VROLOK

by Nolene-Patricia Dougan

  Isabella laughed and answered, “I mustn‘t have.”

  “Well we can correct that; if I go to the play tonight will I see you there?”

  “Perhaps,” Isabella said, and a promising smile occupied her face.

  “I hope I do.” Abraham bowed his head and left Isabella. She still felt that unfamiliar aura but it seemed a good deal more human than it had done before and so she dismissed it as a simple paradox.

  Vlad and Leila looked on as Isabella was talking to Abraham. Vlad was not close enough to recognise his own son. When Isabella left the young man she still sported her smile for a few hundred yards. Abraham had made an impression on her and this fact was evident to both Leila and Vlad. Leila decided there and then that if she could not kill Isabella she would kill anyone else that Isabella held dear, so she would wait until this impression grew deeper. Vlad also tried to fight off similar instincts; old pangs of jealousy were starting to well up inside him. He saw Leila following Abraham and he knew what her plan was but he hesitated from stopping her; he briefly considered letting Leila kill this young man.

  Leila kept watching the pair for the next few months, looking for some sign of growing affection on Isabella’s part. Leila had waited to kill him until she was certain that Isabella would be hurt by his death, and unfortunately for Isabella she was growing fond of Abraham.

  Isabella was relishing the company of this young man. He was someone to talk to and who was eager to talk to her. She was asking him plenty of questions, about his life and what he wanted for his future. He was from a prominent Dutch family and he was attending Heidelberg University studying medicine. He was an enigma. To Isabella he was just a normal man, with a normal upbringing, but yet still there was something about him that captivated her. When he touched her she felt a sharp tingling sensation run through her. It was not unpleasant, but it felt unusual and out of place, as if her body was warning her to stay away from this man and that ironically was what made Isabella stay close to him. Isabella could not read him at all, she could not see what he was thinking, and even when she touched him she could not enter his mind.

  Isabella had been keeping company with Abraham for almost a year. Abraham requested to see Isabella regularly, but today was different. He had made such a formal request to see her, he had even gone to the measures of sending a note to her apartments, and this was something he had never done before. He wrote that he wanted to ask her something important and because Isabella could not read him she had no idea what it was.

  “I’m glad you came,” Abraham began when they met that evening.

  “Well, how could I not when I was so formally requested to do so. Your note said you wanted to ask me something important. I had to know what it was.” Isabella realised Abraham was very nervous, for when he had taken her hand in greeting it was clammy and hot and yet it was a cold night in February. “What is wrong with you?” Isabella asked. “Why so nervous?”

  “Nothing, nothing,” he answered. “Nothing at all,” he repeated quickly again.

  “All right, I believe you, why all the mystery and the written invitation?”

  “I will tell you later.”

  “All right, where are we going then?”

  “For a walk along the river bank—it is a beautiful night.” Isabella pressed out her arm for Abraham to take and the pair started to walk across the bridge on to the river bank.

  “This is where we first met,” Abraham stated.

  “Not quite, remember the Flying Dutchman?” Isabella corrected him.

  “Oh, yes.” Abraham remained silent for a few seconds. His nerves had momentarily settled as the pair had started their stroll but he was becoming skittish again.

  “What is wrong with you?” Isabella asked.

  “Nothing,” Abraham retorted. “Stop asking me what is wrong!” he shouted.

  “I will if you tell me why you have brought me here,” Isabella snapped. She was not one to tolerate being shouted at.

  “All right, all right, I asked you here because I wanted to ask you to…”

  “To… what?” Isabella stated getting increasingly more and more impatient.

  “This is not how I envisioned this happening.”

  “I am going home; I am tired of your riddles.” Isabella turned to leave. Abraham caught her hand and pulled her back. At that moment Isabella was struck by how strong he was. She had not put up much resistance but what little she did should have been enough to make him relinquish his grip on her.

  “I asked you here because I wanted to ask you to marry me,” he said. Isabella forgot momentarily about his strength because she was amazed by the content of his outburst. She started to laugh out loud. All this time he thought he had been courting Isabella and she had not even realised. He was always so courteous and gentlemanly, Isabella had dismissed it as being due to his upbringing, not ardour; her heightened vampiric perception was of no use to her with Abraham.

  “Marry you?” she said through her laughter. “You must be mad.”

  “I didn’t think that I would ever have a lady laugh at me when I asked her this question. This is not how I imagined it.” Isabella was still laughing at the absurdity of the situation she was now in. Abraham was now hurt by her reaction. “Isabella, please stop laughing.” The sincerity in his voice curbed Isabella’s blithesomeness, and her laughter was immediately silenced. Abraham began to speak again reiterating his proposal. “I love you and I want you to marry me.”

  “Abraham,” Isabella began.

  Abraham quickly jumped in before Isabella could speak; he sensed that she was going to say no. “Before you say anything, at least think about it.” Abraham took Isabella’s hand in his and pulled it to his chest, pressing her hand to his heart.

  To Leila and Vlad, who were still watching, this was the first sign of any sort of passion between the pair. Leila thought to herself that this was the night to act. She would kill this man in front of Isabella to ensure that Isabella knew that the only future she would have was one of constant misery.

  “What I mean to say is…” Abraham continued. “I am from a good family, I am going to be an important physician, and I will work all the days of my life to ensure that you have everything you desire.”

  Isabella was touched by his words. “Abraham,” Isabella said, still trying to interrupt him.

  “No, I am not finished yet,” Abraham protested, but Isabella had to speak. She would not let Abraham continue on.

  “Listen to me, Abraham!” Isabella took both his hands in hers and said, “I care very deeply for you, but I cannot marry you.”

  “Why not? What possible reason could you give me to refuse me? I have every possible answer to any excuse you could give me—I have been thinking about this for a very long time,”

  Isabella smiled at Abraham, a warm heart-rending smile.

  “Believe me, there is nothing I would like better than to live out my life with you, raising a family; it would be like a dream come true.”

  “Perfect, then you cannot refuse me.”

  “I have to.”

  “Why?” Isabella tried to think of an excuse that would stop his persistence. “Tell me, give me one legitimate reason,” Abraham continued. Isabella turned away from Abraham.

  “Believe me, I am tempted more than you will ever realise.”

  “I can convince you if it takes a decade, even a lifetime, I will convince you.”

  Isabella turned to Abraham. “Stop,” she said trying to silence Abraham. “I can’t marry you,” she cried.

  “Why? Why not?” Isabella was feeling the pressure of the constant questioning by Abraham.

  “I can’t,” she retorted.

  “Why can’t you?”

  “I can’t…because.”

  “Because?”

  “Because I am already married.” Abraham stepped back from Isabella.

  “Married?”

  “Yes.”

  “But you don’t wear a ring.”

  “Whe
n I left my husband, I chose not to wear his ring.” Abraham walked a few steps away from Isabella.

  “Tell me he is an old man and might die soon,” Abraham flippantly pleaded.

  Isabella smiled again. “That is not very charitable of you,” she said.

  “I am not in a charitable mood.”

  “Well, he is not old and is unfortunately in perfect health; you will probably die before him.”

  “Well, I am so glad he will outlive me. Why did you leave him?” his sardonic tone becoming more earnest.

  “He hurt someone very close to me and let me believe he had nothing to do with it. When I found out he did, I could not stay with him.”

  “But you wanted to stay with him.”

  Isabella looked at Abraham, shocked by how perceptive he was. “I did.”

  “You still have feelings for him?”

  “Yes… I will always have some feelings for him; that is my curse.”

  “And I can’t change your mind?”

  “No.”

  Abraham got up and bowed to Isabella. “If you ever reconsider, I will be waiting.”

  Isabella watched as Abraham slowly walked away. At that moment she was struck by the thought that her last chance of happiness was walking away from her. Isabella could not let him leave; she deserved some happiness, she needed some, she had spent so many years alone she could not stand it any longer. Just a few years, she thought, and then she would leave him.

  “Abraham, Abraham!” she called after him. Abraham turned back towards her. She ran to him flinging herself into his arms. “I lied,” she said. “I never married him. I was supposed to but never did; I am free to marry you if you will still have me.” Abraham returned her embrace, and whispered in her ear.

  “Of course I still want you,” Abraham said. Isabella’s eyes were shut, her head resting on his shoulder. She was holding him so tightly, fearing that if she let go he would slip away. Isabella reopened her eyes to see someone running towards them. It was Leila; brandishing a knife, intent on killing Abraham. She was running at tremendous speed. Isabella pushed Abraham back from her in an attempt to save him. It was too late; she could do nothing but watch as Leila slashed her knife deep into Abraham’s back. Abraham reached out for Isabella trying to speak her name. He fell to his knees and then collapsed completely to the ground. Isabella looked away from Abraham towards Leila; she too had fallen to the ground. She had been injured and was screaming in pain.

  Leila was holding her face wondering what was wrong and where this pain had come from. Isabella launched herself at Leila and pushed her over to see why she was screaming out. Her face had been scarred by Abraham’s blood. Isabella couldn‘t believe what she saw. Along one cheek it looked as if she had been very heavily burnt, like someone had poured acid onto her face. Isabella let Leila go and left her to writhe around in misery. She was in great pain; she dragged herself up onto her feet and ran away. Isabella went back to Abraham; he was lying on his stomach. She pressed the tip of one finger into his blood. A pain seared through her and her finger wizened slightly into a tiny scar.

  “Dhampir,” she whispered. Abraham’s wound had partially healed. She rolled Abraham onto his back and looked at him. Colour was starting to return to his cheeks. The wound that Leila inflicted should have been mortal, but there was no scent of death surrounding him. He was going to live. Isabella looked again at his wound; it was starting to heal rapidly now. It was not as quick to heal as it would have been if Isabella had received it but it was healing very quickly, nevertheless. Isabella wondered what to do. She realised what she should do. She should kill him and take from him enough blood to finish off Leila. But Leila would be granted a reprieve tonight. Isabella picked Abraham up, being careful not to let any of his blood come in contact with her skin, and carried him back to her temporary home. She placed him on her bed and waited for him to awaken.

  Days passed and he still had not woken but on the night of the fourth day as Isabella sat beside him, Abraham took a deep, sharp breath and opened his eyes with a start. He was bewildered and confused, but when he saw Isabella his mind settled. He felt safe with her, but he shouldn‘t have. Isabella smiled at him; she believed there was no point telling him what he was and what she was at this point. She would wait until he was fully recovered before she did that, to at least give him a fighting chance.

  Weeks passed and soon Abraham had completely healed. They hadn’t talked about that night but Isabella knew he would soon start asking questions.

  “I am fully restored,” Abraham began.

  “That is good,” Isabella answered Abraham, smiling as she did.

  “I think I owe my speedy recovery to you.”

  “I did nothing; you healed so quickly yourself. Do you ever remember being sick in your life?” Isabella asked.

  “No I have always been quite healthy; in fact this is only time in my life that I can remember being even remotely ill.”

  “I thought as much.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I can’t marry you,” Isabella stated.

  “Surely we have been through all this.”

  “Now I am certain. You cannot convince me otherwise and you will not want to when you know what I am.”

  “Isabella you are talking nonsense.”

  “I am a Vrolok, a Vampire and you are my opposite, my nemesis, you are a Dhampir.”

  “A Dhampir?” Abraham staggered and clutched his head. “I feel quite light- headed all of a sudden.”

  “You should, because I have drugged you; you will soon pass out and when you awaken tomorrow I will be gone.” Abraham was slowly losing consciousness but he would stay awake long enough for Isabella to tell him what she had to. Isabella took a knife and slashed her arm. Abraham watched in amazement as the wound healed almost instantly before his eyes. She then took the knife and pricked his finger with the tip of the blade. She pricked her own finger and instead of healing it withered her skin into a scar.

  “You are poison to me. I am a Vampire and you are destined to be a Vampire hunter, as you are the only one who can be.”

  Abraham was stunned by what he was seeing and hearing.

  “We will meet again,” Isabella stated, sure that they would. “But I fear the next time we meet one of us will have to die. I am leaving you now but I want something from you first.” At this point Abraham blacked out and Isabella slashed his wrist to take some of his blood. She could kill Leila now, and she wanted to use her grandfather’s sword to do it.

  Isabella had left the sword with Vlad; he had had it long enough. She wanted it back. It was hers and the only thing left from her grandfather that she possessed. She called into see Jakub before going to the castle. He was an old man now but Isabella was glad to see an old friend.

  “Are you well, Jakub?” Isabella asked.

  “All the better for seeing you,” Jakub had always been kind to Isabella.

  “That I am sure is a lie, but it is nice to hear your sweet lies again,”

  “No, it is the truth; I have been looking for you.”

  “Why?” Isabella asked curiously.

  “That place is filled with Vampires again,” Jakub tilted his head up towards the castle.

  “Are they killing any Slovaks?”

  “No, not yet.”

  “As long as they are not killing Slovaks I have no quarrel with them.”

  “I thought you might say that, but the Slovaks of the village are getting nervous. They are scared; they know what happened to my grandmother and my father. They think you have abandoned us.”

  “Abandoned you? You know that it is not true.”

  “I know it, but the people of the village are not so certain.”

  “What do you want me to do? I can’t go around to every Slovak and promise them I will always protect them.”

  “No, I am not asking you to do that. I just want you to visit a bit more often.”

  “I visited Nadezhda very often and look what h
appened.”

  “You were not to blame for her death and if you had not been there I would have probably been killed as well as my father.”

  “All right. I will visit more often… how is Anna?”

  “Very well. She is a mother now. She has a son and she named him after me.”

  “So you are a grandfather?”

  “I am a proud grandfather.” There was a pause. “What brought you back?” Jakub asked.

  “I am back for my grandfather’s sword.”

  “Do you want me to come with you?”

  “No, this is something I have to do it myself.”

  Isabella waited until nightfall to go up to the castle. She crept up and peered through the window. No one seemed to be about but she saw her grandfather’s sword leaning up against the fireplace. Isabella suddenly became distracted by a noise from behind her. Isabella turned around to see Anna.

  “Anna, what are you doing here?” Isabella scolded.

  “My father was worried about you.”

  “So he sent you up here after me?” Isabella asked suspiciously.

  “Oh no, he would have never have sent me up here; he realises how dangerous it is, I wanted to come here, and I wanted to help you.”

  “Anna this is not a game. You are a mother now; you should take better care of yourself and not be doing stupid things like this.” Isabella studied Anna. She was still so young that it was hard to believe that she was already a mother.

  “Do you want me go back?”

  “No. I want you to stay where I can keep an eye on you.” Isabella was slightly concerned for Anna but if truth be known she wanted a friendly face with her. Isabella opened the door and stepped into the castle. Anna followed her in.

  The large hall was as she had left it. There was a fire still burning in the fireplace but the room was empty and cold. Isabella walked over to the fire and Anna crept in behind her. She turned around to watch Anna, who was walking on her tiptoes. Isabella smiled at her.

  “There is no need to try and be quiet. If a Vampire was here it would have heard you already.” Anna looked a little embarrassed and began to walk normally. Isabella went over and picked up the sword. It was the only thing in the castle that had been looked after. It must be worth something, Isabella thought, or why else would Vlad have looked after it so well. A gust of wind echoed through the hall and the door slammed shut. Isabella was startled; she knew the wind was not strong enough to blow the heavy wooden closed. She realised she was not the only Vampire in this room.