Chapter 13:
Olga Dracula was mentally preparing herself for having to spend time with her uncle and cousins, still if having to spend time with her pathetic family was what it took for her to finally achieve her destiny. When Gwindle and Coravax Goffanon had come to visit her parents all their insipid daughter Lucrezia could talk about were her cousins Vlad and Ingrid. How great it must be to have the Chosen One as her cousin and she had to bite back her comments on how he was a breather-loving loser. Once she'd finished droning on about Vlad all she could talk about was Ingrid and how great it was to have a girl on the High Council. Even her father seemed obsessed with Vlad and all the power he would bring to the family, how she loathed the lot of them!
"Prepare yourself Olga for we have arrived" her father said as their train finally arrived at the station. She followed her father off the train and onto the moonlit platform that her uncle and his disgusting servant inhabited. "Your Grace" Olga said dropping into a curtsy, always quick with the façade of politeness and supplication. She soon realised that her uncle had ignored her completely opting instead to embrace her father and start a conversation that she couldn't be bothered to listen to.
Once they arrived at her uncle's home, Olga couldn't help but feel disappointed, the great Count Dracula lived at a school for breathers. WHAT A JOKE!
"So, Olga, are you looking forward to your transformation?" the Count asked causing Olga to look up from the dinner table surprised at being directly addressed by her uncle. She could only assume he had chosen to speak to her as he and her father had just finished catching up while her cousins were conspicuous by their absence. "Yes sir" she replied.
"Well of course you are it'll be your big day and what a day it shall be the party afterwards will be one of the biggest social events of the year," her uncle said. Olga was shocked at this her birthday party would be considered such a large social event by her uncle and her father. Boris didn't get a big party she thought smugly. "You will be meeting the tailor soon, another new one" he finished with a mutter.
"What happened to the last one?" Ivan asked conversationally
"He had a disagreement with Vladimir about a suit, so Vlad decided to throw him out the window" the Count said in a faux sad tone as Olga could tell he was quite amused by his son's violent actions. Violent outbursts didn't sound like the Vlad she remembered but then she thought of how Boris had changed, would she change as well?
She was pulled out of her thoughts by the Count addressing her again, twice in one night that must be a record. "Of course, as you are still unattached, and you cannot attend a public event alone so you must be escorted."
"Why can't I it's my party?" she interrupted angrily
"A high-born girl attending her own party alone I've never heard anything so ridiculous," the Count said as he and Ivan began laughing "No nooo no you will be escorted by Vladimir and be seated at his right-hand throughout the event" he finished.
"I have to go to my party with Vlad" she said with disgust
"Nearly every woman undead would give their right arm to go with the Chosen One" her father said
"Yes, well he's not their cousin"
"Silence girl you will be going with Vladimir and that is the end of it" Ivan said for he and his brother had already discussed it and they had both agreed it to be a marvellous idea, ever since the Dracula's rise in status they had been beset by other clans offering brides and husbands for Vlad, Ingrid and even Olga and after the Adze fiasco the Count had concluded that none of the younger members of the family needed marriages for a century at least. Therefore, he and Ivan had hatched a plan with Olga and Vlad to keep unpleasant suitors away from each other, the Count was confident that Ingrid could look after herself.
Vlad was in a terrible mood, that bat-brained tailor had kept stabbing him with a needle and didn't listen to anything he said so finally losing his temper Vlad had thrown him out the window and then embarrassed at such an overreaction had fled into the night. He knew he should have been there to greet his cousin and uncle but he just needed to get out of the house, which was how he found himself in the particular part of London that he had been visiting a lot recently. The sharp night air was soothing on his skin and his dark mood was brightening by the second. He stopped on a street corner to look up at the sky, Vlad remembered how he used to like to just sit in the sunlight, how it used to make him feel warm and alive now all he had was the moon and stars. But this night not even a vampire's eyes could make out the stars. A feeling of melancholy came over him then, he had to live without the sun, not that you could really call it living per se and now he didn't even have the stars to console him this night. He loved stars as a child when his father used to make him stay up at night to be more vampiric Vlad would stare out the window at the stars, he even gave them his own names and invented stories behind them.
THUMP! Vlad had been ripped from his reminiscing by a wooden crossbow bolt striking the wall next to him, less than an inch from his head. Instinct took over and he rolled away and then took stock of the situation. A quick look behind told him that there were two slayers blocking that exit, he had to assume they were slayers. Another two approached from the other side. Vlad considered taking flight to escape but that idea was scotched when he spotted the two slayers on opposing roofs ready to shoot him down. Vlad backed away hissing through his fangs trying to think of a way out of this. Vlad noticed a grilled manhole cover and sensing an escape flashed over to it.
BANG! A blast of UV light forced him back away. "Arghhhhh" he involuntarily cried out in pain as it felt like the whole right side of his body was on fire. The burning sensation that raked him had temporally frozen Vlad in shock and pain. This allowed one of his attackers to shoot him in the left shoulder with their crossbow. Vlad fell to the ground in immense pain with his shoulder burning as the bolt protruded from it. Vlad pulled it out causing him more pain and burning his hand, hissing in pain. The slayers had coated their weapons in garlic, to make them even more effective and painful. The slayers shot more bolts into him, deliberately missing his heart to ensure his demise was as long and painful as possible. They were toying with him, enjoying his suffering.
When Vlad was a half-burnt, bolt-ridden steaming mess the slayers finally decided to slay him. As they were about to stake him the Vampires attacked, the slayers were caught completely by surprise, the one about to stake Vlad had his throat ripped out in an instant. It was at this point that Vlad finally lost consciousness.