I don't own anything except the Takahari family
I awoke with a sense that something was wrong. For one thing, I seemed to be alive, which I found odd, given the circumstances under which I had thrown myself overboard.
I looked around my current surroundings, noting it to be some kind of cave near the water. A voice behind me caused me to look back.
"So you're finally awake," Rose said. Dart was also nearby.
"Dart? Rose? What are you doing here?" The last time I had checked, they were aboard the Phantom Ship.
"We ended up following you in when the ship sank. Just luck that we found you and got you out of the water." I now saw that Dart was less than dry, himself. "By the way, who or what was that guy that was attacking you?"
I held up a hand. "First, there's something I need to know: is he dead?"
Rose shrugged. "He should be. I stabbed him in the throat."
"Blast it! You should have aimed for the heart. That was an old enemy of mine, Draco the vampire. Vampires can only be killed by stabbing them through the heart. Now the old bat will have the chance to kill more people, and worse."
"Why didn't you mention him before?" Dart asked. "And what do you mean, 'worse'?"
I staggered to my feet. "In answer to the first question, because he's supposed to be on a different planet, and I thought I killed him last year in an old castle. In answer to the second, there is indeed a fate worse than death. You see, anyone he attacks, but doesn't kill, will become a vampire. They may not wantto drink blood and create more vampires, but they'll have no choice. It's a biological imperative for their kind."
"That does sound like a problem. Anything else we should know about them?"
I nodded. "Yeah. They don't age past a certain point. Unless someone kills them, they are immortal. My family, though Karen and Ryan are unaware of it, have fought vampires for centuries. In fact, the name of our ninja clan translates as 'The Vampire Hunters'. We have fought a hidden war with them for four hundred years, and we've killed many. On the other hand, we've lost a few to the vampires, as well, with ninja becoming the very thing they fought."
"Are you up to traveling, Ian? We should get going as soon as possible."
"Yeah. But I'm going alone. I don't think Draco got very far from the Phantom Ship. I think he's near, hunting me, and I must hunt him. It's my duty, and I can't drag you two into it." Dart began to protest. "No, Dart. You should understand, more than any of the others, about private scores to settle. I've fought Draco many times over the years, and I intend to finish this myself." For once, I didn't even wait for a reply. I simply left the cave, never looking back.
It was only hours after I left the two that I came to our original destination, Fueno. I knew it to be the logical destination for Draco, and I needed to inform the others that Dart, Rose, and I were still alive.
I was going around a corner when I heard the noise of metal on wood, the distinctive sound of a sword being drawn. I drew my own, then swung it around the corner ahead of me.
Clang! It rang against another sword, and a knife swept out to hold my blade in place.
I took a closer look. "Ryan?"
The opposing blades dropped away. "Ian!? You're alright!?"
"Will be if you don't run me through. You look like you were expecting someone else." I sheathed my katana.
"What about Dart and Rose? Are they okay?"
"They were a few hours ago. I left them in a cave, near a place called Lideria." We started walking toward a nearby inn.
Ryan was incredulous. "You left them? Why?"
"Personal score to settle, mon ami. Remember the guy I narrowly escaped on that ghost ship?"
"Kinda hard not to. Old friend of yours?"
I laughed. "Hardly a 'friend', Ryan. That was Count Draco von Schneider, formerly of the German nobility. His is also a vampire."
Ryan rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Ian, you know vampires are mythical. Who was he really?"
"I meant what I said, Ryan. Count Draco isa vampire. I've fought him quite a few times before. You might recall my trip to the Rhine last year. I ended up in von Schneider's castle, where we battled again. I thought I killed him, but I must have missed his heart. Then there was my tour of Venice the year before. I nearly drowned when the good count overturned my gondola. Believe me. I've 'killed' that vampire a dozen times."
He was starting to come around. "Maybe…"
"Here's another thing you should know. Our ninja clan has hunted vampires for four hundred years. You and Karen weren't told because you weren't ready. Remember, I've been killing people longer than you. In fact, Iwouldn't know about vampires yet if it weren't for my first encounter with von Schneider, years ago."
By this time we had arrived at the inn. Ryan was shaking his head. "Vampires… And here I thought you were on sight-seeing tours!"
"Nope. I was trying to take care of a persistent thorn in my side. But now you see why I can't stay. In some ways, von Schneider is a more dangerous enemy than Lloyd. If he's not stopped, Endiness will be plagued with home-grown vampires." I turned to leave, but Ryan grabbed my shoulder.
"Wait, Ian. There's no need for you to go off on your own to find Draco."
"What do you mean?" I wasn't liking the sound of this.
"He's after Lloyd, too. Where Lloyd is, we'll probably find your vampire."
I groaned. "Oh, man, I hope we get to Lloyd first. A Wingly vampire just doesn't bear thinking about." Conversation was cut off as we entered the inn.
Karen was the first to notice our arrival. "Ian! You made it!"
"Sure did. Dart and Rose should be along anytime now. But we've got other problems." I turned to the wall, as the others, remarkably including Haschel, grew more serious. "Count Draco von Schneider, once of the German nobility, now a vampire."
"You mean that guy you were running from on the ship?" Albert asked.
"That's the one. Ryan told me he's going after Lloyd, too. And don't give that business about 'enemy of my enemy is my friend'. Draco wouldn't kill Lloyd; he'd turn himinto a vampire, too. And that, my friends, is about as bad a situation as we could imagine."
Dart, Rose, and Meru chose that moment to appear. "Guys! They're alright!" Meru looked around, noting that we weren't surprised, then spotted me. "Ian! You made it!"
If I hear that one more time, I'm gonna let Count von Schneider turn me into a vampire, I thought. "Yes, I'm alright,. Now can we just get on with things? Dart, you'd better go talk to Shana. She hasn't said a word since the you went overboard, or so Albert tells me. After that, we've got some planning to do."
After Dart and Shana rejoined us, I laid out the problem. "Count Draco von Schneider is an old enemy of mine, one of the few vampires my family has thus far failed to exterminate. He's been a nuisance to me for three years now, and now Draco has apparently found a way to follow me into Endiness."
"Why is he so persistent in trying to kill you?" Shana asked.
"He's not trying to kill me. Von Schneider considers me the best candidate for vampirism he's found in a long time." This was one of the reasons I so despised him.
Rose spoke next. "What exactly isa vampire?"
"Oh, sorry. I sometimes forget that my world has things yours doesn't. Well, first, I need to sort fact from fiction, particularly for Ryan and Karen, since they grew up with the myth. According to legend, a vampire is an immortal creature, with an insatiable thirst for blood. Those that they do not kill become vampires themselves. They are supposedly killed by sunlight, fire, water, garlic, stakes through the heart, and, oddly enough, mirrors, at least according to some versions of the story. That's the myth."
"And the fact would be…?" Albert asked.
"All of the above is true with the exceptions of the methods of killing them. They canbe killed by a stake through the heart, but they are just as comfortable as you or I during the day, or going for a casual swim. Fire, of course, can kill anything I can think of, with the possible exception of you, Dart. Vampires also have no difficulty with mirrors, which is fortunate for them, as some are quite vain. Now, garlic, that actually does have an unpleasant effect on them. They happen to be violently allergic to it, but, unlike in the legend, they can survive it if treated within fifteen minutes." I took a deep breath, having run out during my little lecture.
"So he wants to turn you into one. Makes sense." I could practically see things being written in Albert's brain, as he absorbed the thing he craved the most: knowledge. "And if he gets Lloyd…"
Karen finished for me. "We'll have an almost unstoppable Wingly to deal with. Wonderful."
"Let's sleep on it, okay? It's getting late!" Meru sounded exasperated.
"She's right," Ryan agreed. "Can't be hunting vampires without any sleep."
Author's Note: Yeah, I know, another short chapter, but I figured that, if I kept going with the next major event, this chapter would be too long to be manageable. Next one might be somewhat short too, but the one after that should be better. Please keep the reading and reviewing coming. ~Solid Shark
