Dracula: Hearts of Fire (Dracula Heart's) (23 page)

    “Who are you?”

    The vampire was as helpless as he had ever been. He remembered the lighter in his left breast pocket.
He pulled it and tried to light it. Steven dropped it and swore as he bent down to retrieve it, but it had hit his foot and bounced. He felt around and found a spider and squashed it.
Then something cockroach-like ran up his arm and he shook it off.
After a minute or two he gave up. Someone out of the darkness touched his face and he instinctively tried to punch whoever it was but it didn’t work, he lost his balance and fell.

    “I’m gonna cut your head off!”

    Steven could smell blood
. H
e moved forward trying to orient on it he found himself falling off a three hundred foot cliff. He broke every bone in his body and two in his head. The pain was excruciating as he healed.

    “No daggers down here,” said Dracula as he laughed.

    Steven awoke with a start as he sat up in his bed.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

    D
RACULA AND PIERS ANTHONY
sat on the front porch in old fashion
ed
rocking chairs that the Master had had custom-built from burl, very expensive and beautiful.
The vampire king had a thing for rocking chairs
, an inside joke of sorts. He first saw one in 1728.
More than a dozen animals were carved into its shiny surface, including bats. The stars were in their place in the sky as Piers and Dracula slowly rocked back and forth. A shooting star lit up the heavens. Piers was happy to be able to say that he was Dracula’s friend, not many could make that statement. It was a pleasant night for remembering old times, and with Dracula the times were ancient.

    “Dracula, tell me about Hithroma? Is it able to kill you or not? Be honest.”

    The Master slowly turned his head toward the author. “Hithroma is a fallacy that I fabricated with a wizard friend of mine. He made it and started the rumor.  We pretended it was created with such powerful magic that it could kill me. See, when you’re at the top of the ladder many
want to knock you off of it. I’ve had many challenges over
the years. I guess that’s just the nature of things
.”

    “I’ll bet that dagger has been pursued by many?”

    “
Obtaining the unobtainable is very satisfying, even the pursuit of such an endeavor.
Many have lost their lives over it.
Probably hundreds and over the centuries its story has changed. Now it is said that it will not only kill me but the killer will usurp my power.
Funny how a story will take on a life of its own, even a lie will mo
rph into a bigger one in no time
.
”

    Piers nodded. “So the dagger does nothing?”

    “It’ll slice a good piece of turkey. The stones are genuine and quite valuable. It had to look good. Many smart vampires believe in it, and there’s a legion of sorts out there to protect it as far as I can tell, because if I perish every vampire perishes, or so the story goes. Until I kick the bucket there’s no way to know for sure.”

    “What’s your gut feeling on that one?”

   “Unfortunately I think it just might be factual but I really don’t know.”

    Piers
considered it and he thought that it did make sense to a degree.
There were so many truths to being a vampire he couldn’t tell what was what.
“I found this site on the Internet that said to ask a vampire about ice. Do you know what they were getting at?”

   
Dracula smiled at that one.
“Indeed, a vampire can’t run on ice. Our legs move much too fast. There’s nothing funnier than a vampire attempting to blur on ice. I can tell you that from experience. There’s a tree in Quebec with the imprint of my face in it.”

    Silence covered the porch as they enjoyed the air. The traffic was light on both the Mill Road and Martin Street. A young couple passed on the sidewalk giving them both a nod and a glance. Dracula made the male dance awkwardly until he got to the end of the sidewalk, with the female wondering what the hell he was doing. At times the Master’s sense of humor wasn’t all that refined.

    “Dracula, are you going to tell me about the Mona Lisa or must I go to my grave without knowing.”

   
He thought that Piers had a definite talent for being a pest.
“Oh I suppose. If you
promise not to tell anyone.
I’ll most likely find out if you do.”

   “I shal
l never spill those beans. W
hat would you do if I did tell?”

    “Probably
nothing. I’ve become fond of you, like a mutt taken in off the street.”

    “Like a stray cat with fleas?”

    “Exactly.”

    More time passed with no words exchanged as Piers waited for the revelation of why the
Mona Lisa had that smile
. He wondered if he was going to say something simple like someone was trying to make her laugh as she posed. Time passed with no response from Dracula, and of course he knew that the author was becoming impatient. Piers stared
and stared at Dracula and it made them both
smile.

    Dracula cleared his throat. “Are you sure you want to know? Once something is kno
wn it can’t be unknown.
”

    “On occasion the mystery appears to be
nobler than the truth.”

    “Yes, well, with that I will tell you that she had gas. Apparently she had had some cabbage and it’s a bit of a pained smile though not exactly as it looked when she was posing.
Not exactly a wonderful fact is it.
”

    “I see.” In a way Piers now wished that he hadn’t told him about Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting as it was a lot more interesting as a mystery. But the ants were out of the hill and no way to put them back in. “How are you enjoying your life with Allison?
Your mood certainly appears elevated.
”

    Dracula had become
a little more
animated. “You know Piers, I never thought that I’d have even a flicker of light shine upon me but I am enjoying t
his family thing immensely.
Jenny is such an exceptional girl. Don’t tell her but I believe that her power might actually rival mine. Extraordinary
magic in those bones
. Those fiery eyes make me s
mile inside.
I wish I could give her a hug but that will come in time. Maybe in a century or two.”

   
“It makes my heart glad
to see you in such a good mood.”

    Again silence came out of the night and encircled them for several minutes. Dracula had long ago learned to appreciate silence as a healing entity. Quiet reflection could do wonders for the mind.

    “Don’t think that I don’t appreciate all your efforts Piers because I do.”

    Those words were certainly unexpected. The quietness returned for several
more
minutes until some fool went down the street burning his tires.
The Master caught the license plate and would later flatten all four tires.

Piers sensed something and when he looked at Dracula he now looked troubled.

    “A penny for your thoughts.”

    “Piers, a Blood Book is a magical thing with a life of its own. It bonds to a wizard and shows the powerful enchantments. I have one of the earliest ones and it can accomplish many things. A section of it shows the future, it has even predicted the emergence of Jenny as a
force to be reckoned with,
it shows her to be a big part of the picture that will unfold.”

    “Does that make you nervous for her?”

    “The book shows the emergence of two evil wizards that will be more dangerous than the vampires. I’m afraid that the scale will tip to
wards evil and remain there,
for that to happen they might have to kill my daughter. She needs to increase her knowledge but I can’t push her or she will rebel.
I can’t be everywhere.
”

    Piers Anthony shook his head. “That is problematic.”

    “I should have stepped up a century ago. Time draws near.
There’s
something in the air, literally.
”

    “There goes
my good mood.”

CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE

    L
AUREN WAS DEAD.
Her bones lay inside the coffin and her essence inside the hourglass.