Deadman's Blood (28 page)

“You’re right. I don’t remember the room looking like a pentagram, but it’s hard to determine the shape when you are there with the rooms that are off to the sides.”

“And that’s why I checked my notes twice along with the measurements and the scale,” Mark told him.

“So what are you thinking?” Anton asked.

“I’m thinking it is a castle; maybe it’s a secret room or passage to another room,” Mark suggested.

“That is interesting,” Anton said.

“I know, right?”

“Have you told Dominic yet?” Anton wondered.

“No. I wanted to check my notes again before I told him.

“I think this calls for a field trip?” Anton suggested.

“Oh no. Your dad’s a vampire. If something happens to you, he’ll eat me.”

“You’re kidding right? Come on. You really think Dominic will kill you? I think over the past few months, you’ve come to know us better than that. Besides what makes you think I won’t kill you if you don’t go?” Anton joked.

Surprise and shock came over Mark’s face and he swallowed hard.

“I’m kidding, Mark. Geez,” Anton said.

Mark laughed dryly. “What if we run into trouble?”

“You mean like a vampire? Hello, I think I can take care of us if we meet one.”

“What if it’s that Dark Angel Vampire - last time you went there alone, you ran into it,” Mark argued.

“Well, I think crossing paths like that is highly unlikely, but I suppose it’s possible. I did have another one of those dreams and it was about the Dark Angel and the altar room, but that’s why I’m so curious. I’d like to see with my own eyes what the Dark Angel was looking for,” Anton said.

“I think we should wait and tell Dominic what we’ve uncovered and decide then,” Mark suggested.

“Mark. They’ve got their hands full with Blake. Don’t you think it would be better if we did some research on our own and then presented some good news to them instead of unsubstantiated guesses?”

“Even if we go there, it’s highly unlikely we find the room without the key that Dominic has,” Mark argued.

“Then that’s what you think the seal on the artifact is?”

“I do. Although I’m not sure it’s to what’s behind the wall, but definitely something associated with that room,” Mark said.

“Well let’s go find out,” Anton said.

“Fine, but if your father asks, I was the voice of reason here,” Mark interjected.

“Definitely.”

“And let me get some things from the cottage before we go,” Mark said.

“Like what?”

Mark didn’t answer, shaking his head as he headed out of the room and out the front door for the cottage.

*****

While Anton was rolling up the map and sticking it into a cardboard tube, he heard a knock at the door and then a, “Hello? Dominic?” Anton recognized the voice.

“In here, Doctor Rowe,” Anton answered.

The doctor walked in, setting his bag down on one of the big leather chairs. “Where’s Bernard?”

“Not sure. Haven’t seen him in days. He just kind of took off,” Anton said.

“Really? That’s not like him,” the doctor pointed out.

“That’s what Dad said too. So to what do we owe the honor of your visit, Doctor?” Anton smiled kindly at the doctor.

“No reason. Just checking in with Dominic. Haven’t had to come and mend anyone lately, so I wondered what was up?” Dr. Rowe joked.

Anton laughed heartily. “We are a troublesome lot, aren’t we? It’s a good thing we have such great friends to call on. We have had more troubles added to our list recently.”

“Oh? Anything I can help with?” the doctor asked.

“Not this time. Dad was called away to California about a week ago,” Anton said.

“California? That’s a long way for someone that rarely travels.”

“True, but I’m afraid it was necessary. Blake has taken ill and has slipped into a coma,” Anton explained.

“Oh no. I might be able to help in that scenario...” Dr. Rowe suggested.

“No, no…that’s too kind of you. You’ve done so much for us as it is, we wouldn’t think of having you fly across the country to care for Blake. No, Dad has another doctor friend based out of San Francisco who’s stepped in to help,” Anton said.

“May I ask who?” the doctor inquired.

“Dr. Anthony Andrews,” Anton said.

“Oh. Good man, Tony. He is indeed a good choice. Well, please send my good wishes to your cousin for a speedy recovery. And if Tony needs anything that I can help with, please don’t hesitate to give him my number. You did, however, say ‘troubles’ though. Has something else happened?”

“I’m afraid so. Josh’s parents were killed in a plane crash,” Anton said.

“Yes. I heard about that.”

“You did? How?” Anton asked, rather confused.

“Well, I didn’t know specifically it was his parents in the crash, but it was all over the news about the plane headed for St. Paul that exploded. Terrible shame about all those people,” the doctor said.

“I know. Josh isn’t doing very well with it, from what Dad says,” Anton said.

“Then I assume Mr. Brenner is with Dominic?” Dr. Rowe asked.

“Yes. I mean, I know it’s bad news about Blake, but if it hadn’t happened when it did, Josh and Melanie would have been on that plane with his parents,” Anton said.

“Oh. Yes. That was very fortunate, indeed. Please offer my condolences to Mr. Brenner,” the doctor said.

“Of course and thank you. You’re a good friend, Dr. Rowe. I’ll let Dad know that you called on him,” Anton said as Mark came barreling into the library, nearly dropping his small crossbow.

“Dear Lord, boy. Where are you going with all that?” the doctor asked.

Mark didn’t know what to say, for he hadn’t expected Dr. Rowe to be in the room. Anton stepped in and saved the awkward moment with, “Mark and I are going hunting.”

“What for? Elephants?” the doctor joked.

“You’re very funny, Dr. Rowe. No wonder Dad loves your company so. No, just out in the woods. We’ll probably just shoot cans, but Mark here is a fine archer and he was going to show me how to use this newfangled multiple shot crossbow he designed. Sounded like fun. Thought it would get our minds off of Blake,” Anton lied.

Suspiciously, Dr. Rowe, said, “I see. Well, don’t shoot your foot or Mr. Rosenthal, for that matter.”

“We should call you Dr. Chuckles today, Dr. Rowe,” Anton returned.

“Indeed,” Dr. Rowe said, grabbing his bag. “Good day,” he said as he left the room.

*****

With Dr. Rowe’s departure, Anton asked Mark, “What is all this?”

Ignoring his question, Mark asked, “Why did you lie to Dr. Rowe?”

“He doesn’t need to know where we’re going,” Anton said.

“True, I guess,” Mark said.

“So again, what is all this?” Anton asked.

“Stuff,” Mark said.

“Stuff. Well, I can see that it is stuff, but why do we need all this?” Anton inquired.

“Just in case we run into any vampires,” Mark said.

“I told you it’s highly unlikely we will come across ANYONE.”

“Maybe, but it never hurts to be prepared,” Mark said.

Anton started looking through the armory of stuff in the duffle bag, when some twine caught his eye. “What’s this? I doubt something that thin is going to hold a vampire, besides, you have the crossbow. Do we really need to interrogate too?”

“That is my latest invention. Of course I haven’t had any vampires to test it on yet. Maybe you’d like to be the first?” Mark suggested.

“I think I’ll pass - so what is it?” Anton asked.

“It’s actually stronger than it looks, but the important thing is what it’s made of: stalks of wolfsbane, vervain, and stringy redwood bark. All vampire deterrents, according to my research. The combination should work like steel against a vampire,” Mark explained.

“Clever. Of course I don’t think a vampire is going to stand around while you tie him up,” Anton joked.

“No, but if somehow he’s rendered incapacitated, tying him up would give us a chance to get out of there,” Mark said.

“Good point. I think this is going to be a very interesting field trip.”

“God, I hope not!” Mark said.

*****

The drive to New York was quiet at first until Mark said, “You’re very quiet all of a sudden. Something wrong?”

“Am I? Sorry. I was just thinking about Blake. Dad called last night and said that Dr. Andrews was going to be trying something never tried on a vampire before,” Anton explained.

“Oh? What’s that?”

“They are going to run a dialysis machine on him to see if they can filter out the Deadman’s Blood in his system,” Anton answered.

“Really? Can you filter blood like that?” Mark wondered.

“I guess so; its pretty experimental, but Dad is sparing no expense. I don’t blame him. Blake’s a good guy. I hope to God he makes it through this.”

“How come Devon hasn’t come back?” Mark asked.

“Can you believe in this day and age with all the technology we have, that I can’t get a hold of him? I’ve tried texting, email, calling, telegrams, messengers. At some point he’s going to have about a million messages all in his lap, that say to come home immediately,” Anton said.

“That stinks.”

“Tell me about it. And this whole thing with Bernard is so bizarre. Where the heck is he? Should I call the police? Or not? At first I didn’t think Dad would be in California for very long, and when he came home he’d be more likely to find him than anyone. But with Blake dying and no idea when Dad will be back, I just don’t know what to do. I don’t want to worry him with more possible bad news, but I’m really starting to worry. I hope nothing’s happened to him,” Anton worried.

“Me too. He makes killer pancakes, but seriously…I really like the guy. If you want, I can do a little snooping around if it’s okay to check out his room,” Mark asked.

“Be my guest,” Anton said.

“So what are we hoping to find today?” Mark asked.

“I don’t know, but it just seems like this is where we found the artifact and it’s where I saw the Dark Angel looking for something that wasn’t there anymore. Who knows, but it’s better than sitting around the house wondering about getting a hold of Devon, worrying about Blake and Josh, and wondering where the heck Bernard is, isn’t it?” Anton said.

“Yeah. I suppose it is,” Mark answered.

*****

Mark and Anton made good time on the road and were out to Heart Island in no time at all. Remembering from their earlier trips about the secret entrance at the swan pond within the pillar, they were soon maneuvering the tunnels like pros. It was still light outside when they made their way into the altar room. The sun shone through the glass blocks above ground at the perimeter of the domed ceiling, pouring natural light into the room.

Opposite the entrance was a huge hearth, long abandoned and bricked up. In the center of the room was a large altar stone made of bloodstone - a dark green, marble-like stone with spots of red jasper splatter to give it the look of blood splatter. There were two rooms off the main one and Anton assumed that when the crone and her lover lived here, one might have served as a bedroom and the other a library or reading room. A beautiful large mosaic of a black orchid was on one wall of the main room, put there after the crone had passed and the order had taken over the premises for their meeting.

Anton went straight to the hearth looking for what he had seen the Dark Angel looking for. Like he had been there a hundred times, he found the empty space in between some stones. He concluded by the crumbled rock on the ground that when the blast of the Bloodstone Heart hit, something must have hit the stone that covered the hole, shattering it and exposing what was behind it, the artifact that Dominic had found. The Dark Angel had been looking for the artifact and that was not good news. That meant that the Dark Angel would soon be looking for Dominic.
But what connection does the Dark Angel have to the artifact?
Anton wondered.

Mark asked, “Did you find something?”

“The dream I had corresponds with the place where Dad found the artifact. Something must have hit here in the fight or the destruction of the Bloodstone Heart and shattered the stone in the hearth that was covering the hidden space behind it. There’s crushed rock all over the ground right here,” Anton said.

“Then Dominic is in danger,” Mark said.

“Maybe, yes,” Anton answered.

“Maybe?” Mark asked.

“Well, obviously the Dark Angel doesn’t know my Dad has the artifact, or he’d be in danger now, but I don’t see how the Dark Angel could have any knowledge of that,” Anton concluded.

“True, but if the Dark Angel is watching the family because of your knowledge of the whereabouts of the altar room and our involvement in recent months with being here, it could be deduced that the Larsens were the last ones here, and they are likely to have it. Now that we are here again, we just confirmed possible suspicions,” Mark surmised.