I closed my eyes. I had wanted to know how she died, needed to know, but the circumstances of her death were even more horrible than I could comprehend. I felt no anger towards Szabina for her actions in hiding the true nature of Mother’s death—it was clear that it had been Mother’s wish. Instead, I only felt a strange numbness. Everything I believed about myself was false; I was heir to a dark legacy that I could no longer deny.
Without a word, I got to my feet and walked out of the church, ignoring Abe as he called after me. Both Abe and Gabriel trailed me as I continued through the central courtyard, past the two vampires who stood guard by the village gate, and into the forest.
Now, they hovered behind me as the numbness dissipated and I began to weep. I wept for my parents, who had both died at the hands of vampires. For my years of ignorance. For Jonathan, whose fate I desperately feared for.
But I did feel an odd sense of completion. The gaps in my knowledge of the past were filled, and I no longer desired my previous ignorance. I felt like a blind woman who had just received the gift of sight after wandering for years in the dark. For the first time, I truly knew who I was and what I had to do. The sudden surge of determination that swelled in my chest was so strong that it overpowered my other tumultuous emotions, and a sort of calm settled over me.
I straightened, wiping away my tears, turning to face Abe and Gabriel. Gabriel still looked grief-stricken, his eyes glistening with tears, while Abe’s face was heavy with worry.
“I have an idea,” I whispered.
“My mother was able to release herself from the thrall, was she not?” I asked Szabina. “She’s the one you were referring to.”
We had returned to the church, where Szabina and Radu had remained, speaking quietly to each other. Seward still sat in his pew, looking dazed from the latest revelations. He rose from his seat as we entered.
“Yes,” Szabina replied. “She was the only human I knew who could do such a thing. It made her invaluable in the fight against Vlad.”
“Vlad and his followers hate the Ghyslaine family and it appears many of them somehow know that I’m a descendant.”
“You have the look of your mother, and some vampires can smell it in your blood,” Szabina replied with a nod.
“They can smell her ancestry in her blood?” Abe asked, intrigued.
“Yes. Every human has a smell—from their skin, their blood. Families share similar smells. It is not common, but some vampires do have a greater sense of smell than others; it can be passed on to other vampires they create.”
“Is it possible that I’m one of the last descendants of this Ghyslaine family?” I asked Szabina, trying to keep my voice steady as I drew everyone’s focus back to me. There was no time for Abe’s scientific musings about the vampiric sense of smell. Not with what I was planning.
“Yes,” Szabina acknowledged.
“Then when we attack the fortress, I should be used as bait to draw them out,” I continued. “It may be the best way we have of entering.”
“No!” Gabriel protested. “After what we have just learned, how can you even think of—”
“Nothing has changed, Gabriel. I’m now even more desperate to rescue Jonathan—and avenge our mother and my father. We must find a way in without a massive loss of life. We don’t have the numbers to just charge forward. If their focus is on me, they will send their forces out and give the rest of you the time you need to enter. Once we have them scattered—”
“We can enter the fortress in waves and attack,” Radu said, completing my thought.
“Radu,” Gabriel breathed. “You’re not—”
“Mina is right,” Radu interrupted. “We do need a way to lower their defenses. It is what I have been discussing with the others. We have already considered using some of the human villagers as bait if they are willing. Are you certain about this, Mina?”
“Yes.” There was no hesitation in my voice, though dread stirred in my stomach at the thought, dread that I quickly pushed aside. I had to do whatever it took to get Jonathan away from those monsters.
Gabriel moved to stand in front of me, gripping my shoulders, his desperate eyes searching mine.
“Our mother didn’t want us to know about any of this,” he said. “Your father never wanted you to return to Transylvania. If you put yourself in Vlad’s path, you are defying what they—”
“What would you have me do? Go back to London and let these creatures take over Europe and the rest of the world? My parents’ secrets didn’t keep me, nor anyone safe. It only prolonged the inevitable. I will no longer hide from this. I must do what I can to destroy Vlad and save my fiancé. Stop trying to dissuade me!”
Gabriel dropped his hands from my shoulders, his face turbulent.
“I know you made a promise to her, Gabriel. But I must do this. I’m doing this for our mother—for all of us. I’m finishing what she started. Please understand,” I said, my tone softening.
Gabriel’s eyes darkened and he took a step back from me.
“I have failed her,” he whispered, turning to leave the church.
“I will discuss this new plan with the others. Everyone will need to know their roles,” Radu said after Gabriel’s abrupt departure. Szabina nodded, giving me a long look before she and Radu filed out of the church.
Abe, Seward, and I were now alone. I sank back down into the pew, staring dully out of the windows which illuminated the interior of the church with the fading light of the sun. Abe and Seward were silent, but I could feel their gazes on my skin.
“If you’re going to try to change my mind—” I began, turning to face them.
“We know better,” Seward interjected, giving me a small smile. “I’m going to see what I can do to help the others. I’ll leave you alone.”
Abe lingered for a moment before following Seward, and I sat alone in the stillness of the church. I thought of my mother, Isabel Ghyslaine, the mysterious and shadowy figure from my early childhood, who had now taken on a fully formed image in my mind. She had been brave, strong, loyal, and loving. How had she managed to keep so many secrets? To know of the dark world of vampires that lurked unnoticed in the midst of humans, an invisible storm cloud that hovered above the entire world. How isolated she must have felt towards the end of her life, to bear such a secret alone. She had a brief taste of normalcy and happiness with her children and her husband, before it was snatched from her. The tragedy of her short life and death suddenly hit me with a force so strong that I keeled over in the pew, wrapping my arms around my body.
I closed my eyes against the tears that rose, sharply blinking them away. The time for tears had passed. My mother’s burden had become my own, and after years of ignorance, it was time for me to complete what Isabel Ghyslaine had set out to do with the other members of the Order of the Dragon. Destroy Vlad Alexandru Draculesti, and those that followed him.
5
Monsters And Darkness
I dashed through the thicket of trees, their branches whipping past as I hurtled by. Behind me, several vampires gave chase, rapidly closing in on me. I skidded to a stop as I reached a small clearing, where Szabina was waiting, crouched in the familiar stance of attack.
Trying to steady my breathing, I raised my kukri, but Szabina lunged forward before I could, pinning me down beneath her as she bared her elongated fangs. A strangled scream caught in my throat as she leaned in close, her fangs a mere inch from my throat.
She released me, springing back to her feet as she looked down at me with grave disappointment.
“You are dead,” she said wearily. “Mina, you are not using your instincts.”
I struggled to my feet, discouraged. Though this was just a training session, the chase had left me shaken. Szabina and the other vampires had been training me for hours now, and I could feel the heat of the midday sun penetrating the thick shade of trees, heating my flushed and sweating skin.
When I left the church the evening before, Radu and Szabina announced
that training would continue the next day. I had eaten a dinner of mamaliga—a sort of porridge—and leftover vegetable stew in Szabina’s home with Abe and Seward, before Elisabeta led us to our quarters for the night. Abe and Seward stayed in one of the homes with Gabriel and two other male villagers while I stayed in Elisabeta’s home. She insisted that as the guest, I use the bedroom and waved away my protests as she left to sleep in the main room.
Despite my turbulent emotions, I managed to fall asleep quickly, with Jonathan’s photo clutched in my hand.
As I ate breakfast with the others the next morning, Radu informed us that the scouts had returned and it was time to continue preparing for the next day’s attack. He detailed the plan of penetrating the fortress, emphasizing my role as the first to approach. Multiple stunned gazes fell on me at the announcement, and I had to force myself to maintain a stoic countenance. Since I was so integral to the initial attack, Radu insisted that I train on my own and separately from the others.
I had now spent hours under Szabina’s tutelage, who trained me with several other vampires from the village. I had felt Anara’s eyes on me that morning, her expression indiscernible, but to my relief, I overheard Radu inform her that she was not to be included in my training after her actions the day before.
With Szabina and the others, I had practiced my flight on foot and on horseback, as well as warding off attacking vampires with my kukri, the stakes, and the wolfsbane. But I still felt desperately unprepared, and tears of frustration welled in my eyes as I dusted myself off.
“You do not have to do this,” Szabina said, assessing my distress. “We can find another way to enter the—””
“No,” I cut her off, wiping at my eyes. As terrified as I was, I knew that using me as bait was the best way to weaken their initial defense. “I can do it.”
“Then we need to keep training,” Szabina said. “There is no time for rest.”
She had barely completed the sentence when I was once again thrown back against a nearby tree, unable to move. She had placed me into a thrall. She crept towards me, her fangs bared and her eyes lethal, while the other hovering vampires watched in silence.
Though I knew Szabina would not harm me the way Anara had, fear stirred in me as the paralysis took hold. I concentrated on her eyes, as I had with Anara. And once again, I saw a flurry of images. It was like being an active part of a waking dream.
I was a young woman, encircled in the arms of a handsome male vampire. We were standing in a darkened forest clearing, and I felt a combination of both love and sorrow as his head dipped towards my throat, his fangs sinking into the soft flesh.
I was released from the hold, throwing out my arms to break my fall as I plummeted to the ground. Szabina stumbled back from me, her trembling hands pressed to the sides of her head. I took advantage of her disorientation to leap to my feet, my kukri outstretched, placing the blade against her neck as I evenly met her eyes. Szabina still looked out of sorts, but she gave me a small nod of approval.
“Nikolaus, Kudret,” she said, turning towards two of the hovering vampires. I recognized them as the vampires Radu had sent on the scout to the fortress. Though one was light and the other dark—Nikolaus with light brown hair and blue eyes, Kudret with dark hair and brown eyes—they could have almost been brothers, with their similar muscular builds and striking handsome features. “Please continue her training. I–I will return.”
“I would like to help,” Gabriel said quietly.
I whirled in surprise as Gabriel stepped from the cluster of trees behind us. He had not said a word to me since our row in the church yesterday, and his face was conciliatory as he approached.
“If . . . if it’s not a bother,” he added.
“No,” I said, giving him a small smile. “Not at all.”
Szabina gave him a nod as she left, and we remained in the clearing until the sun began its descent towards the horizon. Gabriel and the others trained me on how to evade attacks, practice offensive moves, and even how to disguise my scent with dirt. By the time Szabina returned to the clearing to end the training, my limbs were sore and screaming with protest.
“You have done well, Mina,” Szabina said as the other vampires began to file out of the clearing. “Sleep well tonight. You need to rest.”
I watched her file out of the clearing after the others, wondering about the images I had seen. Who was that male vampire? What was her connection to him?
“Mina,” Gabriel said, coming to stand at my side. “I want to apologize for—”
“There is no need,” I said, shaking my head. “You promised our mother you would keep me safe. I understand your concern.”
“It is not just my promise to her. You are my only family. I worry for you as my sister. I will not try to dissuade you again, but please be careful tomorrow. Vlad, Ilona and his followers are vicious.”
“I know,” I said, though a chill swept through me at his words. “I’ll be careful. I promise.”
“Mother said you would be headstrong. I underestimated how much,” Gabriel said, his lips twitching with a wry smile as we headed back towards the village. “She said you weren’t like other little girls—you had an insatiable curiosity, an intelligence beyond your years. She seemed to know you would not have a common life.”
“Gabriel?” I asked, stopping as we reached the front gate of the village. He looked down at me with a raised brow. “How . . . how was she?”
I had been meaning to ask Gabriel about my mother, but my previous fear of him and shock at his very existence had prevented me from doing so. Even with all that Szabina had told me, I was still hungry for any knowledge about her.
“Kind. Loving. She had great humor. I remember once when I was still a boy, she came to the house to take me into town. She bought me a sweet ice and found a group of children for me to play street football with. I wasn’t often around other children. They didn’t seem to care that I looked different, and it was the most fun I’d had in quite some time. I won the first round, and when I looked over to see if Mother saw . . . there were tears in her eyes. I thought I’d done something to upset her. But when I asked her what was the matter, she assured me she was all right,” Gabriel said, looking haunted by the memory. “There were many times when she was like that. Distant. Sad. I still wonder what she was thinking about when she seemed to lose herself.”
His voice trailed off on the last word, and he turned from me to enter the gate, his body taut with renewed grief. As I watched him go, a powerful thought swept through my mind. I will avenge her for you. I will avenge her for us both.
During dinner in Szabina’s home, I ate in tense silence with Abe, Seward, and Gabriel. I had no doubt they were as nervous about the next day’s attack as I was. Radu stepped in to urge us to get as much rest as possible; we would be awoken to leave when it was still dark. Before he left, his gaze found mine and held it, as if searching for any hesitation, but I steadily returned his look.
When we were alone, Seward solemnly lifted his cup of water, looking at each one of us.
“A drink,” he said. “To killing vampires. Ah, I mean—” he faltered, his eyes straying to Gabriel, his cheeks filling with color.
“It is no bother,” Gabriel said, amused.
“To defeating evil vampires,” Abe corrected, giving Seward a rueful smile.
We lifted our cups to meet his own. As everyone drank, I set mine down.
“I wanted to thank you all,” I said. “For taking this journey with me. I was mad to think I could do this on my own.”
“You and I started this journey together, before we were even aware,” Abe replied. “Years ago, in that forest where your father was murdered. It is apropos that we shall finish it together.”
“Let’s pray we can kill those bloody things,” Seward said. “God help us if we fail.”
We headed to our quarters, Abe lingering behind to fall into step beside me as Seward and Gabriel went ahead.
“Are you well
enough to fight tomorrow?” I asked, my eyes flickering down to his side with concern.
“Yes. I was quite all right during the training, the wound has healed well and I no longer feel any pain. You fret too much, Mina,” Abe replied, giving me a wry look. “I should be the one worried about you.”
“I’ll be all right,” I said hastily, looking up at the night sky that was blanketed with stars. I stopped walking, taking it in as a sudden memory assailed me.
“Remember the night rides we took with Father?” I asked. “To try and locate what specimens we could find in the dark?”
“Yes,” he replied, with a fleeting smile.
“The stars on those nights in the countryside, it was such a beautiful sight,” I mused, feeling an ache at the memory. We had not yet heard rumors of wolf attacks in the Transylvanian countryside, the tales of strigoi had seemed like superstitious nonsense, and the future was still rife with wonder and possibility. I had no idea of the monsters in our midst—the monsters I would be forced to confront.
“Many could die tomorrow, Mina,” Abe said bluntly. His words sent me careening back to the present, and I whirled to face him, taken aback by his grim words. “I could die.”
“No, Abe,” I whispered. “Do not say such things. We have a plan. It will mitigate loss of life. You are certainly not going to die tomorrow. I won’t hear of it.”
“This whole journey we have been perilously close to death—Arthur’s demise proves it. Tomorrow we will be closer to it than we ever have before. If I do die tomorrow,” he continued gravely, taking a step closer to me, his voice dropping to an intimate whisper. “Rescue your fiancé. Take him home to London, marry him, and live the life your mother wanted you to live. Away from monsters and darkness. Live in the light of the sun. After all that you have been through, I want you to be happy, Mina. Your happiness is all that I have ever wanted.”
I could tell there was something he wasn’t telling me, something that he dare not say aloud, and I suspected I knew what it was. He was studying me intently, waiting for my response—needing my promise, as Arthur had on that boat in the North Sea.
Fortress of Blood (Mina Murray Book 2) Page 4