The room is cold again, and she clutches the covers ever tighter around her. Her green drapes swirl around a shadowed figure who stands outside the protective ring of deep jade.
Suddenly he pushes the curtains aside and she shivers beneath the sheets. He bends down and smirks.
You have no idea what I'm going to do to her.
Suddenly they're in a church. She's standing at the end of the aisle of pews and he is there, clutching a woman dressed as a nun. He pulls away and she sees a trail of blood tracing its way down his chin, away from the sharp white canines. The woman in his arms whimpers and cries out.
"Our Father, who art in Heaven…hallowed be thy name…"
Suddenly he turns back to her with a scowl. Placing a finger to her lips, he tries to silence her. But her lips keep moving in time to heartbeat.
"Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven…"
He is infuriated and grabs onto her throat, letting the blood from the twin puncture marks gracing her neck spill over his fingers. He tries crushing her windpipe, but she still says the Lord's prayer.
"Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors…"
He howls and plunges his teeth into her neck, seemingly trying to pull her very soul out of the veins. The woman's speech slows, but her cold lips manage the final phrase.
"And lead us not into temptation…but deliver us…from evil."
The woman falls from his arms, limp and motionless on the floor. Mary gasps as the girl hits the floor, but knows instantly that she is dead. He however ignores the woman and starts for her.
Blood of my blood.
"You killed her!" she screamed, picking up a candelabrum and pointing it at him.
I took what was mine. She was mine to have.
"Liar!" She plunged the lit candles into him, but before they could catch he had blown them out. Then, with a satanic grin, he pushed them away and grabbed her, and before she knew it they were kissing and her heart felt like it was being torn in two. Glancing down, she realized his hand had plunged into her chest and blood was spilling out everywhere and she could feel a dull pain within…
"Mercy!" Mary twitched and her eyes focused. "He's going after Mercy!"
"Mary, are you alright?"
The unfamiliar voice threw her off for a moment, and she searched the darkness before finding Simon's face in the shadows.
"Oh, Simon, he's going to take Mercy and do something…horrible!"
"Mary, who the devil is Mercy?"
She gave him an incredulous look and cocked her head. "Our child. The one you told me to have and give up for adoption! Now that she lives, he knows! Oh, God, he knows!" she wailed.
Simon was frozen. "Why? What? What would he want with her? He released you!"
"No, no," she cried, hugging her pillow. "He let me out of being like him. He knew he'd burn in the sun and I would too, so he let me go so I would stay alive. He knew, he knew! He'd planned it all along, from the instant he hung high over the street!"
"Mary, calm down! Just calm the hell down. We still have time-…"
"No," she sighed. "No, we don't. It was too late the minute I held her in my arms for the first time. He saw her in the memory. He took her out of my hands, Simon, and you didn't see a thing. He held her and saw her face. He found out."
Simon sat still, considering this while Mary tried to control her sobs. "I never knew what he wanted before. If he just wanted company, I'd still suffice. But he wants her young."
"Mary, do you know where Mercy is?"
"Yes."
It was eight in the morning when they'd reached the seminary. Making their way through the large doors, the elderly couple looked for a friendly face. Spotting a few nuns clustered by the prayer candles to one side, they made for them.
"Good morning, sisters," Simon greeted cheerily.
The women turned around and looked rather shocked at the sight of a man. But the nun from last night, Margaret Elizabeth, recognized Mary and smiled. "Well, by the faith, look who's here again? Are you feeling better, ma'am?"
Mary nodded. "Please, it's desperately important that we see Sister Mercy Cypress. We realize this is rude and untimely, but it may be a matter of life and death."
The women were shocked and would not answer. After a few moments, Margaret met her eyes. "Ma'am, Sister Mercy is not well. She…well, she believes she had a strange vision last night, so the Mother Superior recommended Mercy spend the day in prayer. She can't be reached. Perhaps tonight-…"
"Tonight is too late! Please, we must see her during the day."
Margaret nodded slowly. "Alright. I will see if she can be spared, although it's very doubtful."
In only fifteen minutes, before Simon and Mary stood a young woman, no more than nineteen or twenty. Her wavy brown locks were held back by her nun's habit, but even the garb couldn't hide her large green eyes that sang of years raised in a seminary and recent trauma.
"Sister Mercy?" Simon asked to be sure.
"Yes, sir? What can I do for you?" she responded quietly.
"We must speak to you, and I recommend it be alone. Is there somewhere we can go where you'll be more comfortable?"
Mercy looked worried and looked to Margaret for guidance. The older nun motioned her to go with them, so she turned back and nodded. "Please follow me."
They traveled through the church and finally reached a small room that came off the main stage. "This is a room the preachers used to use for preparation, back when we gave sermons here," Mercy explained.
"It's very nice," Simon answered, admiring the stained glass.
"Please, sit down," the sister offered, and all three did. Mary was the first to speak.
"Mercy, you're in danger."
Somehow, the nun didn't seem fazed. She just sat there, her eyes sort of glazed over and her face expressionless.
Her room in the seminary is dark. A window is pushed open. She prays at her bedside.
Suddenly someone else is in the room, but she doesn't turn to see who it is. She knows. She knew he'd come.
"Sister Mercy, did you hear me? Someone, someone very dangerous, is coming after you. He might want to kill you. Do you hear me?"
She didn't blink at all.
She mutters the last few lines of the Hail Mary, and climbs into her bed, pulling the brown cover over her calmly. Someone sits down on the side of the bed and she feels them bend down and claim her lips with their own. A dull pain is shooting in her chest, bit she ignores it as slowly he climbs on top of her…
Simon stood and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her slightly. "Don't you hear what she's saying? A monster is coming after you and if you don't arm yourself with whatever you have here in the church, he's going to do something horrible!"
Suddenly Mercy twitched. She "woke up" and gasped. "Lord…my Lord…" she whispered to herself.
"Are you alright?" Mary asked, looking worried.
"I-…I'm alright. I'm fine. What were you saying?"
"Someone insanely dangerous is coming after you. You must take whatever holy precautions you can. Bathe in holy water, dress in crosses, wear silver necklaces. You must ensue he cannot touch you," Simon urged. "He won't hurt you if he cannot touch you."
"Who is it? What demon is repelled by artifacts of the Lord?" she asked, bowled over. She didn't tell them or even give them a hint that she'd already "met" this monster.
The two older people looked to one another, and Simon sighed. "A vampire. Dracula."
He half expected her to break out laughing at his words. How surprised they were when she nodded and seemed to accept this. "Alright. But how do you know this? Who are you?"
"We're your parents."