her head had subsided. Perhaps things would turn out better, she thought as she sat up-
BANG!!!!
She fell back into her coffin, swearing. The stupid coffin cover was CLOSED! And to add insult to injury, her head hurt-again.
888888888888888
Dracula ran at full speed towards the coffin the moment he heard the sound of her head slamming against the coffin cover. He opened the coffin and helped her out.
"Are you alright?'
"Besides the fact that my bloody head hurts like Hell- I'm fine,"
she replied wryly.
"Language,"
he said reproachfully.
"Yes, Father,"
she replied sarcastically.
Rolling his eyes, he helped her out of the coffin.
"What time is it?"
"7.10pm. Come on, we have to get you dressed."
"What for?"
"Don't you know what day it is?"
"October 31-a All Hallows Eve-
"Precisely. Once a year, I hold a little celebration...and I have just the dress for you-
"Please no corsets."
"You don't need to breathe, Shirra, you are already dead."
"It still hurts."
"We all suffer for beauty, Shirra."
"Good point. So why can't I wear a suit-
"And get mobbed by the ladies? Fine-
"Where's the dress?"
Dracula smirked.
88888888888888888888
"I'm coming out. Is Aleera outside-
"No."
"Is Verona-
"No."
"Promise me you won't laugh-
"No! Now are you finished?"
"Well...I never really wore a dress in a while so...don't-
"I won't."
"Fine. Here I come. "
The door swung open. Dracula raised his eyebrows. He was –speechless.
Shirra had let her hair down, and like raven tendrils, it coiled around her neck and shoulders. Around that lily-white neck of hers, a complicated network of a choker. Made out of six strings-three on each side-, three tear shaped crystals shone brightly on each string. A slightly larger crystal hung in the end of the choker. Her dress was...interesting. It was an off-the-shoulder number, with a long train behind it. As usual, it had tapered sleeves that made a 'ring' round her middle finger. But what made it unusual was that half of her dress was silvery white. The other half was ink-black.
"I feel like a meringue. And I can't dance."
"No one will care whether you have two left feet,"
Dracula said, looking awestruck at this metamorphis.
"Yards of fabric- and I still feel naked,"("Ever After ", anyone?)
She muttered, noticing her bare shoulders and décolleté. In one hand, she held her mask for tonight: Made out of swan feathers and leather, the mask was made to look like a face of both Good (feathers) and Evil (leather). She thought it was lovely.
"Come now, you look lovely. And the dress isn't so bad is it?"
She looked at it-and sighed. She had to admit-it was gorgeous.
"I hope I don't trip and fall-or dirty it...."
Dracula found it interesting really, to see THIS side of her. She acted like a worrywart. Taking her hand, he said,
"Shall we practice some dancing before we go?"
"Over my dead body."
"Technically, you're already dead."
8888888888888888888888888888
Alina and Karen were fast learners; Velkan and Anna had to admit. Since daybreak, they had been training hard. As night fell, Anna graced their eyes with her appearance with a maroon gown and her hair in a French twist. She had a gold mask on. Gabriel wore the dark clothes of a nobleman-and his hair in a ponytail- and wore a gold mask too. Carl wore the clothes of a jester. Alina giggled- he looked so sweet. She wore a navy-and-white dress, with an Elizabethan collar. Karen, under her fighting gear, wore a ruffled black dress and a choker not unlike Cassandra/Shirra's. It appeared even her jewelry wept for her daughter. She wore a black cloth mask. As for Velkan, he wore his usual attire-and a wolf mask.
"Let's go,"
Velkan replied, grim determination coloring his voice. As Anna and Gabriel took hold of the reins, the others entered a carriage led by Translavian steeds, and rode towards Castle Dracula.
888888888888888888888
"So, Carl...how's life in the Vactian?"
Alina meekly asked. Carl blushed a little. Call it infatuation, but he thought Alina was so very pretty that he could fall in love with her. As if he hadn't. He had fallen for her since he took her hand a few days ago. Alina herself thought Carl was the sweetest thing ever. His messy hair made her want to fix it for him. His blue eyes charmed her endlessly. But both were far from shallow.
Carl loved Alina for her compassionate heart and fierce loyalty to those she cared for. And her sweet laugh...
Alina loved Carl for his loyalty, his hidden courage and his resourceful creativity.
"Its alright...except at times..its rather lonely."
"Did you ever think if you weren't a friar...what would you be?"
"Don't know, really. I've been with The Knights Of The Holy Order for nearly all my life. What about you? "
"Me? Hard to say...Cassandra was more of the adventurous type-I was mainly the shy, quiet type. Of course, I was a little tomboyish too, but..."
"But what?"
"I was afraid-afraid of trying new things. I often played it safe. And Cassandra? The dare-devil-"
Alina caught sight of Velkan's and Karen's expressions and wished she could take the words back.
"Sorry-
"Never mind."
Velkan said, waving her concern aside.
8888888888888888
Alina smiled sadly at the memories. Both had met when they were barely 10, when Alina had moved in to a new place. She had eczema then–and children calling her cruel names like "lizard-skin" made her all the more homesick. Then, in the school library, she saw a young girl with dark eyes and hair and fair skin reading in a corner. The girl looked up at her. Her expression was brooding. Yet, she looked lovely like that-few could pull it off. Then, she parted her red lips and said,
"Cassandra."
"What?"
"That's my name. What's yours?"
"Alina-Velastock."
"Cassandra Mouskeri."
"Nice name."
"So's yours."
The brooding expression was replaced with a genuine smile. Alina wondered if Cassandra knew that she had eczema.
"Its not life-threatening, is it?"
Cassandra asked, answering her silent question.
"No..."
"Then why the long face?"
asked Cassandra, closing her book and getting up to sweep the dust away from her clothes.
Alina smiled, for the first time in days.
"Look, there's the Lizard and the vampire!"
sneered a toffee-nosed girl.
"Shut your mouth,"
spat Cassandra coldly. If words and looks could kill, the girl would be very much dead.
The girl huffed and rejoined her clique. Revenge came swiftly when that girl boasted later,
"My family's ancestors came on The Mayflower and landed on Plymouth Rock!"
"And I presume you crawled out from under it?"
asked a wry Cassandra. Everyone rocked with laughter. The girl turned red. She smirked and left.
88888888888888
"That was cruel,"
commented Alina, who was cross sitching during Recess.
"She deserved what she got."
Even Alina had to agree.
"Why do they call you vampire?"
"My skin never seems to be tan no matter how long I stay in the Sun. And the 'blood painting' incident...you're new so you don't know...and the fact that I love black is another reason."
According to Cassandra, the 'blood painting' incident happened weeks ago. Running out of red paint, she bit her lips and let it drip all over the paper during Art Class. Her parents were brought in and she was in detention for a week. (A/N: This was based on a true story: I REALLY did this in Art Class! Everything happened-save the detention part)
"Someone once told me to bleed for Art,"
she said wryly. Alina felt interested-and a little frightened- of this new (and only) friend of hers. She spoke with a poetic, enigmatic, cultured tone, and had unpredictable mood swings (mainly ecstatic and livid). She was-in Alina's opinion, a perfect reluctant vampire....
88888888888888
Alina never really thought Cassandra would really become one. Suddenly, she jerked out of her seat-into Carl's lap. She turned red as Carl shyly helped her up. Velkan said,
"We have arrived."
8888888888888888888888
Dracula felt a sense of pride for Shirrra. She seemed to charm the men and women with her conversation-she certainly could interact very well with adults. (That's what my parents say. With my peers though, that's' a different kettle of fish...) She now carried herself with poise and grace-a far cry from what she was a few months back...
8888888888888888
Cassandra glared hard at the man who had struck his wife in full view of the public.
"Leave her be,"
she hissed.
He raised his hand to slap her-only for her to bite down hard on his neck and tear it out. He died before hitting the floor. She wiped the blood off her mouth with her hand. Dracula sighed and gave her a handkerchief.
"Really, where are your table manners?"
"We youth pride ourselves on being uncouth."
He rolled his eyes. He had been doing that a lot lately, with her around.
8888888888888888888888888888
She acted like a lady now. And how did she shine tonight. Aleera and Verona, dressed to the slinkiest nines, hung on him like leeches.
"Go get a bite, my dears."
They left at that.
Taking Shirra's hand, he asked her to dance.
She took it-and they did a waltz. Then, the music changed. A fandango followed. It was not called 'the dance of pimps and prostitutes' for nothing. It was erotic and sensuous. Shirra sighed as Dracula pressed her against his chest and took in her scent. Death and Roses. Nice.
"Enjoying the gathering, Shirra?"
"Gathering is quite the understatement my Lord. And yes, I 'm enjoying it."
As the Fandango ended, a young man in a wolf mask asked her for a dance. Her blood turned to ice when she saw his eyes-gray-brown...
"Love to,"
she said, taking his hand.
Meanwhile, Aleera and Verona sniffed the air...was that werewolf venom they smelled?
88888888888888888
"Velkan, what re you doing here?"
whispered Shirra.
"I've come to save you."
Velkan whispered, dipping her.
"Why?"
"I-
"MY LORD!"
screeched Aleera.
"Oh no..."
"The werewolf is here, in our midst! And so is Van Helsing!"
At that precise moment, Dracula strode towards Shirra and Velkan, fangs bared.
"Release her, Velkan."
"Never."
"Oh, really?"
Snapping his fingers, a few vampires brought forth a struggling girl-Alina!
"Leave now-or Alina-
"NO-"
sobbed Alina. Just then, she dropped a pebble in her hand. Shirra looked down- and a memory came to her....
888888888
Alina leapt into the cool water. Her eczema had just cleared up after her 13th birthday and she was going to celebrate by swimming in the nearby river. Cassandra simply read a book.
"Come on, Cassandra! Are you scared of water?"
teased Alina. Cassandra definitely rubbed off her.
Cassandra threw her book down-and in her CLOTHES, leaped into the water, splashing everything around her.
Alina gagged on the water and turned to a resurfacing Cassandra.
"Aren't you too old for this-
She responded by spewing water into her face. She made up to Alina by giving her a stone in the shape of an otter.
88888888888888888888888888
"I can't do this,"
she whispered.
"Then I'LL do it!"
laughed Verona, baring her fangs. In a flash, Shirra ran towards Alina and drank from her before giving her some of her own blood.
Dracula smiled. She had sired a fledgling. Wonderful.
"Gabriel, really..was all this part of your plan? What can you do now?"
"You can TAKE THIS!"
He turned-and saw a woman in black throw a match and oil on him. In seconds, he was on fire. Karen took this moment to grab Alina-and Gabriel leapt from the ceiling and grabbed them both to safety.
'Get them!" barked Dracula. Just them, the moon revealed its face in the clouds. Velkan took his werewolf form-and grabbed Shirra in his jaws before smashing out the window.
Dracula picked up her choker. It was broken now. The crystals fell to the floor like tears. He clutched it-and screamed.
"This is not the end, Gabriel! My revenge has only begun!"
888888888888888888888888888
As the vampires flew at Gabriel, Carl removed the pin from his weapon that gave off light the intensity of the Sun and threw it towards the vampires before leaping out the window with Gabriel, Anna, Alina and Karen. As they landed in water, they heard an earth-shattering blast-and the smell of burning rotting flesh.
"Carl! You're a genius!"
"With unstable chemicals,"
added Carl.
"Where's Velkan?"
asked Anna.
"He's safe-and he has Shirra. I told him to meet us back at the manor after he saved her. I just hope they can return soon."
"What happened to Alina?"
she added.
Karen gasped as she saw the marks on her neck.
"She has been bitten..."
"And she rank from a vampire-
"NO!"
All sighed sadly as they tried to get back to the Valerious manor. Their joy at getting Cassandra back was tinged with tragedy at Alina's turning.
A/N: This chapter's dedicated to my friend Ai-lin. She suggested I turn Alina (her alter-ego) into a ...I'll tell you next chapter...