Disclaimer: I do not own Dracula or any of the other fandoms within.
Sorry it took so long to upload this chapter, I was kept busy by work and other stuff!
James Birdsong – Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Here we go though, hope you enjoy it!
Dracula's Deal 5
London, 1965...
The club was alive with music as the young people enjoyed not only the rock and roll but pop music that was quickly spreading and redefining what was good and what was old fashioned.
Alice danced with Paul, both dressed in the fashions of the era while around them Maria, Diana and Sarah likewise were dancing with young men who eagerly wanted their attention. The short skirts that they were wearing would have been absolutely scandalous during their own time as were most of the clothes that they were wearing but it was the fashion these days.
- x -
Driving through the London streets David too was enjoying a night on the town, he frequented different places to the rest of his fellow council members and was on his way to one of the seedier clubs in Soho as sometimes he could find things to amuse himself with. It had become a little boring for him since the end of the war. There had only been a handful of situations that had required the services of him and his fighters who still maintained the security of the covens, Christina in particular had begun to get rather bored with all the quietness after all the fighting and struggle. So she had started a private security and mercenary outfit of her own which given the intense cold war that now existed in the world today had quickly grown and now had emerged as a major defence contractor and branching out into general security of all kinds. Kate too had been busy with her ever expanding media empire, spreading into magazines, newspapers, radio, TV and more in the years that had followed the war but still wrote from time to time to keep herself in practice.
Even young Lila was busy now, enjoying a singing career.
Him though, David thought with a sigh preferred to find trouble.
Arriving at the club he got out of his car after parking and walked in, it was suitably grimy and seedy but apart from some gambling it was rather tame. He sighed as he sat at the table, his vampire hearing allowing him to hear the heartbeats of all the players and knew when they were bluffing or had a good hand. The smell of the place was starting to get to him as he cleaned them out and was getting up to leave when he saw a rather beautiful blonde on stage, given that he had spent much of his life around beautiful women she would not have stood out to him except for one thing that caught his attention.
She hated being there.
What in particular she hated he had no idea but the outfit and dance number seemed to bring pain to her eyes, there was a spark inside that promised hope but it was dimming, he could see it.
Maybe it played to his need to be a hero or to be some kind of saviour but he could not leave without at least seeing if he was right.
He saw a man with slicked back hair in suit staring intently at her but it was in a predatory way that made his skin crawl. That only made his decision easier.
He waited till the show was over and walked backstage, one of the bouncers tried to stop him but David easily pushed him aside and began to look for his sad blonde. It didn't take long as she was dressed in a tacky red dress that seemed to scream what sort of work she was being forced into. She looked up at him shocked for a moment at his sudden appearance. David gave her his most charming smile before explaining to her.
"Excuse me for just barging in. Its just I can tell you don't belong here, perhaps if I can persuade you to let me treat you to a night out?" David asked her and she was so surprised by his declaration that she didn't speak for a moment before her eyes narrowed in suspicion and she challenged him.
"And how do I know you intend good things? Trusting the wrong man is what got me into this." The blonde woman said suspiciously and David only smiled telling her.
"Can it really be worse than this? Besides you can always walk away at anytime." He reassured her before the sight of that arsehole in the suit came up the corridor looking furious and brandishing a knife.
"You think you can just barge in to my club!" The suited man said but David with laughable ease disarmed him of the knife faster than they could blink and punched him out. The blonde woman looked at them in shock before smiling slightly.
"I'll give you one night of my trust just for that." She said with perhaps the first real joy on her face in quite awhile. She got up and took his hand as he led her out of the club. "My name is Sandie, what's yours?" She asked with curiosity and he smiled before telling her.
"I'm David and to be honest, I have a bit of the old Galahad in me. So, where too first?" He asked her as they got in his sleek looking sports car which Sandie took a liking too and hoped it was a sign of stability on his part.
"Let's just drive." She said with an excitement that she had honestly not felt since in so long it was almost alien to her but she was so glad to feel like that even for one night...like the city was hers and her life full of promise. Just for one more time before reality set in again.
"Okay then, driving it is." He said as he drove off. The streets of London passed by as they drove and Sandie despite knowing she had to keep up her guard felt so relieved. Eventually he parked them up in front of a club that was still open and said as he got out of the car and opened the door for her too like a gentleman. "Shall we?" He asked while offering her a hand which she accepted and he led her into the club. The dance floor was packed but he found them a spot and despite not being the best dancer he did his best to keep up with Sandie who danced really well. She was smiling broadly and enjoyed dancing before he eventually got them some water rather than booze to let her feel more safe.
Sandie honestly would have liked a cocktail but the fact he was going so far that she would feel more secure really made her feel better, Jack had never been this nice she thought as she sipped her water and was glad of the refreshment after such a long night. They danced for the rest of the night before it was finally time to close the club and go home. She was nervous as she knew that Jack could get to her at home but as David walked her to the door he spoke with her landlord and told him to not only never let Jack in but also slipped him some money to change the locks. He was something else Sandie thought with amazement that men that gallant and noble still existed in this day and age. He was a proper gentleman she thought and was sad the evening was coming to an end.
"Thank you." She said, kissing him on the cheek and he smiled before doing something else that shocked her, turning to leave he did not insist to go up to her room and enjoy a night of sex but instead asked.
"Perhaps we can do it again tomorrow night? Dinner at Six O'clock?" He asked her and she couldn't help but smile and told him.
"Maybe." She teased but they both knew it was a yes. David smiled and made sure she was safely in her room before leaving. She watched him leave from the window and smiled as she wondered just if her life which had been on a steady downward slope for awhile now was improving.
- x -
London Coven...Later that Night...
David returned to the manor as dawn was starting to creep over the horizon, he was tired as was everyone else. He went straight to his room and slept till the late afternoon, when he woke he was sure to dress in one of his good suits and prepared to leave again, walking through the corridors of the manor and he was about to leave when he saw Annabelle coming out wearing another of her creations, she was a very good fashion designer he conceded absent-mindedly.
"Hello David." Annabelle said with a broad smile which he returned. "Going out on the town again?" She asked innocently.
David nodded and told her.
"I have a date, see you later." David said before leaving, getting in his car and taking off at some speed.
Annabelle watched and shook her head before she went to the Council meeting, David really should have been there but he must be skipping this one. Ever since the destruction of Dracula, the inner circle of Mina had become the Council, the people who really made the covens run. She saw Thomas and the others all sat around the table and said brightly. "Hello everybody."
"Hi Annabelle." Sarah said with her hair in a beehive style and they all echoed the greeting as she sat down. While Thomas still wore his suit which he looked amazing in the rest of them even Paul were dressed in the fashions of today. Short skirts and tops while the men at the table wore coloured slacks and chequered shirts there was definitely a lot more vibrant colour now Annabelle thought.
Then the door opened and Mina entered accompanied by her new assistant Herbert, compared to the others she was drab, seeming almost lifeless. She wore only black and grey which seemed to drain the colour from her, she had a black sweater and a knee length grey skirt teamed with simple grey shoes with no heel. Her amazing hair was tied back in a boring bun and her face seemed emotionless.
Everyone of her inner circle was growing somewhat worried as she seemed to be withdrawn and emotionless these days, rarely indulging in any kind of pleasure like they did. She had been this way for a few years now and they had no idea just why as she was so closed off that they couldn't start a conversation with her.
Regardless it worried them but then they got on with the meeting.
- x -
"The Space Race is proving to the potentially very lucrative. Our American covens are making a great deal of wealth from it, not to mention the advances in air travel in the last decade." Paul said with confidence as they had been branching out in business. The times were changing at an incredible pace and it was harder for some of them to keep up but there were still incredible opportunities out there.
"Television and motion pictures are also a profitable enterprise if we invest in the right ones." Alice said from his side. Sarah then added from the legal side of things.
"We have patents on several impressive innovations pending and real estate holdings are growing as we purchase more land." Sarah told them.
"We have acquired some new art that is making a profit by lending it to museums and galleries." Diana told them as they had managed to build a rather impressive collection and it made little sense to just keep it locked up in their archive.
"Good, be sure to keep an eye on potential business opportunities and if you find anyone that you think might be a good fit for our people...check the waters first. Not everyone can handle being as we are." Mina said, bringing the meeting before the end before excusing herself.
She walked through the corridors of the manor and reached a balcony eventually that let her look out around the area. She sighed with exhaustion as she had never imagined that things would be as tiring as they were.
She had never stopped in over twenty years now, after dealing with the war and its aftermath then she had the taxing job of rebuilding all of the covens that had been destroyed. Finding new locations to base themselves, establish the right connections and then finding new people to replenish their numbers after the loss of so many of their people.
This was made more difficult with the rise of the Iron Curtain as they called it and Eastern Europe along with some other places that the Soviet Union or other powers held sway but they were slowly making inroads there even if it would take some time to fully finish their work.
All of this combined with expanding their existing network which took a great deal of care and consideration and was truly exhausting Mina thought with a sigh. She often had to take long flights to different parts of the world to handle the setting up of covens and while now it had started to relax after two decades of hard work it was still exhausting.
Some places like in America had developed smaller sub-covens in different cities like Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, Honolulu, Boston and Las Vegas among others. That too had needed a good amount of her attention.
Mina was just...tired. Exhausted even by the weight of her role, being the leader meant she was responsible for all of the people in not only this coven but for all of the covens world wide. The role she had seemed to keep a wall between her and those that she counted as her friends and she didn't know whether she could tear it down or not.
But it wasn't just that, Mina thought with great sadness. It was the fact that she was starting to feel the weight of being immortal, the endless motion of world which she had to keep up with and the incredible distance that seemed to exist between her and the rest of the world. She had watched as London grew out of its Victorian era and evolve across the decades not to mention seeing it flattened and being rebuilt. The horse drawn cabs now replaced by cars, steam trains were being slowly replaced by newer and more advanced diesel locomotives. Where once it would have been enough to get you arrested for wearing a revealing outfit and now it was the fashion.
She was nearly so distracted by her rather negative thoughts that she almost missed when Thomas walked into the room, but her senses were still sharp and she noticed. He smiled slightly as he saw her shift and he asked her.
"Deep thoughts?" He asked her and Mina just sighed before admitting to him just what she had been feeling, it was a relief to finally say just what was bothering her rather than holding it all inside on her own. Thomas listened patiently and told her with a smile.
"Miss Murray, I am astonished." He said with a mocking humour. "You should know better than to try and handle the sheer weight of this organisation on your own. You are not alone, you are a queen with a people that love you for all that you have done for us all. I have to admit I feel like you sometimes, separated from the world as the years pass but that is only when we have nothing to anchor us. The others feel it too and like you they are trying to find their way in the world but we will see the doubtless wonders to come as well as any bad." Thomas said to reassure her.
Mina nodded as she realised that he was right, she had been trying to do too much but she needed to trust more to her people because if she didn't what was the point of appointing people?
She smiled and asked him.
"Maybe we need a social event, one that all the covens can do to just enjoy themselves and let their hair down." She thought knowing she had to rebuild some of the bridges that she had hopefully not completely burnt with her self-indulgent misery.
"To celebrate the now in which we live." Thomas said in agreement and she nodded, now starting to smile as she felt a little joy coming back into her life. She would take the rest of the evening off and go just relax she thought but first she had to change she thought with a dismayed look at how out of touch she was being, this outfit would just not do she thought with dismay at her appalling sense of fashion.
- x -
Restaurant, London...A Couple of Months Later...
"So how is your new job working out?" David asked Sandie as they sat in the restaurant, he was not really enjoying his tasteless meal but the company was making the evening worth it he thought.
"Its dull but its a lot better than...what Jack was trying to force me into." Sandie said with a small smile. She was now working in a clothes shop in Covent Garden which was very boring but a great deal less seedy then what Jack had been trying to make her do. The pay was okay and they let her take any excess stock sometimes so she was saving a fortune on clothes.
But the thought of Jack made her feel a momentarily chill as sometimes she was sure he had been following her, he hadn't done anything but he had already tried to break into her place and she had been forced to move elsewhere but whether he had finally given up or not she wasn't sure. He was probably afraid of facing David which was why he had stayed away until now.
"Any hope of getting noticed?" David asked her, seeing her discomfort and guessing it was about the arse hole Jack. She frowned before admitting.
"A casting agent said that he was going to try and get me a part in some musical that's playing at the Victoria Palace but I'm not getting my hopes up. It sounds too good to be true and I checked there is no musicals being planned there." Sandie said and David nodded understandingly.
"I might be able to help with that but I will have to see what some friends of mine have to say. I do have to ask though, what do you want for the future? I mean not just career wise." David asked her and she was somewhat taken aback by the change of topic but answered.
"I just want to sing, I feel my best when I am." She told him honestly and David nodded before pressing.
"Do you want children? In the future I mean?" He asked her and she was again surprised but shook her head, wondering with sadness if this was the end of their little fling.
"No, I am one of seven children and honestly I never want to have a screaming baby to deal with." Sandie told him bluntly before asking. "Why? Do you want kids?"
David smiled sadly before admitting to her.
"I can't. Some illness I caught when I was younger. It made it impossible for me to father any child." David said with some regret that he would never have any children of his own but he had long gotten use to that.
Sandie was shocked and sad for him, David would make an amazing dad she thought and was disappointed for him that it would never happen. She was thinking about that so much that she almost missed what he said next.
"I just wanted to make sure that we understood just where we are going with this." David said explaining the reason for his question. "I want to see you Sandie and I want you to know what I can't and can give you."
He really is a true gentleman, Sandie thought with a smile. He's making sure that he doesn't waste my time on him if I want children, Sandie got up from around the table and sat in his lap, surprising him before kissing him deeply. He didn't waste time responding and it was just as well they had a private room as they made out with each other right there and then. They only stopped when a knock at the door reminded them that they were in a restaurant and so he got up, reluctantly before making sure she was on her feet before settling the bill and driving Sandie home.
They arrived at her new place and he walked her to the door as always before instead of letting him leave she grasped his hand and pulled him inside. David was surprised as she did so but she kissed him and told him with a breathy whisper.
"No more talk."
She then kissed him with all of the passion she had been building up since the restaurant. He was soon kissing her back and effortlessly he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bedroom.
- x -
The following morning David woke up, he was confused as he wasn't in his own bed at the manor before he remembered just what had happened last night. He felt the soft and warm body of Sandie as she cuddled into him and he smiled, he hadn't been with a woman for some time and he had tried to be attentive to her needs, she seemed to have enjoyed herself from the noises she had been making he thought before just laying there with her in his arms.
He had been wondering about it for awhile but...he thought with worry...would she accept the truth? Would she still want to be with him if she knew what he was? Would she be willing to cross that threshold to be with him? He thought with fear that it might be a negative. She had been against having children so that seemed like a good point but who knew if it would last he thought?
He just had to wonder if it was worth taking the risk.
- x -
London Docks, That Night...
A cargo ship from Europe was docking, not unusual but as the night wore on a figure quickly made their way off the ship by leaping from the deck to the quayside, it would have been too much for a normal person but this person was not normal.
A man was coming home from the pub and was wandering by the docks as he always did as it was a short cut for him, the figure saw him coming and hid among the pallets, breathing quickly as if in pain or struggling with something before leaping out at the man as he came past. They hissed like an animal before biting hard into the man's neck and drinking deeply with savageness, born of not having fed in days since they had boarded this ship.
Pulling back when they had drunk their fill revealing a young woman with blonde hair cut to the shoulders, she was in a extreme high from the blood she had just drunk after days of starving herself. It took a few moments before she realised just what had she done and put her head in her hands as she cried.
She reluctantly took the body and threw it over the edge of the quay, making a splash as it hit the water before running off into the East End.
Vampire Coven, London...One Month Later...
The day before the party was busy as there was a lot of coming and going, blood had been stockpiled and decorations put up. No live bands though but they had a good sound system in for the party although Lila might sing, ready to play all of the best sounds of the Sixties so far. The coven were all getting ready for their big night, all of them were excited as they rarely celebrated anything so it was a big thing for them to have one.
Thomas and Mina stood in the hall arranging everything, Mina now wearing a much more colourful pale green and blue dress with her hair in elegant waves around her head. Plenty of the tradesmen that had been delivering the equipment and decorations had been flirting with her but she just ignored them, they were too boring for her anyway.
David arrived in his car and they were about to call out to him about the party when they noticed that he had someone with him. Puzzled they looked to see a young and admittedly rather beautiful blonde woman get out of the other side, David was treating her as a gentleman should and Thomas and Mina shared a look, wondering just what was going on.
"This is my home, I share it with others but first and foremost this is my father Thomas. And this is Miss Murray who owns the place." David said to the young woman, introducing her to them. "Miss Murray, father this is Sandie." David said and with a gently push moved her forward so she was standing right in front of them. She nervously extended her hand and said.
"A pleasure to meet you both." Sandie said and they both studied her for a tense moment before Thomas who had taught David to be a gentleman did as manners said he should and shook her hand.
"Welcome, David has been saying he was seeing a young lady so it is a pleasure to meet you." Thomas told her with a polite smile. Sandie blushed as she realised just where David got his charm and manners from. Mina who was curious at just what David had brought Sandie here for noticed Maria coming down the stairs. Seizing the opportunity she called out to her.
"Maria, do you think you could show Sandie around while me, Thomas and David talk?" Mina called out and Maria while surprised did as she was requested.
"Come on, there's a lot to see. I am Maria Mueller by the way. You must be the girlfriend he has been so secretive about." Maria said as she dragged Sandie away, leaving David alone with Mina and Thomas. Both frowned at him before Mina asked.
"Why did you bring her here? You know the rules." Mina told him sternly and he couldn't help be nervous of her intense stare.
"I want to bring her in." David told them plainly. Mina was silent for a moment as she was considering just what he was saying.
"Does she know?" Mina asked him and David hesitated which gave her the answer.
"You need to tell her, I will trust your judgement that she can be trusted but I am not going to do that for you." Mina told him sternly. David seemed surprised that she was willing to give him that but they had been friends for many years now and he had earned her trust. David nodded while being very nervous.
- x -
"That's the workshop. All sorts of gizmos get dreamt up in there." Maria told the amazed Sandie as she wondered just what kind of set up this was. There were some very different people here she thought like a New Zealander named Emma who was training to be a doctor, a teenage girl Lila Lee who she had heard on the radio many times, a gorgeous blonde lawyer named Sarah who was now starting up her own law firm and for the life of her Sandie had no idea just what had brought them all together.
Again another mystery she thought as she saw three people coming down the path through the gardens. A tall dark skinned man in a shirt and suit was talking to a woman who was dazzling in her dress with great blonde hair and another man in a stylist suit walked beside them, he was square jawed and good looking with slicked back hair and was probably the most handsome man she had ever met after David she thought with loyalty.
"Ah Maria, good afternoon." The dark skinned man said with a smile which Maria returned and then introduced the two people walking at his side. "These are two visitors for our American...branch." He said seeming to reconsider whatever he was going to say when he saw Sandie which only made her more suspicious. "This is Agnes Cully and Jack Thompson." He said introducing them.
"Delighted." Maria said as she shook their hands before introducing her own guest. "This is a visitor too that David brought, Sandie this is Adam and he already introduced Agnes and Jack." She said with a smile and Sandie was immediately struck by deja vu as she looked at Agnes, remembering an actress that had been in some of her favourite films.
"You look just like Whitney Frost." Sandie said, not able to help herself and the other woman laughed before replying to her. Sandie having no way of knowing she was talking to the actress herself who was also a highly talented physicist and now going by her birth name Agnes Cully after she had joined the American Coven.
"I get that a lot but I am more into science than acting." Agnes told her before seeing another man in a suit appear to Jack and handed him a file, he signed before looking through it quickly and said.
"Sorry, duty calls." Jack said, his accent American Sandie noted as he walked away. David then appeared at the other side of the courtyard and walked over with a smile that looked a little strained which made her worry.
"Miss Murray will see you after speaking to Jack." David said to her which only made her worry more about what was going on here.
- x -
Mina walked towards one of the reading rooms with Jack Thompson, a former American agent and member of the OSS who had become the new leader of their intelligence network. He was reporting to her as they walked.
"There have been five deaths of blood loss in the East End in the last month, all so far attributed to a maniac but that is only going to last for so long. I thought we had dealt with the last of the rogues years ago." He commented with disbelief as he showed Mina the file who sighed with frustration.
"Every time we think we're done another one pops up and its not just the originals from the war its all the ones they turned since then. Jack, could you take a few of our people out tonight and hunt this rogue down? Bring them back alive this time so we can find out if there are any more of them." Mina told him and he smiled with genuine joy.
"You kidding I could do with some action. See you at the party tomorrow night." He said with a flirty grin that she returned, admiring his confidence and certainty.
She then entered her office and saw David and Sandie waiting for her there. She lost her smile as she went to sit at her desk and became deadly serious before speaking.
"Has David explained to you just what we are?" Mina asked her and Sandie who was still confused just shook her head before Mina sighed as David clearly was too nervous to say it which only spoke of how much he cared for this girl.
So she allowed her eyes to show the red beneath the blue and then her extended canines which was as dramatic a demonstration as she could without biting someone. Sandie's eyes froze briefly with fear as she realised just what they were. She had seen some films on them and they were monsters that drained blood but those creatures couldn't survive in daylight she thought with confusion, never having thought they might be real but here they were in front of her.
"David, likes you...more than any other woman as I understand it. He wants to share this with you." Mina said with a look his way for not having the nerve to say it himself.
"Become...become a vampire." Sandie said, not able to believe for a moment that she was saying these things but it seemed she had left the normal and rational world behind the moment she had stepped through those doors.
"Yes." Mina said, thinking that this was a choice that many of the older coven members had been denied due to Dracula. "Think carefully on this Sandie. Once done it cannot be undone, you will never age again and eventually everyone you know will die while you will not. You will need to drink blood to survive. Choose carefully." Mina warned her before leaving Sandie and David to talk.
Once the door closed there was a tense silence, Sandie was now more than a little frightened of the situation she was in but could not help but be a little intrigued by it all. It seemed so strange to her to exist like this and so she asked him.
"What is it like?" She asked David who wasn't really sure just how to describe it to her so he told her.
"It is like being reborn, your senses are so much keener. I look up at the night sky and I see so many stars that the light pollution blocks out. I can smell distinct smells beyond anything you can but there are downsides. While I can walk in the sun its uncomfortable and we can no longer taste anything other than blood. There are downsides to this existence Sandie." David said, hoping she would understand.
Sandie nodded, seeing the vulnerability in him for the first time and she honestly was more touched for him trying to almost convince her to walk away but she smiled and told him as she came up to him and held his strong face in her hands.
"I want to be with you, if this is part of it then so be it." Sandie said with a smile before kissing him. He couldn't help but kiss her back and then breaking briefly she told him with a nervous breath. "If its going to be done, I want it to be by you."
David hated himself but he was unable to refuse her and kissed her again, moving his lips down towards her neck before biting, feeling her warm blood run into his mouth as she shuddered but he was so careful that he only took the barest that he needed to take before she sagged in his arms.
He withdrew from biting her and bit his own wrist, the blood now flowing from it as he slowly and reluctantly held it to her mouth. She started drinking his blood and he let this go on for a moment before his wound closed up but it was done he thought with sadness as she was beginning to turn. He picked her up bridal style and carried her back to his room where he lay next to her and did his best to comfort her as she left her mortal life behind.
- x -
That night in the East End while David was tending to Sandie, Jack was in full tactical gear and leading a small group of their hunters as they searched for their mystery rogue.
Jack was impressed at the new body armour they had, it was a new synthetic leather that was both flexible and resilient, it was strong enough to stop a bullet and would have done a great deal of good in the war he thought before getting back to the search.
They moved across the rooftops, keeping their ears and eyes keen for any sign of the rogue.
It went on for hours and hours before finally they struck lucky.
Jack was crouched on a roof looking out over the dock side where the rogue had struck several people already, he was focused on his task and smirked as he saw a dock worker being pinned against the war by a smaller figure. He pulled out his small portable radio and said quietly.
"We have contact, the dock side near Octavious Warehouse. Converge." He ordered and then pulled his face scarf up and his hood down before leaping to the ground in a single effortless leap. He pulled out his gun which fired large metal stakes that wouldn't kill the target but would certainly sting like a bitch.
He moved closer as the rogue was so distracted with feeding, he could see clearly that the rogue was not what he had expected. Shorter at only five ft four, blonde hair too although the rags that they wore showed a fairly pleasing figure.
A woman, he thought with surprise, it was rare as nearly all of the rogues from the Great War had been male so perhaps she had been turned later but it didn't matter as he raised his gun, smirking as he whistled to get her attention.
The female rogue stopped feeding and left the body of the dock worker as she looked over to see him. Her eyes widened as she saw his weapon pointed at her and she went to run but in the time he had been waiting the others had come in the other side of the alley and leaving her with no escape route.
Clearly panicked she dived towards him and managed to avoid being shot by his stake which impressed him but it was for nothing as his comrades caught her in a net. She screamed as she struggled to get free but they had her properly restrained and dragged into the back of the van before it drove off, calling in the cleaners to deal with the body.
The woman to her credit did not stop struggling and trying to tear the net but it was too strong for that, not to mention they were all holding her down as she struggled, kicking and clawing with all her strength to get out of the net.
When they did return to the manor it was still dark and the whole coven was there to see Jack drag the woman inside. Only when they finally made it to the throne room was the woman released from the net. She scrambled about as she got to her feet, looking scared as she saw all of them looking at her with curiosity. She then looked at the throne and looked confused as she saw Mina sitting there imperiously.
"Who are you? And why have you risked the safety of all our kind with your actions?" Mina asked her coldly. The woman was starting to calm down as she realised that things were not as she had expected.
"My name is Charlotte Elspeth Pollard, but everyone calls me Charley. I tried to dispose of the bodies, not well enough I guess." She said, her accent unmistakeably English and upper class too. Not the usual type for a rogue.
"Who turned you?" Mina asked her, the red in her eyes burning into Charley's and forcing her to answer. She resisted longer than most would have but eventually she answered.
"Dracula."
"When?" Mina asked.
"5th October 1930 on the R-101." Charley said with a tremor in her voice as she remembered that particular day.
That caused a murmuring among the vampires as that was well after the first world war. Mina frowned as she knew Dracula had been aboard that ship before the crash, surviving it with ease by leaping when it was close to the ground. He had still maintained a love of grandiose projects like airships and other enormous constructions after the disaster but he had never said anything about another bride.
"Explain." Mina said with a sense of anger at Dracula still managing to cause them problems after being dead.
- x -
Flashback...R-101 over France...5th October 1930...
Charley was rather pleased with herself, disguising herself as a boy and getting one of the crew drunk so she could take his uniform and stow away on the newest airship in the world! She was so eager to get out there and start exploring, having adventures like the people did in the stories she read. Maybe they might write stories about her one day she thought with eagerness.
But her youthful vigour and lack of experience meant she had not really thought all of this through, a fact she would regret not long after boarding. As the ship crossed the channel into France she was making her way down the corridor when a tall man appeared in her path.
"Sorry sir. Beg your pardon." Charley said, trying to make her voice sound masculine but it was a poor effort and the man grabbed her arm as she tried to move past him. He turned her to face him and those deep burning red eyes bore into her.
"Your act might fool true idiots but I am never an idiot. Do you think I cannot smell the perfume you wore not too long ago, that I cannot tell the difference between male and female sweat?" Dracula said as he took a deep whiff which freaked her out and he then tore the short jacket she was wearing and shirt from her body!
She gasped in shock and held her arms over her now exposed chest, the tape that had held her breasts down having come off with the shirt and now they were hanging free, hidden solely by her crossed arms.
The way he stared at her, like she was a piece of meat he wanted to consume for the first time made her afraid. She knew of what could happen to women who found themselves in such a position with men that would not take no for an answer. She had never imagined in all of her sheltered and privileged life that it could happen to her she thought with fear but instead what Dracula told her was worse!
"I like spirit, and you are very beautiful. What is your name?" He demanded and she was staring terrified into those burning red eyes and answered.
"Charlotte Pollard. Please let me go!" She begged but he chuckled as he pulled her against him. She tried to push him away but he was like a tank! Made of metal and she just could not move him!
"No Miss Pollard, I don't think I will. I have a harem of beautiful women back in London and you will fit in well. Know me as your master, I am Dracula, and you are mine." He said with a sinister smirk as he opened his mouth and revealed the sharp fangs he had been hiding until now. Charley's eyes widened as she realised just what he was before he bit her in the neck.
She cried out in pain but he held her mouth closed, drinking her blood and draining her sweet and untouched flavour.
But as he brought her to brink of death, he stopped and opened his own shirt, dragging his sharp finger nail across it to make a cut which bled as he placed her mouth against. Charley tried to resist but she barely had enough blood for a pulse and she was slipping in and out of consciousness as the warm rich blood came into her mouth and down her throat.
She passed out at that point and fell into a deep sleep, disturbing and horrible nightmares plagued her and then the airship had crashed. Dracula abandoning his new fledgling to save his own self, she was still turning as the ship impacted the ground and woke burned and naked some hours later, the fire having burned her skin and her remaining clothes off.
Charley had never felt so much pain and wondered if she was dying, she honestly had never in her worst nightmares had imagined ending up in such a position. She was ending her life in a ruined field in France after being drained by a vampire, all of the magnificent adventures she was going to have...just ashes now she thought with depression.
Then she saw someone coming over to her, a potential rescue and she tried to speak but she could barely make a sound. He did spot her however and leant over her, checking her but as he leered at her body and went to touch her which was much to her own disgust, a hunger gripped her that was overpowering and returned to her the ability to move.
She lunged upwards suddenly, the pain now forgotten as her teeth extended and she bit hard into his neck. He was surprised and struggled to get her off of him but her hunger made her cling on tightly as she drank his blood. As she did so her body started to heal, her burns disappeared, any cuts closed up like they were never there and her hair grew back lengthening to half way down her back.
He eventually died while she finally let go when there was no more blood to take, her mouth was stained with it and she was now feeling better than she ever had before. Almost like she was flying Charley thought as she stood up and stretched out her arms, staying like that for quite some time before finally it dawned on her just what had happened to her. She rubbed her hand against her lips and saw the blood and as she looked at it, her breathing beginning to speed up as she hyperventilated, realising what had been done to her.
What she had just done!
Charley honestly was on the edge of falling to the ground in despair as she knew her life was over, the dawn came as she was standing there and she was ready for the sun to burn her to a crisp. But as the sunlight hit her, it did feel awkward but there was a distinct lack of burning. She sighed in dismay as she realised there would be no easy way out for her.
Her earlier foolishness now haunted her, she would never be able to go near her family again she realised with depression hitting her like a brick to the head. She just couldn't let them know what had happened to her she thought, they would try to help her she knew that but they would be brought into this horror if Dracula ever came to look for her or she lost control again she thought with horror at the idea that she might hurt someone she loved.
Would Dracula come for her? She thought with fear about being dragged into his harem. She did not want him to hurt her family so she knew that she needed to disappear, Charley quickly with some sense of disgust at herself took the clothes of the man she'd killed and with her dignity somewhat restored, she ran off into the nearby woods. Not looking back and with tears in her eyes.
Flashback Ends...
- x -
The Coven listened to her story and Mina nodded, sighing as another victim of Dracula who had been ripped away from her mortal life and family stood before them. She told her to ease any fears that she might have.
"Miss Pollard, I can assure you that Dracula is dead. I saw to that myself. And if you are willing to play by our rules, then there is a place for you among us." Mina said showing surprising kindness to one that had been on her own all of these years.
Charley was as surprised as the rest of the coven by her decision and asked her, looking hopeful.
"He is really gone? For good?"
Mina just nodded and Charley smiled brightly, probably for the first time in years as she knew that the monster who had ruined her life, much as he had many of the others was finally gone. She knelt to Mina and told her.
"Then I owe you a debt, thank you." Charley said before Mina told her.
"Rise Charlotte, it is time for us all to celebrate. A new era has arrived and it is time we all enjoyed it to the full." Mina said, addressing the whole coven as the coming gala was only days away. They all quickly started smiling as the festive atmosphere returned.
Soho, London...That Night...
Sandie was struggling to come to terms with all of the new sights, sounds and smells that she had never known before. It was almost too much and she was giddy with it all, David was following her to make sure she was okay. His protectiveness was sweet and she loved him all the more for it as she prepared for her first hunt.
She was first though going to return to her flat and get her things to move to the manor, at least until the coven could have get her singing career going, she was excited by that as they had the connections for her to finally get somewhere. But as she was boxing up the last of her clothes and possessions she heard someone coming up the stairs, she thought it might be David and she turned to ask if he'd help but saw Jack standing there brandishing a knife.
"You little bitch, did you really think you could humiliate me and get away!?" He snarled at her and advanced, she was gripped momentarily with fear before grabbing his wrist as he went to stab her, pressing harder than normal as she didn't know her own strength and his wrist snapped like a twig!
He howled in pain and dropped the knife but Sandie smiled and felt her new fangs elongate as she lunged forward and bit him in the neck. She drank his blood and his struggles were nothing against her. She didn't let go until Jack was finally dead, she looked down at him and smiled, the thrill of feeding and her first time making it even more impactful.
David watched from the doorway, he had heard Jack and rushed over but it had not been necessary he thought, glad that the bastard was dead and in some ways proud of Sandie for doing it but it did in some ways unnerve him to see her feeding.
Like he had ruined her somehow.
He stepped over and Sandie smiled pushing the door closed and leaping into his arms, wrapping her arms around his shoulders while her legs locked around his waist, kissing him as she did it and he was soon kissing her back as he made sure to support her. They would call in the cleaners when they had a moment.
The Manor, Two Nights Later...
The manor was full of music as the best sounds of the sixties blasted through it, the people there were all enjoying themselves immensely as they all drank, danced, played games or just chatted to each other.
Alice, Paul, Diana, Maria, Sarah and Adam all stood talking with Whitney/Agnes and Jack, discussing their own stories while Lila stood on the stage, singing with Sandie, both of them enjoying the chance to perform to an excited crowd. Herbert was dancing with his own partner Stuart while David stood near the stage and smiled as Sandie performed. Giving her encouraging looks while Thomas surprised them all by dancing with Charley.
Emma was finally taking some time off from her medical studies to dance with Christina and mixing with all of the different members of the coven. Mina herself was standing with Eva who was telling her of the newest news from Spain.
"The local government isn't exactly friendly to us. Can't be sure what they're going to do one moment to the next." Eva told her as she had returned to Spain after the war and rebuilt the Spanish Coven which she now ran. Mina nodded before responding.
"The humans call us monsters but they are the ones that not only ruin the planet every day but threaten to destroy themselves with their nuclear weapons. They are their own worst enemy." Mina concluded as she had never seen a species so intent on destroy themselves as humans, vampires might come from them but all this life gave them a distance and clarity that mortals seemed to lack.
"As depressing as that thought is, can we just enjoy tonight?" Eva said with a sigh and Mina nodded, remembering this was supposed to be about enjoying the here and now rather than worrying about the future.
She saw everyone enjoying themselves and she smiled, this was something that all of the covens would enjoy and certainly something they should do at least once a year she thought with satisfaction. They were the outsiders, looking in on humanity so it was only right to enjoy just what their world had to offer she thought privately to herself.
- x -
A van of young mortals appeared at the side of the estate, eight people emerged and looked at the place. All but one of them was looking rather uncertain at this plan while the apparent leader was complete confidant.
"Johnny. I don't know about this." A woman with long straight blonde hair said as they forced open the side gate. The arrogant young man in question just laughed.
"Its a party! What could be the harm Jess?" He teased calling her by her nickname, Jessica was still uneasy as this was far from the usual dull parties that they crashed in town. This was a high end party and she doubted the owners would be understanding or take it in good humour.
"Yeah stop being so square Jess." Joe taunted her and Bob, her boyfriend scolded him.
"Hey leave it out!" He said putting his arm around her shoulder which she lent into.
"It'll be fine Jess." Laura said with a smile, up for a party any day but like Jess she was a little worried as this seemed dangerous.
Gaynor, Joe, Greg and Anna gladly followed Johnny while Jessica, Bob and Laura followed more hesitantly.
The grounds were beautiful even in the dark but the noise from the manor which was intimidating in its size was encouraging, it was not stuffy old fashioned music but modern good stuff. But as they approached they were grabbed.
"Hey!" Gaynor called out but it didn't matter to the men that had caught them who just dragged them inside the manor. Everyone was struggling to make a run for it but Johnny on the other hand was looking excited.
Arriving in some kind of grand hall they saw a lot of people milling about, all kinds of people from young people like them to older ones. Jessica tried to explain as they were pulled in front of a young woman with amazing red hair who should have been a model with her looks. But her eyes became as hard as diamonds in a split second.
"Look sorry, we were going to a party near here and we got lost. We didn't mean to intrude." Jessica said but one look in the other woman's eyes made her realise she saw straight through it.
"I brought them as gifts for the master." Johnny said suddenly with great excitement as he looked around, clearly expected to see someone in particular while everyone blinked at what he was saying. "Their blood so that he would fulfil the promise he made to my ancestors. To give me Johnny Alucard eternal life." He demanded with excitement that seemed manic.
Everyone shared looks of disbelief in particular the red head who told the men that were holding them.
"Take the ring leader to a private room. I will deal with him later." Mina ordered while getting annoyed at the interruption before adding. "And call the police, maybe a night in the cells will wake them up."
The youngsters all moaned but as Johnny was led away by the others Mina then decided that since they had seen nothing dangerous not to kill them and instead stared each of them in the eyes and called on the hypnotic power she had gained from Dracula, her red eyes burned into theirs and they all fell silent.
"You are going to forget all about the man that you came here with. You never knew him and you came here looking for a party but were caught by us. You will see this as a wake up call and make something of your lives, stay friends but not waste any more of your lives." Mina said, deciding to not just make them forget about the one who clearly knew what they were but also to make them stop wasting their lives like this and make something of themselves.
They all went under very quickly, none of them being particularly strong willed they fell under her spell immediately and all listened intently as she gave them commands, the others watched impressed at her power before she finally made them wake up by clicking her fingers as the police arrived.
Thomas thankfully played the part of the owner and got them taken into custody but since they had decided not to press charges it would only be for a night or so but hopefully it would with her hidden command as they soon forgot everything she had wanted them too but also be enough to straighten themselves out.
She listened as the officers took the kids names and heard the one with long blonde hair give her name.
"Jessica, Jessica Van Helsing."
That was a name that she had not heard for a long time Mina thought with surprise, so the family had survived she thought but it was so little consequence, let the family be she thought as she was not keen to see if the Professor's descendants had his determination to find and destroy their kind.
They would all be watched for now, she thought but first she would have to deal with Johnny Alucard.
- x -
Johnny was kept out of sight until the police had left, he was tied to a chair as David and Jack stared at him balefully for interrupting their night. Mina walked into room and demanded of him.
"How did you learn of us? Answer me." She warned him and he smirked in triumph.
"My ancestor served him! He made it possible to come here, the Master promised immortality and the life of living things!" Johnny told them with fervour, seeming to expect Dracula to appear at any moment as he looked around. "Where is the master?!"
Mina frowned before she remembered a detail that the late Jonathan had told her before he had left on the trip that would set all of the other events into motion.
"Renfield." She said with disgust and he proved her right by reacting to the name with pride. David and Jack both had never heard the name before so she explained it to them. "Renfield was the original solicitor that dealt with Dracula when he purchased Carfax Abbey but he completely lost his mind when he came back from Transylvania and was locked up in an asylum. Dracula had no further use for him so he just left there." Mina said with disgust but that only enraged Johnny who actually tried to spit at her but couldn't quite manage it.
"You dare speak his name! He served loyally and the master thought he was dead after he escaped from that madhouse! We even changed our name to honour him...Alucard!" Johnny shouted out with pride and Mina just raised an elegant eyebrow.
"Alucard. Dracula spelled backwards. Clearly your family have no idea just what sort of man he was. He would have seen that as an affront, an insult to his name. And if you think he is going to ride in here to your rescue, don't...we dealt with him a long time ago." Mina said with a smirk coming to her face.
Johnny seemed to be unable to comprehend what she was telling him while Jack and David both smirked with her, enjoying the fact that he who would have given his friends to them had done all of this for nothing.
"He promised us!" Johnny demanded but Mina grabbed him by the chin and forced his mouth shut.
"He said he would but let me tell you he would not have wanted a little weasel like you at his side forever. I knew him far better than your ancestor ever did and now its time to end it." Mina said before snapping his neck.
Mina told David and Jack as she turned to leave.
"Someone like him would have dragged us all down. He has no concept of rules and only seeks what he should not have. Please if you would dispose of that." Mina said as she left the room. She was annoyed that even now they were having to deal with Dracula's messes, she would have to look in to any potential other members of the Renfield family and just hoped there was no more surprises there.
She stood in the hall, now empty as the party was over but it still had been a huge success despite the unwanted interruption. Mina considered just what the future might hold and wondered if they had any more surprised waiting for them.
There we are, hope you all enjoyed it. Please leave a review to let me know what you thought.
Sandie and Jack are from Last Night in Soho, a film by Edgar Wright in 2021.
Whitney Frost/Agnes Cully and Jack Thompson come from Marvel Agent Carter series.
Charlotte 'Charley' Pollard is a character created for Doctor Who by Big Finish.
Jessica Van Helsing and her friends not to mention Johnny Alucard all come from Dracula AD 1972 one of the Hammer Dracula films.
Next Chapter – The Eighties bring unexpected revelations for the coven as a tragedy strikes. They discover they are not as alone as they thought.