Michael Belmont and the Heir of Van Helsing (The Adventures of Michael Belmont) (35 page)

The translucent form of a castle had appeared, and towered up into the night where before they had only seen ruins.

“I-I knew this had to be the place?” Liam stuttered as he ran his eyes up the spectral citadel.
 
He could still see the moon and some of the brighter stars fixed in the sky directly behind the walls.

Mr. Belmont shook his head and let out a long breath.
 
“I’ve never seen anything like it before.
 
How are we supposed to get inside a place that isn’t really there?”

Liam’s father wiped his brow.
 
“Well, all three of us have been up to those ruins and I didn’t run into any castle walls.”
 
Maybe the whole thing is just some kind of residual haunting.
 
Maybe this isn’t the right place after all.”

“I know this is the place,” Liam demanded.
 
“Mikey and Abby are in that castle.
 
We just need to figure out a way to get ourselves in there.”

Just then, the small orb reappeared out of nowhere and flew up right in front of Liam’s face, as if it were looking him in the eye.
 
The movement stunned him and he staggered backward, nearly losing his footing on the edge of the cliff.

After hovering there for a moment, the wisp sped down without warning and entered the faery lantern.
 
The spectral bodies of the impaled villagers began changing back into orbs, and one by one they came flying toward him to disappear into the lantern.
 
With each orb that entered, the light became a little brighter, until finally all the orbs had entered and Liam and the two men beside him had to cover their eyes.

The lantern had also grown scolding hot.
 
It had happened so quickly that Liam hadn’t noticed until his hands were burning.
 
“YOUCH,” he screamed, tossing it from one hand to the other before letting it drop to the rocks at his feet.
 
He winced as he heard a sound not unlike shattering glass.
 
There was an explosion of light, and a whirlwind of stardust rose from the broken relic to sweep around him several times before shooting off into the sky ahead.
 
The stream of tiny specks swept down toward the earth once more before turning sharply up, and like some ethereal tidal blade, cut a hole in the dark night air on the path before them, finally showering down to form a ghostly arched doorway in the air.

Mr. Belmont rushed up to look through the passage.
 
“I can see the castle on the other side,” he told them.
 
“The walls are solid.
 
I don’t know what you did Liam, but it worked.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Liam gulped.
 
He looked at the broken remains of his lantern, lamenting its loss.
 
If it helped them find Mikey and Abby though, it was worth it.

“Well, we better get moving before that thing…shoots off or, or disintegrates or something,” Liam’s father said as he waved his son on.

Michael picked his pack up off the ground and slung it across his shoulder.
 
“Well, that was an interesting little light show.”

“What do you think it was?” Abigail asked.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Magda said, resting her hand on the girl's shoulder.
 
“I only wish we’d been closer to see things a bit better.”

“We need to get down there right now,” Michael told them.

Magda shifted her legs uncomfortably.
 
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?
 
We don’t know what all that was, but I’m sure we’re not the only ones who saw it.”

“That was faery light!
 
I’m sure of it.
 
Liam could be down there, and even if he isn’t, there might be someone who could help us, or possibly needs
our
help.”

“Michael, we need to be heading away from this castle as fast as we can right now, not heading into a place that’s going to get us caught again,” Magda argued.

“You’re going to have to trust me on this one,” Michael insisted as he began down the hillside toward the spot where they’d seen the lights.
 
He looked up to see the two girls standing firm and glaring at him.
 
“Fine, you two stay put and I’ll be back as soon as I can to pick you up.
 
Don’t go anywhere, alright?”

Magda sighed and the two began to follow him down the mountain.
 
I knew that would do the trick
, Michael laughed inside his head.

“Do you really think Liam could be down there?” Abigail asked.
 
Do you think Dad and everyone else came with him?”

“Well he couldn’t have gotten here by himself.
 
Listen, Magda had a point about other people seeing those lights.
 
We need to move quick, just watch your step on these rocks.”

A few minutes later they were nearly there.
 
Abigail pointed out three figures coming up the mountain toward them, and Michael led them behind a large boulder off the side of the path.

“Hey, it’s Dad and Liam and Mr. MacDonald,” Abigail whispered excitedly.
 
“Let’s jump out and scare them.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” came a voice from the darkness.
 
“Not unless you feel like getting shot tonight.”

“Caleb!” Abigail proclaimed as he stepped out into the moonlight.
 
He stood with his arms crossed and peered down at them sternly.

Michael breathed a sigh of relief.
 
“Oh, it’s just you.
 
I really wish you’d stop doing that,” he told him.
 
“Or at least teach me how to do it too.”

“Look,” Abigail said with a point of her finger, “they’ve stopped coming and moved off the path.
 
“They must’ve heard us.

“This should do the trick,” Michael said while taking the lantern out of his pocket and stepping into the path.
 
“Please don’t shoot me,” he said softly through clenched teeth.

“Michael,” the familiar voice of Liam called out to him.
 
A few moments later he was standing there in front of them.
 
“Michael, you’re all right!
 
And Abby and Caleb too.
 
How have you guys managed to…Well, hello there, gorgeous, what have we here?” he said, smiling stupidly at Magda.

She scrunched up her nose and looked him over doubtfully.
 
“Michael, who is this boy?” she asked him.
 
“And why doesn’t he comb his hair?”

Michael chuckled as Liam’s hands shot to his head.
 
He frowned and ran his fingers through his hair.

“It’s been a hard night, alright,” he complained.
 
“We’ve been traipsing around this mountain for the last ten hours looking for you.”

Abigail jumped into her father’s arms as he and Mr. MacDonald walked up.

“Thank God the three of you are alright.
 
We’ve been worried sick, and your mother has been fit to be tied.
 
Magda, are you alright, sweetheart?”

“I’m fine, thanks.
 
But how’s Olaf doing?
 
Has there been any change?”

“Well, he’s still in a coma, but the doctors say he’s stable.
 
He’s safe from attack though.
 
There aren’t many places safer than McGinty Castle.”

“Thank you,” she told him as a tear dropped down from her eye.
 
“And you too,” she said to Mr. MacDonald.
 
“I appreciate you taking care of him, especially after what he did.”

“Don’t mention it, dear.
 
It’s the least I can do.
 
And don’t give up on your brother just yet, maybe he’ll learn from all this in the end.”

Magda smiled hopefully.
 
“Perhaps.
 
Olaf isn’t a bad person, but he’s been so full of rage lately.
 
I just hope he gets better soon.”

Mr. MacDonald picked the girl off her feet and squeezed her into a bear hug.
 
Her eyes grew wide and she looked at Michael in shock, but he grinned reassuringly and she eased into hugging him back.
 
To know Mr. MacDonald meant getting hugged a lot.
 
Magda was just going to have to get used to it.

Michael’s father shook Caleb’s hand.
 
“When did you get here?
 
And more importantly,
how
did you get here?”

“I followed you in, actually.
 
I was right on your tail when those orbs appeared and the portal opened up, but I thought it might be best to stay out of sight in case you came under attack.
 
That way I could get the jump on the enemy.”

Abigail looked at him admiringly, and Michael rolled his eyes at her.

“Dad, what happened at the orphanage after we left?
 
Was anyone else hurt?”

“Well, a few of the kids were injured, but everyone lived through it.
 
Ms. Voss is pretty shaken up, but she’ll recover.”

Michael was relieved, but thinking about what happened made him angry.
 
If he had anything to do with it, Mihnea was going to pay for hurting Ms. Voss and those kids, and for what he’d done to Magda and her family.

“Daddy, you’ll never guess who we met in the castle,” Abigail told him.
 
“It was the Dragon, a man that Dorothy Stoker told me about.
 
He was trying to help us retrieve the Lance of Saint George.
 
But then he got taken under the water.”

Her father raised an eyebrow.
 
“You wouldn’t care to explain that would you?”

Michael filled them in on everything that had happened.

“So you actually met the Dragon?
 
The
Dragon?
 
The man who originally formed the Order of the Dragon?” his father asked.
 
Michael had never seen such a look of fascination, and what was something a bit like fear, in the man’s eyes.

“He’s really nice,” Michael assured him.
 
“If that fish-face Dagon didn’t kill him I’m sure you’ll enjoy meeting him.”

His father grinned.
 
“I’ve heard stories and legends about that man ever since I was a kid.
 
And now to find out that he’s still alive- and that he’s the father of Dracula…I’m just having a hard time digesting it all.”

“It sounds like a bunch of nonsense to me,” Caleb said.
 
“No offense to the three of you, but it could all have been one of Mihnea’s illusions.
 
If there’s one thing that guy does well, it’s manipulate people.”

“Believe what you want,” Michael told him with a frown, “we know what happened.”
 
He looked at his father.
 
“Now are we going to get in there and rescue Elizabeth or what?”

“No,
we
aren’t.
 
You kids are going to head back to the car and call Finnegan.
 
He’ll arrange to have you picked up.
 
It shouldn’t take long, he has someone on standby.”

“WHAT?” protested Michael.
 
“But why?
 
We could help you rescue Elizabeth.
 
You need us!”

“Michael, I don’t want to argue about this right now.
 
Declan, Caleb and I will take care of Elizabeth, and we’ll be able to focus on doing that much easier if we know the four of you are safe.”

“But…”

“NO!
 
One more word about it and I’m going to see if your butt wears a size twelve boot, you got me?”

Michael glared at him sullenly.

“We’ll take care of Elizabeth.
 
You and Liam need to keep the girls safe until someone comes to pick you up.
 
Stay in the car.
 
There’s a loaded 9-millimeter in the glove compartment.
 
Don’t even touch the thing unless you have to, it’s not a toy.
 
Here’s the key.”

“What good’s a gun going to do against vampires?”
 
Magda asked.

Mr. MacDonald grinned.
 
“The bullets are silver, they’ve been dipped in holy water and garlic, and they’ve got crosses etched on them.”

“Interesting,” Caleb said.
 
“Have you had a chance to try them yet?”

“Oh yeah, they work like a charm,” Declan said.
 
“Dorothy Stoker gave us the idea.
 
We’ve got plenty of them with us if you want to give them a try.”

Caleb placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
 
“Thanks, but guns aren’t really my style.
 
They’re a bit noisy for my taste.”

“Alright, we need to get going,” Michael’s father said.
 
“The four of you get to the car as quick as you can, but keep out of sight and keep your eyes open.
 
Declan and I will head toward the castle and make enough noise to draw any attention away from you kids.
 
Caleb, you follow us and stay out of sight like you were doing before.
 
Now listen, Michael, if you can’t get reception at the car then drive down the road only as far as it takes to pick up a signal, okay?”

“Alright,” he agreed reluctantly.
 
“But please be careful.
 
You don’t have any idea what kind of things are creeping around up there.”

Michael’s father gave him a nod.
 
“Don’t worry, son, we know what we’re getting ourselves into, and we’re ready.
 
Now get going, and keep your eyes open.”

They all said goodbye and Michael held his sister close as they watched their father and the other men head up the trail.
 
“Don’t worry, Abby.
 
They’ll be okay.
 
They’re going to save Elizabeth, and hopefully Alucard too.”