The Elixir

by George Willson

  She picked up her sword and sheathed it as she rose to her feet. She took a deep breath and ran the distance back to Vladimir’s house. At the door to his study, she paused to collect herself before entering.

  She walked across the floor to where Vladimir waited, his cold eyes trained on her.

  “Speak,” he said.

  “My lord,” she said, her voice shaking, “George and I pursued the third cab to leave the asylum when we noticed that two of its occupants were covered in cloaks. They made all speed in an effort to shake us, but we were able to keep up with them. However, the Fempiror you spoke of, David Taylor, jumped from their coach to ours and caused it to lose the trail. He fought against George and me, and…”

  She fought to retain her composure and not come across as some weak woman in front of him, but his eyes were narrowing. She had seen this look before, and it never led to anything favorable for the person who received it.

  She forced herself to continue. “David killed George. He came after me, and I was forced to retreat.”

  “You have no idea where they are going?!” Vladimir yelled as he stood. “And you retreated?!”

  “I barely escaped with my life, my lord,” she stuttered. “If I had remained there, he would have killed me.”

  Vladimir turned and grabbed her by the neck, lifting her off the floor. She struggled to maintain her breath. “And what makes you think you’ll fare any better with me now that you’ve lost my prey completely?” he breathed into her face.

  Vladimir tossed her across the room where she crashed against the wall and rolled to the floor. She was in pain and could barely breathe. She struggled to her hands and knees, but a sharp pain in her chest stabbed her every time she took a breath. She had to stay strong.

  “You and Dyson held our only lead in your hands,” Vladimir continued, “and now they’re gone.”

  “Forgive me, my lord,” she said, struggling with every word, “I will take everyone we have to cover the town and locate them. We’ll use our network to find them.”

  “That is something I can do just as easily,” he said. “What value do you hold to me now? You and your lover intrigued me once, but once you were free of your human charges and you married, you became soft. I would imagine worry over your safety is what actually allowed George’s defeat.”

  “We had no idea who we were facing, though,” she protested. “We had no idea David was that good. We thought we could win.”

  “You faced off against a Fempiror who is over a hundred years old,” Vladimir said. “He was trained by the same Fempiror who trained me. Of course he’s going to be good.”

  “We did what you told us,” she whimpered. “We were good students.”

  “If you had spent more time on your skills instead of each other, you would have been that much better,” Vladimir said. “You would have easily overcome him with a two to one advantage. You probably tried the same tactic twice, didn’t you? I should have sent children after him!”

  “My lord, please,” she said.

  “Get to your feet,” Vladimir said. She tried, but the pain was unbearable. “Get to your feet!”

  With great effort, Adelaide fought against the pain and rose to stand before Vladimir. She could barely hold herself up, and she was certain she had a few broken bones to deal with. Strength before Vladimir was more important, however, and healing could wait.

  “I live to serve, my lord,” she forced out through the pain.

  “This discussion is over,” Vladimir said, and with a single motion, he drew his sword and ran her through. She stared at his blade in surprise as everything went dark around her. She felt him withdraw his blade, and as she fell to the floor, the last words she heard were him uttering, “So much for immortality.”

  * * * * * * * * * *

  Vladimir looked at the corpse of Adelaide Bartlett littering his floor, and then turned his attention to William and Karen Smith, who stood stoically by and watched. He cleaned his blade and sheathed his sword.

  “I used to think couples worked better together,” he said, “but perhaps I was wrong. I hope you won’t disappoint me as well.”

  “We do live to serve, my lord,” William said.

  “I should hope so,” Vladimir said. “We’re looking for cabbies with stories of a dramatic chase and where they dropped their fares. We know there was more than one in similar locations, but I won’t assume they were dropped at their destination. That’s too easy. One of the fares is a ridiculously old man probably in a cloak since it is still daytime. Go and don’t disappoint me.”

  William and Karen left him alone with his thoughts. So many disappointments had come and gone, so he knew that once Voivode and his people were found, he would need to lead the charge himself or risk losing them again.

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  David quickly walked through the city and found his way to the Lyceum Theatre where posters for their recent production of The Dead Heart were being replaced in anticipation of their next production. He kept walking past the front of the theatre and turned the corner onto Exeter Street where he found his way to the stage door and entered.

  He walked into a hallway lined with doors, but as he proceeded down the hall, Stoker emerged from one of the openings. He walked down the hall to greet David.

  “Hello, Mr. Taylor, welcome to my home away from home.”

  “Is everyone here?” David asked as Stoker led him down the hall.

  “Dr. Seward and Mr. Draculya just arrived,” Stoker said. “Dr. Van Helsing isn’t here yet, but he did not give a time when he would be.”

  Stoker led David to the green room where Arthur, Seward, Voivode, Jonathan, and Mina waited. He took a seat next to Voivode.

  “As I said, you all are welcome to remain here overnight,” Stoker explained, “and then make your way to Amsterdam at the earliest train tomorrow morning.”

  “I wish you could continue with us,” Mina said.

  “Oh, there’s not much this old manager could do for you,” Stoker said. “You’ve all presented me with a fascinating story that we will have to talk about when you return. I’m wrapping up my first full novel, you know, and I’ve been looking for a good topic for the next. But be that as it may, my divided attention during The Dead Heart has made Mr. Irving a bit cross, I’m afraid, so I will need to attend to my duties here as we prepare for our next production.”

  “Your assistance has been invaluable, Mr. Stoker,” Van Helsing said as he entered and placed his bag on the floor. “We honestly could not have done it without you.”

  “You are most welcome,” Stoker said with a bow.

  “If I might impose once more, however,” Van Helsing continued. “I wondered if you would give of yourself for Mina’s sake. She is going to need blood, and we all will end up bleeding out for her in due time. Since you are forced to remain, I had hoped you might go first.”

  “Certainly,” Stoker said, “and again, I do hope we will see each other again when this is resolved.”

  “As do I,” Van Helsing said. He turned to address everyone. “I’ve picked up the train schedule, and we’ll be leaving first thing in the morning to take the train to Dover where we’ll cross the English Channel to Calais. From there, a train to Amsterdam where we will meet with my colleague, Professor Leven. Hopefully, we will get this white oak from him, and once we have it, we go to Muiden to reverse Mina’s condition. Any questions?”

  “Is the secluded old castle really necessary?” Arthur asked. “Would it not be better when it comes to resources and such to use a facility in town at your university?”

  “Yes, it would be better,” Van Helsing said. “Our laboratories are truly top notch. However, what we’re doing will certainly attract attention which will lead to distractions and time lost. In addition, other people will want to use the facilities, and my influence will only go so far. What we need more than resources are time, privacy, and an environment free from interruptions. My connections allow me to use this castle
which is basically a big house with a wall and moat. Not only is it quite private, but if Vladimir is able to track us, he’ll have a devil of a time getting in. I know when we left the asylum, we had someone follow us. David?”

  “Yes, we did as well,” David said. “By the time our coach came, however, they were ready with their own. I ended up having to deal with them. I killed one, but the other ran off.”

  “If they returned to Vladimir, they’re dead,” Van Helsing said. “He doesn’t accept failure. We will need to stay vigilant and watch the outside. We’ll see what it looks like before we decide which station we’ll go for.”

  * * * * * * * * * *

  The next morning, Stoker showed David to the second floor where he could overlook Wellington and Exeter streets to determine their safety prior to leaving for the train. What he found was bothersome.

  Somehow, during the night, Vladimir and his Tepish had tracked them to this part of town. Along with the three people he spotted who were wearing long dark cloaks, there were a number of humans also conspicuously keeping watch. This would make their escape quite difficult.

  “Mr. Stoker,” David said turning from the window, “is there another exit from the theatre where we can avoid Wellington and Exeter?”

  “There is an exit onto Burleigh,” Stoker said. “From there, we can make our way to any of four stations that are fairly close to us.”

  “What do you see out there?” Van Helsing said, having just entered the room.

  “I believe we have Vladimir, and two of his Tepish,” David explained. “In addition, it appears that Vladimir has branched out into recruiting regular humans since more than a couple of them down there are clearly keeping watch.”

  “We may be able to get a cab on the Strand,” Van Helsing said.

  “Seven people is an awful lot for a cab,” Stoker commented.

  “If we send the Harkers and Voivode along, the rest of us can move a lot quicker,” Van Helsing suggested.

  “We’ll have to do that,” David said.

  “Understood,” Stoker said. “Would it be helpful if I went out and spoke to the gentleman?”

  “It might serve as a brief distraction,” Van Helsing said, “but you have to be careful. He’s extremely dangerous. We’d hate to lose you.”

  “Problem there is we don’t know how far their watch extends,” David noted. “We could be in trouble no matter how we go. What are our options?”

  “Temple and Embankment are along the Thames in opposite directions,” Stoker said. “Charing Cross is directly down the Strand, and Leicester Square would be taking the side streets from here. They’re all about the same distance though.”

  “Charing Cross may be our best bet,” David said. “Vladimir probably knows that Seward and Voivode were dropped at the bridge, so they’ll be watching that and whoever approaches it. He is less likely to attack us in the open, so sneaking to Leicester is probably not a good idea either.”

  “I have no doubt that he’ll have people at all the stations,” Van Helsing said.

  “Right, so we’ll just have to minimize our contact so we’re gone by the time Vladimir gets there,” David said.

  “So Charing Cross it is, then,” Stoker said.

  “It sounds that way to me,” Van Helsing said.

  “Let’s go,” David said, and the three of them moved back downstairs to explain the situation to the rest of the group. As he promised, Stoker walked out the front door and spoke to Vladimir. David wished he knew what Stoker found to talk about, but decided it was ultimately unimportant.

  The morning was cold and wet, for which David was grateful as it would make their escape that much easier. He still wore the cloak that Dr. Seward provided as did Voivode just in case they ran into sun later on, but for now, they could be a little less conspicuous to the regular populace. Stoker also supplied them with a couple of umbrellas which would also keep the sun off as well as block the view of their potential pursuers.

  The seven of them exited out the back door of the theatre and made their way to the Strand where David checked for anyone watching. There was a regular person standing on the corner at Wellington, but David suspected if they walked naturally, he would not pay much attention to them.

  A cab stood waiting on the far side of the street, so they casually crossed the street, carefully keeping the umbrellas positioned around them. At the cab, they sent the Harkers, Voivode, and Arthur ahead of them, leaving David, Van Helsing and Seward to walk the half mile to the station.

  “So far, so good,” David commented as they turned to the west to follow the cab on foot. “If we see another hirable cab, we’d be well advised to take it as well.”

  “At the very least, we are less conspicuous walking in a group of three as opposed to seven,” Van Helsing said.

  “Agreed,” Seward said.

  David hazarded a glance back to see if anyone had paid them any attention, and he noticed one person tailing them with another running back.

  “I believe we will need to pick up the pace,” David said.

  “How fast a pace?” Seward asked.

  “We’ll just match your speed,” Van Helsing said. “I believe it would be prudent to run.”

  They took off down the street like a shot, the two Fempiror matching Seward’s speed. A little over four minutes later, they charged into Charing Cross station and found that Arthur had already purchased their tickets for the next train out which was leaving almost immediately. They explained the situation in that they were likely followed, and quickly boarded the train.

  As they watched the city move around them, David kept a watch for any suspicious movement on the train. It did not appear that Vladimir had reached them before the train left the station, but he was ready for anything.

  * * * * * * * * * *

  Karen approached Vladimir who was being spoken to by some portly, bearded man who had come out of the Lyceum Theatre to ask him about Henry Irving’s recent performance in some play called The Dead Heart. While Vladimir was familiar enough with Irving, he obviously had not had the time to watch the silly little play the man was talking about, but that did not seem to matter. When he ascertained that Vladimir had not seen the one play, he kept going back through what had to be the actor’s entire canon of work.

  When Karen looked like she had something to report, he was grateful for the interruption and excused himself.

  “Three men walking down the Strand, my lord,” Karen said. “One of our human contacts is following them.”

  Vladimir walked with her to the street and looked down the road to find the three men she referenced running away from them. He grimaced and stopped her when she tried to chase after them.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Vladimir said. “It is obvious where they’re going.”

  “My lord?” Karen asked.

  “Charing Cross station,” Vladimir said. “They’re leaving town. It’s really the only reason they would have come here in such a hurry. Something happened, and now they’re on the run. They won’t escape so easily.”

  Vladimir, William, and Karen dispersed their human helpers and took a cab to Charing Cross where they inquired after the recent trains as well as whether a large group of travelers had purchased tickets. He learned that there was a group of seven who had just left for Dover, so Vladimir asked for the same for the next train. His contacts at the station confirmed the size of the group as well as descriptions of those who were in it: six men and one woman. One of those men was observed as being elderly.

  He figured at Dover, the group would cross the English Channel, but what really concerned him was where they were going from there. He did not know where Voivode and David lived prior to their time in Purfleet, and he was not sure why they were traveling in such a large group. Still unanswered questions, but his only concern was following Voivode.

  At Dover, they arrived just in time to miss the ferry that most likely carried his prey away from him, and once across the channel, he inquired
at the local station about large groups who purchased tickets recently for the most immediate train. He learned that for some reason, they were going to Amsterdam in The Netherlands. This made little sense to him, but there was only one group of seven tickets purchased with any level of urgency, and again, the train had left the station recently causing him to just miss them.

  He purchased three tickets for the next train to Amsterdam and waited impatiently. If Amsterdam was their destination, he feared he would lose them once they got there. He refused to let this happen. The trail was still warm, and somehow, he would be able to follow it.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

  Van Helsing and his company arrived in Amsterdam just after nightfall, and considering the number of people they had, he hired a large enough coach to carry everyone comfortably. Their first stop was to be the home of Professor Leven, a botany teacher at the University of Amsterdam. He decided that to minimize questions, he would leave everyone in the coach while he spoke to his colleague alone.

  He left David on guard and walked to the door of Leven’s house. He knocked, and once he and Leven exchanged pleasantries, they got right down to the business at hand.

  “Of course I’m aware of white oak, Abraham,” Leven said. “I even have a couple of wooden cups made from it, not that I use them for anything other than decoration.”

  “Is there anything special about it?” Van Helsing asked.

  “The tree is native to North America,” Leven explained, “and the Americans use it for ship-building and other applications where the wood is exposed to constant moisture because the wood doesn’t absorb the water and warp like most wood does. In fact, it’s such a hard wood that it has been imported as far east as Japan for the use of weaponry due to its strength.”