CHAPTER VII

Horris screamed again as Zill spun around and flew away as fast as he could. "Go faster!" he wailed.

Zill attempted to accelerate, but before he could, something lashed around his neck, making him gag. The strange, tentacle-like object pulled backward and whipped Zill and Horris down onto the street, where they landed with twin grunts of pain.

"Whoa, whoa," a cruel-sounding voice sneered. "What's the hurry, tough guy?"

Zill rubbed his head and sat up, startled to find himself staring into the eyes of yet another vampire. This one was a wolf, whom Zill recognized as the older brother of two Z.P.A. students. Simon?! he thought, his eyes widening in fear.

"You owe my mistress an apology," Simon growled, leaning close as his whip-like tail lashed back and forth. He forced Zill to the ground, adding, "We've heard a lot about you, little crime-fighter... and your little vampire-phobia." He grinned, flashing his dagger-like pearly whites.

"What are rogue vampires doing in the city... during the day?" Horris whimpered, squished in between Zill and Simon.

"You got a comment, small fry?" Simon snarled, looking beneath his underbelly to glare at the tiny vulture. "I'm all ears!" He opened his mouth wide—

—and Zill quickly put him in a headlock, shouting, "RUN, TWERP!"

Horris didn't need to be told twice—he took off like a shot, screaming as loud as he possibly could.

Frowning, Simon wrapped Zill up with his tail and gave him a dark look. "Y'know, I expected a much bigger fight than this," he commented. He glanced at something behind Zill and gave him a sharp-fanged smile before spinning him around.

Zill gulped as the vampire from before floated down in front of him. "It really is a delight to meet you, strange little creature," she said, her voice carrying a sultry tone. "I can't ever resist a good victim."

Zill tried to pull back as the vampire came closer, breathing, "I can see the fear in your eyes..."

The vampire cupped Zill's face in her hands as her eyes glowed red, creating a hypnotic effect that turned Zill's eyes red as well. He tried to fight it, clenching and unclenching his fists, but eventually, he could fight no longer.

The vampire let out a satisfied hiss and bent toward Zill, biting into his chest.

"Stop right there!" a familiar voice suddenly cried.

The vampire paused and glanced over her shoulder.

"Let him go this instant!" Kayla demanded, pointing her rapier at the vampire.

The vampire scoffed. "What have we here? Vermin?"

"Kayla?!" Zill exclaimed, breaking out of his trance.

The vampire hissed angrily, lunging toward Kayla with her mouth wide open.

In a split-second, an aura of green fire surrounded the enraged Zill, making Simon cry out as his tail was burned. He instinctively released Zill, who shot forward and carried Kayla out of the vampire's reach.

As the vampires gave chase, Zill made a U-turn, flying as fast as he could.

"Zill! We can't lead her back to the school!" Kayla protested. "People will be in dan—"

"Just trust me!" Zill interrupted desperately. Please let this work...

The couple burst through the doors with gust of wind, the vampires hot on their heels. The other students let out various sounds of surprise as they flew down the hall and quickly got out of their way.

-

P.O.V. – Jack/Damian

"...look, all I'm sayin' is that if you have sex first in your bed, it becomes like a haunted place of angsty memories," Damian remarked. "So it's best to have sex on the other person's bed."

Jack frowned, perplexed. "Why are we talking about thi—" he began to ask.

Then Zill shot past them with Kayla in his arms—and, if that wasn't odd enough, a split-second later, a vampire went zipping after them.

Jack and Damian blinked.

"Was... that a vampire in the school?" Damian asked after a moment.

Then he exclaimed, "Cool!" while Jack cried, "Zill!"

-

P.O.V. – Cameron

"Thank you for the water, Carrie," Cameron said, giving the reptilian woman a wary-but-grateful glance as they exited Carrie's office.

"No problem," Carrie replied, holding up a bottle with a sharp-fanged grin. "Ya really gotta try my whiskey next time, tho'."

"Oh. I... don't really drink," Cameron responded uncomfortably.

Carrie chuckled. "Seriously?"

That's when Zill went flying past them with Kayla in his arms and a vampire hot on his tail.

Cameron gaped at the disappearing figures while Carrie whispered, "What in tarnation...?" Then, as Cameron tore the bottle out of her hands and chugged down the whole thing, Carrie held her wrist up to her mouth and snapped, "Zech! We got an infiltration!"

"What is it?" Zechariah asked from the other end.

"Vampires!" Carrie spat. "A queen from the looks of 'er."

"I'm on my way," Zechariah told her. "Carrie, you—"

"You don't hafta tell me what to do, Zech!" Carrie unhooked her lasso from her belt and lashed her tail, eyes alight with excitement. "I'm on this!"

-

P.O.V. – Zill

C'mon, Zill! Faster! Zill thought to himself as he streaked down the halls of Z.P.A. But even as he did so, he could hear the vampire queen steadily closing the gap between them.

"Zill! Look out!" Kayla suddenly cried.

Zill glanced over his shoulder and almost gasped. The vampire was practically right on top of them! Thinking quickly, he swooped low to the ground and set Kayla down—just before the vampire tackled him down the hallway.

"You really think it's that easy to escape from me?" Venganza hissed as she lifted Zill up by the throat. "Foolish insect!" She opened her mouth wide, preparing to consume Zill's blood.

Suddenly, a lasso wrapped around her head, hooking her by the jaw. The vampire queen gagged as she was pulled backward, but somehow held her ground.

-

P.O.V. – Carrie

Carrie tugged even more viciously so that the vampire was bent over backward and they were eye-to-eye. "Don't touch that boy 'less you want yer fangs pried out!" she growled.

The vampire turned around, her eyes blazing scarlet as a loud hiss emanated from her wide-open mouth.

"Glowin' eyes don't scare me none, ya—" Carrie began to say. Then she let out a cry as Simon suddenly leapt onto her back with a snarl, taking her to the ground with his superior strength.

"Nobody harms my mistress," Simon sneered at Carrie, his eyes flashing. Then his nose twitched, and he leaned closer to her. "Mmm... demon blood," he breathed, preparing to take a bite.

He was interrupted when an incredibly long (and incredibly strong) red fox tail whipped into his face, knocking him off Carrie's back.

Fabian padded out of a nearby room, his face a mask of feral anger.

Recovering, recognition immediately appeared in Simon's eyes. "You?!" he cried.

The same happened to Fabian, his rage vanishing. "Simon?" he exclaimed.

Simon quickly shook off his surprise and roared, lunging toward Fabian as bloodlust took hold once again.

-

P.O.V. – Zill

Zill struggled to free himself from Venganza's grip, but found it was to no avail. Then he screamed in pain as she plunged her fangs into his chest, drawing blood.

"Zillion!" Kayla shrieked.

"That does it!" Carrie snarled, leaping to her feet and returning the favour: she jumped onto Venganza back and used her own fangs to clamp down on the back of the vampire queen's neck.

Venganza reared back with an unholy screech and instantly turned on the half-demon.

As Zill lay on the ground groaning in pain, Kayla rushed over to him and cried, "Zill! Are you okay? Let me see the bite!"

"Kayla," Zill moaned as she helped him sit up, "I am so sorry."

"Zill, you don't have to be sorry for this!" Kayla told him, preparing to add that it wasn't his fault.

Then Zill broke in and blurted, "No! I'm sorry for everything! Forgetting our anni—"

"Zill," Kayla interrupted, her gaze changing from one of worry to one of pity, "you're seriously still thinking about that even with everything that's happening right now?"

"Yes!" Zill whimpered.

Kayla let out a soft laugh that Zill somehow heard even over the sound of Carrie and Venganza tussling. "Zill," she said quietly, "you made one mistake. A silly cliché one, admittedly, but do you really think that's enough to curse you with my scorn? No! I love you! This goof isn't enough to change that."

A relieved smile (as well as a few tears) appeared on Zill's face as Kayla concluded, "I was just a bit mad, that's all." Then she pulled him toward her and kissed him passionately.

Zill suddenly pulled away and cried, "Oh, god, I'm bleeding on you! Sorry!"

Kayla burst out laughing at that.

-

P.O.V. – Staff/Vampires

Fabian let out a cry of anger and pain as Simon bit into his chest, drawing a disturbing amount of blood. However, the bite only lasted a second before Zechariah's black-spotted tail suddenly wrapped around Simon and hauled him away from the fox.

"NO!" Venganza screamed. "NOOOOOOOOO!!!"

"Cameron! Get the students to the health room!" Zechariah commanded before fixing his narrow glare on Venganza. "We will deal with these monsters," he growled.

Venganza raised and eyebrow—and then cackled. "So we're the monsters?" she asked mockingly, leaning toward the cheetah vice principal. "Zechariah..."

Suddenly, she dissolved into a cloud of bats that flew out of the building at high speed, leaving nothing in their wake but the stench of blood.

"Dangit! I should'a remembered vampire monarchs can do that," Carrie muttered.

Zechariah sighed and turned back to Cameron, who, surprisingly enough, didn't look as traumatized as he expected she would. "Miss Cameron, the students to the health room, please," he said in a weary tone.

Cameron nodded and began leading Zill and Kayla down the hallway. "So it bit you?" she asked Zill. "Does that mean you're going to become one now?"

"Could you please... not say that," Zill begged, swallowing back a wave of vomit.

"No!" Kayla said in response to Cameron. "Casual vampire bites have no turning effect. Ms. Carrie says it's kind of a ceremony for a vampire to turn another being."

"Oh, well lookie who it is!"

Cameron quickly pushed Zill in front of her as Chastopher giggled, "Little Miss Runawayscreaming! What brings you back here, hmmmmm?"

"Uh... I was bitten by a vampire, and—" Zill began.

"Oooh!" Chastopher interrupted excitedly. "An enchanted bite! Simple bandages won't do! This isn't a job for a silly nurse, nonono! This is a job... for the doctor!" He snapped his fingers.

"Wait... you aren't the doctor?" Cameron asked, startled enough to peek out from behind Zill. "Then who's—"

And then she screamed as a white-skinned humanoid with black hair and a Glasgow smile appeared out of nowhere, asking, "Is someone in need of a doctor?"

"Hey, Ms. Keiko!" Zill greeted the doctor as Cameron ran away screaming. "It's just a vampire bite—no big deal."

"Alrighty," Ms. Keiko said, watching in amusement as Cameron disappeared around the corner. "I'll stitch that up lickety-split."

"That was the new staff member I told you about, Keeki!" Chastopher informed the doctor eagerly.

"She seemed nice," Ms. Keiko commented with a wide smirk. Then, to Kayla, she said, "You can wait outside, dearie! This won't take long."

"Okay!" Kayla hopped out of the office, but not before giving Zill a farewell kiss on the cheek.

-

P.O.V. – Staff

"How DARE you enter this school and endanger our students!"

Simon gave the raging Fabian a bored look from inside his cage. "So you're a teacher, huh?" he said dully. "Figures."

"Are you even listening to me?!"

"Not really," Simon admitted.

"Fabian, you should report to the health room along with Carrie," Zechariah advised.

"Nah, Zech; I can treat mah own wounds," Carrie responded dismissively.

"Fine." Zechariah turned back to Simon. "What I want to know now is what rogue vampires are doing this far into the city."

Simon chuckled darkly and reclined on the floor. "Yeah... wouldn't you like to know?" he sneered.

P.O.V. – Zill/Kayla

"Sorry for the wait, Kay," Zill apologized as he exited Ms. Keiko's office.

"It wasn't that long," Kayla assured him. She leaned against him and felt the bandages on his chest. "Does it hurt?"

"Not much anymore," Zill replied.

Kayla looked up at him and suddenly blushed, uncertain of what to say. Then they both giggled and kissed again, happy to be back in each other's arms.

"Aw, come on!" Damian whined from where he and Jack watched.

-

P.O.V. – Major Styx

The Underworld was dark and bathed in red light, the air thick and heavy with the stench of sulfur—meaning it was an otherwise normal day. Major Styx, one of the top commanders in the army of Hell, paced around one of the hallways in the castle, scribbling on his notepad. "Hmm..." he muttered, cocking an eyebrow. "Okay! Let's try this again: who is counting the souls arriving on the east side of Hell today?"

"I am!" an imp named Bob replied, raising his hand.

"Alright. Bob is on the east side." Styx wrote the confirmation on his pad. "How about the west?"

Neither Bob and his fellow imp, Larry, responded.

"Anyone?" Styx asked in annoyance after a moment.

"Well... Major Styx, sir," Bob began awkwardly as Larry snickered, "Carl was on the west side, but he was fed to Hell Hounds by a demon gang. Ya know how things happen over there..."

"Demon gang"? Major Styx repeated in his mind, fed up with his soldiers' collective incompetence. "Well, fine! So who wants to replace him, then?!" he snapped.

Bob tapped his fingers together uncomfortably. "Uhhhhh..."

"Well, sir," Larry piped up, "the west side is where the worst demons are. They make our jobs with the souls kinda... hard. Shouldn't somebody more... I dunno... strong—"

"HOW COME I AM JUST NOW LEARNING OF THIS UNRULY DEMON STUFF?!" Styx barked at the imps, making them shrink back.

"Well... you never come to our faculty meetings," Bob pointed out with a nervous shrug.

Styx gave him a deadly look. "Do you know how much trouble I will be in if Lucifer finds out souls are not being counted?" he seethed at the imps.

"Souls are not being WHAT?"

"OH MY FREAKING GOSH SATAN!" Styx shrieked, whirling around as his king suddenly appeared directly behind him. Trying to regain his composure, he stammered, "Wha—what are you doing here, sire?"

"I was looking for my son," Lucifer snarled, glaring malevolently at his major with slitted red eyes. "What was that about souls?"

Styx raised a finger, preparing to explain, then lowered it and said in an attempt to change the subject, "You said you're looking for Damian?"

"Yes," Lucifer hissed, slinking around Major Styx. "He was absent for his weekend performance. My wife was rather irate."

"The queen? Oh, how dreadful," Styx remarked, secretly relieved at having been apparently let off the hook. "I have not seen the prince all day, sire!"

"You are SURE you do not have any idea where Damian might be?" the king asked in an ominously warning tone.

"N-No, sire!" Styx confirmed, trembling. "Of course not!"

Lucifer held his gaze for a moment before turning away. "Fine," he muttered, slinking down the hall. "Report to me if you find him."

"Of course, sire!" Styx replied dutifully, forcing a smile as his king disappeared around a corner.

Then, as soon as he was out of earshot, Styx spun around and yelled, "Tentadoraaaaa!" He stormed in the opposite direction of Lucifer, grumbling to himself as he headed toward a door with a pink sign marked "Knock please".

Without bothering to obey the sign, Styx shoved open the door and barked, "Tentadora!! Wh—" He stopped and let out a frustrated growl when he saw that no one was in the room. "WOMAN!" he screeched. "Get back here and tell me where the Dark Prince is!" He unleashed a frustrated shriek, racing back out of the room in pursuit of his quarry.