Disclaimer: I do not own Dracula.
I decided to continue this story, it will be slower to update than other stories that I might do like Ordo but intend to carry on with it for the time being.
There will be mention of other Dracula films in particular those made by Hammer as it allows me to expand the universe somewhat. Some other characters from other films will make an appearance.
Thank you to everyone who read the previous chapter.
An extra thanks to AbsoluteSilence, AchilleasGOD, Bookmanrc, Borgadin, Dcylo, Hawko, KingInTheNorth27, Mari Wollsch, Neotac, Nicolette von Tronje, OmniIBIBUltraInstinctGodzilla, Rebell 01, RevanMorningstar, Shizuka-naru Goketsu, TheRazgrizDragon, VirReturnsFromMinbar, anglefate, antithought, deandino92, exsailor1999, kaiserfrost, lawhoncl, linx007, mad9172, podlizurko, rjmf001, silver-moon84, smyp and utkarshkaushik for favouriting the story.
And to AvidReader2425, loki98065, HorusRa, Mari Wollsch, Ravenclaw Midnight Blue and VirReturnsFromMinbar for reviewing
On with the story…
Dracula's Deal 2
Dracula's Residence, London, England…October 1918…
The city had changed little in the years that had passed Mina thought quietly to herself as she looked out across it. It had been years since she had made her bargain with Dracula for Lucy's life and it had been so hard of a deal to make. Time, she had hoped would have eased her pain of the loss of her humanity and the life she had lived before but instead it festered in her heart she thought with dismay. She wished she could forget sometimes so this burden would no longer plague her but without it she thought with her fury coming to her face, she would likely live for nothing more than the hunt…like him she thought with disgust.
It had been a cruel twist of fate to hear that her beloved Jonathan was alive, Mina thought with sorrow as she had been forced to let him believe her dead and see his own grief but she could not bring him into this she thought with determination and revulsion at the idea. Nor Lucy who at least had recovered as Dracula had said she would, she had married Arthur and had her family, children that were now grown and so after a long while had Jonathan which broke her heart to see him with another woman but it was better to let him have some happiness after what he had endured in that castle she thought with sadness.
Having children was a joy that she would never know, Mina thought with grim resignation, her condition made such a thing impossible and she would have to find other pleasures to ease her misery.
Her drive to make something of her unending life was carrying her through this depression she thought with determination for it not to defeat her and grind her down into becoming a beast like Dracula she thought with disgust at the mere idea. She had continued to grow her organisation and its scope and now it was spreading beyond any that had gone before, driven even faster by…current events Mina thought with her mind turning to the war that was now raging on the continent.
They called it the Great War, not that there was anything great about war she thought as her sources had informed her of the true cost in terms of life which was worse than any other struggle that had gone before to her knowledge. Only the most vicious of dictators in all their reigns or the most virulent of diseases had killed as many or more and it had shaken the world to its very core, Mina thought with the revolutions in Russia and in Germany. Old monarchies fell and new governments rising to take their place with a sea of bloodshed carrying them forward.
Mina despaired at such loss of life; it might seem strange for a vampire to think more of human life that most humans did but her immortality had given her a newfound appreciation for the faster pace of life enjoyed by those that lived in their allotted span. She and her organisation had made enormous profits from the war which was a bitter irony given her opinions on it. All the weapons and ships, vehicles, medicines and everything that a nation needed to fight a war was something her business investments thrived on and had left the coven far richer than it had ever been.
But there was another reason for its newfound wealth Mina thought with disgust at the actions of her maker. Dracula had loved the life of a warlord in centuries passed and was delighted by the opportunity to enjoy the savagery and brutality of war, he had recruited many vicious individuals like himself and turned them, unleashing this insatiable horde free on the various fronts in the war…Europe of course but also in Egypt, Turkey, Asia, Greece, South America and Russia all of the fronts of the war and more had been their blood-soaked playground, robbing, pillaging, killing and feasting without a single care of the destruction that they left in their wake. Stealing art, money, gold and other treasures as the spoils of their brutality. She had been the one who had been forced to take action so their savagery remained hidden by the fog of war and also the one who had been forced to bring their ill-gotten gains back to London where they would be secure. Learning how to smuggle had been an education she had never thought that she would experience but it had become a necessary one for her to get everything to where it needed to be.
She was just glad that a peace was soon coming as it meant an end to this madness that had consumed the entire world she thought with the fondest hope.
Mina was broken from her thoughts by a hacking cough that echoed through the halls of the palatial house that the coven now called home, her mouth turning up slightly as she took some amusement at the situation and an unexpected discovery.
As Dracula and his band of monsters had travelled into the harshness of No Man's Land to feed on the soldiers who fought there, they had been engulfed in a bombardment of mustard gas. As vampires they had no thought that it posed any real danger to them but when they had made contact with the horrid gas, they had discovered to their cost that vampires were not as invulnerable as they had believed. It had much the same effect on them as it did on normal men and most vampires that had been exposed to the gas had died slowly and in great pain while older and stronger vampires did endure but suffered debilitating side effects that did not go away with a good feeding, instead it was a slow and painful road to recovery with even Dracula himself having been confined to his room while the coven tended to him.
That left her and her own council of sorts free to pursue their own agenda and make sure that no trace of this barbarity that Dracula and his thugs had committed saw the light of day. She while Dracula recovered had free reign over the coven and it was something that she cherished as it gave her the ability to pursue things her own way.
She saw two figures walking up the corridor going the other way, Eva was a Spanish woman that Dracula had taken as his new bride on a trip to Spain and acquiring land there. She had lived in a neighbouring property and caught his eye, turning her and bringing her back to London as a trophy. Poor Eva had lost everyone she knew and worse she couldn't speak English at first so she couldn't communicate. Fortunately, with some effort Mina and some of the others in the coven had learned Spanish and she in turn had managed to learn English so at least they could speak to each other now.
Eva was escorting another young woman up the corridor, both smiled at Mina as they passed and she returned it. Christina was in some ways lucky and in some ways not by her circumstances, Dracula had learned of a doctor or a professor of some sort that was conducting brutal and dangerous experiments in Central Europe and had wanted to see about bringing him into the coven which brought of a look of disgust to Mina's face at the mere idea of having someone who had such disrespect for life and people in the coven that she had built. The doctor however had been forced to flee when the authorities who had investigated his activities before Dracula could find him although he had discovered one of his victims on the banks of a river. Christina who they only knew her name from a label on her dress had been stripped of her memory and was little more than a very young child in a young woman's body, but her beauty had enticed Dracula who had taken her as his bride.
Eva had found a purpose in helping Christina who had needed to be retaught everything, walking and talking, reading and writing, she had been a blank slate that needed to be fixed. They had done their best and she was thankfully starting to act more as an adult rather than a child as her mind finally caught up to her body.
Mina continued walking down the corridor to see just what was the business today, a smile coming to her lips as she saw her friend and confidant strolling up towards her.
"Our friends have gathered; I hear there has been some troubling news from the continent." Diana Kent said as she reached her, the blonde woman was worried which was echoed by Mina herself as she hoped it would not endanger the coming peace.
Diana was her companion and friend and she too knew what it was to lose everything you held dear to Dracula, Mina thought sadly. Dracula although he now based himself in London had made pilgrimages back to his castle at least once a year, on his first visit back there he had discovered that his brides had absconded much to his anger and he had enlisted a man named Klove to watch over the castle in his absence while moving all his remaining treasures to London for safekeeping. While there Diana, her husband Charles, Charles's brother Alan and Alan's wife Helen had been forced to stop at the castle due to being abandoned by their coach driver on the road. Dracula had of course allowed them into his castle with open arms and played the courteous host to perfection until the night came, then he and Klove had finished off Alan and Charles before he had taken both Helen and Diana herself as his new brides.
Diana had retained her humanity after her turning but Helen had descended quickly into an animal and plaything of Dracula, joining his band of thugs in their brutal wanderings only to die in the mustard gas. Diana mourned for those she had lost but like Mina was determined not to let it defeat her and turn into a monster like Dracula who she despised as much as Mina did.
And as they entered the meeting room with its long round mahogany table, they saw another of Dracula's victims waiting for them. Maria Mueller, niece of the Monseigneur of Keinenberg who had been taken as spoils of war too Mina thought sadly as she was so young and innocent, she would never have crossed Dracula's path except for a cruel twist of fate. Her uncle had tried to exorcise Dracula's castle of evil and while he had failed to accomplish this task not least of which was down to Klove and Dracula being there on his yearly visit, Dracula had not been satisfied by his death. He had travelled to Keinenberg with Klove and abducted Maria while killing her young man Paul in the process. Turning her into his latest bride before returning to London with her, scared and grieving for her lost uncle and her fiancé Diana and Mina had taken her under their wing and now she was working for Mina as her secretary, helping her navigate the enormous task of managing their organisation.
The door opened again as the next pair entered and they while also victims of Dracula had achieved something of a happy ending Mina thought envying them somewhat for that achievement. Alice Hargood and Paul Paxton had been brought into this coven due to Dracula's insatiable need for revenge. When Mr Hargood, Mr Paxton and Mr Secker had killed Lord Courtley who Dracula had intended to bring into their coven for his desire for the darker arts, Dracula had sought revenge using their children to achieve this. He had hypnotised Alice and used her to kill her own violent and drunk father Mr Hargood before luring Lucy Paxton into Dracula's trap who had then turned her and used the two young women to kill Mr Paxton. Lucy had then turned Jeremy; Secker's son and they had then killed his father. Alice had slowly come back to herself after Dracula had turned her into his latest bride, horrified at the things he had made her do and as a measure of mercy, Mina had brought Paul into the coven and turned him so they at least could be together, their love helping to endure the dark eternity that was their existence. Lucy Paxton and Jeremy Secker meanwhile had become a part of Dracula's thugs and died in the Mustard gas alongside Helen.
The pair had something to envy Mina thought with sadness at her own loneliness which she knew was shared by Diana and Maria. But it had proven something of a gain for them in other ways as Paul was an excellent businessman, he helped manage their business holdings and investments with great skill which had proven invaluable to Mina as it meant she did not have to attend to it all by herself. Alice helped him in this while seeking out her own interests which was something that Mina was encouraging Diana and Maria to do as well.
She greeted them both as they waited for the other members of their circle to arrive, the door eventually opened as the group's lawyer had entered the room. Sarah Framsen, another beautiful woman that had taken Dracula's fancy while he had been on another visit to his castle. She had become involved in their dark world when her fiancé's idiot brother had slept with the Burgomaster's daughter who Dracula had his own eyes on, in jealous retaliation Dracula had killed Paul and then Simon before taking the blonde beauty that Sarah was as his own. Sarah had like the rest of them been heartbroken at the loss of the man she loved at Dracula's hand but had chosen to honour Simon by becoming a lawyer as he had meant to do. She was getting good at it too, Mina thought with admiration for her brain, proving a great asset to the coven in handling legal matters.
They then were joined by two of their newest additions, Ser Thomas and his son David. David had been injured in the war and on the verge of death from his wounds becoming infected and likely did not have long to live. Ser Thomas had been desperate to save his son and with no option he had sought them out, it had been a great price to pay for his survival and David had not been happy about it upon awakening as a vampire but David had adjusted with time, Thomas even having turned himself as his son was the only source of joy in his world and would not dream of leaving him to face this new existence alone. Thomas was a man that understood the establishment, political, societal and otherwise better than anyone Mina had ever known and despite being in his sixties when turned was a great asset to them as he could find the vulnerabilities in institutions that they would never dream to look for.
Kate Reed entered next; the young woman had been brought into their coven when she had inadvertently discovered their existence. An ambitious journalist who was constantly frustrated by not being taken serious due to her gender but she had found some purpose in her role of keeping the media off their trail but Kate was eager to do more, she didn't want to just handle the media…she wanted to own the media one day. Mina had urged her to keep that dream and work towards it, dreams might be all they had now she thought sadly.
Adam then arrived and Mina greeted him with a hug and he returned it with just as much warmth and affection, his dark skin had made him a target of racism all his life as despicable as Mina herself found such things, but there was no man who knew how to find the 'pulse' of a city as well as Adam did. The man if not for the horrid prejudice of those in power would have been an intellect worthy of Newton, Adam had been in a rather bad situation when Mina had found him while hunting one night, about to be set on by a gang of racist thugs but she had saved him and dispatched the brutes. Adam to her surprise had been intrigued by her condition and once she had realised what an asset that he would be had been only too eager to experience it for himself so she had turned him after explaining the changes that this would bring which he was able to overcome. He now was not only managing their network of informers but he had taken the time to learn and develop his considerable mind.
Given time it could only be imagined what he might become Mina thought without worry as she knew she could trust him and his thirst was purely for knowledge not power.
They sat around the table and took a sip of the blood they had saved, taking a moment to enjoy it before getting down to business.
"Profits at the shipyards and steel mines are likely to drop after the war is over." Paul mentioned as they moved from point to point but Thomas added.
"However, with the losses in the merchant fleet it will only be a slight loss as new ships to replace those lost will be needed." Thomas said and Mina nodded in agreement to both men.
"Good points, we will need to think about finding potential markets for our materials and facilities. Alice, has there been any word on the rogues?" Mina asked Alice who frowned before nodding.
"Sadly yes, some of the master's thugs have indeed gone out of his control. They seem to have some intelligence enough to hide their movements but we are tracking several around Europe and possibly America." Alice told her before Maria had her own piece of information to add.
"But our operations in Paris are being disrupted by a vampire that has founded their own coven there." Maria said before Adam provided more information.
"It is not one of the ones our master turned for the war." He said, distaste in his mouth for calling Dracula 'Master' when all of them deeply hated him. "It is one of his former brides, the originals from the castle that has founded the coven in Paris in direct competition for us. Her hatred for Dracula meaning she will interfere with anything we do simply because we are 'in league' with him in her mind." Adam said with frustration as the woman might have been a good ally if she did not hate them all just for existing.
"So" David said looking bored with proceedings but interested in just what Mina intended to do about it. "What are we going to do?"
All eyes turned to Mina who frowned, not sure exactly what the best approach was to deal with this creature who was consumed by such hatred which she could quite easily understand but not when it was interfering with them for no reason other than to inconvenience Dracula who was ironically not in a position to do anything.
A knock at the door stopped her from answering, they all turned and Mina called out. "Enter."
A slim woman in a nurse's uniform entered, she was nervous at interrupting their meeting but she had no reason to be. She was one of them, one of the circle and had she not been busy caring for Dracula then she would have been in the meeting. Emma was a New Zealander, a nurse who had come over to help wounded soldiers during the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign but had been turned by accident during one of Dracula's rampages. But nevertheless, she was now one of them and had a great desire to be a doctor, something they all completely supported. Emma was looking uncomfortable as she fiddled with her dark hair before admitting the reason for her visit.
"He wants to see you." She said, her accent exotic in the group but looked straight at Mina who slowly nodded with a sigh as she got to her feet.
"I see, I think that will conclude our business for today." Mina said as she made her way out of the room. The others didn't like interacting with Dracula, Mina didn't either she thought with revulsion at being in his presence but she was the first among his brides now and apart from Emma, she was the only one he interacted with directly.
She walked down the corridor and heard the hacking cough he had developed again; it was much to her regret slowly improving but it would take a long while yet before he was fully recovered from the mustard gas. Thoughts of destroying him to rid the world of his evil had crossed her mind many times but sadly one thing about Dracula stopped her, that had stopped all of them from acting against him.
No matter what method was used on him or how inventive the assassin…Dracula just survived.
He would endure and regenerate, he would keep coming back however long it took and take vengeance on those that dared try to destroy him. How he had this invulnerability and ability to return none of them understood and he was not eager to reveal it but it kept them from plotting to destroy him as he would survive and come back at them however long it took him. When regenerated he was stronger than any of their kind and had abilities that they did not, that none of them understood and so many were considering that it might have something to do with his age but who knows Mina thought with annoyance at their lack of knowledge, vowing to keep her ears out for a way to destroy him however long it took her.
Arriving at his chamber, she steadied herself before entering the dimly lit area which was piled with bodies from his latest feeding spree in an attempt to accelerate his healing. The number of dead around her was shocking but Mina with ease from years of dealing with such things stepped over them and stood before Dracula who was slumped in his throne like chair, covered in a filthy robe and with matted greasy hair. He looked so different from the 'gentleman' that Mina had first met all of those years ago, looking rather pathetic and disgusting but his inhuman red eyes were still the same she thought with a shiver running down her back as they looked into hers.
"One of my treacherous brides has been found, I know it." He said with his voice rough like his throat and just speaking seemed to bring on another coughing fit which Mina ignored and listened. "Go to Paris and deal with her yourself." He commanded darkly.
Mina was surprised as she wouldn't have imagined that he would actually want her to go, she had imagined he would want to deal with her himself but given his current state he must be too impatient to wait she realised and nodded.
"I will." Mina told him and he nodded in satisfaction before adding.
"Stake her through the heart. I will not allow a traitor to live…" Dracula said with deep intensity which she found very unsettling but nodded and he then added with some consideration for just how she was going to accomplish this task. "Take whoever you can, she will never surrender." He said thinking of this particular bride and her own skills.
Mina nodded and made her exit, knowing she would need to take some of the new equipment that she had devised for dealing with the rogues, it would make a useful test of their effectiveness she reasoned and more importantly remove a particularly irritating thorn in her side.
She would hunt this renegade Mina concluded as she went to the armoury to gather her weapons, but only for her own reasons.
Paris, France…Two Days Later…
Paris, Mina thought with dismay that she had to come to this famous and magnificent city not only when it not at its best and also to make war herself on another vampire simply for existing.
She was therefore grim as she disembarked the train, accompanied by David and 'Baron' Meinster, another fledgling of Dracula who had actually been turned before Mina herself. He had even had his own lands and a castle of his own. His mother had kept him locked up but eventually he had tricked Marianne Danielle, a travelling school mistress to free him and he had fully taken over before taking Marianne as his bride.
But his fortunes had changed due to the war, political and social shifts had meant his lands and castle had been taken from him and now he had been forced to come to London with Marianne to seek his master's favour to survive. Mina personally doubted that he was going to be of much use to her but it was another able-bodied fighter when she needed one so he was with her on this mission.
"Midnight will be the time they hunt." Meinster said with typical pomposity which made David roll his eyes while Mina kept her resolve to appear calm and collected.
"Granted, we will find one fledgling and they will lead us to their coven." Mina said as she checked the various equipment that they had brought. Weapons designed to fight vampires which was ironic as they themselves were vampires using them against their own kind. Seeing they had everything with them they walked through the station, all dressed in normal clothes which was perfectly acceptable for Mina and David but Meinster was grumbling about their choice of fashion.
"It is most unseemly for a baron to be dressed like a common dock worker." He said which was a big exaggeration as his clothes were perfectly acceptable and would not arouse suspicion which was entirely the point. David told him with annoyance at having to share a cabin with him for days.
"Well, you are not much of a baron now, are you?" He sniped back and Meinster was going to loudly snap back when Mina who had been dealing with their attitudes for days now told them sternly to put an end to any further argument.
"Quiet both of you. We are here to carry out a task not chatter and snipe at each other. We will go our hotel and change into our hunting clothes. Then we will hunt." Mina told them both and the force of her words was such that she thankfully got them both to behave for the moment.
- x -
A Few Hours Later…
Mina, David and Meinster that night changed in their hotel rooms, donning leather clothes that were designed for toughness complete with long coats with hoods and a scarves to draw up over their mouths and faces for concealment. They were well made and would allow for a good range of movement and protection while also concealing their identities which was key as she didn't want any potential retribution should they possibly be recognised.
She tied her auburn hair back to make sure it would not get in the way, slipping on the outfit it was agreeable she thought and wondered if more women would wear trousers in the future but dismissed that as a question for another time. Raising their hoods and their scarves to cover their lower faces so now only their eyes were visible they all went to the nearby window and with a single effortless leap jumped over the streets below and onto a nearby roof.
With hand signals Mina signalled David and Meinster to run in a specific direction and while Meinster grumbled he was far too cowed by her to ever complain aloud.
They ran across the roofs of Paris for a few hours, looking for any signs of the vampires here. It was quiet and boring as for a long while they saw nothing. No vampires or signs of their victims and as midnight dawned, they were beginning to get annoyed at their lack of progress before finally they found just what they were looking for.
A male vampire had a local prostitute against the wall and was roughly drinking her blood, Mina was about to jump down and confront him when she suddenly had an idea.
"Scare him, let him run and we shall see where and who he runs too." Mina said quietly to David and Meinster, the latter of which grumbled but followed her orders.
Mina and her two companions then leapt down from the roof towards the vampire who had just finished his meal. Brandishing stakes he snarled at them but as David went to stab him, he took off in fright.
Smirking Mina leapt to the rooftops with David and Meinster to follow.
It didn't take much effort for them to keep him in sight nor did he think to look at the roofs above for them. He must be extremely new Mina thought with a distaste at whoever was failing to control their fledglings and leaving them so unprepared.
Soon he led them to exactly where she had wanted him too, a large and impressive looking café that must be pre-revolution with its grand design and garden. It looked splendid even in the moonlight.
Mina saw him enter and then they took their crossbows which fired thicker arrows, one shot to the heart would be devastating or to the head and give them time to finish off any vampires they managed to hit. The threesome all made sure they were ready before entering the building.
At this time of night there were mercifully no customers but a vampire in a servant's costume that belonged in a nobleman's household from before the French Revolution stood there talking to the rough fledgling, both started by the sight of them but without waiting Mina and David shot a bolt into their hearts, shocking them both before Meinster drew his sword and took off their heads for good measure.
The three spread out across the house and even into an underground level which served as a lair for the vampires, they slew them down to the last one until the final one was discovered sipping blood in the main study.
Mina was alone when she discovered the last one, the casual coolness of the woman and her period costume, not to mention from the way she had heard her described she was the former bride of Dracula that they had been looking for…the youngest of the three supposedly. She had an elaborate pearl and pink dress with complex grey wig, exactly like an aristocrat from before the French Revolution. She turned to Mina and looked at her with disgust.
"Are you his hussy now? I had thought he would come himself not send peasants." She said disdainfully which annoyed Mina but she was far too disciplined to fall into such a trap.
"I am no hussy and I came because you are interfering in my operations." Mina told her coldly and the woman scoffed with disgust.
"I used to be a Marchioness, I ruled over huge parcels of land and lived in a most luxurious and decadent chateau. My husband and I used to come to this very building and they would snap out a table for us the moment we approached. I was welcome at Versailles and was the toast of Paris. Now…I am nothing." She said with disgust at her fall from grace. Mina did not particularly want to know her story but as she walked over with the stake already in her hand the woman continued.
"Dracula and the revolution took all of that away from me. Madame la Guillotine took my husband, the filthy peasants took my possessions and land and Dracula then took my life." She said with anger at all she had lost and while it would have been easy for Mina to feel sorry for her, she was hardly showing any concern for anyone other than herself.
"A century he kept me locked up in that castle. Fed on only the occasional offering while he dined well. Now when I am trying to reclaim what was taken from me…you interfere." She said snarling at her and Mina was stoic as she replied.
"You are living in the past. One must look to the future." Mina said knowing that you could never retake what had been stolen from you. She would never have her life with Jonathan or Lucy. She would never teach students in school or give birth to a child…all of that had been taken from her and she could either be destroyed by it or rise above it. She chose the latter while it seemed this woman was trying to cling to the shreds of a life that wasn't even hers anymore.
"There is no future. We are ageless and the world will lose its natural order as the human race becomes confused on how things should be." The Vampire woman snarled before launching herself at Mina in a rage.
Mina who was already alert to this dodged the attack, ready to use the stake but the woman knocked it out of her hand before diving for it. Mina did so too and they both got a grip on it, wrestling with each other. Despite being a century older than Mina, the other vampire seemed not much stronger than she was, allowing Mina to push her back into a fallen statue that had toppled over as they wrestled. The other vampire cried out in pain as it stabbed into her back and let go of the stake which allowed Mina to get hold of it and impale her in the heart.
The other vampire gasped out in pain before Mina stood up and looked down at her. Her wig had fallen off in the struggle and she had the most glorious mane of golden blonde hair, why she felt the need to keep it under a wig Mina could only guess at but said to the woman as she was dying as a comfort, in a whisper that only she could hear.
"I am not loyal to him. I was forced into this to protect one that I cared for. I will find a way to destroy him, I swear it." She told the other woman who smiled slightly despite her pain and then warned her.
"The other brides, they are out there and they are far worse than I am. Watch for them." The other vampire said and Mina nodded before asking.
"What is your name?"
The other woman smiled before telling her.
"Alexandrine."
"Pretty." Mina said with a sad smile before taking her sword and given her a clean death, taking off her head with a good swing of her blade.
She looked down at the woman and despite her arrogance and snobbery, Mina could not help but feel a shred of pity for her. She had lost all that she had and been taken by Dracula in her weakest moment.
It was enough to make her more determined than ever to find some way to end him, Mina thought with anger and disgust at their mutual maker. There had to be a way she thought with annoyance that it was so hidden but maybe someday her organisation could find it she thought and so she would continue to bring their people into the new century as it unfolded. Not just for her friends but for herself as well, so that they all might be free of him and his ways.
David and Meinster entered the room with expectation of a fight only to see Mina had already dealt with their target. Meinster looked at them with amazement and then with a slight look of jealousy in his eyes told her.
"Some people take to being a vampire better than others and are above even those older than yourself. You seem to fit into that category." He told her with resentment and Mina while intrigued by that ignored it for now as she something else to attend to here.
"The Café is ours. I need someone to run our operations in France, the master will accept only one of his own fledglings to be in charge here. Baron Meinster, the café and our resources here will be entrusted to you but remember, you are here to run things for us. Not just for yourself." Mina warned Meinster, her deep blue eyes seemingly without end as you looked into them but the fierce intelligence and determination shook Meinster from being too proud of himself while David grinned under his scarf, just glad the prick wouldn't be hanging around London anymore.
"It will be done my lady." Meinster said with a slight bow before looking around with keen interest in exploring his new home and was sure that Marianne would love it. The former bride had chosen her headquarters well and it would serve them fine as a base in Paris.
Sending a coded message to London for some more of their people including Marianne to come over Mina and David returned to their hotel just as dawn was peaking over the horizon. Drawing the curtains to protect them from the rising sun which while not fatal would be uncomfortable for them and then the pair slept, vowing to get some more blood the following night before returning to London.
Mina was restless at first, her mind not able to escape the fact that she had destroyed another vampire merely for being a thorn in their side and because Dracula hated her. She hated that and knew that not only was there still two other former brides out there somewhere but also a number of the rogues Dracula had created.
They too would need to be eliminated Mina thought coldly before realising how it sounded, not sure of why she was being so ruthless. She had always been a practical person in everything she had done but since her turning she had gone into a much darker place than she ever had before.
Was this part of being a vampire? She wondered to herself as she tried to sleep, to become numb to the suffering of others and see them as an obstacle or was she merely being stripped of all disguise? She questioned, hoping it was not the latter as that would mean that deep down, she had always been this cold and calculating.
When she finally did manage to sleep it was an uncomfortable one, her fears of what she might become in the years that lay ahead would drift around and around her mind without allowing her a single moment of peace.
Vampire Coven, London…Three Days Later…
It was tiring journey back to London from Paris, Mina and David were both happy to return especially as their ship had nearly been sunk by the Germans on the way. David was greeted by Thomas who hugged his father tightly while Mina was greeted by her inner circle who were all full of questions that Mina was not so eager to answer.
But before she could seek out some time to relax Emma appeared and with an apologetic look in her eyes told her.
"He wants you to report the moment you return."
Mina frowned before sighing in resignation, wishing she had some time to herself before having to speak with him. She reluctantly left her friends and walked the familiar path back to his rooms, opening the door as she carefully made her way in and it was a pleasant surprise to see that he had not had another feast of blood in her absence. No more bodies lying around she was glad to see as she walked inside and saw Dracula sitting next to the mirrored window as he looked outside, a wine glass of blood in his hand.
She walked forward and bowed before telling him.
"Your former bride and her coven have been eliminated; Baron Meinster will be taking over dealing with our French affairs from now on." Mina told him and he nodded, looking she noticed with anger better than he had before she left.
"You have done well. We now have so much power and influence, something that will only continue to grow under your careful touch. Intellects such as yours with the will to use it are a rare quality, I have only met a few over my centuries, I could count them on one hand and still have a finger left." Dracula said which surprised her given how he had never said such things to her before.
"My other former brides, were they present?" He asked with guarded curiosity but Mina told him.
"No, neither was present but she said before I took off her head that they were both still out there somewhere in the world."
"We will find them and those that dare disobey me in due time." Dracula said with cruel certainty and smugness, like he had been the one to kill Alexandrine instead but with her self-control remained as strong and unbreakable as steel so she kept her tongue and her true intentions to herself. She maintained her façade of being humble and obedient to him, he looked at her with a careful observation and smiled slightly before telling her.
"Some when they become vampires are not much stronger than they were in their human lives, many gain greater strength but fewer still become stronger than most vampires even those older than themselves. You have proven more capable than any fledgling that I have ever seen, your strength immense and your mind sharper. You are the stronger and they all bow to you because they feel it in their bones that you are superior to them, as you do when faced with me. Of all the brides I have taken across the centuries that I have lived, not one has reached the standard you have in such a short time. You are worthy of eternal life; you know to make the most use of it and to see it for the great gift that it is." Dracula told her and it almost sounded like he was complimenting her but then he reminded her of her place.
"But it is only because of I that you were bestowed this gift. Remember that." He warned her and she nodded before saying calmly even if she was screaming in anger at him on the inside.
"Yes…master."
Trafalgar Square, London…November 11th…
Mina despite the slight discomfort brought by the sun was outside with the people as they celebrated the end of the war, her smile wide as she felt the emotion of the crowd. The joy and relief that they felt at the final end of such a gruesome and destructive war, her circle around her was enjoying the celebrations with Paul kissing Alice while the others danced and cheered.
Mina herself danced with some of the circle members but inside she was still on edge, there was still so much to do and many challenges that lay ahead especially if she were to bring her dream of Dracula's destruction to life.
But for this moment, she just let go and allowed herself to be childish and free like she hadn't for decades now. Letting herself relax and think of other things with her friends rather than the endless plotting and scheming that made up her daily life.
There we are, I hope you enjoyed this update. Please leave a review and let me know what you thought.
Eva was the version of Mina in the Spanish version of Dracula released in the 1930s. She is basically Mina but in Spanish and played by Lupita Tovar.
Many characters in Mina's circle are from other films such as; Diana (Dracula Prince of Darkness), Maria (Dracula has Risen from the Grave), Alice and Paul (Taste the Blood of Dracula) and Sarah (Scars of Dracula). Basically, the Hammer Films series. Christina also comes from Hammer, Frankenstein Created Women. Baron Meinster and his bride Marianne was from Brides of Dracula.
Kate Reed is supposedly a character that was cut from the original book by Bram Stoker, the reasons for this aren't known but since I have read about her in the Anno Dracula books by Kim Newman, she was a character I wanted to include.
Thomas and David some of you might have guessed are taken from Underworld Awakening and Blood Wars. I think they are awesome as played by Charles Dance and Theo Jones. So, I decided to put them in this story.