Okay, i didn't think it has to be said, but it do so...
Do not interact if you are into shota/loli anything. I draw cute kids cartoons because I enjoy animation. I also draw my own OCs, sometimes as characters in fandoms because it's simply character study work....I also do have ideas for young adult and even children's storytelling. So if I post content about children's cartoons, I am doing it in a completely non sexual way. So if you want to sexualize child characters fuck the hell off.
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I am not dead just really fucking busy. RE9 dropped and I got so so much dopamine from Resident Evil games that it's all I've played since end of Feb. Between like 10 titles I've amassed over 200 hrs. It's been really really fun.
Anyways Chapter 3 of the Drak Pack fic is under way, slowly but surely.
Thunderstorms riled Frankie up so they were trying to relax with some television. It was that or give into the jitters caused by the electricity in the air. They turn the channel, landing on the news. The latina woman in a plum blazer sitting at a polished glass desk smiles tightly. “Good evening Ravensbrook, welcome to Channel 4 news, we’ve just been cleared to share information on the murder of Terry Clark. Local antiques dealer and owner of Times Before. Be advised the language I am about to use may be unsuitable for children and those with sensitive constitutions. Mister Clark was found dead in his home yesterday afternoon after his assistant went to check on him. His body was, well, dismembered. First responders described the scene as a ‘gruesome jigsaw puzzle’. He was found under a broke antique mirror he purchased the afternoon of his death. No theories or suspects have been named. And police are requesting anyone with information to call the tip line on the screen.”
Frankie stands looking for the others. If that news story wasn’t a lead, then it was a conveniently timed coincidence.
Drak stands in the kitchen in front of the open fridge, insulin pen in one hand while he holds the hem of his shirt against his stomach with the other. He looks up but doesn’t say anything as he administers the dose of medicine.
Frankie holds off on speaking until Drak pulls the device away and slips it into a box in the fridge. “Something on your mind, Frankie?”
“I think I know who freed Dred. They were found under a mirror in jagged pieces,” Frankie answers.
“So then Big D was right, the mirror he trapped Dred in found its way here.”
The backdoor opens violently and Drak wrinkles his nose at the affronting smell of wet dog.
“It’s like he knew to make sure his scent couldn’t be followed!” Howler grumbles slamming the door as she stomps into the room, tail tucked between her legs and dripping water. “And it started pouring rain on the way back.” She bristles, her mane puffing a bit despite the moisture.
“Howler,” Drak says sweetly, stepping back from the dripping were-wolf. Frankie does the same.
She grins, showing off her maw of sharp canines.
“Howler, no!” Drak begs, taking two more steps back.
She shakes bodily side to side. Sloughing water off her fur in all directions. In a few moments the other teens are now wet.
Drak groans. His blouse now half drenched and clinging to his torso, the odor now literally on him. He makes a face before turning and stomping to his room.
Frankie gives Howler a look of shame. “Really Howlie? You couldn’t wait till you got to the bathroom?” They shake water off their arms.
“Aw come on, it’s not often I can get under Drak’s skin anymore.” She grins wiping her paws on the doormat.
“And who’s going to clean all this mess?” Frankie asks.
“She is,” Delilah says from the far hall entryway tilting her head in Howler’s direction. She holds up a mop and a washrag.
“Aw come on Renfield,” Howler whines.
“The Count’s rules. You clean up your own messes, it builds character and keeps you humble.” The butler says handing off the cleaning tools.
Frankie smirks, “Don’t worry little buddy. I’ll supervise.”
Howler takes the rag and starts wiping down the splattered water. “Gee thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Dracula nods “That is within the realm of possibility. Breaking the mirror while someone’s trapped inside it can kill them. And the description from the news sounds familiar. My wounds were so grave I don’t remember who took responsibility for it. But it somehow found its way here.”
“But how did he know the device was buried here, and that it was buried in the southern glade?” Drak asks. He and the other two hover over Big D’s desk as they try to make sense of Dred and his next move.
“The problem with the mirror world is that it’s a dimension connected to every mirror in existence. The fair folk call it the vanity dimension. And once you get stuck on the inside, you remain trapped in it until you can trade with another person, the mirror is broken, or the person who trapped you there releases you, but only through the mirror you were trapped by. It exists outside of time and space, designed as a prison for a vain fae tyrant who spent centuries forced to watch others but never see his own reflection and never participate in life.”
“So Dred uses the fact mirrors are in every home to keep up with the world?” Frankie asks.
“Exactly, and he possibly witnessed that damnable device get buried through a reflective surface at the scene. A button, a puddle of water, the shovel even. I may not have a reflection, but he would have seen Renfield and the device.”
“So he might have known all of your defenses and avoided our notice that same way?” Howler asks. She was still mad about the glade. Her beautiful trees, chopped down so Dred could dredge up the past and his awful invention.
“Alright, so we have to assume Dred knows enough to feel like he would have the upper hand in a fight,” Drak thinks allowed. “What do you recall about him when you fought him last Big D?”
Dracula rolls his eyes, “You’re never going to give up on that silly nickname are you?” His nephew just smiles wickedly. “Anyways, he’s a Victorian era gentleman inventor with an ego and a chip on his shoulder. He thinks the world owes him power and authority. And he doesn’t like to do his own dirty work. He craves validation even from his enemies so you can likely trick him into monologuing, but he is old hand at fighting off vampiric suggestion. He’ll tell you exactly what he intends to do, if you let him.”
Frankie makes a concerned noise. “Does he not have any common sense?”
“He literally has a device that can bend our wills to him,” Howler retorts. “I think it’s safe to say his lego set is missing a few pieces.”
“He may not be sane, but he is crafty. He snuck his ultimate weapon out from under our noses.” Drak looks around the office. “Big D you aren’t as worried as you should be. What are we missing?”
Dracula grins. “That the power-source to his device was buried separately. In a box beneath my crypt.”
Howler grins, “so he doesn’t know everything.”
“Yet,” Frankie adds. “And when he realizes it, he’ll show himself to get it back.”
“Precisely. So now we wait to see what kind of move he makes,” Dracula says. “Now go get some rest, you have school in the morning.”
The three begin to head out, Drak lingering behind. “Uncle Dracula,” he begins softly.
“Yes?”
“Thank you. I know sharing that story wasn’t easy. But if it’s any help, hearing it didn’t change my opinion of you.” He slips out before his uncle can reply.
“Kids these days! They can break my heart without even trying.”
Cody Morris, James Hawthorne, and Tom Winton are running through the school lawn tossing a worn and battered football between them as they do when the first warning strikes.
It comes in the shape of Toad, the lowly, frogman who works for Dr. Dred. He does what he was ordered to do, hop across the school grounds and find three human looking boys befitting the detailed rendering from the madman.
Toad passes by them, yellow eyes surveying them for a quick moment before moving on. As he does Cody stares. “No fucking way!” He says looking to his friends.
“Was that a frog man?” Tom asks
“It’s got to be mascot. Maybe a prank from a rival school?” James suggests.
The boys follow Toad.
Toad pays the students who don’t look like the ones he is after any mind. And after some time, he spots one of them.
“I think that’s the were-wolf.” He hops to her, “excuse me, but is your name Howler?”
“Sure is, who’s … Asking?” She turns from her locker. “Hey,” she says taking a whiff. “This is a human school, it’s not safe for monsters to run around without a disguise.”
Toad smiles, “Oh, I didn’t know that,” he lies. Howler turns looking for a jacket she can cover him with.
“Just hold on a second my amphibious friend.”
Toad blinks. People don’t call him a friend. Especially not people like this.
But Dred’s orders were clear. Get close to the teens Dracula was harboring and expose Drak Jr. Now Toad just needed the wolf-girl to take him to the others.
Howler pulls a sweater she hasn’t worn in months from the back and suddenly drops it on his head. “Okay, come with me, Drak has the keys to the car.”
Toad grins under the soft garment. “That sounds excellent.” He murmurs.
Drak is patiently waiting for Amy Jones to catch her breath so he can apologize and run. If I didn’t know any better I’d think she was a monster with how long she can go between breaths. But she’s definitely human.
“I think it’s really brave that you don’t let Cody push your friends around, but you don’t try to fight with him either. It’s admirable watching you stand up for yourself but not antagonize him either,” she pauses finally.
Drak pounces. “I’m flattered Amy, really bu-”
“Oh you’re so modest! Look all I’m asking is that you remember me for Junior Prom this year,” she bowls right over his exit attempt. And then Drak smells frog. And a lot of it.
Maybe they’re doing dissections in biology.
Then he sees Howler hurrying a shorter person, with a cardigan covering their head towards him.
Drak raises an eyebrow at her and she gives him a wide-eyed look that says “emergency now.”
He smiles sheepishly at Amy and raises a hand. “I’ll consider it, but right now I’m needed by a friend,” he says before hurrying to follow the were-wolf and her unpleasant smelling companion.
Amy watches him go, “The dreamiest boy in school and all he ever cares about are his friends.”
“Howlie what’s going on?”
“I haven’t the slightest clue, but we got a frogman under here, no disguise.”
She leads them out to the parking lot. When they get to the nice but sensible car Dracula had begrudgingly let them purchase, Howler pulls the sweater off Toad, who blinks.
Drak looks at him in surprise. “What’s a monster like you doing in a highschool?”
Toad looks up at him with sad eyes. But Howler cuts him off. “Frog-boy here knew my name, and Big D did say that you know who likes to employ monsters.”
“So that’s how it is.” Drak folds his arms over his chest. “Are you here on behalf of Dr. Dred?”
Toad croaks in surprise. “You’re so smart. You must be Drak!”
Drak and Howler both take a few steps back.
“What do you want?” She asks menacingly.
“Just this,” Toad says before pouncing for Drak. Howler lunges after him but she’s not as fast as she’d like in her human form.
Drak raises his hands to defend himself, but this isn’t the gentlemanly sport of swordplay his uncle has been teaching him for years.
Toad hops over Drak, short hands reaching for the hint of gold chain under his shirt.
Toad’s short nailless fingers Clutch the chain as he falls back towards the ground.
Drak splutters as he’s yanked backwards by his amulet. He grabs at the chain and pulls hard, swinging Toad into his back. They stumble forward And Howler catches the frog-man in her arms. As she rips him off Drak, the chain in Toad’s grasp snaps, Drak stumbles free, and Howler pins Toad to the ground with a snarl.
“Shit!”
Howler looks up to see Drak’s human disguise fade away, leaving a pallid, fanged, vampire standing in the middle of the school parking lot. Drak drops into a crouch, hiding between the cars.
“What did you do that for?” Howler yanks the chain from Toad.
“I’m just following orders,” Toad answers.
Drak texts his uncle, and then he changes into the form of a cat. “I’m gonna have to miss class for the rest of the day,” he says glaring at Toad.
Big D was going to be furious. Not with him of course, but with Dred’s underhanded minion.
A soft chuckle draws their attention. A woman in red, looking as pale and predatory as Drak grins. “This is the great Dracula’s nephew. Why he’s a scaredy cat.”
She steps between them. “I’m impressed Toad.”
“Thank you Vampira” he smiles.
A shadow passes over head and something drops to the ground all around them.
Howler shrieks and backs off of Toad, swiping at the plants around her. Already a rash is forming. She clutches at her swelling throat, anaphylaxis setting in.
Wolfesbane.
Drak jumps out changing back to his proper form. He scoops Howler up. “Your bag’s inside isn’t it?” She just nods, coughing. Her face is swelling, tears running down her cheeks.
“Why?” Drak demands. “Why are you working for Dred?”
Vampira sneers. “You wouldn’t understand child. Dracula’s cause doesn’t appeal to all of us.” Her accent implies, like his uncle she is from Eastern Europe.
“You and my uncle were enemies weren’t you?”
She bares her fangs. “He will pay for crossing me.” She swings a hand for the boy.
Drak jumps on top of a car and looks back at the school. “Guess I’m gonna have to break all of the rules today.” He leaps forward and onto the ground, running into the school. Howler’s desperate wheezing incentive to move quickly.
“Toad don’t just lie there! Help me!” Vampira snaps.
Toad finally stands up and sighs. “But I already did my part,” he complains.
“I’ll bite you if you don’t help me keep them busy,” Vampira threatens
“No!” Toad wails covering his thick neck with his hands.
“Then get them!”
Toad hops after the two.
Drak knows Frankie is in class, but he needs help. He rushes into the school classmates shout and gasp as he runs through the hall. Frankie, I need you at Howler’s locker NOW! He thinks hard focusing on his friend. There’s a startled response before he cuts the connection. Drak makes it to the locker and sets Howler down. She coughs weakly.
Heavy thundering footfalls approach.
Frankie turns a corner and skids to a halt. They stare at Drak and Howler. “What do you need?”
“Howler’s epipen.”
Frankie nods and with a deep breath the punch the locker door. It crunches like an aluminum can. They pull out Howler bag and rummage for the device.
Drak taps an impatient foot, Howler’s growing quieter, the rash on her face and arms looking angry and red.
Frankie deposits the adrenaline injector into Drak’s hand and he swiftly administers it to her. Frankie continues to dig for benadryl. Pouring several into their palm and crushing them into powder.
Drak kneels above her, epipen in one hand, the other holding hers, willing her to be alright. “Come on Howlie,” he begs softly. He can’t lose his first friend ever. He’d hated her at first. A loud brash girl who was brought to Big D’s doorstep by her own mother. The great-great-granddaughter of Dracula’s ally and someone for whom the lycanthropy gene had skipped over. It happens from time to time, especially when humans and monsters mix blood. She’d been at her wits end with a were-wolf daughter. The father was out of the picture, a human who hadn’t been a permanent fixture in her life.
She’d pleaded with the vampire, begging him to do what she couldn’t, raise a monster child. She knew his great-nephew was already in his care. Big D agreed because he owed the bloodline, and because he knew Drak needed friends.
And the two had fought. With fang and claw. Drak was a bit unwilling to share the attention of his uncle and Delilah. And Howler had just been abandoned by her own mother. It wasn’t an ideal situation. It had taken the two getting lost in the forest and having to rely on each other to get back home to iron out the wrinkles between them.
After a few still seconds, Howler coughs roughly, the medicine reducing the swelling, and she breathes finally. Her throat still burns, entire face tingling and her eyes can barely open. She chokes hand squeezing Drak’s. She can feel him relax beside her.
A minute later Frankie is hand feeding her some crushed benadryl and water. She gives a shaky thumbs up.
Drak stands and looks up to see students staring. He gives a slight smile. But before he can think of an explanation or pull a vanishing act. The school doors blow open and Vampira and Toad march in.
Vampira grins and transforms into a dragon, of all things. Big and terror inducing. The school devolves into chaos.
Kids run screaming.
Teachers usher the children out, one on the phone with 911.
Drak looks at Frankie, “you get her out of here and safe. I’m gonna try to buy us some time.”
Frankie nods solemnly. “If you’re sure?”
“Trust me,” Drak says, giving them a reassuring shoulder pat. Frankie scoops the barely conscious werewolf up and heads for a window. They smash through it, carrying her to safety.
Drak turns to face Vampira and Toad. He bares his fangs. These monsters were just out in the open, causing mayhem and doing the exact opposite of what Drak and his friends were trying to do. To live above the stigma and the stereotype of monster-kind.
“So what, you’re going to harass a couple of teens for a guy who sees you as expendable soldiers?” Drak asks.
The dragon chuffs in amusement. “Oh darling, I have my own score to settle with Dracula.”
“Even knowing what lengths Dred will go to?”
“He’s promised immunity in return for our help.”
Drak scowls, “You don’t really believe him?” A madman with the power to use monster-kind as his personal army of dolls, and they really believe him?
Vampira roars, and then charges for him. Drak jumps, shoving a couple of younger students who had frozen in fear out of her path. He avoids the snap of her grisly maw and leaps away from the kids, landing atop the lockers and clinging to the walls. As the other part vampire crashes into the lockers with a resounding crash, he runs along the wall deeper into the school and hopefully somewhere he might lose them. Or at least where there aren’t unsuspecting bystanders.
Toad flounders, little hands waving in distress. “he’s getting away!”
Vampira growls at him before following after, leaving a bank of smashed in and destroyed lockers behind.
Outside on the school lawn, Frankie sets Howler down watching the mayhem unfold. There are sirens in the distance and students leaving en masse in their vehicles. Some are just running. There aren’t enough faculty to handle this kind of situation and at least three teachers who saw Vampira are halfway down the road.
It’s a mess.
There’s an odd buzz over head like a big bee or a fly.
Howler chuckles, then groans at the pain of her inflamed esophagus. “Shit, that burns. As soon as I can stand, I’m gonna sink my claws in her for the wolfsbane.”
“It wasn’t she who dropped that wolfsbane on you, it was I, the Fly!” A buggy man zips around them to land in the grass. He wears a simple gray shirt and pants, but his limbs, hands, and feet have an insect like quality. As do the transparent, veined wings fluttering from his back. He wears goggles over his eyes, tinged yellow. And he’s only a little taller than Toad.
Howler bares her teeth and pulls the amulet off. “So you’re the one I get to thank personally.”
She lets loose, shifting form. It hurts, but the change alleviates enough of her breathing that she can stand.
The Fly looks at her. “you can’t catch me.” He flitters off.
Howler takes a step forward and stumbles. Frankie puts out a hand to steady her, but she shakes them off. “I’m gonna ground that bug,” she says through gritted teeth.
As if on cue a familiar gloved hand offers a glass vial to her.
She takes it with a sigh of relief. “Oh Renfield, you’re the best.” She downs the contents with a sigh. “Nothing like a home brewed recovery potion.”
The butler nods, “The Count received your distress call. He sent me to offer any aid I could.”
“Thank goodness,” Frankie says, standing and removing their own amulet. It was time to do something about all this chaos. Fly was dive bombing the fleeing students.
“Oh, one more thing,” Delilah says. “Dracula suggests you focus on ensuring minimal damage and injury. He doesn’t want you fighting them head on. Where’s Drak?”
“Inside being chased by two of the goons who attacked the school.” Frankie looks at the busted open doors with a wince.
“Then I will see if I can assist him in his endeavors.” She sprints to the front of the school, looking like an avenging butler from an anime.
Howler lets out a call as she spots the Fly and bounds after him. Frankie follows after. It’s likely she’ll need some help. Recovery potion or no, she was just in the throes of suffocation.
Drak turns down a corner and then hurries into the library. Not the best place to fight a fellow vampire or a frog-man, but the labyrinthian nature will give him an edge. With a flourish he changes into a bat and flits around the metal shelves until he finds a spot to hide perched in the back corner.
Vampira thunders in, changing into something more maneuverable at the sight of tables, books, and shelves packed into the space. Toad looks around. “He isn’t here.”
Vampira sniffs. “He is here, and I’m going to find him.” She picks a direction and walks further into the room.
Toad takes a different way, looking at all the books neatly organized.
Drak watches them, he know it’s only a matter of time before she sus’s out his hiding spot. I hope Frankie and Howler are alright. He wonders if they’re alright with the no doubt madhouse the school grounds must be.
Vampira turns a corner and spots him. “There you are darling, now I have you.”
Drak shoots off flapping wildly for the doors. The pair follows him and he flaps out, changing with some slowness to his true form and then slamming the doors shut. He runs, panting down the hall. Drak isn’t a full vampire and he’s still young, he can’t keep changing shape, eventually he’ll collapse from exhaustion. He turns a corner and almost collides with the principal who is shouting into the phone.
“We need help, this is madness, send everyone you can now! The children are in danger! We’re being attacked by people dressed as monsters!” He stares at the teen vampire who just ran by him.
Vampira grabs the man. “What’s the matter? We’re just having a little fun, you like fun, right?” She bares her fangs. Drak slams into her, not fully sure what else to do. They need to keep the school staff and students safe. The man stares in horror. “There are more monsters!” He shouts into the phone.
She hisses as she stumbles, snarling at Drak. The principal stares at him, clearly trying to place the boy’s familiarity. Vampira rips out of his grip haughtily.
As Drak regains his footing, Toad bowls right into the young monster, knocking him to the ground.
Drak frowns. He doesn’t really have much else in the way of tools. Not to mention the principal is watching. There’s no telling if he recognizes one of his own students, even if their appearance is so altered.
Toad climbs off him, hopping proudly. Vampira gets close, eyes narrowing. She grabs Drak, hands clamping on his wrists. “Now what do we do with this little fang?” She asks.
Drak tries to break free, or transform even though he’s too tired to. But he’s firmly grasper by another vampire, and the laws of the undead are clear. Vampires can’t escape other vampires or specifically made restraints. So he’s at her mercy.
Fly buzzes over Howler making faces at her. He swoops low over some kids hiding in some bushes. They run screaming. He shoves one to the dirt and then darts back up just in time to avoid the werewolf’s claws. She growls, clearly tired of this game. “Come here and I’ll show you just how much I appreciate that wolfsbane!” She pounces at the buggy villain, claws swiping air where he had been.
Frankie sighs, this is one pest they can’t reach. Drak would be far better suited to catching him with his ability to fly. But he was hopefully fighting the other vampire and the frog-man. With a sigh, Frankie searches for something. ANd their eyes land on a big rock. They grin. “That’ll ground the bug if I can hit him.” They pick it up and take aim, watching. Fly may be fast but he follows a pattern. Flying in the same path on repeat.
After a few moments of watching, they throw the rock, and to their relief, they hit him square in the torso. With a startled yelp, the Fly drops to the ground, pain and shock paralyzing him.
Howler is fast to pounce. “You ain’t gonna bug out of this one.” He grunts, trying to get up, but now that he’s grounded, Howler’s speed is able to outmatch him.
The chase thrills her as she pounces and with a yelp he’s pinned beneath her. She howls in triumph as Frankie barrels after them a frown on their face. Howler has to resist the urge to take a bite. This sn’t a rabbit in the woods. This is a fellow monster and a person. She can’t let instinct get the better of her.
Vampira pats Drak’s head, patronizing the boy for his efforts. “You were brave, but you lack the experience I have darling.” She tuts.
“It’s too bad this is just a distraction,” Toad giggles with glee.
Drak stares at him, “What do you mean a distraction?”
“Oh Toad, you’ve blown it!” She snaps, swinging at him.
He hops out of reach.
“What distraction? What is Dred up to?”
“Oh he’s just setting up a surprise for Dracula. Some afternoon exposure therapy.” Vampira says with a smile.
“No,” Drak’s face falls.”You’ll kill him!”
“Oh no, Dred’s not planning on that darling, he just wants to enlighten an answer out of him.”
“The location of the power source?” Drak asks realizing that Dred had in fact played them. He’d sent his monster cohorts to cause chaos at the school, jeopardizing their identities and buying him enough time to set some kind of trap for the ancient vampire.
“It’ll never work,” Drak says after a moment of thought. His voice is confident.
“Because of the butler?” Vampira tuts.
“Renfield is never going to let Dred near Dracula.”
“Unless she’s here,” Toad points. Drak looks to the end of the hall where Delilah is standing. “Looks like she came to save you.”
“Dracula’s grown soft especially for you. Dred knew he would send you help if things got nasty at the school.”
Delilah’s purple eyes flash. “So that’s what this was about. Put the Count’s charges in danger so he’d send me to help without thinking twice.” She glares, hands lighting up ever so slightly.
“Dred used his attachment to us to ensure he would leave himself unprotected,” Drak surmises in equal parts anger and shock. “For a man out of his time, Dred sure is learning how to play at subterfuge.”
“It doesn’t matter!” Toad says as their earpieces carry Dred’s voice.
“Retreat, your task is done, and our trap is sprung. Now we wait.” Vampira and Toad release Drak and begin heading down the corridor.
Delilah makes to stop them. “Let them go! If we try to interfere, Dred may spring his trap early.” She nods, but she curls a lip at monsters as they pass.
While Frankie holds Fly in their arms, Howler asks them through gritted teeth, “Where is Dred and why did he send you to attack a school of innocent children?”
“Because it would get everyone’s attention,” Fly sneers proudly.
“I ought to hit you,” Howler says.
“I’m feeling the urge to hit him too,” Frankie says darkly. They’re getting angry and it shows.
“Ooh you goody two-shoes are going to hit me? That’s not very sportsman like.” Fly taunts.
Frankie tightens their grip. “What’s Dred’s plan?”
“The plan was to waste your time so no one would be at home protecting the Count,” Fly grins. Frankie drops him and then swings, but the insect-man dodges and runs. He joins the other two monsters, getting away from the chaos they created.
“Frankie, Howler, let them go. We’ve got bigger problems.” Drak shouts as he rushes to them, Delilah on his heals looking like someone just ruined dinner and knocked over the laundry.
“But Drak?” Howler asks in agitation.
“It was a ploy, and I’m guessing there’s a trap waiting for us when we get home. Dred’s going to force Big D into giving him the power source by threatening us.”
“So let’s get home and smash his plans,” Frankie growls.
“Not yet, pack. We can’t go in blindly. Big D is in jeopardy and if we make a wrong move, it’s a sunshine bath for him. If he refuses, whatever they’ve set up for us when we get home will probably be enough to force his compliance.”
“So we go in all quiet like. You could fly in as a bat and”
“And get captured by Vampira when she smells me. Not to mention I’m a little beat already. This wasn’t just a distraction, it was a ruse to run down our energy.”
Franki slams a fist into a nearby tree, it cracks and bends at the impact. “This Dred guy is really starting to make me mad.”
“We go in, let them spring their trap on just the two of us. Frankie will stay behind, giving us muscle to break us loose once Dred’s distracted with Big D telling him the location.”
Delilah nods, “It wouldn’t be unusual to claim you stayed behind to help with the injured here.”
Sirens, loud and close, blare. “We better get out of here before the police show up. With your amulet damaged, you’ll have to just pretend.” Howler says, shifting human again. Frankie puts theirs back on and the four hurry off of the school property.
Half a block out, Renfield’s vehicle waits for them. They pack into the purple BMW and she starts it. “Lets hope our enemy is moving slow.”
When they get back to Cliffside, Frankie gets out on the street. “I’ll wait for Howler’s signal, but after twenty minutes, I show up.”
“Right, we’ll stall as long as we can,” Drak assures.
Delilah continues into the grounds, the iron gate opening at the touch of a button on her sun visor. “I’ll let you two lead this time. My job is to protect you all.”
Howler grins, “Sure thing, we’re gonna make Dred regret this decision.”
They climb out into the eery grounds. The house looks like a typical haunted mansion from any Halloween decor, built in the 1860s, and left in the care of a steward by Drak’s grandfather.
Technically, the estate belonged to Drak, upon his coming of age. But that was still two years out.
Howler shifts now on their home turf.
“Let’s greet our guests,” Drak says.
The signs of Dred are noticeable. The flowers on the Ardelean graves have been trampled. The vampire hisses, “now I’m really angry.”
Howler pats his back, “We’ll teach em to respect the dead.”
Dracula’s crypt is open and the frogman from school is waiting there. “They’re here, they’re here!” He shouts hopping into the building.
“Quiet Toad!” The voice from Drak’s visions snaps.
The two waltz in, immediately getting grabbed by Vampira and a new enemy, a mummy wrapped in excessive layers of papyrus bandages. Fly and Toad stand on either end of Dracula’s coffin, threatening to rip it open. Light spills in despite the sunken nature of the building. It’s midafternoon and a series of curved mirrors have been set up in the usually dark mausoleum. They reflect the light, illuminating every corner of the space. Drak winces.
“Where’s the other one?”
“Frankie stayed behind to help at the school,” Drak lies as he struggles.
“Ah well, I can still convince Dracula with just you two. Anyway, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Dr. Dred as you great-uncle has likely told you.”
“I’d say it’s a pleasure, but I’d be lying,” Drak replies.
“Smart mouth on you, boy,” Dred tuts.
Howler harrumphs at getting ignored by the madman. “You got a lot of nerve inviting yourself into our home.”
“I’m a busy man, can’t be waiting for permission all the time.”
“It’s rude of you,” Drak says
“Like the mirrors, my fanged friend? I’m sure your uncle won’t. Now here’s the deal. You play nice or we see how crispy the Count can get.”
“And when he refuses?” Drak asks, wanting to know exactly how he intends to do this.
“Ever seen a genuine Hawthorne stake?” Dred claps his hands and Toad pulls a freshly carved stake out. “Of course not. The Count has kept you safe all these years. But now, this will loosen his undead tongue.”
Dred holds the threatening weapon against Drak’s chest, just over his heart. Toad holds a wooden hammer with glee. Drak swallows.
He’s six years old again. Crying into Big D’s cape as the man explains what he found to Delilah. “The boy’s nightmares were true. My nephew and his human lover are no more. Wooden stakes were used on both of them. I’ve had their remains brought here for a proper burial.”
Ice slithers down his spine as he recalls the dreams he had the week of his parent’s murders. Delilah and Dracula both rushing to his bedside when he screamed for his mother and father still half-asleep. He’d eventually explained the visions to his uncle, the men in leather coats, the wooden stakes, choked cries, and blood. So much blood. Drak hadn’t remembered those nightmares. Likely a childhood trauma coping mechanism that had served him well. Being held at stake-point was enough to cut open that old wound, unhealed and merely forgotten. Now he freezes, gripped by a panic Howler can smell.
“Drak?” But he remains unresponsive, eyes glued to the threatening weapon.
“Hm, interesting,” Dred mutters as he waves a hand and Fly adjusts the mirrors, so less sunlight is reflecting into the stone room. “Time to discuss the negotiation of your nephew’s life, Count Dracula!” He shouts, rapping on the coffin. “I know you can hear me. And if you don’t come out, you’ll have two fewer wards under your care.”
There’s a pause and then the casket lid swings violently open, revealing an enraged vampire looking ready to fight. “You dare threaten children!” He snarls.
“I’m not about to waste any leverage I have,” Dred retorts with a shrug. “Now how many years has it been? Almost one-hundred and fifty. You’re looking a little grayer than I remember.”
Dracula snorts. “I’m not the same man I was the last time we fought. But those children do not deserve to be dragged into our quarrel. What do you want?” He eyes Drak and Howler, frowning at Frankie’s clear absence. His gaze lingers on Drak, noting the boy’s paralyses and the frogman holding a stake to his chest.
“What do I want?” Dred mocks. “Surely you know what I came for?”
“I know, but do they know?” Dracula asks, looking at the monsters under Dred’s employ.
“Of course they know, and I’ve promised them amnesty in exchange for their help. Besides, some of them have vendettas with you Count.”
“I know. I remember you well Erzsabet, your brother tried to betray me while I fought this madman off the first time. Killing him was self-defense, but I do regret it.”
Her face twists into an ugly sneer. “It’s Vampira now, and I’m here for my revenge. It’s been too long darling. How would you like to watch your handsome nephew die in my arms?”
Dracula bites back an angry response. “Don’t hurt him, please.”
“Then tell Dred where the power source to his device is,” she spits, putting a hand around the stake. “Or I’ll teach you a lesson about regret.”
“It’s buried in that far corner, under the loose stone.” Dracula hangs his head, looking away.
Dred grins.“See now, even you can be agreeable with the right incentive.” He walks to the corner.
Howler growls low in her throat.
Frankie slams into the mummy holding her tight, and she breaks free swiping sharp claws at Vampira. She cries out in pain, releasing Drak who stumbles to his knees. Free from the grasp he finally snaps out of whatever reverie held him. Fly attends to the mirrors but Howler lets out an ear splitting call that shakes everyone. The mirrors shatter and the room devolves into darkness.
Drak runs towards Dred, seeking to stop him from getting the power source. In this darkness the human can’t defend himself.
“I’m going to have to kindly ask you to stop what you’re doing,” Drak says right behind the man. Dred swings an arm and misses, hearing a chuckle from above. Drak may be too tired to transform, but he’s still a creature of the night and walking up walls and ceiling is like breathing for him. He swings a punch that connects with Dred’s jaw and the man is tossed back. Drak goes to retrieve the item first, but something big and scaly slams into him. Vampira, in the form of a python curls her body around him, squeezing the air out of his lungs.
“Oh no you don’t,” she purrs.
Frankie manages to shove the mummy against the wall. “Stop this! You’re going to help that madman doom all of monster kind!” Their plea is ignored and the mummy headbutts them. Frankie stumbles back at the shock and pain.
Toad, hammer dropped in the confusion huddles in a corner. Wanting to avoid the fighting going on. Howler grins as swings Fly around and around by his ankles. “This’ll teach you to poison people!” She lets him go and he tries to fly off, but disoriented he rockets for a wall and slams into it. slumping to the floor in a heap.
Dred gives a triumphant cry just before Dracula grabs him and tosses him like a rag doll across the crypt.
Drak is trying desperately not to choke when Big D grabs the python and lets out a snarl. “Release him and face me!”
Vampira does so, shifting back and slashing her clawed nails at him. Dracula dodges and bares his fangs. “I thought letting you live after the last time you sought vengeance for your brother’s life would have taught you a lesson. But I see you refuse o learn.”
“Never!” Vampira launches herself at him and he catches her, slamming her into the wall and holding on to her tightly.
“I will not forgive you threatening my nephew,” he growls.
“Oh poor Dracula trying desperately to save his last remaining family,” she sneers.
Drak catches his breath and pulls out the power source.
He looks at the glowing purple crystal is surprise. “Is this a shadestone?” He asks. Shadestones were a powerful energy source for magic. A catalyst that could turn a simple spell into a catastrophe. And it was big. Twice the size of his hand unclenched.
“The biggest one Van Helsing had. And he squandered its power. I was going to become a god amongst men!” Dred kicks Drak, sending him tumbling and the crystal falls tot he ground with a thud. “And it’s mine!” He retrieves the gem with a laugh.
He walks to a device hidden under a cloth and unveils it. The mess of coils, tubes, and dials looks more like junk art than a terrifying weapon. Dred sets the shadestone into an indent and the device gurgles into life. The glow emanates through the rectangular base, dials glow like wicked eyes. And a spark of power travels between a copper wire and two steel rods. “Behold, you filthy monsters. the power of the Infernal Inhibitor!”
He turns a few dials and suddenly a sound emits from it, high pitched and whiny. It grates on the nerves, but more importantly, it cuts through thoughts and emotions. Like a hot knife of noise that severe cognitive thought from the mind. Pain shoots through their heads as it continues.
Frankie cries out and then holds their head, dropping to their knees. “What is that?” their face contorts with pain, the bolts in their neck sparking as if overrun with electricity.
Dred grins. “It’s a frequency which somehow only effects monster minds. Your unique supernatural qualities are attuned to this specific frequency.”
Howler stumbles, hands on her ears whining low in her throat. “Turn it off!” She begs.
Drak closes his eyes and tries to fight against the noise, but it burns through his skull. He can’t think past the whining buzz.
Dred chuckles, and then looks at Dracula who has released Vampira but remains standing tall. “How’d you like to see your own wards turned against you?” Dred says with a wicked flash of teeth. “The monster who fought to keep his kind safe, destroyed by his own nephew and the very monsters he swore to protect?”
He turns another dial.
Frankie gives out a shriek as their mind implodes into starbursts of pain. And then, it’s as if they’re floating in a sea of stars. Teh stars are painful to look at, the whining shriek emanating softly from them now.
Howler’s thoughts crash into a brick wall. It hurts something awful, and then she’s floating in thick, syrupy nothingness.
Drak’s mind gives way to a bright burning sensation, white-hot fluid sizzling his consciousness away. The liquid heat suddenly grows cold as ice, freezing over leaving nothing but cold barren emptiness.
Dracula watches the light drain from his wards’ eyes in disgust. Dred’s own goons clearly unphased, though each is wearing some kind of earpiece. Something that must block or dampen the frequency for them. If he could reach just one, and get it on just one teen, it might help. But could he fend off three teen monsters without hurting them? He didn’t think so.
Dred cackles. “See Dracula! You could only postpone my genius. By letting me live you doomed yourself!” Dracula turns to see the three teens approaching him slowly, methodically, and without any comprehension of the action. He backs away, not wanting to hurt them. Anyone but them.
The stars blur and twist into abstract shapes that take on menacing sharp edges and curling claws. Frankie blinks and the shapes take form, a familiar crypt, with strangers watching in glee as they and their friends close in on the vampire who raised them.
Anger burns hot in their veins, sparking at the bolts in their neck and breaking them free. With a cry they stumble back, shaking the fog from their mind. “Drak, Howler, snap out of it!”
Neither responds.
They grab Howler by the tail tugging on it. “Howlie, come on. Snap out of it!”
Howler stiffens, her fur bristling and then she spins, snapping her sharp at them.
Dred turns the dials more. “No, they’re breaking free! It must be from having human parents as well as monster ones.”
“What do we do?” Toad asks in worry.
“What I’m paying you to do, stop them!”
Howler snaps her teeth on her own tongue, the pain cuts through the syrup she was sinking in. With a groan she comes to and gives Frankie an apologetic smile. “Thanks for that, I’ll help Drak, you get that wanna ne tyrant.”
Frankie nods.
Toad and Fly charge for the werewolf who grins. “I haven’t shown you my favorite trick.” She takes a deep breath and lets out a sound so clear and so high pitched the walls rattle. But in the stone crypt it bounces off reverberating in a way that brings everyone to their knees. Including Drak who was closing in on his uncle.
Toad cries for mercy while Fly shoots off for the door bouncing off the frame as he escapes. Vampira claws at her own ears while Dred tries to maintain control of his device.
Frankie puts a hand on the dial, turning it down despite the pain. Howler finally catches her breath, releasing everyone from her own high frequency howl.
Drak warms up to his uncle shaking him gently. Limbs sting as if he’d been out in the cold too long and was now warming them by a fire.“Snap out of it nephew! You have to fight it!”
Drak blinks at the full vampire’s worry stricken face. “Big D?” He asks.
“That’s right!” Dracula says grateful for the annoying moniker for once. He hugs the boy quickly and then pulls away clearing his throat. “We must remove the power source from the Inhibitor.”
Drak nods. Howler gives him a toothy grin and holds up a fragment of the stone that must have chipped off when Drak dropped it. “I think we both know what we have to do,” she says grimly.
Smashing a shadestone would likely have massive repercussions. Not to mention they would lose a valuable artifact. But shadestones were rare, because they often formed in places where great tragedy and darkness prevailed. And one of this size must have come from an ancient battlefield. Shadestones were rumored to be grown in turmoil and fed on blood. Human blood usually, but such crystals had been formed where monsters had fought or died. But one of this size and power was likely impossible to find. So if nothing else, it would likely cripple Dred’s plans for a good long while. Giving them a chance to discover a more permanent solution.
Frankie looms over Dred menacingly. “That wasn’t a very gentlemanly thing to do,” they chide.
“All’s fair in love and war, isn’t that right?” Dred retorts. Frankie swings, but the mummy slams into them.
Dracula grabs Vampira as she recovers from Howler’s disorientation and holds her tightly. “You have much to learn still Erzsabet.”
Howler snatches the stake from Toad and knocks him to the ground, snarling.
Frankie drags the mummy out of the crypt, tossing him into an enchanted tree trap that holds him fast in its free moving vines.
Dred grabs the dials to his machine at the same time as Drak. They stare each other down.
“You can’t destroy the machine. It’s enchanted,” Dred informs smugly.
“But not the power source,” Drak says plucking it out. He holds the stone high overhead, but the Fly returns snatching it up as he zips over.
Frankie charges back in, in time to see Howler jump off Big D’s casket and grab the fly. Tehy tumble to the ground, Howler ripping the stone from his grasp and dropping it. It clatters to the ground, another fragment breaking off. It might be powerful but it’s old, and this device must be draining whatever malevolent energies reside within.
Frankie scoops it up. “Smash it Frankie!” Drak yells.
“No!” Dred cries.
“It’s too dangerous,” Dracula says releasing Vampira to stop the kids.
With a sigh Frankie throws it against the crypt wall.
The purple crystal shatters upon impact. What should be a soft tinkling of fragments is overcome by the roaring thunder as lightning arcs out from the heap of shattered rock. It arcs wildly like glowing snakes and branches off into three bolts that strike Frankie, Howler, and Drak. Dred ducks for cover as the rest of his men run through the door of the crypt.
The teens hover, energy arcing around them and through them, eyes all glowing that same sickly purple.
Drak, Frankie, and Howler are connected by something unseen. As pure hot lightning courses through them, something glows in their vision. The key to ending Dred’s reign of terror over monster kind.
The magic backlash ends and the three are released from the torrent of energy. They all grab a shard of the shadestone, holding them in their fists they slam the shards into the device.
With a shudder and a bang that deafens the whole room, the Infernal Inhibitor explodes. Bright light emanating from the components as they clatter into the walls of the crypt. All three teens are sent flying in different directions, each one colliding with a wall. Scorch marks burn the stone where it rested and the shadestone fragments crumble to a violet dust that dissipates on the air current caused by the explosion.
Dred stares at the wreckage in shock and wrath. “You dare!”
Something forms in the center of the room. A phantom. blue-white and transparent. Her hair flutters and twists around her boney frame and her sunken eyes glow with burning blue flames. “is it over? Am I free at last?” She asks in a resonant haunting melody. It’s like multiple voices and one is just a second behind the others.
“No!” Dred screams before turning tail and running.
The ghost raises a finger and points at him, causing him to go still. “You! I can not claim your life, nor can I seal you away. But I can mark you, forever tainting your essence.” A bolt of light flows from her into Dred who falls to his knees, his skin turns blue, and he screams.
“Forever more, you shall bear the countenance of a monster. Your appearance will be disturbing to the mortals. And you shall never succeed in your plots. Now leave!”
Dred stares in horror and runs out of the crypt.
The phantom looks at the children, lying in dazed heaps, blinking away the confusion and shock and the vampire hovering over them in concern. “I assume you aren’t just any old spirit?” Dracula asks.
“Count Dracula, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I’m sorry. That despicable contraption was both my prison and syphon.”
“Dred trapped you in it and used your psychic powers to control monsters?” Drak asks as he blinks at her.
“Yes my brave rescuers. I am sorry for the pain, but in the energy blowback I found I could reach you on my own.”
“So that’s how we knew to use the fragments on the Inhibitor,” Howler gasps. “But where’d they go?”
“You were holding them. I suspect they may have merged with your own unique energies. Perhaps they simply burned up in the aftermath. Either way I am free, thank you.”
“Should we be worried?” Frankie asks getting to their feet.
“I wish I knew. Alas, after my decades of imprisonment, I am finally ready to move on.”
“Who are you?” Dracula asks.
“My name was Ravina Barretti. Van Helsing captured me and gave me to that madman to power his inventions.”
“Terribly sorry for that, but I am glad you are free.”
The ghost smiles, “I bid you all farewell. Thank you,” she grows faint, embers of light that drift and vanish on the breeze. After a minute, she is gone and the room is silent.
“We stopped Dred!!’ Howler says before letting out a victorious howl. She groans and holds her aching head, “Might need a nap before we celebrate. “
Frankie laughs at that. “Yeah. Maybe a whole week of rest after that!”
“I’d say we earned it pack, look at us, saved the day and came out on top!” He tries to take a step and stumbles.
Big D catches him before he collides with the floor. “Rest now! Delilah will call for a healer to check on you kids. I can’t believe you did something so stupid and reckless-”
“They did win the day Count, I’d say you can hold off on the fatherly advice until they’ve recovered,” Delilah says, poking her head in. “I’ve already called the healer and ensured those fiends have left the premise.”
Dracula nods in defeat. “I suppose now isn’t a good time for scolding.”
The three share a triumphant grin at escaping the old vampire’s famously long rants.
“To the manor. I’ll clean this mess up here.”
They all nod, too exhausted and weak to argue. Delilah guides them to the house, ushering them to their rooms and checking for injuries. Bruises and small cuts are evident in their faces and arms. Frankie’s patched flesh is peeling at the edges and Drak has dark blue-back bruises on his neck. Howler’s fur protected her from some damage, but as she returns to her human form, there are bruises dark and tender like landmarks mapping a memory of the battle from her wrists to her shoulders.
“I’m Amanda Hollis and we’ve just received eye-witness reports from the Ravensbrook Highschool incident yesterday. Phone images show a dragon, vampires, and even a wolfman infiltrating the school, and fighting on it. While most are positive this was some elaborate hoax from a rival school, injuries and damages were reported. This was the statement given by Sarah Nelson a freshman,” The screen changes to a girl in disheveled clothes with tear tracks in her make-up.
“It was awful. This dragon monster just charged towards me and my friends. And then, and then I don’t know who it was, but he looked like an old school vampire, you know the type? He…he shoved us out of the way. The thing followed him deeper into the school. I…I don’t know if he meant to, but he saved us.” They play a video of the scene taken from the shaking phone of a student. A reddish-colored dragon nearly chomping into Sarah and Drak, shoving them to safety. Then the dragon charging him and destroying a whole bank of lockers.
Amanda returns, “And Johnny Kim had this to say.”
A senior in a torn letterman jacket steadies himself and then speaks. “I was outside when this giant bug thing flew down and it, it knocked me to the ground. I thought it was going to like bite me or something, but then. No cap, a Frankenstein monster and a wolfman knocked it out of the air.” He gesticulates animatedly. “It was like, some kind of monster mash movie! My friend took pictures!” The screen shifts to a few still shots of Frankie and Howler getting a hold of Fly.
“The principal says if this was some kind of prank, or a film put on by the students, he will find the culprits and ensure the damages are paid for by the offending party. He claims that he saw some of the vampire costumed vagrants in the hall. He is currently working with school and county police to discover who all involved parties are and ensure safety. For the mental health of the student body and faculty, school is canceled for the rest of the week.”
Howler turns the news off rubbing her sore shoulder. “Dam we really made an impression,” she grins.
“We conducted ourselves in a manner befitting heroes,” Frankie agrees.
“I think we know what that means?” Drak asks softly, his bruised windpipe making it hard to speak.
“Okay, so maybe we could do the whole super heroes thing,” Howler concedes.
“But only if it’s an emergency and if there’s no one else to help,” Frankie adds.
Drak smirks and nods, “Agreed.”
Dred stares at his reflection in utter horror, “My beautiful visage!” He wails. He smashes the mirror. “I won’t rest until I’ve made those monster brats pay for this humiliation.”
Vampira and Toad nod from the doorway. “We’ll help you darling. I’m not about to let Dracula escape my wrath again.”
“I need time and resources!”
“We can wait,” Fly says buzzing in and handing over the newspaper from Ravensbrook. “Those brats have made the news.”
A man in Victorian garb, dressed like a movie mad scientist. Smeared apron and skewed goggles included, stands above a sealed steamer trunk. It is worn and faded, and as the man touches it, the lock releases. And then the voice of someone attempting to sound more prestigious and cultured than he is, whispers “Now I can get my revenge. It’s time we finished what we started-” the man and the trunk fade to haze.
“Mister Ardelean.” A voice says, laced with agitation. “Mister Ardelean, wake up!”
Drak startles as someone kicks his shin under his desk. He shoots up, textbook and notebook scattering to the floor as the boy makes the most ungraceful display of spooked teenager ever. The math classroom, with enormous black chalkboards and posters depicting times tables and order of operations, comes back into focus. A couple of kids laugh, a few roll their eyes.
“Welcome back to the land of the living, mister Ardelean. That’s twice this month you’ve nodded off during math. See me after class.” Mister Hummel grinds out through gritted teeth. The almost sixty-year-old math instructor clearly did not have the patience for a student falling asleep during the day.
Drak groans to himself, nodding as he bends down to retrieve his scattered belongings. What even was that dream?
Howler is of course, the one who kicked him. She sat next to him so they could both act as wake up alarms for each other. Attending a human school and pretending to be human was a challenge, especially when both of them were technically nocturnal. Big D insisted on maintaining a human presence. Even if he himself didn’t participate in the charade fully, the children in his home were expected to uphold a passable, if not unusual human image.
“Drake’s in trouble,” someone whispers as mister Hummel returns to the chalkboard and begins writing the next problem.
It’s Drak. The boy thinks in agitation. Everyone always assumed he omitted a letter for edginess. Or that it was a unique spelling of a typical name and so they defaulted to what they thought sounds better or natural.
Frankie, sitting behind him gives a worried sigh. They know Big D won’t take kindly to Drak ending up in detention again. Howler gives them a reassuring smile, “don’t worry Frankie, he’ll talk his way out like usual.”
Frankie nods but the froen remains, creasing their sienna skin with familiar worry lines.
Mister Hummel continues the lesson, beady brown eyes staring Drak down until the bell rings. As his classmates and his friends scramble to get out of the room, Drak hangs back. He looks like he’s choosing to stay and talk to his teacher. Not an ounce of anxiety or fear rolling off of him. Hummel waits until the slowest student, a girl who broke her leg doing cheer at the last football game and is wearing a medical boot, has left.
Drak saunters to the desk, rolled up sleeves slipping down his pale arms. The man couldn’t possibly scare him, not when he’d been raised by the Dracula. Not to mention Drak wasn’t scared of tempers or outbursts. He certainly wasn’t afraid of what this man thought of him. If Hummel knew what Drak truly was, he’d probably run begging for his life.
What scared Drak was the very idea that humans were willing to throw their humanity away. To relish in their humanity while signing off on orders that condemned thousands, sometimes millions, of humans to fates worse than death. All while they cooked up disturbing horror media featuring vampires, were-wolves, and every other monster that exists. And a few they made up. Just to make themselves feel better about their own misdeeds. If people thought the real monsters were hideous creatures in the darkness, then humans, even evil ones, were just humans.
Sure vampires like his uncle were notorious for feeding on human blood. Instincts were hard to reason with on the best of days. But that was mostly in the past, at least since modern medicine caught up. Vampires hadn’t hunted humans in decades.
Dracula had hunted indiscriminately. Taking blood from whatever source was available. It was loathsome to consider given the modern ability to pay humans to offer up their blood. But the vampire had never committed to destroying an entire populace because he thought them somehow lesser than him.
It made no sense. Vampires and werewolves may have been known to succumb to instincts and hunger. But humans just chose to declare entire demographics as the enemy, and then proceed to decimate and oppress them in the most inhumane ways imaginable.
Mister Hummel huffs in disappointment. “Now mister Ardelean, care to explain why you decided to nap in class?” The man remains at his seat, comfortable while Drak is expected to stand. The instructor likely getting a kick out of some superiority complex he suffers from.
“I assure you I didn’t intend to sleep. I was just so tired, I’ve been pulling all nighters for homework and,”
Hummel cut him off. “I don’t care for excuses. I heard you snoozed in chemistry last week with a beaker of chemicals in your hand. I’m calling your parents and discussing this trend. You can not sleep in class. This is not a nursery. And furthermore, if it happens again, you’ll get three days of detention.”
“You mean my uncle,” Drak says softly, pushing images of his parents out of his mind.
“What?” Hummel asks in confusion and irritation for the correction.
“I live with my uncle. My parents are no longer with us,” Drak says fidgeting with the pendant resting against his collar bones.
Hummel’s rage fizzles out as he clears his throat. “Right, your uncle will be receiving a call.” Seems the old man’s compassion hasn’t dried up yet.
Drak bit his lower lip. It would be child’s play to convince the man not to. To use his supernatural charms to persuade the human to let it go. But it wouldn’t be a permanent fix, and using such abilities could put the whole house in danger. HIs uncle would be far more disappointed and outraged if Drak drew unwanted attention from monster hunters instead of taking one of his uncle’s tiresome lectures about maintaining a normal facade.
He just nods, wanting to get out to where Howler and Frankie were waiting in the hall. No doubt Howler was listening in and telling them everything being said.
Hummel waves a dismissive hand and Drak ducks out in a heartbeat. He steps towards his waiting friends.
“Did he seriosuly not know about your parents?” Howler asks looking apologetic.
“I guess not,” Drak shrugs. “At least it’s lunchtime.” He leads the way as a few students turn to get a good look at the trio. Some whispering.
Drak just smiles as he hears their comments. Howler snorts at his side, as they murmur about the strange trio.
‘Someone’s going to end up in detention again.’
‘I wish he’d look at us for once.’
‘They’re so handsome, and tall.’
‘Oh look, it’s the gay musketeers’ ‘Yeah, look at them, all stuck up and pretentious thinking they are so cool.’
‘They’re always together, like, isn’t that weird?’
It didn’t surprise the three. They were students they interacted with their classmates and they attended events. But they also had an invisible wall up. Getting too close to human students ran the risk of exposure. And none of them wanted that. Luckily, most students just assumed they were general, run-of-the-mill weirdos. And while it might have concerned Big D, the trio was comfortable with that.
Besides, enough students were intrigued by their natural charms and mysteriousness that even on his bad days, Drak was avoiding pushy girls. He liked them well enough, and some were pretty, but Drak feared his vampiric instincts would get the better of him. So he rarely found himself alone with human classmates, regardless of gender.
“Gay musketeers, that kind of has a nice ring to it,” Howler muses.
“It certainly leaves a more positive image than what they intended,” Frankie agrees.
Drak nods. “Makes us sound like heroes doesn’t it?”
Frankie and Howler share a look. “You aren’t still considering that idea of yours?” Howler asks.
“Why not?” Drak fires back.
“We understand your intention, Drak, but, is such a thing possible?” Frankie sounds skeptical, like they always do.
Drak tenses a bit. “I’m not asking for miracles. I’m asking for you guys to consider using our powers for a cause. To put a little good back into the world.”
“It’s just a lot Drak, we’re not against it. But where do we even start?” Howler asks.
Frankie nods, fidgeting with a loose curl of their dark hair.
Drak bite his lip and doesn’t answer because he doesn’t have one.
They pull their respective lunches from their lockers and head to the cafeteria. Each of them has a unique and specific diet and explaining restrictions was a fast way to draw bad attention. The first time they had asked Big D for lunch passes had been the last. The old vampire had pinned them with his signature glare, “and announce to any monster hunters or children of monster hunters that you aren’t human? A boy who can’t eat garlic and a girl who can’t have grapes, onions, or chocolate? Those amulets aren’t cheap! I don’t want you endangering yourselves unnecessarily!”
And that’s how they had discovered Drak was a danger to all life forms in the kitchen. He attempted fo make them school style lunches just once. Big D was still paying for the last kitchen fiasco, the entire electrical system had blown. If Drak weren’t already half-undead, he would have died. As it was Frankie barely managed to pull him from the wall, they had been supercharged and high for a week afterwards. And Big D had signed them all up for home economics the next semester.
Howler plops down, winking at the girl at the next table over who is watching them. She blushes and looks away, hiding behind her pizza slice. The werewolf grins and pulls out a massive roast beef and cheddar sandwich.
Frankie politely sits beside her pulling their garden salad out. They add eggs and cheese from smaller containers to it, mixing it up with a vinaigrette on top. Drak sits across from the two and pulls out his own lunch. He’s quiet as he pulls out an egg salad sandwich and a steel pint size water-bottle. He nibbles at his sandwich, taking a look around. As far as he knows, they’re the only non-human kids in this school.
“You ever wish we’d get more kids like us?” Howler asks, as if she were able to read Drak’s thoughts.
Frankie nods, “I don’t know if we’d be able to sus them out any more than they could us.” They remark thoughtfully.
Drak frowns at that. “Yeah, that’s true.”
“But, it would be nice. To make some new friends we could be ourselves around,” Howler adds with a sigh. “I’m not against dating humans, but, I need someone who wants to howl at the moon with me.”
Drak nods swallowing a bit of sandwich and washing it down with a sip from the metal canteen. He swallows roughly, the rich savory taste of blood cutting through the sleepy fog post his impromptu nap. “Say, have either of you had weird dreams lately?”
Frankie thinks over a bite of greens, chewing carefully. They shake their head. They swallow before answering fully. “But the reanimated dead aren’t known for strong psychic abilities like vampires are.”
Drak nods, “what about you Howler?”
She frowns around her soda straw. “Nope, but the last time you complained of weird dreams was when we were twelve, just before Frankie arrived at Cliffside.”
Drak swallows hard and tries not to cough on blood going down the wrong way. He manages and blinks at her, “I forgot about that,” Drak admits.
“You told Big D a week before Frankie arrived that someone was coming to stay.” Howler looks at their other friend.
Francis gives a polite nod. “I remember your uncle saying he was expecting someone when that nice ghost led me to the manor.”
“Yeah. Uh-oh,” Drak’s eyes darken and he looks down at his lunch.
Howler and Frankie turn just in time to see the school meat heads make their rounds snatching up snacks and divvying them up amongst themselves.
They do the same. Keeping a low profile, not drawing attention. Drak and co wouldn’t care at all about the school’s star quarterback, but Dracula was sure the boy’s family were monster hunter’s. Old blood, generations of monster killing and hatred. And absolutely not the person for three monster teens to make an enemy out of.
Not one of them knew if Cody Morris was actually a monster hunter, but none of them wanted to find out the hard way.
The quarterback, as if summoned by some unseen force stopped right behind Frankie and Howler. The two froze stock still. Cody was the perfect picture of the American dream boy. Short and neat blond hair, bright blue eyes, deviously kind smile, and a body made for sports. He just so happened to be the son of the Sherrif and owned the most expensive car in the school.
In short he was as untouchable ad they came.
He smirked at Drak. “What’s a matter, you look like I took your pathetic sandwich. Like I’d want your crummy shit.” Cody remarks. Eyes nearby zero in on him. Conversations die as everyone waits to see what happens.
“That’s very kind of you,” Drak replies. It may not look like it, but at least two teachers are watching them. Given the warning about his afternoon nap, Drak isn’t about to cause a fight.
Cody bristles a bit, he feeds on the terror and despair of his victims. And Drak has too much pride to give him that satisfaction.
The boy glares for a moment and then turns his eyes to Frankie and Howler who are pointedly ignoring him. “Why do you hang out with a couple of f@gs anyways?”
Drak presses his lips together to fight the urge to bare his teeth. It would only spark a fight, and that could prove far worse damage than just taking the little bit of humiliation Cody would dish out.
Howler makes a big gesture of yawning. Stretching her arms and forcing Cody to give them a little more space. “That the best you can do? I get called worse on the internet,” she touts with a disappointed head shake. “Can’t even get good bullying these days.”
Frankie chuckles at that, their mismatched eyes sparkling. “It’s generic, but has no bite,” they agree.
Cody’s face twists in outrage. Never once has he been able to get under these three’s skin. No matter what tactic used. Not even slurs phase the trio. “I asked Drake that question, not you two. Why do you hang out with them. You’re the richest kid in school. Why slum it with the freaks?”
Drak blinks. “Call me Drak, Cody, and why do you care? I’m not interested in sports or picking on others just because I have status in some circles.” How on earth does he know about Big D’s fortune? “And if you really want an answer, because these two are my best friends.” He doesn’t feel the need to explain himself any further.
Frankie pipes up, their large stature instantly quelling Cody’s bravado. “Does there need to be a reason other than that?” They ask politely. “Besides bell’s about to ring.”
As if on command the end of lunch bell rang.
Suddenly half the students were standing as if compelled by the bell to get up right away. As other students shoved around the jocks, Cody and his cronies abandon the trio for room to breathe.
As they gather up the remnants of their lunch, their phones all buzz with a notification. Big D just got off the phone with mister Hummel. The message simply read: Come to the crypt when you get home:
All three share a sheepish look before splitting off, Frankie for art, Howler for chemistry, and Drak for home ec. Turns out the first semester of home ecc was pretty intriguing. And it had taught Drak a lot of the finer points of human life that he’d missed being raised by Dracula. Dracula had by no means failed his great-nephew, but before becoming a vampire he was a nobleman, in the pre-Victorian era. The finer points of cleaning and maintenance weren’t necessarily part of Big D’s skill set.
The rest of the school day is uneventful.
But when they arrive home they park the red sedan they share in the garage and then step out into the side yard. The cemetery sprawls out from behind the garage. Around two dozen headstones in three rows rise from the frost blanched grass. Traditional round top slabs of grey stone, intricately carved square tops, and one marble obelisk make up the majority of the family cemetery. They take a well trodden path right through the middle of the graveyard. Two centuries of wind and weather have worn away and stained the grave markers. But the names and dates remain legible.
They stop at the mausoleum that stands at the back. A simple stone brick rectangle with two columns framing the door and steps leading down into the partially sunk entry. Not a single window breaks up the walls. Only an intricate stone carving of the family crest. The newer one designed to reflect the change from human to vampire, with a bat flying over crossed swords. On the side, carved from smooth white stone, with red jasper accents in the eyes and on the hilts.
“Four years and this cemetery still gives me the chills,” Francis murmurs as they keep an eye on the headstones behind them.
“Nothing’s gonna pop out at us,” Howler assures patting their shoulder. “I’ve been here almost as long as Drak, and no uninvited spook as ever set foot on this premise.”
“I am aware, I just see why the humans get nervy about visiting the resting place of the dead. It’s a disquieting place.”
Drak shrugs. “I’ve never found it disquieting, but maybe that’s the vampire in me.”
“Likely. I can smell the rot under the earth, my instincts don’t like it. Tells me to leave and fast.” Howler leans against the side of the mausoleum as if to demonstrate how against her instincts she is.
Drak turns the brass handle pushing the wooden facade made to look like stone into the dark room. He steps in unphased by the near pitch black atmosphere. Frankie follows behind, Howler gently guiding them in the darkness. There’s a flick and then a small lamp illuminates one corner of the crypt. Drak turns from the rout iron fixture to the big wooden casket in the center of the room. it sat on a stone dais, with steps leading up to it.
Drak raps a knuckle on the lacquered top. “Bi- Great-uncle Dracula,” he says not wanting to invoke more of the old vampire’s ire.
The casket lid swings open revealing red silk cushioning and a pale hand adorned with a gold signet ring.
Dracula sits up with a sigh wearing a crisp navy three piece suit and his usual collared cape. He speaks slowly, accounting for his thick Transylvanian accent.
“Why did your math teacher call me to tell me you’ve been sleeping in class?” He pins his nephew with his piercing red eyes.
Drak clears his throat before answering, “Honestly, unc, I didn’t mean to. I just closed my eyes for a second.”
“And then he was good as dead,” Howler adds with a giggle at her joke.
“Was your blood sugar too low or too high?” Dracula asks in worry.
Drak shakes his head. “I didn’t think so. Eating lunch did wake me up some.”
“That’s good at least. Try drinking more blood, you’re still only taking it twice a week yes?”
Drak nods something dark flitting over his face.
“What’s wrong nephew?”
“Drak doesn’t want to need more blood than he already drinks,” Frankie offers.
“Such is the nature of being a vampire.” Dracula says gently. “At least you don’t have to find people to feed on like the old days.”
Drak nods. “It helps knowing that.”
“I wish I could do more, but my infamy precedes our kind. Had I not let my temper and my fear rule me in the early says, you kids might not have to deal with the world’s distrust.”
“You went through a lot, and you came around, realized the harm you were doing,” Frankie replies.
The older vampire sighs “I just don’t know how to prove to the world that I’m not a villain anymore.” Dracula shakes his head.
“I know, I’ll think of a way Big D.”
“Uncle Dracula!” He snaps. “Also, pulling on your teacher’s heartstrings, a classic manipulation tactic. Good job.” He changes the subject to a lighter tone.
Howler grins, “Teach was asking for it with his attitude.”
“Don’t make a habit of it. Emotional manipulation is easy to fall back on more often than is necessary.”
“Yes Uncle,” Drak nods.
“Now go, I’ll be up to the house after dark.”
The three nod and hurry out of the mausoleum, shutting the door securely behind them. “Oh I forgot to mention the dream I had,” Drak mutters as they head back through the cemetery.
“You should have a week to worry about it,” Frankie says unlocking the backdoor of Cliffside.
Terry Clark adjusts the beautiful mirror he’d just acquired with a smile. Bought from an estate sale run by some folks who’s mother just passed. The mirror, dating to Victorian era and having been wrapped in canvas in an attic for decades, was still a magnificent sight. The glass needed a good wipe down, there was a layer of grime on it, but the molding was still in tact and the back showed almost no sign of wear. And for just one hundred dollars, it was practically a steal.
He wiped down the mirror carefully, taking pains to remove every last spec of dirt. It took over an hour, but when it was done the mirror shone brilliantly. Terry admires it.
As he stares he sees his own reflection change. A man looking desperate and angry, with an excessive mustache and dressed in clothes befitting the era of the mirror itself.
The man in the mirror reaches out a hand, gloved fingers extending out of the smooth surface and reaching for Terry.
Terry screams and starts to run, but the hand grabs his wrist and yanks hard. The world tilts, Terry falls into the mirror but instead lf broken glass, he’s looking at a mirror image of his own house. The strange man then steps out of the mirror fully. Terry lunges after him but the man tuts. “Thank you for lending me your hand, but I simply must not risk returning to that infernal prison. It’s nothing personal.” The man says tilting the mirror forward and slamming it down on the floor. The clatter of glass falling from the frame is sharp and delightful.
He chuckles at his new found freedom. Doctor Darren Richard Edward Dorsey smiles to himself. “Over a hundred years trapped in that mirror. The only thing that made my imprisonment there bearable was getting to watch the progress. Technology is finally at a point where my desires can be made reality. I’m going to have my revenge on that damnable Count. But first I’ll need to find some hired hands. And pick up where I left off.”
Drak startles awake in the middle of history to Howler shaking him. She’s got a deep set frown on her face. “You’re in so much trouble,” she whispers.
“Thank you Miss Rowan, now mister Ardelean, what about my lecture was so boring you found yourself a chance to nap?” Missus Carmichael asks, butchering his last name to Ar-dull-een. Drak winces as he sits up.
Once again he’d drifted off to dream of the man in Victorian era clothes. More cryptic phrases and yet another unidentifiable location to add to the mystery.
“My apologies, I don’t know what happened. I swear I was listening.” He looks down to see his notes, he’d stopped in the middle of a word, just drifted off without warning again.
“I think I might be having issues with my blood sugar levels. The diabetes you know? I think maybe I should go speak to the nurse.” Drak wasn’t really lying. Maybe he was taking too much insulin in the evenings. It had happened before, when Drak first arrived at Cliffside and Big D, who had no prior experience with insulin shots, had unintentionally over dosed the boy. Too much was just as bad as not enough. Still he pours a little extra charisma into the words, even giving her a look of deep concern.
Missus Carmichael scoffs. “I’m sure that works on other teachers but not me. This is the fourth time you’ve been caught using class as a nap. Detention, after school for the next three days.”
Drak sighs.
“At least send him to the nurses office? If it turns out he’s having medical related issues that would be really bad.” Howler gives their teacher a look that says ‘if you don’t I’ll tell everyone with ears that you picked on a kid with a chronic illness.’
The woman huffs in defeat, “Fine! But if your habitual naps aren’t diabetes related, I’ll double your detention.”
Both teens nod before booking it out. Howler escorts him. “She was big mad, did she really just ignore your compulsion like that?”
Drak makes a face. “I may need to be much more cautious with her.”
“Agreed.”
Before they can make it to the nurses office someone texts Drak. :Cody is trying to get into your locker: It’s from Frankie.
Drak turns the other way and runs. Howler pivots on her heels drawing the attention of classmates and a couple teachers alike.
They turn a corner and plow into Frankie who remains rock solid as they gather their wits. The bigger teen steadies them, turning them to see Cody prying open Drak’s locker.
Other members of the football team stand guard, and Drak finally feels his temper rise. Howler looks at him, “Why not put that scary monster power of yours to good use?”
“How do you mean?” Drak asks. He can’t just waltz up to the boy and go full vampire mode. It would expose them to a possible enemy, and probably scare most of the school. They were trying to prove monsters weren’t just scary villains. Not play into the centuries of fear and violence.
“Mist, and then ya know, you could always turn into something he’s afraid of? I hear he is terrified of tarantulas,” Frankie finishes the idea.
Drak blinks. “Now why didn’t I think of that? Alright, cover me?”
The two form an impromptu shield so he can remove the amulet around his neck. He passes it to Frankie who tucks it into their jacket pocket. The human facade shifts, his fangs extending and his skin losing all semblance of color. Gray eyes were now red as he focuses on changing shape. Soon there’s a cloud of mist where he stood and that mist slips into the vents of the locker at Cody’s feet. Drak shifts again, this time into a large furry spider. The locker clicks open, forced by sheer strength, and Drak watches through eight eyes as Cody opens the locker. He shrieks and jumps back as Drak raises his two front legs and his pedipalps in a threat display.
The other boys stare and some back off. Cody slams the locker shut. “What kind of freak puts a tarantula in their locker? He’ll pay for that!”
Frankie and Howler duck behind a corner laughing against each other. The were-wolf practically howling in her mirth. Frankie keeps her upright as she shakes. “Oh that was perfect!” She cheers.
Once straight faced enough to not draw attention, they head to the locker. Drak’s still a tarantula sitting atop his school books and managing to look impatient. “You make a cute spider,” Howler remarks
Frankie sets his amulet down beside him and then the pair turns their backs on the locker giving him cover to shift back and get his amulet situated between his blouse and sweater.
A moment later a cool hand rests on Howler’s shoulder. “Thanks pack, that was a brilliant idea. I’ll have to remember that trick for later.”
“Feel free to, I certainly can’t use it,” Frankie jests. They share a laugh.
Howler steps into the woods beyond Cliffside with a deep breath, taking in the air. She prides herself on knowing every scent in the area. Every animal that’s passed through, every tree that dies, and on one fortuitous occasion a disease that would have decimated the trees and left Cliffside without the natural barrier.
She slips off her shoes, curling her toes into the soil and detritus. The forest told her secrets if she listened. And tonight she was all ears. The wind blew through rustling the branches and late fall leaves just so. Get out of our forest. LEAVE! You are not welcome here! It wasn’t words on the wind, but an energy, a feeling that bubbled up through the ground beneath her. It was in the slanted melody in the cricket song, subtle, and unnoticeable to the untrained ear. But it was like they were all off key and it unsettled her very bones.
Howler wants to ignore it, to shrug it off as nothing. But Drak…his afternoon dreams weren’t for nothing. Nature and magic both gave warnings in their own ways.
For vampires their passive psychic intuition often offered snippets of something happening or to come. Sometimes linking two minds for brief moments.
Lycanthropes were attuned to their habitations. Often able to tell when the balance of nature was skewed. Usually by people or phenomena. Many were-wolves had been injured for simply investigating what was happening in their territory.
She adjusts her clothes, tugging her shorts up so they don’t catch when she shifts. And then she simply releases the carefully shut gates holding her inner wolf at bay. Bones twist with a fleeting and familiar ache, fur sprouts all over her body, her spine elongates into a proper tail, and her teeth grow into long fangs. She drops to her knees for a moment, claws digging into the damp earth. A howl rips from her lungs and throat piercing the quiet. A startled owl shoots from a nearby tree, his indignant hoot chastising as he flaps away.
With a shakey breath she stands on her toes, bent knees tilting her forward. She hates beingcloser to the ground in this form, but she needs speed. Whatever’s got the trees and the animals riled up is deeper in. She gives one last look to the manor and the backlit form of Frankie in the library and waves.
Frankie gave her one hour to investigate what was going on in the forest. Drak was busy discussing his strange dreams with Big D and Frankie was doing some research through the extensive magical library. Hopefully the forest or the ancient collection of tomes would produce a tangible answer.
She saw Frankie wave back, big hand blotting the halo of light surrounding their shadow. With another shattering howl she launches herself forward on her hind legs, rocketing into the woods and bounding on all fours, nose sucking in air for any unusual or unfamiliar scents.
Frankie watches Howler vanish into the dark woods, glad that they weren’t making that trek. It was a bit hilarious, monsters were supposed to be the scary things that rule the night. But Frankie wasn’t all that comfortable in the dark. Monster or no, their eyes were technically human, and therefore not ideal for late night adventures. The sewn together skin, in a patchwork of browns, tans, and gray hued peach had no regenerative qualities like Drak’s. And their large stature was not particularly suited to stealth. Not to mention the unpredictable spasms of their nerves. The electric current that animated them was a bit fickle and from time to time, they would lose feeling, mobility, and sometimes control of limbs and face.
Doing research in the library was much preferred. The dark cherry-wood bookcases, bat wall sconces, and damask wall paper were the makings of Frankie’s ideal environment. The chairs were comfy too, designed for hours of study, with plush cushions lined in rich velvets and high luxurious wing backs. In the center of the room is a round table of the same deep red hue as the cases, to which several chairs face.
Besides, someone should do a quick look for any information in the library. It was packed full of books from floor to ceiling. Centuries of monster, magical, and even human knowledge. They turn back to the shelves, so neatly catalogued that all they had to do was find specific titles on the shelves. They spot one of the titles they are looking for, and reach for it.
As if on cue their life-giving electric current spasms. Their patchwork hand went numb, fingers and wrist snapping out and causing books to tumble to the floor in a heap. They wince at both the new mess to clean up, and at their nerves reawakening with sharp pins and needles.
It takes only a minute to pick up the books and then start perusing the one labeled Psychic phenomena of the Vampyr. As Frankie reads the table of contents, a door opens and Delilah Renfield steps in. The forty-something woman with short red hair and violet eyes sets a tea tray down beside the patchwork monster. The woman wears a cheerful green suit, gloves, and polished brown oxfords.
“Was that Howler I heard outside?” The butler/groundskeeper/cook asks.
“She’s doing a perimeter check, the woods are restless tonight.” Frankie nods as Delilah pours them a cup of tea.
“And the Count and his nephew are in his office. They’ve been in there a while.”
Frankie nods, “We believe Drak is having psychic visions.”
Delilah nods, “He does suffer them before big events. Thanks to him I was able to have a room prepared for you before you even arrived here.” She smiles softly.
“So I’ve heard.” Frankie looks at their book. “But now the woods are acting up and Howler’s getting anxious. She tried ignoring the change out there, but she finally cracked.”
“I’m sure that if the forest is that agitated, she’ll find out what’s causing it.”
Frankie accepts their tea with a polite nod, “thank you, but you didn’t have to prepare all this.”
“Oh but I wanted to.” Delilah says with a wink. She pours her own cup of tea. “You three have been so busy with school and being teenagers that I haven’t had a chance to chat with you all in a few weeks.”
“Sorry about that, we’ve been quite restless since the visions started.” Frankie takes a sip, it’s warm and rich, with just a hint of sugar.
“Understandably so, but if the stack of letters I left on the Count’s desk are an indicator, Drak may not be the only one getting visions. I noticed some prominent witches and other monsters with psychic powers amongst the senders.”
“Well at least then we know something’s going to happen. It’s the not knowing that I don’t like.”
“Chin up Frankie, I’m sure it will work out in the end.” She takes her own sip.
“May I ask a personal question?” Frankie sets their teacup down, blue and green eyes laced with curiosity. Delilah nods. “How did you end up as Big D’s butler?”
Delilah smiles brightly. “Oh that’s easy, the Renfield family has been employed by the Count for generations. My brothers wanted nothing to do with the monster world. So I inherited the name, the gifts, and the responsibility.”
“Gifts?” Frankie asks with intrigue.
“To maintain the home of Count Dracula, I can’t simply be a human. My contract allows me certain magical abilities. Health and longevity are among them.”
“So you traded some of your humanity, to work for the world’s most notorious monster?” Frankie tilts their head.
“You’re thinking about me as if I were a common human before. I grew up knowing me or one of my siblings would take the role. I got lucky. If you’re surprised by this, there’s plenty of humans who knowingly live amongst the monsters. Content with neighbors, friends, or lovers who aren’t human. Drak’s mother was human and she was lovely. She would have adored you and Howler as much as her own son.”
Delilah drains her tea and stands. The door to the library opens and Drak walks in looking a bit haunted. Well more haunted than he usually did without his amulet of human disguise on. “My uncle wants to speak with you Delilah.”
Frankie wonders briefly if one of Delilah’s abilities is knowing when the Count needs her.
“Of course, there’s tea Drak, you look like you could use some.” She gives the boy a squeeze on the shoulder as she slips past him silently.
Drak steps into the room and with a melancholy not befitting him, he slumps into an empty chair and lets out a breath that seems to carry the weight of the world.
Howler skids to a halt in a clearing she doesn’t recognize. In fact this is the part of the woods she and Drak used to hide from Big D in. Where the trees were thin and sunlight could creep in through the branches. But there had never been a full clearing, just thinning trees as you came to the edge of the property.
The scent of human is fresh in the area. She growls low in her throat, this is her territory. As she circles the area, what happened begins to paint a picture that has her foaming at the mouth.
Fresh stumps, still weeping sap form a circle of felled trees and cleared underbrush. She finds chopped berry bush remains and an overturned boulder. Drag marks lead towards the southern edge of the forest. Out of Cliffside’s boundaries and into the mountains. The only thing that way is the highway that leads to the mountain pass.
There’s hints of chainsaw oil and fresh pine wood, and the underlying trace of several humans.
Several bird’s nests litter the ground along with the corpses of squirrels and chipmunks. The animals are recent, only a couple days old. Certainly not old enough to drown the area in the pungent aroma of decay. Howler stands up getting a better view of the area. In the moonlight something glints at the southern end of the treeline. A button, made of painted glass lies atop freshly turned dirt. It still has that musty scent of raw earth. She picks it up, clear glass painted with a rich purple and some faux gold accents.
She knows the button is old. “Big D has an antique cape he used to go hunting in with glass buttons like this. It’s in the Library, in a glass case.” She pockets it, “well the forest is empty, whoever came in and fabricated this clearing isn’t hanging around.”
With a final irritated growl she sprints back towards the manor.
Something about Victorian era clothes is important, but before she can focus, the scent of a rabbit draws her attention. With a shrug she teats off after it. It’s been a while since I hunted in this form. Her blood thrums and adrenaline raises her awareness. Her focus narrows as she gives in to the thrill of the hunt.
-Fear scent just ahead
-the pitter patter of feet on the run
Howler turns sharply catching the rabbit in her jaws before he can pop into his den.
-I got him!
She prances, the squirming creature in her jaws inviting her to taste more than fur.
She snaps her maw shut.
-Bones and sinew crunch.
-Velvet fur parts releasing warm, tangy blood.
-she loses herself to the instinct to rip and feast.
Drak fiddles with his cup of tea as he explains what he can. “Uncle Dracula didn’t say anything after I explained my dreams. He just. He sat at his desk and stared out the window for a long time. He….” Drak takes a sip to compose himself. “Frankie the last time I saw genuine fear in him was when my father left me at his doorstep.”
Frankie bites their lip and nods. They put a hand on the boy’s upper arm. “I understand. Did he say anything?”
Drak smiles at the gesture than frowns, “He just mumbled that now wasn’t the time for past sins to come back to haunt him.”
Frankie frowns at that, “that sounds to me like some unresolved consequences are about to resurface.”
“And I don’t think this consequence knows or cares that Big D has turned over a new leaf,” Drak agrees. “He said he would explain things once Howler returns from her inspection.”
“Knowing her she’ll get sidetracked by something,” Frankie says lightening the mood.
“Let’s hope she doesn’t take too long. We don’t want to keep Big D waiting forever. Anyways what did you find in here?”
Frankie pushes the book to him. “Apparently psychic visions for vampires are usually pertaining directly to their home or people important to them. And that the visions are usually close to the time or in sync with the event.”
“We don’t have much time is what you’re saying?” Drak sets his teacup down and runs slender fingers through his dark hair.
Francis nods solemnly, “We don’t have much time.”
The good Doctor D.R.E.D. grins as he leaves the forest behind. “Dracula’s were-dog won’t know what we did. He’ll be so busy worrying over the chopped down trees he won’t even notice what we dug up.”
“What did we dig up?” A green man, of short squat stature and amphibious eyes asks.
“What indeed, Toad.” The man taps on the moldering trunk in the wheelbarrow he is pushing. “This is the Infernal Inhibitor.”
“A what?” Toad asks in confusion.
“You small minded fool. The Infernal Inhibitor is a powerful device. So powerful in fact that Dracula stole it.”
“Oh,” Toad replies, “so what does it do?”
Dred grins, “it bends the will of monsters to whoever wields it. Abraham Vah Helsing commissioned me to build it for him, but the crusader was narrow minded. He used it to draw monsters out of hiding so he could pick them off one by one. He had no imagination. I stole it back, intending to raise an army of monsters at my command. An army that was immortal and could overwhelm any foe.”
“But why?” Toad asks.
Dred gives the short monster a pitying look. “You are a very small minded creature aren’t you? Anyways, I would have used that army to decimate the institutions that refuted my genius. And reclaim my family name! But Dracula fought me at every turn. Declaring me and my device as horrible and evil. In the end he killed my brother and I wounded him. But he used some powerful magic to lock me in a mirror for over one hundred years. Then he stole the Infernal Inhibitor and hid it on his property. And now, I can do whatever I want with it.”
“Oh,” Toad blinks. He didn’t quite know how he felt about such plans.
Howler looks up as a bat chirps at her from above. Face dripping blood and sinew clinging to her teeth she notices it’s one of Big D’s. Her brain lurches back to the task at hand. She has a report for the others. And she promised Frankie she would only take an hour. Her phone was on the kitchen counter by the back door. Her sneakers were at the edge of the woods. The bat chirps impatiently, angrily at her as if Big D himself were piloting the creature. “Tell him I’m on my way back,” she mutters as she sprints for the house. She scoops her shoes up as she sprints over the dead lawn and up the back porch.
She doesn’t bother shifting back into her human form, she hurries up to the library, Delilah appearing in the hall at the foot of the stairs holding out a black towel. She takes it without slowing, “Thanks Renfield!”
By the time she reaches the library she’s back to her human form and mostly cleaned up. She pushes the door open and enters to find everyone waiting for her.
“So good of you to join us,” Dracula remarks from the black, velvet lined wing-back chair he sits in.
“Hunting was good,” Howler shrugs pulling an empty chair up and plopping between Frankie and Drak.
“What did you find the woods?” Drak asks.
“Bad news. Someone came on the grounds, and turned the southern glade into a big clearing. Trees felled, bushes uprooted, and the topsoil was overturned.” She says while Dracula’s eyes darken like an impending storm.
“Oh found this, it’s really ols right?” She offers the button from her pocket.
Frankie and Drak lean in to look at it.
“That’s an antique button,” Frankie notes.
“It’s pretty,” Drak remarks.
“It’s proof that what I feared has indeed happened.” Big D takes the pressed glass and snarls.
“It’s time I told you why I decided to change my ways.”
The three share a look. The vampire has never explained why he had a change of heart, only that he walked away from a situation with a new perspective.
“In the 1870s my control in Transylvania faltered. I was Lord of the Vampires, but with westward expansion, many chose to seek out fortunes in the land of opportunity. I stayed for those too weak and too set in their ways to leave. But vampires had been hunted well, Abraham Van Helsing made sure of that. Helsing found himself a deranged and egoistical inventor the academic world called Doctor Dred. A play on his lengthy name and the nature of his invention. It was rumored he was the bastard son of a witch and an English aristocrat. He couldn’t get his father to recognize him and extend his privilege to his son. So Dred sought to obtain power and fame through his horrifying devices. It was apparent he mixed magic and science. And it backfired on him. His devices were twisted and dark, and often caused pain and chaos. Van Helsing saw use in his twisted machines. He commissioned a device of great destructive power. A machine so foul, it ended the war between vampires and were-wolves for good.” Dracula shakes his head sadly.
“What did the machine do Uncle?” Drak asks eyes holding a faint ghost of the sparkle that Dracula’s stories drew from them.
Dracula’s face softens, these are children still. “The Infernal Inhibitor was crafted from magic and machinery the two brought together. A device that could bend the will of any monster to whoever wielded the device.”
The room goes still as the weight of the information sinks in.
“A device that would have given the world’s most famous monster hunter the ability to force surrender from his targets,” Frankie stares. “What a terrifying time that must have been.”
Dracula nods solemnly. “We lost many. Van Helsing was too narrow minded to use it in any other capacity. But Dred…. He saw potential.”
“The kind of potential that makes a man a tyrant?” Howler asks shifting in her seat.
“An army?” Drak asks.
Dracula nods. “An army of monsters to exact revenge on the academics who scoffed and rejected him. And to take his father’s home and title by force.” He takes a deep breath to fill his lungs.
“I received requests for help from the monsters of England. Including the were-wolves there who promised a truce in exchange for my power in stopping Van Halsing and Dredd. I left my home for London, with the help of Johnathon Harker, a nice man but ultimately too good for his own good. He and his wife were not fond of my nature, they joined Van Helsing’s cause after I drew attention by shedding blood without care. It nearly cost me everything.”
Three teens watch him, enraptured with the tale. Still the curious little monsters I raised.
“Dred and Van Helsing were no longer partners, Dred stole back his invention and began his campaign to take what he believed was rightfully his. My brother lead Van Helsing and the Harkers away from London. His methods weren’t the most ethical, but he cleared the way for me to take care of Dred. His device could not measure against my indomitable will. The leader of the London were-wolves and Frankenstein’s original monster lent me their strength on the condition of a permanent treaty. I killed Dred’s half brother in the battle that ensued. It was that or kill monsters who were attacking me against their will. I used an old Transylvanian mirror spell, on Dred. Sealing him in a prison of his own vanity. But I was wounded in the fighting, I was too weak to defend myself. And many of those who fought beside me were also lost. And when I returned home, I found the Harkers dispatching my brother and my brides.”
Silence fills the room for a long moment.
Drak shakes his head. “That’s terrible. Not… I mean you lost so many people.”
“My careless attitude as a vampire led to my own near destruction. I killed humans, terrorized them, lived as if I were above consequences. I made enemies who had every right to seek my destruction. Van Helsing was a monster of my own creation. Preying on humans may have been necessary, but I took pleasure in it and reveled in the power I gained. I enjoyed killing, once.” Dracula sighs heavily.
“My brother died in my stead, and my guilt burned as badly as if I were exposed to the sun.”
Drak makes a soft sound standing and approaching his uncle. He places a hand on the elder’s shoulder. “But you changed for the better after it.”
Dracula nods patting the boy’s hand appreciatively.“I did. I moved to the states when I was able to, so I could look after my nephew and begin to undo the damage I caused. It was all I could at the time, and it was never going to be enough.”
“Wow. I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut and watched a sappy movie at the same time,” Howler remarks.
“But the story isn’t over yet is it?” Frankie asks looking intently at their mentor.
“No. Because based on the dreams you’ve had, and the evidence you uncovered. It is guaranteed that Dred was somehow freed from his prison. The same mirror I trapped him in must have been sold or lost along the decades. And now, he’s stolen the one device that could condemn all of monster kind.”
“You mean the Inhibitor was buried in the forest? And someone just dug it up without any wards going off?” Howler stares incredulously.
“Dred was once allies with Van Helsing. Is it possible he knew how to evade magic wards, even ones placed by you?” Frankie asks.
Dracula nods. “Likely he knows a number of methods to evade our magics and weaken us.”
“Why not destroy the device?”
“I can’t. None of us could. The most powerful member of monster society were helpless to even dent it.”
“So take it back from this Dred and get is somewhere he can’t find it?” Drak suggests.
Big D nods with a half-smile. “A brilliant idea. Get the device back, and put a stop to Dred once and for all.”
Drak brightens a devious glint in his vampire eyes. Howler and Frankie share a look. “Guess we found our cause to use our monster powers for good,” Howler mutters.
Frankie chuckles, “It can’t hurt to see where it goes.”
Drak smiles broadly. “Then it’s settled. Pack, we’re going to find Dred, reclaim the Infernal Inhibitor, and save everything Big D’s worked so hard for this last century and a half.”
For once Dracula didn’t complain at the affectionate nickname from his wards.
"Gay musketeers, that kind of has a nice ring to it,” Howler muses.
“It certainly leaves a more positive image then what they intended,” Frankie agrees.
Drak nods, “Makes us sound like heroes doesn’t it?”
Frankie and Howler share a look. “You aren’t still considering that idea of yours?” Howler asks.
“Why not?” Drak fires back.
“We understand your intention Drak, but, is such a thing possible?” Frankie sounds skeptical, like they always do.
Drak tenses a bit “I’m not asking for miracles. I’m asking for you guys to consider using our powers for a cause. To put a little good back into the world.”
“It’s just a lot Drak, we’re not against it. But where do we even start?” Howler asks.
Drak bites his lip and doesn’t answer because he doesn’t have one.
I like writing origin stories. And I think the burden of being a genuinely good person and also being the great-nephew of the world's most infamous vampire would be a tremendous weight fora teenager.
Frankie and Howler aren't against doing good- but they are teens with exams and drama. Figuring out how to use monster powers for the greater good isn't necessarily a top priority. Don't worry, plot will give them the answer.
Some more doodles of Haliford Davenport (my half-vampire OC) since ya'll really liked my last post about him. Anyways, Stoker expected Hal to be like Oskar when it comes to blood cookies when he learned Hal doesn't want to bite humans ever. But Haliford's dad, a vampire chef sends homemade ones that are to die for. So Hal's giving Stoker a little payback for picking on him for only being half-vampire.
Hal defs worries about things like safety.
And since Hal is only half he can't change into a bat on his own. Gothetta has him covered for some flying routines, the potion does not smell appealing. But Hal eventually chokesit down because he doesn't want to be left out.
To be honest Haliford is an old half-vampire oc Ioriginally created for online roleplay and eventually became a novel character I am writing a book about. As many folks, do, I sometimes plop my favorite OC into fandoms to see how he reacts.
So an irl friend is having a fantasy costume party this friday night for her birthday. I'm a vampire outfit because of course I am doing something vampire themed. Bought this kind of ugly gold sword at Spirit after Halloween for half off. Designed something art nouveau but still vampy and got to work with paint and foam.
Finished product is a sword that looks like it's madeof shadow. The tule at the hilt moves with the sword and makes a nice writhing shadow appearance without any technical work.
I collect vampire toys. This was my haul over the holidays:
The lego vampyr hearse is an old monster fighters set I asked for. The burger king Dracula was a pleasant surprise at Christmas along with the other universal monsters in the set (which I intend to do a fun shadow box display when I have more room than my cramped apartment.
And the cute lego Dracula build was a self indulgence I bought myself for surviving 2025.
The pack, with the only changes being that I drew them to look a little more like teens. I love Hannah Barbera's designs, but honestly Drak and Frankie don't look much like teens as they do adult college students.
Anybody interested in some realistic, angsty, but still wholesome Drak Pack fanfiction done like a netflix reboot?
Let me pitch:
Gay.
but seriously bisexual disaster Drak, butch lesbian Howler, and Non-binary Frankie.
Teen angst, about normal teenage experiences, but also balancing their strong sense of justice with wild monsterous instincts.
Diabetic Drak- Hear me out- this is personal vampire lore based on the fact that VAMPIRE BATS DON'T PRODUCE INSULIN because they are strictly hematophageous.
A tragic but epic backstory involving Dracula before his change of heart, Abraham Van Helsing, and Dr. Dred.
Big scary cartoon plotline that will be played straight but with a positive result.
Scooby Doo cameo
An all new rogue's gallery complete with monster hunters, troubled teens in need of a hug, and competent never do wells with personal vendettas.
Besties who actually get a vacation?
Gritty moments of monsters doing monster things.
I've got almost 9k words written already. Follow for updates and chapter releases.
Here's an old sketch of my half-vampire oc arriving at the school for little vampires. Genuinely School for Little Vampires is a cute cartoon. Also love the character designs. I love vampire cartoons.
My first post for this side blog is a reboot redesign of Drak, Frankie, and Howler from Drak Pack. I need this cartoon to get the She-ra treatment so bad... give these three some fucking angst. And some cool fighting moves. Please...
Kept it in grayscale for flavor. Quite fond of this actually.
