stopped dead in our tracks. Three dark figures were walking out of the woods from the direction we had just come. Matt let out a sharp whine and then howled. I hoped that he was calling for help because I definitely could feel trouble. Now that the figures were under the moon I could tell they were not human, they were Vampires!
“How did a bunch of Vamps get over the wall onto Grandpa’s property?” I asked.
“Let’s stay calm, Luke, I called for help. Grandpa and dad should be here soon, but let’s not provoke these things until they get here.” The three vampires began to spread out and surround us. Matt and I started backing up slowly. I took a quick glance behind me and realized we couldn’t go any farther or we would back right into the wall.
“We can’t go back anymore, Matt, the wall is right there,” I said. Suddenly the vampires began to circle around us. I feared they were preparing for an attack.
“Look!” Matt said. I looked past the vampires and could see the familiar glowing yellow eyes surrounding us just inside the line of the woods.
Just then I heard the familiar howl from my dreams, and the flash of purple light. Just as the light flashed, the three vampires bolted for us. I looked around and noticed they were clawing and hissing at us through the purple sphere that was surrounding us. Mr. Rathburn was standing between Matt and me somehow generating the purple sphere.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, and realized I wasn’t saying anything that he could actually understand.
I noticed that Grandpa and Uncle Charles were coming out of the wood line in front of us. As they crept closer the other wolves surrounding us came into focus. The vampires were so focused on breaking through the shield; they didn’t even notice the other wolves. As the wolves got closer and closer I heard Grandpa yell,
“Don’t kill all of these fools. We need to take one alive to find out what they are doing here!” In an instant the wolves were in motion. It was hard to take in what was happening all around us at the same time. Grandpa leapt into the air with his huge mouth open and snapped down on the first vampires’ neck snapping his head off. He crumpled to the ground in a heap as his head rolled a short distance across the ground. The second vampire to our left was attacked by four other wolves. They began to rip the vampire to shreds as we watched in horror.
Uncle Charles hit the third vampire at the same time as the other two. He hit the vampire directly in the chest and it went over backward with the force of the blow. The vampire landed on his back with Uncle Charles’ teeth clamped around his neck ready to snap at any second. The vampire lay in silence, obviously afraid to move in fear of meeting the fate of his two buddies.
Mr. Rathburn let down his hands and the purple sphere instantly disappeared. I didn’t know exactly how to make myself change, but I started to concentrate on changing back to my human form. I closed my eyes and focused. Within a few seconds I could feel the change happening. I opened my eyes and realized I was human again. I looked down at the tiny Mr. Rathburn.
“We owe you our lives, Mr. Rathburn,” I said.
“Call me Jack,” he replied, “And you don’t owe me anything. It’s my job to protect you, Luke.”
“What do you mean it’s your job?” I asked Jack.
“We will talk very soon, Luke, and I will tell you everything,” said Jack. I noticed that Grandpa had also changed back to human form. He was making his way over to where Uncle Charles held the Vampire captive. The rest of the pack circled in closer keeping their eyes glued to what was happening with the vampire.
“Why are you here?” Grandpa snarled at the vampire.
“I want tell you anything. I’m dead already, regardless of whether I cooperate. You may as well get it over and finish me off,” hissed the vampire. At that instant a number of things happened at once: A flash of red light streaked down from the top of the wall causing Uncle Charles to fly into the air and land several feet away. The purple sphere was surrounding us again, and Grandpa changed back to his wolf form. The vampire burst into flames and turned to ash as we watched in shock.
All eyes turned up to the top of the wall where the commotion had started. I was horrified as I realized what, or should I say who, was up there. Standing there, wearing the familiar black cloak was Nhados.
Nhados leapt from the top of the wall to the ground. The circle of wolves backed up and changed their focus to him. Nhados began to circle around the three of us protected by the purple sphere. Grandpa silently changed back to human form behind Nhados as he continued to circle us.
“How did you get in here?” Grandpa roared at Nhados. Nhados didn’t even act as though Grandpa had said anything at all. He continued to glare at us as he made his way around the sphere.
“You realize this is only the beginning,” Nhados hissed, “One day soon, I will return to take you to the underworld to stand at my side,” He said as he pointed at me with an unusually long finger. A sudden chill ran down my spine as I caught a glimpse of what the hideous creature must look like under the cloak.
In a flash Nhados jumped into the sky and flew over the wall out of sight. With the sudden movement of Nhados I instinctively returned to wolf form. When Jack was sure the threat was gone, he let down the purple sphere again.
“Get back to the mansion!” Grandpa ordered Matt and I, “I want everyone else to go with me and watch the perimeter for the remainder of the night!” Grandpa yelled at the rest of the pack. “Charles, you are to escort Luke and Matt back to the mansion and guard them until morning,” Grandpa added.
I looked around to ask Jack if he could join us at the mansion, but he was gone. Matt and I took off for the mansion with Uncle Charles leading the way. When we got back to the garden we all changed back to our human forms and headed back into the pool room. We didn’t stop until we were safely in my bedroom. Uncle Charles told us we were all staying in here tonight. He told us to try and get some rest, and that he would stay outside the door and guard us for the rest of the night.
I changed into my pajamas and threw Matt a pair as well. I knew they would be big on him, but they would have to do. I went to the fridge to grab a couple sodas while Matt changed clothes. I threw one to him as we made our way to sit down around the empty fireplace.
“Man, that was wild,” Matt said.
“You got that right,” I replied.
“I’m glad Jack was there to save us from those things,” Matt added.
“Yeah, I can’t help but keep thinking about what he said, that it was his job to protect me,” I said, “I wonder how he knew we would be there, and that we would need help,” Matt said.
“I was thinking the same thing,” I said.
We both sat there in silence as we finished our sodas. Without saying another word I got up and climbed into bed. I was completely exhausted from the events of the day. The last thought I remembered was hoping the rest of the pack would be safe until morning.
“You failed to inform me the boy was being protected by the elf!” Nhados yelled at the old lady chained on the floor. Bright blue bolts of electricity flowed from his hands striking the old lady. She screamed in pain as Nhados continued to electrocute her.
“I never saw that in my visions,” the woman cried from the nearly unbearable torture Nhados was putting her through. Nhados stopped torturing the woman and turned to face the cloaked woman standing on the other side of the cave they were in. Nhados’ eyes were blazing red as if they were fire burning from their sockets. The woman fell to her knees in front of her master.
“You told me the boy was alone!” Nhados yelled down at the cloaked woman.
“I assure you I had no idea the elf was with him, Master,” the woman cried. She knew Nhados was angry enough to kill her now that his plans had been ruined.
“How much time do we have before the next part of the prophecy is revealed to the boy?” Nhados hissed down at the woman.
“Master, I do not know when they will tell him. I do know we have several months before t
he deadline. Surely we can come up with a way to capture the boy before then.”
“You better hope you are right. We must not fail a second time. If the boy unites with good, he will have to be eliminated permanently,” Nhados told her.
“I understand, Master. I will do everything in my power to make sure that doesn’t happen,” said the woman. Nhados suddenly burst into flames. When the flames went out Nhados was no longer standing in the cave.
11
When I finally woke up the next morning I was shocked to realize I didn’t have any nightmares like I suspected I would. Matt was still snoring away on the other side of the bed. I got up quietly so I wouldn’t disturb him and went into the bathroom to take a hot shower. When I finished taking a shower I grabbed a bowl of cereal and sat down at the bar to look over the schedule for our classes. I noticed that our first class was the Shape Shifter class taught by Adriana. I dreaded the thought of having to be around her for a whole hour. I didn’t know who taught the other classes, but I thought they couldn’t be any worse than her.
I finished my breakfast and slipped out into the hall. I had noticed it was only nine a.m. so I still had three hours before class started. I wondered if after last night we would even have class today. I walked down and knocked on Ava’s door. She answered and invited me in.
“Hey, Luke, I heard about last