Vampire Smurfs

Chapter 1

Story by; 'Uncle Gargy'

Illustrations;'TairusuKu'

It was the same as every other night so far this week, Gargamel just could not get to sleep. He had been tossing and turning all through the night and Azrael had got fed up as well and had even scratched his left arm, so now he had to get up to get some salve for it.

"Azrael you nasty cat, why did you scratch me? It's not my fault I can't get any sleep, those pesky Smurfs dog my every waking moment and it's killing me." Gargamel by now had got up and walked over to the big wooden table in the kitchen area and he got a pot of salve from the shelf above the fireplace. Azrael was still on the bed and just gave Gargamel his most evil stare, this annoyed Gargamel and he chucked a book that was lying on the table at the fleeing cat. It missed of course and the feline let out a mischievous chuckle.

The scratches were deep, he first washed the wound and applied the salve, then put a bandage on it. Almost immediately the bandage started to turn red. "Azrael, you've really hurt me this time, how can I get to sleep now? This better not give me cat scratch fever, don't want to get sick that's the last thing I need with those Smurfs sneaking into my home all hours of the day and night. I'm going down to the cellar, got to keep myself occupied"

Azrael watched Gargamel descend the stairs into the cellar. It was a bit of a junk heap down there, piles of books all over the floor, rolled up parchments in boxes, half finished diaries and notebooks. "Better get on with sorting out the books first I suppose," said the middle aged wizard to himself and he bent down and started to put the books into piles in no particular order, but just so that he had some room to move. But then as anyone does when they are trying to clear junk, he started to look at everything properly and noticed a very old book that had been under the pile for maybe years. It had been an old library book from the Wizard school, which he had never returned.

He blew dust off the cover and read the title' The Alchemist and the legend of the Homunculi'. He opened the book and saw that it was borrowed on the day that he left the Wizard school and that he must have chucked it down in the cellar in disgust when he found out that he had not passed his wizard exams.

"I forgot that I'd taken this book out, looks interesting." He got himself a chair and settled down to read. In no time at all morning had broken and he was still reading, more exited by what he was learning by the minute. "Wow! this is the perfect book for getting rid of the Smurfs for good! But," Gargamel could not stop himself from yawning and having a stretch. "But, I'm totally exhausted now better get to bed and then this evening, those Smurfs had better watch out, mwa,ha,ha,ha...yawn!"

With the book safely in his hands, Gargamel climbed back up the cellar stairs into the kitchen area and put the book under his mattress and climbed into bed. The sun was streaming through the window but Gargamel did not care as he was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

Meanwhile in the Smurf village, Papa Smurf and Brainy were having an argument about what to do with the bridge over the river. It had been damaged a few days earlier by Azrael and Papa wanted to keep to the old design but Brainy wanted to try adding some more supports. "Papa, you know that to support the weight of other creatures using the bridge that more supports will be needed, we can't tell the rabbits, badgers or any other creature that they can't use it." said Brainy.

"Brainy, I don't mind other creatures using the bridge, it's just that we need to get the bridge mended now and we don't have enough lumber and smurf to change the design. It only got broken because Azrael ripped it apart, now this matter is closed. Understood?" said the village elder. "Ok, Papa but I'm telling you its going to smurf again and then you'll be sorry you did not listen to me and furthermore.." Before he could even finish his sentence, Brainy found himself outside the village with a very sore head and backside.

Smurfette had heard the argument as it occurred just outside her window and she came out to talk to Papa. "He does get annoying doesn't he," she remarked . "Don't think he means any harm, but he just thinks that he always has to be right, I know more than him, he is just young, no offence, but I have time and experience on my side and I know what I'm talking about, but still it feels good to teach him a lesson sometimes," said the village leader. Smurfette giggled at this remark. "Anyway, be seeing you Smurfette, I've got to go into the forest to Smurf some more ingredients for my potions. I should be back before nightfall, let the other Smurfs know, OK." "Yes Papa, I'm just going to water my flowers and then I'll tell everyone else," replied Smurfette and she waved at Papa Smurf who was now departing the village with a basket in his hand to collect some plants.

A few hours passed and Papa was enjoying himself, it was good to get out of the village and he had picked all the material that he needed, he started to head for home. All through that day he had not noticed any sign of Gargamel, he was usually out in the forest most days. Papa made a decision to visit the hovel and see what the wizard was up to, as it was wise to 'Know thy enemy' and they always had to keep tabs on his escapades. The elderly Smurf got to the hovel in less than half and hour and after looking for Azrael, he climbed up onto the outside water butt and onto the windowsill of the bedroom. He could see that Gargamel was still in bed, which he thought was odd as if he was sleeping in the daytime it was in the rocking chair. "Hmm, he must be ill or something?" Papa jumped down onto the bed and carefully crept up to the sleeping Gargamel to have a closer look, he noticed that the wizard's left arm was bandaged just above the wrist. "Well he doesn't seem to be sickening for anything, just seems to be injured doesn't look serious maybe he's just been up all night or something? Better get out of here before Azrael comes back," Papa looked around once more and with a hop jumped up to the windowsill and then down to the ground. Azrael was nowhere to be seen. It was his lucky day.

Later that evening as the moon was rising, Gargamel woke up and had a good stretch and said to himself "Ye gads, I needed that sleep, feel so much better and ready to make magic!" he giggled to himself. "But first I've got to feed the cat, Azrael! Where you? Mangy evil creature!" Azrael replied with "Mreeoww, meerrw!" and crawled out from under the bed, he had been sleeping there all day and had not noticed their little visitor earlier that afternoon. The wizard emptied some bits of chicken into a bowl and set it down on the floor, the hungry cat ate it noisily which irritated Gargamel and he had to chide the cat by saying "Azrael, you'll give yourself a bad stomach and stop making so much noise you sound like a pig and I don't want to share my house with a pig!" The cat just ignored the insults he was so used to them that they just went right over his head.

Gargamel, then got himself a bowl and scooped some cold vegetable stew that had been sitting on top of the cold fire. He then laid the fire and lit it ready for the work he was going to do tonight, but was so hungry that he ate the stew cold anyway. Once the fire had got going properly, he put some water on to boil in a kettle and made a cup of tea for himself.

"Ahh! Just what I needed and now to work!"He drank the rest of the tea and went over to his potion shelf, he took down several of the bottles and brought them over to the table in the kitchen. He then lifted up a large cauldron from the floor of the kitchen and set it on the embers of the fire and fed some more wood from the sides. "That should keep the fire nice and hot for the spell to work" he said to Azrael, but the cat had gone back to sleep on the bed this time. "Bah! You're so lazy Azrael, maybe I should have a dog instead of you? Much more loyal and they don't scratch, but then they bite hard don't they? Maybe not then," He looked at his arm again and decided that he need to change the bandage as the old one was a dirty dark red. He winced as he removed the soiled dressing and washed the wound again, the scratches three of them were still red looking but had stopped bleeding, Gargamel decided to put some more salve on the wound and put another clean dressing on. He then got up and went to his bed and took the book from under the mattress, he brought it over to the table and opened it up.

He brought his hands up above his head, linked his fingers together and pushed, a satisfying cracking sound came from them and he got to work.

Most of the Smurfs back at the village had gone to bed and Papa was just tucking the Smurflings into their beds after he had read them a story. "Papa, why do you always read us baby stories? We would like to listen to a more exiting story ," said Nat. "No way, little Smurflings, if I did that you would not sleep all night" replied the elderly smurf with a laugh. "Aww! But it would be fun wouldn't it?" the other Smurflings all nodded their heads. "Maybe when you are a bit older, you don't need to know about the scary things in this world yet and there are things worse than being chased by an evil wizard and his cat. Now sleep it's getting late,"said Papa. "Good night Papa" replied the Smurflings as the elderly smurf blew out the candle and closed the door.

The evil wizard had by now made the special potion in the cauldron and the mixture was bubbling gently, it was black as pitch and had the consistency of tar, so the bubbles were slowly forming and popping at the surface making quite a disgusting sound. In front of him Gargamel had a knife, four small pieces of quartz no bigger than a thumbnail, a large piece of quartz that was thin and about 5 inches long and it was tied at one end with a leather thong. "Right Azrael, this is the most important part of the spell and the worst, well for me anyway," the wizard picked up the knife, walked over to the cauldron and holding his left hand over it, he took the knife and grimaced whilst he slashed open his left palm. The blood flowed freely into the black bubbling mixture and according to the book he would have to keep his hand there until the blood stopped flowing. Thankfully, it only took a couple of minutes or so, but Gargamel was feeling very sore and again had to get some bandages for his wounded hand. "Aarghh! Azrael, the things I do in order to destroy those Smurfs, why can't they just leave this area and leave us alone?" gasped the wizard as he tried not to show how much it was hurting. Azrael, just shook his head in resignation as to what horrors his master was cooking up.

Gargamel had one more ingredient to add to the mixture and those were the four small pieces of quartz, he then chanted a spell:

"Oh hear me, wizards of old, I have spilt my blood in honour of your ancient magic, grant me my wish. Bring me four tiny mannequins to do my bidding, may they be swift as the wind, dark as the deepest cave and thirsty for Smurf blood."

He threw in the quartz pieces and the mixture started to bubble more violently and for a moment turned bright red and then back to the viscous black. He carried on with the spell:

"Blood of a wizard, clay of the earth, breath of the wind, spit of a bat, foul herbs of the forests and swamps come together and become one. Legs of the Mandrake root give them motion, quartz will be their hearts, I will be their master, come alive and do my bidding without question."

When the last line had been chanted, he picked up the rod of quartz and put it round his neck, securing it with the leather thong.

There was a blinding flash from the cauldron and it knocked Gargamel off his feet and sent Azrael scurrying under the bed. Once the smoke had cleared Gargamel picked himself off from the floor. He saw four small humanoid creatures crawling out of the pot. They were half the size of a Smurf but were very skinny, shiny black with red blotches and bat wings neatly folded up on their backs.

Before he knew it they had jumped from the cauldron onto the table and he felt the evil of their red eyes boring into his head. "Stop it, I'm your master, you must obey me and only me," said Gargamel, trying to keep his composure under the onslaught of their eyes. The book never mentioned anything about the power of their eyes.

This was a good time as any to send them out to hunt for the Smurfs and to be honest, he did not want them in his house a moment longer, so with his most confident voice he gave the order "Go and destroy the Smurfs!" the little Homunculi showed their vampire fangs and as one they flew out of the window into the dark night towards the Enchanted forest and the unsuspecting sleeping Smurfs.

As soon as they left, Gargamel sat down heavily in his rocking chair, "Think I might have overdone it this time Azrael, but as long as I keep this quartz rod next to my skin then they will obey me and it will be useless to anyone else.I don't want Papa Smurf using my Homunculi against me. Come Azrael, lets clear up this mess and see what becomes of the Smurfs in the morning, hope they have an awful night, mwa,ha,ha,ha!

Azrael decided that he was going to stay under the bed and did not even bother laughing along with his master he had a feeling this wasn't going to end well for anyone.