The end of the world is at hand. While Michael seeks for a way to avert the calamity, his wife is captured by the vampire leader Dracula who makes her his slave. In league with the darkest of deities, Dracula has created a host of vampires and other monstrous creatures which he unleashes on helpless humanity. Meanwhile, a terrible plague is sweeping across the globe, and a world-destroying comet is headed toward Earth. The selfish Morgaine discovers she has the power to save the world, but only at a fearful price.
Is there No Rest for the Wicked? At the end of Book 5, the ruthless witch Morgaine, driven by her age-old love for the sorcerer Michael, gained everything she ever wanted when she possessed the body of his wife Melody. But, can evil ever lead to a happy ending? Morgaine thought so. Now, she learns different. The dark gods are determined to have the last laugh. For Morgaine triumph is short lived. She only has weeks to enjoy her new life as Michael's Melody. The end of the world is at hand. While Michael seeks for a way to avert the calamity, Melody/Morgaine is captured by the vampire leader Dracula who makes her his slave. In league with the darkest of deities, Dracula has created a host of vampires and other monstrous creatures which he unleashes on helpless humanity. Meanwhile, a terrible plague is sweeping across the globe, and a world-destroying comet is headed toward Earth. The selfish Morgaine discovers she has the power to save the world, but only at a fearful price. She must be willing to sacrifice her love for Michael and return Melody's body to its rightful owner, while she herself opposes the awesome might of Lucifer's legions.
Excerpt
The night was full of storms and seemed to last forever. Michael tossed and turned and slept only in short catnaps. Whenever he awoke from these, he heard footsteps in the corridor outside of his room. Once someone tried the knob. He wondered whether it was Vlad, but dismissed the idea. Vampires did not have to enter through a doorway. Or did they? He wondered how much of the vampire lore he had rattling around his head was myth, superstition, authors' inventions, or the truth. Could they really turn themselves into mist and float through the space under the door? Or was that all nonsense. How about the things that were supposed to ward them off -- crucifixes, garlic, hawthorn, mountain ash, scattering seeds, iron or silver? Did any of that stuff work? Who knew. Michael felt quite vulnerable. He knew he was unprepared. There was no reason to think that Vlad could not appear in this room and attack him, except for Vlad's statement that his group was under Morgaine's protection.
He thought about what Morgaine had asked him to do. Vlad had lived several hundred years. Michael felt that surely in all that time he must have learned how to protect himself during the day. And the other thing that worried him was why Morgaine could not do the deed herself. He did not necessarily buy her explanation that the tomb cover was too heavy for her to get to the vampire. There had to more to it than that. Morgaine had the powers of a demon. Surely she could use them to move a stone slab. Was she powerless because Melody's body was under Vlad's control? Perhaps.
This got him thinking about Melody. He was full of guilt, anger and sorrow. He silently cursed himself. Everything thing bad that ever happened to her since the day they met had been his fault. His love for her had been a curse on her. If he did not succeed in destroying Vlad, she was doomed to become one of the undead, a fate worse than death. And even if he did kill the vampire, he wondered whether Morgaine would live up to her part of the bargain and depart Melody's body.
Towards morning Michael became exhausted and finally fell into a troubled sleep. As the first rays of the morning sun came through the edges of the shutters, a knock came to his door. He stretched, grabbed the crucifix he had placed on the night stand and asked, "Who's there?"
"Is me. Sister Melania. I carry breakfast. Lady Melody say you wish wake early."
He put down the cross and donned a bathrobe. "Okay. I'm coming."
The old nun brought in a tray which contained a mug of coffee, a sweet roll, orange juice, a wooden stake and a small sledge hammer. She placed the tray on the night stand and pointed to the stake and hammer. "Lady Melody say you know what these for." She crossed herself. "God have mercy on your soul."
After Michael rinsed the sleep from his eyes, he dressed, ate his breakfast and took the implements from the tray. He roused his companions, and they followed the damp stone stairs that led to the cellar. Cautiously they approached Vlad's purported grave. The huge slab that they had seen the day before covered the empty hole.
Westcott said, "How in Hell did that stone get moved to cover the grave? It would take a crane to lift it."
Legion chuckled, "How in Hell in deed. This Vlad must have superhuman strength. Do you believe in vampires now, my friend?"
"If Vlad is really in there and appears dead, I'll believe. But we'll never settle this. That slab can't be moved."
"I believe that I can move it," said Isaac in his usual monotone, as though it was a simple task that someone asked him to accomplish.
"Can you?" asked Michael. "We'll all help."
The two men, Legion and Isaac got down on their knees and shove with all their might against the monstrously heavy block. It started to move, a quarter inch at a time, as the four put all their strength against it. Michael's and Westcott's effort counted for little, but the creature and the robot were tremendously strong.
Suddenly, a knife wielding Melody leaped out from out of the shadows. From her mouth, Morgaine cried, "Watch out. She'll murder anyone trying to get into Vlad's grave. I can't control her. His power over her body is too strong this near."
Melody surely would have thrust the dagger into Michael's back if it had not been for Isaac. The robot moved extremely swiftly. It grabbed the wrist holding the dagger with one hand and wound its other arm around her waist. She screamed obscenities, kicked and tried to wriggle out of his clutches to no avail. Isaac twisted her wrist until she dropped the weapon in pain. "I am sorry to do this to you, Melody, but I cannot allow you to harm another human being."
Michael said, "Westcott, run upstairs and see if you can find something to tie her up."
Westcott rushed up the stairway. A few minutes later he came back with a long cord from the drapery hanging in the chapel. They tied up Melody with it and set her against a sepulcher in a sitting position. She twisted and kicked and struggled. That they succeeded at all was due to Isaac's powerful grip. Once Melody was restrained, she calmed down. She said, "You won't be able to disturb my master's rest. Look behind you."
Michael gazed down the corridor. The tombs along the corridor were opening up, and the corpses were departing their resting places. They were vampires, hundreds of them. He cried, "How can this be? It's daytime."
"But it's dark down here," said Melody. She giggled. "Vlad has called them up to protect his grave. Soon Michael, my love, you will be one of us."
Pray for the light. Pray that you last that long. The Long Hour Before Light is a classic collection of Horror tales, re-mastered by Champagne Book Group
