Dracula: Hearts of Fire (Dracula Heart's) (42 page)

    “I know. Wish I had a cub for a pet. It would have to be a cub that would stay a cub.”

    “Sounds like a lot of work.”
Alexander looked down at her waiting for the right time for the first kiss.
“Did you know that
it’s only the
female polar bears
that
hibernate in the
winter when they birth the cubs?”

     “I didn’t know that. What a harsh environment to live in, I mean in the wild. It’s a good thing they have that fur coat.
You wouldn’t think that anything could survive in such cold.
”

   
He kissed her and she happily returned the affection. She wasn’t sure if it was wise to get involved
with a vampire, but
what the hell. They kissed a little too long and discovered that people were staring.
Moving
away
they
headed for the penguin exhibit. Some of the penguins were standing so still that they didn’t look real. She stared at the four King penguins, seeing them in the fl
esh was certainly different than
seeing them on television. She counted over 30 Chinstrap penguins but th
en lo
st count; their names originate
d
from the narrow black lines under their heads wh
ich make them look as if they were wearing black helmets, making them
one of the most
easily identified penguins. The zoo
had long-tailed Gentoo penguins as well.

    And then it happened. A vampire was attacking a man right beside them
. Alexander pulled his gun and shot, the vampire blurred but ended up right in
the line of the bullet. He
fell as people screamed; Alexander
pulled his sword
and decapitated the attacker as Abbey watched him turn
to bones.
It had been a frightening experience for all.

    Alexander pressed his badge on his left chest. “This is Sheriff Alexander at the Central Park Zoo near the penguin exhibit. I have bones ready for extraction at this location.
Video upload is to follow.
”

    The voice exited from his red badge
was female
. “Roger that.”

   
People clapped, they knew
that
without the sheriff being
present
it would be likely that some of them would not be going home this day.
The protection of a red sheriff
was much appreciated
.

    “Sorry you had to see that Abbey.
It was c
ertainly not an image
I wanted you to have on our first date.”

    Abbey looked down
at the bones of the attacker; she
was impressed at how quickly he had responded.
His counter attack had been so rapid that it had been blurry. “Don’t apologize. We both know what would have happened had you not been here.
Evil gets enough attention it doesn’t need any more.
Let’s go have lunch.”

    They both had burgers at the Central Park Zoo C
afé and talked. Alexander
sprinkle
d
flakes of blood on his burger
as Abbey added more ketchup to hers
. The sheriff continued to love t
he taste of food, like a hug at the end of a rough day.

    “Abbey, I’m surprised that you weren’t more upset at what happened.”

    She swallowed her hamburger and a mouthful of her delicious Coke. Abbey had always had a thing for Coke. “When that vampire killed my husband it changed me. I’d kill all the bad vampires if I could. I’d have killed that bastard myself.”

    Alexander noticed that a young re
dheaded woman was staring
, obviously attracted to him. Abbey also noticed but said nothing. There was definitely nothing wrong with looking. “You got some passion in you Abbey.”

    “Can I ask you a strange question?”

    “Ask away.”

     “Is it true that vampires don’t go to the washroom? And if so, what happens to the food?”

    “The food gets absorbed so fast that I guess it doesn’t have time to turn into anything.”

    Abbey thought about what she really wanted to bring up, but they were so new as a couple, if they were indeed a couple.
A single kiss didn’t make them a couple.
It was p
robably not the time or place
, and he might actually think differ
ent of her if she brought it up, but i
t was what was in her heart and so she
went
with it.
She tried to imagine their roles being reversed.
How would she respond? No matter how hard she tried she wasn’t a vampire and therefore could not even guess at it with any amount of correctness. She finished her hamburger
and wiped the ketchup off her mouth
.

    “Abbey, y
ou look like you want to say
something?
If you’re considering
this thing, before it becomes a bigger thing
I understand
.
That’s
okay;
the truth is best
served first.
It is so important to be honest.
Don’t ignore your feelings.
”

    Abbey wiped her mouth. “No, it’s not that at all. I was just wondering. I don’t know how to say it. I don’t want you to think less of me.”

    “What?”

    “Well, Alexander, if I asked you to turn me, would you?”

    Alexander was surprised at the request.
The sheriff was not expecting that.
“No, I would have to
think long and hard on that
, as would you.
There’s actually a book
So You Want to be a Vampire
? It lists all the pr
os and cons of life as one of us
. You
should definitely
read it. But I don’t know
if I could
do that to you.
I would certainly have to know you a lot better.”

    “Do you think less of me for asking?”

   
“Not at all. After all I am
a vampire. Why don’t you at least wait and see how your daughter handles it.
I
think that it would be a good way for you the judge.
Your family would not be happy.”

    “I know.”

    “What would you like to do now?”

    She thought about it. “We could go back to my place and watch a movie?”

    “
How about my place?
I have an 80 inch big screen.”

    “I’d like to see that.”

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

    IN THE BOREAL FOREST the
re were
demon voices in the wind.

    Achak exited the wigwam with the large Blood Book under his arm. He placed it on the small antique table and flicked through the pages. The roaring fire behind him warmed his back
, cracking and snapping with the consumption of oxygen
. It was a pleasant enough morning but he had had a restl
ess night as shadowy figures
danced in his dreams, wakening him every hour or so.
His eyes were tired from lack of sleep but he had excitement in his heart
; he couldn’t wait to get back at it
.

    The voices encircled him. Several of the whispers went past one ear and then the other, whispering words of encouragement. One had approached so near that it felt as if it had lingered near his eardrum
and he swatted at it
. They cut through the air like embers of fire being tossed around.

    The sorcerer performed his own Ghost Dance around the fire
,
chanting in his deep tone
.
It was preparations for the spell that was to be unleashed by and into the flames.
His voice
climbed into the blaze and shimmied into the light of the fire
, dancing inside its energy
; he repeatedly threw
his voice into the fire
. A flame leaped a dozen feet above the fire and then fell back into it. His voice was smooth and yet at times overemotional as he connected to some of the spirit souls.
They wanted out into the physical world so much that some of them cried.
Achak’s vision blurred but that didn’t stop him.

    “Ya ta heyyyyy Ohoooooooooo.”

  
The
fire
burned from more than a dozen spelled logs
and
was more than twice as tall as Achak.
It snapped and popped as it
sent out awful smells of burnt flesh.
The smell
was so strong that he could detect its salty taste.
The yellow, blue and gold flame had a life of its own, containing malevolent spirits
desperately hoping
for their opportunity to flee
.
Skulls were observed floating in the flames
as they tried
to escape but could not. A single torso was burning
near the very top of the fire
.
Several hearts of fire were seen and observed by the wizard; he was
transfixed by the sounds of those
beating hearts for a time
as they had synchronised with his own heart
.
It felt as though his chest was on fire from the inside
, intimately connected to the enchantment
.