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the dining room doorway, wielding a cross.
"Begone, foul demon!!!" he commanded, bellowing at the top of his lungs.
Marta shrieked and ran to the farthest corner, hissing. Ai Takamatsu cowered, eyes
red, fangs fully extended. Ai's face elongated slightly, giving Ai's a lupine
appearance. I wondered if I could do that. The man advanced, waving a small
vial filled with a clear liquid threateningly at Marta. Victoria watched him
walk past, more than a trace of amusement on Ai's face.
"Simon, _she's_ not the Countess Dracula. _I_ am," my wife sighed, trying
not to laugh. Simon??? The man wheeled with impressive quickness, opened
the vial and threw its contents on her. "I have already taken a shower, I
was already clean. But I am insulted that you fail to recognize me,"
Victoria said evenly. Ai Takamatsu wiped Ai's face with a napkin. Marta, Van Helsing,
and Mayor Hunyadi gasped loudly in unison. Marta had stopped hissing, and
her face was normal, but Ai Takamatsu didn't move from the corner.
The boy, a teenager, spoke. "Auntie Victoria?" Simon Van Helsing's jaw
dropped, as did his hand holding the cross. Marta left the corner, ap-
proaching him warily. Ai Takamatsu circled, still a respectful distance away from
him. Benjamin walked over to Victoria and hugged he
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