I looked at the others for agreement, but they looked uncertain.
“It would be helpful to have someone serve as a lookout, a messenger, a—“ Seward haltingly began.
“No,” I repeated. “Are you mad, Seward? Our journey is even more perilous now. Did you not see the magnitude of Bathory's power last night? Now there are more vampires actively searching for us.”
“Emma is half vampire,” Seward continued, unperturbed by my protest. “She could—“
“She isn’t a fighter. Not all vampires are—“
“Mina, I am certain of my decision,” Emma said, her tone firm. "I shall be coming with you.”
“Emma—“
“If you are finished eating, there's something I'd like to show you and Gabriel,” she said dismissively, getting to her feet.
I watched her leave the room, desperate to dissuade her. I turned back to face the others. To my surprise and irritation, they were smiling with amusement.
"What is so humorous?” I demanded. "Do you not see how dangerous it is for her to come with us?"
"It is dangerous for all of us," Abe replied. "I think she wants to remain with you both because you are family—she is without one. Surely you can relate? I can tell she will not be dissuaded. I am amused because it appears that stubbornness runs in the family."
I scowled at him, though I knew he was right. Emma seemed intent on coming with us; it would be difficult to persuade her otherwise.
I reluctantly got to my feet, trailing Gabriel out of the dining room to follow Emma.
She led us up the winding stairs and into a room that was furnished only by a lone desk. She opened a drawer, unearthing a wooden box, which she placed into Gabriel's hands.
“There are letters inside," she said. "Letters your mother and I exchanged over the years. I'm glad I kept them. I wanted to show them to you sooner…but with all of your preparations for the attack on Francois…”
My desire to thwart Emma from coming with us subsided. It was replaced by an amalgamation of emotions as I looked down at the box; bittersweet joy, grief, and love.
“Thank you,” I whispered, still gazing down at the box, one of the few mementos I had of my mother. Gabriel opened the box with quiet reverence, handing half of the letters inside to me.
Emma gave us one last smile and left us alone, closing the door behind her. Gabriel and I were silent as we both sat down on the floor, beginning to read.
It was akin to reading Father’s letter back in Matford. Though Mother’s letters were addressed to Emma, it seemed as if she were speaking directly to me from the grave. I read through dozens of their exchanged letters with tears in my eyes. From her letters, I could tell that my mother had been brimming with curiosity and intelligence, with a sense of humor and gaiety that matched my father’s. She wrote of her love for my father, Gabriel's father, me and Gabriel, how much she feared for us all with the looming threat of vampires.
But it was the smaller details I focused on. She seemed to hate London society as much as I had, complaining of the insufferable snobbery of the women she encountered at balls during the Season. She wrote of the burden of keeping her true identity a secret, though she knew it was necessary. She wrote of missing Gabriel, how she longed to have him with her in London, and vowing to do so once the threat had passed. She wrote of her hopes for the future; the war over and leaders of the Old Families dead, the truth of her identity revealed and her family reunited. Imagine it, Emma, Mother wrote, in one of her final letters. All of us together. Me, Robert, Gabriel, little Mina. I think Gabriel and Mina will adore each other when they finally meet.
She was right; but the exact future she'd hoped for would not come to pass. I had to set the letters down, fighting to prevent myself from breaking down into sobs. Gabriel was still reading, his eyes hungrily devouring the words on the page.
Why didn’t you stay with us? Why did you go off to fight? I wondered, bitterness twisting my heart.
Yet deep down, I did understand why she’d left us to fight. Hadn’t I risked my own life by going after Skala on my own, out of fear that Abe would be killed in a direct confrontation with him? If Abe and I had children, and I feared they were in danger, would I not do whatever it took to protect them? I knew without a doubt that I would.
Now that I knew the full extent of my mother's sacrifice and her hopes for the future, I was even more determined to end the war and destroy Elizabeth Bathory.
21
Family
“May I sit with you?” I asked Emma.
We had just boarded the Orient Express, and our group was situated in our own private carriage.
Emma regarded me warily. Before we’d left the house, I’d again tried to dissuade her from coming with us, but she’d steadfastly refused to remain behind.
“I will not try to convince you to turn back,” I said with a smile, taking a seat when she gave me a hesitant nod. “I know that you’ve made up your mind. Abe thinks stubbornness runs in our family. I’m inclined to believe that he’s right.”
Emma returned my smile, her gaze sliding towards Abe, who sat with the others in quiet discussion across from us. I noticed that our group looked calm now, we’d been tense during our journey from Emma’s house to the train station. I’d expected an army of Francois’ vampires to descend upon us at any moment, but we’d arrived safely.
I studied Emma as she sipped her tea, her eyes returning to the passing countryside out the window. I wanted to get better acquainted with her. She’d been hungry to learn everything about me and Gabriel, yet she’d told us precious little about herself.
“If it is not too difficult…may I ask about your husband?” I asked delicately. “You told us that you were married? That’s why you went to America.”
Emma’s face shadowed; I instantly regretted my query.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I just wanted—“
“No,” Emma shook her head. “I…I want tell you about him. My Steven was a professor of science…like your Abe. I met him when he was attending a conference in Paris. He was handsome and gay, it seemed as if he was always smiling. I was terrified to tell him what I was…though he seemed to know I was different. When I finally told him, he took it with great alacrity. The war was looming when we decided to get married; I insisted that we move to America to stay out of the fray. We were going to live a quiet and simple life. We…we were going to try for children before he fell ill. I wanted to turn him, but he refused. He had no desire to become vampire…even though I begged him to.”
“Emma…I’m sorry,” I murmured.
“The agony of his death made me want to end my own life,” she confessed, dabbing at her eyes with a napkin. “It is the eternal burden of living a long life…to watch the mortals that we love die.”
I glanced over at my brother, who was listening intently to Seward. Gabriel had told me that hybrid vampires were not immortal the way pureblood vampires were, but they did live exceptionally long lives, up to several centuries. It was unspoken between us, but we were aware that Gabriel would long outlive me.
“You told us one of your parents chose to die,” I said, returning to the present, recalling what Emma told us when we first met her. “Was it out of grief?”
“Yes,” Emma said, with difficulty. “My mother had already lived for three centuries, but my father was the only man she ever truly loved. She told me a life without my father was no life at all. She took her own life by simply choosing not to feed. She starved to death.”
“My God,” I whispered, reaching out to briefly cover Emma’s hand with my own.
“I was angry that she chose to leave behind her only daughter,” she said. “But after my husband died…I understood her devastation.”
“You’re not going to do the same, are you?” I asked, my heart clenching with unease.
“No. My parents made me vow to live for at least a century. I will honor my vow, though I came close to breaking it after Steven’s death,” she sa
id. She fell silent for a moment, before continuing, “I know that you fear for my safety, Mina…but I am glad we are all together. Isabel would have been happy to know we found each other. The loneliness I have felt after Steven’s death…at times it was unbearable. It is wonderful to have a family again.”
Despite my worry, I did feel the same. Besides Gabriel and Emma, both Abe and Seward as well as Anara had become like family to me. I was grateful for their introductions into my life…even if it had come about due to a dark cause.
My gaze drifted to the newspaper that rested on the table in front of her. We had purchased the newspaper at the train station to search for any news of attacks on humans in Paris, but thankfully there were none. I prayed that Francois’ newborn vampires had died with him, and any remaining followers were focused on finding us rather than attacking innocent humans. There was no doubt in my mind that the news of Francois’ death had already reached Bathory. Anara had sent a wire from the train station in Calais to the members of the Order in Paris and Berlin, informing them of our destination, a small fortified village in Transylvania. Our plan was to join with them before attacking Bathory in her hunting manor.
I excused myself to return to the private compartment I shared with Abe. He entered soon after me, his brow furrowed. I knew that look well; he was in deep thought.
“What is it?” I asked, as he sat down next to me on the bed.
“Did it strike you as odd that Bathory did not seem concerned with the deaths of Skala or Draculesti?” he asked.
“She may have been putting on an act,” I said. “She was acting like she was the queen of vampires. She could hardly indicate that she was fearful over what happened to her allies.”
“I considered that. Yet that masquerade…they were celebrating as if they have already won the war.”
“They have had successes,” I admitted. “The Blood Plague has affected many cities.”
“But they have not won…not yet. Humans still outnumber them. Something about the whole matter strikes me as odd.”
“We must focus on what we can control rather than speculation. We are on our way to Transylvania to kill her. Once she’s destroyed, a great deal of the threat will be eliminated,” I said. Though I tried to sound calm, his words did concern me. I’d been wondering why the Parisian vampires seemed to be celebrating a victory. Did they know something we did not?
Weary, I closed my eyes. For the moment, I wanted to put all thoughts of vampires and the war aside. Emma’s words about her husband made me even more grateful for Abe. I reached out to wrap my arms around him, and he pulled me into the circle of his arms. I breathed in the scent of him—the musk of sweat, the hint of ginger on his breath from his tea. Even after all the danger we’d faced together, Abe was safe, alive, and here with me now; I let that comforting thought push all the disquieting ones aside.
“I love you,” I whispered, pressing my lips to his. He smiled against my mouth and returned my kiss. As it turned increasingly passionate, all thoughts of vampires were indeed cast aside.
Later, sharp knocks at the door pulled us from our slumber.
We hastily got dressed before Abe swung open the door. Seward stood there, his expression grim.
“There is some sort of disturbance with the tracks beyond the next station,” he said. “The train is unable to continue on this route…an attendant just informed us. They’re going to stop the train and reroute passengers.”
Abe and I nervously trailed Seward down the corridor to the dining carriage.
The others were gathered with the attendant, a stammering young man who looked intimidated by Anara, Gabriel, and Emma, as if he’d somehow gleaned they weren’t human. He didn’t give us any further specifics, only repeating that there was a disturbance with the train tracks.
My companions and I exchanged uneasy glances at his words. He didn’t need to give us specifics—we suspected there had been some sort of attack by ferals. Weeks ago, our own train had been derailed by ferals when we first headed into Transylvania.
“We have no choice but to take another train—riding horseback would take even longer to get to Budapest, even with the delay,” Gabriel said, once the attendant left us alone.
We nodded our agreement, though I dreaded any delay…Bathory could flee Transylvania at any time.
We were not far from Vienna, and the train soon pulled to a stop at its main station. We took cabs to an inn on the quiet outskirts of the city. It was tiny and somewhat dilapidated, surrounded by buildings that looked abandoned or were under various states of disrepair. But it was the only one that could accommodate us at such a late hour.
“I hope we are not delayed further,” I said to Abe, as I changed into my nightdress in the room we were to share for the night. “If other train stations have been compromised by vampires—“
“We do not know if that is the case,” Abe interrupted, sliding into bed and rubbing his eyes. “This is not like last time. We have been to Transylvania before…we know what to expect.”
Do we? I wondered, crawling into bed next to him. Though only a few weeks had passed since we were last in Transylvania, how could we be certain it was as we’d left it? It had been filled with mostly abandoned and isolated villages. The vampires who roamed the region had been Vlad and Ilona’s loyal followers. Were Bathory’s vampires situated there now? Had she been successful where Vlad had not—turning entire villages vampire?
My dreams imitated my anxious thoughts, and were again dominated by images of vampires I’d confronted or killed—Skala, Vlad, Francois. But this time…I saw my parents as well.
They were seated at the dining room table in our old home in London, facing me, their faces serene. I noticed that a small fire had started beneath the table. It was slowly rising to consume them.
“You need to wake up, poppet,” my father said, before I could warn them. “Wake up. WAKE UP!”
I awoke with a gasp.
Though I was now awake, I could still smell the caustic flames of a fire. Panicked, I looked around. Wisps of smoke snaked into the room from beneath the door, filling the room.
The inn was on fire.
22
Inferno
“Abe!” I cried.
Abe immediately sat up, looking around the room in alarm. We scrambled out of bed, coughing as we inhaled the smoke that wafted into the room. I darted towards the window to wrench it open while Abe cautiously approached the door.
“I can feel the heat—the fire must be spreading down the hall,” Abe said, picking up our bags from the floor and hurrying to my side.
We were fortunately on the ground floor; we were able to climb out the window with relative ease. I prayed that the others had made it out safely as we raced around to the front of the inn. Fire was one of the few things a vampire could not survive.
I spotted Anara in front of the inn. She was escorting the shaken innkeeper and his wife out the side door, while Seward helped a coughing young man out the front door.
I did not see Gabriel or Emma, and panic shot through my veins when I realized their rooms were at the far end of the ground floor hall—the hall that was now on fire.
I started to dash towards the inn, but Abe stopped me, pulling my body against his chest.
“Let me go—Gabriel and Emma are still in there!” I shouted.
“They would not want you to risk your lives for them!” Abe shouted, tightening his grip.
“Abe—let me go at once!” I demanded, but Abe’s grip was firm.
I stopped struggling when I saw Gabriel and Emma emerge from the side door, helping out a frightened elderly woman. Abe released me, and I raced towards them.
After we shared a grateful embrace, the rest of our group gathered round. I turned to glance back at the inn. The fire had already begun to dissipate; the innkeeper had hauled out a stand pipe and hose, and pumped water onto the dying flames.
“How did that happen?” I asked, studying the dying fire. Now that I knew the
others were safe, my suspicion was aroused. “The fire seemed to start out of nowhere. It—“
“Silence,” Anara interrupted, her entire body going rigid.
I stilled when frosty eyes prickled my skin. My heart began to slam into my ribcage, and I turned. The sensation came from the alleyway that ran adjacent to the inn.
Two vampires darted out of the alley, their fangs bared and eyes black. Their hungry focus was centered on the terrified humans behind us, but Anara and Gabriel shot into their path.
As they began to fight in rapid movements, one of the vampires left the fray, leaping towards us. Abe and Seward shoved me and Emma behind them, but Gabriel whirled, catching the vampire by the throat and slamming him onto the ground. He started to snap the vampire’s neck, but I darted forward to grab his arm.
“No—I want to find out who they are!”
Gabriel’s breathing was labored with pent up aggression, but he nodded. He kept the vampire pinned to the ground as I kneeled over him.
Next to us, Anara dispatched the vampire she’d been fighting. He let out an agonized hiss as she brusquely snapped his neck; he sank dead to the ground.
“I recognize him,” I murmured, studying the vampire Gabriel held down, as Anara joined us. The vampire bared his fangs, struggling to free himself, but Anara helped Gabriel keep him pinned to the ground. He had silvery blond hair and blue eyes; a scar ran down the left side of his face. He was one of the vampires who’d stood next to Francois on the dais at the masquerade ball. “He was at the Night Masquerade.”
The others exchanged worried glances—we all knew what this meant. We had somehow been followed from France without being aware.
Setting aside my panic, I focused on the vampire’s eyes, gazing into their depths. But he shut them before I could begin to probe.
“You will not defeat our queen, Ghyslaine,” he growled. In an impossibly fast movement, the vampire jerked his head to the left side. The movement made a sharp cracking sound; I realized with horror that he had broken his own neck.
The Mina Murray Series Bundle, A Dracula Retelling: Books 1-3 Page 47