"There may be another reason I've healed so swiftly," I interrupted. "I need to tell you what I've discovered about myself."
12
The Order
After I told Abe about the revelation of my vampire ancestry, he went pale and silent for a long moment. When he finally spoke, he informed me that two members of the Order of the Dragon were downstairs, along with our allies, Nikolaus and Kudret. Though he trusted them, he wanted to keep my news to our core group.
Moments later, he herded Anara, Seward, and Gabriel into the room. After Gabriel embraced me, whispering his relief that I was well, I revealed what I had learned.
“This answers many of our questions,” I said, trying not to focus on how they were all looking at me—as if I were a completely different person. “It explains why my mother was able to give birth to you, Gabriel. Why I’m able to break the thrall and enter the minds of vampires. Why my blood has made some vampires sick. Why those vampires left me alive after the train derailment weeks ago. Why the Ghyslaine family stopped hunting vampires—one of them mated with one. Why I was able to fully recover from the confrontation with Vlad Draculesti.”
“Bloody hell, Mina,” Seward whispered, his gaze raking over me with vague suspicion. “This whole time you’ve been vampire?”
“She’s not vampire,” Abe said, glaring at him. “This just means that one of her ancestors—most likely a distant one— was vampire. Mina is human, but she carries a trace of vampire blood.”
“We need to keep this amongst ourselves,” Gabriel said, giving the others a firm look. “I believe the others downstairs are true to their word, but we need to be more cautious after what happened with Rosalind.”
Abe informed me of the details of my rescue. After I’d snuck out of the inn, Anara had gone into the city to check for any contact from our allies at a hotel. Nikolaus and Kudret had indeed sent a wire, with a message that they'd found two members of the Order in Germany who were willing to help us. They’d arrived in Berlin that same morning.
“Szabina was right to send them away to seek allies…they succeeded,” Anara said, her eyes glistening as she spoke of Szabina. Anara replied to their wire, and Nikolaus and Kudret had come to the inn, bringing with them the Order members, Rudella and Clovis. It was shortly after their arrival that the group discovered I’d gone missing from my room.
My friends immediately suspected I'd gone after Skala on my own, but they found no sign of him on Oudenarder street. It wasn’t until Anara ensnared a group of Skala’s ferals hovering in an alley nearby that they were able to determine where I was being kept prisoner—at Rosalind's estate, in one of the cellars.
“How was Skala killed?” I asked, fury filling me at the very thought of him. If only I hadn’t been so injured and frail, I would have gladly killed the monster myself.
“Seward weakened him with his revolver. I ripped his heart from his chest,” Anara said, her voice dripping with hatred that matched my own. “It was too kind of a death for him. But we had no time; we had to battle his followers just to get inside. We were fortunate that so many of them were newborns and died with him.”
“While you’ve been recovering, we’ve been scouring the city for any of his remaining survivors—or any dangerous vampires at all. It seems as if many of them have fled,” Gabriel added. “We fear they may have gone on to serve Bathory, continue Skala’s work—or both. The attacks in Berlin have lessened—but they continue in other cities.”
“Are we any closer to finding Bathory?” I asked.
“That is none of your concern,” Abe interjected. “You will rest and recuperate for at least a fortnight—longer if necessary. Regardless of your ancestry, you are still human and need time to heal.”
I wasn’t going to argue with him. My body ached, and I was still shaken over the torture I’d suffered at Skala’s hands.
Everyone left the room to allow me to get more rest, but not before each of them embraced me, even Anara, who urged me to rest and heal.
Over the course of the next few days, I dutifully remained in bed, eating the meals I was served and drinking copious amounts of water and tea. Abe periodically inspected my healing wounds beneath my bandages. Though he tried to maintain the clinical dispassion of a doctor, I could see the anger in his eyes at the visible reminders of what Skala had done to me.
I tried not to think of my time with Skala, but during my restless sleep, memories of Skala’s fangs on my skin, his hands on my throat, and his blade carving wounds into my back consumed my nightmares. I often awoke in the middle of the night, trembling and attempting to stifle my sobs. Each time Abe would rush to my side from the next room, rocking me in his arms until I fell asleep once more.
“I tried to stop the torture,” I whispered, after one especially gruesome nightmare. “I tried to enter his mind…but I was too weak. There was too much pain.”
“What that monster did to you was not your fault,” Abe murmured against my hair, holding me close. “You survived, and he is dead. That is all that matters.”
Gabriel would come to sit at my side during some of the days. We would mostly sit in companionable silence as I ate, or he would give me cursory updates as to what the others were up to. I still had not formally met Rudella or Clovis; Abe wanted me to focus fully on my recovery. Gabriel did tell me that they were making inquiries as to Bathory’s whereabouts, but he would not give me further details, and I did not press.
After a full week passed, Abe grudgingly informed me that I should start taking walks to get some sunlight and refresh my stagnated limbs—but my walks would be confined only to the street the professor’s home occupied in case we were still being watched.
I didn’t realize how much I missed the outdoors until I was once again in the sun, walking tentatively down the street on my sore legs, my arm linked with Abe’s, flanked by both Gabriel and Nikolaus. As I took in the sights of everyday life—women perusing the local shops, couples and families walking through the nearby park, carriages jostling their way through the streets—I realized that this was one of the things we were fighting for. The simplicity of everyday human life.
“What is it?” Abe asked, pressing me close to his side when he noticed the shift in my countenance.
“I never thought I would see such a sight again. Sunlight, shoppers, markets, carriages,” I whispered.
Abe did not respond, but raw emotion flared in his eyes. When we returned to the house, he helped me settle back into bed, taking my hands in his.
“I will not scold you for going after Skala on your own—not after what you have endured at that monster’s hands,” he whispered. “You know that I will never ask you to give up this fight—but please do not ever put yourself in danger like that again. I need your word. Swear to me, Mina.”
“You have my word,” I said, and I meant it. I had paid dearly for my rashness. I knew my nightmares would be filled with images of what I’d suffered in that cellar for weeks—perhaps even years—to come.
Abe leaned forward to press his lips against mine. It was meant to be a gesture of assurance and love, but it quickly deepened, and we kissed fervently, our bodies humming with mutual need and desire. Physical longing for Abe spiraled within me; I wanted his body pressed to mine, to be assured that he was real and safe and I was alive, we were both alive, but I knew he wouldn't want to risk hurting me.
Abe reluctantly ended the kiss, resting his forehead against mine.
“We have lost so much during this journey,” I whispered, wanting to explain why I’d gone after Skala on my own. “I’ve already lost my parents. We've lost our friends—Arthur, Radu, Szabina. I feared you would die at Skala’s hands. Losing you is unbearable to me.”
“Loss is a part of life, my heart. We knew this journey would be treacherous. The best way to ensure our safety is to work together…not rashly go off on our own.”
He was right, though the fear of losing him was still palpable, even after what I’d gone through. He leaned
back and placed a loving kiss on my forehead.
“Rest,” he urged, before leaving the room.
I continued to spend the days resting in bed or taking brief walks with the others. Nikolaus and Kudret often shadowed me on my walks. Their presence was both familiar and comforting, they had accompanied me as my protectors back in London. I was curious about their own journey in finding allies to help us, but I did not ask them, heeding Abe’s advice about focusing on my recovery. I knew that the others were busy planning how to track down Bathory and destroy her, along with any stray followers of the two vampire leaders we’d already killed.
I caught glimpses of the two members of the Order when I returned to the house after my walks. Clovis was a tall and lanky vampire with curly dark hair and eyes the color of indigo, while Rudella was a petite human woman with long red hair that she wore defiantly loose, and intelligent eyes. They watched me with curiosity but never introduced themselves; I suspected that my friends had asked them to let me recuperate and not involve me in their plans.
Towards the end of the fortnight, the physical signs of what I had gone through at Skala’s hands began to vanish. My body aches faded to a dull echo, my bruises began to disappear into faint traces on my skin. The emotional trauma lingered—Vlad’s face had been replaced in my nightmares by Skala, even my waking hours were haunted by the image of his savage and leering face.
I had to actively put aside the dark memory of my time in the cellar and bury it someplace deep in my mind. I needed to occupy my time—I needed to rejoin the fight.
After the full fortnight had passed, I pulled Abe and Gabriel aside in the drawing room to tell them I was ready to be involved.
They exchanged an uneasy glance. After a long moment, they gave me a reluctant nod. They called the others into the room, and I was formerly introduced to Clovis and Rudella.
“We have been making inquiries,” Clovis informed me. “A member of the Order in France sent us a wire informing us that one of Bathory’s most prominent followers is in Paris—his name is Francois. He has been rather brazen in making newborn vampires—even humans have become aware of his activities, though they think the ferals he’s created are the result of the new illness—the Blood Plague. Our contact told us that Bathory herself was spotted visiting him weeks ago before she vanished again. Sometimes she appears at the masquerade balls he has at his home. If anyone knows where she is, it would be him.”
“Paris is where we must go,” Gabriel agreed. “And not just because Bathory’s follower is there. Mina, Mother’s last home is a country residence just outside of Paris. I’ve only been once; it’s crumbling and in need of upkeep. I allow the local villagers to use it as an inn from time to time, but it’s usually vacant. We’ll have a safe place to stay outside of the city.”
Gabriel had briefly told me about our mother’s home during our time in Matford; I’d intended to visit when this was all over. I was always hungry for any information about her, and the comforting dream of her in the cellar had brought her memory to the forefront of my mind.
Every eye in the room was trained on me, some lingering on the bruises around my throat that hadn’t fully faded. My friends were worried about me. No one—including Abe—had yet asked for details about what happened to me in the cellar.
An undercurrent of fear did swirl through my gut at the thought of confronting another vampire so soon after my imprisonment by Skala.
“Mina, you don’t have to continue this fight. Not after what you have been through,” Gabriel said gently. “Now that we’ve made contact with members of the Order, we can coordinate to hide you away someplace safe until Bathory is dead.”
In the past, I would have angrily dismissed his offer, but with the memory of Skala’s torture fresh in my mind, it was tempting.
Even if I were to be spirited off to some safe place, Abe and my brother would continue the fight. I wouldn’t know peace while they were in danger.
Outside, I heard the sudden peal of a child’s laughter, and I recalled Skala’s words. We will destroy all light. The world will be ours.
“No,” I said, determination lacing my words as I thought of Skala’s promise. I would not allow Bathory to bring their plans to fruition. “I will continue to fight. I must.”
13
Dark Places
Early the next morning, I stood in the corner of the bedroom, watching as Abe packed my things for our departure. I wanted to pack my own things, but Abe insisted on doing it for me. I allowed him to fuss over me; it would likely continue for some time.
My mouth twitched with amusement as he awkwardly shoved one of my walking suits into my bag.
“You have to fold it,” I prodded. For someone so brilliant, he was making a simple task needlessly complicated.
“Ah,” he muttered, his cheeks flaming as he folded the suit and placed it into my bag.
Gabriel entered the room with a mug of hot tea. He pressed it into my hands, his concerned gaze searching my face. He and the others had been giving me the same looks throughout the duration of my recovery. Though I understood their worry, the looks were becoming a bit cumbersome. Nevertheless, I gave him a reassuring smile as I accepted the tea.
“Are you nervous?” Gabriel asked. “About seeing Mother’s childhood home?”
“Yes,” I admitted. “I'm sure I will feel some sadness…but I'm eager to see it. I want to know as much about her as I can.”
“It will be difficult for me,” Gabriel said. “It's why I've only been once. A part of me has never fully recovered from her loss; I suspect I never will."
I took in the grief that shaded his eyes with compassion. I hadn’t yet told him about the dreams I had of our mother during my imprisonment; how her words may have bought me time and saved my life.
Abe was now concentrating on packing two of my hats, so I took Gabriel’s hand and led him out of the room and into the adjacent one. I would eventually tell Abe all about my experience in Skala’s cellar, but for now I wanted to share the memories of my mother with her only other child.
“I saw our mother,” I said, once we were alone. “It was halfway between a dream and a memory. I believe her words saved my life.”
“What were they?” Gabriel whispered.
“Remember the stories she used to tell you as a child? The stories about monsters and dark fairy tales? She told them to me as well.”
“Yes,” Gabriel replied, smiling at the memory.
“In my dream, she told me they were more than just stories. They were lessons…ways of preparing us to fight vampires if it ever became necessary to do so. She told me that every monster has a weakness. I used Skala’s love for Ilona against him. That’s how I was able to attack him.”
Gabriel’s eyes went wide with amazement. He walked over to a desk that was situated in the corner of the room, perching on its edge.
“Of course…it makes sense. She would often make certain I committed her stories to memory.”
“Do you think she knew somehow?” I asked. “That we would one day fight vampires?”
“I don’t know,” Gabriel replied. “Mother was…intuitive. Perhaps deep down she knew it was inevitable.”
We stood silently for a moment, ruminating over what our mother may have intuited about our adult years. Gabriel broke the silence, urging me to eat breakfast before our journey.
When we arrived in the dining room, I was surprised to see Anara helping Rudella put together plates of muffins and cold meats for us. Anara handed Seward a plate, their gazes locking intimately as Seward nodded his thanks. Anara caught me watching them and looked away. I had to hide my amusement; they were not being nearly as subtle as they thought.
It was the first time I'd taken a meal with the others since my imprisonment; all meals during my recovery had taken place in my room. I enjoyed being in the company of my friends rather than in the guest room alone, trapped with my gruesome memories of Skala.
My appetite had returned, and as I ate he
artily, I learned more about Rudella and Clovis. Rudella’s parents had both been members of the Order of the Dragon, killed by vampires during their civil war. Like my parents, they hadn’t wanted her to get involved with the war, and sent her abroad to Ireland to live with a relative for her safety before they died. When she heard of renewed vampire attacks on humans several years ago, she didn't want to turn her back on what was happening.
“I tracked down Clovis,” Rudella continued, smiling at the vampire who sat at her side. “He was a friend of my parents when they were in the Order. He wanted to honor my parent’s wishes and refused to allow me to fight—but I didn’t back down.”
“That sounds quite familiar,” Seward said, giving me a pointed look. I returned his grin; I admired Rudella’s determination.
“We have done what we can to eliminate ferals…but we didn’t know who was creating them or how to stop him. We were glad to receive Nikolaus’ message requesting our assistance.”
Rudella smiled at Nikolaus, who returned it. He turned his focus to us.
“We won’t be traveling with you to Paris,” he said. A rush of disappointment filled me at his words. We desperately needed more allies, especially now that we’d lost Szabina. “Rudella and Clovis will remain in Berlin to gather more members of the Order…they are now beginning to come forward. Kudret and I have begun communicating with other members throughout Europe via wire. They’ve been emboldened by your success in killing Dracula and Skala…we believe they are ready to join the fight. If we can gather them into a small army, it will make defeating Bathory more probable.”
My disappointment turned to relief. I glanced around the table at Abe and my friends. To my surprise, they looked both angry and irritated. I frowned, confused. This was what we'd craved since the beginning of our journey—allies.
The Mina Murray Series Bundle, A Dracula Retelling: Books 1-3 Page 41