Ch. 17

“Rosemary? What made that noise?” Michael asked. He looked around him, trying to find a safe place to hide.

“Don’t move. It was a dragon. They can be dangerous. Not all of them are, but we still should be careful. You can never know. We have to get going. Now. Get on my back. We can’t fly anymore, but I can still run fast,” said Rosemary.

Michael did as he was told. Once he was there, Rosemary took off at top speed. The trees zoomed by. You could hardly tell that they were trees. All Michael was able to see was a big blur of green with some brown and yellow here and there. But Rosemary seemed to be able to see just fine. They hadn’t hit anything yet.

They heard another roar. It was behind them. The dragon was following them somehow. It could have been flying above them, or there could be tunnels underground. But still, it was close.

“Rosemary, how are we going to get away from it if it’s still following us, it’s not safe to fly, and you can’t go faster?” Michael asked, being careful not to choke Rosemary.

“We have to get to the lake. I’m still going in that direction. There are mermaids there. A large group of them. They’ll be able to protect us. If you weren’t here, the dragon would be dead by now. But I can’t risk killing you. Vampires can’t control themselves very well when they’re drinking. So, if I do decide to kill it my way, then you’d have to die along with it. Understand?” Rosemary asked him. Michael nodded his head and held on tighter.

Blue flame was running towards them, bringing down every tree in its path. The light blinded Rosemary, and she tripped on a stump, but quickly got up and continued running.

“It’s a female. They only have blue flames when they’re pregnant. That means that this could be tricky. You know how humans get hungry? Well, dragons could eat 1,000 times more than humans, but pregnant dragons eat 10,000 times more. So she won’t give up on us that easily. This is just great,” complained Rosemary.

Then they saw it. The dragon was huge. It wasn’t that it was tall or that it was long, but it was wide and seemed to have muscles. The scales were a dark green, so it was difficult to see in the forest. But as they entered an unexpected clearing, they got a good view of it.

Michael gasped, but Rosemary stopped in her tracks. The dragon went back into the forest.

“Why are we stopping? Tell me, why are we stopping?” Michael asked Rosemary. His voice was high with worry as he climbed off her back to look her in the face. What suprised him was that he saw a smile.

“That dragon won’t hurt us. I know her. She was a friend of mine when I used to stay up here. Don’t worry. We’re safe,” said Rosemary. She stepped forward and called, “Alice! Come on. You aren’t really going to eat one of your old friends, are you?”

“Rosemary? Rosemary, is that you? It’s been so long, dear. What brings to you Romania? I never thought I would see you again,” said Alice. She came out into the clearing and smiled at Rosemary. Michael looked at Rosemary, then Alice, and back to Rosemary.

Rosemary rolled her eyes and said, “Alice, this is Michael. He’s human, and a friend of mine. So he’s off the menu, no matter how tasty he smells. And Michael, this is Alice. I used to play with her when I was little while I was visiting Susan.”

“Rosemary, he smells delicious. Don’t tell me that you won’t let me eat him. And while I’m having a baby boy and haven’t eaten in almost a week. Now, that’s just cruel,” complained Alice.

Michael stared at Rosemary and said in a squeaky voice, “You can’t be serious. You really can’t be serious. I’m standing here next to a vampire and a dragon, and I’m not dying. I just can’t believe that. I’m sorry. I just really can’t.”

“Just ignore her size and the fact that she’s a lizard with wings and you’ll do fine. Trust me,” said Rosemary walking over to Alice to hear the latest news.

“Rosemary, you will never believe it. Robert came back! It’s his boy! I’m so excited. It’s due next week, and I’m even more hungry. I can already tell. He’ll be just like his father. Always working up an appetite. And if you feel how he kicks, you can tell he’ll be a good fighter, just like my father. That gene didn’t get passed on to me, but it skips every other generation, so I’m not worried. So, how is life with the humans?” Alice asked. The enthusiasm on her face changed when she said the last word. Rosemary laughed.

“It’s really actually fun. No goblins or elves except on Halloween and in the movies. There are some extremely fake things in there, but I guess it beats when they did in the medieval days, or so I’ve heard. And I can’t wait until the annual 10-year banquet. I haven’t been to one since I was four. What do you think would happen if I brought a human?” Rosemary asked, looking over at Michael, who was busy trying to tell himself that this was a dream, and he’ll be out of it in a few hours.

Alice hesitated and said, “Well, in a room full of hungry vampires, and while they’re drinking, I really don’t think that’s a good idea. But you should ask a vampire, not a dragon. We don’t really know much about the other vampires. You’re one of the only ones I’ve met. Vampires keep things to themselves. I don’t know where the rest live, to tell the truth.”

“Loads of vampires live under Translvania. Bodoleck told me about them. That’s where he was born, you know. Right here in Romania. So he knows lots of them. That’s where he went. They weren’t much help with the humans, but they at least tried to help him with his blood issue. I’m lucky that I only needed blood for a few years to get my powers,” said Rosemary.

Michael, feeling excluded, said, “Um, so. Are you going to eat me, or can I relax and not try to convince myself lies, which is getting hard.”

Alice laughed her good, loud laugh and replied, “I’m not going to eat you. Heavens, no. I’m just in the mood for a cow or two. Which reminds me, Rosemary. What would happen if you drank some blood?”

“Well, nothing really. I already have my wings, and I don’t think I would get thirsty later. I think I could use some blood. It would be good for me. What did you have in mind? Invading a farm, perhaps?” asked Rosemary.

“Wait. I thought you said that it was dangerous. What would happen if I was nearby? Would I really get hurt?” Michael asked.

“No. I was just messing with you. Nothing would happen. Vampires have complete control or themselves. I was telling you stuff. I knew it was Alice all along. She’s the only dragon I know that has that roar. All of it was mumbo jumbo,” said Rosemary, laughing. Michael looked confused at first, but then he looked like he could strangle something for being tricked like that. Rosemary laughed even harder.

“I have a stash of live cows in my cave. Nice and fresh. There is some chickens I can cook for your human. Be right back!” sang Alice. It had been quite some time since she had friends to dine with, let alone a vampire and a human that the knowledge of her existence was safe with.

It only took a few minutes, but a few minutes later, Alice came back with two chickens and two cows. All were alive and attempting to get away from Alice’s claws. It was and worthless mission.

“So, two very small chickens for Michael, and a cow for each of us. Lets dig in!” said Alice. She quickly cooked the chickens and set them in front of Michael, who just realized that he was starving. He ate almost the entire chicken while Alice had half of her cow in one bite, choking it down like a snake would swallow a mouse.

Rosemary, on the other hand, had to do some things before she ate. It had been a while since she last drank, so she had to take out her fangs.

It was a painful process. The larger teeth slowly took place of the smaller ones. Only the fact that they were pure white while all the other teeth were slightly more yellow to tell that they were different. Rosemary grunted and Michael set down his chicken to stare.

“Okay, I’m ready. Michael, I want you to know that even if what I’m doing may seem cruel, because this cow will still be alive when I start drinking, but if Veripema ever gets her hands on you, it will be much, much worse,” Rosemary told him.

She leaned over to the side of the cow and set her teeth in them. The cow slowly died as she drank all the blood in it. Every single little drop. When she was done, there was blood dripping from her mouth and here eyes were bloodshot. Now, she truly looked like a vampire. Michael was horrified.

“Well, it isn’t exactly what I expected. The movies make it seem so much more scary than that, but I just want to ask this. Do you have a craving for more blood?” Michael asked.

Rosemary laughed and wiped the blood off her face with her sleeve. Then she replied, “I’m not going to hurt you. Why do you think I would ever do that? I’m not hungry. I’ve had enough sushi to fill my stomach. But my fangs will be big for a while. That reminds me. Alice. I need a favor.”

“Ask away.”

“Veripema is at Susan’s house. She, Medeleck, and Bodoleck were fighting her when I left. I don’t know how they’re doing, but they probably aren’t doing good. I need you to get her for me. Kill her. I don’t care that she’s my aunt, I want her dead. She knows where the spell is, or is quite close, and so that means so does Lord Batwings and Miss Darkness. Can you do that for me?” Rosemary asked her friend.

Alice thought about it for a minute and then replied, “I’m sorry. I can’t do it personally, but Robert is coming back tonight, and he’ll be able to do it. I’m to weak from the baby. Robert is much stronger. That’s all I can do. But if you ask the goblins to help with your grandparents, I’m sure they can think of something.”

Rosemary smiled and said, “First to the mermaids, then to the goblins. Got it. Michael, lets go.” Michael finished up his chicken and climbed onto Rosemary’s back again. She drew out her wings with a painful grunt and took off.