CHAPTER 37: THE VAMPIRE

Vlad the vampire had come.

Suzanne immediately tensed up, “What are you doing here?” There was no welcome in her voice.

Hans and Marcelino immediately whipped out their wands, surprising Tom. He was still not used to the idea that the metallic sticks could act as a weapon for clairvoyants.

The snow crunched softly under Vlad’s feet as he strode across the lawn, his face in mocked sadness, “You hurt my feelings, Suzanne. I merely came to offer you my service, but I can see that I am not welcomed at your wedding.”

Suzanne frowned, “What do you mean?” Her heart was thumping.

A forever pause. Vlad had always loved a good audience.

“I’m here to join you for the fight.”

Tom blinked, “Excuse me?”

From the side, Thomas whispered to the twins, “Is THAT the vampire Suzanne told us about?”

One of the twins gushed, “He’s sooooo handsome!”

Vlad folded his arms in feigned annoyance, “I won’t explain myself again.” and shooed at them, “Go on, don’t let me hold up your wedding.”

This is a good day after all, Suzanne thought, a little smile appearing from the corner of her lips and she turned back to face both Tom and Hans.

Hans quickly jammed his retracted wand into his back pocket, “Will you Suzanne Summers take this man to be your wedded husband?”

“YES!!”

***

D-Day-2

The clock struck midnight, signalling the start of a new day. Both Tom and Suzanne laid in bed silently, listening to the sound of crickets chirping. Suzanne was curled up in a catlike position and Tom spooned her from behind, his arm draped over hers.

“Tired?” he asked softly, breathing into her hair. Her hair smelled of peppermint, fresh and invigorating.

“Not really,” she replied, playing with the ring on his finger. It resembled hers, simple but exquisitely crafted.

“Do you still get nightmares?”

“No,” she lied. They had in fact become worse. But come the day of the battle, she would be prepared.

“Then would you care to have a wild night of endless passion?” he teased, nuzzling her neck, making her giggle. She was an extremely ticklish person.

He turned her to face him and gave her a long hard kiss before pulling the blanket over them.




***

Down below in the dining hall, Vlad, Hans and Thomas were sharing a bottle of Pinot Noir. Thomas had officially become Vlad’s number one fan after he found out that Vlad had been the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

“What about Twilight? What do you think of it?” he asked, slightly tipsy from all the wine.

Vlad snorted, “That is child’s play. The author, what’s her name? Stephanie something reduced vampires into whining pussies.” He shook his head and chugged down another glass of wine. Alcohol had no effect on him, he could down a crate of beer and still recite Shakespeare’s Hamlet from beginning to end. The only thing he couldn’t do was to rally his kind to join Suzanne in the fight. And for that, he felt remorseful.

Hans who sat at the head of the table nursed his glass slowly, lost in his thoughts. Thomas continued rambling on, “How about Anne Rice? Did you inspire her as well?”

“I believe it was my sister.”

“Whoa……” Thomas was very impressed.

Vlad was suddenly annoyed, “Why are you all so relaxed? Are you truly prepared for the battle?”

Thomas waved the vampire off, his head starting to droop, “Don’t worry.” His speech was getting slurred now.

“We’ve got a plan……” he looked up, smiling at Vlad, his head bobbing up and down, “we’re going to bring all our vials and whatnots to…..where's that place again Hans?”

“Hallasan…it’s a remote mountain, far away from civilization.”

Vlad frowned but said nothing.

Thomas took another sip of his wine only to realize that his glass was now empty. He took a swipe at the bottle and drank from it.

“Yeah! Halla…whatever the name is. We’ll pack our stuff and drive there tomorrow at dawn. It takes only half a day’s drive…right Hans?”

Hans nodded, still nursing his glass of wine, his mind trapped with the image of Suzanne and Tom kissing after exchanging their vows. He gripped the base of his glass and brought it to his lips, swallowing all his wine.

Thomas continued, “We’ll fight the mist there, you see we even have a formation thought out…”

Vlad’s jet black eyes suddenly widened as a flicker of realization danced across his face, before fury and rage took over. He looked at the two men accompanying him and shook his head in exasperation.

“Fools…” he whispered through gritted teeth.

Thomas leaned forward, “What say you…?”

Vlad leapt up and smashed his hand against the surface of the long rectangular timber table, splintering it into two, causing Thomas to jump up from his chair. Hans snapped to attention just in time to catch his falling wine glass.

“How daft can you be?!” he roared, his voice thundering across the hall in echoes.

“That’s not very nice!” Thomas shouted back before sheepishly looking at the ground, shuffling his feet. Perhaps he shouldn’t have shouted back at a vampire.

Hans was more preceptive, “What troubles you?”

Marcelino had heard the commotion and ran over to the dining room. His bedroom was just next door.

Vlad shook his head,” I thought you people were smart enough to figure it out.”

He turned his attention to Hans, “Did it not occur to you that the Hebrew calendar is radically different from your modern-day calendar?”

Hans blinked and at that moment, Thomas swore all colour drained from Han’s tanned face.

“I’ll be damned…..”

Thomas still did not understand, “What are you two talking about?”

Fear had crept into Hans’ voice, “The mist, it’s coming.”