Chapter 5
The cabin was still in the dead hours of the night. The trees twisted in the moonlight as if they were trying to catch it and steal it for their own. A lone wolf could be heard in the distance, and the sweet sound of crickets in the distance created a haunting ambiance through the hall of the empty cabin.
He could smell her, it pervaded every inch of the cabin, he could sense we touch along the walls and across the floor, to her bedroom.
He needed her.
With the most silent, deft feet, he stalked through the living room, breathing in her scent.
It inflamed him with an insatiable desire and he felt more than heard a low rumble bubble up from his chest.
She was sleeping when he entered her bedroom, the moon from her window draping over her frame like a second blanket, highlighting her serene features as they slumbered. Another scent, fresh and heady, warm and inviting. The scent of unconscious desire, wafted from her as she shifted in her sleep.
What was she dreaming of?
He loomed over her like a shadow, watching her face as she lowly mumbled an incoherent sound in response to her dreams. He felt her heat, like a stranger, his skin prickled at it. He hadn't realized he was cold...well, colder than before. Yet he was sweating, perspiring, and feeling all together too hot to be cold, he felt on fire. Hot to touch, with flaming footsteps behind him, yet she even more so.
He placed a hand on her scalding arm carefully and coiled his long, taloned fingers around her arm, holding her almost affectionately before ripping her out of her peaceful sleep with a violent tug.
She shrieked but he covered her mouth with his free hand and shoved her into the shadows. He was comfortable there, they were both safe there.
He leaned down and soothed her trembling shoulders with a gentle kiss, a perfect juxtaposition to the violence he displayed before.
"Nikola?" her voice wavered, fear evident in her tone.
He hissed and spun her towards him and pressed her against the wall, pinning her there, raising his taloned hand to turn her head to expose her neck. The porcelain prize of his midnight hunt. With a mangled cry he bit into the chord of her neck, his claws slashing against her in a wave of anger and longing. A longing to be under her skin...
Nikola jolted awake. He was in his bed, once again, swimming in sweat-drenched sheets. They tangled around his ankles and tugged at his clothing, making him feel strangled.
He stopped struggling once he realized he was himself. Not the thing he'd been in his nightmare.
It was late, the moon had just risen as far as he could tell, which did not make sense since it had been late evening the last time he remembered. The house was eerily quiet, it felt trapped, like space and time had frozen. Is this what the blood did to you?
He unwrapped himself from his bedding and washed his face in the basin and felt at least a days growth of stubble across his cheek. It was scratchy. The small mirror he'd hung up for shaving reflected as much. His hair was stringy and damp, his clothing was rumpled and left marks on his skin where he'd obviously slept on it funny. He looked pale, felt a bit dehydrated, and he had large egregious bags under his eyes. What had happened? Did he catch a flu? Have an adverse reaction to the injection? Was it something he ate?
He nimbly removed his soiled clothing and changed into a fresh shirt and trousers, not bothering to attire a complete suit but enough so he at least didn't feel so grubby. He ran some water through his hair and combed it down into some semblance of order.
When he stepped out of his bedroom, barefoot, and clean-shaven, he could hear the crackling of the fireplace in the living room, and the soft clattering of a tea cup on its saucer. He walked towards the warm light as if he was a cold-blooded animal who'd never felt warmth.
His four comrades were sitting quietly. James was reading, Nigel was fiddling with something and John sat close to Helen drinking a brandy. Helen was off, away with her thoughts, looking into the flames with distant eyes.
Nikola coughed to announce his presence and all four stopped in their quiet ministrations and looked up in utter amazement.
"Nikola!" Helen was the first to leap to her feet.
Her hands were at his face before he had time to react, checking his temperature. Her hands felt cool agains his skin but he didn't say anything.
"H-how long have I been asleep?" he murmured quietly.
"About a day," James interrupted, coming to assist Helen in Nikola's check up.
"What happened?" Nikola asked.
"We...we don't know, how do you feel?" asked Helen.
"Like rubber...a little hungry," he shrugged.
"Nigel," Helen snapped her fingers and he immediately jumped to his feet and ran to the kitchen to fetch Nikola something to eat.
"Here, sit down," Helen tried to pull him to the settee but Nikola resisted.
"I'd rather stand," he said firmly.
"Nikola, do you feel any...differently?" James asked carefully.
Nikola's mind flashed to the bizarre nightmare he'd had just before waking up.
"I...I don't think so," Nikola subconsciously moved and shuffled his limbs as if trying to figure out for himself if anything felt different, but aside from being grossly fatigued and immobile his body felt the same, it was still his. He was the same man he was before the injection. His heart sank a little...did that mean he had failed Helen as well?
The rest of the evening moved in a blur as they fed Nikola a hearty stew of meat and potatoes with crusty bread and a long draught of wine. His stomach had never been so happy to see food in it in his life, especially the wine.
After getting his strength back he was quickly subjected to a series of strange tests created by Helen and James to find if he had indeed changed or not. Sadly, the results were boringly normal and unsatisfactory.
After letting Helen burn off her disappointment at the failed experiment they decided to make the best of what was left of their trip and plan out their activities for the coming few days. Nikola sat on the floor with his legs stretched out, nursing his second glass of wine and resting his head against Helen's thigh. She sat very unladylike on the couch drinking a brandy and rifling through her extensive notes on the blood to be doubly sure she hadn't missed anything.
Nikola, as much as he could say, was content just like this. It was the affectionate cat in him that secretly loved the way Helen would occasionally graze her fingertips over his scalp and twirl his hair gently. It made him feel relaxed and loved.
John entered from one of the bedrooms carrying the book he had found their first evening here. It was now completely unbound.
The word to best describe this book was grotesque. The leather was course and of a sickly pallor; it was tightly stretched over the binding and formed into what looked like a hideous face screaming in agony. Helen tensed at seeing the book and Nikola couldn't help but feel the need to pull out his handkerchief.
He was flipping artlessly through the ancient pages, careful to separate them and examine each page individually. He took his seat by Helen, casting a quick glance over at the hand Helen was still running through Nikola's hair. The look flashed but quickly dissolved under its curiosity towards the book.
"Is that the book you found in the cellar?" asked Nikola, looking over at the book with a slight grimace.
"Indeed it is," John nodded.
"Oh John! Must you parade around with that thing? It makes my teeth itch," Helen looked up from her notes and sneered at it.
"It is rather disturbing," John said casually, lifting up the cover to examine the face formed at the front. "Even more so the contents."
He showed her the pages of the book. Helen looked away, perturbed.
"I think this book was used for some kind of pagan or religious ritual. Nikola would know right?" John teased, thrusting the book at Nikola's face.
Nikola pushed it away from him, causing Helen's hand to leave his head where he had previously enjoyed it being.
"My father's a priest, not a witch doctor," Nikola sneered.
"In all your childhood he never performed any mysterious baptisms in the graveyard on a full moon," John continued to mock.
"No, he was a member of the Orthodox Church, his beliefs included extensive prayer, fasting, and penitent work for the people in neighboring villages. The only ritual he partook in was the Passover Meal and his daily ritual of bruising his knees on the hardwood floor. No baptisms, no holy water, no bloodletting. He was pious and god-fearing, not fanatical." Nikola sneered and took a sip from his wine, mumbling a curse under his breath.
James came up behind the settee to gaze at the pages of the book.
"Interesting language," James pointed out, redirecting the conversation.
"I thought it might be Latin," John suggested.
"No...though there are similarities in the form," John handed the book to James so he could examine it further. "Most of its unreadable."
James flipped through some of the pages before coming to rest on a picture. The image disturbed him, as was the writing scrawled across the pages in black ink as opposed to the ominous blood red the book contained. "Do not read!" the words were scratched all over the page. "Do not speak the words aloud!"
James winced slightly then turned the page.
"What does it say?" asked John.
Nigel was now watching with a piqued interest, even Helen was pretending not to notice while keeping an ear open. Nikola watched with careful eyes as his friend poured over the words. "It's not Latin...as far as I can tell, but if its vowels and structure is similar to it then..."
James trailed off, his brilliant brain peeling back the layers of mystery surrounding the words in the book.
"It appears that this incantation is said to awaken an evil that will posses the body of man and cause chaos," James said after a moment.
Nikola felt his body tense. The memory of his dream coming back, like a waft of smoke to coil around his brain. He felt a prickling begin at the base of his neck.
"Read it," John encouraged excitedly.
"I don't think that's wise," piped up Nigel.
"Indeed," James agreed.
"Oh, come on. You can't possibly believe that reading six or seven little words is going to unleash some unspeakable Hell upon us. I know we see a lot of things that expand the realm of possibility but even so, that is quite the stretch. Come on, James, read it!"
James' hand twitched uncomfortably.
Nikola felt a feeling of wariness creep into his gut.
"John, I think we should put the book away," he said softly.
"What? In case papa should find out and damn you out of heaven?" John sneered.
"John, please," Helen pleaded, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Enough."
John sucked in a contemptible breath.
"Fine, then I'll read it," he stole the book from James' hands. "Can't be hard."
He examined the words for a moment.
"Kanda," he said after a moment and Nikola instantly felt a knot form in his gut. "Estradta."
Nikola's mind flashed with images, blood-soaked, horror-filled images. With claws and sharp teeth, a deep rumbling, inhuman snarl and blood curdling screams. Her screams...her blood.
"Mantos...Bemilas," John continued.
Nikola's hand tightened around the neck of his wine glass as the images flashed faster and more intensely. He could feel a bead of sweat slide down his face and his hands were starting to shake.
"Nat..."
"John, please," Nikola begged, his voice shaky.
"Nos vermos," John ignored him.
"John!" Helen tried to stop him, seeing how much it was disturbing Nikola.
"Kanda...Mantos...Kanda!"
"NOO!" Nikola howled, the glass in his hand shattering and slicing into his hand.
"Nikola!" Helen reached over and touched his shoulder. He was shaking almost violently.
John chuckled slightly.
"What's wrong, Nikola? Spooked?"
"Enough, John!" Helen barked. "Put that book away or so help me..."
Helen didn't finish her sentence as Nikola sprung away, immediately rushing over to the window as if spotting something in the forest.
"Nikola, what's wrong?" asked James.
"You've gone pale all of the sudden," added Nigel.
Nikola spun around towards them.
"I...I want to go. Now. I want to leave," he said in a panic. Blood was dripping from his palm on to the floor.
"Nikola," Helen stood up coming over to him.
"No, I want to leave, I want to leave this place immediately," Nikola pushed past her to run to his room. "We shouldn't be here...we should never have come!"
"Nikola?" The group followed after him. They'd never seen him in such a state.
He ran to his room and began throwing his clothes into his suitcase.
"Nikola, the carriage won't be back for a week, we can't leave," Helen said, sympathetically.
"I'll walk!" Nikola said with determination. "Can't be that far to the small farming village we passed on the way here. A days walk. We can make it if we pack lightly."
"Nikola, that's insane," James sighed.
"Anywhere is better than here!" Nikola threw his shaving kit into his bag. "Please, let's go," he pleaded with them.
"Look, Nikola, John is sorry about the cracks about your family...if this is about the book we'll put it away, for good, right John?" James said diplomatically.
Nikola groaned.
"No, it's...just please, we need to leave this place, it's not safe, it's not..." Nikola trailed off as Helen stepped forward and took his uninjured hand in hers.
"Nikola," she said calmly. "Sit down," she instructed. He did as he was told, sitting on the edge of the bed, averting their concerned gazes. How could he explain how he was feeling? He didn't even understand it himself.
"Nikola, please," Helen knelt by him. "Stay one more night, if you still feel the same tomorrow then we'll go."
Nikola began to shake his head fearfully but Helen grasped it in her hands. Cupping his cheeks, she looked into his eyes.
"Nothing bad is going to happen to you," Helen said sincerely.
"It's not myself I'm worried about," Nikola whispered, matching her gaze. "It's you...all of you, I mean."
Helen smiled warmly.
"Rest, Nikola, you've had a very trying day," she gently encouraged him to lie back and lean against the headboard of his bed. She took his bleeding hand in hers and ripped a strip of linen off the cloth by the basin.
She gently cleaned and bandaged his wound. Nikola had his eyes focused on her the entire time, watching her every move with a profound awe.
James, John and Nigel left Helen to her nurturing of Nikola, John only slightly lingering. They went back to the living room and James picked up the book.
"John, put this back where you found it and leave it there," he instructed.
"What? For upsetting the baby?" scoffed John.
"For upsetting all of us. Not just Nikola. This book has left us all feeling slightly perturbed, so put it away, I'm asking this as your friend," James said sternly. "And you don't have to provoke him."
John sighed at that.
"Harmless jibbing, that's all it was, I can't help it that Nikola gets his feathers ruffled over everything," John shrugged.
"I understand John, but to insinuate that his parents were..."
"I meant it as a joke, nothing more!"
"It was in poor taste, despite your intentions," James sighed, pouring a glass of brandy for himself.
"Fine, I'll behave," shrugged John.
"That's all we ask," James nodded his head slightly.
"I wonder if its a side effect from the blood," Nigel said suddenly, catching the two men off guard.
"What is?" James asked.
"Nikola's reaction. Nikola has never been freaked out by anything, not like that. He hates dirt and all but it doesn't physically terrify him, he never panics over his aversions...I'm wondering if he's sensing something he does not know how to explain. Maybe it's a sign," Nigel mused out loud. Sometimes the short cockney could make some truly astute observations. John and James both shared a look at the thought.
Nikola didn't feel well at all, it was like a ball of lead was forming in the pit of his stomach. Helen managed to bandage his hand and clean the glass from it. She was cleaning off her tools in the basin. Nikola sat on his bed, watching her, feeling hot, itchy, and all together uncomfortable in his own skin.
Helen dumped the basin out the window and the water landed in the grass with a dull splash. She headed to the door to refill the basin from the pump outside.
"Helen, wait!" Nikola called before she could leave.
Helen paused and spun around to face him.
"What is it?" she asked.
Nikola bit his lip as he searched for the words he wanted to say.
"Nothing...nothing, it's nothing," he dismissed her, averting her gaze.
Helen eyes him for a moment then began to leave again.
"Wait! Please...stay," Nikola blurted out. So much insecurity was unusual in the Serbian genius, Nikola was nothing if not headstrong.
"I'll be right back," Helen tried to sound calm and collected, hoping that would help ease his fears.
"I mean tonight...stay here, with me...tonight," Nikola muttered, his eyes pleading. Helen did not quite understand what he was asking or why he was asking, but she saw something...a fear, an unquenchable, unrelenting demon.
She went up to him and kissed his forehead.
"I will stay here for as long as you like," she smiled softly and smoothed down a tuft of his hair. "At least till you fall asleep."
"No!"Nikola frantically grabbed her arm. "No, you must stay here, there's...there's something out there," he whispered.
"What Nikola? What is out there? What has gotten you so freaked out?" Helen saw the look in his eyes again. She'd never seen him like this.
"I-I don't know..." He sighed. "I just...I have to make sure you're safe."
"I'll stay, Nikola, I promise," Helen nodded her head. To prove her point she sat down and wrapped her arms around Nikola, gently cradling him. Sometimes he reminded her of a child. Nikola quickly squeezed her tightly, as if clinging to her for dear life and Helen could do nothing but gently rock him and whisper soft encouragements into his ear.
Something was definitely wrong with her dearest friend, and to be honest, it was terrifying her. If staying up with him would ease his fears until morning then that's what she would have to do.
~~~~Author's Notes~~~~
Mahaha! Something wicked this way comes!