VAMPIRUS

RISE OF AN ANCIENT ONE

Clee and Marla sat down at the banqueting table in the dining room with the others and shared in delicacies.  Conversation was light yet cordial.  It was within thirty minutes that Danny tensed up, as if listening for something.

"Danny?" Isabella questioned, observing him.

He held up a hand, indicating for everyone to be quiet.  There were a couple of small but loud thumps, followed by the sound of a window crashing and then a ricocheting bang.

The commotion was emanating from the master bedroom.

Danny took off with vampiric speed.

"Oh my god!" Marla exclaimed as she and everyone else set up from the table.

They all raced toward the stairwell in time to see Danny, Broderick and a mutated bat, a Turok-Hans, tumble dangerously down the stairs.  Danny hit the floor and tried to regain his footing, while Broderick and the primordial creature crashed through the banister, landing on the floor among the damaged and splintered wood.  The creature placed a massive thorny foot on Broderick's chest after immediately regaining its posture, pinning the poor man helplessly to the floor, and gazed menacingly at the others, spitting a blood-curdingly roar at them.

Danny snarled and hissed, baring his fangs, and catapulted himself onto the beast's back, grasping it around the neck in a headlock.  The creature took its taloned hand and effortlessly grabbed the vampire, sending him careening straight into the nearby grandfather clock set in the foyer close to the study.  Marla raced to his side to assist him, her weary gaze on the monstrous beast.

Clee straightened and raised her arms.  She began uttering an ancient spell in a strange monotone-like voice.  It caught the attention of the Turok-Hans, captivating it in a trance-like state.  It fidgeted and shook its head, fighting Clue's power.  The witch's enchantment was merely a distraction as Isabella, having branded her swords, somersaulted in the air and brought both weapons deep into the beast's shoulder.  She attempted for the neck but the ancient vampire deflected her attack by turning slightly.  At the same time, Jacob sprinted across the foyer with his own swords and slid on his side close to Broderick's helpless condition but in between the beast's legs, slicing against the rough tendon of the foot which had Broderick pinned.  Blue-black blood slightly oozed from the wound but barely affected the ancient monster.  Poor Broderick remained trapped, unable to move and any part of his body.  He cried out in his own monstrous voice and morphed into a bat; however, the ancient bat, watching him, kept him glued to the floor, an amused look on its twisted features as Broderick's wings flapped effortlessly while he hissed and snarled at his enemy.

Isabella and Jacob rejoined behind the creature's back and, on cue, ran up along the monster, flanking both sides, attempting to cut at the base of its wings, hopefully to make it lose strength, but as they attempted to achieve their heroic deed, the vampire monster (perceiving their intentions) counterattacked by using both of its massive wings to pick up the brother and sister team off of their feet and slamming them to the floor.

Clee summoned up another spell.  She held her hands within close proximity of each other, conjuring up an energy deep from within her worship of the cosmos, a force of weather that started snapping among her fingers, building in strength as she mustered lightning.  She pushed outward with her arms and electrocuted the maniacal beast with the incredible heat, the light crackling through the air and latching onto the beast's chest, right around the heart area.  The Turok-Hans shrieked, its head thrown back in pain.  The electrifying charge generated from the witch's fingers sparked impressively outward, licking nearly every item throughout the parlor:  riding up along the walls, spreading out across the floor, jumping and jolting up along the staircase and banister, skittering along the overhanging terrace, yet not once touching or posing a threat to anyone in the proximity of its power.