Much to his confusion, Jonathan found himself in one of the castle’s dungeons. It wasn’t even up to a minute since he was in the main hall and, surely, no one physically dragged him there. It came to his conclusion that someone wanted him to be separated from Maria, frantically trying to find a way out.

   In a separate dungeon, away from the area where Jonathan currently was, Maria found herself in chains and, like Jonathan, wasn’t physically put there. Already, she suspected dark magic being used against the couple.

   Suddenly, a hooded stranger made his way towards her. It was Daniel, with a wide smile between his cheeks.

   “Comfortable, Your Highness?” he asked.

   “You!” Maria growled, recognizing his face through his hood. With her irises turning red in anger, she fruitlessly tried to jump on Daniel, held back by her chains.

   “I’m glad you fell for our trap,” Daniel gloated.

   “Our?” Maria pondered.

   The four other wolves soon appeared behind Daniel, each changing back to his true human form.

   “We are the Brotherhood of the Wolves,” said Daniel. “For centuries, our ancestors had sworn to bring your uncle back to life. All we need is a small sample of your blood.”

   “But, why did you wait till now?” asked Maria. “If you were aware of the prophecy, surely you would have known that I was in a deep slumber within castle walls the whole time.”

   “I guess we need to fill in the details,” said Daniel. “Only when you have fully changed, and have recuperated, we may have your blood.”

   “And how will you take my blood?” asked Maria. “If you bring harm, I swear....”

   “Don’t worry, Your Highness. We mean you no harm for you’re important to us alive,” Daniel assured. One of the brothers walked towards him while bringing out a new syringe. “With modern medical tools,” he said while holding it, “we shall only take a small blood sample with this. It’s definitely better than the old day of extracting blood, which would have involved cutting your palm with a dagger.”

   The four brothers suddenly began leaving.

   “The ritual shall begin by sunset,” said Daniel, as he followed the brothers out. “We hope you’ll enjoy your stay.”

   Daniel proceeded to shut the dungeon gate, locking it with a key.

   “One last thing,” Maria said to Daniel, “Why do you need to bring my uncle back to life? If you are aware, vampires live a life of wickedness, and they feast on human blood.”

   “Oh, Your Highness, this is why his glory needs to be witnessed once again,” said Daniel. “Once we see how flawless he is, no human would resist the urge of becoming a vampire. And, moreover, it’s not just human blood that vampires drink, so we will survive.”

   And with that, Daniel left the dungeon hall.

   Maria took a good look outside the window, and figured that she had about an hour till sunset. Obviously, there was nothing she could do to break free.

   But, suddenly, she remembered that she still had the Vampiress’ Staff. With as much as she was able to study, she could break free by firing beams through the chains. But, likewise with Jonathan, the dark clouds separated her from the staff. It was fortunate that she mastered her last two spells: one for transporting objects from one location to another, and another to open portals for quick travels.

   Now, the only issue is that either spell would require the Vampiress’ Staff to work, but she needed to give it a try. To her surprise, it worked! The Vampiress’ Staff was in her grasp, and she proceeded to destroy the first of the four chains holding her in place. Without hesitation, she immediately blasted the dungeon’s gate wide open, and ran her way into the shadowy corridor.

   Fortunately, she managed to make her way to a lower elevation of the fortress without anyone seeing her, where she was able to find Jonathan’s dungeon.

   “Jonathan!” she bellowed.

   “Maria!” Jonathan bellowed. “Are you okay?”

   “I’m fine,” said Maria, placing two of her fingers through the dungeon’s gate. This allowed her to open a portal at the other side of the gate, allowing the couple to reunite. Glad to see each other in good health, outside the dungeon, both Jonathan and Maria hugged each other.

   “We don’t have much time,” Maria said to Jonathan. “They want my blood.”

   “Who?” asked Jonathan, as Maria dragged him upstairs by his hand.

   “Daniel and his cult,” Maria explained.

   “The archeologist?” Jonathan exclaimed.

   “Yes, Jonathan. The same man,” said Maria. “They need me to bring my uncle back to life.”

   This motivated Jonathan to make pace till he was the one leading Maria. “Then we shouldn’t let that happen,” he said.

   As they returned to the hall, dark clouds once again surrounded the couple. This time, however, the clouds dispersed leaving behind four of the brothers in their wolf forms. Each growled and took steps forward, determined not to allow Maria to leave the next ritual.

   “Do you think we can take them on?” asked Jonathan, feeling eager, as a shepherd’s son, to fight the wolves for Maria’s safety.

   “I might,” said Maria, “but I think there is a way you can help me. Stretch your hands forward.”

   She casted a quick spell that caused purple lights to reflect off of Jonathan’s hands. When she was done, to his worry at first, flames began to burn over his palm. It was another spell that Maria chose not to tell Jonathan about just yet, at least till the time was right.

   “I have channeled the staff’s energy into you,” said Maria. “It will allow you to create flames at your will, and toss them at your foes.”

   As the wolves started to pounce, she yelled at Jonathan “Now, throw!”

   The wolves couldn’t avoid Jonathan’s flames or Maria’s blasts. With no other choice, they all fled into the shadows.

   “Coward!” a voice echoed across the hall. It wasn’t Daniel’s, but Maria seemed to recognize it.

   Without any warning, Jonathan was held against his will, with a dagger placed on his throat.

   “Don’t hurt him!” Maria pleaded.

   It was Daniel. With sunset approaching, filled with rage and determination, he was willing to get Maria’s blood at any cost. “If you want the boy to live, Your Highness, give us your blood,” he ordered Maria.

   Maria had no other choice but to give in. She dropped the Vampiress’ Staff on the floor leaving herself unarmed, and safe for the brothers to return.

   “The syringe, my brothers,” Daniel called out to the cult. “If we don’t follow the ritual, we will surely pay with our lives. That is the oath of our ancestors.”

   Much to his confusion, Daniel soon found himself falling outside the fortress. He was unaware of the portal opening up at where he stood. That gave Maria the chance to rescue Jonathan mid-air in her giant bat form, with the Vampiress’ Staff in her mouth.

   Daniel was bruised upon crashing through the branches of a nearby tree. With Maria and Jonathan entering a new portal, Daniel gave chase in his wolf form. Once again, the couple were surrounded. With all five in their human form, Daniel, with the syringe in his hand, dashed towards Maria, undeterred by her vampire fangs and hissing. Jonathan stepped forward to cover for her, with his flames ready.

   But, it was too late for the Brotherhood of the Wolves. As the sun was about to set, much to their horror, the cult saw their hands gradually turning to dust. They all screamed in agony as the erosive transformation continued till it reached their heads and upper bodies.

   “We might have failed,” said Daniel, as he struggles to cope with his pains, “but he will have your blood!”

   Daniel and his cult members were no more. The sight left Maria shaken in horror and confusion, as Jonathan filmed the whole thing with his phone in case anyone were to ask of Daniel.

   “Come on,” said Jonathan, as he placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. “Let’s take your parents home.”

   “Okay,” said Maria, placing her hand over his.

   With the Vampiress’ Staff, Maria opened a portal to the Hall of the Kings. This time, however, the portal was left open so that Maria could magically carry her parents’ remains into wooden coffins prepared for them.

   “We did it,” said Maria. As she placed both hands on her chest, at long last, she felt at ease knowing that she was able to bring her parents’ home for a proper funeral.

   “Are we going to bury them now?” Jonathan wondered.

   “No. Not yet,” said Maria. “The local church will help with the arrangements. My parents deserve a proper funeral. I hope you and your parents will attend.”

   “I‘ll let them know about it,” said Jonathan. “Just let me know when.”

   “I will,” said Maria.

   Maria then changed the subject. “I want to thank you for everything. The escort, your support.... I’m also sorry for the cult attacking us.”

   “It’s okay,” said Jonathan, placing his hand on Maria’s cheek. “At least we got home alive and well.”

   Feeling loved, Maria placed her hand over his while, at the same time, opening a portal behind Jonathan.  Jonathan’s bedroom was just at the other side of the portal.

   “It’s time to head home,” said Maria, pointing to the portal with her staff. “Sorry I kept you out for so long.”

   “Again, it’s okay,” Jonathan assured. “This was probably the most adventure I ever had on a Sunday. Plus, you gave me new powers.”

   “Oh, that’s true,” said Maria.

   Jonathan had to go home to his parents, but the couple couldn’t stand the thought of leaving each other. On the other hand, school would be resuming the next morning, so he left, with the two waving goodbye to each other.