The Continuing Adventures of Draco Moonbeam

Once back at the church, Draco Moonbeam explained to Brother Wenton that they were in serious danger. He began to light up the various rooms while casting mirror spells on all the windows.

“This is far deeper and far more sinister than you could imagine.” When the elderly priest raised an inquisitive eyebrow, Draco explained, “I think we’re dealing with a vampire and werewolves.”

The priest looked taken aback. And he began to tremble from fear and apprehension. So Draco decided to elucidate as he went from window to window in the chapel.

“When I saw the guard talk to Lord Morlys, I saw he was missing an ear. And he had thick dark hair. The main wolf that attacked me was black and was also missing an ear. Perhaps I am making wild assumptions. But this coincidence, if that is what it was, made me wary.”

Draco paused for a bit. Then he continued, “That would in fact explain how the wolves knew to track me here, because they aren’t merely dumb animals. They’re as intelligent as you and me. And it could explain the missing children. But not the reason why the missing children were the Lord and Lady’s favorites. Anyway, I wasn’t sure.”

Draco continued, “So I noticed that Lady Vara was quite fond of the girl Serapha. I thought that maybe Serapha would be the next child to go missing based on what you told me. So I found an excuse to get close enough to her to investigate. I decided to ask her to dance. And I had a thought, an inspiration I can’t totally explain. I checked her wrist. And I saw two small puncture wounds on her arm.”

“Then it made perfect sense to me. She has been a vampire’s victim. And that would perfectly explain the connection between the missing children and the Lord and Lady. Although I’m not sure which of them is the vampire. Probably Lady Vara because of her fancy with the child.”

Brother Wenton stopped shaking. “Lady Vara? A monster?”

“I’m not sure. It could be Lord Morlys. But a vampire that is in league with werewolves is a very serious problem. I don’t think we can stop them.”

“What are we going to do?” asked the old man.

“I don’t know yet. But for now, we’ll plan to defend ourselves. I think they might have noticed that I saw her wrist. Anyway, the werewolves already know I’m here. So they’ll return at some point.”

The old man asked, “Do you have any experience with vampires? Have you ever fought one?”

Draco shook his head. “Not really. It was a very short encounter and I didn’t have to fight it personally. But my experience led me to read much about them. But what you have heard or know, or think you know about them, is probably based on myth.”

Draco began to explain, “Vampires are real, but they’re not monsters. They are, or were, humans just like us who meddled with dark magic seeking immortality. And some have achieved it, at the cost of becoming a vampire.”

“Vampires drink human blood. It’s how they sustain the magic that gives them an indefinite lifetime. So they usually find live people and suck a certain amount of blood from them. It doesn’t take too much to sustain the life sustaining spells, but if they become greedy or euphoric from feasting, they can take too much and kill their victims.”

“They prefer young victims, children who can’t easily defend themselves and who are healthy enough to replenish their blood loss quickly.”

The priest asked, “They have fangs, right? I never saw fangs on the Lord or Lady.”

“Good point,” replied Draco. “They do indeed have fangs, but they’re retractable, like a cat’s claws. They only come out when they’re ready to suck blood.”

“Don’t the victims become vampires too?” asked Brother Wenton.

“No. That is one of the myths that seem to persist. The victims don’t become vampires because of the bite. But some of them become enamored of the vampire who is then persuaded to share the process of extending their lives unnaturally. So they might become vampires too, just to remain with the one who dominates them with such affection. But the majority of the victims eventually die from a blood drunk vampire.”

Draco led the old man to his own room in the rectory. It was a small place, easily defended in an attack, with very few entrances, just the one door and one window.

“You may have heard other strange untruths. A vampire does not actually charm or hypnotize their victims. Rather, they tend to be charming and wealthy which explains their charisma. They also don’t turn into bats or any other animal unless they know the magic necessary to do so. They don’t sleep in coffins either. Garlic doesn’t repel them any more than it does a regular person. And a wooden stake through the heart will kill them just like any other weapon inflicting a mortal wound.”

Brother Wenton asked, “They only come out at night, right? Because sunlight turns them to ash?”

“No,” answered Draco. “Sunlight will weaken them. But it doesn’t kill them. They do prefer to stay away from the light of the sun, because it saps their strength.”

“Well, I guess that won’t help us tonight,” the priest said with disappointment.

Draco looked at Brother Wenton.

“Werewolves are another story. They suffer from a disease called lycanthropy. A werewolf becomes such through the bite of another. After a period of weeks, the disease takes them, like rabies. They begin to lust for warm flesh and violence. They don’t necessarily turn into wolves under the light of a full moon. But it does occur only at night. However they retain the strength of beasts even in the form of a man.”

“And you think that Sheriff Pautch is a werewolf?” inquired Brother Wenton.

“Probably all the guard,” replied Draco. “There were a dozen that I saw the first time and probably six last night. And they answer to Lord Morlys, so he is probably the vampire. He must be powerful to keep them under control. Otherwise they would control him.”

“So what is your plan?”

“I don’t have a plan yet,” admitted Draco. “But we’ll be prepared if they come tonight. And we won’t go on the offensive until we have a solid plan.”

“The offensive?” asked the priest in surprise.

“Yes. They won’t expect it.”