The Curse of Dreadgrave Manor

CHAPTER NINETEEN - THE HUNDREDTH HEART

"What have you done to us?" Max demanded.

"What have I done to you?" Montgomery spat. " Ha! You should be asking what you've done to yourselves! The Circle of Preservation isn't entirely designed to keep those inside it safe. Whilst it's true that nothing living or undead can enter the barrier of a completed circle, the same can also be said in regards to those wishing to exit it. Preservation means to keep something alive, but it can also mean to keep something exactly where I want it, how I want it and more importantly, for as long as I want it. Now enough of this fruitless chatter. The fateful hour is upon us, and both of your hearts belong to me!"

"Why are you doing this to us? What did we do to you?"

"Come now, you've read the journal. It held all the answers after all. The soul pact I made with Archnael was quite simple on the face of it. I have had one century to collect the innocent hearts from a hundred humans in exchange for the gift of everlasting life to be bestowed upon me. With it, I can then spend an eternity mastering my black magic and ruling over this world!" He laughed sadistically.

"It didn't take long to discover that the deal was no easy feat. You humans are smarter than you look sometimes, and if my methods became too predictable, someone might have intervened and put a premature stop to proceedings. That was, until I discovered that no one would ever suspect a child of doing such abhorrent acts. From then on, the routine was quite literally child's play! All I had to do was shift into the temporary form of a new child in the area, locate a sacrifice with an innocent heart, build up their trust and then lure them here. Then I'd simply repeat it all over again in a different neighbourhood of Fading Hope with an entirely new identity. My scheme worked like a dream on Oliver! With his two most treasured friends away on his birthday, he needed someone who cared, and that's where I came in."

"You monster!"

"If it's of any consolation, I'll freely admit that you two have been the hardest challenge of them all! Together, you were almost unbreakable. When Kris dared me to spend the night here, I knew that sooner or later you'd come looking for me if I

'mysteriously' disappeared. All I had to do was wait, and you did exactly as I had suspected. Then it was a case of using all of my black magic to keep you here until midnight." Max frantically looked around. He was defenceless.

There must be something I can do!

"There isn't!" Montgomery ridiculed, reading his mind. "If only you had stopped for a minute and thought it through." He roared. "Oh, the sweet, sweet irony. You were in such a rush to be safe; you ended up sealing both of your fates sooner. Now, enough of this idle small talk. It's time we begin the ritual." The Count outstretched his arms, and in response the walls of the manor erupted into flames. He threw his head back and began chanting a strange incantation. The fire grew more intense as he spoke each arcane word and Max could feel the roasting heat against his face. Ghostly forms materialised among the licking tongues of the flames, and Max recognised them immediately as the spirits of the dead children.

"Please!" Max begged. "You have to help us!"

The children shouted something to Max, but their cries couldn't be heard over the fierce roars of the fire. They all motioned towards the Count and then at the grand chandelier that hung directly above him. Instantly, Max understood their plan. If they can drop the chandelier onto the Count, it might just stop him from completing the spell! All they need is a distraction.

"Hey, Montgomery!" Max screamed. "Over here! You forgot one thing."

Montgomery laughed arrogantly. "The ritual shall be fulfilled!

I can feel Archnael's power!"

Suddenly, the spirits of the children ambushed the Count. They punched and kicked him as viciously as they could, and he fought hard to throw them aside.

"You can't defeat me, you pathetic children!" He growled. "I will be immortal!"

The children ignored his taunts and intensified their assault. Max looked up. The chandelier swayed as the other ghosts in the rafters feverishly tried to dislodge the iron chain. "Archnael! I offer you the ninety-ninth and hundredth heart!" The blistering heat of the flames overwhelmed Max, and he found he couldn't endure them any further. He slumped on top of Kris' lifeless form. His eyelids became too heavy to keep open, and he began slipping in and out of consciousness.

"Max!" It was Oliver! His voice penetrated through the fire's roars. "Max, you have to stay awake! We're so close!"

"Oliver... I can't... I'm... so... tired."

Oliver glanced above them, and his face dropped. "Watch out!" The last thing Max saw was the chandelier as it crashed down onto the unsuspecting Count. Max's world then faded to black...