Fan Fic - The Tomb of Makreen

Since the next couple fan fics are being worked on right now, we're gonna skip ahead to the future and share an adventure with Neshae's kids.

The Tomb of Makreen

Chapter 1

“Hey. A new guy.”

A figure walked into the room. He wore a dark trench coat and a Van Helsing-ish kind of hat that the basic vampire hunter wore. Most of his facial features were hidden beneath the shadow of that hat. But his dark brown hair hung under it. And a very large nose stuck out. He didn’t have a neck.

The man sat down at the bar. There were a few others sitting at it, but most of the people in the tavern were sitting at the tables, including the group of vampires that had noticed him come in.

“What would you like?” the bar keeper asked.

The man sighed. What he said, the vampires didn’t catch for someone had shouted at that moment. The bar keeper looked surprised, then glanced at the vampire group, then went into a back room to get something. The man paid no attention.

“Let’s show him who runs this place.” Said another vampire.

They man smiled as they approached. Other than that, he seemed to not notice them at all. Their fangs came out and they surrounded him.

“If you give us your valuables, we might put you to sleep before sucking you dry.” Said a vampire with blonde hair.

“If not, we’ll make sure it is painful.” Said a black haired one, the one who had suggested they show him who ran the place.

There were about five of them. All in a semi-circle cornering him to the bar. The man’s smile grew wider.

“You mosquitoes think you could take me on?” he asked. “I’ve taken on things much worse. Things that you ass holes have never even heard of.”

“Got quite a mouth on him.” Said another dark haired vampire. “Just like the last vampire hunter we tortured to death.”

Two fangs slid past the man’s lips. “I am not a vampire hunter.” He said. “I am a hunter of evil. And I see your fowl scent has led me to the right place.”

“Why you—“ the second dark haired vampire said and took a swing at him.

The man jumped out of the way and onto the bar. He took off the coat and the hat to reveal huge bat wings. He had no limbs. His pieces floated in mid air as if limbs were not needed. He wore a green shirt with a gray skull over his chest. His eyes were the color of blood. And his shoes were black and dark shades of red and blue. His appearance startled the vampires and they looked up at him awestruck.

He laughed. “I am no vampire hunter.” He said. “I am Damien. And I am your worst nightmare.”

The limbed vampires attacked him. There was an almost insane look in his eyes as he dove for the farthest one. He put his hands on the man’s shoulders and balancing there, swung his body and feet around at the vampires to his left. When they were knocked over, he landed and swung the guy he had been hanging onto at the guys on the right. In the next moment the limbed vampires were all on the floor.

The ones on the left recovered and got back up. Damien punched the first one a couple times and kicked the other one. Bu then the other three had gotten up. The fourth person took a swing at him and he ducked.

While he was hunched over Damien spread his wings. A claw had grown into the top of each one, like a dragon’s wings. He spun in a circle slicing through the vampires with the claws. Then he did a hand stand and continued spinning, swinging his feet around with his wings.

The next vampire to get up after Damien did charged at him with a knife. Damien sent out a disembodied hand and grabbed the hand of the guy charging at him. He threw the guy over his shoulder at another vampire coming at him from behind. The knife stabbed that second one instead of Damien.

One down, four to go. Damien thought.

A vampire grabbed him from behind. Damien tried to throw him off, but wasn’t able to. The other three got up and grinned evilly, thinking they had won.

“Damien, I can’t find the—Woah!” said a voice from the door.

All eyes turned to the limbless man who had just come in. He too had bat wings, but his were smaller and had no claws. His hair was a dirty blonde-ish color that stuck out in every direction at the back, but hung in two locks in the front. His eyes were green like the leaves on the trees outside. He wore an orange shirt with a strange yellow symbol that almost looked like a cross between an arrow and some kind of bird foot. His shoes were red and blue.

At the sight of Damien in danger, a huge Looney Toonish hammer appeared in the other’s hands out of thin air. He ran at the vampires, swinging the hammer wildly. The few that tried to stop him were slammed into the walls.

“Gale…” Damien grunted as he struggled to get free of the limbed vampire’s grip. “I thought I told you…to wait outside! I…can handle this.”

“I thought we had an agreement!” Gale said. “We’d go on this mission and you wouldn’t fight everything you smell!”

“Stay out of this, kid.” The limbed vampire holding onto Damien said. “You wouldn’t want to share the same fate as he is about to.” His fangs came out and he bit Damien.

“Too late.” Said the second dark haired vampire as he hit the back of Gale’s head, knocking him to the floor.

“Gale!” Damien called and struggled harder, making his bite hurt more.

“Let’s rip his wings off!” said the blonde vampire.

Gale rolled out of their reach and stood up, hammer still in his hands. He materialized a knife and threw it in Damien’s direction. It hit the vampire holding onto him in the forehead and he let go of Damien, falling dead to the floor.

Gale brought the hammer down on the head of the vampire nearest to him while Damien attacked the closest one to him. With a few correctly placed slashes of his wing claws, the limbed vampire was killed. One left.

The one who had first suggested the attack backed away from the limbless vampires. Damien’s eyes closed halfway in pity since the vampire had actually thought that might help him. He reached out a hand and grabbed him by the neck and brought him closer.

Damien held the limbed vampire close to him. There was a look of terror in the limbed one’s eyes, though he tried to hide it. Damien smiled.

“Don’t worry. I WILL put you to sleep first.” Then he bit the limbed vampire’s neck and put him under that sleeping spell that vampires put their prey under when biting them. Gale rolled his eyes. Damien ALWAYS liked haunting his victims, even when they didn’t deserve it. That was rare though, for Damien was always “smelling” evil on their missions and filled up on those guys pretty quick.

Gale decided to get something to eat too. It had been a long night and he was kind of hungry. He picked up the vampire that he had whacked with his hammer and bit his neck.

“That was some nice fighting you boys did there.” Said a voice.

Damien and Gale looked up from their meals. A man stood next to them. He was taller then them by about a foot. He was completely bald, yet didn’t look old enough for that to be natural. Dark sunglasses were on his face, hiding his eyes.

“Who are you?” Damien asked, wiping blood from his mouth.

“You can call me Jones. I overheard you mentioning a mission. What was it?”

Gale released his prey as well. “Why?”

“Because I am on one as well. And if we’re going in the same direction, then maybe we can help each other out.” Jones said.

Damien and Gale looked at each other. Damien shook his head.

“Sorry. We work alone.” Gale said.

“Come on outside. Let’s talk about it.” Jones said and started off outside.

“I told you to wait outside. Now you’ve got one of those stubborn adventurer guys on our backs.” Damien hissed as they followed the guy outside.

“Oh if I hadn’t come in, you’d be dry as seaweed in the desert by now!” Gale protested.

“I could have handled it easily! And I was about to!” Damien said.

“Sure.” Gale rolled his eyes. “Whatever, dude.”

Chapter 2

Damien retrieved his hat and coat as he left the tavern. He didn’t like the smell of this Jones guy. Every instinct told him to bit him. But he filled up on limbed vampires, so he wasn’t hungry. He’d hear the guy out.

Palm trees swayed in the breeze as the sun began to rise over the horizon. The faint light gave the sand a pink glow.

“We are looking for a treasure somewhere beyond this desert.” Gale said, wondering how much information to give him.

“Well have you ever heard of the Tomb of Makreen?” Jones asked.

“Can’t say I have.” Damien said.

“It is the tomb of the legendary King Makreen.” Jones said.

“Get to the point.” Damien interrupted. Gale glared at him.

“Inside the tomb is an ancient treasure. It is worth a fortune. If you two would help me, I would split the money with you fifty, fifty.” Jones said.

“And why do you need our help?” Damien asked.

“Legend says there are ancient guardians that keep intruders out of the tomb. I am not much of a fighter.” Jones said.

“Really? You look like you are.” Damien said.

“And you seem just as evil as those vampires you killed.” Jones said. “But I know you aren’t. Things are not all as they seem.”

“We could use that money.” Gale told Damien. “We could sleep in nice hotels on our missions instead of camping all the time.”

“Where is this tomb?” Damien asked Jones.

Jones smiled. “It’s just a day’s walk from here. But we’ll stop at a hotel so you two can rest for the morning. Then we will begin our journey.”

It was not long before they came to a small village surrounded by a forest of palm trees. As Gale and Jones went inside the hotel, Damien stopped in his tracks. A scent carried through the air as the breeze came from the forest. It was a scent he knew well. It was a scent of evil.


It had no name. Some might call it a swamp, but it was not. White sand sparkled in the moonlight in the patches that rose above the water. The water was the cleanest and clearest around. A mist settled over the area. Stars glittered over the horizon, stopping only where the mountains in the distance stood.

A creature flapped her wings desperately through the clear, cold air. Her fangs were out, though they would do her no good. The creature behind was too strong. Her only way out was escape.

Her white hair looked silver in the moonlight, perfectly matching her white wings and everything else about her. The only colors on the girl were her pale skin and her blue eyes. She had no arms, legs, or a neck. She was a Raymanian vampire.

A blast of ice came at her and shot her out of the sky. She cried out and fell into the water, causing its still surface to ripple. Desperately, she got up and trudged through the water and the small spots of sand. The creature landed behind her and followed at a slower pace. He would catch up with her. She was leaving quite a trail.

The chase went on. Finally, the girl came to a forest of palm trees. Cover would be easier found there. She ran inside. After a while, as the sun was coming up in the sky, she collapsed form exhaustion.

There was a sound of footsteps behind her. Her heart pounded. She looked over her shoulder at the creature coming towards her. Before blacking out, she saw two things: the hand reaching for her, and very sharp teeth.


Damien dove into the creature that the scent had so strongly come from. It was a demon in a dragon-like form. This would be easy.

“Damien!” cried Gale’s voice. Damien sighed. Gale was enough of an odd ball, why did he have to follow him around like all little siblings seemed to?

The demon pounced for the vampire. Damien fell back and caught himself on the ground with his hands. He lifted up his feet and kicked the demon as it came at him. It flew into one of the palm trees and got up as Damien did.

The demon pounced at him again. Damien ducked and slashed at it with his wing claws. Dark blood stained the white sand as the creature landed.

Rage in its eyes, the demon prepared to pounce at Damien again, but then a bright light appeared out of nowhere, nearly blinding the vampire. The demon howled in agony and disappeared. The light faded and Damien turned to see Gale coming through the trees.

“What the heck are you doing?” he asked.

“I should be asking you the same question!” Damien said. “I can handle one freakin’ demon!”

Gale was about to say something else when his eyes fell to the demon’s prey. Damien followed his gaze and his eyes widened in surprise. Their entire life, the only female Raymanian they had ever seen was their cousin, Ameaj. And the only other Raymanian vampire they had ever seen was their father, Neshae. Most of the rest of their species had been wiped out when Dark destroyed their planet years ago.

“Where did she come from?” Gale asked.

“I don’t know.” Damien said. “I thought…”

“I did too…”

“Well we can’t just leave her here.” Damien said, still held in a trance. “That demon could come back at any moment.”

Gale looked at Damien. “Since when do you give a crap what happens to the victims?”

Damien picked the girl up. “Since we may find more of our species. She may be able to help us find others.”

“Hey, what’s this?” Gale asked as something flashed in the sunlight. The girl was wearing a necklace. It was the shape of a seven pointed star and seemed kind of bulky for regular jewelry. Seven pegs stood out from each of the points.

“Dunno, don’t care.” Damien said. Then the two began their journey back to the hotel.

Good story so far .

Yeah. By the way, just so you know, if I'm not leaving any comments it's just because I've run out of things to say.

Chapter 3

As the sun got high in the sky, Jones returned to the hotel room. He had left for an errand that he hadn’t told the vampires about. The girl was still out cold.

“Come on. We have to go.” He said.

Gale woke up. The two had been asleep while Jones was out. “What? Huh?”

“Let’s go. Get up.”

Jones went to Damien’s bed to shake him awake. Gale thought about warning the guy, but decided against it. He’d find out soon.

As soon as Jones’s fingers touched Damien’s side, Damien reached up and grabbed Jones’s neck. His fangs came out.

“I see you’re awake now.” Jones said slightly uneasily.

Damien let go of Jones, then rolled over and went back to sleep.

“Come on, Damien.” Gale said. Damien groaned in response. Gale sighed. “I’ll try to wake up the girl.” Jones nodded.

“Hey.” Gale said softly. “Wake up.” He shook her gently, but she didn’t wake up.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Jones grab the sheet off the bed. As soon as he realized what he was doing, Gale’s heart leapt. “Don’t!”

But it was too late. Jones pulled on the sheet, flinging Damien into the air and off the bed. Damien landed on the floor. His blood red eyes opened in a rage that would have terrified most people. He leapt at Jones, who stepped aside, causing him to land on a table. Damien turned around and pounced at Jones again. Gale got between the two and materialized the first thing that came to his mind. After just waking up, that was a mattress.

Damien slammed into the mattress as Gale held it up. He landed on the floor and walked around it. Gale remained between Damien and Jones.

Damien looked at Jones. It was clear he had calmed down. “Don’t EVER do that again. You’re lucky my brother was here.” He gave Gale a glance and left the room.

Gale sighed and the mattress fell over.

“Is he always like this?” Jones asked.

Gale nodded. “Don’t do that again. He could have killed you.”

Jones smiled. “Bring the girl. We’re leaving. If your brother doesn’t want to come then he can just stay here.”

Gale picked up the girl and followed Jones outside. There were three creatures that looked like a cross between camels and horses. Damien waited next to them.

“I was beginning to wonder when you two would show up.” Damien said, not looking up from the map he was reading. Their original mission was to find something for a spell their other cousin, Jimmy, wanted to try. Jimmy and Gale were good friends and so the two managed to talk Damien into the mission.

They got onto the animals and rode out of the village. The girl laid across the one Gale was riding, Gale holding onto her so she wouldn’t fall off.

A few hours later, she began to stir. The desert heat was beginning to beat down on the vampires and they found themselves wishing they had stuck to their original quest.

She opened her blue eyes. “Where am I?” she asked.

Gale looked down at her in surprise. “You’re safe. We haven’t left the desert, but we’re a few hours north east of the desert.”

She looked up at him. “Who are you?”

Gale smiled. “My name is Gale.” Her gaze shifted past him as Damien rode up next to them. Their eyes met and he rode ahead. “That was Damien, my older brother.”

After a minute of squirming, the girl managed to get into a sitting position on the creature. “And who is that?” she asked, looking at Jones.

“Jones.” Gale answered. “So what’s your name?”

There was a pause, as if she wasn’t sure she should give that information, but then said, “My friends call me Vampie.”

Damien snorted. “Your friends lack imagination.”

Vampie glared at him.

“Damien, stop being such a jerk!” Gale said. “I think Vampie is a cute name. Don’t mind him. He’s just a…uh…a…”

“A googulyknite.” Vampie answered.

“Uh…” Gale said while Damien said “A WHAT?!”

Vampie laughed. “A random word. If you’d like a real one, then you can have a whole list. But I’m not gonna say them. You figure it out.”

Gale glanced at Damien in confusion as Vampie stopped talking and looked at the scenery. Damien moved a finger in a circle by the side of his head. Gale sighed and looked away.

“Why are we out in the sun?” Vampie asked after a while.

“Because we’re reverse vampires and we crave the sun.” Damien said.

“Boy, you’re just in a mood today.” Vampie said.

Gale laughed. “Actually, we can safely say he woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”

“There it is.” Jones said as they neared another village. “The village of Juansin. The kingdom of Makreen. It is here that we will find the tomb of Makreen and his treasure.”

Vampie turned and looked at Gale. “We’re going to Juansin? You’re going to find Makreen’s treasure?!”

“Yeah. You got a problem with that?” Damien asked.

“Not at all.” She answered. She was hiding something, Gale could tell. But he wasn’t going to ask about it.

They made it to the hotel in Juansin and the vampires spent most of the evening cooling down in the pool.

“So where do you come from?” Gale asked.

“What do you mean?” Vampie asked.

“Besides our dad and our cousins, you are the only other limbless person we’ve ever seen.” Gale said.

“There’s a whole civilization of us. It’s been only growing for some time, so it’s not huge, but there are a lot of us.” Vampie answered.

“Where do they come from?” Damien asked.

“You boys ask a lot of questions.” Vampie said.

“Well we’re curious guys. Curious to find out where our species has been hiding all this time.” Damien said.

“The older ones say we used to live on another planet. But then a great evil came and destroyed it. Very few survived, listening to the advice of the great hero, Baeein. They build escape pods and landed on this planet. We’ve been here ever since. How about you?”

“Well it started out the same way your story did.” Gale started. “But the pod went in a different direction and crashed in another place. Our uncle and dad were the only ones who made it out in the end.”

“Break’s over.” Jones said as he entered the pool room. “Night has fallen. The sun is no longer in the way. Let’s start looking.”

Chapter 4

They were led to a large temple at the edge of Juansin. It was the Tomb of Makreen. Piles of stone were stuck together to make mysterious architecture. Several pillars dotted the surrounding area, their ceilings crumbled away.

Jones walked around for a bit, pausing and looking at a map he had taken out of his pocket. Finally, he stopped and pointed at the ground.

“Get the shovels out of the saddle bags. We’ve found the spot.” He called back to them.

There were four shovels in a long bag hanging from Jones’s ride. The limbless ones each took a shovel and Gale brought one to Jones. Then the three began digging. By midnight, they had a pretty good sized hole dug out. Damien and Vampie found themselves digging side by side while Gale and Jones were on the other sides of the hole.

“I just wanted to say…thanks for saving me.” Vampie said awkwardly.

“How do you know that?” Damien asked.

“Gale told me. He told me all about it. So I just wanted to say thanks.”

Damien didn’t know what to say at first. He hadn’t expected her to thank him yet. He hadn’t even expected her to know about that yet. And by the sound of it, Gale had given him full credit for a change. The whole thing had caught him a little off guard. After a moment, he managed to say “Uh, you’re welcome.”

“So what do you boys do?” Vampie asked him.

“Well, Gale and I usually go on missions. If someone wants something, like the treasure of Makreen for example, we go and get it. And I am a hunter of evil. Though it gets annoying when people think I’m a vampire hunter.” Damien said.

“Hunter of evil?” Vampie asked. “How do you know if something is evil? What happens if you accidentally kill an innocent person instead of an evil one?”

Damien smiled. “That never happens. Evil has a certain smell to it. Though no one seems to understand that but me.”

“Evil has a smell?” Vampie asked. “What does it smell like?”

Damien hesitated for a moment, thinking. “Not too sure, exactly. But it smells like nothing else in this world.”

“Does it smell good?” Vampie joked.

“Nope. Bad stuff generally smells bad.” Damien said.

After a moment of silence, Vampie asked, “Do you smell any evil in me?”

Damien took a big, exaggerated whiff in a joking way, and replied “You have no evil smell on you.”

Vampie smiled. “Most people think that I’m evil just cause I’m a vampire.”

“Same here. If only they’d get to know me…they’d still probably think I’m evil. Most vampires have to deal with everyone thinking they’re evil.”

“So born or bitten?” Vampie asked.

“Born. My parents were both bitten though. You?”

“Half born.” Vampie answered. “My mother was bitten.”

“Hey, you love birds better start digging.” Gale called.

The two realized they had stopped digging for a while now, since Damien’s exaggerated sniff.

“SHUT UP!” Damien called. “I’ll dig when I wanna dig! And don’t call me a bird! Otherwise you might end up loosing a wing! I’ve been wondering what it would be like to have a third—“

“Shut up!” Gale said irritated. “Just dig.”

The next thing Gale knew, a rock smashed into the sand next to his head. He looked over his shoulder and saw Damien smiling darkly before returning to his work. Gale rolled his eyes and continued digging.

The sun began to peek over the horizon when they stopped. “Alright, bats.” Jones said. “Time to call it a night. Lets get going.”

They gathered up the shovels and, after giving Jones a lift out of the hole, stuffed them back in the bag. Then the group rode back to the hotel.


“Where are you going?” Damien asked when his eyes opened and saw Vampie leaving.

She stopped and looked back at him. “Out.” Then the door closed behind her.

Damien got out of the bed and followed her. “Wait.” He called. She slowed and looked over her shoulder at him. “You hungry?”

She stopped. “If you’re asking me on a date, then you can forget it. Last night was interesting, but I’m not looking.”

“Who said I was taking you on a date?” Damien asked as he caught up with her and walked past. “Besides, I have a girl already.”

“Really?” Vampie said skeptically as she followed. “And who might she be?”

“Only the most beautiful vampire in existence.” Damien said. “So, do you want me to get you something to eat or don’t you? It’s not a date, since I’m taken.’

“Alright.” Vampie said. “But I warn you. Any funny stuff—“

“Or you’ll what?” Damien asked.

“I’ll rip off something more precious than a wing.” Vampie answered.


Gale woke up. Damien and Vampie were gone. He sat up and looked out the window. It looked about 3 in the afternoon. Jones sat in a chair, sharpening a knife.

“Do you know where they went?” Gale asked.

Jones glanced up at him from his knife. “No idea. But I don’t like them running off when I need them. Find them. I’ll meet you at the tomb.” He got up and left.

Gale was sort of surprised by Jones’s reaction. The man seemed a little too controlling. It was only the afternoon. They didn’t even plan on digging until dark. Or at least the vampires didn’t.

Gale got out of bed and went out into the lobby to find Damien and Vampie.

He didn’t make it far before someone backed into him. He spun around in time to see the ugly face of the human that grabbed him. A heavy smell of alcohol filled the air around him.

“Watch where you’re goin!” he said.

“Let go of me.” Gale said. He glanced around nervously for Damien. Damien LIKED these fights. He could handle it.

“Someone oughtta teach you some manners.” The next thing Gale knew, the human had punched him and sent him falling on a table. The human grabbed for him again, but he rolled off to the side.

Several humans got up from their chairs to join the fight. Gale was soon surrounded by fight happy drunks. One grabbed him from behind. He threw the man over his shoulder and into the first one to punch him. Then he dove under a table before another could attack him.

Gale raced underneath the table to get to the other side and the humans followed. As he got out from under the table, Damien and Vampie entered the lobby.

“What the hell is going on?” Damien asked.

“I don’t know!” Gale said. “But Jones said to meet him at the tomb.”

“What? Why?” Damien asked.

Gale had no time to explain. He materialized a flare gun and shot it off in the hotel to distract the humans and give the three a chance to get out without a fight. He ran past Damien and Vampie, pulling them along with him.

“Come on, I can take them!” Damien said.

The three rode out to the tomb. Luckily, they weren’t followed by any of the humans. When they reached the site, Jones paced beside the hole, waiting for them.

Chapter 5

“Where have you two been?” Jones asked. His tone was like that of a parent who’d just caught his kids coming home late.

“How is THAT any of your business?” Damien asked.

“Since we are running out of time to find the treasure. We have to find it as soon as possible, not waste our time bloodsucking or God knows what!”

Gale sensed a conflict coming and decided it was best if he avoided it. He grabbed a shovel, flew down to the bottom of the hole, and started digging.

“Watch your mouth, human.” Damien said. “I just MIGHT still be hungry.”

“I’m the one paying you, don’t forget.” Jones warned.

“I don’t give a rat’s—“ Damien’s next word was masked by Vampie saying “Damien!” “who you are. I do WHAT I want WHEN I wanna do it, and you have NO say in the matter at all.”

“You work for me and I have no say in what you do?”

Damien’s fangs came out. “I don’t work for ANYONE!” He decided he was tired of Jones trying to order him around and pounced for his neck.

Jones sidestepped and Damien fell into the hole, catching himself with his wings. With vampiric speed, he flew at Jones, pinning him to the ground. The two wrestled for a minute, Damien trying to bite Jones’s neck and Jones trying to keep Damien away.

Down in the hole, Gale’s shovel hit something hard. “Hey, guys…” he called. But the noise from the struggle was too loud. “GUYS!”

The fight stopped and everyone looked down at Gale.

“I hit something!” he called up.

The fight was forgotten as the three each got shovels and went to the bottom of the hole to help Gale dig. As dawn broke over the horizon, the entrance to Makreen’s tomb was completely dug out.

The tunnel was dark, even for the vampires’ dark sight. Jones lit a torch and they ventured into the dusty tunnel. Eventually, they came to a three way fork.

“What now?” Vampie asked.

“Now we split up.” Gale said. He pointed down the hall to the right. “I’ll to this way.”

“I’ll go with you.” Jones said. “You two go down that way.” He held his torch in the direction of the hall going left. “And if neither of us has any luck, we’ll meet back here and go down that way.” He held the torch in the direction of the tunnel going straight ahead.

Damien and Vampie nodded and they went down their assigned tunnel while Gale and Jones went down theirs.

Eventually, Damien and Vampie came to a door at the end of the hall. With their combined strength, they were able to open it. Beyond it was a room that was even dustier than the hall. Spider webs clung to the ceiling and carvings covered the far wall.

“Woah. Check this out.” Damien said as he approached the carvings.

“They’re hieroglyphics.” Vampie said, ducking under the webs to follow him. “It says Makreen was a very wealthy king. His treasure was greater than that of any other.”

“You can read that?” Damien asked.

“Yeah. I learned it in high school.” Vampie said. “It says Makreen knew he was going to die son, so to protect his treasure, he created a guardian.”

“How did he know that?” Damien asked.

“It doesn’t say. But he created the guardian by using forgotten magic. But since he had created the guard from corruption and greed, that’s what the guard was made of. It wanted Makreen’s treasure for itself and killed him. According to the legend, it still guards the treasure.”

“Jones mentioned something about a monster guarding the treasure.” Damien said. “That’s why he wanted Gale and me to come along.”

Vampie looked at Damien. “But if he wants protection, then why did he agree to let us split up?” Vampie asked. She looked at the floor, frowning in confusion, then back up at the hieroglyphics. “Something is wrong.”

“Wow. Hey, check this out.” Damien said and moved toward a large treasure chest. He opened it and jumped back in surprise not an instant too soon. Vampie jumped back and screamed. Scarabs poured out of the chest and scrambled towards the two vampires.

“Run!” Vampie said, pulling Damien towards the door.

They managed to get the door closed before the scarabs caught up with them. They both heaved sighs of relief.

“How were those things able to survive that long?” Vampie wondered.

“How were they able to survive in The Mummy?” Damien asked, referring to a movie he had seen once in a world one of his dad's friends lived in. “It’s some ‘evil mummy tomb’ thing.”

“Well we can’t stay here.” Vampie said. “Let’s go find Gale and Jones.”

Damien nodded and the two started back down the hallway the way they had come.


Jones and Gale found a door at the end of their hall as well. They opened it and glimmering in the light of Jones’s torch were piles of gold and gems. Scepters and crowns stuck out of some piles while swords and jewels clung to others. Goblets of silver filled with wine colored polished rubies were gathered in a corner. A shining suit of armor hung on a wall. On the far wall was a throne of gold and encrusted with amber. Spears and other weapons were stacked on another wall.

“Wow! Look at all this!” Gale said as he looked at the room in awe. “We’ve found a fortune!”

Jones smiled. “This is nothing compared to how much Makreen’s treasure will be worth when we find it.”

“Isn’t this Makreen’s treasure?” Gale asked.

“It’s some of it. But what we’re looking for won’t be kept with all his gold and jewels. This is something powerful. Something worth three times all that you see before you.” Jones said.

“Wow.” Gale said. “What is it?”

“You’ll see.” Jones’s smile got even wider. “But it is not in here. So lets go back and see how Damien and Vampie are doing.”

The four met back in the center of the fork at the same time. “You didn’t have any luck either?” Damien asked.

“We had plenty of luck.” Gale said. “We just didn’t find what we were looking for.”

“And what might that be?” Damien asked.

“It will be down the correct hallway.” Jones said, holding his torch out to the only remaining tunnel. “After you.”

Chapter 6

They ventured through the last tunnel, hoping it led to what they sought. Finally, they came to a great door made of bronze.

"Woah." Damien said. "I'll bet just about anything this leads to Makreen's treasure."

"What gave you that idea?" Gale asked and stepped toward the door. "It looks like we need some kind of key to get in." He sighed. "And we were so close too..."

Vampie examined the key hole Gale was looking at. It was a circle of seven holes. "Looks like all we need is to stick something in those holes." Then suddenly, he face lit up and she reached for her necklace. "Try this."

Gale took the necklace and placed the seven pegs into the holes. "They fit." He smiled. He turned the necklace and there was a click. Several more clicks vibrated through the door and the walls and the door began to shift sideways.

"It worked!" Jones said.

They were about to go in the treasure room when the wall suddenly moved. The creature litterally leapt out of the wall and hit Damien. It looked like a cross between a lizard and a knaaren.

Damien cried out in surprise and punched the creature, sending it against a wall. "What the hell?"

"Makreen's creature!" Vampie exclaimed. It's trying to protect the treasure."

THe creature got to its feet and screeched. Damien screamed back and attacked it. Gale materialized his giant hammer and stood prepared to battle if Damien was defeated. Damien was caught by the creature and thrown up against a wall. It was clear that it would not go down easily.

In the corner of her eye, Vampie saw Jones inch toward the door. He was going to leave them there. That was why he wanted them to come along. So that the creature would be distracted by them and he could get away with Makreen's treasure.

Vampie dove for the door and took her key out of the hole. The door shifted back into place and the series of locks clicked once again, keeping anyone from entering.

"What is going on?" Jones asked.

"You were gonna leave us to the monster!" Vampie accused.

"My treasure!" the creature shrieked.

Jones made a move to take Vampie's necklace, but she ran down the hall, pulling Damien and Gale with her.

"What's going on?" Damien asked. He could no longer see Jones, but the creature was gaining on them.

"You can fight later. Right now we have to get away." Vampie answered.

Trusting her, they left the tomb and took flight, leaving behind the monster and Jones.

Chapter 7

They stopped in the middle of the village and disappeared in an alley.

“Okay. Why the hell did we just run away like chickens?” Damien asked.

Vampie glared at him. “Because I was saving your lives. That monster could have ripped you in half if I hadn’t.”

“Actually, technically, he would have been in seven pieces…” Gale started. Vampie and Damien shot him looks. “I’ll shut up now.”

Vampie and Damien turned their attention back to each other.

“Look. If Jones just wanted protection, he wouldn’t have let us split up. He was hoping that the creature would be distracted by us while he got the treasure and made a run for it. He never intended to help us or give us a share of the treasure.”

Damien was barely listening. “And where did you get that?” He asked, pointing to her necklace. “And how did you know it would unlock the door?”

“I didn’t.” Vampie said. “That was just a guess. As for where I got it, that’s none of your business!”

Damien’s fangs came out. “I can make it my business.”

As Vampie’s fangs came out, Gale stepped between them. “Hold on! If Makreen’s monster is wanting the treasure, then it’s gonna come after us to get that key back. We’re gonna have to get along and stick together if we’re gonna avoid getting killed by it.”

“That thing is nothing compared to what I can do. I can take it on without help from either of you.” Damien said.

“Will you shut up, you egomaniac?” Vampie barked. “That thing was about to tear you to shreds. You couldn’t have taken on it’s little toe!”

Gale’s temper was pushed as far as it would go. “STOP IT NOW OR SO HELP ME I’LL GET OUT THE HAMMERS AND START GOIN TO TOWN ON BOTH OF YOU!”

Both Vampie and Damien became silent, but Damien had a murderous look in his eyes.

“Oh shit.” Damien said suddenly.

Vampie and Gale looked at him in surprise.

“I just realized I had our map in the saddle bags.” Damien said. “Jones is bound to have taken it. Try to trade it for Vampie’s necklace.”

“You WHAT?!” Gale asked. “Why in the world did you do that?”

“This is the funny part.” Damien said. “I didn’t want it to get stolen.” After a moment, he added, “Okay, here’s the plan. You watch Vampie while I ‘negotiate’ with Jones and get our map back.”

“What?” Vampie asked. “No. I am not gonna just sit and wait for you to get your map back.”

Before she could say anything else, Damien said “Alright, you can come. But let’s get back to the hotel room first. I wanna get something.”

Before either of them could argue, he started off in the direction of the hotel.

When they got there, Damien looked around for something. He looked under the bed and grunted in frustration. “Vampie, can you look in the closet? I really need this thing.”

Gale thought he was acting pretty strange, but Vampie didn’t know him well enough to notce. As she opened the closet, she asked, “What am I looking for?”

Damien reached toward her and shoved her into the closet, then closed the door and moved a bed in front of it. He turned to Gale.

“She doesn’t move. Nothing goes in. Got it?”

Still stunned by Damien’s action, Gale just nodded and watched his brother go out the door. Vampie made muffled screams of frustration, rage, and humiliation as she pounded on the door against the heavy bed.

Chapter 8

Damien found Jones in an alley hidden in shadows. He didn’t even look up as the vampire landed a few feet away from him.

“Thought you’d find me here.” Jones said. “You vampires and your darkness.”

“Shut up.” Damien said.

“If you want your map back you’d better watch that tongue.” Jones snapped. A shadowy hand raised, holding the shape of a gun. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. I’ve been wanting that treasure most of my life. I will do anything to get it. Now either hand over that key and I’ll give you back your map, or I’ll kill you and take it anyway. And if you don’t have it, whoever does is next, be it your brother or your girlfriend.”

“You think you could shoot me?” Damien asked. “Bring it on then.”

Jones aimed the gun for Damien’s chest and pulled the trigger.


Gale sat on the bed while Vampie banged on the door.

“Let me out!” she screamed.

Gale sighed. He probably should have let her out. He was about to move the bed when there was a knock on the door.

Gale got off the bed and opened the door, thinking it was probably someone coming to the room to complain about Vampie’s yelling. The instant he had unlocked the door and turned the knob, he was flung backwards by the door suddenly opening.

A creature came in, seeming to move in a way halfway between slithering and walking. It looked at Gale and hissed, taking a step toward him. He recognized it as Makreen’s monster.

Gale stood up and materialized a cloud of sand that blew into the monster’s eyes. It shrieked and turned away, its clawed hands going to its face. Gale seized the opportunity to run and get Vampie out of there. While the monster was still trying to get the sand out of its eyes, he pushed the bed away. Vampie came out and cried out in surprise as she saw the monster.

“Come on!” Gale said, pulling Vampie out of the room. The monster recovered and chased the two down the hallway.

Before they reached the end of the hall, the monster bit Gale and lifted him up into the air. He flapped his wings, desperate to escape.

“Gale!” Vampie cried and bit the monster’s leg.

The monster’s head went back a little, then let go of Gale just long enough for it to jerk its head forward and catch him again. He was now further into its mouth. He materialized something. He didn’t know what. His mind was distracted by the pain of sharp teeth beginning to pierce his sides. He just materialized anything that would help him get away. Whatever it was, he hit the monster with it. It shrieked, dropping the vampire. Vampie helped him up and they started to run down the hall some more.

The monster recovered from the blow and whacked Gale with its tail before they got very far. He slammed against the wall and fell to the floor. The monster would have had him if it hadn’t noticed Vampie’s necklace at that moment.

The monster reached for the necklace, but when its claw touched it, a bright light flashed and the monster jerked its hand away.

“The necklace can’t be taken.” Vampie said. “It can only be given. You can’t take it from me!”

Before Gale could get up, the monster picked Vampie up and jumped out a window running in its very fast, slithering way. In the distance, a gunshot could be heard. Immediately, Gale knew Damien was in trouble and followed the sound.


Damien had barely managed to dodge the bullet, but another followed. He dodged a few more and leapt at Jones. Jones was just quick enough to punch Damien, sending him against a wall. Before the vampire could get up, Jones shoved the barrel of the gun at his chest. There would be no dodging the bullet this time.

“No!” Gale’s voice said. Damien and Jones looked in that direction and saw Gale running towards them. “Don’t shoot him!”

“Gale!” Damien shouted. “What are you doing here?”

“The monster got Vampie.” Gale said. Then more to Jones than Damien, he said, “If you want your key, you’re gonna have to go back to the tomb. Killing us won’t help you at all.”

Damien pushed the gun away from his chest and punched Jones. “A gun isn’t gonna bring me down.” He kicked Jones in the stomach and tore the gun from his grasp. Throwing it in the distance, he took flight in the direction of Makreen’s tomb. Gale took off after him.

When Jones stood back up, he glanced around for his gun. After not seeing it anywhere he made his way toward the tomb.

Chapter 9

The creature jumped into the hole that Jones, Damien, Gale, and Vampie had dug out not long ago, then slithered into the tomb that they had uncovered. It went past the fork and stopped at the door, where it put Vampie down.

Vampie stepped up to the door. She had no reason not to. She had come all this way to get this treasure so she could save her people. And with any luck, she could figure out a way to get the treasure and seal the monster in the room as she was leaving. Besides, if she didn’t, the odds were the monster would kill her or one of the vampire men that were coming for her.

She put her necklace in the key hole and turned it. There was a series of clicks and the door began sliding open. Then she and Makreen’s Creature went inside.

Piles of gold littered the room. The place could almost be a maze with it all. It was easily the richest room in the tomb. At the far end, stone steps led up to an altar where a talisman lay. It was a conch shell made of many different colors of diamond.

Without warning, Vampie raced for that shell. That was what she needed. That was Makreen’s Treasure. It was what everyone was after and it was the one thing that could save her people. It was an ancient symbol for preserving. One could use this shell to live forever or merely to keep food from spoiling. Or to keep a dying village from falling apart.

The monster chased after her, gaining on her every second. Without stopping, Vampie reached out and grabbed the diamond shell and made a sudden turn into the maze of gold. She took any random turn she could, running as silently as possible, trying to loose the monster behind her.

Finally, she lost sight of Makreen’s monster and she jumped behind a crumbling urn. It was just enough to hide her. She held her breath as she heard the footsteps of the monster run past.


Damien and Gale landed at the entrance of the tomb and raced inside. They followed the hallway and found the treasure room door open. Roars and growls echoed from the walls as the monster ran through it. Neither it nor Vampie could be seen.

They ducked behind a gold pile as the monster ran past. It didn’t have a treasure or the vampire girl, so they guessed it was looking for either on or both. They began to look for her.

As they came to a cracked urn, Gale heard a “Psst!”

He looked behind the urn and found Vampie crouched behind it, looking up at him and clutching a multicolored, diamond conch shell.

“Damien, I found her.” Gale whispered. Damien stopped and joined them.

“What is that?” Damien asked.

“It’s Makreen’s treasure.” Vampie answered. “The power to preserve anything.”

“If Makreen had this, then how was he going to die soon?” Damien asked, remembering the hieroglyphics he and Vampie had seen earlier.

“Maybe he thought someone would kill him to get it.” Vampie shrugged.

“Let’s get out of here.” Gale said, looking nervously around a jewel encrusted throne.


Jones was next to arrive in the treasure room. He wandered around for a while, looking for the treasure.

A sound to his right told him someone was there. He looked and saw Makreen’s monster coming for him.

“I know who has your treasure.” Jones told it. “Join me and we can kill them.” He had no intention of actually letting the creature have the treasure.


The vampires had just about made it to the door when Jones and Makreen’s monster got between them and it. They skidded to a halt.

“There they are.” Jones said. “Get them!”

“Did he just team up with the monster?” Damien asked in surprise.

“No, the monster just has a mind control chip in its head.” Gale said sarcastically.

The monster came at them and punched Damien a few feet away and whacked Gale with its tail. While they were battling it, Jones grabbed the shell in Vampie’s hands.

“Hey!” Vampie tightened her grip on the shell to keep Jones from taking it.

Jones picked up a scepter and hit Vampie with it, causing her to stumble backwards and loosen her grip on the shell.

Jones dropped the scepter and ran to the opening. Vampie recovered and followed him. To make sure he wasn’t followed, Jones took the key out of the key hole and the doors began to close. Vampie picked up speed, desperate to not let him get away.

The doors closed, but not before Vampie was able to jump out. Damien and Gale, however, were trapped with Makreen’s monster.

Chapter 10

“This doesn’t look good.” Gale said when the doors closed. They skidded to a stop and turned around to face the monster. Gale started running to the right, but Damien picked up the scepter that Jones had dropped. From behind a gold pile Gale’s hand reached out and pulled Damien along with him.

They ducked behind a stone throne encrusted with jewels.

“I’m not gonna hide like a coward.” Damien got up and started around the throne.. “I can take that thing.”

Gale pulled him back. “The hell you can. What we need is some kind of weapon that is stronger then the monster.”

Damien imitated a limbed person flexing his muscles. “Doesn’t get much more powerful than this.”

Gale rolled his eyes and peeked around the throne. “I don’t see him anywhere. Something’s wrong. He must be trying to sneak up on us somehow.”

Gale spotted a sword stuck in a gold pile. He grabbed the handle and jerked his hand back. “Ouch! It burned me!”

“Means it must be a magic sword.” Damien said. He reached over and grabbed the handle. It glowed red and his hand started smoking. Gale could see the pain in Damien’s eyes, but otherwise, his older brother didn’t show it.

“It’s gonna burn your hand off!” Gale said. “Put it down.”

Damien, who hated being told what to do, glared at Gale. “Make me.”

There was a scratch noise to their left and the vampires looked to see that the monster had found them. It slithered at them, screeching all the way.

Gale backed away and Damien even took a step back from surprise. But as the monster got close enough, he took a swing at it and cut its arm. Blood squirted out and soiled the sword’s blade.

The blade began to glow. Damien tried to drop the sword, which was still burning his hand, but he couldn’t let go.

“Drop the sword, Damien!” Gale cried.

“I can’t!” Damien said, uneasiness showing in his voice.

The glow intensified and the monster stepped back. When it stopped, the burning stopped as well. Damien almost dropped the sword, but found that he no longer wanted to. He switched hands and saw the symbol of a cross topped with a circle branded into his palm. It was the symbol that matched the one branded into the leather of the sword’s handle.

Damien smiled his usual, dark, “I’m about to seriously kick some ass” smile. “Go figure out a way to open the door.” He told Gale. “I’ll take care of him.”

Gale nodded and ran off to open the door. Damien could feel the power surging through him as the sword became seemingly part of him. He prepared to throw something extremely deadly, like acid, at the monster. But when he swung the sword out at it, pink flowers appeared from the blade, shooting out at the monster.

That powerful feeling Damien had suddenly vanished as he blankly looked at the sword, surprised. It gave a soft, tingling glow, like it was laughing.

“Oh boy..” He said and looked up at the monster, which was approaching once again to attack its prey.

Chapter 11

Images flashed through Damien’s head. The whole thing probably only took about two seconds, but it seemed longer.

He saw Makreen’s kingdom. Makreen stood out on a balcony. On either side of him was a woman. One of them, however, was very young. Probably no older than seventeen. The people gathered around cheered. There were thousands of them. Makreen truly was a great king.

The scene switched as a figure in a gold and blue colored robe, Makreen’s court sorcerer, basically, slipped something into a cup of brown liquid. He wanted the crown.

Makreen had been taking a “protection potion” that the sorcerer would have made for him. The sorcerer had predicted Makreen’s death, despite the shell he owned. The sorcerer wanted the shell as well. It was rumored that the shell had a curse placed upon it, so Makreen didn’t use it to keep himself alive, but instead trusted his sorcerer.

Makreen was about to drink the liquid when something distracted him. He got up and went to see what it was. Then the girl, Makreen’s daughter, walked by the table. She picked up the cup and smelled it. Then she took a sip. Her eyes popped open in horror and the cup fell from her hands and shattered on the floor. She fell unconscious.

In the next scene, Makreen knelt at his daughter’s bed. She was breathing, but barely. Had she taken the whole potion, she would have died immediately. Instead, it was a slow process.

Makreen held the shell in his hands and uttered a spell to preserve his daughter. He wanted nothing more than to save her. But something went wrong. Instead, her body changed and became a sword very much like the one Damien held in his hands. Her body was dying so she had to be transformed to be preserved.

Makreen then saw the curse of the shell and demanded that no one ever use it again. He ordered the sorcerer to place the sword and the shell in a tomb and guarded by the fiercest guardian the sorcerer could create. The sorcerer did this, all the while planning to kill Makreen and take his crown, then destroy the creature and take the shell also.

When the tomb was sealed, Makreen gave the key to a servant and told him to throw it off the edge of the world, where no one could find it. When the servant left and Makreen’s back was turned, the sorcerer stabbed Makreen.

When the sorcerer returned to the tomb to destroy the creature, it destroyed him instead. No one ever knew the truth of what happened, for no one knew but the princess, who was hidden where no one would be able to reach her. In the sword, hidden with the shell, and now in Damien’s hand.

Damien woke from his trance as the monsters claws came at his head. He held the sword up and blocked the attack just in time. He continually blocked the monster’s attacks, still somewhat dazed from the vision.


Gale studied the door. He could not find anything that would help him get it open. But then he spied a hole in the wall several feet from the door. He reached inside, past the cobwebs, and moved something. What it was, he had no idea.

Suddenly the place started to shake. A stone fell from the ceiling and crumbled as it hit the floor next to Gale.

Oh no. He thought. It’s gonna fall and crush us.

Several stones fell from the wall around the door. Then the door itself simply fell over in two pieces and shattered, revealing the tunnel out.

“Damien!” Gale called. “Come on!”

Damien flew out from behind a gold pile, thankful to get out of the falling rocks. The creature ran behind him. Then the two vampires flew out of the treasure room, desperate to get out before the entire tomb collapsed with them inside it.


Vampie caught up with Jones and punched him from behind. The man fell over and the shell skidded across the stone floor, as well as the map he had taken. Vampie leapt for it and picked both up.

The ground shook. Vampie’s gaze immediately turned to the direction she had come from. Damien and Gale were still back there. They were going to be crushed.

There was a sound of something big falling and then Gale’s voice saying “Damien!”

Jones began to get up, but he was too late, for the vampire men came flying down the falling apart hallway. Vampie flapped her own wings and joined them as they went past her.

Jones noticed the crumbling ceiling and raced to get out as well. Behind him, the monster slithered faster. It got ahead of him in moments.

“Don’t leave me!” Jones cried. But the monster didn’t look back. As Jones ran, the hallway collapsed on him.


The three vampires made it out of the tomb just as it was collapsing. They landed on the sand and looked back at it. Such an amazing discovery and it was now gone. But at least they were alive. And they had the shell and the map. And Damien had saved the princess.

They decided to spend one more day in the hotel before leaving. They were all exhausted. Damien and Gale would soon be back on their original mission and this time, with enough money to spend their nights in hotels instead of camping.

Chapter 12

Damien and Gale opened their eyes as the moonlight shone through the window. It was night. Time to go. But when they got up, they realized Vampie was gone. And so was the shell.

“Where’d she go?” Damien growled.

She left. Said a female voice in Damien’s head. My name is Emitria. I’m a sword.

Great, the sword’s talking to me. Damien thought. He would probably sell it too. A sword that shot flowers at enemies was of no use to him.

“Damien, look.” Gale got up and picked up a piece of paper on the floor.

Before he could read it, Damien snatched it away. It said:

Hey, guys. Sorry I disappeared on you and stole your treasure. You worked hard for it. But I need it more than you do. I need the treasure to save my people. Long story. I got your map back, it should be in Damien’s trench pocket. I hope our paths cross again, but until then, so long.

--Vampie

“She took the damn shell!” Damien said in a frustrated tone.

Gale looked at the letter in disbelief. “She robbed us?”

“No. She left behind all the worthless stuff” Damien said, feeling a twinge of resent from the sword, “and took the most valuable thing we own.” He got up and put on his trench coat and hat. "I intend to find her and get it back."

“We don’t even know where she went.” Gale sighed and looked at the floor. “Well we have the map back. Maybe we should just continue Jimmy’s mission.”

Damien would have protested, but he knew Gale was right. They had no idea which way she would have gone. Irritated, Damien walked out the door, followed by Gale, and entered the tavern.

A feeling pricked at Damien’s nose. It was almost like smelling something so bad it made your nose almost want to sneeze. He turned his head to follow the “smell” and saw a three armed figure in a black cloak. Red eyes glowed underneath it as it held a victim helpless under a powerful, hypnotic gaze.

Damien smiled and his fangs came out. He realized that he was hungry.

Gale noticed Damien’s halt and followed his brother’s gaze. “Oh no.” he groaned.

The End