CHAPTER 4

(One Year Afterwards)

Malus looked bemused around the great halls of CastleVania. The floors were made of expensive marble, suits of armor lined up on both sides of the hall with a lovely red carpet leading up a long staircase which too was made of marble. Ever since he was young he had wanted to see such a castle. CastleVania had always interested him...

"It's magnificent." He whispered turning towards his friend Edward, who stood arms crossed near the entrance. "Do you see this place?"

"Yes..." Edward said, "And I think we should leave. We don't belong here, this is the house of the devil!"

"Yeah, I know...but I thought you said you wanted to see what it was like?"

Edward glanced toward one of the suits of armor. He thought he saw one of them shift...

"Yeah, but we have, so lets leave now..."

"But we just got here!"

"This place is possessed by evil, we should leave!"

Malus looked towards the suit of armor. This time he saw them shift positions. "Alright then..." Malus sighed examining the large stone demon-lion statue beside him. "Let's go."

The both started outside and down the stone castle steps. The trees whispered in the breezy fall wind, and the sun had set already at seven o' clock.

"You're always so Christ-conscious...!" Malus sighed again. He looked at the silver cross around Edward's neck. "But then again, you are the son of the priest..."

"What do you mean? Don't you believe in God?"

"Yeah of course I do, but--"

A screeching noise came from the trees above. "What that?" Edward asked looking up towards the noise.

"I don't know..."

A large flock of bats emerged from the tree tops flying towards the two, and started circling them both.

"Bats!" Edward cried through the screeches, "They'll rip us to shreds! Come on Malus!"

Edward started running, and turned back to his companion still swarmed by the bats. Malus still stood in the same spot, watching the bats circle him. None of them seemed to even so much as scratch him. Malus held out his hand palm-down. Two of the bats landed on the out-stuck hand. They flapped their wings, screeching before hanging upside down, and latching onto his fingers peacefully. "These creatures are harmless!" Malus laughed. "Come over here Edward!"

"Are you mad!" Edward whispered. "The devil is near! Lets leave before we get caught!"

A few more bats flew down and latched upside-down onto Malus' arm. "He can't be...Uncle Cornell destroyed him years ago..."

"He knows we've trespassed into his castle! He'll kill us both Malus!"

Malus looked around through the swarm of bats. Just a few years ago, Uncle Cornell once told him a story of Dracula being able to turn himself into great, terrible monsters and demon animals...Could one of these bats be him? Malus brushed the perched bats off. Immediately the whole swam flew away overhead into the darkening sky back towards the castle. The both hurried back to the village in the forest. Torches stuck in the ground, around the small village for light against the dark atmosphere, and sky was clear with a bright silver moon shining overhead. A man with pure white hair sat on one of the tree branches on the trees outside the village gazing down at them both with icy-blue eyes.

"You're both late for supper." Cornell said. "Where have you been?"

Both boys hesitated. Malus never favored lying to anyone, especially his uncle. Edward was the same way.

"Around the forest..." Malus said indirectly not looking at Cornell, "Not too far though..."

Cornell surveyed them both for a minute before asking, "You have not been near Count Dracula's castle have you?"

"We didn't go that far inside though..." Edward said.

"Still that is no place for either of you to be. Both your parents and I would worry should anything happen to you up there." He looked towards the large castle on an isle not far from the forest, just visible through the dark. "Both of you are to stay away from there, understood?"

Malus and Edward nodded and hurried into the village to finish supper. After supper, and yet a second scolding from his father and mother, he returned outside the village with his uncle. Cornell, the village's guardian kept watch in the trees luminous by the moonlight from the sky. It was because of Cornell that the village begun. Some years ago, his own home village had burned down bare from the wrath of Dracula. Most of the villagers were burned and killed by Dracula's servants and the rest were tortured and formed into vampires to live their afterlife serving the dark lord.

His mother, and who was Cornell's adopted sister, Ada, was taken captive into Dracula's castle. Cornell used his man-wolf power to rescue his sister, young Henry, and defeat Dracula in the process. But in return, he lost nearly all of his wolf power. From there, the village was rebuilt, and harvest fields were re-sowed. In short time, remaining villagers, and travelers repopulated the village one more.

Malus climbed and sat on the tree branch next to Cornell, and laid his head on his shoulder. Cornell looked at the blue-haired boy and put an arm around his shoulder.

The two sat in silence for a moment until Cornell spoke.

"So, you saw the castle of Count Dracula?" He didn't bother asking how they had gotten there. He was sure they had borrowed--or stolen, if you will-- a boat from the ferrymen.

"Yes...Only the entrance hall though."

"What did you see there?"

"Nothing really...some tall, shiny knight armors; And there were the statues of gargoyle made from stone, and..." Malus went on and told Cornell about the large hall filled with magnificent furnishings, and the encounter with the swarm of bats.

"The bats didn't harm you?" Cornell asked.

"No, not even a scratch." Malus said holding out his arm as proof. Cornell sighed and pushed Malus' arm away.

"Malus, Count Dracula is still out there somewhere. I can sense him, and he grows stronger as the days go by. He can never be destroyed entirely, and his demon minions are waiting for his full return. Be careful and stay close to the village."

"Yes, Uncle."

"He has power greater than that of one thousand men, and is exceedingly clever and terribly cunning. Wandering into his castle foolhardily could cost your life."

"Yes, Uncle."

Cornell smiled and brought Malus closer into an embrace, ruffling his hair. "That's a good lad."

Inside Cornell couldn't help but to be amused by the boy. His eighth birthday was coming tomorrow; Yet, it felt like so long ago when Malus was born. Even more odd, that his best friend happened to be the priest's son. The two were almost as different as night and day, though Malus always seemed to persuade Edward to join him on one of his daring adventures. They seemed delighted to be best friends, and that's all that mattered to Cornell. But the case was even odder than Cornell expected. It was the son of the priest and the dark lord incarnate.