Chapter 7

Cass, Blanche, and Andre wandered about, seeking out their next destination, when they heard the sound of pained moans coming from behind a door. Cass turned to face it, listening closer.

"Sounds like it's coming from a few floors down," Blanche pointed out. "Kinda the opposite direction we're tryin' to go here."

"This is true," Andre acknowledged. "However, if he has innocents trapped down here, we cannot turn a blind eye to them."

Cass nodded. "Aside from that, we may be able to figure out just who's brought Mr. Tall, Dark, & Bloodthirsty back to the waking world."

Blanche sighed."Well, seems to me it won't matter much if we take out the undead man of the hour, but clearly, we're two to one here. So sure, let's go towards the horrifying noises."

Cass opened the door, and cautiously, they traversed down a wooden spiral staircase. Each step creaked as they made their way to the bottom.

"Well, whatever's down here, I guarantee it knows we're comin'," Blanche whispered.

On their approach to the final step, what came into view froze them in place. It seemed to be a vast library, but the granite floor was stained with blood, and each wall not occupied by rows of books seemed to have malnourished, wailing human beings shackled to the wall. Blanche's skin went pale. She turned around and vomited into the corner.

"What the hell is going on here...?" Cass wondered.

"These are not victims of the Count," Andre observed as he looked about. "They are nearly emaciated, but show no bite marks. Vampires prefer healthy, lively prey. Something this twisted could only be the work of man..."

A withered voice suddenly spoke from the crowd. "Andre... Îngerul meu..."

Andre ran over to the source of the sound. A young man with shoulder-length wispy, white hair sat there, looking up at him with dark bags under his bloodshot hazel eyes.

"Dumitru...!" Andre knelt down to face him. "What have they done to you...?"

"You... know him...?" Cass asked nervously.

"He is Dumitru Sala... When I arrived in Romania without one leu to my name, he helped me... Gave me a place to live, food to eat... He showed me more kindness than anyone ever had, but one day, he disappeared... I had no idea..."

Andre reached his hand to Dumitru's face, small tears trailing from his eyes. He leaned in and gave him a kiss on the lips. Cass looked away, flushing lightly. Andre then took out a cross and slashed at the chains binding him.

"Come with me, Dumitru... You and your countrymen will be safe with us..." Andre said, trying to compose himself.

Dumitru shook his head vehemently. "N-no... If we leave... If we are allowed to roam the streets... we will endanger many more comrades! Something... is happening to me, Andre...! I was injected with something... All of them have been, too..."

Cass took out a small camera and tried to line up a shot of as many prisoners as she could. "Once I show this to the CIA, I know they'll launch an investigation-"

The sound of a gunshot rang through the library, and the camera shattered apart in Cass' hands. She turned around immediately, readying her whip. From the shadows emerged the familiar face of Felix Vladimirescu, holding a smoking gun.

"Now, now, we cannot have you stirring up any international incidents here, Ms. Morris," he said with a smug smile on his face.

"Felix!" Cass yelled. "What is all this?! Were you the one who revived Dracula?!"

Felix let out a loud, bellowing laugh. "Quicker on the uptake than I thought. You see, the master is quite irate with your father, but due to his... recent passing, Lord Dracula is more than willing to accept his daughter's life as retribution. Having the last of the Lecarde and Belmont bloodlines here is simply... What do you Americans say? 'Icing on the cakes?'"

Cass growled beneath her breath. "Bastard... If Ceaușescu knew...!"

Felix chuckled to himself. "If he knew? Look around you. You may see innocent victims, but Ceaușescu? He sees dissidents, political opponents, protesters. I promised him the means to be rid of them, and he asked no questions. It was I who suggested to him that if we resurrected the Dark Count, we could seek aid from America and establish an alliance that would give us a position of power in our dealings with Brezhnev. I even gave him the name of the agent to request: One Agent Cassandra Morris."

Blanche wiped her mouth, turning around to face him. Though her throat felt like it was burning, she decided to speak up. "Ain't Draccy gonna be pissed off about you usin' him for political favors...?"

Felix shook his head. "My dear, I fear you have it all wrong. I am not using Lord Dracula. I am using Ceaușescu's pig-headedness as a means to bring this world's rightful ruler back into power. East or West, capitalist or communist... Do you not see? None of it will matter when we are all under the shadow of the one worthy leader in this diseased world!"

Blanche drew her gun on him, but Felix held up a single hand. "Now, now, what would your superiors say if you were responsible for the death of a representative from the Romanian government? On the off-chance that you survive this night, you would spend your entire lives either in prison or self-imposed exile, like this poor excuse for a Belmont you have brought with you."

Shaking with fury, Blanche holstered her gun. Cass approached him and glared directly into his eyes. "I swear on my life that I won't let you get away with any of this!"

Felix stepped back, being somewhat shaken by this. "A-awfully courageous for someone in your position, are you not?"

"Not at all. I just know that if you took the pleasure of killing any of us away from your master, he would be furious with you. He'd punish you in ways that would never end, even after your death. Frankly, I'm almost curious enough to see it that I'd let you."

"I don't doubt it," Felix said with a smirk, "but I do not have the time to ponder such hypotheticals. After all, I must entertain my master." He lifted his hand and snapped his fingers. The shackles holding the prisoners fell loose, and instinctively, they all approached Dumitru, who was frozen in place.

"Andre... Lubirea mea... Alerga...! Run!"

The other prisoners' bodies began to merge into his, forming into a titanic humanoid abomination. Its amalgamated frame was disjointed by arrays of knees, elbows, hands, feet, and heads poking out from every surface. Dumitru seemed to be the basis for its face, but it was deformed by the bodies and faces of the other victims. They all spoke in unison as they swung down to strike Andre.

"CAN'T... CONTROL...! ANDRE...! KILL ME...!"

"I can't!" Andre yelled as he dodged away. "I-I can fix this! I can save you, Dumitru! I can save all of you!"

"IT IS... TOO... LATE... WE ARE... ONE...! WE WILL... NEVER... SEPARATE...! WE WILL... ALWAYS... ATTACK...! WE... ARE... NOT... SSSAAAFFFE!"

Felix laughed as he exited the dark chamber. Cass stood frozen, terrified by his creation and all the lives it had destroyed. Blanche ran to her side.

"Cass! Use the whip! It's the only way to stop this!" she cried.

"But if I do, I'll-"

"N-no," Andre interrupted. "Without its true power unleashed, the Vampire Killer cannot do enough to end this... I... I must be the one... Dumitru... I love you...!"

He took his entire pouch of sacred ash and tossed it at the unfortunate creature with his eyes closed. The bag tore apart on contact and the ash sprayed out all across its tremendous body. Its outer skin sizzled, and it collapsed to the ground, screaming. Andre fell to his knees, choking back tears. As the creature began to dissolve into dust, the last thing he saw was Dumitru's face.

"I love you... too... Andre..." he said with a smile as he disappeared forever...

Andre got back up to his feet, looking down at the gigantic mound of ashes that were once Romanian people whose only crime was a desire for peace and security. He turned around and slammed his fist against a wall, crying out loud as he punctuated each curse with another punch.

"DAMN VLADIMIRESCU! DAMN DRACULA! DAMN CASTLEVANIA! DAMN ROMANIA! DAMN AMERICA! DAMN THE SOVIETS! DAMN CEAUŞESCU! DAMN NIXON! DAMN BREZHNEV! DAMN ME! DAMN IT ALL!"

Cass swallowed hard. Though she had been deeply affected just by the sight of what had transpired before her, she knew that what Andre was going through must have felt thousands of times worse. Blanche, too, was at a loss for words. Finally, Andre spoke up again.

"I know there will be consequences if either of you kill Felix Vladimirescu... but if he meets his end by a Romanian citizen, that is out of your hands... I will take the justice so rightly deserved by Dumitru and his comrades, and pay it unto Felix ten-thousand-fold...!" As he turned around, one book in the library stood out to him. A copy of the Holy Bible sat between books on alchemy and sorcery. It seemed to have a nearly unearthly glow to it. He walked forward and grabbed it from the shelf. "Though I know not what possessed you to keep the scriptures that harm your master in this pit of sin, it will be your undoing. I shall take the good book as my guide and serve as your personal escort to your rightful place in Hell!"

They walked straight through the library in the direction Felix had escaped. Though many malicious creatures lurked in its shadows, they remained stationary out of fear for the raw anger emanating from the group.