Transylvania's Most Wanted Page 9

  “I don’t know that I could do anything,” Mr. Slang told him.

  Chapter 14

  The death threat and witch’s permit form did not seem to be written by the same hand. Pandora’s writing showed no sign of the Russian lettering that appeared on the death threat. Tom walked over to Red as he finished his conversation with Sergeant Hightower.

  “There’s been a sighting of Stone in town,” Red told him.

  “I don’t think Pandora wrote this,” he said handing Red the death threat back. “The writing does not match the form she filled out when she applied for a permit.”

  “Maybe she was trying to mislead us,” Red said.

  “Maybe we should ask Count Vasili if he provided Pandora a ticket?”

  “I suppose we should,” Red said.

  Tom looked for Count Vasili as they came back in the ballroom. He spotted him on his way out the room with Colonel Popov and stepped in front of him.

  “Can I have a word?” he asked.

  Count Vasili shot Red a look like he should not let one of his junior officers bother him. “I’m on my way to meet the princess. I’m going to escort her into the ballroom,” Count Vasili said trying to brush past Tom.

  “Did you invite Pandora to this ball tonight?”

  Colonel Popov looked at Count Vasili. “Did you?” he asked.

  “No,” Count Vasili said like the idea was preposterous. “The prince and princess are waiting,” he said starting away again.

  Tom watched Count Vasili walk away. “That seem odd to you?” he asked Red.

  “It did,” Red said. “Maybe it would be a good idea if I asked the head waiter not to turn the lights down when the fireworks start. If anything was to happen we don’t need it going dark in here.”

  “I’m going to talk to Miss Wembley,” Tom said starting back toward their table.

  “How about going for a little walk with me,” Tom asked as he pulled Miss Wembley up out of her chair, causing her to spill champagne down her chin and onto her dress.

  “Tom you are being rude,” Rebecca told him.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I just need her for a moment,” he said dragging her away. “Would you recognize Pandora if you saw her?”

  “Oh certainly.”

  “Let’s look for her then,” he said as he led Miss Wembley through the crowd. “Do you see her?” he asked a moment later as they went up the right side of the room.

  “No,” Miss Wembley said. “There are so many people.”

  “Keep looking,” Tom said as a member of the U.R.R.K. entourage, the royal butler, came to the head of the dance floor and motioned for the orchestra to stop playing.

  “Please everyone,” the royal butler shouted as the music died. “If everyone could please return to their seats. The prince and princess will be down in just a moment and we ask that everyone be at their seats then.”

  “We’ll have to do this later,” Tom told Miss Wembley. They headed back toward the table, making their way through the crowd moving across the room.

  Just as they arrived at their table, the royal butler announced – “Prince Marko and Princess Alexi of the United Realm of Russians and Kreatures,” and everyone in the room stood and applauded Prince Marko and Princess Alexi entering the ballroom.

  “Isn’t she beautiful,” Rebecca said looking at the princess.

  “Yes,” Tom said.

  “Such a beautiful dress,” Rebecca said. “The train must be twenty feet long. I wish I had a figure like that.”

  “You do,” he said.

  “He’s very handsome too,” she said noticing Prince Marko.

  The royal butler directed the prince and princess through the admiring throng. It was going to sometime for them, as well as Count Vasili and Colonel Popov, who followed just behind, to make their way to the other end of the ballroom where their table and much of the rest of the U.R.R.K. delegation awaited them. The prince and princess were stopped frequently by some of the most prominent citizens of Transylvania and Draculia, wanting to introduce themselves. Tom thought Prince Marko appeared rather bored with the whole affair, but Princess Alexi was gracious and smiling and seemed genuinely happy to meet these people.

  Chapter 15

  Mr. Slang and Krakov were sitting in their chairs looking out the window toward the ballroom when Mr. Slang saw the prince and princes entering the ballroom. “Here comes your target,” he said pointing there.

  “The princess?” Krakov said looking across Madness Street and seeing her and the prince entering the ballroom.

  “Yes.” Mr. Slang said. “I’ll admit it’s a shame. I did not want any part of it at first, but there is something about her you don’t understand,” he said looking at her. “Something that makes her death…” he said, choosing his words carefully, “necessary.” Mr. Slang looked at his watch then “You’d better get going,” he told Krakov.

  Krakov placed the hat Mr. Slang had provided him on his head and started for the door.

  “One last thing,” Mr. Slang said. “I heard you had a run-in with one of the detectives here not too long ago - an Inspector Flynn.”

  “I owe him a bullet.”

  “Well you may get your chance to repay him. He’s one of the detectives in the ballroom tonight. I just wanted to warn you. Count Vasili personally invited him to the ball tonight.”

  “So I’m working for Count Vasili?”

  Mr. Slang looked sharply at Krakov. “You’re working for me, but if you do happen to get tangled up with Count Vasili, don’t kill him. Do not kill or seriously harm him,” Mr. Slang repeated. “But neither should you let him stop you from doing what you are there to do. Do you understand?”

  Krakov nodded and opened the door.

  “In fact don’t kill anyone unless you have to and try your best to pretend to be human for the next twenty minutes,” Mr. Slang shouted after him.

  Chapter 16

  Mr. Slang spotted Krakov coming out of the alley in back of the building a half-block down from his window. A hansom cab was passing by and Krakov hailed it. He thought this was a wise move on Krakov’s part, The Triumph was only a short walk away, but the carriage would take him right up to the hotel entrance past the several constables standing on the sidewalk, keeping an eye out for suspicious characters approaching the hotel.

  Mr. Slang watched the carriage drop Krakov off and then he looked toward Goblin Park. Just at the entrance to the park, right before the footbridge, was a large, illuminated clock. It read 8:15. If everything went as planned, Krakov should enter the ballroom by 8:20.

  Mr. Slang sat in the chair tapping his fingers on the arm rest and then he picked up his binoculars and looked at the ballroom through them. There were nearly four hundred people there, many of them standing still as the prince and princess made their way through them. If Krakov was stopped as he entered the ballroom, Mr. Slang expected to see the TCPD detectives and some of the King’s Guard rushing out the room toward the area outside the ballroom.

  He kept watching, and became more and more at ease as nothing happened. Then he spotted Krakov stepping out on the balcony holding a glass of champagne. Mr. Slang smiled. He could relax for a few minutes now. Krakov came to the railing and tipped his glass his direction, wisely keeping his distance from the other guests, but not so far off that he stood out for being off by himself. He stood by some others along the railing sipping champagne, enjoying himself.

  “Very good,” Mr. Slang said lowering his binoculars. He looked toward Goblin Park again. The clock read 8:22. The fireworks would begin precisely at 8:30.

  Mr. Slang sat down again, waiting for the lights to be dimmed in the ballroom and for the first fireworks to be launched into the night sky. From where he sat, he would have an excellent view of both the night’s premier entertainment.

  Chapter 17

  For a few minutes Mr. Slang enjoyed sitting in the dark and looking out the window at the well-lit ballroom, but he stood up and stepped closer to the window when
he heard a siren coming from down Madness Street.

  As the siren grew louder, he spotted the fire engine’s flashing lights approaching and then the fire truck sounded its horn as it pulled into the grand, circular driveway that encircled the fountain and statue of Perseus in front of the Hotel Triumph. At the same time, the fireworks show began, and rockets began soaring high into the sky north of the city, before exploding brilliantly in colors of red, blue and frequently orange, as it was Halloween. Mr. Slang was not watching them though, as he was more interested in why the lights in the ballroom had not been turned down and why the fire engine had been called there.

  He looked into the ballroom and saw the prince and princess had made their way through the crowd and taken their seats at the far end of the ballroom out of his view. He searched along the balcony and spotted Krakov moving through the crowd coming out onto the balcony, as he made his way toward the other end of the balcony. Mr. Slang looked back and saw the tall, French doors there open and the prince and princess stepped out onto the balcony.

  Chapter 18

  Tom and Rebecca remained at the table as Inspector McElroy and Edit headed out the French doors to watch the fireworks along with much of the ballroom crowd. The lights in the ballroom were brought down, but still remained on. Tom reached over and took Rebecca’s hand as fireworks exploded all across the sky to the north. He figured the prince was safe in the hands of the King’s Guard.

  At that same time Princess Alexi and Prince Marko headed out to the balcony. The area just outside the last set of French doors was roped off from the rest of the balcony and a few guardsmen awaited them there.

  A moment later, Tom noticed Miss Wembley tapping Inspector McElroy on the shoulder as she pointed at something further down the balcony. Inspector McElroy leaned in closer to hear what she was saying and then he abruptly came back to their table and stooped to whisper in Red’s ear. Red stood up and motioned for Tom to approach them.

  “Miss Wembley thought she spotted Pandora on out on the balcony,” Red told him. “Let’s have her point her out to us and then we’ll approach her. The trick is to grab their arms and hold them down, that way a witch can’t pull any trick off.” Red turned to Inspector McElroy then. “Mac you go find Dunne and Jones. Tell ‘em I need one of their belts to strap her arms down.”

  Red and Tom walked over to Miss Wembley where she was standing by one of the French doors. Red instructed Tom to wait there a moment, and then he and Miss Wembley started through the crowd that stood four deep along the balcony watching the fireworks. Tom soon lost sight of them.

  Just a minute later, Miss Wembley returned alone. She walked up to Tom and told him that Pandora was wearing a red dress, standing near a potted tree and Red was waiting for him before approaching her. She pointed toward where Tom would find Red, and he started toward there just as a siren could be heard approaching, coming closer and closer and then a woman screamed as electricity shot through the air like a bolt of lightning. Sparks and broken glass rained down upon the crowd as the electricity passing through the air struck the chandeliers and then the ballroom went dark.

  Chapter 19

  Mr. Slang was watching the fire engine pull up to the hotel when a jolt of electricity appeared from out of thin air. It originated from one spot but spread out then, like tentacles, down the balcony and into the ballroom. As it passed through the crowd, the electrical currents caused the people to drop as if they’d all suddenly fainted. And when it reached the ceiling of the ballroom, all the bulbs in all the light fixtures exploded, causing a shower of glass and sparks to fall down upon the crowd.

  The power to the hotel failed then and the Hotel Triumph went completely dark. The only light coming from there now was the flashing lights of the fire engine, the candles inside the Halloween pumpkins on the tables in the ballroom and the fireworks exploding in the sky.

  Mr. Slang raised his binoculars and spotted Krakov among the few people still standing upright on the balcony, but just as he spotted him, so did Pandora. He watched her extend her arms and point her fingers toward him, but then someone began shooting.

  Mr. Slang looked toward the blast of the gun and saw a young detective firing his gun at Pandora. He was fairly certain the detective was Inspector Flynn, having seen his picture in the paper. The bullets did Pandora no harm, but they did cause her to turn away from Krakov. She pointed her fingers toward the detective and a single electrical current shot across the balcony and struck the detective in the chest, throwing him through the air. He landed on top of a table and lay there.

  Mr. Slang could not help but smile. He had not foreseen this, but it was exciting none the less. He doubted the blast was meant to kill the detective. Probably no witch in Transylvania was practiced enough to produce a charge powerful enough to stop a heart, but he suspected Pandora only wanted the detective out of her way. It was obvious her real aim was to stop Krakov.

  Pandora turned toward Krakov again as he moved down the balcony, stepping over the dazed, but not seriously hurt people. Pandora sent an even more powerful charge toward him, one meant to cause serious harm, but Krakov simply grounded himself by placing a hand down on the stonework of the balcony railing. Possibly no one from Transylvania knew this trick, but coming from a small village in the outer most part of the U.R.R.K., Krakov did, and the electricity swirled around him like a small twister, but did him little damage.

  The electrical charge dissipated quickly, Krakov started down the balcony again and Mr. Slang saw him draw his weapon. Pandora blasted Krakov a second time, but again he grounded himself as king’s guardsmen rushed out onto the balcony and grabbed hold of Prince Marko, who lay face down just next to the railing. They picked him up and rushed him back into the ballroom and then out a side door into the hallway.

  Pandora grabbed a knife from a nearby table then and ran toward Krakov. She threw something down at the ground just before she came to him that produced a momentary flash of blinding light and then a dark puff of smoke. For a moment after that, nothing could be seen of either of them, but then Pandora fell backwards out of the cloud, Krakov having punched her.

  Two firemen were climbing up the fire engine ladder that had been extended toward the balcony, as Krakov stepped out of the smoke and started down the balcony again. He made his way over fallen bodies and then under the rope at the far end of the balcony. Krakov shot one of the guardsmen protecting the princess in the shoulder and then aimed at her lying nearby, but before he could pull the trigger, a bullet struck him and he stumbled into the railing.

  Mr. Slang watched Krakov and Inspector Flynn exchanging gunfire then, the detective having recovered and figured out what was happening. Krakov was near the railing and Inspector Flynn was inside the ballroom, having flipped a table over to shield himself behind. They both emptied their guns at one another, the blasts coming out the barrels lighting up that end of the balcony and ballroom, and then the shooting stopped.

  A half-dozen firemen, all of them of abnormally large size, had jumped out of the fire engine and had gone to work building up pressure inside the tank that pushed water out the hoses. The two firemen stepping out onto the balcony, both wearing heavy coats and firemen’s hats, turned the hoses they were carrying on then, and blasted Krakov and Inspector Flynn with them.

  Mr. Slang looked for Krakov again. It seemed he’d been hit a number of times, but a vampire, unless shot in the head or heart, can take a number of bullets and keep going. He’d been knocked down by a blast of water, but he got back up and began reloading his weapon. When he had, he aimed toward the princess again, but now a man came out the ballroom toward him. It was Count Vasili.

  Krakov seemed to hesitate a moment, but then he shot Count Vasili twice and he stumbled and fell. Krakov aimed at the princess then. There was much commotion inside the dark ballroom as guests tried to escape the mayhem. The King’s Guard had been fooled into thinking the prince was the target and now there was nothing to stop Krakov.

  “Kill her!”
Mr. Slang yelled.

  Krakov was about to, but then, a mass of water struck him again and he was blown across the balcony all the way to the far end of the balcony.

  One fireman continued to aim his hose at Krakov, until some King’s Guard, including Colonel Popov, coming to rescue the princess, appeared and then they were blasted with water. They were sent sliding across the ballroom floor, upending tables and knocking down guests trying to flee. A second fireman sprayed Inspector Flynn as he ran toward Krakov and he was also thrown back into the ballroom. The two firemen kept the spray going, shooting water at anyone who moved. Mr. Slang watched in fascination and glee as table after table was overturned by the blasts of the fire hoses.

  He looked again toward the princess and saw the first fireman drop his hose and grab her and then begin carrying her toward the ladder. Another fireman stepped off the ladder and went and picked up Pandora and carried her away also.

  Mr. Slang was so excited that he put his hands on the window there and banged on it with delight, despite the fact that his painstakingly-crafted, long-contemplated plan had failed.

  “Pandora you magnificent witch!” he screamed as the firemen hurried down the ladder carrying both the princess and Pandora.

  When the last fireman climbed back on the ladder, the fire engine began backing away from the hotel. Some constables and a pair of detectives came rushing out of the hotel, but were met with a blast of water that threw them backwards onto the sidewalk.

  As the fire engine backed onto the street, both hoses were abandoned and were left to thrash about, spraying water every which way, smashing into windshields and the side of cars. Mr. Slang looked back toward the balcony and saw a most awesome display of courage. Inspector Flynn, standing atop the balcony railing, jumped and caught hold of the end of the ladder. He was climbing up onto it as the fire engine backed down the driveway, sideswiping a number of cars parked there, but then one of the firemen pulled a lever and the ladder swung sideways and Inspector Flynn was thrown into the fountain’s pool.