Song and Key

by Connie Bailey

  “The medieval buildings,” Seva answered. “The structures in Sinaia and Bran have been studied so often there isn’t a lot to learn there. But hardly anyone has looked closely at the abbey ruins above Dragascar.”

  “Are you archeologists?”

  “No, no, we’re just amateurs,” Seva said.

  “Very passionate amateurs,” Keller added suggestively.

  Seva glanced sideways at Cosmina’s statuesque figure and then looked back at his partner. Seva cleared his throat. “We plan on doing a lot of hiking. Are there dangerous wild animals in the area?”

  “There are still wolves in the forest, but not many, and they aren’t likely to bother you in daylight. It’s possible you’ll see a wild boar, but doubtful. Hunters have taken most of them. By the river, you’ll see a lot of birds and maybe a snake or two.”

  “When we were preparing to come here, I read about a death in the woods,” Seva hinted.

  “A death?” Cosmina looked toward the kitchen door. “You must mean la Bizar. He was a strange old man who wandered around in all weather. He would hide if he saw anyone approaching him. A wildlife official found him lying outside his hut by the river.”

  “That’s sad. To die alone and friendless,” Keller said.

  Cosmina’s eyes were soft when she met his gaze. “Very sad. I wouldn’t like to die like that.”

  “Oh, you’re in no danger,” Keller said. “A beautiful, intelligent woman like you must have a lot of friends.”

  Cosmina made a disgusted noise, interrupting the conversation. “What am I thinking? You don’t have anything to drink. What would you like?”

  “What’s available?” Keller asked, ignoring Seva’s sour face at his innuendo.

  “We have socată soft drink, tea, coffee, Harghita mineral water, and a few varieties of beer. If you like beer, I recommend the Timisoreana.”

  “Two of those,” Keller said.

  “And water,” Seva added.

  “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Cosmina said.

  Predictably, Keller watched her walk away until the door closed behind her. “Not bad at all.”

  “She’s a very attractive woman,” Seva said. “Like an East European Madonna.”

  “The singer or the mother of Jesus?”

  Seva ignored his quip. “Do you intend to seduce her, or are you just flirting?”

  “It’s called being friendly with the locals, but I wouldn’t say no to a little of that.” Keller smiled. “She seems like she could be very helpful.”

  “Just don’t go leaping into anything.”

  “Understood. Hey, if you were thinking of taking a shot at her….”

  Seva spread eggplant paste on a piece of toast. “I wasn’t.”

  “Not even a little bit?”

  “She’s all yours.”

  Keller leaned over the table. “Level with me. You’re—”

  Cosmina reappeared with steins of beer and glasses of mineral water. “Enjoy your food,” she said. “Just call out if you need anything.”

  Keller picked up his stein and took a drink. “Room temperature,” he said in warning as Seva raised his drink.

  “I expected that.” Seva took a drink. “Don’t be such an American.”

  “I didn’t say I didn’t like it.” Keller took a longer swallow. “It’s good beer, but I can’t imagine drinking Budweiser like this.”

  “Why are you bringing Budweiser into a discussion about beer?”

  Keller chuckled his agreement. “What do you want to do after we eat?”

  “If you’re not busy getting Cosmina into bed, we should talk to the local police.”

  “Way too early for the first one, and anyway, I was just flirting.” Keller picked up a piece of the smoked bacon. “As soon as we finish eating, I say we go for a stroll in town until we bump into a cop and can strike up a conversation.”

  Cosmina came back into the dining room. “Are you enjoying everything?” she asked. “Would you like some coffee or some more brandy?”

  “We don’t need another thing,” Keller said, smiling. “Everything was delicious. Thank you.”

  “Thank you,” Seva said. “We’re going to take a stroll through town.”

  “Wait, please. I know Radu will want to speak to you before you go.”

  Cosmina went into the kitchen, and a few minutes later, Radu came out. “Gentlemen, you are going for a walk? Very good for the digestion. If I could speak with you first?”

  “We’d be grateful for any advice you could give us,” Seva said.

  “The mountain police patrols make the area very safe for visitors,” Radu said. “But if you go into the forest, there are dangers besides wild animals.”

  “What kind of dangers?” Keller asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Are you a religious man, Mr. Key?” Radu asked.

  “Not particularly.”

  “Then this will sound like nonsense to you, but we locals believe the ruins in the woods are haunted.”

  “We don’t plan to go there at night,” Seva said.

  Radu gave them a look. “You should not go at all.”

  “I’m afraid those ruins are precisely why we came here,” Keller pointed out.

  “You will do as you think best. It’s my duty to warn you. Terrible things happened after the abbey became the voivode’s castle—things so terrible that the spirits of the tortured captives are chained to that place forever.”

  “What do you think might happen to us if we went there?” Keller asked.

  “If you were there near midnight, when spirits are strongest, you could be tricked into entering the land of the dead. Or you might meet a creature more deadly than a ghost. It’s said the Voivode Balaur drank the blood of his victims and that he never died.”

  “Are you talking about a vampire?” Keller asked, trying not to grin and failing.

  “You can call it whatever you like,” Radu said sternly. “I call it dracul, a devil.”

  “And you believe this legend,” Seva said.

  “Yes, I do. Think me a superstitious peasant if you like, but I have reason to believe the tales are true.”

  “Thank you for the warning,” Seva said with a polite nod. “We’ll be going now.”

  “Here are your room keys. Your cases will be in your suite when you return. Suite two. Go up the stairs and turn right. Ring the bell if you need service, or come see me in the lounge.”

  They tucked their keys into their jacket pockets and walked out of the inn. Eventually their seemingly casual stroll brought them near the small town’s police station. It was a long, narrow one-story building with an abandoned air. A robust, youngish man in a uniform lounged against the wall near the door, smoking a cigarette.

  “Here we go,” Keller murmured to Seva and sauntered into the street.

  Chapter Four

  Same day, late afternoon, strolling through the village of Dragascar

  “HALT!” the policeman shouted in Romanian when he saw the pedestrians in the street. He stopped lounging and squared his shoulders as he glared at the jaywalkers.

  “American,” Keller called back cheerfully.

  With an irritated gesture, the policeman beckoned the men over. “Are you crazy?” he said in English. “Walking in the street?”

  “I didn’t see any traffic,” Keller said.

  The cop hitched his pants up over a slight paunch. “It’s against the law to walk in the street.”

  “We won’t do it again,” Seva apologized. “I’m Sevastyan Song.”

  “Captain Darius Gheorghe.” The policeman smoothed his mustache with thumb and forefinger.

  “Keller Key, and I’ll be careful to stay out of the street. By the way, it’s a big help to us that so many people here speak English. My partner speaks something like seven languages, but I have to get by with just three, and none of them are Romanian.”

  “Miss Cosmina Balancal has taught most of the people here to speak English.”

  “Do
local people have a lot of use for English?”

  “They will when the hotel is built.”

  “Oh? What hotel?” Keller asked.

  “A group of investors are planning to build a luxury resort hotel at the thermal springs. They’ll need domestics when they open. Then it will be an advantage to have some English.” Darius paused. “Now I would like to know what brings you to Dragascar.”

  “We’re amateur history buffs on vacation,” Keller said.

  “I see, but why here in particular?”

  “Ah, I can answer that,” Seva said. “Around 1003 AD, this region came under the rule of the Kingdom of Hungary.” He paused when the policeman spat on the ground. “Still a sore subject, I see. At any rate, in 1210 King Leszek the White wanted to reward the leader of his cavalry, a Székely named Count Balaur Nyar. Balaur was very successful at keeping invaders at bay. Bloodthirsty fellow by all accounts.”

  “Do you expect me to be surprised?” Darius replied. “Székely people were known for their fierceness. Some say they had no hearts. Me? I say they were efficient.”

  “Interesting,” Seva said, glancing at Keller. “This Balaur claimed descent from Attila the Hun.”

  Darius shrugged. “It’s probably true. What is your point?”

  “As I said, in 1210 the king wanted to give Balaur a reward, so he made Balaur a voivode and deeded him this part of the Carpathians, along with the Cistercian abbey that had been built a few years previous. As you can imagine, the people who lived here weren’t happy about having a foreigner rule over them from a place where their holy women used to live.”

  “You’re talking about the ruins.”

  “Yeah, exactly,” Keller said. “We’re here to see the ruins. You know, poke around a little.”

  “Of course we won’t remove any artifacts we might find,” Seva said. He lifted the camera that rested against his chest. “We take photos instead of collecting.”

  “How very civilized,” Cosmina said as she stopped beside the policeman. “Quite different from the image one has of most Americans.”

  “How nice to see you again,” Keller said, turning his attention entirely to her.

  “I’m buying vegetables for the dinner menu. I saw you talking with Darius and thought I’d stop and say hello.”

  “I’m glad you did.” Keller smiled.

  “Darius,” Cosmina asked in a pointed tone, “did they ever find out what happened to la Bizar?”

  Darius glanced at the two men before he answered. “I’m not allowed to talk about it.”

  “Don’t be stingy. These men already know he was found dead in the woods.”

  “Why do you want to know about it?”

  Cosmina cleared her throat. “I’m curious because I saw him before he went into the medical examiner’s bag. He was white as milk except where his throat was torn open. Don’t shake your head, I know what I saw. Domnul Popescu saw it also. I would like to know how he died.”

  “You know what Popescu is saying about it, of course.”

  Cosmina frowned. “Nonsense. Vampires do not exist.”

  “Of course they don’t,” Darius sneered. “But no harm in wearing this, eh?” He took a crucifix from under his shirt.

  Cosmina shook her head. “I wear one too. I’ve been wearing it since my confirmation. I don’t remember the priest telling me it had the power to overcome vampires.”

  “You should learn to take a joke.”

  “You should learn to make a joke,” she retorted. “I’m going to the market. I’ll see you at dinner, gentlemen.”

  “I like her,” Keller said, elbowing his partner as Cosmina strode away.

  “A lot of people like her,” Darius said with note of warning in his voice.

  “We’re just here to look at ruins,” Seva said peaceably.

  “Will you be leaving soon?”

  “Is that a hint?” Keller asked.

  “Of course not. The local merchants would kill me if I drove you away.” Darius grinned and showed a set of strong teeth. “They might even put a stake through my heart, eh?”

  Keller and Seva chuckled dutifully.

  “One more question,” Seva said. “Is cell phone reception always so poor here?”

  “Yes, many apologies.” Darius didn’t look sorry at all. “Many modern things don’t work well here.”

  “Thank you for the information,” Seva said politely, though the policeman had been little help.

  “If you’re going to walk any distance up the gorge today, you should go. It gets dark early in the mountains.”

  “We’ll remember. Have a good afternoon,” Keller said.

  “He’s covering something up,” Seva noted as they walked away.

  “I know. He flat-out told us he was.”

  “It’s not just about the murder. It’s something bigger.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “I’m not sure. Sometimes I just have a lunch about something.”

  Keller chuckled. “I missed your malapropisms.”

  “My what?”

  “You know what I mean. When you use the wrong word.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about right now.”

  “You’re an ass.”

  “No, I’m not,” Seva said blithely as he quickened his pace. His eyes crinkled in a smug little smile at the sound of Keller’s exasperated sigh.

  SONG and Key walked the length of the village’s main street and took note of local shops where they could buy necessities. They passed the last house and waved to the elderly woman sitting on the porch. She flashed them a sparsely toothed grin and waved back. In a few more steps, the houses on either side were replaced by trees.

  “These people sure don’t fit the stereotype of grim East Europeans,” Keller said.

  “You don’t get out much, do you?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I’m just being a tartass.”

  “Is that like a combo of a smartass and a tightass?”

  “What?” Seva looked over at Keller, eyes full of innocence.

  “Never mind. What’s that smell?”

  Seva sniffed. “A blend of pine sap, wet dirt, and something faint that smells sweet, probably a local wildflower.”

  “No, this is something else. You don’t smell it? It reminds me of….” Keller trailed off as he heard a rustling in the undergrowth to the left. “What the hell is that?”

  “I’d guess it’s probably a squirrel or rabbit.”

  “Do squirrels and rabbits smell like wet dog?”

  Seva sniffed again. “I smell it now. Odd.” He peered in the direction of the noises. “We’re not deep enough in the forest for a large predator.”

  “I’m no expert, but if there are squirrels and rabbits, there are probably foxes and wolves and wildcats, right?”

  Seva looked over his shoulder, but the village could no longer be seen. “We aren’t that far from civilization,” he said. “I think a wolf or wildcat would have to be very hungry to come this close to town, especially in daylight.”

  “It’s not that light. The sun is going down fast.”

  “Maybe we should go back to town and get an early start tomorrow morning,” Seva said when the rustling grew louder.

  Keller didn’t bother with any macho posturing. “Good idea.” He kept his eyes on the area the noises were coming from as he fell into step with Seva.

  A loud growl made both men pause for a split second before walking faster. Neither broke into a run or even a jog, but they weren’t dawdling. Not until they saw buildings again did they slow their pace.

  “That sounded very wolfy to me,” Keller said in a hushed voice as they passed the house with the smiling crone.

  “I don’t disagree.” Seva saw movement from the corner of his eye and spun around.

  In the shadow of the house, five young men in their late teens or early twenties detached from the wall, dropped their cigarettes, and came toward the road. None
of them were smiling.

  “This doesn’t look good,” Keller said.

  Seva called out a greeting in Romanian that was ignored. “It looks as though we’re going to get a little exercise,” he said to Keller. Deliberately he put down his walking stick with its concealed blade. Until he saw steel in someone else’s hand, he’d prefer this didn’t get bloody. Once again he called out to the men and asked what they wanted.

  “We speak English,” said the obvious leader of the group, a big fellow with a full mustache.

  “What do you want?” Keller asked.

  “Nothing. We just want you to go away.”

  “Are you seriously telling us to get out of town before we’ve even spent the night?” Keller smiled. “Come on, guys. We’ll only be here for a couple more days, and we won’t even be in town. We’ll be up by the ruins.”

  Another man, who looked to be the youngest of the group, spoke up. “You foreigners think you can come here and take what you want because we’re a small village.”

  “Go pack your belongings and leave Dragascar,” said the leader.

  “I’m afraid we’re going to have to stay,” Keller said, improvising. “We’re doing historical research for a book.”

  “Then let me give you a reason to leave.”

  The leader signaled and all five men rushed at Song and Key. The agents dropped everything they were carrying and moved a small distance apart. Balanced on the balls of their feet, they waited for the aggressors to come to them. The first man reached Seva, who ducked his swing and chopped him in the throat. The Dragascaran went down and stayed there, trying to breathe. Keller caught a flying fist and threw the owner into the path of his comrade. Both went down in a tangle of limbs as Keller took on the next man. The leader came at Seva more cautiously than his friends. He was at least three inches taller than Seva and probably weighed fifty pounds more, but he was very light on his feet, as proved by a few missed punches and kicks. He was a street fighter, not a martial artist, but he was fast enough to dodge Seva’s attack.

  Keller put down his opponent with a roundhouse kick to the side of the man’s head. He checked the two he’d knocked to the ground and—when they proved to be conscious—banged their heads together. Satisfied none of these three would be a threat for a few minutes, he turned to check on the man Seva had put out of commission first. The attacker was coming around, so Keller gave him a judicious kick to put him out again. He turned just in time to see his partner leap high to avoid an attempted leg sweep by the last attacker standing. Seva’s opponent made a grab for him, but the agent planted the sole of his boot in the man’s chest and threw him backward. Seva hit the ground on his shoulders and popped up onto his feet as Keller moved in and put the Dragascaran in a choke hold. It took a bit longer than usual, but the man finally passed out.