A Close Call

They reached the castle gate, which was surprisingly well preserved. The surrounding fortifications, however—which must have once been a strong, high protective wall that enclosed the whole castle—had almost completely collapsed.

Tony walked around the castle gate and climbed over the crumbling remains of the wall.

His father, on the other hand, seemed to find it thrilling to walk through the castle gate.

Tony heard him call out from the other side, “Look, there’s even an iron portcullis!”

Then chains rattled, and there was a screeching sound and a loud crash.

“Yikes! That was a close call!” said his father’s voice.

Typical Dad! thought Tony, and smiled.

But when his father came out of the castle gate, pale and very frightened, and Tony saw that a heavy iron grate now blocked the passage, his laughter stuck in his throat. The pointed iron bars had shot several inches into the ground. What if his father had been in the way….

“W-we’d b-better g-go b-back!” stammered Tony. “That was a warning!”

“A warning?” said Tony’s father as he shook the dust out of his hair, as if he were shaking the fright away at the same time. “It was just a mishap,” he said dismissively. “I shouldn’t have pulled on the rusty chains.” Encouragingly, he added, “Come on, cheer up! Our adventure has only just begun!”

Tony pressed his lips together and said nothing. What else could he do? It seemed his father was determined not to let anything stop him from visiting the ruins, not even the incident with the iron grate!

They came to an overgrown garden. Tony had been there with Anna on the night of the vampire ball. They had entered the garden through the large door of the main house, and Tony had been grateful for the fresh night air after the musty smells in the ballroom. Then, suddenly, Anna started crying—out of sheer happiness!—and ran away. Then a dark voice had called out to Tony from the garden, “I’m over here!”

With a shudder, Tony looked over at the hazel bushes. Yes, it was there, in the shelter of those bushes, that Aunt Dorothee had been lying in wait for him, and it was only thanks to Anna’s courage and quick intervention that Tony had not become a vampire that night! Tonight, after sunset, Anna would be waiting for him by the same bushes.

“So now we’re in the realm of the Lady of Darkness,” his father said jokingly. “Well, it is really dark here, but that’s mostly due to the condition of the castle. When you think that this ruin must have once been a large castle complex with thick protective walls, battlements, and watchtowers! And now it’s just a pile of rocks.”

Just as he said “pile of rocks,” a stone came loose from the masonry of the main house and fell to the ground.

Tony’s blood froze in his veins, but his father said lightheartedly, “See? That was solid proof of the sad state of the castle.”

“No, that was the second warning,” Tony objected.

His father laughed. “Tony, you’re almost as superstitious as the map seller! We should probably talk to Dr. Crustbrusher about this.”

“For my sake,” pleaded Tony, “can we leave here as quickly as possible?”

“Not before I’ve looked inside this mysterious building,” replied Tony’s father, adding, “Besides, I’m curious to know if there really is an organ in there somewhere!” With that, he headed for the front door and pulled down on the rust-covered handle. The door opened with a deep, creaking sound.

Tony’s father laughed. “Well, I’m sure no one has gone through this door for at least twenty years.”

If only you knew! thought Tony, and hesitantly followed his father into the entry hall.