Michael Belmont and the Heir of Van Helsing (The Adventures of Michael Belmont) (52 page)

“What?” interrupted Abigail.
 
“What did he tell you about the forest?”

“Mind your own business,” Michael commanded her.
 
Then he turned back to Liam.
 
“Look, I don’t think I’m going to need it anyway.
 
Watch this!”

Michael concentrated for a few moments, and his ring began to glow.
 
He cupped his hand over it so that nobody else would take notice.

“I’ve been practicing.
 
I don’t think I’ll be spending any more money on flashlight batteries.
 
Besides, I think this ring may be capable of doing some things we don’t even know about yet.”

“Michael, your nose,” Magda said to him, holding up a napkin and wiping a drop of blood away.

“Oh, right.
 
Thanks.
 
I don’t think it’s quite healed from that scuffle with the ghoul,” he told her, trying to brush it off, but she didn’t look convinced.

Michael looked back at Liam.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked apprehensively as Michael handed him the lantern.

“Absolutely.”

“Thanks,” said Liam.
 
He sounded truly appreciative, but also a bit sad.

“What’s wrong?” Michael asked.

“I just hoped you’d be able to come into the forest with me.
 
I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it alone.”

Magda put her hand on his shoulder.
 
“Liam, I don’t know exactly what you two are talking about, but you’ve proven to be very brave.
 
You killed Dagon single-handedly.
 
Whatever it is you have to face, I’m sure you can do it.”

“And don’t worry," put in Michael, "the first chance I get to come out and visit, I will.”

“Thanks,” Liam told them.
 
“I’m really going to miss you guys.”

“Give Sir Nigel a rub on the belly for me,” Abigail told him, and he smiled.

Magda gave Michael an uncertain grin.

“It’s his bulldog,” he assured her.

Everyone laughed.

“Can we take a little walk outside?” she whispered to him.

“Excuse us for just a minute,” he told Liam and Abigail.
 
He saw them snicker to each other as he and Magda pushed in their chairs.

“We’ll be right back,” he told his father, who winked back.

The air was a bit cold outside, but the sunlight felt warm against his skin, and the green Irish countryside provided a beautiful view.
 
They walked a short distance down the road before stopping to observe some grazing cattle.

Michael turned to Magda and looked into her gorgeous brown eyes.

“I can’t believe we have to say goodbye,” he told her.
 
“Just when we’re starting to get to know each other.
 
Are you sure this is what you want?”

Magda nodded.
 
“I’ve spoken to both Caleb and your father about it.
 
The Order of the Dragon almost never accepts female members, and they actually
asked
me to join.
 
They’ll help me hone my skills and teach me new things, make me a better fighter.
 
I think it’s the best chance I have of making my life really mean something.”

“It
already
means something,” Michael protested.
 
“It means a lot!”

“I know,” she said, shaking her head.
 
“I just mean that I want to help others.
 
I want to protect them, the same way that you and your family helped me when I needed it.
 
There are so many people out there who are hurting, who need help and don’t know how to get it.
 
This world is full of evil, and I want to do my part to fight it.”

“I understand,” Michael told her.
 
“And I think it’s noble and wonderful.
 
I think
you’re
wonderful, and I…I support your decision.
 
I just don’t want to have to say goodbye.”

“Well, it isn’t really goodbye, not forever anyway.
 
We can still write each other.
 
I’m not sure we’ll be able to talk for a while though; I don’t think they have phones at the monastery.
 
I’ll have to ask Caleb about that.”

Caleb’s image suddenly popped into Michael’s head.
 
He eyed the apparition suspiciously.
 
He wasn’t too keen on the idea of Magda running off to some unknown mountain fortress with someone like him.
 
He was handsome, strong and brave- not to mention older.
 
Even though Caleb was a good friend, as far as Magda was concerned, Michael saw him as competition.
 
And how many others like him would Magda be around?
 
At a place where there were barely any women- possibly no others!

Magda seemed to suspect what he was thinking, and smiled.
 
“It’s not like you’re my boyfriend or anything.”

Michael’s heart sank.
 
He didn’t like how one girl’s comments could hold so much sway over his feelings.

“Although,” she added, “you
might
be someday.
 
And in the meantime, I believe you owe me a kiss.”

Michael’s heart leapt.
 
“Oh really?
 
How do you figure that?
 
Not
that I’m arguing,” he added quickly.

“A kiss for a cut, isn’t that your rule?”

Michael remembered that horrible moment in Dracula’s castle, when he had to cut Magda’s arm to get her blood on the sword.
 
It made him feel guilty.
 
He looked down at his feet.
 
“I’m sorry about that,” he muttered.

She gently lifted his head up and smiled.

“It’s okay,” she assured him, “but you’d better make this a good one.”

Magda grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him in until their lips touched, and instead of feeling nervous, this time the experience made him feel warm all over.
 
It was the kind of warmth you get from sitting beside a roaring fire on a cold winter day, a penetrating, happy warmth.
 
He closed his eyes and enjoyed it for as long as he dared, and as the kiss ended he pulled the girl into a fierce hug.

“Promise me you’ll take care of yourself.”

“I promise,” she agreed with a nod.
 
“Thanks for everything you’ve done for us, me and my brother.
 
You’ll help me keep an eye on him, won’t you.”

“I will.
 
And don’t worry, Mr. MacDonald will make sure he’s taken care of until he recovers.”

“I know he will,” she said with a smile.
 
“It feels good to have friends you can trust again.”
 
She looked out at the cows, which gazed back at her curiously while chewing their cud.
 

They stood standing there together for a few minutes, enjoying the view and each other’s presence.
 
The sun would be setting soon.

“Isn’t it about time to head back,” Magda asked reluctantly.

“No,” Michael said, putting his arm around her.
 
“I think we still have a few more minutes.”

After three months in Mexico City, Michael was glad to be back in more familiar territory.
 
He’d actually enjoyed himself in Mexico much more than he thought he would.
 
His mother had taken over teaching him and Abigail, so they’d gotten to tour and see a lot more of the sights than they usually did when they traveled with their parents.
 
Still, Michael was very relieved to be back in Prescott, and was eager to see how their house was coming along.

Mark pulled up in front of the Belmont home and parked alongside the road.

“I can’t believe it,” Michael said to him.
 
“It looks just like it did before.
 
It’s like nothing ever happened.”

“Well, it’s pretty empty on the inside.
 
We’re going to have to make a visit or two to the furniture store.
 
There have been a few improvements made too.
 
Your mother has been pestering me forever to have the kitchen and bathrooms redone, so those are going to look a bit different.
 
You might notice a few other changes as well.”

“Like what?” Abigail asked him.

“Go see for yourself,” he told them.

Michael and Abigail hopped out of the car and ran through the yard, bursting through the front door as if they were going to raid the place.
 
The house looked much the same, but different, as if it had been remodeled.
 
There was now a hardwood floor in the living room, and Michael walked into the kitchen to see it had been painted in a warm yellow color, and new stone tiles decorated the floor.

Michael’s mind wandered to some of his last memories of the kitchen as it used to be, when Elizabeth had worked with him and Abigail on their school assignments at the table.
 
He missed her, and wondered when she would come back.
 
After her experience in Dracula’s Castle, and seeing his Uncle Link as a wolf-man, she’d decided to take some time to work things out.
 
That’s what his mother had told him, although he didn’t really understand why.
 
He just hoped she’d come back soon.

Abigail suddenly shot past him and he turned to race her upstairs.
 
The layout was just like it had been before, but the carpets and the colors of the rooms had been changed.
 
Michael entered his room, which was now painted red and navy-blue, to find a new bed and dresser, as well as a picture of his family hanging by the door.
 
All of his old things were gone, and it saddened him to think of everything that had burned up and turned to ash.
 
But at least he still had the rifle he’d gotten for Christmas, and his bow, and a few other things he’d kept in the garage.
 
It’s all just stuff, he told himself.
 
At least now it would be a lot easier to clean his room.

“MICHAEL?” came Abigail’s voice from down the hall.
 
“HAVE YOU LOOKED IN YOUR CLOSET YET?”

“NO.”

“YOU MIGHT WANT TO!”

Michael walked to his closet and opened the sliding mirrored door.
 
It looked like a plain old empty closet, but at eye level he noticed a small round piece of glass in the back wall.
 
He approached to take a closer look, and when he got within a few inches a red flash of light shot into his eye.

“
Identity verified
,” came a deep male voice.
 
“
Michael Belmont- access granted
.”

A high-pitched whir began as the wall in the back of the closet slid several feet away, revealing an opening in the floor that angled down sharply on the right side.
 
It was the top of a slide.

“Well, here goes nothing.”
 
He sat down on the slide and let go.
 
He slid through a narrow tunnel, which curved this way and that, reminding him of the tubular slides he’d gone through at the park as a child, until it suddenly took a very steep downward turn, and as he descended at an incredible speed he felt as if his stomach had been left back up at the top.
 
Upon reaching the bottom, his heart pounded in excitement as he stood to his feet.
 
He eagerly looked around for a ladder that would take him to the top so he could do it again, but the only thing he saw was a solid steel door.

As he approached, the door slid open and Michael stepped out into the familiar surroundings of the control room in his father’s relic vault.
 
To his surprise, the Cisco Kid was sitting at the chair in front of the central monitor.

“MICHAEL,” he yelled enthusiastically while leaping to his feet.

“Hey, Francisco.
 
What are you doing down here?”

“Your dad gave me a job.
 
I’m the controller down here now.
 
He said that since I was so inquisitive and he couldn’t keep me out anyway he might as well make it official.”

Michael held back a laugh.
 
“That’s great, Cisco.
 
You look a little different somehow.”
 
Michael looked him over, and suddenly realized that for the first time in a year the boy wasn’t wearing a superhero outfit.
 
He was dressed in blue jeans and a simple black t-shirt.

“Oh, you mean the costumes don’t you,” Cisco laughed.
 
“I guess I decided I didn’t need them anymore.
 
Now that I’m working for a real super-hero there’s no need to pretend anymore is there?”

Michael just smiled and nodded.
 
Even if he tried to explain that his mother wasn’t a super-hero Cisco wouldn’t believe him, and why burst the kid’s bubble.

“How’s Abby doing?” Cisco asked.
 
“Your dad says she’s been through a pretty tough time lately.”

Michael nodded.
 
“She has been.
 
But I think she’s going to be okay now.
 
I imagine she’ll be coming down any time.”

“Great.
 
I’ve really been looking forward to seeing her.
 
Abby’s such a nice girl.
 
I really love her.
 
She’s my best friend you know.”

“I know she is.
 
I love her too; she’s a great little sister.”
 
Michael patted Cisco on the back and turned to head for the waterfall.
 
He wanted to see where that elevator would take him.
 
“Congrats on the new job, Cisco.”

“Thanks.”

Michael waited as the platforms extended out of the cavern wall, but hesitated for a moment before stepping toward the elevator, and looked back over his shoulder.
 
He remembered how Abigail had kept her secret from him for so long, and decided it was time for some payback.
 
“Hey, Cisco, when Abigail gets down here make sure you ask her about the new super-hero in town.”