Scooby Doo: Monster Menagerie

Chapter 13: Screaming, Dying, and Crying

It would be a good long while before the occupants of the school had settled down. It was a long night of celebrating, especially on the monster girls' end. Their fathers would be incredibly proud of them, giving them the proper congratulations they so deserved. They also thanked their coaches, as well as the other humans for keeping them all company. Plenty of food was consumed, especially from a certain pair of beatnik foodies, and plenty of stories were shared between everyone. It would be hours before all of the fathers had to leave, allowing everyone else to go to bed as well.

Even though it had been a few hours since the carriage had left and everyone had gone off to bed, Sibella still laid restless in her coffin. As much as she hated to keep the whole conversation a secret from her friends, her (and by extension, her father's), explanation for their sudden, private meeting would be for him to make sure everything was going okay for her. Being slightly overprotective, he would naturally ask these sorts of questions, but that wouldn't be the main reason for their meeting, instead saving those for afterwards. Instead, he informed his daughter of the fact that one of his most prized, and powerful, possessions was missing from his personal library.

"I've already placed guards among every inch of the castle, both inside and out. Everyone is to keep an eye out in case they are to find it, or if whatever intruder who stole it comes back for something else," Dracula explained, looking quite grave, yet compose at the same time. Being the King of Monsters, he had to keep some air of professional regality to him, after all. "I have also sent out a few servants to go out and search the land for the book. If they are to find the book, they are to also bring the thief to me so that I may deal with them."

Sibella's face showed that she was listening intently to him. To him, it looked like she was quite concerned about this whole thing, her eyes wide as she made sure to pay attention. She couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty, though. She hid that emotion quite well as she asked her father some questions of her own. "Do you perhaps have any leads as to where the Demonologist's Bible has gone?"

"Unfortunately, no," The older vampire sighed darkly. "Whoever had the gall to steal such an item from me left no trace." If it was at all possible, his face got even more stern, almost worried. "What truly concerns me, though, is the fact that nothing else was missing. Just that book."

"What do you suppose the reason for that is, Father?" Sibella asked, tilting her head.

"Nothing good, I should think," He responded, looking to his daughter with a worried glint in his yellow eyes. "What's worse is that, ever since arriving here, I've had this... feeling. It is one that is not quite foreign to me, but yet I can not place my finger on what it is. All I know is, it is not good. A bad omen of things to come," Dracula prattled on slowly, his accent thick and dripping with intense dread.

"This is also why I wished to speak with you privately," He continued, looking at her once more. Sibella remained silent for the time being, although she had a rough idea as to what he would ask of her. "Whatever is going to happen will happen at this school. While I have not lost faith in Grimwood's ability to deter dark magic like this away, I fear this is much too powerful for her. What's more, there are mortals hanging around, and I have a feeling that it does not welcome them here. I wish for you to return back to the castle with me, back to safety," He implored, his worried gaze becoming slightly more visible, his frown making his distressed wrinkles on his face stand out a lot more.

The girl was at a loss for words, but her father was patient in waiting for her response. Was she worried? Of course. While she sometimes thought that her Father was a less-than-credible source for information, he wouldn't ever lie about something as severe as this. Besides, she and a few others had naturally felt this emotion as well. She still remembers talking to Winnie about a 'bad feeling' as well. On the other hand, though, she felt quite bad for making her father worry about this sort of thing. She felt as if taking the Demonologist's Bible from her Father's library was what was making him paranoid. With how her dreams had been, though, she figured it would help her try and solve her nightmare problem.