Chapter 7
An hour later, Dracula and Ericka alked through the cemetery together. She had her arms folded as he carried her by the scruff of her dress. Pascal sat on her shoulder the whole time, frowning. Salem scurried after her Master through the shadows, looking just as peeved as the beautiful white and her chameleon.
"Oh, you messed up, baby," Dracula growled. "You messed up big time. l told you to take it down. You'll ruin my hotel if they find out."
"Well, maybe you're just jealous that people are finally having fun here," Ericka retorted.
Dracula put her down and exclaimed, "Oh, that? That was not fun. Everyone running, jumping, swimming with no order. That was the opposite of fun."
"Do you even know what fun is?"
"l invented fun!"
Ericka looked away with a dark scowl and mumbled, "Why do the wrong people get to be immortal?"
Dracula scowled at her insult. "Look at me," he ordered as he covered half his face with his black cape in a sinister way and his eyes began to glow red, then began to say in a hypnotic and soothing voice, "You remember not..."
As Salem gave a look to the chameleon as if to say 'He's going to erase her memory,' Pascal leapt forward and used his tongue to plunge it deep into the vampire's ear.
Instantly, the red glow within the Count's eyes faded away as Dracula got really squeamish. "Oh, that is the most disgusting thing I've ever seen!"
Salem burst out laughing, rolling her back across the dried grass.
"Wait. What do I remember?" Ericka shook her head to shake off the eye contact.
"Stop doing that. Please stop doing that! Tongue away from the ear! Enough!" Dracula pulled the long slimy tongue out of his ear, grabbed Pascal in a tight grasp, and placed him back in his Mistress' open palm. He grabbed her shoulders in a tight grip and growled in an angry threatening tone. "Listen to me. You are never to return here. You are to stay away and never tell humans about this place. Or l will track you down and suck every ounce of blood from your body until you look like a deflated whoopee cushion!"
For some reason, he seemed to get a little taller and frightening as he made these threats. Ericka cowered before this angry vampire.
Finally, he took hold of her arm. "I'm taking you home. I'm letting you off the deal."
"But, no..." Ericka stammered, shocked. "The lanterns..."
"I DON'T CARE!" Dracula roared in response.
It took another ten minutes until they exited the cemetery and reached the forest. Ericka was devastated. She should never have trusted a vampire to take her to see the floating lights. She had been dreaming about them her whole life and could not deal with another night of watching from the windows. But this vampire hated humans, including her, but she had never hurt any of the monsters she met. While Ericka loved his monster friends, she could not understand why the monsters admired Count Dracula when he made their fun activities so boring and lame, not to mention he is so over-controlling, dominant, and sarcastic. For all she knew, Ericka was not going to let this vampire scare her into going home when she was close enough to get her dream to come true.
"NO!" Ericka freed herself from his grasp and pushed him away. "I am not leaving until I see those lanterns!" she announced determinedly.
Dracula scowled at her again. "WHAT?! Oh, c'mon! What's it going to take to get you out of my sight?!"
Ericka glared bravely at him and shoved the frying pan in his face warningly, "I will use this." And then she asked out of the blue. "Why do hate me so much when I did nothing wrong? Why do you hate humans so much?"
But it was too late for him to answer. The ogres had been standing behind them, waiting to ambush. In a split second, they had launched forward and had separated the vampire and the human girl by locking their arms around his small skinny ones to keep him from attacking. One of the ogres had the tip of a knife pointed at Ericka's throat.
"Well, well, well..." a deep voice said." The ogres stepped forward, backing his prey against the trees. The leader looked her up and down and gave a dangerous smile. "You didn't think you'd escape from me, would you?" They stalked forward, like a wolf cornering a rabbit.
"Get away from us," Ericka exclaimed bravely and raised her frying pan.
The ogres were having none of it. They mocked at her courage, sensing her fear. Dracula had tried to fight back to defend himself, but the ogres struck him with their fists so hard, he coughed blood and saliva from his mouth. They drove fists into his eyes and his head flopped back. They struck him again. The ogres distinguished a loud cough in his throat.
Ericka looked on in horror. Even though the vampire had been a complete jerk, he didn't deserve this. The ogre reared his fist back to prepare another beating for Dracula. Ericka got an idea and looped her hair around one of the branches that had been broken and heaved. There came an ear shattering 'BAM!' as the heavy branch struck against the ogre's rock hard head. Slowly, he and his allies turned around to see the stubborn girl glaring dangerously at them, stunning Dracula into silence. It was a lot to take in. He'd misread her nervous state – he thought she was afraid because of the stench of death. But, no...she had saved him.
"PUT HIM DOWN!" she yelled. "Or so help me I will do it again if you lay another hand on him!"
This time, the ogres didn't mock her. The one who got hit over the head by the branch approached her in a threatening manner. Ericka readied herself. But two strong arms grabbed hold of her wrists while two more tore a part of her dress down.
"You're going to pay for that, girl !" The ogre behind her sneered.
The ogre who came towards Ericka began pulling his pants down to expose his manhood and then said, "Oh, this'll be fun."
A beaten and bruised Dracula felt a sudden rage grow inside him. He felt disgusted by what he understood when she first mentioned her situation with the ogres. And creatures like them cause people to believe his kind were the monsters. Even though he thought Ericka was a nuisance, the Count had the sudden urge to suck the ogres' blood, making sure none of them lived to hurt or kill or eat or rape this sweet, innocent girl ever again. His heart raced as he watched the ogre reach for Ericka's legs. Then he stepped in front of her, wanting to put his hand out and touch her, but he couldn't. They had to protect each other, save each other from these monsters.
Dracula bared his bangs as his eyes turned red. "LET HER GO!" he roared as he lunged forwards to sink his fangs into the horny ogre's neck, draining his blood in a matter of seconds. But just as he was about to finish another ogre brought his knife down, the tip of the blade piercing right into the vampire's arm.
"NO!" Ericka screamed, and just like that she slammed her whole body right into the ogre that wounded her friend. She couldn't believe what he had done, gruesome thought it was. More than anything, she was still reeling from the revelation that he was protecting her. Clearly he didn't seem to hate her after all.
"Come on!" Salem yelled.
While the ogres were distracted by the sudden death of their friend, Ericka took hold of Dracula's wrist and lead him away as quickly as possible. It didn't last long just as the ogres began to pursue them.
But the vampire and the human girl knew nothing of the drop. They didn't even register it until the ground disappeared from underneath their feet. Ericka screamed. A pair of strong and slender arms wrapped around her waist. She squeezed her eyes shut, grappling the arms as she was lowered towards the safety of the ground. She opened her eyes and was met by a pair of gentle blue eyes.
Releasing his hold on her, Dracula crouched down and faced the still terrified human girl. "It's over, it's over," he repeated between breaths, "Don't be scared."
Unable to speak, Ericka nodded. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Dracula nodded back.
"I'm sorry, this is all my fault." Ericka apologized in a tone of guilt.
"No, no, no, no. Don't say that." Dracula comforted her soothingly. "Don't blame yourself for what those monsters tried to do. But, you know, I've got to say, that was pretty impressive. I didn't know you had it in you back there."
"I know." Ericka smiled slightly.
As the two of them trudged deep into the tunnel to find a way out, Dracula broke the silence. "So,Ericka, where are you from?"
"Nearby, I suppose. I live in a tower."
"But don't you lived in a human village."
"Of course not. The people, or humans as you call them, can't be trusted. Mother says humans are evil."
That earned her a bewildered look as Dracula paused suddenly and lifted an eyebrow. "Wait a minute! Your mother said that?"
Ericka nodded.
He didn't give her the chance to continue. "What? But you are a human. Why would your mother tell you such things? And by the way, if you wanted to see the lanterns so badly, why haven't you gone before?" There were questions about her he wanted to know and he was sure she would answer them.
All of a sudden there came the sounds of thumps, the ogres grunted from their fall and started to get up.
Ericka froze, mouth open, eyes wide. "Run."
Dracula promoted, "Run!" He pulled her with him, heading down the passageway as fast as possible.
"After them!" One of the ogres yelled just as his group started their pursuit.
Ericka once tripped over a rock and fell. Dracula turned back and lifted her in his arms and suddenly began to run at incredible vampire speed. But he didn't pay attention to what was in front of them when he turned one glance behind them to make sure the ogres were not following them, his feet made no contact with the ground when he, along with Ericka, fell down a dark, watery slide. The ogres stared down at them when their prey vanished in the tunnel, and after seeing they didn't have a chance, they grunted and left.
SPLASH!
Two beings landed in a huge underground lake. Dracula and Ericka emerged to the water's surface, gasping and coughing frantically.
"Ericka, are you alright?" Dracula asked with deep concern.
"I think so," Ericka replied. "But where do we go from here?"
Looking up, Dracula spotted a large open gap in the wall. He transformed into a bat and tried to fly out, but the stab wound in his wing prevented him from getting anywhere near the open gap. "It's no use. I can't reach it. Not with this injured wing."
In a feeble attempt, she gathered the bat into her arms and tried lifting him up, but the vampire stopped her. "Hey, there's no point. It's too high."
With pure, heart-rendering grief, the waterworks started again for Ericka. "This is all my fault. Mother was right, I never should have done this. I'm so sorry I got you into this, Dracula."
Dracula frowned sadly. Then, he felt a strong emotion he hadn't felt since Martha died. "Vlad."
"What?"
"My real name is Vladimir Dracula, but I prefer to being called 'Drac.' The name reminds me of my Father, whom I never got along with. Someone might as well know."
Ericka gazed at him with sad but happy eyes. It was as if he was revealing a secret to her, thinking they were going to be trapped here forever or drown if they didn't stay float for long. "I have magic hair that glows when I sing."
Dracula's eyebrows dropped. "What?"
Suddenly realizing what she had said, Ericka repeated, "I have magic hair that glows when I sing! Flower gleam and glow. Let your powers shine..."
A bright light filled the dark cavern. Dracula shielded his eyes at first then opened them. He gaped, dumbstruck at Ericka's braided glowing hair, "WOW!" It was like fire from the very sun. How was this possible when she was just a human?
Because of the light, the two became aware of a nearby exit. With his incredible vampire strength he struck the wall with his fists so hard that it rattled and felt his hand plunge out into the open air. Another punch, combined with his weight, Ericka's weight, and the water's weight, broke the rocks loose and both of them fell out into stream that lay just beyond the cemetery.
After climbing to the surface from a very hasty swim, Salem and Pascal rushed to their aide.
"Are you two okay?" Salem asked concerned.
"We're okay. We made it." Ericka sighed with relief, happy to have made it out of the dark cavern.
But for Dracula, he was on the verge of freaking out. "Her hair glows. I didn't see that coming."
"Drac."
The vampire looked down at the two animals. "Her hair actually glows."
"Drac."
Pascal nodded, while Salem smirked, "Why do you think I brought her here?"
"YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS?! WHY DOES HER HAIR GLOW?!"
"Drac!" Ericka yelled, loud enough to get his attention.
"WHAT?!" Dracula roared back, still in shock and holding his injured arm.
Rapunzel grinned as she held her braided hair. "Drac. It doesn't just glow."
Cat and Chameleon watched the vampire with mischievous smiles.
"Why are they smiling at me?" Dracula asked in constricted panic.
Extending her hand out, Ericka helped Dracula to the shore. She sat down on her legs, gently placed the end of her braided hair to the spot where he had been stabbed, and he winced as he felt a sharp pain in his wound.
"Sorry." Ericka grimaced, and added. "Just...don't freak out."
"Why would I freak out when I already did because I just found out you have magic glowing hair?" Dracula asked sarcastically.
Ericka wordlessly stared at him. She was still unsure whether or not she should tell Dracula her secret, because in the beginning he was sarcastic and over-bearing, but she felt he had changed during their intense encounter with the ogres. Maybe it was the simple face he defended her and told her his real name, but she saw him differently now.
"Flower gleam and glow...Let your power shine...Make the clock reverse...Bring back what once was mine..."
Ericka began to sing in that beautiful voice Dracula remembered back at the bar, just as a stream of light spread from the top of her head and crawled down its length. He gazed at her hair in deep astonishment. No human has hair that can glow when he or she sings, but he noticed Pascal pointing at his tiny arm smiling. Dracula glanced at his arm, apprehensively seeing the hair about it flash like fire. He felt his arm grow hot, but it didn't burn.
"Heal what has been hurt...Change the fate's design...Save what has been lost...Bring back what once was mine...What once was mine."
When Ericka reached the end of the song, her hair stopped glowing and returned to its normal color and luminosity. She looked up at Dracula, watching as she gently pulled her hair away. The vampire's eyes grew large as he stared in numb disbelief at his healed, flawless skin where a minute before had a stab wound.
Dracula glanced at this human's magic hair, then back at his arm, switching the two as though he couldn't understand which scared him more. His mind raced with questions. Why did this human girl have magic hair that not only glows but it heals wounds? Why did she come from? Was she a hybrid child of a witch and a human?
Dracula opened his mouth, ready to scream, when Rapunzel placed her hands on his mouth and pleaded, "Please, don't freak out!"
The Count felt the readied scream in his throat die into a whine and he hastily brushed her hands away from his mouth, muttering quickly, "Uh-I'm not freaking out, are you freaking out? No, I'm just suddenly very interested in your hair and the magical qualities it possesses and how long has it been doing that, exactly?"
"You are freaking out." Salem snorted.
"Shut up!" Dracula growled at the snickering shadow cat. "It's just humans don't normally have magic hair that glows and heals when your sing."
"As to the answer for your question, Drac..." Ericka added with a shrug, "Forever, I guess."
"Okay, we have a lot to discuss on the way back." Dracula stood straight up, grasping Ericka by her wrist to help her stand.
"You're still taking me back home?" Ericka gaped in surprise.
"No...uh, yes...I mean..." Now Dracula found himself confused and conflicted. She was the worst species he had ever hated, but she had magical qualities that only witches of his supernatural world inherited. However, he felt grateful towards her for protecting him when he received a brutal beating from the ogres. He will decide on her leaving for later. Right now, he had questions and he was going to get some answers. "Let's get back to the hotel."