He had walked in seconds after Shaggy.
"Like, wasn't he with you, man?"
"I thought he had gone ahead with you two…"
"Lucien!" I called, heading towards the stairs as the others followed.
"If he ran away again…" Darian grumbled as we walked down the stairs, refusing to consider the other possibility.
"Like, I'm sure he's just lost or something… Right, Velma?" Shaggy asked, trying to reassure both Darian and himself.
She didn't reply.
"Pierre and I'll check this way," Duval said, walking out with Gautier. "I know a short cut Lucien may have taken."
So we split up, running down the stairs as Pierre and Duval went somewhere.
I really, really didn't want Daph in here. With what Velma had learned… it was just to dangerous for her to be anywhere near Notre Dame. But I knew talking to her wouldn't work, even if I told her about the vampire's history with Blakes, she was stubbornly fearless and wouldn't care. Though it was one of the many reasons I was irrevocably, unconditionally, and totally in love with her, it was definitely an infuriating problem more often than not.
A yell interrupted my thoughts.
"Lucien!" Daphne declared, recognizing the voice instantly, bolting towards the other tower, where the scream seemed to have come from.
We hadn't even reached the tower when Lucien ran past us. I gently grabbed the French boy as he let out a ceaseless, breathless sentence that I couldn't even determine if it was English or French.
"Lucien, breathe! Where's the…?" Daphne started, resting her graceful, elegant hands on his shoulders, trying to calm him down and comfort him.
"Back zere!" he cried, pointing to the tower he had just run from. "He nearly bit me! He grabbed me by ze arm and…!"
"Well, there goes my hologram theory," Velma said, resting a finger on her chin in thought. "Probably not a robot if he can turn into a bat…"
"Shaggy, Scooby, you stay with Lucien," I said, knowing Daph would refuse to stay behind as I ran with the girls towards the tower.
"Like, no need ta tell us twice…" Shag gulped.
A man still, hard, and strong as a stone statue stood at the top of the stairs, blacker than night cape billowing around him. His lips, only slightly darker than his pale as a sheet face, parted to reveal fangs even whiter and brighter. A lock of his slicked back hair fell across his face as he swung over the rail and fell to the floor.
He landed on his feet without a sound, flashing his fangs at us again, bottomless, pitiless, black eyes flashed, emptier than death and darker than I could ever describe.
"Run!" I yelled, pulling Velma and Daphne along as I bolted.
"Freddie, tell me you have a plan!" Daph said, glancing back over her shoulder.
"I'm thinking…!"
"He's gone!"
"What?" I asked, spinning around. "What do you mean he's…?"
"Right in front of you!" Velma cried, pointing as the vampire appeared in front of us, half-smirking.
"I don't suppose anyone has a wooden stake on them…" Velm said, eyes wide and full of fear as he took a step towards the girls.
I grabbed a curtain, ripped it off the window, and threw it around him as the girls ran towards the entrance.
"Fred, hurry!" Daphne yelled back to me, waiting, refusing to leave anyone behind as always.
I ran as the vampire untangled himself.
"Darian! Pierre! Freddie, we can't leave the others behind…" Daph started as Shaggy, Scoob, and Lucien ran over to us.
"'E knocked Pierre out earlier. I zid not see Darian…"
"Daphne, you're getting out of here now. Velma and I'll find Duval and Gautier, but you're taking Lucien home."
"Shaggy and Scooby can,.."
"I am not letting Shaggy drive the mystery machine. And Velma needs to look for clues."
"Fine," I said with a glare, taking Lucien's hand but not taking my eyes off Freddie.
So he apparently needs Velma more than me. FINE.
"What happened?" I asked when they finally made it back to the chateau.
"Pierre will be fine," Darian assured me. "He'll have a nasty bump on the head, but…"
"We couldn't find one single clue," Velma bemoaned with a sigh, sitting down on a stuffed armchair.
"Any traps planned yet, Freddie?" Daph asked, turning to me, glossy lips being tugged into a slight smile, bright, brilliant, smoldering topaz blue eyes blazing.
"Working on it," I muttered one I regained the ability to breathe and think.
"So we still don't know anything?" I asked, glancing from Velma to Fred and back again.
"Well…" they trailed off, the answer obviously no.
"Ugh," I groaned, sitting down on a sofa.
"I'm sure that you'll find something…"
"Or we could just try to capture it. It'd save a lot of time…" Fred interrupted, brow furrowed, his thinking face on as he tried to figure out how to trap a vampire.
"We'll head back tomorrow night," Velma decided. "The police will be there most of tomorrow, and when they find nothing, we might be able to get the vampire to come out of his hiding place. And Freddie'll have plenty of time to come up with a trap."
"What will you use as bait?" I asked. "He doesn't seem too fond of drinking Scooby and Shaggy's blood. Sorry, guys," I said, realizing that just mentioning that would probably terrify the two cowards, lovable, sweet, hilarious and endearing cowards who would die for their friends, but cowards none the less.
Velm looked and Fred and he glared icily, a look so cold that it could kill.
"No. Absolutely not, Velma."
"It's all we've got, Fred."
"If you think that I'm letting…!" he started angrily, rising and cutting himself off when he looked at me.
"That's it. What are you guys not telling me?" I demanded, hands on my hips.
"I have to agree with Freddie on this one, Velma. It's too dangerous," Darian agreed.
He's in on it too?
"Don't call me Freddie," he warned with a glare before turning on Velm. "You told Duval?"
"Fine. I'm obviously not important or crucial enough to be kept in the loop so I'm going to bed if I don't matter…" I said, storming towards the stairs.
"Daph, that's not what I…" Fred sighed.
"Not interested, Freddie!" I yelled.
Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been busy and I'm writing something else that I'm really passionate about right now.