Dracula Hearts of Fire Book two of Dracula Hearts

JENNY WAS WALKING down a blood-soaked sidewalk, with the sound of each step being unnerving. She could only imagine what the blood was doing to her new shoes. It was midnight in New York City, but it was so dark. Not a single light for illumination, no moon, and no stars either, almost as if a cloak had been dropped. It appeared that most of the city had been abandoned, although creepy red eyes were staring out some windows. Two sets of eyes pushed against one another in one particular window, battling for space to look out. It looked as though they were becoming more and more aggressive.

Several giant bats flew by, one purposely touching the top of her head; she swung at it but missed. It circled back to torment her but decided against it when it realized that she had zeroed in on it, so it turned and flew off into the New York night. It knew it had managed to touch her because she had not been expecting it.

Jenny stopped as she sensed something. Listening intently, she waited for sound or movement. Smelling the odor of bad breath on her neck, she turned quickly and saw no one, but the offensive odor remained. In between, two skyscrapers were a glow, perhaps some sort of fire concealed around the corner. Someone or something was dancing in those shadows.

Bats were screeching in the distance.

There was the sound of two cats fighting somewhere.

Heavy footsteps were reverberating off walls from some alley.

She crossed the street with the sound of her walking through puddles of blood. Jenny leaned against something to pause and get her bearings and discovered that she was leaning into a large pile of rotting meat. She dislodged a chunk of the rotten flesh from her left arm and heard it slap the ground like a pound of raw hamburger. Her exceptional vision appeared to have deserted her.

“Hey ya ho ahh.” Chanting in the distance? Some whispers floated around her like ghosts in the air. The whispers approached and then became distant as if beckoning her to follow. The night itself appeared to be alive with a myriad of flying insects.

As Jenny walked into the alley, more than a dozen eyes looked out of a dozen windows, threatening red eyes. They stared down, judging her. She knew the fire was just around the corner, but she feared what else was there. How many waiting to pounce on her, she couldn’t say. Yet she was compelled to continue on. Above her, the sky was turning a purplish red. It was as if some sort of magic pollution was taking on a life of its own. Did it smell like vomit? Something smelled like vomit. Drops of it commenced falling on her.

There was the sound of a garbage can being knocked over.

There was the noise of a cat crying.

The sound of a baby crying tore at her emotions.

She made a ball of magical light as she approached the source of the fire. The girl was now knee-deep in blood and mud. A vampire climbed out the window of a fire escape and then another; her ball of magical light destroyed them both, giving a splash of light to the area as it did so. Jenny was frightened to continue but did so; she had to see what danced around those flames.

“Hey!” An enormous insect flew into her face, and she swatted it away.

The fire projected a shadow of a book against the brick wall. Was it the book that was pulling her forward? The dark clouds were getting darker as bats flew into them. A vampire smashed through a window high up and jumped on a fire escape, causing shards of glass to rain down near Jenny, its harsh sound bouncing through the alley.

“She’s coming.”

“It’s that girl wizard.”

Jenny struggled to get close enough to see what was going on, and suddenly a flaming skeleton stepped out, showing itself. Its laughter reverberated through the alley. It started towards her, and it was too frightening to contemplate. She felt hotter and hotter with each step it took toward her.

Jenny sat up in bed and gasped.