A Love Returned

Chapter 10

"You can't have him!" Erin screamed, holding onto Vlad's hand.

The vampire shook his head, "Sorry, lady, I can have him," he began to approach them.

Vlad took his hand away from Erin's, "I'll send for you as soon as I can, I promise."

"You can't just leave us here!"

Vlad hated this, but he had no choice and refusing to go would just cause trouble.

He kissed Erin's cheek and walked over to The Count, "You have to look after Erin and Artur."

Count Dracula nodded.

"Vlad!" Erin already missed him.

"Seeya later, Erin," he gave himself up to the vampire, who grabbed his arm and they sped off.

Erin collapsed on the ground, crying. She had just gotten Vlad back, now he was gone again.

The Count sat down beside her and did his best to comfort her, "There, there, it's ok."

Erin wanted to shout at him that it wasn't ok, but she knew he was trying his best. She let him hug her as she stared into the distance.

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Wolfie whimpered, he sensed something. His brother was in trouble. But what could he do? He shuffled over to Will, who was dampening a cloth.

"What is it, Wolfie?" He asked.

"Vlad's in trouble," Wolfie whispered.

"How do you know?"

"I can sense it... with my nose," he smiled slightly.

Will thought about it for a moment then said, "Don't tell Ingrid, we'll go check it out."

"Ok," Wolfie sat down on a chair as Will took the cloth into the bedroom.

He gave it to Ingrid, who took it willingly and placed it on her forehead.

"Thanks," Ingrid said. She had no idea that vampires could heat up so much, it was really uncomfortable, she was used to being cold.

"I'm going to take Wolfie for a stroll down the street, will you be okay by yourself?" He asked.

"Yeh. Have fun," she replied,

Will walked out of the room and back to Wolfie, "Take my hand."

Wolfie held onto Will's hand and they sped outside. Down the road, into the busy city and onto the townhouse doorstep.

The Count answered the door, he had a sad look on his face, "Will. Wolfie," he let them in.

"I sensed that something was wrong with Vlad," Wolfie explained.

The Count frowned, "Right you are, kid. Vlad was elected for the vampire high council. That's not so bad but..."

They noticed Erin on the couch, she had cried herself to sleep.

"... They took him away, and he can't see any family until all the ceremonies are done."

"How long will that take?" Will asked.

"The last full council election took four months."

"Ouch..."

"So Vlad could be gone for four months? Or more?" Wolfie said, upset.

"Afraid so," the Count sighed.

Will looked at Erin, "Does she know?"

"Not going to tell her, not now."

He nodded.

"What will happen to her and Artur?" Wolfie whimpered.

The Count gave him a hug, "They'll survive. You can help them, you know."

Wolfie looked up at his uncle, "How?"

"Well... for starters you could play with Artur, help Erin out-"

"Could we rescue Vlad?"

The Count grinned at Wolfie's willingness to help, but he knew it was hopeless, "He doesn't need to be rescued, they'll keep him safe. It just takes a while."

"Oh..."

Artur began to cry, as if it was a reflex, Erin woke up, sped up the stairs and went to check on Artur.

"She didn't even see us," Wolfie frowned.

Will smiled, "She's a bit preoccupied, she'll come back."

There was a huge crash upstairs, followed by a scream.

The Count sped upstairs, followed by Will and Wolfie.

It was Vlad, he was quite bruised but seemed full of energy, "We need to get out of here! They're coming!"

"Who?" Erin grabbed Artur and held him close, she held Vlad's arm with her other hand.

"The Council, they want a blood war, I refused-" he saw Will and Wolfie, "Go home, put up defenses! We all have to be ready!"

He grabbed onto Erin and sped off in the opposite direction that he'd come.

Will grabbed Wolfie's hand and they sped out of the townhouse, and stopped under a tree in the park. The Count soon joined them, after grabbing a stake incase they'd need it. They heard a loud, screeching noise, getting closer and closer.

Bats, vampire bats, hundreds of them.

"It's a full on man hunt," The Count couldn't believe what was unfolding before his eyes.

Bats swarmed into the townhouse, turned to vampire form and unleashed all their powers.

The townhouse exploded in a red cloud of flames.

"We need to get out of here," he said urgently, they sped to the cottage.

Ingrid opened the door for them, "Where were you!" She shouted, "I looked in the neighbourhood and you weren't there!" She saw the expressions on their faces, "What happened!?"

Will answered first, "Long story short, we quite possibly have a full scale vampire war on our hands."