Chapter 6: The Burial and The Third Encounter
Miruna squeezed her eyes closed as she heard the wicked hiss of the blade coming towards her, spinning. Van held both her wrists tightly and sliced firmly through the ropes binding them. She opened one eye, then the other when she was confident that it was safe and she wasn't maimed. She glared up at him as he placed the blade back inside his coat.
"You could have warned me!", she shouted indignantly.
"I know.", Van replied quickly. Miruna suddenly remembered that Anna's brother had just been killed. She looked over at his body for a moment, then back to Van. "I'm not sorry. I killed a monster, not your cousin.", Van said defensively. He wanted to have the upperhand before Miruna could start blurting out accusations.
"I didn't know him, Van Helsing. He was family, but I never got a chance to really know him." She sighed and looked over at him once more. "He needs to be given a proper burial.", she said as she started to walk towards him. Van Helsing grabbed her by the collar and held her still. Miruna felt him cringe in pain somewhat at this expendature of strength. She looked up at him inquisitively. He looked down at her sternly.
"You and Carl will go into town with Adam. Find a cart and a place for Carl to alert Rome to our situation. I'll join you before this evening.", he instructed.
Miruna looked around. "Where is Anna?", she asked, suddenly realizing that her cousin was nowhere in sight.
"She was kidnapped. Though I doubt that Draculea will be so good as to return her like he did for you.", Van said with a touch of disdain for Miruna directly in his voice. Miruna looked completely shocked. "Go into the city, now.", he ordered. Miruna frowned at him and looked back at Velkan, her fallen cousin. Van sighed. "I will bury him properly and make sure you and Anna can come back to see it."
"Why should I trust you with something like this? You wanted to kill me back at the fortress.", Miruna countered.
"I want to kill you right now. I don't trust you. You have been taken by a vampire without being turned. Even you have to admit that the whole thing would seem a little more than suspicious.", he replied. Miruna glared furiously at him. "Now get going. We don't have much time."
"Anna can handle herself. I'm much weaker than she is and still managed to get out alive.", Miruna snorted indignantly. Van shook his head and looked away, whispering to himself.
"Anna's not the only one with the clock running against her.", he muttered.
"What did you say?", Miruna asked. Van glared at her. Miruna saw something familiar and terrifying in his eyes. She couldn't quite place it, but it was reminiscent of the creature from her nightmares, the werewolf. She gulped and took a step back. She turned to Carl and motioned for them to leave quickly. Carl nodded and followed with Adam lumbering behind them. Miruna felt it best to leave Van Helsing to his task of burying Velkan. He seemed remorseful for the loss of the young man, although not remorseful for the action in taking his life. While Miruna found this extremely odd, she also was a little understanding of it. Van Helsing had acclimated to the idea of taking life, but not the emotions and griefs of it. She and Carl found a fairly large covered cart for she and Adam to wait in while he cabled Rome for an update on both ends of the mission. Carl looked at both of them before he turned to leave.
"Don't leave this cart for any reason. Do you understand?", he said. Miruna nodded. Adam growled at him a little and Carl bolted away. The two chuckled at how easily the little friar, who was helping a hardened monster hunter, was frightened. Miruna looked over at Adam. The late October sky was growing very dark. In Bucharest, the city would be preparing for a magnificent clebration of 'All Hallow's Eve'. Miruna was very fond of this holiday. It was a chance to don a costume that matched the true passions of the soul and see all the other passions of others revealed all at once. It was a unifying night for everyone, and therefore wonderfully terrifying. The feasts were incredible and the dancing was marvelous, but the idea of looking into someone else's true person while they did the same to you was both intoxicating and exhilarating. Imagine seeing the absoloute truth about someone, them seeing the same in you, and still having the spirit and understanding to dance and eat together. Absolouteley fabulous! She sighed at the memory and then looked over at her companion. He was looking around nervously. A gust of freezing air ripped through the canvas that covered the cart and gnawed hungrily at Miruna. She shuddered and felt herself cough madly at the force of such cold. She breathed deeply and looked back up at Adam with concern. He couldn't have been prepared for such hardships, he wasn't really human after all. She remained still as he moved over to her side and put a part of the cloak he was wearing around her. It wasn't very much to keep the cold away, but the warmth in the gesture was a momentary distraction from the misery of the cold itself. The two waited silently for the return of their friends. Miruna leaned into Adam slightly and closed her eyes. Even after being in a drug-induced sleep for several hours, Miruna felt exhausted after the incident in the carriage and her coughing fit. She breathed in as deeply as she could and relaxed. Just as she felt herself drifting into a peaceful sleep, the entry flap on the canvas was pulled up. She sat up and shook herself awake. Van Helsing stood at the front of the cart with Carl beside him. Miruna yawned and rubbed her eyes for a moment. Adam stood and picked her up under her arms, handing her out to Van Helsing like a doll. Van took her and then set her on the ground. The three stepped back and allowed Adam to climb out of the small vehicle.
"Did anyone see you after Carl left?", Van Helsing asked. Miruna and Adam both shook their heads. Van Helsing nodded to both of them. "Good. Carl and I are going to try and rescue Anna at Vilkova palace. There is to be a celebration at midnight and both he and I will be there. You two will need to stay hidden."
"This wagon seems to have worked so far.", Miruna offered. Van looked at it thoroughly for a moment.
"It can't stay in this part of the city. It will need to be somewhere with less public traffic.", he stated. "You two get back in the cart. Carl, go and get two horses. We need to move this without him being seen."
"Where do you plan on placing the wagon?", Adam asked. Van looked up at him for a second and then silently pointed to the wagon again. It was clear that Van was in no mood to explain anything to anyone that was not immediately necessary. Miruna said nothing and climbed into the wagon first. This time, she curled up with her knees at hre chest in the back of the wagon and closed her eyes. The simple regal dress she had been wearing provided little warmth, but managed to cover all of her as she lie down to rest. At least she would freeze looking more modest than an average young girl in her situation. She sighed and closed her eyes once more. She wasn't sure of anything around her (by choice for the time being) least of all the time. Just as sleep was about to mercifully take her, the wagon jerked and started to move forward. She jumped and sat upright looking at Adam and the rest of the wagon. He noticed this and spoke up.
"Carl returned with the horses. We are going to a safe place to stay for the night.", Adam explained and handed her something in a folded cloth. Miruna accepted it and unfolded it. Inside was a piece of flatbread. It was cold, but it would do the trick for now. She looked back at him in surprise. "Carl thought ahead.", he explained. Miruna smiled at him and began to eat the cold portion gratefully. Adam turned back to watching the small part of the passing landscape that could be seen through the entrance flap. Every now and then the breeze and the movement of the wagon would cause it to open a little. It revealed to the two that were in the wagon that they were headed a little outside the city. Miruna tried not to imagine what kind of terrible location they would be left in. The wagon was safe for now, that was good enough for her. She layed back against the floor once more and tried to drift off. The movements and cold were now to strong against her senses to allow her relaxation. She groaned and shifted, trying to get more comfortable, but to no avail. The wagon came to a stop. Miruna scooted to the front of the wagon, shifting past Adam, and looked out at their surroundings. She shrieked.
"A graveyard! Are you mad!?", Miruna shouted. Van looked back up at her as he and Carl began slipping on simple costumes over their clothing. Van looked at Miruna for a moment, then tossed his large, leather duster up to her. She grabbed it and flung it to the side. "We can't stay here, you lunatic!"
"You're right.", Van said and pulled out a small pipe. Miruna ducked out of the way instinctively. Van was not going to get the better of her this time! As she ducked, Adam looked over her to see if what she was fussing about was true. Just as he pushed his head out of the flap, Miruna heard a soft 'thump' and then Adam fell over unconscious. Miruna scooted away from him and cried out. The wagon began to move again. She gasped and looked out the entry flap again. In front of the wagon was the entrance to a large stone tomb. thought quickly about how to get out of this. Before her tired mind could come to rest on one plan for certain, the wagon was completely enveloped by the tomb. She began to scream at thinking she would be sealed in to this gruesome shelter. A hand reached into the wagon and pulled her out firmly. Miruna fought the person helping her until they set her down. She raced out of the tomb and looked back inside. Van came walking out slowly, bringing his duster and a hat. Miruna looked at him in bewilderment. He tossed the coat to her as he picked up a heavy headstone and began to move it in front of the tomb's door.
"What are you doing!? You can't do that to him!", she exclaimed.
"I just did.", Van replied. "He's secure. The two of you are safe for now. I can't sense any evil in this place, only death.", he reasoned. "He won't be going anywhere without some help from the dead."
"It's not the dead you're dealing with, half-wit! It's the undead! A stone door and a headstone aren't going to divert them from their task. They literally have all the time in the world on their side!", she exclaimed. Van turned to her angrily and pulled down one of his sleeves. There, on his left shoulder, was a nasty bite mark. Miruna took step back and stared back in disgust.
"I don't have time on my side, Miruna Valerious. I don't have the luxury of a well-organized plan of action. It's only a matter of time before I become what I hate.", he snorted. Miruna gulped as he pulled the sleeve back up and winced in pain. "I have your cousins to thank for that."
"You were bitten by the wolf man?", she whispered. He looked away and called for Carl. The two turned to leave. Van turned back to Miruna for a moment.
"Sit by the mausoleum until we return. Keep the coat on you, you're not prepared for this weather.", he said as he hurried off towards the other side of the town. Miruna watched for a moment, then turned to sit back at the tomb's entrance and wait. She sighed and pulled the duster around her. It was much warmer than the canvas on the wagon. She looked up at the night sky. There were no twinkling stars to watch and the moon was nowhere in sight. She looked back down at the ground. This was incredibly boring. She stood and began to walk in circles around the large stomb tomb and a few other graves. At about the seventeenth circle, she heard a soft scraping on the walls of the tomb. She stopped and remained frozen for a moment. The sound came again, but this time on one of the graves behind her. She whirled around and examined the darkening land. There was no one in sight and there was no trace of anything either. She turned back to the tomb slowly. It was too dark to go and investigate fully, but there was still enough light left from the setting sun to assuage any complete terror she might have had at what lurked in the cemetary. As she rounded the corner, she stumbled in shock. She scrambled to her knees and looked back at the entrance to make sure what she had just glimpsed was not a dream.
"A night without stars is empty, yes?", Draculea said. He was standing a few paces away from the tomb's entrance with his hands floded neatly behind his back. He stared up at the stars facing away from Miruna. She hurried behind another large headstone. He turned his head slightly. "I can hear you, Miruna. Come out, now."
Miruna remained still. Perhaps she could make him think he had imagined hearing her movements. The scraping sound came from within the tomb once more. Miruna inched a little closer to the nearest wall of it to listen closely.
"Did you not hear me?", Draculea said. Miruna looked up and shrieked, falling backwards. He was standing right over her. She hadn't heard him move or felt the air around her change with the presence of another human being. "Now you've heard me. What are you doing in a cemetary at this hour? I told you to go home."
He reached down and tried to help her stand. Miruna fought with him for a moment and tried to get away. She felt truly afraid now. There was no conflict within her to try and trust him, she simply feared for her life. He clearly noticed this and grabbed hold of both of her arms, forcing her to stand and face him. Miruna stayed perfectly still again, looking up at him emotionlessly. He looked down at her. Miruna began to feel strange. It was the way she felt if she breathed to quickly for a few moments. Then a soft warm wave washed over her. It felt comforting. She began to concentrate on it in the hopes of gathering her strength and thoughts. As she concentrated, she began to lose all desire to fight back and gather any strength. She felt completely soothed. She closed her eyes for a moment and then jarred back to the present.
She was sitting in front of the mausoleum as she had been just a moment ago. She looked around her. Nothing seemed to have changed. She looked back at the entrance to the tomb. It was undisturbed and she heard no sounds from it. She sighed with relief and pulled the leather coat around her again. Miruna's eyes flew open when she realized that her covering was not the leather duster. As she looked down, she saw that Van Helsing's coat had been replaced with Draculea's handsome black cloak. She cried out and threw it to one side. Ahead of her, on the iron gate, was the duster. It was humourously impaled on one of the pointed rails. She gulped and stepped backwards. As she moved against the headstone, it scooted effortlessly and clattered to the ground. That was impossible! Carl and Van Helsing had used all their strength to move it to the tomb, and then Van had struggled to place it just right in front of the door. She looked down at the headstone again. It was the same basic shape as the one Van and Carl had moved, but in focusing more on the relic she could see that this was made of wood. She groaned and forced the door to the tomb open. She rushed into the tomb and over in the direction of the wagon tracks. In the dark, she was still able to find the back of the canvas wagon and look into it.
"Adam! Adam!", she called frantically. There was no reply. There was no sound at all that was not generated by her person. She felt desperation and fear grip her at the same time. Adam had said that Draculea would use him to bring evil offspriing into the world. Was that what those little monsters in the village had been? If so, then to bring a hoarde of those to life was entirely evil. She felt her voice catch in her throat and she began to cough madly once more. Suddenly, the light that had given her minimal sight in this stone prison began to fade. Miruna looked up in time to see the door beginning to close. She raced forward and tried to force her way through the door. By the time she arrived at the door itself, there was only a crack left to try and open. Miruna caught it with both sets of fingers and began struggling violently to pry it open. She felt fire burning within every inch of her body. While it was a nice vacation from the cold, it was painful. She shouted and forced all of her strength into her arms. They began to quiver with the pressure and cold. Miruna felt all of her strength rise and then begin to fade more quickly than the light in the tomb. She screamed loudly as the door began to close completely. Just as she began to feel the stone around her delicate hands, the door was grabbed firmly by some unseen force. It flew to one side as Miruna fell forward to the earth. She panted and cried softly. The one who had removed the door, took her into their arms and held onto her for a moment.
"Of all the foolish thing. Walking into a tomb and leaving the door free to close.", Draculea said as he let go of her. "Why must you listen to, look at, and touch everything? Hmm?"
"Bring him back! You should be ashamed of yourself! Bring him back!", she shouted at him.
He laughed. "Miruna, this is beyond your control. Why do insist on prying into business that is not yours?"
"It's my family! Anna needs me!", Miruna shouted. She suddenly felt overcome with all of her returned memories, confused questions, and recent losses. "Velkan's dead!", she wailed and began to cry loudly. He moved to hold her once again. Miruna allowed this, seeing as he was the only available comfort for her.
"Velkan died more than a month ago, Miruna. The Valerious of Transylvania have been killing each other and allowing themselves to die for years.", he said. His words weren't meant to be comforting, nor did they give a hint of being so. Miruna cried harder and began to shake. "But your tata grew tired of the nonsense. He studied our proud history and laws. He bargained with me as my descendant. The others were given the option centuries ago, but refused in hatred. Voris's family carries that same hatred, Miruna. Do not be drawn into it alongside them."
"If they're all family, then why didn't you help them too?", she cried.
"You can lead a horse to a temple, but you cannot make him pray.", he said. Miruna stopped crying and looked up at him in confusion. "There, now you forget lamenting for a moment. The family has been hell-bent on destruction, my dear. I am simply a convenient target."
"Why?", she breathed.
"If any mortal truly knew the answer to such a thing, they would shoot themselves. You are blessed with ignorance towards the true potentials of the evils of man, my child. May it remain that way.", he said. He looked away slightly. "It is a terrifying thing to hear the hearts of evil men."
Miruna looked up at him with what felt like pity. He looked back down at her. "But you yourself are evil. You've murdered hundreds of innocent people according to the village."
He chuckled and wrapped the cloak around her again. "Again, the best way to ensure hatred of that which you yourself fear, is to use any means necessary to make others fear it just as badly. The village told tall tales of my thirst for blood. Do you know that I have never killed anyone other than a convicted criminal after trial or an enemy soldier on the field?", he said.
She frowned. "But the victims you have bitten...", she countered.
"Human bodies course with much blood, child. To drink it all is a waste. Why take more than you need?", he said. "My brides have become careless in the past, and I admit that I have done in a fair share of tresspassers, but aren't tresspassers immediate criminals in the eyes of the law?"
"Then why use Adam at all? I thought you were going to cover the world with your kind using him.", she exclaimed.
"I do not wish for this curse to continue. I simply want to see if the creature can in fact give new life to my kind.", he explained. "If it can, then I will be free again. I will live." His gaze trailed off towards the heavens as he spoke. He sighed peacefully. The faint heartbeat that followed him when Miruna was near him became a little louder for a moment. She tried to step away from him. He looked down at her once more. "You do not remember much of your matreshka, Miruna, yet you miss her terribly. Your spirit aches at the loss of her. Imagine how much more grieved you would feel if you had enjoyed such a precious treasure for near forty years and then had it ripped away from you, only to wallow in misery and destitution for centuries to come."
"I forgive you.", she whispered. He looked deeply into her eyes, amazed.
"What?", he whispered back.
"I forgive you, prince. There is no sin or emnity between us.", she said. "I wish that everyone around you will do the same. Then and only then, will you ever be free."
He shook his head and sighed heavily. He pulled her into one last full embrace. As Miruna heard the hearbeat fade, she realized that she was embracing a nearby stone angel. She stepped back and looked around. She suddenly felt terribly cold. His cloak was no longer around her shoulders. Miruna raced over to the fence where Van Helsing's coat lay pathetically maimed on the fance post. She grabbed it and pulled it tightly around her. As she began to walk over to the door of the tomb, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned in time to see Van, Carl, and Anna running towards her. All of them looked very agiatated and very wet.