Mina Harker, the Bride of Dracula, explains her origins and her life under Todo Hotsumi. There is much more for Mina to answer to.

Chapter 27

"How long has Hotsumi's been doing that kind of shit to you?" I said.

"Since the first year I became his pupil," Mina said "and it continued for the next thirty years. I initially didn't have the courage to escape. I thought if I did I would be alone and persecuted by the human race. On some levels Hollow Dragon was the one place where I never felt different."

"Why did you go back to him?"

"After escaping his trap I returned to him forty years later to inform him that I was forgiving him for the pain he brought upon me."

"What? How could you forgive a guy like that?"

"Father Arnold informed me that if I held records of past sins God in Heaven would not forgive me. I thought by forgiving Hotsumi that God finally free me from the burden of being a killer. But that was fifteen years ago and I'm still a vampire."

"What about that thing between you and Alexander Van Helsing?"

"I met Alexander in the winter of 1908 when I lived on the streets and preyed on the homeless and on prostitutes. He discovered I was a vampire by the glowing of my eyes and started to advance against me. I insisted I did not want to fight him but he stabbed me with a stake. To my shock I felt no pain and I wasn't dying at that moment. Alexander himself was shocked. His persistence was so strong I thought I had to end this fight so I pulled out the stake from my chest and stabbed him in the eye and then I made my escape. That is why, if you've noticed, some pictures show him wearing an eye patch. I hope you understand that this action was necessary."

"Was it necessary to kill two of my comrades?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Alan Hamil and Alexis Foster. They were close friends of mine. They were killed by a girl called The Girl of Steel who works for The Brotherhood of Doom. She happened to have a sword just like yours."

Mina Harker suddenly bowed her head sadly. "I can't tell a lie," she said. "I took refuge at this crack house in southern Los Angeles. Ten vampire hunters stormed the house and searched for me. I killed three hunters at first and then I saw two men and one woman. I killed the man and woman and I spared the last one." The way Mina calmly explained the details leading up to the deaths of Al and Lex was like she was hitting me in the chest with sledge hammer. It was amazing how she could say all those things without any kind of emotion. "Why didn't you kill the last one?" I asked.

"Then it would break the promise I made," Mina said. "If I killed a Van Helsing I would never forgive myself. Are you related to this Van Helsing?" I paused for a minute and said "He's Daniel Van Helsing. We call him Danny. He's my brother."

"He is?" Mina said. "You both have your father's eyes. I know I've brought great pain upon you and you're comrades. I won't ask you for forgiveness but I want you to understand that this fragile temple of mine is held prisoner by the blood of Dracula. It's like his wandering soul is still controlling me. All traits of his sadism and brutality were unleashed unto me through his blood. Not only had he sought to create me into a new being he also made sure I was the one who would carry on his legacy."

"That's still no excuse, bitch!" Suddenly I felt a sharp sting under my arm. I let out a yelp and I saw a fine thin line under my right arm. A few seconds later it started to bleed. I then looked at Mina and I started to wonder if she was responsible. I thought if she was responsible then it would've taken her a quarter of a second. That was amazing speed! I didn't even see her raise her sword. "Less talking and more listening are essential for your life to be prolonged on this earth and try to show respect," Mina said. "You should try standing in the shoes of those you judge. You must consider yourself blessed. Blessed that you will be able to become a fully grown woman and blessed that you are in the company of friends you can trust. I've never worked for The Brotherhood of Doom and I never will. Those fucking wankers! I can longer associate with the vampire race or any race for that matter. I've wandered around the world searching for companionship but the thoughts of being a vampire discouraged me from going any further.

I wanted someone to blame for my condition. I wanted to take out my frustrations on the villain who created me into what I am. Dracula was already dead but I still saw his face among the growing vampire race. With the Final Dawn in my hand I began my crusade to eliminate all traces of Dracula's legacy. The first vampire I killed was Kent Thorpe, the leader of The Fires of Dusk. When I killed him all the frustration, all the hate and all the pain seemed to have vanished; but I would discover that there were many others. I would travel the world killing what was supposed to be members of my kind because I wanted the vampire race to understand that I was nothing like them. But the death toll would reach 1000 and I would discover that the vampire was still growing in its numbers. Even though I couldn't see them I still felt their presence. To make matters worse I contributed to helping the vampire gain a foothold within the world. I could not control my thirst for blood which placed an even larger emotional burden on my shoulders. But that didn't stop my urge to wipe out the other vampires. I thought if it was my destiny to create a mere human into an immortal creature then I should at least kill as many of the undead as I could. Along the way, however, I would come across vampire hunters. They would all use weapons they've created through their own toil and I would not feel the full effects. I would try to elude them but they have such persistence. Even though the blood of Dracula shields me from all the effects silver nitrate would have on the mere vampire it doesn't stop the vampire hunter in his pursuit. One day I couldn't take it anymore. I decided to fight back. The first vampire hunters I killed were three members of Pursuers of the Night. I wasn't completely aware of The Final Dawn's capabilities against humans until I saw their bodies being dismembered and their blood splattering against the walls. I suddenly realized that killing a human was far more different than killing a vampire. Every time I killed vampire hunters the emotional strain became greater. But I didn't stop because I thought I would leave a warning of sorts that would discourage the vampire hunter from hunting me. This warning, however, is left largely unheeded. Nowadays in this new century the vampire hunter's persistence is far greater than it was in the last century especially with all that state-of-the-art equipment.

I would prowl the streets in every country, alone and murderous until I grabbed the attention from an unlikely source. Jeremiah Magnus, the 200 year old leader of Eternal Paths, took note of my invulnerability against silver nitrate and my swordsmanship and contacted me through his second in command in 1971. I met him face to face at his headquarters Chicago where he hired me as his personal hit woman for the sum of $2 million a hit. I accepted the offer without hesitation, but not without offering the condition that I do the hits for free. Money means absolutely nothing to me. I worked under him for two years. During these years I noticed something I haven't seen in Dracula and Hotsumi: he showed me kindness, he made feel special and he never made any unwanted advances towards me. But all those thoughts changed on the night of April 23rd 1973. He ordered me to kill a young nun named Sister Angela Lewis. The week before Magnus dispatched members of his group upon Lewis' home demanding that she left town or face the consequences. At that time West Chicago was predominantly controlled by various vampire clans and they all viewed her presence as a threat. Magnus ordered me to take Lewis out when she finished services at her church. I stalked her until I met her alone waiting at the train station. I hesitated so greatly. She was horrified at my presence and I sensed her wavering faith in God. I told her that I would spare her life and that it would be wise that if she moved out of town for her own safety. Unfortunately for me I was being watched by Magnus's men who were enraged by my inability to carry out Magnus' orders. They took it upon themselves to finish the task but I killed them all thus saving Sister Lewis's life. It was by these actions that she was convinced that I was the protector of God's children.

The following night I was called by Magnus demanding to know why I failed to carry out my assignment. I told him that Lewis was hard to locate. Unfortunately he saw through my lie and had me captured. He placed me in captivity where he would later inform me that he planned to kill Lewis regardless of whether or not she heeded his warnings and he knew all along my reluctance to carry out certain assignments against humans. I spent the night in captivity lost in thought. I was enraged of Magnus's intentions but most importantly angry with myself for choosing to join forces with him. I joined the Paths of Eternity because he had all the info on the whereabouts of various vampire hunters which I thought would make my task easier. I didn't care what task I was given as long as it involved vanquishing Dracula's legacy. I had to break free of the prison I placed myself in. I broke away from my bonds and began killing every member of Magnus's group in sight with my bare hands. I finally located my sword and continued with my pursuit of Magnus. When I finally reached him I was surprised to find out that he was also a swordsman. We engaged in fierce combat; touching each other's blades with no end in sight. I noticed that he had great skill with his long sword with years of experience. We would go on for thirty minutes until I finally chop off his sword wielding hand and took off his head.

Three years would pass until I found myself in New York City. There I continued on my path to eliminate the vampire race. At the same time I felt lonely once more. I had no reason to continue this meaningless existence until the name Demetri Mann touched my ears. I heard among many vampires alike that he was one of Count Dracula's strongest apprentices and he sought to carry on Dracula's legacy by attempting to create New York into a vampire kingdom. To me it was 1897 all over again. My past was coming back to haunt me. Mann began his reign of terror unleashing full scale attacks upon Manhattan. By the end of 1975 Mann had controlled 50 of New York. Through all this chaos I was convinced that Dracula would be resurrected somehow. This period of time had all the hallmarks of that tumultuous year when I became a vampire. Gruesome and bloody attacks were being reported on the news and many New Yorkers lived in fear and the Police seemed unable or unwilling to put an end to the madness. I took it upon myself to find Mann not only to kill him but to end the lasting legacy of the Count. I squeezed out info from all places to find him: from ordinary bloodsuckers that roamed the streets to vampires who controlled the various business sectors of New York. I would continue to do this until I met your father and your uncle in 1977, ages 18 and 22 respectfully at the time. It happened by accident, really. They were outnumbered by members of the group Disciples of Anarchy. I saved them from sure death. They were amazed at my strength and agility and by the fact that a mere vampire could be the ally of a human. They told me that they were in New York searching for Mann. I then revealed to him that I was searching for the same thing. From there an alliance was born. I relished in the new friendship. Peter was apprehensive about the relationship at first but I looked into Eric's eyes and I saw that he felt that he had a personal and moral obligation to join forces with me. I have the utmost admiration for Van Hellsing. I never thought the day would come when I would fight alongside the descendants of Abraham. There was another thing I thought I had to gain from the alliance. I thought Eric and Peter would somehow find a cure for my condition. In the months leading up to this encounter I hoped and prayed that I would finally be free from living this life with Dracula's blood running in my veins.

We've fought against many of Mann's associates and other random vampires for three months. Our alliance was kept secret from your father and your uncle's comrades. During this time Peter did research on my condition. He presented his findings saying that there was no exact cure for vampirism and that my condition only made matters worse. He said that the blood of Dracula was regenerating every five seconds and by me drinking human blood was making Dracula's blood even stronger. He told me that there was a possible way to weaken the blood of Dracula: control the intake of human blood.

In April 1977 we were finally close to confronting Mann. He barricaded himself at his headquarters in Manhattan and surrounded himself with armed protection. With my help we all were able to break through the armed resistance. I would like to point out that you're father fought valiantly. I spotted Mann escaping to the roof and I tracked him down to his last place of hiding. I was shocked to discover that Mann also lived by the sword. We engaged in heated battle that seemed never ending. It was in was in this battle where I discovered that I was not the only vampire that carried the katana. Mann was a well-trained, well disciplined swordsman, but these traits could not save him from certain death. I ended our battle with a simple stroke and off came his head. Peter and Eric came and saw that the nightmare that threatened New York was finally over. They congratulated me and I in turn thanked them for the friendship we had shared. From there we went our separate ways never to see each other again. I would really like to meet them again."

"Well I hate to break it to you…Dad died…seven years ago… doing…what he did best."

"Oh…I'm sorry to hear that. I could tell you one thing: your father's death wasn't in vain. You should be proud of him."

"I am."

"Moving on. The 1980s came and as technology grew so did the vampire in its numbers. I was aware because I felt its presence everywhere I went. I would hear the screams of innocent victims from distances of 10 miles and to my horror I heard the thoughts of the vampire. Their thoughts gave clear information of their movements and their intentions. It was a power I never thought I had; a power I used to my advantage. After a while I came to realize that of all the places where I tracked down the vampire there was one place where I never set foot on: Mexico. Ten years in Madrid was helpful as I was able to speak the Spanish language. I spent five years in the border towns along the Los Angeles border killing all vampires I came across. It had seemed as if I was successful in eliminating the vampire's existence in these towns as I never felt its presence. This was not possible. But then one day in 1983 I met one named Benicio Del Blanco, the leader of The Scarlet Lines. He came to me to propose an offer to become his personal assassin. I rejected the offer given my experience with Magnus in the previous decade. But he insisted that I give him a year before I made a final judgment. I performed hits for Del Blanco the entire year. One year became two years and then three until I was asked him to relieve me of my duties after five years.

In 1985, somehow the leader of the New Order, Raul de la Cruz received a recommendation to hire me to kill his rivals. I only worked a month for him until we were raided by these hunters who killed him. I killed all but the last one. I instead gave him a message to all hunters who sought to kill me."

"That guy who you spared was Bill Conner."

"Who?"

"Bill Conner. He's a member of The Road Dogs. He was hunting you down for killing his brother."

"What're you talking about?"

"His brother Jason along with some others raided this Casino owned by a member of the Crimson Angels. He was killed by a woman carrying a katana sword."

"That's very unfortunate, but I was never at that casino and I had not associated with the Crimson Angels."

"But there are witnesses that said you were there and that you sliced him up like baloney."

"Lies, all lies. I had nothing to do with that particular case."

"Well, as far as I'm concerned there's no chick out there with that kinda skill."

"Wanna bet? I'd like to bring up the name Helena Krzysztof, a Pole who became a member of the vampire race at age fifteen. Thirty years ago she was recruited by Todo Hotsumi, the same Hotsumi who recruited me. Her skills are second compared to mine. She still serves under Hotsumi who uses her eliminate his rivals and any human who gets in his way."

"Oh yeah? What about Peter Craig. I'm sure you've heard about him. He's been after you for years. He thinks that you have some kind of connection with Dracula. He also blames you for the death of his daughter."

"I've heard of Craig and perhaps I do have a connection with Dracula on some levels but I had nothing to do with the death of his daughter. It's possible that Matthew Adler has a hand in this matter."

"What?"

"Matthew Adler, over 535 year of age, is the leader of Mystic Shadow. His favorite weapon is the katana such as this. Sometimes he personally engages in battles with rival clans. He and Craig were engaged in this intense rivalry for over a century. I assume that his life was consumed on ending all traces of Dracula's memory that he spent little time thinking about Alder. My theory is: Alder was well aware of Craig's obsession with Dracula and me so he decided that to strike at the very heart of Craig by killing his daughter."

"How can you convince me that all what you're saying is true?"

"Look at it this way: Krzysztof, as beautiful as she is, lost her right eye in a battle with vampire hunters twenty-eight years ago and Alder's face is disfigured from a silver nitrate attack. We all know that no one can inflict permanent scars on the "Bride of Dracula".

"Have you ever met these people personally?"

"I engaged in combat with her in Vancouver in 1973. She wished to test her skills on one she considers a legend. She was defeated but I spared her life pointing out that we were evenly matched though she refused to believe it. At that time I was unaware of her connections to Hotsumi. As it turns out Hotsumi actually sent her to kill me. I would find out this when I tried to forgive him.

I met Alder in 1986 when I took it upon myself to kill him. He has such a horrid face. I engaged with him on the rooftops in Detroit, stabbing him once in the abdomen before he escaped from my presence and disappeared among the crowds."

I've been listening to Harker for about twenty minutes and in her voice I was convinced she was telling me nothing but the truth. All my life I saw vampires as these fuckers with no emotion and no conscious. In Mina I saw somebody who I could feel for; someone who was vulnerable and seemed desperate. A girl doomed to eternal youth screaming for someone to pull her out of it. But there was one thing I wanted to know: can she explain the lust for vampire blood?