The Beast of London: Book 1 of the Mina Murray series

by Goffigan, L. D.

  Abductions, murders, reproduction, the pack mentality of vampires, the—

  My eyes flew open as the answer to my question came to me. How could I have not seen this before? It was the simplest answer to our questions, but the most horrifying one.

  I recalled Lucy’s words from the night before. We need them.

  “Godsamme,” Abe whispered, a Dutch oath he rarely uttered. His stunned gaze met mine. He had come to the same conclusion.

  “What?” Seward asked, looking back and forth between me and Abe with alarm.

  “They’ve moved from the countrysides to cities,” I said, my voice trembling with dread. “Because they’re increasing their numbers.”

  “Yes, we’ve gathered that,” Seward said shortly. “What is the—”

  “What reason would they have to multiply so expeditiously?” Abe asked. “Only four years ago, Robert, Mina and I learned of the murders in the Transylvanian countryside. But there were very few—if any—mentions of actual disappearances. During the past three years, the unexplained disappearances have dramatically increased. Think. What possible reason could they have to abduct so many? We know from Lucy that the transformation takes time. It is obvious that they want to increase their numbers. Why so quickly? To what end?”

  Arthur and Seward’s eyes locked with ours as they were hit with the same realization. Arthur blanched, and Seward leaned back heavily against the wall, burying his face in his hands.

  “Bloody hell,” Seward whispered. This time, he was too shocked to apologize to me for the oath. “No.”

  “They’re building an army,” I said, finally speaking aloud the terrible words that we were all thinking.

  11

  Invasion

  On the deck above, the ship’s crew shouted directions to each other as it began to pull away from the docks to drift down the churning waters of the Thames towards the Channel. But the captain’s cabin was filled with a roaring silence.

  “The only reason to have an army is to invade—and we can’t stop a bloody invasion on our own,” Seward said, splintering the silence. “If this theory’s right, then everything’s changed.”

  “I agree,” I said. “But it hasn’t happened yet, which means we have time to stop it.”

  “Did you not hear me?” Seward demanded, his voice rising with incredulity. “How can we possibly—”

  “Every army has a leader. If you destroy the leader—” I began.

  “You destroy the army,” Abe concluded. “If there is a leader, we can attempt to confirm his identity through Lucy. Our goal is still the same, Jack,” he said to Seward. “We rescue Jonathan and whoever else they’ve taken—and kill the creature who abducted them. If the abductor and this leader are one and the same, killing him can possibly scatter his followers and prevent an invasion before it happens. By then, perhaps we will have gathered enough proof of vampires to involve the authorities.”

  “If we fail—” Seward began.

  “We can’t,” I interrupted, shivering at the thought.

  “But if we do,” Seward repeated, scowling at me. “I want a safeguard. No, my colleagues won’t believe me now if I tell them an invasion of vampires is likely upon us. But I want to at least send them a wire warning them of an imminent threat to London. I’ll think of a way to word it. That way they can be vigilant and prepared.”

  Abe and I nodded our agreement. Seward visibly relaxed, though he still looked disturbed.

  “Arthur,” Abe said. Arthur had been so silent that I’d almost forgotten he was there. He looked dazed with trepidation at our exchange, and shakily met Abe’s eyes. “I need to wake Lucy to communicate through her.”

  Arthur seemed to emerge from his daze, turning towards Lucy to wake her, but she began to stir on her own. We all stilled as she sat up, turning to face us.

  I had to stifle a gasp at the sight of her. The whites of her eyes had again gone black, and she seemed to look right through us.

  “Arthur, step back,” Abe said, speaking slowly and calmly, though his voice wavered. Arthur was staring at his wife in frozen shock, but he obliged Abe, stumbling aback from the bed as Abe stepped tentatively forward, pulling the silver locket from his coat pocket. I noticed that one hand had strayed behind his back, clutching the hilt of a knife that was nestled in his back pocket.

  “Lucy,” Abe said. “Are you there?”

  “She’s gone,” Lucy expelled on a sigh, her voice light as a feather. “It’s only me now. Me and my brethren. Your Lucy will never return to you.”

  Her brethren? Dread stirred within me at her words. Arthur sucked in his breath, his face going white, while Seward stiffened, clenching his hands into fists at his sides.

  Abe was the only one of us who appeared calm. Keeping his eyes trained on her, he lifted up the locket to her eye level; but she paid it no mind, her black eyes intent on his face.

  “You have a leader,” Abe pressed. “Who is he?”

  Lucy smiled, the sight a horrible thing, revealing her unnaturally sharp teeth.

  “The last of the Old Families . . . two as one,” Lucy whispered. “All will be made new again,” she added cryptically, a delirious smile spreading across her face.

  I shuddered at her ominous words. I still wanted to ask her about Jonathan—why he’d been taken and if he was unharmed, but the threat of violence in her eyes held me back, and I was fearful for Abe. He was within striking distance of her, and she was unrestrained.

  “I know what you desire,” she continued, her voice dangerous as she looked at Abe. “But we will not be stopped.”

  “What are—” Abe began, but he abruptly went stiff, his arms limply falling to his sides, the locket clattering to the floor.

  I realized with horror that she had somehow taken control of him, and had put him under some sort of paralysis. I recalled the paralysis Abe and I had been put under the night of Father’s death. The same thing was being done to Abe now; I was certain of it.

  “Lucy!” Arthur cried, stumbling forward. “Lucy, stop it! Come back to me! Lucy!”

  But Lucy’s eyes never left Abe’s, and I saw her eyes slide hungrily to his throat.

  No, I thought in a panic, instinctively lunging forward. I was unarmed, my kukri knives were stowed in my cabin, so I moved towards the knife in Abe’s back pocket. But Arthur lurched forward to grab my arm, holding me back.

  “Let me go—” I cried, struggling in his grasp.

  “You will not harm her!” Arthur shouted.

  “Arthur, that’s not your bloody wife!” Seward shouted, darting forward to reach for Abe’s knife.

  Our commotion had caught Lucy’s attention, and her scrutiny shifted away from Abe and towards us.

  As soon as her eyes left him, Abe was released from his paralysis, and before Seward or I could reach him, he moved quickly, lunging forward to inject a syringe he had hidden in his hand into the soft flesh of her neck. She let out a vicious snarl as Seward scrambled forward to hold her down, and Abe injected her with yet another dosage of the sedative. She finally went still, her eyes glazing over before fluttering shut, her breathing painful and ragged as she fell into a deep sleep.

  Arthur sank to his knees, closing his eyes as Abe and Seward secured her wrists to the bedposts with handcuffs that Seward had brought with him. When they stepped back, Arthur spoke, still eyeing her with unease.

  “Abraham,” he whispered. “Is my wife gone?”

  Abe stepped forward, placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

  “Yes,” he replied. “I believe we just witnessed the last stage of her transformation. She is no longer your Lucy.”

  Arthur pressed his hand to his mouth and began to weep. It was a heartbreaking sight, and once again my heart ached for him as he raised tearful eyes to Abe. Yet I couldn’t disagree with Abe’s conclusion. There had been no traces of humanity in Lucy’s black eyes.

  “I had hope,” Arthur said, when his tears subsided and he climbed back to his feet. “That we could
cure her somehow.”

  “Do not blame yourself, Arthur,” Abe said, his eyes heavy with regret. “I should never have insisted that you bring her.”

  “Nor should I,” I said, feeling a pang of guilt as I recalled how I had convinced him to bring Lucy. “I’m so sorry, Arthur.”

  “Once we arrive in Calais, please allow me to pay for your passage back to London.” Abe said.

  “That will not be necessary. I–I do not believe she will make it that far. I cannot keep her restrained in the company of others. We will attract too much attention.”

  “We can find you an inn in Calais,” Abe said, after a brief pause. “Take the time you feel is necessary.”

  He met Arthur’s eyes, his dark meaning clear. Arthur was going to kill the creature that his wife had become.

  “If you need help, I can—” Abe continued with great difficulty, but Arthur held up his hand.

  “No,” Arthur said. “It has to be me. I am her husband. It . . . it will break my heart, but it is what she would have wanted.”

  My eyes slid towards Lucy’s sleeping form. In her slumber, I could see traces of the beautiful human woman she’d once been, and I was pierced with a pang of sorrow for her and Arthur. But trepidation lurked beneath my empathy. What if Jonathan’s been turned? I wondered. I had to get to him before that could happen.

  There was a knock at the door, and Abe had the wherewithal to quickly cover Lucy’s handcuffs with blankets and a pillow before Seward swung open the door.

  George stood there, looking surprised to find us all in the cabin.

  “There’s food in the wardroom,” he said, his tone polite despite his obvious puzzlement. “Captain wanted me ta inform ya the storm’s almost upon us . . . couldn’t avoid it. The wind’s pushing us off course towards the North Sea. We’ll be delayed in getting ta Calais. Rest of the journey’ll be a bit choppy.”

  I turned to glance out the small cabin window. I had been so distracted by our discussion and then Lucy’s near attack that I’d not noticed the now darkened sky and gray choppy waters of the sea. My heart plummeted. The longer our delay, the longer it would take to get to Jonathan.

  George left, and we started to file out after him, but Arthur remained behind.

  “You should not stay in here alone,” Abe said, looking anxiously at Lucy’s unconscious form. “Let Seward or I—”

  “I want to spend what little time I have left with her, even if she is lost to me,” Arthur replied, his eyes filled with anguish. “I have the morphia sedative and . . . and one of your knives just in case.”

  We reluctantly left him behind, making our way across the corridor to the wardroom. We had it to ourselves, and a small meal of coffee, biscuits, and marmalade had been set up for us at the long table, somehow managing to stay in place despite the rocking of the ship.

  As we ate, my mind kept returning to Lucy’s transformation and her ominous words.

  “What do you think Lucy meant?” I asked. “Last of the Old Families? Her brethren?”

  “I think she confirmed your theory,” Seward replied. “Those vamp—” he stopped himself, closing his eyes. “I can’t even say the bloody word. Sorry,” he added quickly to me, as soon as he uttered the oath. “Vampires are planning to take over, and they have a leader.”

  “If we could just confirm the name of their leader,” I said. “When we’re on land, perhaps we can get more information from Lu—”

  “We cannot risk communicating with her anymore,” Abe interjected. “The sedative barely worked on her and it is the strongest one I have access to. I cannot control her through hypnosis anymore.”

  I reluctantly fell silent; he was right. I had come very close to using Abe’s knife against her. But I felt a rush of helplessness. Lucy had been my only way of keeping track of Jonathan. I could only pray that she had set us in the right direction.

  “What we need to know is how to kill them,” Seward said. “Besides silver, what’re their weaknesses?”

  “The villagers in Transylvania mentioned crosses, garlic—” I began.

  “No. They may have been right about vampires, but not about the means of destroying them. Those are mere superstitions,” Abe said. “Lucy had no reaction when I held up a cross. It was the same with garlic. She took it from me and ate it. Stabbing vampires in the heart can kill them instantly. Beheading works as well. There may be—”

  Abe abruptly fell silent as Captain Harper entered the wardroom, his crinkled face marred with concern.

  “It’s going to get rougher with these winds. You’ll likely be more comfortable in the cabins. In my experience, sudden storms like these usually die down quickly. Once it does, I can get us back on course.”

  We nodded and thanked him, but I was far more worried about the delay than the choppiness of our journey.

  We obliged the captain, resolving to ride out the storm in our cabins and to get as much rest as we could before hitting land.

  Once I was alone in my cabin, I reached into my bag to remove one of Father’s journals. Since I had been unable to locate his most recent journal, I had taken several other of his journals with me, hoping to stumble upon something of importance.

  The entry I skimmed through was an account of a biology conference he attended in Brussels several months prior to his death, but there was nothing of note in the entry.

  I closed the journal, frowning. I found it odd that none of his entries mentioned his research into vampires or his trips to Transylvania—I knew he had taken several in the year prior to his death. The entries were brief and perfunctory, but Father had been a detailed observer and note-taker.

  Had he purposefully been hiding something? Prior to Clara’s revelation, I would have dismissed the thought, but now I wasn’t so certain. If so, what had he been hiding? And why?

  Fatigue settled over me, quelling my tumultuous thoughts. I wanted to keep reading, and tried to resist the pull of sleep, but I was unable to fight the weight of my exhaustion.

  I stretched out on the small bed, resting my head on the small pillow. As I drifted off, Lucy’s haunting words flitted through my mind once more. We will not be stopped.

  * * *

  When I came to, my cabin was swaying abruptly from side to side by the force of the storm and the sea. There was no window in my room, and I did not know the time.

  I groggily sat up, stiffening when I heard a strange sound. Beneath the sound of pattering rain on the ship’s hull, I could hear a low rumble outside my door. I sat perfectly still and listened as the rumbling continued.

  The sound was not rumbling . . . it was a growl. A growl that sounded eerily similar to the sound Lucy made when she tried to attack me back in London.

  Could it be Lucy? Had she gotten free?

  On edge, I looked at the door. It was locked, but I knew it wouldn’t be able to withstand much force. Panic coiled around me as I closed my eyes, struggling to recall Sofia’s words. Always use fear to your benefit, Mina. Never allow it to hinder you.

  I forced myself to my feet, and crept over to my bag, taking out my two kukri knives. I stowed one in my sleeve and kept the other in my hand. Steadying my breathing, I moved silently to the door, and placed my hand on the latch.

  I listened. I could still hear faint growling. It seemed to come from further down the corridor.

  I silently counted to three before I swung open the door, ready to fight.

  12

  Overrun

  I froze at the sight that met my eyes at the end of the corridor.

  A shipmate crouched in an animalistic position over the still, prone body of George, feasting on his blood. His teeth were sunk into George’s throat, his eyes closed with bliss as he drank, droplets of blood spilling from the sides of his mouth. It was an uncanny recreation of what I’d seen the night of Father’s murder.

  A hand clamped over my mouth and strong arms wrapped around me from behind, dragging me back into my cabin. Fear coursed through me, and once the arms relea
sed me, I whirled around, raising my kukri to strike.

  I lowered my kukri as I realized it was only Abe, looking as shaken as I felt. He carried his, Seward’s and Arthur’s bags, the straps wrapped around his shoulders, a large knife tucked into his front pocket. He placed a finger to his lips, and gently but firmly pushed me aside to close the door, pressing his body against it.

  “The captain mentioned his shipmates being ill,” Abe whispered, his face white. “That is the illness.”

  “Oh, no,” I whispered. I did recall Captain Harper mentioning ill shipmates, but I never would have thought . . .

  “How—” I began.

  “We will have to ponder that later. Right now, we need to get off this ship. There are dozens of shipmates aboard, and there is no telling how many have been transformed. Seward was not in the cabin when I awoke from my nap. Arthur and Lucy’s cabin is empty as well. Gather what you can. We must leave.”

  Reeling with shock, I moved to grab my bag, and kept my rising panic at bay. Abe handed me two knives from his bag, which I tucked securely into my bodice and my other sleeve before slinging my bag securely over my shoulder. I gave Abe a quick nod to indicate that I was ready, my kukri in hand.

  “Walk quickly. Do not run. It is my hope that we can get to the upper deck without the vampire noticing,” Abe said.

  My heart pounded wildly as Abe opened the door and we stepped out of my cabin, not daring to look behind us as we moved down the narrow corridor. The ship rocked with the force of the sea, and it took great effort not to stumble as I walked, especially given my terror. Behind us, I could hear the sickening slurping sounds as the creature continued to feast on George, and I had to suppress my nausea and revulsion at the sound.

  As we neared the stairs at the end of the corridor, a warning snarl behind us indicated that we’d been seen. I knew that we could not outrun him, and Abe seemed to share my thoughts.