Powers of Darkness

by Hans De Roos

  His voice had a strange undertone, and when I looked up at his face it was twisted in a malignant, mocking grimace, but he instantly altered it to a friendly smile. I saw that the object he took from his breast pocket was an ancient ring with a heart of jewels and a large ruby in the center. The stones shone in the light from the wax candles; its multi-colored rays were so strong and piercing to the eye that it made me dizzy just looking at it. I almost blacked out.

  I struggled to keep my eyes off this trinket that possessed such magical power, but when I finally succeeded in looking away, the enchantment was gone, vanished—but I was not the same afterwards. I felt obliged to accept the small pouch, which I discovered contained golden coins.

  “You honor me too much,” I said, trying not to show any emotion. “I cannot accept these glorious gifts.”

  “Do not mention it,” he said in a firmer tone. “It is my decision, and it is my pleasure knowing this family heirloom is in your possession. Wear it and think of Dracula. Many have worn it before you and regarded it as a lucky charm of sorts. You Englishmen do not believe in such things, but wear it anyway, and I wish you much luck with it. You have yet to enjoy life; you are a handsome man, young and elegant. Goodbye now, dear Thomas Harker. If we do not see each other again—and that may well be—then you have Dracula’s blessing. Until tomorrow then, at noon.”

  He clutched my hand so firmly, it felt as though he had fists of iron; his grip was as cold as ice or polished metal. My hand went numb, and I felt the dullness creep up my arm. I wanted to shove him away from me but managed to restrain myself. Then he walked to the door.

  “Wear the ring,” he said again. “Do it for me—and think of Dracula.” He kissed his fingers according to old tradition and left.280

  Fjallkonan #2 |19 January 1901

  I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO BELIEVE. WAS IT POSSIBLE I MIGHT get away from here? Were my suspicions all uncalled for? If anything the Count said is to be taken seriously, I should be on the train to Budapest tomorrow night, and everything I have gone through here will remain an incomprehensible dream.

  I sat at the table and thanked God that I’d now escaped all danger. Then I began to pack my luggage and prepare for my journey.

  The ring was lying on the table and I felt compelled to see whether it would fit me—it was as if some invisible force were drawing me to it. As soon as I picked it up, it felt as though a burning current were streaming through my veins. Half unconscious, I fell onto the chair and threw the ring onto the table. I regained full awareness again soon thereafter.

  I lay in the chair until late at night but eventually stood up, walked to my bedroom, and went soundly to sleep. When I woke up, I saw with dread: it was one o’clock! I had overslept! I rushed to my feet and dashed off to the dining room windows.

  In the courtyard, nothing stirred. The Tatars had all left by now and the luggage that had been there was gone too. The Count’s calèche was not there either.

  I ran down to the hall to find the driver and tell him I was ready to travel, but the gate was locked with a heavy bar in front of it. There was no hope of getting out.

  Upon my return to the dining room I noticed that no food had been served on the table. I hurried into the octagonal room and stepped on the button to the secret door, hoping to escape the castle this way, but here, too, everything was securely locked.

  I realized now I was imprisoned all alone inside the castle, like a mouse in a trap.

  The whole building looked deserted. The Count’s writing desk was empty and the bookshelves mostly bare. The stationery had also been taken away; there was nothing left but the ring.

  It turned six–, seven–, eight o’clock. Dusk was approaching. Absolute stillness ruled the castle. I was weak from hunger now. I tried to force open the secret door but failed.

  I no longer doubted that the Count had locked me in intentionally, so that I would starve to death in this horrible tomb, or meet a fate even worse.

  The darker it became, the more my mental vision sharpened, allowing much to enter my mind that I’m not writing down here. The Powers of Darkness281 have taken counsel against me—I do not know for what purpose, but I see and know the danger. It seems as though I can hear someone whispering in my ear … I know that she is not far away from me … white arms, lovely lips. “When I am gone, you may have him,” the Count had said—or had it been a dream?

  No, I will not sell my soul! I do not hear these false voices—I want to be a man.282

  If you ever read these lines, Wilma, then you know that I am dead, and that I have always loved you and been faithful to you.

  ___________________

  I have now decided what I’m going to do. I’ve torn up my bedsheets and braided them into a rope, which I hope will hold me. With this rope I intend to let myself down from the window once daylight has come, and I’ll try to reach the ledge. It’s risky, but it might work. If I fail, nothing worse than death can happen to me.

  It’s getting lighter: dawn is breaking.

  I have attached the rope; I am ready now.

  And so, a final goodbye, dear Wilma. Please forgive me for all that I may have done to you, and you may be certain that I have always loved you and no one but you.

  PART II

  Fjallkonan #3 | 25 January 1901

  CHAPTER ONE

  Lucia Western

  WHILE THOMAS HARKER HOVERED BETWEEN HOPE and horror in the castle of Count Dracula, his beloved fiancée, Wilma, spent her time at the bathing resort at Whitby, on the east coast of England. Wilma was a teacher at one of the larger board schools,283 and this year she was staying with her old school friend Lucia Western during her summer holiday. It was Wilma’s habit to keep a diary, just like her fiancé, and most of what is told in the second part of this story is taken from her journal.284

  Wilma’s friend Lucia was a delightful girl and everyone loved her, not least of all the members of the male sex. She had a very kind and amusing manner, but there was also a vain side to her, and she particularly wanted men to fancy her. Her mother was a widow and wealthy, but she was in poor health, suffering from a serious heart condition, which meant that she had to avoid all strong emotion and turbulence. Lucia was also of a rather frail constitution, as she had unusually sensitive feelings and, ever since she was a child, tended to walk in her sleep, which was blamed on her father being promiscuous.285

  A few weeks earlier Lucia had been engaged to a young man named Arthur Holmwood, the eldest son and heir of Lord Godalming. Before this, his friends John Seward—a famous physician and director of an asylum in Parfleet, one of the suburbs of London286—and Quincey Morris, a millionaire from America,287 had also proposed to her; they were both madly in love with the girl, but she hadn’t accepted either proposal. Nevertheless they were still fond of her and remained afterwards close friends with Arthur as before.

  The girls read together, worked together and walked together to entertain themselves. Most often they went to the churchyard together. It was on a hill and offered the best view of the sea, so they would often sit there around sunset to enjoy the beautiful panorama.

  Wilma was, however, often anxious and agitated; she was worried about Thomas. She had received but one letter from him after his arrival at Count Dracula’s castle.288

  She’d written to Thomas’s employer, Mr. Hawkins, asking him to enquire about Thomas with the Consuls in Vienna and Budapest.289

  CHAPTER TWO

  The Storm in Whitby

  ON THE 4TH DAY OF AUGUST THERE WAS A VIOLENT windstorm in Whitby, so furious that no one could remember ever having witnessed such weather. The gale struck at midnight and the sea became like a boiling geyser.290 Amid the shaft of light from the Whitby lighthouse, a large schooner was observed with all its sails up. People assumed it was the same ship that had been spotted some days before; it had been watched with curiosity because of its strange steering. Along its route into the harbor there were rocks that had already damaged many vessels, and as the wi
nd blew the ship directly towards these cliffs, it became apparent the schooner was doomed to crash. But suddenly the squall settled, and the ship slipped into the harbor—as if it had suddenly regained control—and ran onto dry land. Crowds gathered down by the seaside. And then, in the flash from the lighthouse, they saw that a dead man was tied to the steering wheel, his head rolling to and fro with the rocking of the ship.

  CHAPTER THREE

  From the Logbook

  WHEN THE SCHOONER WAS EXAMINED, IT WAS found to be a Russian vessel from Varna, baptized Demeter. It was loaded with boxes, each filled with earth—according to the freight bill they were being shipped for engineering experiments. Nobody was found on board, except for the dead man at the steering wheel. Both his hands were tied and a rosary was wrapped around them. In his pocket was a bottle containing a slip of paper that proved to be an addendum to the ship’s logbook.

  The logbook reported:

  The moment the ship set sail, the crew had been unusually sullen. The Captain and the first mate tried to find out the reason, but the men wouldn’t answer. They did, however, intimate that there was something foul aboard, and they crossed themselves. The ship hadn’t sailed very far when one night the watchman disappeared.

  The next day one of the crew-members told the Captain that a stranger was onboard the ship, and some other deckhands also believed they’d noticed a stowaway.

  The Captain ordered his men to inspect the whole ship carefully, but they didn’t find a clue.

  The ship passed by Gibraltar and for a few days the stars were merciful—but then another sailor disappeared one night during his watch.

  The following day the ship entered the English Channel and two more crew-members went missing.

  One night the Captain was awakened by an awful sound. He ran up on deck and found the steersman there, who had also heard the noise. The watchman was gone.

  The following night the vessel entered the North Sea, and there, yet another crew-member went missing. The Captain called on the steersman, who came up on deck, deathly pale with fear. He whispered to the Captain, “The Devil himself is on board. I have seen him; he is tall and very thin,291 pale as a corpse but very dark around the eyes. He stood looking out over the sea. I snuck up on him from behind and ran a knife through his body, but hit nothing but air.”

  The steersman said he wouldn’t give up until he found him, then went with his light and tools into the freight hold to examine the boxes.

  Suddenly the Captain heard a terrible sound coming from belowdecks. The steersman came up again, his face disfigured with fear.

  “I know how things stand now, but the sea shall deliver me—I have no other way out.” Thereon he threw himself overboard, before the Captain could get ahold of him.

  The Captain had also written, “I have seen him—the steersman was right to throw himself into the sea—but the Captain cannot leave his ship. Instead, I’ve decided to tie myself to the steering wheel.”

  Fjallkonan #5 | 9 February 1901

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Baron Székely

  THE MORNING AFTER THE GHOST SHIP STRANDED ITSELF on the sands,292 an old skipper was found dead on a bench in the cemetery. Judging from the expression on his face, he’d died of fright. He used to talk with the two young ladies, and it was a real blow for Lucia. She grew even more apprehensive than before and started sleepwalking again.

  One evening Wilma walked with Lucia along the sea and up to the cemetery, as they often did. There they met Lucia’s uncle, named Morton, who was accompanied by a middle-aged foreigner of very peculiar appearance.

  Morton introduced him as Baron Székely. He was a tall brawny man, with greying black hair, a black moustache, and black peering eyes. He started up a conversation with Lucia straight off and seemed to enjoy talking to her.293

  The following night, Wilma was awakened when Lucia climbed from her bed and stepped to the window. She pulled the curtain aside and stood in front of the window in her undergarments,294 her hair blowing in the wind,295 saying, “I come, I come, but the door is locked.” At that moment, she tried to throw herself out of the window, but Wilma had arrived by her side just in time and put her arms around her friend, pulling her back to bed. Lucia didn’t calm down for a long time. She couldn’t sleep and muttered time and again, “I wonder what he wanted from me.” Wilma gave her a small glass of wine, after which she nodded off and slept well for what remained of the night.

  The next day the girls found Baron Székely in the cemetery. He appeared to be in a very talkative mood. A group of Tatars (Gypsies)296 had just arrived in town, and the Baron told the girls several things about the habits of these wandering people in his home country. He said that there are countless natural forces and laws known only to a few, and that the Tatars were familiar with a variety of such secret ways.

  He told them that women are endowed with the greatest and most valuable powers of all, and that the Tatar women also know how to wield them. “I am convinced,” he said to Lucia, “that you have those talents as well, and it’s up to you to use them.”

  Wilma noticed that Lucia was completely distraught by this remark.297

  CHAPTER FIVE

  The Tatars

  MANY THOUGHTS CAME TO THE GIRLS’ MINDS, AND THEY became very curious after their conversation with the Baron. The next day they visited the group of vagrants, who had pitched their tents outside of town.

  Wilma suspected that the Tatars had expected them, as they were welcomed with much hospitality.298 But Lucia was treated with the most distinction—the leader of the group even kissed the hem of her dress.299 He then instructed his interpreter to ask her whether she would like her humble servant to do anything for her.300 She answered, saying, “I’ve been told that your people are more knowledgeable in certain fields than people of other nations; it would be my pleasure to learn more about this.” The chief went into his tent and returned with a young girl. She was wrapped in a gold-seamed, yellow silk shawl. She handed Lucia a crystal ball and asked her to look into it. Lucia did so, and she saw her fiancé, Arthur, kissing a young woman sitting beside him. The next day Lucia received a letter from Arthur, in which he told her that his sister, Mary, had come to visit him the night before. Mary had just been married to a Romanian man, an assistant to Prince Koromezzo, the Austrian ambassador to London. Mary’s relatives had done everything in their power to prevent this marriage from happening, as the Prince had a ruinous reputation.

  Mary and her husband had left for Constantinople immediately after their wedding.301

  CHAPTER SIX

  Lucia’s Illness and Death

  AFTER THIS VISIT WITH THE TATARS, LUCIA’S CONDITION worsened more and more; she lost her interest in other people and mainly kept to herself. She then travelled to London and began preparations for her wedding. Baron Székely had also arrived in London and visited her often for conversation.302

  She couldn’t sleep at night and became paler with each passing day. When Arthur came to visit her he was shocked at her appearance. He sent for Dr. Seward, but the physician found himself unable to help her. And so Dr. Seward wrote to a professor in Amsterdam, named Van Helsing, who was world-renowned for his research on nervous diseases. The Dutch specialist gave Lucia medical advice, and for a while her health indeed seemed to improve. But it wasn’t long before it deteriorated again, and the professor was called on once more.303 He said that Lucia must be suffering from anemia and that she wouldn’t recover unless they could transfuse blood from a healthy person into her veins.

  The doctors did so, and with this treatment Lucia recuperated somewhat. Unfortunately, the Dutch professor then had to return home. The following day Dr. Seward drove to Lucia’s house and found both the front and back doors shut tightly—even though it was past midday. Suddenly, he heard someone running from the garden side of the house. It was the gardener and one of his workmen. They were breathless with terror and hardly able to utter a word. Finally, the doctor could make out from their st
ammering that the housemaid had been killed and that her blood-soaked body lay outside, in the garden.304 Upon further investigation, he saw that the window to Lucia’s bedroom had been broken, and he assumed something terrible awaited him. He looked through the window and saw that everything looked as it had before—except for the bed, where he saw Lucia and her mother, both seemingly lifeless. He reached his hand through the broken window, opened it, and wriggled in, but he told the men to wait for him outside. When he came to the bed he saw that Lucia’s mother was deceased—she seemed to have died from sheer terror—and Lucia lay motionless over her; he couldn’t tell whether or not she was alive. He didn’t know what to do, but just then he heard a carriage pull up to the house. He asked the men outside to welcome their visitor: Professor Van Helsing had arrived.

  Both doctors examined Lucia and discovered she was still alive. The professor ordered that she be given a warm bath, so they went looking for a maidservant, but all of them were fast asleep and couldn’t be wakened, no matter what the men tried. They then sent for the gardener’s wife and daughter, who came to prepare a bath for Lucia. After several attempts, the physicians finally managed to resuscitate her. They wanted to give her another transfusion but were faced with a new dilemma: from whom should they draw the blood? Both Seward and Van Helsing had been subject to massive blood loss during the previous procedures.