“I must say I feel a certain comfort, a degree of protection, with this jewelry on,” Bud said.
“Really?”
“No.”
“Bud.”
“I do admit, it does provide a sense of illogical comfort.”
“The cross is not to be taken lightly. You know how I can set things on fire and have empathic powers? The cross is what channels that energy and makes it possible and usable in our earthly realm.”
“Yes, I am aware of your pyromania and absorption powers. When will I learn to set things on fire?”
“You will need more extensive training for elemental powers. We can try and tap into your grace power now though. My empathic powers, my ability to absorb the evils that we send back into the sacred trees, is my grace power. I feel so bad for these creatures that I automatically absorb that which afflicts them and makes them evil. I have always in my life felt a great deal of empathy for all. That is my prevailing emotion. Bud, I need you to tap into your most common emotion, and the cross will manifest that power and focus it for you.”
“I am not so sure I can.” Bud frowned.
“You can, Bud. If it’s happiness, let yourself feel it. If it’s sadness for your missing grandfather, feel it. Anger, whatever. Hold the cross and concentrate. Ever since you were a child, what feeling was there in your heart most days?”
“I am afraid to let myself feel that, or perhaps I have grown so calloused to it. I can’t really feel it anymore.” Bud’s eyes glazed over.
“Try, Bud. It can help us in the battle ahead.”
Bud grasped the crucifix. Took a deep breath. A tear formed in his left eye. He allowed his tear to fall. His fingers that held the crucifix began to fade away. He could still feel his hands, but they disappeared. The metal of the cross he could still feel, though it faded just as his fingers and hands did.
“Maeve, what is happening?” Bud’s fake accent had dissipated. His midwestern-Chicago accent prevailed in that moment.
“You are completely…invisible. Bud, you are the Invisible Man. No joke.” Maeve’s jaw dropped. She gawked before realizing how Bud must have felt. “Oh, Bud. I am sorry. Try letting go of the cross. Will yourself to be visible again. Pray. Pray silently, if you have to. I have learned to control my empathic powers. I always absorb, but I am learning how to control it. Obviously, I have a ways to go with the werewolf and zombie absorption, but you know what I mean. With more training, you will learn to control your grace power.”
Bud could see his hands once more. He twiddled his thumbs and fingers.
“Oh, thank God.” Bud sighed in relief.
“Bud, you all right?
“Now you know my most prevalent emotion. My parents never saw me for who I am. I never made many friends. I suppose I have felt rather lonely and invisible my whole life, which is why…”
“Why you have tried so hard to find your grandfather. He saw you for who you really are. He could still be somewhere in Scotland. I promise after we find Ivy and fight these vampires, we will find him.”
“Indeed, we must. There has to be a good reason he left.”
“I think you are as ready as you will ever be. It’s time. Let’s regroup with Father Kieran and go kick some vampire ass, Invisible Man. I mean, how cool is that?”
“I suppose there can be some good that comes from a lifetime of neglect and nerdiness.”
“You just needed more of these growing up is what you’re saying!” Maeve hugged Bud.
“You aren’t letting go until…” Bud said.
“Yes, until you hug back. Deal with it, Hutchins. Not lettin’ go.”
Bud rolled his eyes then wrapped his arms around his best friend.
Chapter Thirty-Two
THE RESISTANCE
Once again, Ivy awoke in cloud-like comfort. Curtains closed. No light in the room except what leaked in the folds of the drapery on the ground. A fireplace crackled beyond the foot of the bed.
The back of her head hurt. She remembered being grabbed. The panic built in her stomach. She remembered the dungeon and Bela’s pursuit. She threw the blankets aside. Bare feet. Her shoes were missing. The need to escape powered her every move. The room looked empty of shoes.
“To hell with my shoes.” Ivy ran to the door.
A tall man opened the door. He had high cheekbones, a distinguished look. Clean-shaven. Suave. She recognized him from somewhere.
“Looking for these?” The man presented her shoes dangling from two fingers.
“Yes. Oh hell. Who in the hell are you? What the hell am I really doing here?” Ivy’s shoulders slumped.
“I am Vincentas. You might otherwise know me as Evince, the New Age musician. This is my humble abode. I tend to write my best in seclusion. Away from the constraints of a studio.” He stepped into the room.
“Am I supposed to give a shit? Let me out of here now. I need to talk to my father. He will send someone for me,” Ivy pressed.
“You are here to make the elixir for me. Do that simple task. You will be free to go.” Vincentas took a seat on the edge of the bed.
Ivy still stood near the door. She considered making a run for it, but she was afraid she would end up waking again in a worse situation.
“I need to know who and what I am making the elixir for? I don’t even know if it will work. What the hell was going on in the dungeon? Who were those people? What were they doing?”
“So many questions. Come sit.” Vincentas patted a spot next to him on the bed.
“In your dreams, pal.”
“It is my understanding that Bela has been very generous to you and treating you very well. My assurances, though thin they may seem, are genuine. I promise you that if you comply and make the elixir, you will be freed.” He stood up from the bed.
Ivy gripped the door handle.
“Dearest Ivy. My, you are attractive. You astound me. Your mind is brilliant. Please cooperate with just this one request.” Vincentas stepped towards her.
Ivy felt frozen in her current position. The closer Vincentas moved, the less she could move. She couldn’t help but indulge in his sculpted chest. His white dress shirt was tight enough to accentuate the extent of his torso’s musculature. His black pants framed the bulge between his legs effectively.
Ivy understood that he had to be shooting pheromones from somewhere. Chemically inducing her compliance. Ivy knew but could see herself acting apathetic to the manipulation. Her imagination began to fire. The comfortable bed right behind him. The crackling fire…clothes dropping to the floor.
She blinked over and over.
Ivy fought the flood of hormones. The temptation. This man had abducted her and now seduced her. The elixir was too dangerous washing down the esophagus of this bastard.
Vincentas gently caressed Ivy’s cheek. He smelled her hair.
“Don’t,” Ivy said.
Chapter Thirty-Three
ACCEPTANCE
The surprise utterance did much to relieve him. Vincentas couldn’t believe she spoke such a word of defiance. No woman ever had resisted him when utilizing his refined and potent powers of seduction. For the first time in a very long time, Vincentas felt something other than anger and frustration with Bela. With his long life. His cursed lot in a mundane, seemingly eternal life.
One simple word carried that much power, that much weight.
Vincentas pulled away from Ivy. He shook his head with an overwhelming sense of gratitude to this woman. He couldn’t bring himself to bite her and enslave her.
His powers of hypnosis would do. They would have to.
Vincentas drew near to Ivy and looked her in the eyes. His eyes turned red. Ivy’s pupils immediately dilated and looked directly at his. She fell into his arms, unconscious.
The ageless vampire embraced her then once again and gently put her into his bed. He bent over and kissed her forehead.
Bela entered the room. “They are done. Everything is ready for testing.”
“Excel
lent, Bela. Well done. With what happened to Elizabeth last night, we can expect some visitors shortly. Tell Quint to be ready, and do tell him I know he lied about killing Ivy’s companions in Chicago. I assume he did that to protect you and himself from my wrath. I will forgive if the two that assaulted Elizabeth drown in the loch. Ready the team in the dungeon, too, in case he fails me again.”
“I-I didn’t know he lied, sir. I swear by it. If you don’t mind my asking…will she be more cooperative now?”
“Yes, yes. We needn’t worry about her. It’s the uninvited guests that will be here soon we should focus on.”
“You seem different, Master. Everything satisfactory? Anything I can do for you?”
“All is well, Bela. All is well.” Vincentas looked back at Ivy resting comfortably on his bed and smiled.
“Very well. I shall prepare the castle defenses.” Bela exited the room.
Bud and Maeve returned to Bannockburn Seminary in Glasgow. The day’s light would last for only a few more hours. The time to engage the vampires dwindled; upon nightfall, the nefarious creatures’ power only increased.
“I spoke to Father Quinn. He and I checked on possible connections between Evince and the rash of student abductions. Over the past few months, if Evince had an event, be it a concert or signing or interview, students would be reported missing not soon after,” Father Kieran said.
“Ivy also fits the profile for the abductees,” Bud said.
“Correct, and a clever cover for dastardly deeds. Evince is beloved by many, not just here in Europe but around the world. His reputation is as solid as the wood of an Order’s ancient tree.”
“So where do we find him?” Maeve asked.
“The eccentric musician lives in a secluded castle on Loch Eck northwest of Glasgow. It is a narrow, secluded body of water, surrounded on both sides by forest hills with just roads on either side of it. You better hurry if you want to engage before sundown. Take my car. Where the road meets the loch, a fishing friend of mine will be waiting for you to take you across the water to the castle. I have much to attend to.” Father Kieran shuffled down the seminary hallway.
“What will you be doing, Father?” Bud asked.
“We, monks, are on high alert all over the world. I will be sealing my tree per usual and guarding the good people of Glasgow. May God bless you and keep you two… The wind be always at your back… Uh, you know the rest. Go, go.”
Maeve looked at Bud and nodded.
“We have to stop at the local electronics and drug store before we head out. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve that the cult didn’t steal.” Bud walked to the door with the stick that could transform into an enchanted crossbow as an aid for walking. His injuries from the previous night bothered him. He hoped his body would endure the fight ahead.
Chapter Thirty-Four
ELIXIR
The drive, including Bud’s stop at the electronics and drugs stores, took about ninety minutes. They had about two more hours of daytime. Maeve drove fast to get to the Loch Eck. As Father had said, a fishing boat with a captain included waited for them. The black and red boat was wooden and looked rundown. It had a single mast and a spot on the bow for fishermen to lean out over the water and reel the nets in or the line from their fishing poles.
“How are you feeling, Bud? Ready for this? You have been fairly quiet playing with your toys.” Maeve moved the shifter next to the steering wheel in park.
“I am ready as I ever will be. Hopefully the motion sickness pills will help ease my seasickness. How are you feeling? Any updates on your strength since drinking the elixir?” Bud turned on a small drone to make sure its propellers worked. He then inserted a pill into his mouth.
“I have never felt better in my life. I haven’t even needed to sleep. I have been up the entire time since drinking it. If anything, it has given me boundless energy.”
“Oh dear. That is great for you. Not so sure that particular effect of the elixir would aid us in the fight against vampires, should Ivy concoct it for them.”
“Ya ready, you two? Let’s go. Daylight is burnin’.” A gruff, deep voice sounded from outside the car.
“We are coming. Thank you.” Maeve exited the car.
Bud followed.
The skipper’s height and rugged appearance matched his intimidating cadence. He wanted to go, and now.
“There is a possibility of fog whenever I sail near that castle’s rocky island, and I want to make sure we get there before it gets cooler this evening. I am Shaw, a good friend of Father Kieran’s.” He put out his rough, dirty hand for Bud and Maeve to shake.
“Nice to make your acquaintance, Captain Shaw.” Bud shook his hand.
Together, they boarded the boat, aptly named Nessie.
“Captain Shaw, would you mind telling me what general direction the castle is in?” Bud readied his new drone and small tablet computer.
“It is southeast of here in a narrow tributary that opens to a wider reservoir. The castle is in the middle. It is only three or four kilometers away.”
“Thank you.” The drone flew from Bud’s hand and headed southeast.
Three hours had passed since he’d hypnotized Ivy. She stirred in the bed.
Vincentas stood up and walked to the side of the bed. “It’s time to get back to work, my dear.”
Ivy rose from the bed and walked out of his bedroom.
“Very good.” Vincentas followed her.
Ivy walked with purpose to the showcase room. The lab table next to Richard the Lionheart’s armor had been cleaned, refreshed, and ready for Ivy to mix the ancient concoction Vincentas so desired.
Ivy opened the storage container filled with ancient trash, basically, and went back to work, totally subservient and motivated to please Vincentas.
“Thank you very much. As promised, you will be released after you give me the contents of what I need. I must say I admire your work ethic. Your every move is so assured and calculated. I admire that in a woman.”
“Thank you.” Ivy shook a beaker of water with powder in front of her face, mixing the first part of the elixir.
Vincentas knew she wouldn’t remember anything he said during the deep trance he’d put her in. Part of him felt like he’d cheated and didn’t earn being in her presence, but he brushed off yet another feeling he hadn’t felt in forever. He loved being around this woman. He hadn’t left her side since they’d met.
“I am hoping this brilliant, ancient concoction will make my quality of life that much better. I am very much tired of my current means of sustenance. I am a vampire. I have to drink blood in order to stay energized and have been doing so for many, many years. I grow tired of living that way. Throughout my years, I have learned of this elixir of the ancients that you can make in various tablets and manuscripts I have collected over the years. I am hoping its mysterious properties can liberate me from this life.”
“Very well, master.” Ivy ground up some more artifacts in a bowl.
“Oh please, don’t call me master. I-I really don’t indulge in the nomenclature of superiority. It matters not to me.”
“Master, Quint has found them on a boat in the loch.” Bela entered the room, unannounced.
“Bela! Very well, but don’t call me that! Ugh. Only interrupt me when they are dead. Are they no longer a problem?” Vincentas ran his fingers through his hair.
“They are not dead yet,” Bela said.
“Then get the hell out.” Vincentas kept his attention on Ivy.
“I need more mercury.” Ivy looked at Vincentas with no emotion.
“I shall get you more. I shall return.” Vincentas left the room and headed to the dungeon for supplies.
Chapter Thirty-Five
INTERRUPTION INTRUSION
The Nessie launched, and they began their—hopefully—short trip to the castle. Bud delighted in piloting his new drone. The beautiful mountains and pine trees that bordered the loch provided a sense of peace that Bud knew would not
last. The drone’s camera showed a narrow tributary like Shaw had mentioned. Bud flew the drone over the water and increased the altitude of the drone. Within the span of a minute, Bud could see the small tributary open up to a wider reservoir.
“I must be getting close,” Bud said.
“Let me look.” Maeve sidled up next to him and observed the drone’s camera feed on the screen of the small tablet.
A series of boulders jutted from the water. The overhead angle showed the boulders lumping together more and more. Then Bud and Maeve saw the small access road that led up to the castle.
Bud lowered the drone down to get a better look at the castle. It was not as impressive as Bud had anticipated but still looked menacing and suitably medieval.
There were three turrets on the castle’s left side. Above and beyond the main drawbridge door was a taller, grand tower. The right side of the castle had just one turret.
“Bud, be careful. Don’t let that damn thing get caught,” Maeve said.
“We are approachin’ the tributary now,” Shaw informed from the ship’s wheel atop the small enclosed cabin of the modest boat.
Bud looked away from the tablet screen. The boat entered the small rocky opening that led into the tributary. The light dimmed. Tall pine trees on both sides of the narrow tributary leaned over the water, creating an eerie, clawing, and monstrous setting.
“Most unsettling, per usual when we are together.” Bud returned his attention to the drone’s feed on the tablet.
“Shut up, Bud. Spot Ivy yet?” Maeve said.
“There appears to be a grand room with a series of gothic windows on the right side of the castle. The lights are on. I will move it closer and see if our dear Ivy is in there. Perhaps fortune will be in our favor.”
Ivy stood at her work table, staring out the window. Nothing in the room provided the normal stimulation it would to an amateur archaeologist like her. Ivy was well aware of her odd behavior, yet she was content to just endlessly stare like a deer in headlights. The view of the lake and occasional puffs of fog that spewed from somewhere under her feet provided great entertainment.
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