Michael Belmont and the Heir of Van Helsing (The Adventures of Michael Belmont) (4 page)

“Michael,” his mother said softly, “what’s that?”
 
He thought she was looking at the amulet, but as he followed her eyes, realized she was actually gazing at the ring upon his left hand, the ring that Anubis had given him down in the necropolis, which was now glowing softly.
 
He hadn’t seen it do this since the day of Anubis’s death, and as he looked into the ring’s blue stone, he saw something like brilliant clouds swirling around inside.
 
A soft blue light began to drift out of the ring, only to be absorbed by the amulet’s stone, causing it to glow as well.

Michael’s mother looked on in amazement.
 
She grinned cautiously, but then noticed that her son was beginning to sag in his chair.
 
His head had gone limp and he looked as though he were fainting.
 
She jumped up and whipped the amulet out of his hand, casting it off onto the carpet near the bathroom.
 
Then she bent down on one knee to examine him.

“Hey, are you alright?” she said frantically, giving him a gentle shake.

He shot his eyes back open and gawked at her.
 
“Yeah, I’m fine.
 
I’m okay.”

She pulled her chair up close and sat down next to him, looking him over carefully just to make sure.
 
“What was that all about?” she asked accusingly.

“I don’t know.
 
I was just…drifting off, kind of like being woken up from a dream, but in reverse.”

She frowned at him suspiciously.
 
“What did you see?”

He eyed her seriously.
 
“A little girl in a dark green dress.
 
I mean, I was seeing it through her eyes.
 
She stooped to the grass and picked up a gray chunk of stone, just like the one in the amulet, then got up and began to run.”

“You were seeing it through
her
eyes?
 
Just like you did when you saw through Anubis’s eyes?”

“No, it was different.
 
With Anubis, I knew what he was thinking; it was like I’d become him.
 
This was more like, well, like I was just watching what was happening, but through the girl’s eyes.
 
It only lasted a few seconds though, and it was a little confusing.”

She made a thoughtful sigh and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Hand me the amulet and I’ll try it again,” Michael told her.

“WHAT?” she yelled.
 
Her husband stirred, moaning softly as he turned over in bed.
 
She quieted back down to a loud whisper.
 
“Not a chance, young man, not until we know that it’s safe.”

Michael was about to protest, but she immediately cut him off.
 
“I said no, and I meant it.
 
I’m not going to put you in any risk just to try and get a few answers.
 
Not unless we’re sure that it’s safe.
 
In fact, I want you to take off that ring and give it to me right now.”

He frowned at her in disbelief, and sighed indignantly.

“I mean now, mister.
 
I’m not taking it away from you for good, but I think there are some things your father and I need to figure out first.”

He huffed in protest, but put his fingers on the ring and began to pull.

“Mom, it won’t come off.”

Her eyes narrowed and she pursed her lips.
 
The ring had been too big for Michael’s finger ever since he’d gotten it, and she had even helped him wrap a Band-Aid around it to get it to stay on his finger.
 
“Let me see,” she demanded.

“OUCH,” he yipped as she yanked frantically.
 
She calmed back down when Mark turned over in bed again, letting out a painful moan.
 
Michael rubbed his hand and looked her over accusingly.

“All right,” she said with a heavy breath, “but I’m going to get some butter later and get that thing off of you.”
 
She said it a bit apprehensively, like she might doubt it would work.

“Mom, look,” he whispered to her, pointing down to the amulet, which was still resting on the carpet.
 
“What is that?”

She sat up straight, examining the amulet with amazement.
 
A Celtic triple spiral had appeared on the surface of the gray stone, glowing with a bright blue light.

Elizabeth Harrison sat on a bench in the gazebo, watching people as they passed by her in every direction.
 
She took a long sip of her Chai tea.
 
It had been too hot to drink when she’d bought it a few minutes ago at the Hotel St. Michael across the street, but pretty soon it would be too cold.

Two teenage couples passed in front of her.
 
The girls were talking and giggling while their boyfriends tried to look cool.
 
Three small children cornered their father beneath one of the tall, lit-up trees, pelting him with snowballs.
 
Elizabeth laughed, covering her mouth with a gloved hand so he wouldn’t notice.
 
This was such a great spot to come people watching.

Elizabeth had always thought Prescott was beautiful during winter.
 
It had become a tradition for her to come and enjoy the courthouse Christmas lighting every year, and she’d often thought how nice it would be to come and live here.
 
Now she’d finally gotten away from the big city atmosphere of Phoenix, and until this moment she hadn’t realized how happy she was about it.

The trees around the courthouse square twinkled with lights of every color, creating a feeling of warmth that somehow seemed to help keep the cold at bay.
 
Well, most of the cold anyway.
 
Elizabeth stood up and shuffled her feet back and forth, trying to shake off the chill she’d gotten from sitting still too long.
 
She heard a snowball whiz past, barely missing her head.

“Sorry about that,” a little girl said guiltily as she ran past chasing a laughing boy.

Elizabeth gave her a forgiving wave and stepped down from the gazebo.

She scanned the crowd for Rachel.
 
Her best friend had many admirable qualities, but punctuality wasn’t one of them.
 
Walking over and stopping beneath the statue of a man on a horse, she pulled out her phone to see if she’d missed any calls.
 
She hadn’t.

“Come on, Rachel,” she mumbled to herself.
 
“It’s too darn cold for me to be waiting around for you again.”

She began to type a text message to her friend, but was interrupted by a loud commotion somewhere behind her.
 
Turning around, she saw a man lying on the ground near the statue.
 
He’d slipped and landed face first in the snow, and a number of presents were scattered around nearby.

“Oh, oh no.
 
Are you alright?” she asked while stooping to help him up.

“Thank you,” he smiled and wiped the snow from his face, stooping to retrieve his top hat.
 
The man was wearing a long blue waistcoat with lapels, and looked like he’d just stepped out of a Charles Dickens novel.

“Nice clothes,” she said, a bit more sarcastically than she’d intended.

He momentarily looked at her in confusion.
 
“Oh these, how silly of me.
 
Of course.
 
Still a bit stunned from that fall I’m afraid.”

Elizabeth thought she detected an accent in his voice, but it wasn’t quite pronounced enough to place.

“I was singing with a group of carolers earlier this evening.
 
We were all dressed as characters from A Christmas Carol.”

She began to help him pick up the scattered presents.

“I would’ve liked to have heard that.
 
I love listening to carolers.”
 
She handed him the last present along with a warm smile.
 
“By the way, sorry about that snippy comment just now, it didn’t come out quite right.”

“No need to apologize, I do look rather odd tonight.”

Now that she was finally getting a good look at him, she noticed how handsome he was.
 
He was younger than she’d thought as well.
 
The old fashioned clothing had given him a mature appearance, but now she guessed that he was in his mid-thirties or so.

“No, you don’t look odd at all.
 
You look really…really great.”
 
She could have kicked herself at the dumb way she’d said it.

“Thank you,” he said with a tip of his top hat.

“So, where are you off to with all these presents?
 
Are they props are something?”

“Oh, I’m just on my way to drop these off for the Christmas Angel Program.
 
I picked a few of the children's names off the tree and did a little shopping.”

“You really are right out of a Dickens novel aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry?” he asked.

“I’m Elizabeth, by the way.”

“Mihnea,” he said while taking her hand.
 
“A great pleasure to meet you.”
 
They locked eyes and smiled for a few long moments.

“So, where exactly are you taking those?” she asked, pointing to the presents.

“I was told to look for a man named Buckey O’Neill.
 
You wouldn’t happen to know him would you?”

Elizabeth giggled.
 
“Actually, you met him yourself a few moments ago.”
 
She pointed up behind him.

“The statue?”

She nodded.
 
“I don’t think he’ll be able to help you though, since he was killed in the Spanish-American war over a hundred years ago.”

“Oh,” he said looking disappointed and a little confused.
 
“Well, what about the horse?”

“The horse?”

“Did he die in the war too, or can I ask him for directions?”

“I’m not sure about what happened to the horse, but take a look over there.”
 
She pointed to a table with a Christmas Angel sign a few dozen feet away near the steps of the courthouse building.

“Can’t believe I missed that.
 
But to be honest my eyes were on, er, something else when I tripped.”
 
He looked at her shyly, but her smile only broadened.

“Maybe after I drop these boxes off I could buy you a hot cup of coffee?” he asked her hopefully.

“Actually, I’m meeting a friend of mine tonight,” she told him.
 
“In fact, she’s already fifteen minutes late.”

He looked disappointed, and it made Elizabeth feel strangely guilty.

“But I’m free tomorrow night,” she said quickly.

“Oh, well I’ll be working tomorrow,” he said.
 
“But I’d love you to come by and see me anyway.
 
Wait here just a moment.”

He traipsed over to the table where a few people greeted him with broad smiles to receive the presents.
 
They offered him hot cocoa and cookies, but he politely declined and hurried back to Elizabeth.
 
He took a business card from his pocket and handed it to her.

“Here you are.”

“The Blue Danube, fine dining,” she read.
 
“You work at a restaurant?”

“I’m the owner.
 
Our grand opening was only two weeks ago.
 
Have you heard of it?”

“No, but it sounds intriguing.
 
I’d love to come by.”

“I’ll have a table waiting for us.
 
Will seven o’clock be alright?”

She nodded and gave him an excited smile.
 
“Here’s my cell phone number in case something comes up.”
 
She took out a pen and scribbled it down for him.

“I look forward to it.”
 
He took her hand and gave it a gentle kiss.

As they said goodbye, she felt an excitement that she hadn’t known for a long time.
 
Mihnea had been so handsome and charming, maybe she was finally meeting the right man for her.
 
No, she reminded herself.
 
Just take things really slowly.
 
Don’t build it up in your mind before it happens.

“What have you been up to?” Rachel asked her a few minutes later as she popped up out of the crowd.
 
Elizabeth had an impish smile on her face, but Rachel had expected her to be waiting with a frown, ready to give her an ear-full for her tardiness.

“Me?
 
Nothing.”
 
She couldn’t contain her happiness though.
 
She took her friend’s arm and led her toward the crosswalk.
 
“I met someone a few minutes ago.
 
We’re going out tomorrow night.”

“Wow, that’s great.
 
You’ll have to tell me about it over pizza.”

The little pixelated man on the traffic light began to flash and they crossed the street.

“Do you really think you’ll be able to handle two nights out in a row though?”

“Very funny.” Elizabeth stuck out her tongue.
 
“And guess what, I hate to break the news to you, but you’re buying again tonight.”

“What?
 
I thought the rule was over twenty minutes late?”

“Check your watch for a clue Nancy Drew.
 
It’s nearly eight o’clock.”

“Ouch.
 
I really am sorry.”
 
She gave her friend a squeeze and looked at her with puppy dog eyes.

“Well, that’s okay.
 
It actually turned out for the best this time.
 
Besides, I never could stay mad at you for long.”

Mark Belmont was ambushed by his wife the second he walked through the front door.