Welcome back, Ardent Acolyte.

Come, you’ve earned the right to stand in the profane circle this year. Yes, come, stand at my side as the scrying pool swirls with the dark waters of the deep. Peer into the depths. See our story unfold.

The lighting thrusts and thunder howls as powerful winds blast and scour the ancient stones of the dread castle. But the rock remains unyielding in the face of this torment. It comes from a bygone era, a time when the world was different and black forces strode openly amongst the cowering humans. But times turns, Ardent Acolyte, and the master becomes the servant, the servant the master. Now there is only the castle. Perched upon the crags it juts from the ground like a stabbing wound, cutting the storm in twain.

The castle is dark. No living thing within. Not even the creeping, crawling, beasts that haunt these abandoned locales. But, times turn.

So it is that a girl, holding her coat shut tight, catches sight of the castle through the storm. To her eyes, it is a refuge. She is wrong.

“Hello?” Hailey cries out as she crosses under the awning gates of the castle. “Is there anybody here?” Receiving no reply she continues, “I need a place to stay, during the storm! Can I come in?”

Only silence is her answer.

Hearing the sound of the thunder as it hammers against the rock Hailey jumps, and, with a glance back at the spray of the rain, runs inside.

Slamming the door shut behind her, Hailey looks around the entrance hall. What greets her is a decrepit hall, wooden chairs covered in dust, a chandelier so old it no longer shines, and a grand table covered in a threadbare cloth.

“So, nobody home then,” she says as she shakes the water off herself.

Seeing the rapidly expanding puddle around her feet, Hailey murmurs a quick incantation and glows for a moment before appearing mostly dry. The puddle remains, but she sweeps it to the stones at the door with a quick motion and a flicker of light.

Twisting her hair, she wrings it of the vestiges of water as she talks to herself. “I will not have frizz, do you hear me? I don’t care how wet you got, if you frizz up I am shaving my head and becoming a monk.” Pausing once satisfied the water is gone, she huffs and says, “Alright, let’s take a look at the damage.” Pulling out a pocket mirror from her coat, she holds it up and lets out a wail that echoes through the empty halls, “Seriously! Everything came undone!”

Assertively, Hailey marches over to the grand table and sits herself down in the lord’s chair. Placing the mirror carefully on the table she shucks off her coat and tosses it a few feet away on the table. Magic playing around her fingers, she starts carefully weaving and braiding her hair as she grumbles, “Great. Even with magic, this takes forever. I swear I am never dressing up as anything so complicated again.”

With her coat off, Hailey’s costume reveals itself. Her dress is a regal looking off-the-shoulder tea length gown in a deep red color complete with a corset. Slowly, her hair returns back into her pre-storm appearance. Two ringlets come down in front, framing her face. On top, her hair is in a tight braid in a Grecian style that creates a halo from which the back end of her hair lifts and curls into a bun.

“Finally,” Hailey huffs as her hands fall back to her sides and the complicated magic is complete. Inspecting the look in her mirror for a moment, she purses her lips and nods before snapping the mirror shut and putting it in a hidden pocket in her dress. Glancing over at the coat, she flicks her fingers and sends it hanging off the side of the lord’s chair before standing and looking around the room. Spotting a door in the corner, she marches over, as well as she can in heels, and says, “Alright. Let’s figure out where we’re crashing for Halloween.”

As she opens the door, a deep voice emanates out behind her, “My home.”

Hailey turns, confused. “Excuse me?”

“My home,” the man says, “that is where you are crashing.”

The man is pale, tall, and regal. At first all Hailey can see is impressions, only able to get a clear look at his intensely dark eyes that gleam like a cat’s in the dark he slowly walks forward into the light. As he does, she sees him fully. He wears an aristocratic coat that seems untouched by time as the brass buttons shine with polish and the velvet maintained with obvious care. His collar is high and tight, flaring in the back as it meets a cape hanging down to his ankles. His face is angular, the skin tight against high cheekbones. Long fingers sprout from the lace cuffs of his coat and fold into one another. Broad shouldered and powerfully built, the man gives Hailey a moment of pause as she watches him glide through the room in measured steps.

“Who are you?” she asks.

“The lord of the castle,” he replies. His voice has a regal accent and he speaks with the confidence of someone completely certain in himself. “And you?”

“Hailey.”

“No title?” he asks, the ghost of a smile playing around his lips. “No family name?”

“I’m no royalty, no matter what I’m dressed as,” Hailey replies.

“I very much doubt that,” the man answers. “You look a queen to me.”

“Well the costume is supposed to be princess, but thank you anyway.”

“A princess indeed. I stand corrected.” He inclines his head in a polite nod before continuing. “Are you here to take refuge from the storm?”

“Yeah, I,” Hailey frowns, “I was on my way to a Halloween party. Wait a minute, how did I end up here? There was no storm when I left.”

“There is always a storm here,” the man answers. “It drives the seekers, the lost ones, the unfortunate, the weary, and on rare occasion a princess to my door.”

A confused expression crosses over Hailey’s face. “Always? How is that possible? How is any of this possible? Liberty City doesn’t have a castle nearby.”

The man gestures for Hailey to sit as he walks to the grand table and arranges himself on the lord’s chair, sparing an amused glance at Hailey’s coat hanging off it.

“On this night the barrier between your world and the other worlds grows thinner. Terrible things slip through like,”

Hailey interrupts as she takes a chair saying, “Yeah, demons. Been there, done that.”

A raised eyebrow is the only thing that conveys the man’s surprise. “Indeed. Demons. Among other things.”

“So what kind of thing are you then?”

“The kind that does not enjoy being called a thing.”

Hailey winces at the polite admonishment and answers, “Right. But, still…,” she trails off, not knowing how to phrase the obvious question.

“I am a vampire.”

“Oh.”

“Indeed. I am the vampire. Dracula. Cursed to remain in my castle for a thousand thousand nights as it travels through the endless storm.”

“Why?”

Dracula shrugs. “It is my curse. To wait out the storm in this castle as the world passes me by. Immortality, you see, is not freely given. I may have an eternity to live, but I will get no more out of it than if I were an ordinary person, living a normal length life.”

“Rough,” Hailey replies after a short pause. “But I guess if you were out there drinking human blood that would be rough for everyone else. It’s probably for the best this way.”

Glowering, Dracula replies, “Yes. A human would think that. I see this year I will not have an enjoyable conversation companion.”

“This year?” Hailey asks before her face lights up in comprehension, “Oh! So that’s what you meant by,” her voice drops as she does a poor imitation of Dracula speaking in a Transylvanian accent, “the seekers, the lost ones, the blah blah blah.”

“One person every year,” Dracula replies with an inclination of his head.

“So we just hang out until morning and then I go home and you stick around forever?” Hailey asks.

“I am afraid you misunderstand,” Dracula replies. “You will not be going home.”

“Oh,” Hailey replies. “So this is one of those, ‘I vant to drink your vlood’ situations?”

“I am afraid so,” the vampire replies. “But if you would like to run, I enjoy the chase.”

Hailey stands up from her chair and walks over to stand in front of the grand table. “I’ll pass,” she replies primly. “I don’t want to break a heel. These shoes were a gift.”

Dracula nods sagely and holds out his hand. “Then, may I?”

“Did you know that vampires in fiction have always had a sexual component to them?” Hailey asks as she walks, unconcerned, toward Dracula.

Dracula takes her wrist in his hand as he answers. “I was unaware.”

“You might even say vampires are the original bad boys. Dark, brooding, sexy, and not all that nice.” Hailey continues as if Dracula were not gently pulling her wrist closer as he bends toward it.

“Interesting,” he murmurs, his breath touching her skin.

“Very,” Hailey agrees. “But, you know what vampires aren’t?”

“No,” Dracula whispers before biting in her arm.

“Feminist.”

Dracula screams, an inhuman wail as he scrabbles back across the table shrinking in to the chair. Face paler than usual he asks, “W-what are you? Your blood is… wrong.”

Hailey murmurs a spell to stop her wrist from bleeding before answering. “No, actually. I’m completely human.”

Dracula’s face darkens as he watches her work her magic. “A witch,” he spits in frustration. “I should have known. You’ve contaminated your blood.”

“Wrong,” Hailey says, inspecting her wrist before looking up. “I just know how to deal with leeches. My teacher was very specific.” Finishing her inspection, Hailey looks up and meets Dracula’s eyes. “Now, how do I get home?”

Bitter, Dracula taunts her, “You cannot. You’re stuck here forever.”

Hailey’s eyes flash. “I doubt that. The barrier between worlds is still weak. So there is a way back.”

Dracula sits back in his chair, composing himself back into the regal visage he wore before he tried to bite Hailey.

“You won’t find it by morning. The way is difficult, treachero-”

“Stop distracting me,” Hailey cuts him off as she begins writing runes of magic into the ground. Once her circle is complete, she steps inside. Before she begins, she turns to Dracula. “I didn’t ask for your opinion. So just, shut up and let me work. Alright?” Not waiting for a response, she turns away and begins chanting. Hailey’s eyes begin to glow. “I see,” she says. “All I have to do is go back through the storm.”

The glow fades from her eyes and the runes of the circle slowly follow as she steps primly out of it. “It works for you too,” she says to Dracula. “You can leave whenever you like, so long as you leave behind the castle. It’s the land that’s cursed, not you.”

Dracula studies Hailey for a long minute before he shakes his head and stands. Beckoning for Hailey to follow, he walks out of the entrance hall. Curious, Hailey walks after him. Slowly they descend through the castle, the stones getting older and more worn as they move. After a good bit of walking, they reach a door. Unlike the rest of the castle, this area seems well kept and meticulously maintained. The torches are bright and welcoming as Dracula places his hand on the door.

“I was once a man,” he says, looking back at her. “I was even married. Three times, if you believe the movies.”

“Is this where you invite me to join your creepy harem? Because the whole Bride of Dracula thing is not actually that appealing and-” Hailey pauses. “Oh.”

“Indeed.”

Lying in stasis on an expansive stone bed is a young man. His features mirror those of Dracula, but with more youth and vigor to them. Where Dracula’s skin is pale, his is hale. He seems as though he might wake any moment, but remains motionless.

“Why is he stuck like that?”

“A curse. I live my unnatural life while he remains here, a reminder that what I have comes with a price.”

Hailey walks over and studies the young man’s face. He seems about her age. Softly, she asks, “What is he waiting for? What breaks the curse?”

Dracula gives a wry smile. “The thing that breaks all curses. True love’s kiss.”

Glancing up at him, Hailey asks with a laugh, “Should I give it a try? Just to see?”

“Please,” Dracula inclines his head.

Slowly, Hailey leans down over the boy. His lips are an inch from hers. Hers and inch from his. “What is his name?” she asks, breathlessly.

“Radu.”

Hailey brushes a bit of Radu’s hair away from his face. Letting her fingers curls around his cheek, she slowly lowers herself until their lips can feel one another’s presence. “Radu,” she whispers. Then she kisses him, gently, her lips on his for a few long seconds before she pulls away.

Radu remains motionless.

Hailey sighs. “Well, I guess it was a longshot.”

Dracula stares at his child for a moment, and then sighs. “Yes, indeed it was. Well now you see why I will not leave.”

Hailey nods and lifts her wrist. “Since you only drink once a year, if you promise not to drain me, then I think I can leave you with something before I go.”

Dracula takes her wrist and gently pulls her close until her arm is at his side. Softly, he says, “Your blood is worth more than the wrist, my dear.” Then, so gentle that Hailey gasps in surprise, he bites into her neck and sucks for a full minute.

When he releases her, Hailey stumbles back a step, woozy. “Wow, um, that was intense.”

With a smile, Dracula offers her his arm and together they glide back to the entrance hall where Hailey puts on her coat. Silently, they walk to the door as the storm rages outside.

Making a lighthearted joke, Hailey asks, “So, does Radu have a type? I could introduce him to one of my friends, if he doesn’t mind waiting a year.”

Dracula gives her a long look and then says, “A fighter.”

“That’s it?”

“I trust in your judgement. If you find her, then fate will send you both here. If not, you will never hear from me again.”

Hailey murmurs a spell that creates a dome above her head, protecting her from the rain. “Well if I find anyone that fits the bill, I’ll stop by.” Then, bracing herself for the wind, she walks out into the night.

You were expecting true love, for the vampire boy to wake and them both to vanish off in bliss were you not, Ardent Acolyte? The truth is often different from our expectations however. Now, off with you! But as you go, keep this in mind. Ponder our tale between this year and next, Ardent Acolyte, for there exists stories in this witching hour that come no other night of the year! Perhaps I will return with another when the blood runs down Dracula’s fangs once more and the demons and ghosts stalk the land of the living.