Chapter8: The Redemption of One, the Loss of Another
Miruna awoke from a dreamless sleep a few hours later. She groaned and sat up, holding her forehead in pain. She looked around, trying to get a sense of where she was. The rush of memories as to what had transpired these past few days ripped through her head all at once. She groaned and gripped her head tighter. She called for Anna and waited. After a few moments, there was no reply. Miruna stood carefully and called to her cousin a little louder. There was still no reply. She gasped at the thought that they had hypnotized her and taken the knowledge she had of the prince's whereabouts. Even worse, she knew exactly how to kill him and the answer flowed in Van Helsing's veins. She cried out slightly and rushed down the stairs to see if she had been right. The fortress was abandoned save the few servants that worked there. Miruna ignored their inquiries to her health and mood and ran into the armoury. Her heart sank lower than the floor. The enormous map of Transylvania had become a mirror similar to the one in the parlour that he had used to transport her home once before. That alone was not what caused the horriffied expression on her face. On the floor, tossed to the side, was her father's precious journal. She screamed and took hold of it. How could they ! He promised! Anna should have known better, she was a Valerious and thereby related directly to the prince!
Miruna fought back a useless fit of rage and simply ran through the mirror. Several days ago, the thought of mirrors as doorways and a vampire being a kindhearted person would have been cause to put someone away to Miruna, but now they were essential pieces of the puzzle she was slowly solving. She felt a burst of icy air take hold of her and stop her breath for a moment. She gasped and shook free of the cold's grip. She opened her eyes and observed her surroundings. Before her was a fearsome looking castle. The walkway towards it was lined with pikes displaying human skeletons. Miruna groaned and found the courage to move forward. She reminded herself that the evils the prince had committed were done out of defense of his life or fear for it. She frowned at thinking he had been attacked so many times by all of these people who had been fed hateful lies about him. She had read a few of them in her father's journal as well as the truth of them. She hurried into the castle and tried to push the heavy doors open. The enormous panels of wood and metal wouldn't budge an inch. She grunted in frustration and then heard a chilling sound. An inhuman shriek. It had to have been Draculea, and there was no telling what Van Helsing would do to him once he had hold of him.
She grunted again and took hold of the side of the door facing. Once she was sure she had a good hold on it and that there were several more going up towards the open section of the entrance, she drew in a deep breath and pulled herself up. She climbed as quickly and carefully as she could crying out every now and then as a shard of stone or ice cut her delicate palms and fingers. By the time Miruna was up to the opening, her hands were covered in gashes. Not anything serious by a surgeon's standard, but enough to cause severe pain to the poor girl. She ignored it, allowing the thorbbing of her skin getting warm once more to take priority as far as her limbs were concerned. She looked around at the inside of the castle trying to decide how best to get down onto the floor. Beside the door was a large box filled with gears and sprockets connected to cables that connected to brass circles on the doors. She noticed that there was a large rope next to her that might have been used to pull for the gears that opened the doors. The prince seemed to have been very interested in newer technologies. The system was obviously installed years after the castle had been built. She grabbed hold of the rope, forgetting the injuries on her hands for a second and then being violently reminded of them. She tried to hold tightly to it as she climbed down the wall, but fell without a good hold on the rope for several feet. Luckily, she had the opportunity to grab the rope once more and steady herself. She smiled. She allowed herself to fall a few more feet, then grabbed the rope again. She did so until she made it to the ground safely. She avoided as much pain doing it this way, or so she had thought, but the gashes were now aggrivated a great deal.
She breathed sharply and ran past the torchieres in the main hall towards the staircases. The castle split into three hallways on the main floor and then four staircases. Two obviously led to the towers, they were much narrower and less kept than the others. She moved to one of them and listened closely. She could hear the same fizzing and small explosions that she had heard at the castle where she had been taken by the females some nights ago. She breathed deeply and headed up the long set of stairs towards the sounds. She stopped dead every now and then hearing someone cry out that sounded exactly like Adam. She could also hear Van Helsing shouting faintly. Mostly, she heard Draculea shouting orders to his servants and talking excitedly about giving life to his children. Miruna felt warm tears beginning to stream uncontrollably down her cheeks. The prince had been slightly dishonest with her in the cemetary. She had realized this after looking through her father's journal and reading the history of the prince's life according to a conversation with her father and mother many years ago. Her mother had actually needed to comfort him during the cleansing visit when he had regaled all of what he had been forced to endure. The man that had killed him had done so in the name of some unhappy knights of the order to which he had dedicated his life. The knights had been ordered to only marry from a certain family and class. The prince had fallen in love with a most lovely Italian gypsy princess named 'Verona'. He himself had been half gypsy, but the knights were willing to look past that due to the fact he was an extremely brave and efficient warrior. They were not willing to overlook his union to a filthy commoner. The passage had made Miruna furious enough, but caused her to weep aloud when she read that Verona had been with child when she had been murdered by the selfsame man. Draculea wanted desperately to have the child that had been stolen from him and his beautiful wife. She hoped that the man was long dead and the prince could be at peace on that level at the least. She inched closer to the tower itself. She kept slipping and falling back several steps. It was as if she would take five steps forward and then slip back three. She growled in anger and climbed hurriedly up the rest of the stairs as best she could. By the time she was halfway there, she could hear Draculea speaking loudly to Van Helsing, and then a most horrible set of noises. Van Helsing began howling in pain and growling madly. Then, his howls turned into the snarling and roaring of the werewolf!
Miruna screamed instinctively at the sound. Memories and sharp twinges of fear began to flash into her mind at this sound. She forced her fears to the side as she heard Draculea begin to snarl and roar in defense of his own life. She had to subdue Van Helsing long enough for Draculea to get away and fetch the cure. She raced into the tower room and gasped at the devices that fizzled and sparked with unnatural life. Flames and water were scattered around the room in different places, as were chunks of broken glass, wood, and twisted metal. Miruna watched as Draculea and Van Helsing continued to fight. She tried to get a little closer and throw a large wooden shaft at Van Helsing's head. She made it to the walkway that lay over a large vat of boiling, green fluid. Miruna wasn't sure what the substance was, but it didn't look like anything she should be near. She looked up at the stairs that led to the walkway. Near the planks themselves was a large capaciter glowing with energy. Draculea suddenly tried to take flight. Miruna winced as he flew right into the spinning capaciter and screamed in pain. He transmorphed back into his human form and breathed harshly, trying to keep a good eye on his enemy. He rolled over, still reeling from the horrible injury.
Miruna looked towards the pillar nearest her. Van Helsing ran his razor-like claws against the stone, causing sparks of his own as the cut nasty gashes in the stone. She cried out and fell backwards at remembering claws like those tearing into her as a child, at the creature mercilessly tearing into her mother. Van turned around, distracted for a moment. He sniffed at her and growled low. He began to advance towards her, slowly. Miruna shrieked and tried to stand and move away, but found that her skirts had caught on some of the debris. She screamed in frustration and pulled at them furiously. Van Helsing moved closer and closer, snarling and growling menacingly. Just as he was two feet away from the helpless girl, she felt two strong hands take hold of her shoulders and lift her out of the way. Her skirts tore on the debris, but remained attached to her person in tattered shreds. She breathed a sigh of relief and tried to get free of whomever was holding her. The rescuer set her down behind another pillar. It was Draculea. Miruna guessed as much, but it was wonderful to be proven to her. She threw her arms around him and held onto him tightly, crying.
"I'm so sorry! I know what's happened to you! Come on, we can get away!", she shouted trying to take his hand. He looked at her for a moment, readying to protest, then turned back towards the rest of the room as Van Helsing let out a blood-curdling howl. "You have to hurry, come on!"
He smiled for a moment and then rushed away from her. He flew at Van Helsing, clawing furiously. He knew for a fact that he couldn't leave Van Helsing like this. He had shown himself to be more bloodthirsty than any of the other werewolves who would at least listen to the count. Van didn't have an ounce of humanity left in him while in this form, no sense or reason, no ability to follow orders and no ability to restrain himself. Draculea knew that the only way to end this was to render him completely incapacitated and then go for the cure. If he could get to the cure before the final stroke of midnight and have injected it into him, then he could finally have it out with the man that had caused him so much suffering. The only other option would be, after that plan failed, to take Miruna and escape to come back later with a silver dagger and a purpose. He flew at Van Helsing angrily, rolling on the floor for a moment, biting at him. He finally made it back to his feet and threw a solid punch into the werewolf and kicked him harshly. Miruna shrieked and then covered her mouth. If she distracted the prince, then he would be vulnerable. Why didn't he just take her and escape? She watched as the two fought their way to the platform once more. Van Helsing held Draculea by the throat, simply strangling him cruelly. Suddenly, Van's form began to shrink and the fur on his body began to melt away. He let go of Draculea and leapt to the floor on the opposite side of Miruna. She watched as Draculea composed himself, touching a wound on his neck from the wolfman's claws gingerly. He smiled to himself noticing the moon behind the clouds. Miruna looked towards the window, seeing the same thing.
"Did I mention that it was you who murdered me, Gabriel Van Helsing? In the name of God and country you killed me, and Verona, and our daughter!", he yelled down to the aggrivated man. Van began to back away. Draculea swooped down behind Van and looked angrily at him. "Don't you remember, my friend? How did you say it, 'The council has spoken. I act in the name of justice.' Weren't those your words before you slit my throat and took my signet. I myself found it difficult to recall at first since the memory of your speech mingled with my holding my beloved's body mourning!"
"I have no memories, you monster! I realize that I owe that to you!", Van Helsing shot back.
"I would not have been that kind, you fool!", Draculea retorted. "Now, shall I give you your memories and undo the small sin I am accused of against you?"
"Some things are best left forgotten!", Van Helsing cried and knelt forward. He transmorphed once more, catching Draculea completely off guard. Miruna screamed loudly as Van Helsing bit viciously into the vampire's throat. Draculea shrieked and began to writhe in anguish. His body began to dissintegrate to ash and soon left nothing but a sad pile of darkness on the floor. Miruna screamed repeatedly. Van Helsing turned towards her. He moved to try and attack her. She turned and began to run towards the exit. As she came closer to the stairwell, her cousin ran into the room holding an enormous syringe. Miruna skidded to a halt. Anna looked at her and smiled.
"Stay back, I have the cure!", Anna yelled and ran for Van Helsing. She plunged the syringe into his abdomen as he threw her madly onto a day-couch by the large window in the corner of the room. Miruna screamed again. Carl appeared in the doorway a moment later behind Miruna, who stood frozen. Carl pushed past her and took out a silver stake.
"God forgive me!", he shouted.
"Carl, no!", Miruna cried. Carl turned to her for a moment as Van Helsing grabbed his wrist and held the stake aloft and unmoving. He roared angrily at the little friar. Miruna wondered why the seerum hadn't taken effect yet. Van reached down with the other paw and removed the rest of the syringe. Miruna looked at the couch where Anna lay. She fell to her knees and began to sob loudly. Carl looked up at Van Helsing who now looked back at the maiden sadly.
"She's dead.", Carl muttered. Van Helsing scooped the girl's lifeless form into his arms and held her in front of him as he let out a long and powerful howl. The howl gave way to a most tormented scream as the seerum caused him to transmorph back permanently. He held Anna to him and rocked her for a moment.
"Anna. Anna, wake up!", he shouted. Miruna looked up at him, through relentless tears.
"She's dead, Van Helsing! You killed her!", she cried loudly. She walked over to the two and tried to take hold of her cousin's body, forcing him away. He threw Miruna backwards several feet and looked at her furiously.
"She's stunned! She's alright, you'll see. She just needs some air. She's very tired, she must be sleeping. She hasn't slept in days, that's all.", he muttered as he knelt, still holding on to her. Miruna sobbed loudly. What could she do? Draculea was dead and Anna was dead, and now she was alone and wishing she could join them. No, she wished beyond reason that they were still with her! She cried madly. Van Helsing stood up, keeping a good hold on Anna. He turned to Carl. "Let's get back to the fortress. The journal says we can leave through any mirror in this castle. Bring Miruna."
Carl nodded and took Miruna by the shoulders gently. She began to fight with him angrily, screaming at him to leave her alone. She turned back to the pile of ash for a moment. How could this have happened!? What didn't she do right? Why couldn't she have arrived a moment earlier? Miruna had been sure after what she had read that someone giving their forgiveness to the prince out loud would redeem him and therefore return his humanity to him. She began to sob louder and curl up on the floor. Carl sighed and picked her up like an infant to carry her back. Van led the way down the stairs and into the main hallway again. They searched a few of the rooms down one hall on the ground level until they found a large bedchamber with a full length mirror. The group walked through it, leaving the evils of castle Draculea behind. Carl put Miruna in her bed and went to check on Anna with Van. She had opened one eye while they had been walking which seemed to be more than a simple muscular spasm. Carl wondered if Van Helsing had been right and Anna was indeed stunned. Even so, enough trauma had been forced on her to assure that she had at the very least a few broken ribs and serious bruises. All of those would need to be seen as quickly as possible. Miruna lay on the bed unmoving. She should never have come to this place. Her conscience slapped her. What's wrong with you?, it chided. You've done a great deal of good whether you realize it or not, it just hasn't been allowed to play out yet. There has to be something more in the journal, something we missed. Miruna pushed away the desperation that had overtaken her and climbed down the stairs towards the armoury. Van and Carl were in some other part of the fortress and weren't going to notice anything she did at the moment. She knelt and picked up the book, looking through the passages she had read a few days ago. She felt her heart leap at one of them and smiled.
"...The choovihni tell me that he can always be resurrected by virgin blood and the spell, 'Blood for blood, breath for breath. Cursed in life, rise in death."
(((Tune in tomorrow for the exciting conclusion! Will Miruna succeed in bringing back the dark prince? Is Anna really alive? Has her father been telling the truth all this time? Does anyone still read Van Helsing fanfics? All this and more tomorrow, or late tonight!)))))