Dracula: Hearts of Fire (Dracula Heart's) (37 page)

     She moved her right foot and one of the keys seemed different. It was resting under another and looked more purple than pink. Jenny picked it up and sure enough it was indeed purple
in comparison
, and when she took the other one out of her pocket to compare it was a match.
They now both looked purple, the prettiest purple that she had ever seen.
The young wizard looked away from the keys at the lion and smiled.

    “Why couldn’t they be kittens?” Jenny went over to the open door and looked in and at least four of the lions looked at her. She stuck her leg into the chamber with the lions
past the barrier of the door
and the one nearest th
e door clawed her calf
. Blood ran down her leg as she screamed. It
healed but it had been an awful
pain. It took several minutes for her to once again approach the door, and this time she attempted to mind them
, but
it didn’t work. A cub approached the door and tried to get at Jenny, and it was the cutest thing. It made her heart melt.
Jenny wanted to snuggle it as she would a teddy bear.
She wanted to kiss that furry little face.
Knowing that she would probably be attacked, she reached
in anyway
and petted the cub. It licked her hand and then chewed on her arm. She almost wished that she could take it home with her, imagine the look on the mailman’s face.

    A lion roared from the left corner but not at her. Two young males were playing. Again the female cub licked her arm.
Jenny stepped into the room, picking
up the cub in her arms, expecting to be attacked. When she was ignored she was unsure of her next move. A step
forward would bring her deeper into the cats, a step back would take her out? Could she take the cat out with her?
Having to make more and more decisions
, she hoped that one wouldn’t be fatal. That was one of the main differences growing from a child into an adult, all those daily decisions
with no one else to blame
.

    “What should we do?” she asked the lion cub.
Although it was invisible to the eye, a small amount of magic was exchanged from her to the cub and then back again
, and it gave Jenny a warm feeling
.

    Dracula’s daughter took a step back with the cub and found herself into the key room. She placed the animal on the floor and played with it. It chewed on her, licked her, and jumped on her stomach and snuggled.
It was young and wild, perhaps a little like Jenny.
The cat took all of her stress away and replaced it with happy thoughts.
She smelled its face and kissed it and it made the funni
est noise in appreciation. She
sp
ent almost an
hour playing with the cat but she knew she had to put it back. She took a deep breath and stepped into the room with the cub in her arms and was completely ignored.
She made her way to the lion’s face that had been carved into the wall and inserted a key into each eye
, always expecting to be mauled but nothing happened
.
She put the cub down and
then
turned both keys simultaneously.
The girl
was disappointed
when nothing happened. Then slowly
a
slab of granite
swung open to reveal Caius sitting in a regal looking chair with six men, three on each side, watching intently as Jenny entered the chamber.

    Caius was talking to the group. “Obtaining the unattainable is very satisfying.”

    “Are YOU Caius?”

    “I am.”
Caius was a distinguishing looking fellow with high cheekbones
and a shapely white beard
. He sat with a five foot staff made
of vampire bones that were
sp
elled and twisted
together;
it
was surprisingly quite attractive
for a thing made from bones
.
He looked to be about sixty
but was in fact ancient. Jenny thought he looked like a ki
ng as he sat on his shiny ebony
throne.
It looked even more impressive in the white room.

    “Well, then, I am here to be taught in the ways of a wizard.
I’m Jenny.
”

    The six stared at her as if she was a six-headed monster spitting kittens
. It wasn’t fun to have so many scrutinising her simultaneously. Had she done something exceptional? Or perhaps she had accomplished something that they considered bizarre? Whatever the reason so many eyes upon her
were
uncomfortable.

   
There was a momen
t of silence until Caius spoke
.
“You are Dracula’s daughter aren’t you?”

    “How do you know that?”

    “I can see him in your face.
I heard the rumor several years ago but I didn’t believe it until now.
”

    All six t
ook a step back, finally settling
in square chairs. They moved the chairs back a distance as they
observed without saying a single word.
Jenny almost felt as if she was on trial.
The lion cub amble up to Jenny and licked her leg. “Hey, you’re not supposed to be in here.” She picked up the cub and placed
her bac
k into the chamber with the other lions
.

    Caius gestured to
Jareth to approach him and
they
commenced to whisper. “She’s released it.”

   
Jareth bent down
. “I thought th
at was impossible
.”

    “Indeed but there it is.
First things first.” Caius watched as Jenny returned with the cub
escaping from the chamber once again
and
slowly heading back towards her.
The lion trotting behind her was the cutest thing.

    “Caius,
are you going to help me
?”

   
Caius slowly nodded as he played with his short beard.
“You are already on your way to becoming the most famous w
izard in the history of wizards, if you don’t ge
t yourself killed
.
Jenny, you should know that there are worst things than death.”

   
Jenny thought that the statement was out of context.
“W
hat is that supposed to mean?”

    “Imagine yourself trapped in a cave, alone for a century or two. Vampires will go dormant
after not being able to eat for an extended period. You will not. You will not die of starvation as a human would. Silence wi
ll drive you absolutely MAD.
”

    “Actually,
I think you might be
a bit mad. Those snakes could have killed me.
”

    “
But here you are.
You will need a Blood Book.”

    “What the heck is a Blood B
ook?” She looked down at the cub at her feet.

    “Jenny, ignore the cat for the present. A Blood Book is a magical tome that reacts specifically to the wizard staring into it. There are only eight in existence that I know of and all are occupied by wizards. You will have to defeat a
dark
wizard and take it by force.”

    “Oh, that is just great. I have to go up against an experienced wizard? It doesn’t sound possible.
Maybe my
father could
get it for me?
”

   
“He
can’t. The book will align with the most powerful being around it, and that alignment can endure for centuries. You will need to f
ace the wizard on your own
, by yourself.
Besides, your father has his own book.
”

    “I’m no
t experienced enough
. It would be suicide.”

    Caius played with his beard as he nodded. “With any other wizard as young as you I would agree but you are something special
. I won’t even say what you are
.”

    Jenny didn’t like the sound of that. It seemed that the whole world was trying hard to keep secrets from her. “If you are going to help me then help me. Don’t talk in circles.”

  
Caius cleared his throat. “
Once Achak was a good wizard; he healed the sick and did his best to light up the world.
He’s changed
over the years, a bad deed here
, and an evil deed there. One can talk oneself into almost anything on the right day, or should I say wrong day.
Now he deals almost exclusively
in
black magic and must be stopped. Aftereffects of his evil incantations now circle the globe with peculiar consequences for many vampires. You need to either kill him or bind him and take the book. Once you have it, it will teach you everything you need to know.
You must also clean the air of his evil incantations.
And
Jenny,
you must
never stop learning.”

     “
You sound like a television commercial.
Why don’t you take care of this Achak guy if he’s so
dangerous? Why send
a little girl to take care of you
r business?
”

   “You need the book.”

   
“Y
ou know you can’t handle him.”

    “That is correct.”

  
“Oh
great.
How will I find this Achak?”

    “You will return home for a week
and Jareth here will show up
personally
to
escort you. Until said time you will pay close attention to your dreams. Oh, and, ah, that cub is now your responsibility. You have inadvertently
released it from the chamber,
it will perish without you.”