The Dangerous Doors of Shannon Anderson

Chapter Two

I rolled over onto my hands and knees and peeked inside.

It looked like some kind of lavish study. With my cheek pressed nearly to the floor, I could see a big mahogany desk situated in the middle of the room with a gas lamp burning brightly on top. Bookshelves lined every bit of wall that wasn't already occupied by tall windows with long burgundy drapes, or the stone fireplace, or doors. Bunches of delicate white flowers hung over the windows and sat in vases spread around the room. The decor was dark, but the light cast by the fireplace and the gas lamps was warm and inviting. The room appeared unoccupied.

On the one hand, I was curious to explore the Victorian study that had just sprouted up on the opposite side of my bedroom wall. On the other hand, a Victorian study had just sprouted up on the opposite side of my bedroom wall, and it seemed like the kind of uncertain, potentially dangerous situation that would fall into the same category as getting into vans with strangers, or moving to New York to pursue a career in theater. Besides, there was no way I could fit through that little door. Even someone as scrawny as Aidan would've been hard pressed to squeeze through, and I'm a whole lot bigger than my brother.

I poked my nose through the door to get a better look and felt my hands sink into soft carpet. My bedroom did not have carpet. Or a fireplace. Or one thousand books.

As I stood up there was a snap and a click behind me. I whipped around to see the little door, not old and studded like the one I'd come through, but the same NYU purple as the walls of my room, with a little brass knob right in the middle. Oh good, now I was locked in the mysterious Victorian study that had just sprouted up on the opposite side of my bedroom wall.

I dropped back down and twisted the tiny brass knob. The door swung open into my room with Dracula and my flashlight right where I'd left them on the floor. I left the door open just to be safe and went to get a closer look at the big mahogany desk.

The whole surface was covered with open books and piles of yellowing papers and telegrams. There were notes in English, German, and several other unidentifiable languages. A vase full of little white flowers, growing clumped together like snowballs with stems, sat in the far corner, giving off a weirdly pungent smell that reminded me distinctly of my Great Aunt Bernadine's house.

Footsteps echoed from the hall, distant at first, but coming closer fast. There was a voice, too, but only one. Someone muttering to himself, it sounded like.

The desk and a whole lot of open space stood between me and the door back to my bedroom. If I didn't make it in time and whoever was coming saw me slip through the wall, would they try to follow? Could they follow? Oh God, I was about to be ax murdered before I ever had the chance to start at NYU.

A tall figure appeared in the doorway, and I dropped down, shoved the desk chair out of the way and tried to squeeze myself under the desk. My fat body didn't quite fit; my left foot stuck out a bit and I had to tilt my head completely sideways to stay sitting up. The man paced into the room with his hands clasped behind his back, eyes fixed forward on the floor and eyebrows knit together. Those eyebrows. Even from under the desk I could see those mad bushy eyebrows. Between that and the way he was pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace, he looked more like a mad scientist than an ax murderer. (Although I suppose the two are not mutually exclusive.)

"Stregoica witch," he mumbled. "Ordog. Pokol. Wampyr. Nee, nee."

He froze, eyes locked on the spot where my left foot was sticking out from under the desk. His gaze traveled upward slowly until our eyes met. I smiled as charmingly as a person can when they're squished up under a desk like a wad of chewed gum, but the man had already dug a tiny gold crucifix out of his vest which he was now holding out in front of him like a shield.

"Back, vampire!" he said in German. "Back!"

"How can I be a vampire if you didn't invite me in?" I said. How I mined that gem of logic in the middle of this very illogical situation remains a mystery. I also wanted to point out that vampires don't usually wear pajamas with Broadway musical Playbills all over them, but he went on before I had the chance.

"You know the superstition?" he asked in English, looking even more wary than before. "How did you come here? Why are you there?"

The man looked too much like my grampy for me to believe he was thirsty for my blood, so I crawled out from under the desk. He stumbled backwards and waved his crucifix at me.

"I don't know what happened." I turned to look at the little purple door, still ajar behind me. "The power went out, so I was going to read Dracula, but then -"

"That devil! That demon! Who are you that know the name?" He held his little gold crucifix up higher, staring at me with wide blue eyes under those wild gray eyebrows.

Wait a minute. I knew who this guy was. He'd been my favorite Dracula character when Dad had read me the book all those years ago because he was the one who saved everybody's butts when the Count came to town, even if he was a little insane.

"Dr. Van Helsing?"

He took another step back, and his wary face flashed fear for a moment before hardening again. Now, I'm not an actor, and I'm not a liar, but I am a pretender. I used to pretend that my mom was a spy because she traveled so much for work, but then I found out that she was just a supply chain manager. You can imagine my disappointment.

"I'm sorry if I startled you," I said. "My name is Shannon Anderson. I'm a vampire expert from the University of...um...Iowa."

"Iowa?"

Oh, God, what year was it? Was Iowa even a state yet? Whatever, I rolled with it.

"Yes, Professor. And I believe I can help you with your task."

A/N: Thanks for reading! How do you think Shannon (who, spoiler alert, is not in fact a vampire expert) will help Dr. Van Helsing? Would you have crawled through the door? Leave your thoughts in the comments and don't forget to vote. :)