Michael Belmont and the Heir of Van Helsing (The Adventures of Michael Belmont) (51 page)

And then, as they watched Dracula’s castle crumble before their eyes, something fascinating began to happen.
 
The castle began to fade.
 
The outline of the mountains behind it could be seen in the distance, and rays from the rising sun peaked through its walls as they would through parting storm clouds.

Liam watched eagerly for his father and friends to come racing out.
 
Although he didn’t have direct line of sight on the main entrance, he’d be able to see them within seconds of coming out.

Steadily the castle continued to fade, as did the clamor of its collapse, until at last, like the remnants of a nightmare dissolving from a waking sleeper, only a memory of it remained.

Liam gawked in disbelief as the hikers treaded the mountainside to explore the ruins of Poenari Castle.

“They’re…they’re gone,” he muttered, not wanting to believe his own words.
 
Were they all dead?
 
Had they disappeared along with the castle to some ethereal realm, unable to return to the land of living men?
 
How could this have happened?
 
He could only keep looking, keep hoping that they’d still appear walking toward them on the path down the hillside.

“What are you looking at?” Abigail asked, coming up beside him.

He shot around to see all of them standing there next to the lake.

“BUT, BUT, HOW DID YOU….” Liam shouted, ending with a finger pointed up to where the castle had just stood.

His father grinned.
 
“Alucard led us out through a tunnel that comes out down here by the lake.
 
It’s right over there.
 
Although to be honest, I was a wee bit worried there for a while that we weren’t going to make it out.”

Liam smiled broadly at Michael, who was being held up by Magda and his own father.
 
Traces of dried blood encrusted his nose and the front of his shirt.
 
“What in the world happened to you?
 
You look like death warmed over.”

Michael grinned back feebly.
 
“It’s good to see you too, Liam.”

Alucard knelt down to inspect his grandfather, who greeted him in a warm embrace.

Michael looked up at the ruins on the hilltop, and for a moment was tempted to wonder if it had all been some terrible nightmare, but all the proof he needed to tell him otherwise was gathered around him.
 
Caleb’s face was smudged, and a bit of cobweb clung to his shoulder.
 
His uncle Link stood carrying the unconscious body of Elizabeth.
 
He had a sheepish look on his face, and grinned half-heartedly upon catching Michael’s eyes.
 
Mr. MacDonald caught his son up in a great bear hug, lifting him several feet from the ground and giving him a loving squeeze.

Everyone around him looked tired and shaken, and he could only imagine how
he
looked.
 
The face that drew his attention the most however, was Magda’s.
 
He could see something in her face that hadn’t been there before.
 
It took him a moment to put his finger on what it was.
 
Magda looked…relieved.
 
She smiled at him with a new twinkle in her eyes.
 
A great burden, which had cursed her family for generations, had finally been lifted, and now she would have peace.

The grass was still wet from the morning showers, and the air smelled clean and fresh.
 
The sun peaked out from behind the veil of dark clouds, and it looked like the rain had finally decided to move on.

Michael fidgeted nervously with his umbrella, and listened as the priest finished up the funeral service.
 
Once it was all over and a final prayer had been given, most of the other guests finished paying their respects and began to leave.
 
Michael just continued to stand there and look down at the coffin, thinking about how brave and fascinating this person had been.
 
To pass such a soul on the street, one would never have any idea what an extraordinary individual they’d just come in contact with.
 
He wondered if he might look at everyone a bit differently from then on, and take a moment to consider what kind of story each person might have to tell.

“Goodbye,” he said, looking down at the casket.
 
“I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to know you better, but I hope you’re in a happier place now; a safe place.”
 
Michael dropped a white rose onto the coffin to join the flowers already resting there.

He gazed at his family, who were standing across from him.
 
Abigail stood between their parents, holding her father’s hand.
 
She wiped a tear away, and caught his gaze for a moment before looking back down at the coffin.

Magda, who was standing beside him, took his hand.
 
She grinned at him warmly as they turned to walk away.

As the crowd thinned, Michael saw a pair of familiar faces, waiting there to meet them.
 
Although he had seen the two men just a few weeks earlier, Michael felt a surge of excitement.
 
The Dragon smiled at him with sad eyes, nodding as they walked up to greet him.
 
Standing beside him was a man whose milky white face sharply contrasted his black suit and bowler hat.

Michael shook their hands.
 
“I’m glad to see you’re alright,” he told the old man.
 
“You were in pretty bad shape the last time I saw you.”

“I could say the same to you,” the Dragon reminded him.
 
“You’re looking much better as well.”
 
He put his hand on Magda’s shoulder.
 
“And the last time I had a good look at you, you had the weight of the world on your shoulders.
 
I can see you more clearly now, I can see the reflection of long lost friends in your face.
 
I think you have much happiness to look forward to.”

She beamed back at him.

“Well,” the Dragon told them, “I had to make a quick recovery.
 
Like I told you before, I still had some unfinished business to take care of.”
 
He glanced at Alucard and smiled.
 
“There’s a lot of things I never got to discuss with my grandson.
 
Besides, it’s refreshing to have a relative that isn’t intent on killing you or trying to conquer all of Europe.”

Michael laughed, but immediately felt guilty for it.
 
“I’m sorry,” he said, glancing over his shoulder to the casket.
 
“I didn't mean to be disrespectful.”

“No, no,” the Dragon said with a wave of his hand.
 
“Don’t be sorry.
 
I think Dorothy would like to hear us laughing.
 
If fact, she’s probably laughing too.”
 
He patted Alucard on the back.
 
“Besides, it’s the best medicine, or so I’m told.”

“So what are the two of you going to do now?” Michael asked them.

Alucard straightened his hat.
 
“Mihnea may be gone, but many creatures of darkness still roam free because of my father’s evil deeds.
 
Our work is not yet finished.
 
We have several leads to follow up, and we’ll be heading to our first destination immediately.”

“Really, where’s that?” Michael asked.
 
“Somewhere here in Ireland?”

Alucard shook his head.
 
“Apparently, a small family of blood-suckers is causing trouble in a rural town of western Washington.
 
We want to eliminate the coven before the problem gets out of hand.”

“Besides,” the Dragon told him, “when you’ve been hunting monsters for seventeen hundred years, the work kind of grows on you.”

Michael’s family and the MacDonalds walked up, and Michael introduced the Dragon to his mother.

“Thanks for helping our kids,” she said while shaking the old man’s hand.

“Oh, it was my pleasure.
 
But I couldn’t have done so, had they not helped me first.”
 
He gave Abigail a friendly pat on the head.
 
“It’s good to see you again, young lady.”
 
He pulled something out of his jacket pocket and held it out to her.
 
“Before Dorothy passed, she asked me to give this to you.”
 
She reached out and took the thin golden chain from his hand, holding it up to examine the small, gleaming cross as it swung through the air.

Rachel watched as her daughter’s eyes filled with tears, and pulled her into a tight hug.

“She told me this belonged to her mother,” Abigail wept.
 
“Why would she give it to
me
?”

Rachel stroked the girl’s hair.
 
“Well, she knew that the two of you shared something special.
 
You both survived a horrible experience, and I think she admired your bravery and courage.
 
In spirit, she thought of you a little bit
like
a daughter.”

“I don’t think I’m all that brave, or courageous.
 
In fact, now I’m just as scared of vampires as I am of werewolves.
 
I never want to see another monster again.”

Mark laughed, but not unkindly.
 
“Of course you don’t, and you’d be a fool if you did.
 
But you can’t be brave
unless
you feel afraid.
 
And you can’t show courage unless you’re scared.
 
Mrs. Stoker was very proud of you, but not half as proud as we are.”

Rachel kissed her on the forehead and together they walked over and placed their flowers on Dorothy’s casket.

“I’m glad she got to see you again before she died,” Declan told the Dragon.
 
“She spoke very highly of you, and it always pained her not to have known your fate.”

The Dragon sighed and a look of remorse washed over his face.
 
“I’m sorry to have left her like that, all those years ago.
 
But at least we got to say goodbye.
 
She was the first person I went to look up after leaving the castle.”
 
He glanced at Alucard and grinned.
 
“But, I have a new family now.
 
We’d better get going.
 
We wouldn’t want our leads to grow cold.”

Even Alucard managed a smile as they all shook hands again and said goodbye.
 
“I hope to see you again someday soon,” he told Michael.

“I promise not to shoot you next time,” Michael assured him.

“I’m glad to hear that.
 
But next time I’ll come to the front door and knock so you won’t have a reason to.”

Michael and the others watched as their friends waved farewell and vanished into the distance.

“That’s quite a remarkable family,” Michael’s father said as they turned to head for the car.

Michael chuckled.
 
“And ours isn’t?
 
Anyway, what’s the plan for us?
 
Are we going to be staying at McGinty Castle while our house is finished?”

“No, we’ll be leaving for Mexico City in two days.
 
Your mother and I have some overdue research that we need to get started on before we return home.”

“Mexico City?
 
Can’t I stay at McGinty Castle with Liam until it’s time to go back to Arizona?
 
I promised to help him out with something.
 
Besides, I’d like to spend a little more time with…um—”
 
He glanced over at Magda, who was speaking with his mother and sister.

“I’m sorry, if it was up to me, I’d let you return to Scotland with the MacDonalds.
 
But as things stand, your mother would kill me.
 
She’s not going to let you and Abigail out of her sight for a while.
 
Besides that, Magda won’t be going to McGinty Castle either.”

“What do you mean she’s not going to McGinty Castle?
 
Is she coming with us?” he asked hopefully.

His father grinned.
 
“No, she’s not coming with us.
 
Why don’t you ask her about it yourself.”

Michael wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that.

The small countryside restaurant bustled with the laughter and chitchat of its customers, and as the chubby young waitress stopped to gather their empty plates, she gave the children a flustered smile.

Michael glanced over to the table beside them, where the adults were happily engaged in their own conversation, and then returned his gaze to Magda, who was sitting beside him.
 
This was a bittersweet moment, because today he’d be saying goodbye to her as well as Caleb and the MacDonalds.
 
It always depressed him to have to say goodbye.

Michael looked at the small faery lantern in his hands.
 
It was covered with dirt and grime.
 
He pulled up his shirt and gave it the best scrub that he could manage.

“Don’t do that to your shirt,” his sister reprimanded.
 
“Boys are so gross sometimes.”

Magda smiled at her and nodded, then took a sip of tea.

Michael ignored them and handed the trinket to Liam.
 
“Here, you’d better keep this.”

“Huh?
 
What’s that supposed to mean?
 
This one was given to you!
 
Mine was lost for a reason.
 
I don’t expect you to give me yours.”

“Don’t argue with me about it.
 
It might be a while before our family makes it out to McGinty Castle again.
 
What if you need it?
 
What if you have a chance to investigate what you told me about the forest?”