His long hair dangled around his shoulders. A light beard covered the lower half of his face. It was a face that masked a deep sadness. The eyes though, hid nothing. They said everything about this poor, troubled soul. Paul felt the intensity of his pain. It even reached out to him.
Pelou felt humbled in his presence. As they came close he dropped to his knees and bowed his head.
“No, Jean, no,” the Pope said. “You have no need to kneel before me. It is I who should kneel before you.”
He took Paul’s hand and kissed it hard. It took the Pope a little aback. But after a moment he reached out with his other hand and stroked Pelou’s hair. “Rise, Jean. Let me embrace you.”
Pelou rose to his feet. He looked overcome with emotion. Paul pulled him close and kissed both his cheeks. Even Pelou knew the Pope did not normally greet his visitors that way. When his eyes cleared he looked down at the pontiff. He saw the Pope smiling broadly, his face also a picture of emotion.
Paul spoke to him in Latin. It was the only language Pelou shared with the other men in the room. “Thank you for coming, Jean,” he said. “It is so good to see you.”
“I am your humble servant, Holy Father.”
Paul waved his hand to show Pelou his nephew and Ludovisi were also present. “It is we that are honoured by your presence, Jean.”
“I have done nothing to deserve such an accolade, Holy Father.”
“On the contrary, Jean. You have done much.”
Pelou looked baffled. For years he had believed himself a failure. He could not even imagine why the Pope would want to see him, let alone say such kind things.
“I am a knight of God, Holy Father,” was all he could say. “My duty is to serve.”
“And we are fortunate to have you. Come and sit.”
Pelou sat down on one of the empty sofas. He knew it had to be something very important for the Pope to have summoned him here.
“I am sure you appreciate I have called you here on a very delicate matter.”
Pelou nodded.
“The Church needs help. I know the Cardinal and Monsignor agree with me when I say the Church needs your help.”
Pelou bowed. “I am here only to serve you and the Church, Holy Father. My oath binds me. And the love in my heart.”
“I know, Jean. And there really is no man better equipped than you.”
“What would you have me do?”
“I will come to that. But first I must give you a choice to accept or refrain from the mission I need to send you on.”
“If you need my help, Holy Father, then you have it. You know that.”
“This is not quite so simple. It is fraught with terrible dangers.”
“I am stronger and more able than any man I know.”
“It could cost you your soul.”
Pelou’s calmness surprised them all. “Have I not lost it already?”
The Pope did not know how to react to that at first. “Then you are not afraid of the dangers involved?”
“No, Holy Father. I am not afraid.”
Paul could see Pelou did not realise the implications of the mission. “You are going to be facing the greatest evil in the world.”
“Holy Father,” he said firmly. “I have stared worse than that in the face. Tell me what it is you want of me.”
Paul took in a deep breath. “Very well. I will tell you all.”
He told Pelou the whole story. The knight listened while he divulged every last detail of what he knew. His expression did not change once. He just sat and listened quietly without speaking.
When the Pope finished, then did he speak. “So you want me to go to Transylvania and bring Andrei’s sons back?”
“Yes, Jean. That is what the Church asks of you.”
“Then I will do it.”
“But Dracula might try to stop you?”
“Then I will expect him. I am not afraid.”
“No, Jean,” Paul smiled. “I do not imagine you are.”
“I will need some good men to come with me.”
“You can choose however many you want from my personal guard. They are all good men.”
“I will take twelve.”
“What else do you want?”
“I will need money, Holy Father. I have to purchase a carriage to bring them back, and fresh horses. I am going to need new caskets and other items. I would also like the men to eat well.”
Paul nodded. “I will give you five thousand ducats.”
“Three will suffice, Holy Father. And seven crucifixes blessed by your hand.”
“Why seven?”
“I want to nail one to the lid of each coffin.”
“And the seventh?”
“That one is for me.”
“There are the vials Andrei left,” Ludovisi said. “They too amount to seven.”
“I will take one. I am sure someone else will need them in the future.”
Paul nodded. “They will guide you to the spot where Andrei’s sons are buried.”
“Good.”
“They will also warn you when the vampyr is near.”
“Does anyone know how to kill them?”
“There is no weapon yet to kill Dracula,” Paul said. “That is why this mission is so vital. You are harvesting those weapons. As for the others I do not know.”
“They are supremely evil,” Giuseppe piped up. “I would assume that anything that is as supremely holy would scare them if nothing else.”
Pelou nodded that he concurred with that. “A crossbow is a good weapon against anyone. But I will need holy water too then.”
“I will bless it myself,” Paul said. “Is there anything else?”
Pelou shrugged. “I only need to select the twelve to come with me. But they must also have the choice to stay or go.”
He met with every guard in the Vatican over the next five hours. To each of them he only asked a few questions. At the end of it he knew the twelve he wanted. Pelou gave each of them the same choice the Pope had given him. He advised of what lay ahead should they accept. It gave him a feeling of real pride when every one of them did.
Pelou gathered the group together. He raised his arm and held his fist out. They all stepped up and touched it at the same time. “It is as thirteen we shall go. And thirteen we shall return. We live and die as one.”
“We live and die as one!” they repeated.
He acknowledged them with a nod and the faintest trace of a smile. “We go in the name of God. Let us make Him proud.”
The Pope stood a short distance away. The group bowed to a man when they saw him. He smiled as he stepped up to them. “I am already proud of you. I know you will not fail.”
“We will not fail you, Holy Father,” one of the men said.
Paul smiled. “There is one other thing. You must all give confession before you leave. To cleanse your soul before fighting evil is a very strong defence. Cardinal Ludovisi and Monsignor Borghese are waiting to take them from you.”
The guards bowed and walked off in search of the two men. As Pelou brushed past him, Paul put a hand on his shoulder. “I will hear yours, Jean.”
Pelou dropped to one knee and bowed. Paul put a hand on his shoulder. He waited for the knight to say the Act of Contrition. “How long is it, my son, since your last confession?”
“It has been four years, Holy Father.”
“And in that time have you sinned?”
“Yes, Holy Father. I have sinned.”
“Then confess your sins, my son. So that you may receive absolution for them.”
The process took a while. Pelou broke down and wept when he spoke of that day in the Holy Land. Paul forgave him his sins and completed the ritual. He asked Pelou to rise when it was over.
“Now let that burden lift from your shoulders,” he said. “It was never your fault. You did all that you could. Now you can let it go.”
Transylvania. The back streets of Cluj.
August 4, 1612.
Paul stood outside to see them off. He waited there until they had disappeared from view. So much rested on the shoulders of the great knight. He gave a deep sigh and returned inside again. In his heart he knew Pelou would need a minor miracle to pull this venture off. With that in mind he went straight to the Sistine Chapel to pray. The power of prayer was a great thing. He knew God would hear him. For Pelou to succeed God would have to have a hand in it.
Pelou led a fast pace from the off. He realised he would need to use every hour of light he had each day to succeed. For that he wanted to be there by early August.
He decided to trade their horses in Austria. It was crucial for his men to have fresh animals for the second half of their long trek. This would enable them to move much faster. By early August they had reached Cluj. The city lay just inside the border with Hungary. His map showed it as the nearest such place to the burial site.
They rode into the city at dusk. Pelou wanted to keep to the back streets. He figured it best not to attract too much attention. One never knew who might work for the Dark Side.
The men caught many a curious glance from those that saw them. A large group of riders always brought such interest, however hard they tried to avoid it.
Language proved a barrier for them. The natives in the main spoke only their own tongue. After a few enquiries Pelou found a man who spoke Latin. With his help he purchased a large carriage with a team of four horses. He and his men removed the seats from inside. At the same time four of the group visited an undertaker’s. It was fortunate for them that that man spoke Latin too. They purchased six caskets. The undertaker and his sons left with them. They followed Pelou’s men to deliver the caskets on three wagons. The men also bought torches, shovels, and a hammer and nails from him.
The knight did not like to have them along. But it saved him a lot of time and hassle. He led the group out of Cluj. They took the road east as the map advised. Pelou held Andrei’s vial in his hand now. A faint blue glow in its centre told him he was getting closer.
After a time they came to a fork in the road. They made slow progress now that it was dark. Pelou was not sure if he should wait until sunrise. He was anxious to find the burial site. Yet it posed great risks to do so after sunset. In truth he did not want to meet any of the vampires. Then he thought of the men. He had to consider them. Their safety came first. For that reason he decided they would stop as soon as they found shelter.
The map did not give him a clear route from here. He waved the group to a halt. They waited as he jumped down from the carriage. He walked some way up the road that branched to the left. With a torch in one hand he held the vial out in the other. The glow was much fainter now. He walked back and tried the other road. This time it gave off a single strong flash of blue light. It actually warmed his hand.
He gritted his teeth and returned to the group. “It is this way,” he said, pointing straight ahead.
A mile further along they passed a deserted farmhouse. Pelou saw it set back from the road. “We will stop here for the night,” he told his men. “There is no point going on until first light.”
“We cannot spend the night here,” the undertaker pointed out.
“I understand that,” Pelou nodded. “If you want to unload the caskets and return home that will be fine.”
They left soon after. Pelou had his men take the caskets inside the house. They secured the building as best they could and settled down. He warned them to sleep with one eye open. Just in case they had any unwelcome visitors he ensured that three men kept guard at all times. They alternated during the night with him taking the last watch. The vial gave off a light glow a couple of times. He perked up on both occasions. Yet the night passed without incident.
At the crack of dawn they left again. Pelou followed the road until the glow started to grow faint. He checked the road either side until it showed him the right way. They struggled with the carriage over the terrain. After a time they arrived at the exact same spot the gypsies had camped on over a century before.
Pelou walked around with the vial in hand. The others watched him closely. They all felt real excitement as the great knight paced about. He followed a small path that led away from the camp. It took him to a quiet spot on a grassy bank near the river. After a while Pelou felt his own heart begin to race. The blue glow at last filled the whole of the vial. He turned to the men. “It is here!”
They did not need him to prompt them. Four of the men ran over with the shovels in hand to the spot beneath the great rock.
“Dig here,” he said, pointing down at his feet. “But dig with care. We do not want to damage any of the bodies. They are sacred.”
It did not take long for them to find something. They had only dug about two feet at this point. “I think I have found the first, Jean,” one of the men said.
“Move aside,” Pelou said, jumping down into the shallow hole.
He dropped to his knees and began to move the earth aside with his hands. There was a body here for sure. In only a few minutes he uncovered the outline of the first. He looked up to the others who all waited close by. “Help me lift him out.”
Several of them got a hold beneath the body. On Pelou’s count of three they lifted him up and out. What they saw amazed them. Despite a century in the ground the body had not decomposed. It remained as it was the day it had been laid to rest, cold but soft.
They took great care with the others. It slowed the process down. But they could not risk damaging any of the corpses. In time they laid all six in their individual caskets. They saw one more at the bottom. The rotted clothes and bits of long hair that remained on the skull of the small body hinted that it belonged to a woman.
Pelou did not know who she was. But he felt sure she was someone who belonged to Andrei. He said a quiet prayer over her. When he finished he told his men to fill the hole in once more.
The men had to remove one side of the carriage. It was the only way to get the caskets in. Pelou fixed a crucifix to each one. He then sprayed holy water over them with his fingers. Soon they had the caskets safely inside. After a great effort the men fixed the door to the side once again.
Pelou made the best use of the daylight. He pushed the team as hard as he could without taking risks. As dusk neared the group had made over twenty miles. Pelou sent two of the men on ahead. It was their task to find somewhere to stay the night. They came back to say a kindly farmer agreed the group could use one of his barns.
The men spent the last of the daylight securing it. They sealed all possible ways in. Just as before Pelou posted a watch. He kept every man inside, but ensured at least three stayed awake. They took turns to guard the others and then sleep.
Pelou slept with the vial in his hand. He felt as weary now as he ever had. From the time he left the Holy Land he had struggled to sleep. The faces of the dead pilgrims had haunted him endlessly. Now at last he felt at peace with himself. Much of the burden on his shoulders had lifted. His life had purpose once again. With that he had regained the ability to sleep peacefully once more.
His dreams had changed too. They took him back to his days as a child. Those were good times. He even smiled while he slept. The dream was of a day he and his mother had picked grapes from their vineyard.
The vial grew hot in his hand. He opened his eyes at once. Even before he gazed down at it he saw the bright blue glow. He was on his feet in moments. Drawing his sword he woke the others.
“Get the holy water,” he said. “I want you all to have some.”
“What is wrong, Jean?” one of them asked him.
“They are near,” he said, looking up. “Be on your guard. Stay as one. If any of them come close throw the holy water over them.”
They all fell silent. Something was on the roof. Each man looked up, as Pelou had. Their hearts thumped in their chests. None of them had a clue what to expect.
“Keep your resolve,” Pelou said to them. “The sight that meets your eyes will not be a pleasant one. Do n
ot let it shock you.”
He placed a bolt in his crossbow, as he looked for the sound. He pulled the mechanism tight and rested his finger against the trigger. Then he waited with his weapon aimed up high.
A portion of the roof suddenly came away. Pelou felt a rush of adrenaline run through him. He saw no one. Aiming just to the right of the hole he fired the crossbow. They all heard a scream. The bolt ripped through the covering and embedded in the base of Anya’s foot.
Pelou put a second bolt into the crossbow. Every man kept his eyes trained on the hole in the roof. The main door on their left came crashing in. Varkal entered with a torch in each hand. One of the men raised his vial of holy water. Varkal spotted it right away. He caught the man with his knee and knocked it clear. Pelou had him in his sights. He watched the vampire toss the torches at the hay and fly out through the hole in the roof. As Varkal made his exit Pelou fired a second time. The bolt hit the vampire in the shoulder. He smashed against a timber frame. Before Pelou could line up a third shot he was gone.
The hay ignited at once.
“We have to get out!” he shouted at them. “Get the caskets out!”
The men mounted their horses and rode out into the night. Pelou climbed up onto the carriage beside the man who took the reins. He took a spot on the roof of it with his crossbow in hand.
It worried him that the vampires had got them outside with such ease. Out in the darkness they were vulnerable. “Stay close to the carriage!” he shouted, as it sped on into the night.
The man at the helm struggled to see the road ahead. But he had no other choice than to push on at full speed.
“Do not worry,” Pelou said. “The road is straight along here. Keep going to the next village. There will be a church there.”
To his surprise the vampires did not return. It was their best chance to thwart him. But they did not take it. I must have injured them he thought. They made it to the church and forced their way inside. Pelou felt they would be safe there.
The Dracula Chronicles: Bound By Blood - Volume 2 Page 39