Chapter 6
"I refuse to leave without William." I said to Christopher, dropping the book I had been clenching to the ground. Turning my back to my uncle, I began to walk quickly towards Velkan's writing table, pulling from the small drawer a piece of paper. Christopher watched me with an intense scrutiny, his face visibly shaken.
"What are you doing, Christine?" he asked, carefully approaching my side. I had begun to hurriedly write a note to my uncle, his brother, to delay our stay. Of course, the primary reason was William's predicament, but then there was also Velkan. How could I leave when I had just promised myself wholeheartedly to him?
"I am writing a letter to Uncle Ferdinand. We must tell him what has happened to William…he cannot be made ignorant of his son's whereabouts." I said as I wrote. Christopher looked down at me in surprise.
"We can't tell him that!" I heard him respond. "Do you have any idea what he will do?" I shrugged his question off as I continued writing. Hastily, Christopher tried to pull my letter away, but I stopped his hand before he could reach the paper.
"This is the only option left open to us." I said to him, looking up to meet my Uncle's gaze. I could see the pain, hurt, and fear reflected within his eyes as he looked back at me. How much like Augustus he looked then…so innocent and unknowing….
"He will come as soon as he receives word of William's disappearance. You know that." My uncle said, his voice wavering slightly in worry. He knew his brother's wrath, as I did. It was something that you avoided at all costs. Of course, at the mere news of his son's disappearance, I could only imagine the rage and frustration burning through his body as he rushed to Romania, to rescue his blood, his heir…
"I know that. Let him come." I answered. Uncle Christopher hesitated for a moment, taking a deep breath of pure nervousness. Slowly, I felt him back away, the words forming slowly on his lips as he began to speak.
"And Marishka?" he asked, realizing slowly that I had assumed control over the situation. "What will we do about her?" By then, I had continued writing my letter, my hand rushing to complete the final sentences, my eyes searching for any mistakes in my words. Finding nothing wrong, I signed it.
"Let her come." I answered to him. "We will at least hear her out. There must be a good reason that she was willing to risk herself to come all the way here. There must be a very good reason indeed…" I rose quietly, folding the note hastily in half. Lighting a candle and taking hold of it, I took a bar of wax and began to melt it over the folded document, finding the Valerious seal and finishing my work.
"She said she would meet both you and I after sundown, behind the old manor house at the outskirts of the village." He said quietly, looking to me with a questioning glint in his eyes. Noticing the determination in my step as I hid the note within my skirts, he smiled, forgetting for a moment the fear of the night before…the fear of being in the presence of a vampire.
"And so we shall." I responded. "But not before I have alerted the Valerious family as to the new twist of events." Hurrying past him, I quickly picked up the book I had dropped to the ground, laying it carefully on a shelf by the door. As I left the room, Christopher followed behind, his steps the only sound within the manor.
My uncle would receive news of his son's disappearance, and he would come. That much was certain. As for Marishka, we would deal with her when the time came…
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"Marishka came to you…" Boris said quietly to himself, a thoughtful expression on his face as he regarded the silent figure of my Uncle, now standing beside me in the living area of the mansion. Velkan and Anna had gone, responding to reports of a werewolf haunting the vicinity of the village.
"Yes, sir." My uncle responded, his hands habitually folded behind his back. He regarded Boris Valerious with a worried look, afraid that he would find some reason to have him killed for even talking to a vampire.
"Marishka…she is not usually one to speak to mortals. Since she has become one of the undead, hundreds of years before our time, she has thought herself above us. There must be a serious rift among the ranks for her to come to you like this…" Boris said quietly, regarding my Uncle with a questioning glare. "Either that or she has found another mate…" Christopher shuddered and shook his head vigorously in denial, hoping that the latter was not true. Boris smiled suddenly at seeing him do this, and gently tried to reassure him.
"Do not worry, Mr. Aveire." He said. "It is far too unlikely that she would leave the wing of the count. She is much too attached to that man to do anything of the sort. God only knows that he would not tolerate another male of his species within his house." As I heard Boris speak, I felt my heart slowly lift in hope. So then, perhaps…
"You mean to say that William may not have become one of them?" Christopher asked, finishing the thought that had been forming in my head. Boris nodded his head slowly in affirmation.
"Yes, more than likely." Hearing his answer voiced, I almost jumped up in glee, happy to know that my cousin was relatively safe from Aleera's wiles.
"But, he was bitten." I said, remembering the wound I had seen upon his neck. "How do you not become a vampire after you have been bitten?" A few moments of deliberation, and Boris answered.
"William must drink from one of them to become a vampire himself. Dracula is far too proud to allow that, and the brides are far to worrisome of their masters feelings to even attempt it. He is safe, for now." He said in answer. I breathed a deep sigh of relief, happy to know that my cousin had not been harmed.
"This Marishka," I said, directing my attention to Boris. I could see a small smile form at his lips as he looked at me, his eyes traveling slowly to my stomach. Hiding my surprise, I continued my comment. "What does she want?"
"I do not know." He answered, taking a deep breath. "Only she herself does. She said to meet her tonight, but did she tell you where?" Boris continued, turning his gaze back to my uncle. Christopher hesitated for some moments before responding.
"She did. Marishka said she would meet us tonight behind the old manor house at the outskirts of the village." Christopher answered, watching Boris dig into his pocket to produce a cigar. He quickly lit it, and in moments it was in his mouth, puffing smoke into the air.
"Well, then that is where we shall go tonight." He said, looking to me. "Anna and Velkan will come as well, for your protection of course." Christopher did not say a word. Turning to Boris, I immediately spoke up, a thought forming in my mind.
"But we cannot bring them. We cannot risk a chance of a fight. I know should Marishka catch sight of Anna, or Velkan….she would not hesitate to kill us all." I said to Boris as he quietly rose and began to leave the room. All the while, he puffed his cigar, leaving a trail of smoke billowing behind him. Hearing me speak, he stopped, turning to face me.
"Then we shall have to take special care that they are not discovered then, won't we." He answered. Turning my back to me, he left the room. But not before he called out for me to follow him. "Christine, I would like to talk to you, if you would not mind."
His voice sounded so ordering that I flinched in worry. My gaze shot to Christopher, who gestured to me to follow him. My uncle already knew better than to ignore a request made by Boris Valerious, he had already had seen a demonstration of the anger….and it was something he did not wish to see again.
"Come now." I heard Boris say as he noticed my hesitation. I followed slowly, slowly quickening my step as my confidence grew. Christopher did not venture to follow us as well. He merely turned his back and left through another door, heading quietly to his room.
