Knock it Down

Giving up on my obviously unreliable companions, I called a taxi and off to the boonies I went! It was a pretty long ride. Good thing that cooky old bugger is still paying us. The cab dropped me off and I casually glanced towards the spook-ridden house.

I nearly fell on my butt due to shock. Wow! Mr. F-I-N-E is LOADED!

I was a little hesitant to ring the doorbell, but happy that I did when Antony peeked out the door. He smiled and let me in.

“How was your trip?”

“Oh, not too bad… but wow, you’re really out here, huh? Nothing but woods…”

“There are some houses scattered here and there. It’s nice and quiet.”

Yeah, nice and quiet… and filled with spooks!

“I’m afraid I can’t really tell you much more than I already have about the situation. My daughter, Valerie, is the one you’ll need to speak with. She’s awake and in her room.”

“Oh, that’s fine. Is she all right with it?”

“She’s used it to by now; the diviners, priests… they’ve all spoken to her. I must warn you, though… the spirit seems protective of her. It hasn’t reacted well to anyone other than myself being near her. It nearly threw a priest down the stairs.”

I grinned, showing my fangs, “Don’t worry… us vampires are built tough!” Inside, I was a little scared. I really, really didn’t want to take a trip down the grand staircase.

I was surprised at just how young the girl was. She didn’t look a day over eight. Of course, I knew she was nearly ten, Antony told me that the other day. She was cute, too, though I will admit she didn’t seem to inherit much from her father.

When we walked into the room, she had been reading a book. From what little of it I managed to see, I could tell it was clearly not a children’s book. Was she some kind of mini-genius?

“Hi sweetie, this is Beryl. She’s here to try and help us with our little problem. Remember? I told you about her the other day.”

“Okay, daddy. Can you leave us alone?”

Antony nodded and looked up at me, “I’ll just be downstairs if you need me.”

“So, what can you tell me, kiddo?” I asked once Antony had left the room. I wasn’t quite sure why she didn’t want him there, but didn’t dare ask.

She seemed hesitant to speak. “Umm…”

“Is something wrong?”

“Are you really a vampire?”

I laughed, “Yes, I’m a vampire. Does that frighten you?”

“N-No.” She replied plainly, looking me straight in the eye. “But… vampires are strong, right? Stronger than… diviners? and Priests?”

“Well, I guess so… are you scared the spirit will try to scare me away, too?”

“No, don’t say that! She’s not a ’spirit’!”

“Whoa, okay–not a spirit! Then what is she?”

“I dunno…. She can’t–won’t tell me… but she’s not a spirit! She can hurt people. She can hurt you.”

“What about your daddy, will she hurt him?”

“No. But she torments him… I don’t like it… but she won’t stop…”

This was no normal kid, that much was clear even to me. In fact, she was a little unnerving. I mean, don’t get me wrong… she was cute and innocent, but there was something else there. Just… the way she spoke, the way she looked at me.

“Can you tell me more about her? Why she only lets you see her? Why she torments your daddy?”

Valerie gave me a strange look, “I dunno…”

“Okay… well, um… is she here now?”

“No.”

“Where is she?”

“…in… the room…”

“Can you take me there?”

She smiled suddenly, not even really looking at me, but past me. She stood up, and without a word, began skipping out the door. I hurried to follow her. This sure was a strange kid. Then again, given her situation… I guess she can’t really be anything but strange.

I followed her to the other side of the house, into what looked like the master bedroom. There were portraits on the wall; of Valerie and Antony… and some with a fair-skinned woman. The woman looked so much like Valerie that I was pretty sure it was her mother. Wow. She was a really pretty…

“Can you keep up?” Valerie giggled playfully, turning round another corner.

I boggled. Where had all this cheeriness come from?

Valerie led me into a drawing room. It had a fantastic view of the woods. I could even see a house far off in the distance. I could only imagine what it looked like in the daylight. Unfortunately, the calm and serene image was broken by a Valerie shrieking.

“She’s here! You have to go!”