Chapter Thirty-Two: A Heartless Devil
When you wake up, it is dusk. You leap quickly to your feet and run to the window. Looking down, you see that the street is deserted. Where did they all go? You wonder. Shrugging, you exit the room and head for the ballroom. The entire plan is formulated in your mind now.
Once you reach the ballroom, you pace it spasmodically in the darkness. You are waiting for the Count's arrival. You hear a soft flutter in the shadows, and then feel piercing eyes regarding you. He is here. You continue pacing, acting as if you have not noticed he is there. He appears behind you, and you nearly walk into him.
"Have you brought the antidote?" You demand, looking at him. He pulls a wrapped package from inside his coat.
"As you have requested, my lady," he says. He bows, presenting it. You open it to check for the syringe. It is there. He had fulfilled a request at last!
"Oh Vladislaus, you are all-too generous," You say, smiling sweetly at him and tracing his jaw line with your hand. He grabs you by the waist, pulling you closer.
"Now what of my reward?" He whispers seductively, his charm slipping into your ears. His eyes look you over, and you can practically see the lustful thoughts in his eyes.
"You shall have it," you say softly, "Meet me in my chamber. First I must get this to Van Helsing." He kisses voraciously at your neck, nipping slightly, before kissing your hand decorously.
"Very well my darling. I will await you in your room," he says. He vanishes again into the shadows. You shiver, his touch still lingering upon you. You race to the library now and see a sleeping Carl slumped at the desk. You grab him and shake him awake. He wakes with a drowsy expression twisting his face.
"Carl, wake up!" You demand, and slap him.
"OW!" He yelps, nearly falling over.
"Where is Van Helsing?" You ask.
"I don't know…what time is it?" Asks Carl with a yawn.
"It is past dusk!" You say anxiously.
"Oh dear, I have been asleep for a while," comments Carl, looking off.
"Look, Carl. Here is the antidote. You must get it into Van Helsing straightaway, understand?" You say, handing him the antidote.
"I will not fail you," Carl says, taking the antidote and saluting you rather humorously. You barely laugh however.
"Good luck Carl…and if I don't see you again…well…try to make sure Van Helsing saves everything," you say sadly, "And when you see him…tell him I love him." Carl looks at you, speechless, and you smile bitterly, exiting the library once more. Now you must engage in dangerous activity.
Hesitantly, you walk back to your bedchamber. It is time to go on your full guard now. Of course, he thinks you are simply surrendering your body to him. How wrong he is…you smile rather maliciously to yourself and enter the room after praying for strength.
You do not see him, of course. But you did not expect to see him anyway. He likes games; he just does not like to admit it. You stand in the doorway for a moment, looking around the dim room. You are trying to figure out which direction he will come from when he attacks you. You sense him, but he is not close by. He is probably planning on a random appearance then. Unalarmed by this, you walk in, shutting the door, and lighting more candles.
More light will fade your anxiety. After all, you are near terrified already. You go to the window to look out at the darkness. The streets appear to be rather silent. You wonder what is going on with the townspeople and the vampires. The door creaks open and you turn your head slightly, watching it close again. He is here but you do not see him.
"Such a beautiful, calm night," he purrs. You whip around to face him. He is leaning on the wall beside you, fingers trailing across the curtain as he looks out into the street. Suddenly, he grabs the curtain and slams it shut, leaving only the candlelight. You back away slowly, trying to desperately hide the fact that you are unnerved. He finally turns his attention to you, amused. "You look… absolutely stunning this evening, my dear Mira," he says, smiling viciously and approaching you.
"Th-thank you," You say, nodding and straightening up.
"I hope I have not…frightened you," he continues with the vicious smile. You feel a hatred rising in you; a hatred that wants to wipe that evil smirk right off his expressionless face. You force it down, remembering your plans.
"I was slightly startled, is all," you say.
"You shouldn't have been," he hisses softly, "You knew I was coming." He draws close to you now. He is like ice against your fire, and you hate it. Yet he makes you feel so helpless and wanted inside. "You are…" He breathes in your neck, "Stunning. Intoxicating. Everything I have always wanted in death." You close your eyes against his breath as he drives his spell against your will. "None of my brides could ever have your vigor…your beauty…your…" He whispers close in your ear, "…stubborn-ness." He grabs you and throws you on the bed, coming after you with a vicious snarl. You gasp as his nails tear at your dress, and back up against the headboard, looking terrified. He smiles viciously again and slowly approaches, dropping a clump of torn silk to the floor.
And then the fighting erupts. You hear the awesome sounds of battle cries in the streets and horrible snarls, mingled with the clash of metal and gunfire. The Count is momentarily distracted and instinctively flies to the window, looking out in horror. He slowly turns and faces you, a frown deepening on his face. He starts quivering, and you know he is about to explode.
"You little wench," he hisses softly. You tremble, staring at him through wide eyes. You glance down and realize that you are bleeding from the abdomen, but then turn and quickly stare back at him. He struggles to recompose but a low growl begins to rise in his throat, strengthening into a snarl, and then a full-out roar as he bares his fangs. You scream and your hand flies underneath the bed to grab your sword.
He pins you down, gripping you firmly by the throat. "So you think that by conspiring with the people of Vaseria, you are going to save them all by getting them killed by my minions!" He snarls, looking at you through wild eyes, "Do they know how much of a fool their leader is? You are no threat at all! You are driven by your fears and yet you say you have none!" You gasp against his grasp, choking, trying to breathe, your sword still loosely at hand. He grins maliciously. "And now I will spite them all by making you my bride, Mira!" His teeth lunge forward at you and weakly; you thrust your sword at his chest.
He catches his breath, falling back for a moment. You notice that you still have the sword in your hand but fall back, gasping for breath. He growls and tears off his coat and shit. You see a glint of gold and stare. It is the plate from the archive tower!
"I knew I should have expected some ill-conceived attack from you, my dear Mira!" He laughs, grabbing your sword and flinging it carelessly aside. He crawls forward, his eyes catching fire in the dim candlelight. He throws the plate aside, revealing his pale chest and abdomen. You cannot help but notice that he has quite the body, but you quickly snap out of it. You need to kill him, and fast.
You roll out of his way, your hand sliding underneath the bed and grabbing the dagger, before resuming a fighting stance on the floor. He looks angry.
"I told you I am through with games, my darling Adriana!" He fumes, lunging forward to attack you. You slice his shoulder with the dagger and he gasps, falling into the wall. You can see the flesh burning where you sliced him but it stops and leaves a gaping wound. He glares at you. "How ingenious of you," he comments, approaching still. You grab your sword off the floor and back away towards the door. He watches. "How far will you get, my love?" He chuckles, "Especially when I am so much more… powerful, than you!" He begins to transform into his hellbeast form and you don't waste a minute. You are out the door and down the hall, and running at lightning speed towards the ballroom.
You don't get any further than the ballroom because he sweeps in and resumes his human form. You duck behind the pillars, but he has seen you already. "I tire of you!" He fumes, approaching you immediately. You take another slice at him and then run towards the door. He falls over, snarling again. "DAMN YOU!" He screams. You fling yourself desperately out of the door, falling over on the front steps.
Down in the street, the battle rages. Dracula flies out the door and pins you firmly to the ground with a snarl. You screech. He digs his nails into your shoulder. "Oh God!" You scream. You summon every ounce of strength left in you, mortified, and shove him off. His nails tear at your shoulders, leaving deep gashes, but you have no time to feel the pain. You are up off the ground in an instant and pin him down with your foot. He stares at you through wide eyes, and you can swear that for the first time in your life, you can see fear in those lives.
"I bet you never expected this!" You hiss, and finally, you drive your blade straight through his chest. Beneath you, Dracula's form goes rigid and he stares at you helplessly.
"Werewolf venom…" He coughs, "I thought you loved me…" He chokes, as his body begins to writhe against his will. You feel your eyes turning cold as you stare down at him. You can have no compassion for this monster any longer. He could have taken away every single one of your dreams. He could have destroyed everything. Resolutely, you stare down at him with a festering malice.
"No one could ever love a heartless devil," you say. With that, you drag your sword out of his chest, and drive it in again, but this time, straight into his dead, black heart. He screams, his arms rising beside him as he begins to melt into a decaying monster. The streets go silent. The battle is over now. Kneeling down, you whip around your dagger and cut out his shriveled heart, dropping your blades to hold it in your hands, a gruesome expression on your face. "I'm sorry Vladislaus," you say quietly, "But you were not Vladislaus anymore."
A/N: Stick around; there's more to come. I'm not quite done yet. Hope you liked and sorry I took so long.