I knew that I could not interfere with the battle that would take place. It was destined to happen, as the battle between them so many years ago had been. I had also decided that I would not try to speak with Van Helsing again—his past was unknown to him for a reason, and he needed to keep his thoughts on the task ahead of him. A task that was nearly impossible.
Van Helsing and the friar arrived in Transylvania by way of the Adriatic Sea, and at once made their way towards the village of Vaseria. I remembered this place from centuries ago…and I also remembered the large manor that loomed over it.
I saw Valerious Manor that night for the first time in four hundred years, and it had changed little. Like the village it looked older, more aged and weather-worn. Looking up at it in the darkness, I remembered the first time that I had come there—as a young bride. Van Helsing was inside the castle somewhere with the gypsy princess Anna Valerious, whom he had been sent to protect.
I watched them through the large windows for some time, and then I made my way back through the village and into the nearby forest. I had heard tales of strange things happening in an abandoned castle not far from Vaseria, and I knew that these things had to involve Dracula.
I made my way through the silent and beautiful Transylvanian forest, a nearly full moon lighting my path. It was not long before I reached the outer wall of an old castle, where large wooden doors stood open as if daring any creature to enter. The great doors that led to the castle courtyard were also thrown open, and looked as if they had been rammed at one time.
Stepping inside the castle doors quietly, I noticed immediately that the place was a complete mess. There was debris everywhere as if something had exploded, and from the ceiling and walls hung strange cocoons. What looked to be electrical wire ran to them, and was also found everywhere throughout the castle as I made my way from room to room. A few times I saw what had to be servants of Dracula, for no one else could tolerate such foul creatures. They were small and dressed strangely, hurrying about carrying things towards one of the castle towers.
Following behind them, I entered a large tower that had been entirely filled with enormous machines, wires, and tanks. I easily avoided the creatures and made my way around the tower to get a better look at what was happening. Suddenly I heard yelling from below, and looking down I saw Dracula standing on the ground, watching as a struggling man was strapped to an iron pod. I recognized this man to be Prince Velkan Valerious. What could Dracula possibly want with him, other than just to kill him? But it was clear that something else was going on here...Dracula had other plans for the prince.
Dropping silently to the tower floor, I watched from behind the machinery as Velkan was raised up to the top of the tower which was open to the stormy night sky. Suddenly I heard Dracula's thundering voice yell, "LET US BEGIN!!"
All around me the generators and dynamos hummed to life with a terrifying power. The storm began to rage even harder now, lightning striking the conductors far above and coursing through Velkan's body. It had to have been incredibly painful. I began to wonder even more what all of this was for—the machinery that must have taken great time and effort to build, not to mention money. Dracula was up to something, and I had to find out what.
Stepping out from where I had been watching, I walked around the lab unnoticed. The servants of Dracula were too busy in their tasks to even see me, however their master had disappeared. Just as I thought this I heard an amused and arrogant voice from behind me.
"I must say that I am pleasantly surprised to see you again, my dear. Especially here of all places, on this glorious night."
I turned to face him with a bit of dread, but also with curiosity. "And I am quite surprised to see you here. I never knew that science was your area of expertise, Vladislaus," I said with a hint of sarcasm. He gave me one of his cold smiles that I had grown so used to years ago.
"I now find science very interesting, my dear Katrina. Especially when it serves me, as it is doing now." He looked up and around at all of the machines, which continued to pump alarming amounts of electricity through the various wires around us. His gaze returned to me, and I could see something strange in his cold, dead eyes.
"I had hoped that some day you would return to me," he said with a quiet gentleness that I had not expected. "But I know that can never be now. I am sure that you have other reasons for being here. Such as Van Helsing."
I was surprised that he already knew that Van Helsing was here, but of course his servants had probably informed him the minute we arrived. I stared back at him calmly, showing no emotion even though I felt something deep inside.
"I followed Van Helsing to Transylvania. He has no idea that I am even here." Dracula nodded, hatred on his face. "Yes, I'm sure that he would not want you here...Your safety was always of great concern to him."
This last sentence he said with great hatred and anger, and I hoped that Van Helsing was prepared for the challenge that lay ahead of him. Clearly four hundred years had done nothing to dull the hatred Dracula had for him.
"He remembers nothing, Vladislaus. Not even me."
Dracula made a slow circle around me, his eyes still on me. "If he is not the reason that you came here then what is? You haven't returned to your old home in centuries...so why now, Katrina?"
I didn't answer him for a moment, not quite sure myself why I had returned. Again he laughed.
"Still can't decide which side to take, my dear? That is why you returned, is it not? To watch the battle between us that you missed four hundred years ago."
"There never should have been a battle, Vladislaus!" I shouted at him over the roar of the machines.
Suddenly the entire castle was filled with thousands of shrieks, coming from somewhere nearby. I could see a change on Dracula's face, and if I did not know better, I would have said that it was something similar to happiness. He looked away for a moment and then back at me.
"Excuse me, my dear. I must go and greet my children as they awaken for the first time. We will continue our little chat later, perhaps."
With this he left me standing alone in the tower, the gigantic machinery around me still pumping. For a moment I stood there stunned, the noise of what Dracula had called his children still sounding throughout the castle. So this was what all of the machinery was for...to bring his children to life. And it was also why he had kept those mindless creatures he called his brides with him for so long.
Recovering from the shock of learning that Dracula had children, I quickly made my way out of the old castle. On the way I saw the gypsy princess and Van Helsing, who had somehow caught on to Dracula's trail. I had decided not to interfere in the battle that would take place between them, and so I left Van Helsing to his assignment.
Taking to the skies, I flew northeast for a short time until I saw the place which I had not seen since my mortal life. Castle Vorkovus still stood as it had the day I left it. It had been weathered by time, as all things had been, but it was mostly the same as I remembered it. From the air it appeared to be abandoned, but I still could not be sure. With no one else to take over the castle after my father's death, it was likely that it was left abandoned, as so many other old Transylvanian castles had been over time.
Soon upon arriving I discovered that it was as I had thought. No one had lived there since my father's death, that was certain. Large amounts of dust hung from the walls and gorgeous tapestries that I had once so loved. Our library and armory were still as they had been the last time I saw them. Even my chamber was the same, and for a long time I stood there looking around at all of the things that I had forgotten.
It was then that the reality of my hollow existence returned to me, and for the first time in what seemed an eternity I cried real tears. It was then that I noticed a piece of folded parchment on the small table next to my old bed. Picking it up, I saw that it had been written by my father just before his death. Tears still running down my face, I read it carefully.
My dearest daughter,
If you should ever return here and find this letter, I am sure that I will no longer be in this world. But the evil which plagues our land will continue for centuries, until it is destroyed forever. My daughter, I fear that you have been pulled into this ancient battle between good and evil, and that evil now rules over you. But the devil cannot claim what is not his. Ask for forgiveness and it shall be given to you along with your freedom if Dracula is destroyed. With his destruction comes your salvation, Katrina. This is true for the Valerious family as well, for then they too shall be forgiven. Find a way to destroy the creature, and remember what I told you when you were young: it takes evil to destroy evil. We shall meet again someday, my daughter. Until that day, I remain your loving father.
Under this was my father's signature. I read the letter over and over again, thinking about what my father had written. A memory returned to me then, one that I had forgotten. As a child I had seen in one of my father's books a picture of a large bat and wolf caught in a fierce battle with one another. I had asked my father what it meant.
"It takes evil to destroy evil," he had told me. "One evil fears another and always has; so long as that evil rules over the other and controls it, there will be a balance of power. But turn them against one another, and evil shall destroy itself."
As a young girl I had not really understood his meaning, but now, four hundred years later, it was perfectly clear to me.
For the evil to be forever vanquished from Transylvania and the world, it had to be used against itself. And although I had sworn to myself that I would not interfere, there was one role that I had to play in this battle. It was up to me to turn evil against evil, and to see that once and for all Vladislaus Dracula was destroyed.
