by Lumi Laura
*
Jaklin and Mikhail awoke from a deep sleep having dreamed of Millennium Road and realized that Missy had return to the Chateau.
"She's alive!" shouted Mikhail.
His voice woke Catherine and the baby, and she ran downstairs just as Jaklin and Mikhail were about to exit through the backdoor.
"What do you mean? Who's alive?"
It was Jaklin who was convincing. "It's Missy. She's back in the Chateau."
And so they dug up Alex's casket again, ripped off the rotting top, there in the dark hour before dawn, only to find that she was still lifeless, still dead as ever.
This time it was Jaklin's turn to wail, and wail she did and shouted disparaging epithets at both Catalin and Velinar. It was then that a ray of sunlight first kissed the gentle cheek of the beloved's face, and she did stir, just a finger, but still.
"Get her inside!" shouted Mikhail, and that they did. A vampire at each end, they carried the casket into the living room and placed it at the center, mud and leaves soiling the carpet.
She again did stir, her mouth working but a single syllable that never yielded sound. The attempt was a priceless joy, and Jaklin hugged Mikhail and they both hugged Catherine. And then she did rise up, as the dead do at times from some spasm of muscle restlessness, but this corpse was again among the Undead.
Although confused and without speech at first, Alex soon regained her bearings. "Where's my cross?" were her first words.
"Call Mary," said Jaklin, searching for her cellphone. Once dialed, she tapped her toe impatiently. "Mary!" she said with a shriek. "Missy, your Alexandra, is alive. Bring her cross quickly." She hung up.
"Why the rush?" asked Mikhail.
"When I wear it here, it's also in my possession on Millennium Road," Alex said.
"What?" asked Mikhail. "It's both places at once?"
"As is the gazebo and Peleș Castle. Since the cross is from the Tree of Life, it has the properties of soul. It can be two places at once, just as are human beings and vampires."
"Why the panic? You're here, you're alive, or undead."
"Velinar is lost to the World of the Damned."
"But she's a divine creature. Others in the Divine World can save her."
"They've abandoned her to the Forces of Hell."
"She was the cause of this. Remember?" said Jaklin. "Let her rot awhile."
"Besides," said Mikhail. "She herself agreed to that judgment."
"But I didn't. You don't know what it's like."
Mary finally arrived. "I knew I couldn't keep it," she said. "But you can't imagine the joy it's been to have it with me all this time. But here. It's ordained yours by Christ himself."
"I do so appreciate you keeping it for me. Perhaps it'll come your way again."
"Why are you taking it to Millennium Road?" asked Jaklin. "Of what use do you believe the cross will be against the great armies of the Underworld?"
"Alu called it the most powerful weapon in the history of the world. Let's see if it's worth its wood."
She immediately fell asleep standing and crumpled to the floor. Jaklin and Mikhail took one look at each other and fell down beside her.