Mina reluctantly played along with Dr. Van Helsing's plan to use her as a decoy only because Vlad promised her that she wouldn't be alone. Even so, the moment Van Helsing took her hand to help her into the carriage that would take them up the Borgo Pass, a shiver she couldn't suppress ran through her.
Are you certain this is the only way? Mina asked her prince through the silent bond they had perfected during the long train ride across Europe.
His warm voice was like a comforting quilt over her frayed nerves. Yes, my love, he told her. Be strong. It will be over very soon.
The doctor settled into the driver's seat, spreading his legs wide enough that one pressed against her thigh. Mina cringed inwardly.
Not soon enough.
Vlad's disgust mirrored Mina's. His thoughts of slowly tearing Van Helsing's flesh from his limbs might as well have been her own.
The mental image had the dual effects of making her mouth salivate and her stomach roll.
My princess, Vlad said, instantly comforting her. Are you certain? You and I are enough, he told her, and she felt the truth in it. We can complete the transformation the moment we are reunited. You don't have to wait for…
Yes, Mina interrupted. I do. I will not kill anything born of our love, she insisted. A small smile touched her lips. Even if I do not relish the thought of breastfeeding…
Vlad's rich laughter filled her mind and she joined in without thought.
"What is it that amuses you so?" Dr. Van Helsing asked, interrupting their silent conversation. He gave her a wary sideways glance, but it was brief; the Pass was too treacherous to let his attention stray long. Mina was glad for it. She disliked the way his eyes dragged over her, as if trying to undress her.
"I was just thinking of the Count's surprise when he realizes we have led him a merry chase," she said, the lie coming easily. Nearly every word she had spoken to the doctor since their departure from England had been a lie.
"Hmm," was his only reply.
They rode in blissful silence until the sun began its descent behind the mountains.
"We will make camp here tonight," Van Helsing insisted, pulling the carriage off the path into a clearing. He helped Mina down, then set about unhooking the horses and preparing a fire. She left him to it. The cold, fierce as it was, no longer bothered her and she found she was in no mood to help the deceitful old man.
When a blazing fire roared and the horses were fed, Van Helsing started puttering around with a pot, preparing some sort of stew that Mina definitely would not be eating. She would starve before she ate anything he offered.
Do you hunger, my love?
Mina rested a hand on her belly. It had not yet begun to swell, but she knew her prince's child grew there, already ravenous for the blood that sustained her father.
Her?
She started. I… I hadn't realized until just this moment. A daughter! Are you… are you disappointed, my prince? Didn't most royalty wish a son to carry on their line?
There was no disappointment in the bond they shared, only intense pride and love and joy. Disappointed? Vlad was incredulous. If she is anything like her mother, how could I ever be anything but overjoyed?
Mina's heart swelled. A smile spread across her lips – until the doctor stuck a bowl of foul-smelling stew under her nose.
"Garlic?" she snarled, knocking the bowl of his hand. It hit the ground. Stew splattered across the snow.
Van Helsing's smile was not kind. "It is as I suspected," he said triumphantly. "Miss Lucy was tormented by the bulb, of course, but she had been visited frequently by the beast known as Dracula while you," he leaned close, jabbing a finger in her face, "received the count's blood only once."
She was tempted to bite the odious man's fat finger off right then but reigned in her anger. Vlad's anger, on the other hand, was not as easy to temper.
I will tear that man apart, he promised savagely. Limb front limb, starting with any finger that has ever dared touch you…
Shaking with barely repressed anger, both hers and Vlad's, Mina turned her back on Van Helsing, taking a few steps away to keep from doing something that would ruin their plans. "What is your point, old man?" she snapped.
Van Helsing wouldn't be ignored. He circled Mina like an animal stalking its prey. "My point is that there is only one other conceivable option." He stopped and chuckled to himself, as if he had told some clever joke. Mina was not amused.
"Your sickness on the train confirmed my suspicions," Van Helsing continued. "You don't suffer from motion sickness, do you, Mrs. Harker?"
Both Mina and Vlad bristled at the use of her so-called married name. It was a name neither chose to recognize. She had made a promise to another, one that would not be so easily broken. Her former name was dead to her, just as her old would soon be.
Not soon enough.
Mina wasn't certain if the thought was hers or Vlad's, but it was accurate. The sooner this dreadful night was over, the sooner they could finally put their plan into action.
She was tempted to tell the old man the truth. What could it hurt? He would be dead soon, anyway. Her protective maternal instincts kicked in, stopping her. She wouldn't take any chances, not with her sweet prince's child.
Vlad sent her the mental image of thick, leathery, bat-like wings wrapping around her and the babe, protecting them, shielding them from any harm. It gave her strength and courage, making her tongue bold.
"It is no business of yours," she answered. "Nothing that happens to my body is any concern of yours, Doctor."
The old man rounded on her. Backing Mina up to the fire, he grabbed the front of her cloak in his fists and hauled her against his aging body. A shiver of fear ran through her, but Mina suppressed it. She wouldn't let him see how he affected her.
"You're very brave for a woman alone in the woods with a man," he hissed. His watery eyes were wild in the flickering light. "I could easily overpower you. If that were to happen," he warned, "everything that happened to your body would be my concern."
Bile rose to Mina's throat. She choked it back but couldn't hide the sneer of disgust that twisted her lips. With Vlad's blood pumping through her veins, she might very well be a formidable opponent… but she would rather not find out.
Vlad's anger was incandescent. Mina felt how much he wanted to be with her, to shred Van Helsing's flesh, to bathe in his blood. Underneath it all, she felt his helplessness. He couldn't be there, and that made him as angry as the man's foul threats.
"Your dear prince isn't here now," Van Helsing reminded her, echoing her own thoughts. "What's to stop me from carving that bloodsucking brat out of your womb this very moment?"
Mina felt an odd ripple in the air around her. At first, she thought that the mere mention of her prince had summoned him. Then she heard it… whispers. Female whispers, in languages Mina couldn't understand. The horses heard the noise too. They reared back, whinnying as they pulled hard against their restraints. Their distress drew Van Helsing's attention. Mina used his distraction to break free from his grip and move to the opposite side of the fire.
Vlad? What's happening?
Emotions flooded her. Shame and regret. Disgust and embarrassment. Whatever was happening, whoever the women were moving through the shadows toward them, Vlad knew them – and was deeply ashamed of that fact.
Vlad?
It was not her prince that spoke, but a woman with a voice like rain on glass. It was unnatural in mind and very, very unwelcome. She wanted to scream at them to get out of her mind – until she came to understand that they spoke not to her, but to Vlad.
Master? May we have them?
The others, one with a childlike voice and the other sultry as a summer evening, echoed her request.
Yes, Master, please.
Please let us have them!
Mina shivered. She didn't like having the women's voices in her head. Vlad's, when it finally came, was crueler than she had ever heard it. Its ferocity startled her.
No! he commanded. They are not for you!
But we hunger, Master.
You will not touch them!
The women were close now to the circle of light cast by the fire. The apparent leader of the trio leaned forward, taunting them. Her lips were blood red, and her curly hair was piled on top of her head. She reminded Mina of the mythical beast, Medusa. Her companions were no less intimidating. The sultry one licked her lips seductively while the other, more childish one, twirled her long hair between her fingers, as if it was all some innocent diversion to her.
Vlad!
She could feel his rage that these women who called him Master would disobey him. For a moment, Mina almost felt pity for them. Nothing good would repay their disloyalty, whoever they were.
Fire, Vlad told her. His voice was urgent. The fire will keep them at bay.
Mina looked to Van Helsing but he was useless, mesmerized by the lure of the seductresses. With a huff, she shoved him aside and grabbed a branch. Dipping it into the flames, Mina waited until it caught fire then, snatching the flask she knew the doctor kept about his person, she drew a circle with whiskey in the snow around them and lit it.
The vampire women, baring their fangs, snarled their displeasure. Van Helsing was finally released from their spell. He fell into a useless heap on the freezing ground, mumbling prayers to himself. Mina barely spared him a glance. Instead, she watched the other women. Their hunger denied, they fell upon the horses. The animals screams choked the air as their throats were ripped open.
Oh, how Mina wanted to fall to her knees and weep like that fool, Van Helsing! No. She couldn't. She couldn't afford to let her guard down. It was up to her to keep herself, her child, and her tormenter alive. At least for the night.
My love? Mina instinctively reached for her prince but found an impossible distance between them. It was as if a vast ocean had opened, driving them apart. That, more than anything else that had happened that night, frightened Mina. Please, she begged, still reaching for him, speak to me.
Mina felt his turmoil, but Vlad still did not respond.
Tell me, she insisted. Who are these women?
Vlad finally answered, his voice weary. Mina felt how deep that weariness went. She wanted to sooth him, to chase away the darkness that threatened to drag him away from her. She wanted to – but she couldn't. The words he spoke hurt too much.
They are my brides.