The Half-Blood Princess, Mihaela Bogdan [good books to read for young adults .TXT] 📗

end of it, he said the last words louder:
  -IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, SON AND HOLY SPIRIT, AMEN!
  Amen came with a box of matches, he lit one and before dropping on the wooden pile, he said to me with a smirk:
  -Don’t feel sad, Linda! Your vampire friends will join you in Hell pretty soon!
  The burning match fired the wood and the crowd was cheering about it. Even the children I once served them with free cookies were happy to see me burning alive. Absolute no one looked sad for me! NO ONE!
Maybe it was better this way! Now I found out who the true demons are: not the vampires, the humans! God knows the truth and He will make justice.
  Valentina, please give Daniel a painless death! After he dies, we can live together in Heaven!
  This thought made me so happy that I couldn’t feel the fire burning my flesh anymore. Soon all the pain and suffering vanished, letting nothing but a feeling of relief. I couldn’t feel that I had a body. My soul became lighter and lighter and ... and I woke up flying in the air! The voice of the people disappeared and I saw ... THE LIGHT! XVIII/18

(After Linda was burned alive and perish in the big flames, the town locals were thinking a plan to invade Dracula’s castle and destroy all the vampires. This chapter is said from Amen’s point of view.)

  After Linda’s body was buried in the local cemetery; me, father, the town’s mayor and the police chief gather at the church to make up a plan. The locals went home to rest and decide who will join us in the battle against the vampires and who will remain to protect the women, children and the old folks.
  The mayor began:
  -We must gather all the strong men and women and form an army. After that we split them in two teams: team one will come with us to fight those demons and team two will remain here to protect the town.
  -God give you power, mayor! My father said making on the mayor’s body the sigh of the cross. Then he turned to me and asked: Amen, my only child, on which team do you want to be?
  -In team one! I responded immediately.
  My father dropped the Bible. He began imploring me to change my mind. After listening to him, I answered cold:
  -If you want me to become a priest like you and to inherit this church from you, then you must let me fight the Devil’s servants. This way I can prove my holiness to the people of this town.
  My words let him speechless. He nodded and I went with the mayor and the police chief to gather some allies.
  All the strong men and few women, those who were strong and brave enough, were willing to come with us. They brought with them pitchforks, burning torches, swords, wooden bats and lots of garlic. Father gave me a bottle of holy water and a silver cross to be sure that I will be safe.
  The first team was prepared now for battle. We took the fastest horses and said our goodbyes to the love ones. While we were heading for The Black Forest; the second team, along with the rest of the town, were praying and wishing us good luck.
  ”Prepare yourself, Valentina! This will be the last time you will ever see a human face. I will personally kill you, your kind and burn the castle to the ground! After that, the town people will see me not as a future priest, but as a hero. Maybe they will build me a huge statue. That I will like to happen.”
*
  While the town people were making their way through The Black Forest, not knowing the secret path it would take them more than an hour to arrive at the castle, the vampire guests began to land. Valentina watched them appear flying in the air, as lightly as feathers. Daniel was waiting for the big moment in the living room, near the fireplace. Valentina and Vladimir Dracula were standing at the opened front door. It was an hour before midnight.
*
  I looked somehow disappointed at the sight of other vampires, who were traveling in this manner. Father noticed my fidget and asked me:
  -Is everything all right with you, Valentina?
  -I am somehow disappointed, father, that’s all?
  -Why? I thought you wanted to meet other vampires.
  -I do, but I was hoping they would transform into bats.
  -Oh, I see! Father said with a laughter. Well, dear, the bats being vampires in disguise is another ridiculous story invented by the mortals. Do not believe their words, believe in those of a vampire. Those are the truth ones.
  Meanwhile, Dragomir and Cornelius were coming from inside the castle with long torches. They light them up and the blue flames showed the guests figures more clearly. They were nearly one hundred by the look of them, all dressed in black and dark colors in a more frightening gothic style than my wardrobe. Their glowing red eyes, white fangs, pale skins and unfriendly postures made me feel like a small mouse in the claws of a hundred cats.
  Dragomir and Cornelius began serving them glasses with blood. It wasn’t enough for the many guests so Cornelius said:
  -Don’t worry, the rest will be served inside!
  Father took me by the right hand and we went closer to welcome our guests.
  -Good night, my dear vampires, males and females! As you all know, this is my only child, my daughter Valentina!
  The vampire crowd looked at me, some seemed pleased, some were staring at me rudely and the rest didn’t know what to think about me. Father continued:
  -I invited you tonight at our castle to witness Valentina’s transformation into a pure vampire.
  This time, the crowd was cheering, applauding and whistling with joy.
  My doubts and fears disappeared at the sound of the happy movement. Now I can relax, knowing that the guests won’t make my first party a bad one.
  Father whispered in my ear to guide the guests into the living room, as an old vampire tradition says so. I raised my voice to make myself heard through the crowd’s noise:
  -If you will be so kind to follow me, I will lead you to the room where my first victim is waiting patiently!
  Then I turned around and head to the opened front door, walking calmly with my head held high and the hundred vampires behind me. Dragomir and Cornelius were standing both sides near the front door. Dragomir said with a commanding voice:
  -Do not lay a finger on the mortal! He is the ‘guest of honor’ and Count Dracula will be furious if someone sucks his blood before his daughter.
  The vampires near him approved with devilish smiles. A blond female vampire in a dark red dress said to Cornelius:
  -Rumor says that you and Dracula’s daughter are going to be husband and wife! Is it true?!
  -Jealous, my lady? Cornelius asked her with a smirk.
  The female vampire hissed at him with her fangs and her glowing eyes were staring at me with hatred. She went on with two twin female vampires, both with red hair, as red as their eyes.
  Despite the distance between me and Cornelius, I managed to hear what he was saying to his father:
  -Valentina is always pretty and sweet, even when she’s angry! Not many women have her luck, unfortunately.
  Ignoring his words, I opened the living room’s wooden doors and let the guests go inside. At the sight of them, grandpa began to tremble. I went to calm him down, while everybody was feasting with the blood bottles on the table.
  The bottles were quickly emptied and to not waste any more time, father told me to begin my initiation. He placed a silver knife, two palms long with a ruby on a side of its handle in my right hand.
  The front row told the rest to be silent and to see what I was about to do to poor grandpa. Dragomir, Cornelius and father were behind me. I looked at grandpa, trying not to cry in front of everyone.
  Grandpa Daniel took a chair, placed it one meter in front of me and sat on it. He made a sign with his right index finger to me to cut his neck. Then he closed his eyes, looking very peaceful and waited for his death with calm. I placed the knife near his neck, my hand trembling and sweating nervously.
  Countless eyes were watching my every move, I could feel their anxiety. I said in a whisper to grandpa:
  -Goodbye, grandpa, I love you!
  Soon the silence vanished because we all heard some strange noises and shouts coming from the outside. Those standing near the windows said:
  -Count Dracula, there are mortals outside your castle and they are trying to get in.
  -What? How could that be possible?! Father asked more worried than angry.
  The crowd began to mumble something about a war or about having new midnight snacks for the party. I looked at grandpa and he said to me whispering:
  -Let me cut myself while no one is looking! I know it is cheating, but I will spare you the pain of killing me!
  I answered him in the same manner:
  -No! If someone has to kill you, that would be me! Stay here and let me see what is going on.

XIX/19

I rushed at the window to see with my own eyes what was going on outside. Men and women with burning torches and weapons were forcing the main entrance, trying to invade the castle. With a heavy heart I saw Amen among them. From the look at his face, he was angry and restless. He wasn’t the kind young man I knew anymore.
  -Silence! Father shouted to make the guests quiet. I do not know how they found out about my castle, but no worries. Come, follow me