As Jamie sat waiting and the sun moved lower and lower he continued to plan out the assault in his mind, thinking of exactly what he would do once he had rescued Lady Carver. As he started to wonder if something may have happened to Mr Biddle he heard the sound of gears turning and jumping up he moved to the edge of the cliff once more, and seeing that there was now an opening above the ledge he prepared himself to leap over the short distance and enter the castle. The jump itself was fairly easy, though the thought of missing and plummeting down to his death caused Jamie to hesitate and gather the courage to leap before he launched himself, grabbing onto the ledge and managing to pull himself up with a quick glance downwards he shivered slightly before moving into the castle, and one step closer to his love.
As his eyes adjusted slightly to the relative gloom of the castle he saw Mr Biddle waiting at the end of the corridor for him, and with just a nod to show his thanks Jamie moved forwards and the pair started to slowly make their way down towards the dungeon.
They moved silently and without running into anyone for the most part, at least until they travelled down the last corridor, Mr Biddle saying “The next door leads to the dungeon, so from here I will follow you and do what I can.”
Jamie nodded, concentrating on the door ahead of him he drew his katana once more and prepared himself for combat. With a quick sprint Jamie ran and leapt into the air kicking the door as he did so forcing it open to reveal several rows of cells and a very dirty and gloomy dungeon. As he moved forwards he noted that each cell door was open with no occupants, though the signs of recent prisoners were left – mouldy food bowels and other various items that indicated that until recently there may have been people within. Passing the cells he moved along spotting both a torture room and another passageway. Quickly going down the corridor at the end he spotted a turning and following it around he quickly emerged before a pair of vampires who were stood leaning against a wall either side of a reinforced doorway. As he sprinted towards them one of the vampires called out alerting the other, the pair of them pulling out their own weapons – one with a large sword and the other what appeared to be a shotgun of some kind. Skilfully Jamie threw his own sword with all of his strength directly towards the one on the right who screamed out as the blade pinned him to the wall, causing him to drop the shotgun he had been taking aim with. As moved forwards he heard the one thing that he had been longing to hear, the sound of Holly from within the cell calling out to him as she heard the commotion. Keeping his pace Jamie quickly drew his broadsword and both he and the remaining vampire clashed blades, the force of the impact causing sparks to fly from the cold metal. In no mood to duel and spurred by the thought of being moments away from the one he loved Jamie wasted little time in deflecting the next few blows before in one quick sweep he decapitated the vampire before driving his blade into the other one, killing them both within five seconds. As their remains burst into flame he heard the sound of a key dropping to the ground, and after a few moments he recovered it from their ashes before unlocking the heavy door and stepping into the cell. As soon as he did so he was grab-tackled by Lady Carver, the pair embracing and taking a long moment to passionately kiss – the days apart and their surroundings being almost instantly forgotten.
As they eventually stopped and gazed into each others eyes for a moment longer Holly said “What took you so long?” a happy smile covering her face.
“Oh you know, this and that” explained Jamie “But we can get into that all later, right now its time to kick seven shades of shit out of the count and teach him what happens to people who fuck with us.”
The large grin remained on Holly’s face as she nodded in agreement before Jamie handed her his Katana and one of his revolvers. Exiting the cell Holly paused as she glanced at Mr Biddle who was sat staring at her, before Jamie said “Oh, this is Mr. Biddle, a lost member of the order who I stumbled across on my way here. But there will be time to fill you in on everything later.”
“Good to meet you Lady Carver” said Mr Biddle as he stood and sauntered over to them, before the group quickly made their way towards the exit of the dungeons and up into the castle.
Ace glanced over at the count once more as he paced the room back and forth, before asking “So when do we get this stuff here started?”
The count glanced over from his throne and responded “All in good time my dear man, in a few moments I will send for the slayer whore and she shall witness my transformation before I end her life. Then from there I shall spread my hordes of darkness throughout the land and you shall have your kingdom.” Several of the vampires around him grinned and nodded as he spoke.
Ace continued his pacing before moving over to his second who was stood at the edge of the room and saying “Go and check on the prisoner, then bring her up here with those vampire guards of hers. I have a bad feeling that tonight may be long and complicated – and I’d rather everything ran smoothly.” The guard nodded before rushing away, moving past some of the other soldiers who were spread across the throne room and out of the doorway leading to the rest of the castle.
Checking his watch once more Ace could see that it was only about half an hour till the moon would be high in the sky and the count could initiate his transformation. Feeling slightly anxious Ace walked over to one of his men and without saying anything took a pack of smokes that was in his jacket pocket and lit one, inhaling deeply before putting the pack back and moving over to the count’s side once more.
As they waited for a few minutes Ace again checked his watch, wondering just how long it would take to get the prisoner up from her cell. Glancing over at the count he noticed how the Vampire Lord didn’t seem in the least bit concerned, obviously having dismissed any thoughts of failure as he sat on his throne with his legs up and a glass of blood with a curly straw. As Ace finished the cigarette and flicked it away there was a sudden commotion as the doors into the throne room flew open and the man he had sent to recover the prisoner sprinted in, panic spread across his face as he screamed “The slayers are here!!”
There was a flurry of movement as Ace’s men scrambled to prepare themselves, the sounds of rifles being cocked filling the room as the count sprang up and screeched “What? That’s impossible! Where are my guards!”
As the sounds started to subside quickly and everyone had readied themselves Ace noticed a quiet beeping noise which was rapidly beginning to get quicker and quicker. Several of the men began to look around uncertainly before all of a sudden the man who had rushed in realised what was happening.
“Oh Shi- ” he began, but a moment later he erupted into a flaming mess of charred flesh and bone as an explosion tore him to shreds, killing several of the other men in the process and throwing Ace to the ground. Obviously the slayers had somehow put a bomb on the man and let him escape.
As his vision swam and a high pitched ringing filled his head he watched in dismay as a pair of slayers entered the room. The woman slayer dove forwards and rolling into the nearest group of vampires with a katana in her hand she began ending their lives one after the other with generous gushings of blood and ash spilling onto the floor. The other slayer held a revolver which he used to quickly dispatch six of his own soldiers, one shot after the next finding its mark before they could even return fire.
As Aces hearing slowly returned all he could hear was gunfire and shouting as both his men and the count’s men opened fire and tried to kill the pair. Holly swung her katana at the nearest man, cleaving his arm at the elbow and causing the man to cry out and began to collapse, but in one fluid movement she turned him around and grabbed him by the neck – turning him into a makeshift meat-shield as several shots thudded into his torso and protected her own.
Once Jamie had exhausted each of the rounds in the revolver’s chamber he drew his own blade and sprinted forwards as Vampires, goblins and other assorted minions began to rush into the room in an attempt to stop them however they could.
“You fuckers!!” screeched the count at the top of his lungs, rage filling his voice as his face contorted into a monstrous snarl. “Kill them! Fucking Kill them!” he continued to scream as the pair battled their way slowly towards him. They were now once more side by side, their movements almost being perfectly in sync with each other as they killed enemy after enemy, Aces men crashing to the ground, vampires bursting into flame and the other assorted creatures all dying regardless of what they did.
Suddenly through the large doorway into the throne room there was a crash as a large troll forced its way through and towards the pair, several goblin handlers behind it urging it forwards, prodding at it with their swords as they barked orders in their own guttural language. Pausing for one moment Jamie and Holly looked at each other before both turning and sprinting directly towards it, their swords gleaming with the blood of their fallen adversaries.
The thuggish monster lashed out with its hand as they approached, though the pair were far to agile and leapt above it’s reach before they each skilfully leapt up it’s body and swung their blades in unison, cleaving directly into the creatures neck and separating it’s skull from it’s body in one smooth motion.
As they landed lightly back on the ground the hulking headless torso tumbled backwards, crushing it’s handlers as they tried unsuccessfully to scramble out of the way.
As the dust settled there was a moments silence where everyone who was still alive looked around at each other uncertainly. The centre of the throne room was littered with corpses, blood and other assorted carnage, the count was now stood with a look of deep hatred covering his face.
Ace had gotten to his feet and was looking in dismay at what remained of his comrades, there were literally only two of them left who had situated themselves on a balcony at the back of the room. They were looking at him uncertainly, obviously waiting for orders on what to do next now that their victory was far from certain.
Holly and Jamie walked together towards the count, passing the piles of his defeated minions before each of them prepared themselves, spreading out slightly in order to better attack the count.
“You fools you are too late!” he shouted “the blood moon will be full in the sky in mere moments! You will both kneel before me before I take your lives!”
“Not if we can help it!” retorted Jamie as the pair lunged forwards in unison, attacking him from two directions at once. The count grinned as he dodged both blades with what appeared to be relative ease, his speed being almost staggering as they continued to strike at him and he continued to dodge each time, his body contorting and bending unnaturally as he did so. In the flash of an eye he lashed out with a balled up fist and struck Jamie in the chest sending him flying several feet backwards and into the air. Holly continued to assault him however he still maintained his speed and finesse as he dodged each attack before again lashing out suddenly and sending her tumbling to the ground.
“Now you shall die!” He shouted reaching down to where he had placed the Crown of Blood only to find that it was no longer there. The sounds that began to emanate from the count were those of almost mindless rage as he screeched before a few moments later turning his attention back to the slayers who had now recovered and were waiting for him.
“Where the fucking fuck!?” he demanded moving forwards as he pointed towards them “I will give you five seconds before eviscerating you fuckers from the face of the earth!”
As he continued to move forwards Ace called out from where he was at the back of the room, pointing as he did so at the cat that was dragging the Crown towards the exit “Yo count! That pussy has your crown!”
Turning his attention immediately towards Mr Biddle the count flew forwards at an almost unimaginable speed, reaching him within a few moments. Hissing, Mr Biddle reared up slightly and as the count reached for the crown he swiped quickly with his claws and caught the count’s hand. The count once more erupted into an almost unintelligible rage before a few moments later he kicked Mr Biddle with all of his strength sending the unfortunate cat hurling into the nearest wall with a loud thud before hitting the ground and remaining still. Reaching down for the crown the count quickly picked it up and placed it on his head, the red moonlight coming through the window bathing him it its eerie light.
Suddenly everything in the world seemed to freeze and a deep feeling of foreboding fell upon the companions as the Crown of Blood began to glow a deep sanguine and the count began to rise slowly into the air as the light of the moon intensified around him. His eyes turned from the pale sunken sockets to a deep blood red and his fangs and nails began to elongate and turn into horrific implements of death as the moonlight seemed to turn into a focused beam of power. All sound was unnaturally muffled as Holly tried to yell something at Jamie. He couldn’t make it out but he guessed that this would be their final chance to somehow defeat the count, though their task seemed now more unlikely than ever before as he was infused with the dark power of Dracula’s cursed blood.
As soon as it had started it seemed like it was over. The bright glow of the moon had subsided and things seemed to return to a normal state as the count slowly returned to the ground before turning and facing the two slayers.
“Oh yes…” the count began, his voice now much deeper and somehow oozing with unnatural power “Yes I like this. So…strong – so much power. Shall we see what new toys are at my disposal?”
Raising his hand and directing it at Jamie the count suddenly somehow lifted the slayer from the ground and high into the air where he began to flail helplessly for a few moments before the count released his control and he plummeted back to the ground. As he did so Holly lunged forwards with the katana in an attempt to kill him whilst he was distracted but all the count needed to do was lift a finger and she froze in place unable to move even slightly.
“Now my darling, you will watch as I kill your partner and drain every single drop of his blood, before I do the same to you” he said with a grim smile across his face. He once more lifted his arm and raised it towards Jamie, causing the slayer to fly forwards directly into the count’s embrace, his clawed fingers wrapping tightly around his neck and beginning to crush it slightly as the count enjoyed the suffering he was causing. As he opened his mouth and exposed his nightmarish fangs Jamie prepared for whatever undoubtedly painful experience he was about to receive when all of a sudden a gunshot pierced the air and the count stumbled slightly before releasing the slayer who collapsed to the ground before scrambling away.
“What the…?” began the count as he turned to see that the mercenary captain Ace was holding a still smoking gun, aimed at the count. “You fool, what are you doing!?” he screamed “You are moments away from our ultimate victory and your own kingdom and now this?”
Ace did not respond with words, but rather several more shots which pierced the counts torso and caused him to cry out again – before Ace’s two remaining men joined in and starting firing round after round at the count.
In the blink of an eye the count was beside Ace and in one horrific motion he took a huge bite into the man’s neck, causing blood to spout out at an alarming rate as he tore a chunk from it before grasping the man’s head and swiftly jerking it upwards, tearing his head clean from his body, a bloody pool rapidly forming on the ground where his body now lay.
The count was now wounded and he needed to feed to restore the little power he had lost, momentarily regretting killing Ace in such a manner instead of feeding from him the count turned his eyes back towards the slayers, the only other two mercenaries fleeing the instant their captain was killed.
Leaping towards the nearest of the pair, Lady Carver, the count opened his mouth and prepared to drain her as soon as he made contact, the entire moment seeming to go in slow motion as his dark magic once more held her in place.
Acting on instinct alone Jamie moved as quickly as his body would allow, taking a few swift steps as he struggled to bring out his dagger before he leapt into the air, just managing at the last moment to bring himself between the count and Holly. He cried out as the count’s teeth sunk into his shoulder, though with his left hand he trust forwards with the dragon-bone dagger she had given him and plunged it directly into the count’s heart, twisting it as he did so. The count’s body suddenly went rigid as his life was torn away, a shrill screeching being the only noise he briefly made. A bright red flash emanated from where the dagger was piercing the count and Jamie cried out as his hand was bathed in a painful burning sensation. A few moments later there was silence in the throne room and Holly was released from whatever force was holding her in place.
She rushed over to Jamie who was laid next to the now statue of the count, a grin on his face and his usual smug look of victory about him. As she knelt over him and was about to speak he grabbed her with his good hand and pulled her into his embrace, kissing her fiercely for a long time before finally he let her move away.
“We nailed it bub” he said still grinning like a lunatic “though it possibly could have gone a bit better.” With that she helped him up before they both examined his hand and then the frozen count.
“Looks sore but okay I guess” Holly said after closely examining his hand “Seems to be some kind of burn from all of the raw power that left his body, though I’m sure we have things at home that can fix that up real nice.”
Nodding but showing more interest in the statue Jamie picked it up, standing it beside him. The count’s face was contorted in a mixture of rage and pain, the crown being the only thing that apparently wasn’t turned into stone. Jamie’s dragon-bone dagger was stuck fast in the rock and after a few determined tugs he realised that it would likely stay that way. Shrugging Jamie lifted the crown from the head of the statue and placed it on his own head before saying to Holly “Did you want to do the honours?”
She smiled at him before replying “Oh I think we should both”. With that the pair each placed a hand on the statue and in one motion they pushed it backwards with some force. The frozen count toppled backwards and with a resounding crash it smashed into the floor and shattered into several large chunks and numerous smaller pieces. From the pieces Jamie quickly recovered his dagger, which interestingly the blade of which seemed to now be stained a deep red.
After recovering it Jamie quickly turned his attention to the far wall of the throne room where Mr Biddle had been launched. Rushing over to the small feline Jamie’s fears were confirmed when he realised that the little guy still hadn’t moved an inch. Possibly the last immortal being in the world was no more and it was debatably his fault.
“Damn…” Jamie began laying a hand on his small body. As he did suddenly there was a twitch before his hand started to tingle in the most odd way. They watched as a thin trail of red light moved from Jamie’s slightly blackened hand and passed into Mr Biddle. A moment later the cat jumped to life and after a brief moment of panicked looking around he realised where he was and stared at the slayer before him - before surveying their surroundings.
“So we won” asked Mr Biddle in a rhetorical manner before beginning to groom himself with his forepaw “Good good”.
“Are you alright?” Holly asked uncertainly glancing between Jamie and Mr Biddle.
“Actually I feel fantastic” replied Mr Biddle gazing at her.
“You know you were a little dead before right?” she asked before adding “and some kind of magical energy from when Jamie defeated the count passed into you and then you woke up?”
Mr Biddle gazed at her appearing unconcerned for a moment before saying “Well how fortunate for me then.”
Shrugging Jamie looked around the throne room briefly before he stood and stretched out, yawning as he did so before saying “Right. Lets loot this place and get the hell out of here. We can fill you in on exactly what happened on the way back, after all its gonna be one long walk.”
As he spoke they heard the sounds of a helicopter whirring to life above them and with a quick glance at Holly Jamie grinned again before the trio turned and sprinted, heading towards the roof and hopefully their ride home.
Everything turned out okay in the end. The slayers made it to the roof and the two remaining mercenaries were more than happy to learn that they had defeated the count and saved the world – as well as avenging their boss. They were twin brothers it turned out, named Jarred and Al, and from what they explained it turned out that Ace had some kind of an affinity to cats, and couldn’t stand anyone being anything other than lovely to them – which was probably why he attacked the count despite being moments away from accomplishing his life’s goal. The men had retrieved what was left of his remains before leaving and planned to give him a burial at sea (which amounted to little more than getting drunk and throwing his body out of the helicopter and into the ocean it turned out). The slayers explained to Mr Biddle exactly what had happened in the fight and how he had come to be resurrected – something which intrigued the cat seeing as he had lived for a great many years and was once a chronicler of knowledge. The pair of slayers enjoyed a long and well earned rest when they finally returned home – it wasn’t long before they planned to marry each other and continue to fight evil across the land as man and wife. Mr Biddle with their help was able to locate the once forgotten sanctuary of the Order of day, its archives and library mostly intact and still protected by the wards that had kept it hidden for so long. He began the long process of restoring the order’s headquarters and with the help of the slayers he not only succeeded but they once more began to recruit new members to fight the forces of evil wherever they lurked.